Herstmonceux and Wartling Village News

SUNDAY SERVICES THIS WEEK are at All Saints, Herstmonceux: 6pm Evensong. St Mary Magdalene, Wartling: 10am Holy Communion. Morning Prayer weekdays 9am to 9.20am alternating weekly between All Saints and St Mary Magdalene.

The Quakers meet at 10.45 worship and reflection at the Friends’ Meeting House, West End, Herstmonceux BN27 4NR.

Drop-in Tuesdays anytime between 1 and 4pm at the Free Church lounge.

THE ANNUAL AUTUMN WALK in aid of the Cowbeech Bonfire Society Charitable Trust which raises funds for local good causes will be hosting this event which starts and finishes at The Merrie Harriers Pub at Cowbeech, on Sunday 13 September meeting at the start at 10am.

A SPEED REDUCTION PETITION has been launched and residents are asked to sign it. The petition to reduce the speed limit in Windmill Hill village is gaining great support, and organisers want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has already signed. If you would still like to add your support, you can sign the online petition via the link change.org/Safer-Speed-For-Windmill-Hill-Village-Reduce-Speed-To-30mph or visit the Parish Council offices to sign the paper copy in person.

HERSTMONCEUX WALKING GROUP will be meeting again on Sunday 20 September at Horsebridge Recreation ground at 10am for Lita’s Covid walk circular around Hellingly. If you would like to come along ring walk leader Lita on 07561 493111 to register.

WARTLING FILM STARS will appear in a showing of Ava Hooper’s film at the next Rural Event at St Mary Magdalene Church at Wartling. The film was made in the church and churchyard last year, using her family and local people as cast. If you were one of them or would like to come along at 3.30pm on September 20 you will be very welcome. Refreshments will be served.

WINDMILL HILL WINDMILL will be open for the last time this season to visitors this Sunday 13 September. The first tour starts at about 2.45pm until 5pm. Entrance is free but a donation to keep the mill up and running would be appreciated. There is limited parking on site. You can find the mill at Windmill Hill (BN27 4RT).

MEDICAL DETECTION DOGS is the subject of a talk at Herstmonceux WI on Wednesday 16 September in Herstmonceux Village Hall at 7.30pm. The speaker is Jamie Baird about this very important role that the dogs and their trainers play. If you are not a member come along as a visitor for £3. You will be very welcome and you get tea and buffet supper. For further details contact Janet 01323 833669.

VITALITY VILLAGES COFFEE MORNING is on Wednesday 16 September at the Friends Meeting House in West End Herstmonceux between 10am and 12 noon. This month there is a talk by Alan McInness on the subjects of Herstmonceux Castle and the Men's Shed. There will be a fun quiz. Come and join us for a cup of tea or coffee meet up with friends old and new for a chat.

THE PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE highlights the discussions that are ongoing between South East Water contractors, the parish sports clubs and the Parish Council regarding the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) on Parish Green Spaces. HDD is a trenchless method used to install underground pipes avoiding surface excavation with minimal environmental disruption, at the recreation ground and sports ground. The works are part of the improvement scheme that runs from the Amberstone to Windmill Hill plants. Contractors have been managing frack outs these by allowing the frack spills to dry and then removing them with a small tanker. All sorts of matches have continued as planned without disruption. The contractor, Dalcour Maclaren, has confirmed that the works at Farmland Hills opposite Oak Way, Herstmonceux, are also part of the SEW improvement scheme.

UKPN are in discussion with the Parish Council and the local scout troop and the developers of the 70 homes about the footpath works that are a result of the legal agreement between the developers and Wealden Planning Department. Whilst there will be some inconvenience whilst the footpath is being used by UKPN to link to the new 70 homes, the Scouts are hoping to have a fresh water connection to their site and the end result will be an upgraded footpath leading from the Twitten by the school all the way up to the new housing estate.

Local residents are continuing to raise concerns about the state of the road leading up to Cowbeech Hill. The Parish Council have highlighted the shocking state of this road to Highways many times in recent years and ask as many of you who regularly travel this road, or live in the vicinity, and who are also despairing of the condition of this stretch of parish road, to submit your comments to East Sussex Highways, using their online Report a Problem platform at https://live.eastsussexhighways.com/report-problem/report-problem-condition-road.

Local residents elsewhere in the parish, namely Windmill Hill, are forming a petition to take to East Sussex Highways, to ask them to seriously consider a speed reduction of the 40mph stretch that runs right through the main settlement, where some of the pavements are so narrow that residents fear for their safety from passing traffic. The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/safer-speed-for-windmill-hill-village-reduce-limit-to-30mph.

This month the Council have assessed grant applications from local community organisations that have applied to their S137 grants scheme. A limited number of allotment plots are now available for new tenants. Please email [email protected] to find out more.

HEARING RESOURCES SESSIONS this month will be on Fridays 11 and 25 September between 10am and 11.45am for a 12-noon finish when Celia is able to offer maintenance of most types of hearing aids and replacement batteries. Celia Farrant is a local volunteer for Eastbourne Hearing. I go to Celia myself of late. It is so much easier than visiting the Hearing Centre in Eastbourne, leaving your hearing aid there with instructions for mending or just requesting batteries and having to wait for days without your hearing aid when you can just pop in and see Celia and get repairs done on the spot, as I have had to recently, and pick up batteries too with no break in service. She also visits the Charles Hunt Centre, in Hailsham, on certain days if it is more convenient.