Hellingly and Horsebridge Village News

A LOCAL POLICING CONSULTATION is happening on Monday 16 November from 6pm at the Hellingly Hub Blue Room. Have your say on local policing, ask questions or raise concerns generally or about policing in Hellingly. Go along and meet your local policing team, share your views and discuss any issues affecting your community. It is a chance to have a conversation, seek advice and help keep Hellingly a safe place to live. Everyone is welcome.

 HELLINGLY CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL is running from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December from 10am to 5pm Friday and Saturday and 12.30pm to 4.30pm on Sunday. It is free although donations are welcome. A programme is given out with the names of the tree sponsors and the support text for their entry. Refreshments will be available. If you would like to or know anyone else or organisations that might light to sponsor a Christmas Tree in aid of the Friends of Hellingly Church, please contact Teresa Butler, Secretary to the Friends on email [email protected] or telephone 07724712213.

 HELLINGLY CHURCH RAMBLERS next meet on Saturday 28 November at 10am by the RNLI shop near the Bistro Pierre on Eastbourne seafront. The walk will be to Holywell café for refreshments and then back. It is a flat walk with no stiles or gates.

 HELLINGLY W.I. CHRISTMAS FAIR is on Saturday 21 November at the Hellingly Community Hub, The Drive, Hellingly from 10am to 3pm. 

 HELLINGLY LITTER PICKERS have started a Crowdfunder campaign so that they can continue to keep Hellingly tidy. They are hoping to raise around £700 to buy four more Handi Carts so that the volunteers can collect litter safely and keep the parish tidy. Hellingly Litter Pickers are a volunteer group founded in February 2025, dedicated to keeping Hellingly and the surrounding parish clean and litter free. Volunteers give up their own time to collect rubbish from roadsides, verges, footpaths and public spaces. It is hard work but they care enormously about where they live.

One of the biggest challenges is carrying heavy bags of rubbish, often containing glass bottles, cans and waterlogged waste. Some of the volunteers are older or have injuries that make lifting and carrying particularly difficult. They already have two Handi Carts, which have made an enormous difference. Now they would like to purchase four more, along with better bag hoops and additional litter picking equipment. These carts allow volunteers to collect rubbish safely, comfortably and for longer periods without having to carry heavy bags.

Every donation, however small, will help. This is a small community group, run entirely by volunteers. Every penny raised will go towards equipment that helps them continue their work. Their motto is “Picking up litter isn’t just cleaning, it’s showing love for where you live.” Please go to the website Crowdfunder.co.uk/Hellingly-litter-pickers to donate.