Welcome

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For general Parish Council enquiries please phone 01435 865700 or email info@hwpc.org.uk
Please email the Assistant Clerk with any comments regarding planning applications: asstclerk@hwpc.org.uk
The Office is open Monday to Friday - 9.30am - 3.00 pm and closes for lunch from 1.00 pm - 1.30 pm

South East Water announces Temporary Use (Hosepipe) Ban from Friday 12 August

Good morning,
I am sure you are only too aware, this has been a time of extreme weather throughout the UK.
According to the Met Office, July was the driest in Kent since records began in 1836 and saw the lowest rainfall in Sussex since 1911.
During July we saw just eight per cent of average rainfall for the month and the long-term forecast for August and September is for similar warm, dry weather.
As the hot weather approached last month and during the record-breaking heatwave, we urged our customers to reduce their non-essential water use to ensure we could supply enough water to all.
We are extremely grateful to all our customers who have done what they can to reduce their non-essential water use. However, despite asking for this voluntary restraint water use, particularly in Kent and Sussex, remains exceptionally high.
To keep up with demand, we’ve been treating and pumping up to 120 million litres of additional water a day to customers’ taps. This is the equivalent of supplying a further four towns the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne each day.
Due to this continued high demand, we have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers from 00.01 on Friday 12 August in our Kent and Sussex supply area until further notice.
I am sure you will join me in agreeing by taking this step we will ensure we have enough water for both essential use while also protecting the environment, enabling us to also reduce the amount of water we need to take from already stressed local water sources.
Before this hot period, our leakage rate was at an all-time low, however as a result of very dry ground conditions and the resulting earth movement, we are seeing a 50 per cent increase in the number of burst water mains across our network. To counteract this, we've increased the number of teams out and about repairing leaks.
If you want to speak to us in more detail, please email community@southeastwater.co.uk
David Hinton,
Chief Executive Officer

Le Marche - Monday 29 August 2022

The Parish Council have a stall at Le Marche.   Please come along and join us.   We have a children's bee competition.   Can you find the bees hidden around Le Marche?   A small prize will be given on completion.

We also have a challenge to see how well you know the area.  A picture quiz of places in the Parish.   Can you name the correct places?

Entries will be entered into a prize draw to win raffle prizes donated by local shops. 

Free Electric Blanket Testing 

Tuesday 27th September 2022 at Heathfield Fire Station, High Street, Heathfield, TN21 0UP 

10.00am to 12.00pm Click here for more information 

Discretionary Council Tax Rebate Scheme

Discretionary scheme payments are now available to assist households which were not eligible under the national Council Tax Energy Rebate Scheme earlier this year.

yellow background with a cup of coffee, a notepad with the text tax rebate on it and a red pen beside the notepad

To receive the Discretionary Council Tax Energy Rebate Scheme payment, applicants will need to be living in bands E-H, or are not liable for council tax in bands A-D but responsible for energy bills and entitled to some benefits. All rebates are subject to earnings/capital limit.

The scheme went live on 26th July 2022 and closes to applications on 3rd October this year or sooner if funds have been exhausted.

The government has allocated a total scheme pay-out limited to £327,000 which is equivalent to 2,180 payments.

Applicants will be required to upload proof of benefit entitlement and proof of income before a one-of payment of £150 will be issued.

Councillor Neil Waller, portfolio holder for Finance and Benefits, said, “We are pleased to have already given thousands of residents living in Wealden the £150 payment which was part of the national Council Tax Rebate Scheme announced by the government.

“Starting this week, households which weren’t entitled to the national scheme due to eligibility will be able to apply for the discretionary one.”

All applications will take 10 working days to be reviewed and applications can only be made online through our portal below https://wealden.grantapproval.co.uk/

For more information regarding Ukraine please click onto the following links:-

https://new.eastsussex.gov.uk/your-council/ukraine-crisis

https://www.wealden.gov.uk/ukrainian-refugee-crisis/

Happy To Help are a group of volunteers from Kings Church who are here to support in these challenging times. If you are Ukrainian or a sponsor and need some practical help and support please get in touch. We can also put you in touch with other local groups. Please call 01435 863 786 or click here for more information / натисніть тут для отримання додаткової інформації natysnitʹ tut dlya otrymannya dodatkovoyi informatsiy

English language classes for Ukrainians

A number of English language courses are available for those Ukrainians that wish to develop their English language skills. These include:

• Learning | East Sussex Libraries

• Pre-entry ESOL programme – 11 week courses through East Sussex College Group in Hastings and Eastbourne

• Babbel - the language app, is offering free courses in English for Ukrainian refugees:

• Busuu language app is also offering its premium service free to Ukrainians for 3 months.

• Sanctuary Cafe

🕓 Fridays between 10am and midday (12pm).

📍 All Souls Church Hall, Wellesley Road, Eastbourne

• Ukrainian Café Hub

🕓 Tuesday afternoon 1-4 pm

📍 Robertson Street, Hastings – conversational English groups

• Education Training Consortium Sussex - based in Hastings and St Leonards. Currently offering Beginner-Elementary and Pre-Intermediate English lessons as well as IT lessons. Currently offering 8 classes per week. Looking to set up coffee mornings for conversational English.

• Refugee Buddy Project - based in Hastings and Rother - provide informal English conversation workshops, 1hr per week, helping with understanding bills, council tax, housing, driving theory.

For more information on education and training opportunities for Ukrainians in East Sussex, they can now visit the East Sussex College Ukraine Support website here.

Recruitment days for Ukrainian guests

Ukrainian guests can contact their Jobcentre Plus Work Coach for more information.

Host payments: change to first payment

Local boroughs or district councils are now contacting hosts to advise them how to claim their optional £350 monthly ‘thank you’ payment, funded by the national government.

East Sussex County Council and our partners want to say an additional ‘thank you’ so we’ll be topping up the first month’s payment to £500 (for those who wish to claim) in recognition of the incredible support and commitment our hosts have provided and the costs that can come with this.

Free membership with Freedom Leisure

Freedom Leisure Centres across the south east of England are currently offering Ukrainians free access to their facilities for the next 3 months, including use of the swimming pool, gym and fitness classes.

Participating centres are located across Hastings, Rother, Wealden, Brighton, Woking, Guildford and Arun.

To redeem this offer, Ukrainians should visit their local Freedom Leisure Centre where they will be able to sign up on arrival.

Sussex PCC have just launched a new app called the New Safe Space Sussex app

SPCC - Launching the Safe Space Sussex app (sussex-pcc.gov.uk)

CCTV

We are pleased to announce that the CCTV at Tower Recreation Ground and the Skatepark has now gone live. The pictures will feed direct to the Sussex  Police. We have listened to residents’ concerns about anti-social behaviour and have installed the CCTV to help alleviate the problems at these sites. 

If you picked up wildflower seeds from the Parish Council stand at Le Marche - here are the growing instructions please click here

COVID 19

 For more information regarding COVID 19 please go to our information page by clicking here