Winchelsea

Cricket season: The Cricket Club’s 2017 season ends this month with a home match on Sunday September 17th at 1.30pm in the Cricket Field. This will be followed by an away match scheduled for September 24th against Mountfield at 1pm. After September there will be plenty of time to practise and improve skills as the cricket season does not resume until April 2018

Annual Art success: The August Bank Holiday Art Exhibition was well attended and twenty-seven works were sold, five more than last year which raised over £750 after payment to the Artists. The Raffle prizes generated considerable interest and ticket sales again added over £500 to our takings. Winning tickets were drawn by the Mayor, Jurat Cynthia Feast and the First Prize, an oil painting by Winchelsea resident Ant Parker, was won by a lady from Icklesham. Two other prizes were won by John Rudd! The Society is proud to put this show on each year to raise funds for the maintenance of the Millennium Artefacts which are the Town Sign, The Millennium Tapestry and the Town Beacon. We thank the Mayor and Corporation for the use of the Court Hall, pay tribute to our visitors for their support and especially compliment all the artists for staging their work. For many years these exhibitions have been masterminded by our Chairman, Donald Cameron-Clarke (“Cam”) and our tireless Secretary, Trevor Aisher; having now retired their enthusiasm and experience will be sorely missed. We hope they will be replaced at The Society’s Annual General Meeting in December by David Merrifield and Geraldine I’Anson.”

Harvest Supper: To celebrate the season of gathering in this year’s Harvest Supper will once again include the popular Barn Dance of previous years; taking place in the New Hall on Saturday October 7th from 6pm. The Twin Arts Barn Dance Band will be providing the entertainment and a fun evening with good food and dancing is promised to all. If you would rather sit and watch you can still join in by listening to the music and enjoying the fellowship. Tickets are £10 or £6 under 12s and can be bought from the Farm Kitchen or by phoning 07778 947123 by Wednesday October 4th at the latest.

Roof repairs: St Thomas’ church roof repairs commenced on Monday September 18th and the scaffolding is in place along the south front of the church to enable roof access. Scaffolding will also be up on part of the west front but gone by October 5th and there will be more on the north front to improve guttering and install a new rainwater pipe. Inside the church the St Nicholas Chapel will be roped off during the week but cleared on Fridays for weekend use so expect some inconvenience. Once the contractors get up on the roof they will be able to identify any additional work or unexpected problems that might cause the works to last longer than intended. As a result of this temporary disruption the church is unable to take part in the Rye Festival this year. Also there will be fewer church events in the autumn but work should be completed by November 10th. In the meantime, the church is open as usual but you will need to take extra care in the churchyard.

Winchelsea Beach

Signs and more signs: Icklesham Parish Council has been for some time attempting to limit the number of temporary signs displayed for commercial activities around the Parish. The increase of signs at the junction of Sea Road with the A259 has become a concern. Nevertheless, it appears that East Sussex Highways has consented to having seven signs around the Parish but without informing IPC or Highways England. Also no checks have been made to ensure that the signs are put in agreed places. Recently the issue of Company signs being erected on the verge of Rye Harbour Road was reported to East Sussex County Council (ESCC) Highways and in this case the companies had to remove the signs. Somewhat inversely authorisation was given by ESCC for specific signs to be erected promoting the caravan park at Winchelsea Beach, though during scheduled periods. During the August IPC meeting it was agreed that Highways England should be informed of this and asked how the signs might impact on the A259 and so IPC awaits a response. Interestingly this does not affect the controversial billboard in Icklesham as it impacts on the A259 in its efforts to promote a Night Club in Hastings. The posters on the hoarding display women in ridiculously contorted positions that would seem to contravene health and safety issues and would expect to be banned from most town centres. Although consistently stationary this particular signage is considered ‘mobile’ and therefore temporary (meaning it can stay) even though it is little more than a permanent fixture on wheels that ought to be moved on. The next IPC meeting is on Monday September 25th at 6.30pm in the Court Hall and members of the Parish are welcome to come along with questions and comments.

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