This means that Mrs Bourne is now in a position to consult with residents on how much they contribute locally to Sussex Police.

She has launched a snap survey today to find out how the public would feel about a proposed average increase of 20p a week, equating to an extra £10 a year, per household.

Now is your chance to have your say. It takes just 30 seconds to complete: https://sussexpolice.researchfeedback.net/SussexOSPCCPrecept

The survey closes at midday on Thursday 30 January 2020.

Mrs Bourne said: “The overall amount of funding available for policing could be as much as £15.2bn, if all PCCs take advantage of the £10 precept flexibility. We need to focus on bringing crime down so this settlement means that PCCs can invest more into policing to tackle crime and keeping our communities safe.

“The Government quite clearly remains committed to its pledge to recruit an additional 20,000 officers - with funding for 6,000 officers by March next year included in this year’s grant.

“Residents continue to tell me they support paying more to strengthen local policing and for tougher enforcement against criminals.

“Thanks to increased levels of precept contributions, Sussex Police will have 100 extra PCSOs by March this year and 50 more specialist staff. It is also on target to recruit 250 additional police officers by 2023.

“Now we know how much funding Sussex Police is getting from Government, we know how much I need to ask for in the precept from households in the county.

“I am launching a snap survey on a proposed increase of 20 pence a week, which equates to an extra £10 a year, per household. This is a chance for residents to add their voice to the views I have already collected over the past year.”

The Australian international has signed a three-and-a-half year contract, after impressing during an initial loan spell during the first half of the season.

Mooy, who will be 30 in September, scored his second goal of the season for Brighton during the painful 3-1 loss at Bournemouth last Tuesday.

He signed a three-year contract at Huddersfield prior his loan switch to the Amex and Albion are believed to have paid a hefty loan fee to secure his services.

Reports suggest an offer in the region of £5m sealed his January deal for the player who joined the West Yorkshire team in June 2017 for £10m from Manchester City.

Head coach Graham Potter said, “We are delighted to have agreed a permanent deal with Aaron and Huddersfield. He’s been an important player for us and will have a key part to play going forward.

“We knew what Aaron would bring, and he’s proved to be an excellent addition to our squad and a great professional both on and off the pitch.”

Mooy was born in Sydney, and initially moved to England and Bolton Wanderers in 2006, joining their academy as a teenager. After two years with Bolton, at 18 he left to join SPL side StMirren, to play senior football.

After two seasons in Scotland, a four-year spell back in Australia followed. That saw stints with Western Sydney Wanderers and Manchester City’s sister club Melbourne City.

His form at the latter saw him win the Australian PFA Player of the Year. That prompted a move to England and to the Etihad to join City in 2016.

He was immediately loaned to Huddersfield, and in his first season helped the Terriers win promotion to the Premier League — alongside Albion — and was named in the PFA and EFL Championship teams of the season.

That prompted Huddersfield to make the move permanent, and Mooy was Town’s standout performer during their two-year stay in the top flight.

Extra new homes at the King Edward VII Estate near Easebourne have been emphatically rejected.

Enabling development was approved in 2011 to ensure the restoration and maintenance of a number of heritage assets at the estate. Since then a number of applications have been submitted for amendments to various parcels.

Developer Probitas submitted two applications to the South Downs National Park Authority, one for 93 dwellings on Kings Green East, and another for 18 homes at Superintendents Drive.

These proposals represented an increase from previously consented schemes for 44 and six units respectively. Both were unanimously refused by the national park’s planning committee last Thursday (January 16).

Probitas argued the new assisted living properties should be viewed as enabling development to facilitate the fitting out and use of the estate’s grade II* listed chapel as a community facility.

However national park officers found the schemes were ‘not appropriate enabling development’, with any benefits not outweighing the significant degree of harm that would be caused.

Members took issue with the ‘cramped’ 18 units arranged in two terrace rows.

Gary Marsh said: “This is urbanisation. This is what I would expect to see in a town not in the countryside.”

Meanwhile on the 11 blocks containing 93 homes, the design and massing of the buildings were criticised as well as the layout, which previously had sought to complement Kings Green.

Alun Alesbury, chairman of the committee, said: “This does look like a university campus or office park of the modern kind.”

Objectors to both schemes raised concerns about the number of parking spaces being provided, inadequate water supply for the proposed new homes, landscaping, density, design and layout.

They also said there was no justification for further enabling development in respect of the estate’s historic buildings and took issue with a lack of consultation with residents.

After the meeting objectors, while welcoming the national park’s decision, expressed concerns the developer would now lodge an appeal with the planning inspectorate.

Scott Curran, from Probitas Developments, said: “It was very disappointing that our two planning applications were rejected at the South Downs planning committee.

“Probitas has been working on plans to improve on the existing, consented development scheme and provide communal facilities to all residents from the Grade II* listed chapel for nearly two years.

“Our proposals were to amend the existing consents on Superintendents Drive and Kings Green East to create retirement cottages and apartments for over-55s, with associated services of a shop, café and bistro in the chapel. This would mean current and future residents of the King Edward VII estate would finally have access to the long-promised communal facilities, which will not now be provided next year as planned.

“While the chapel building has been made watertight it remains empty and on Historic England’s “Building at Risk Register”. This is because the chapel is not being used and cannot generate the funds needed to ensure its on-going upkeep. To secure the optimum use of the chapel as a communal hub for current and future residents, investment of over £1m as well as a long term financial commitment is required.

“The 2011 masterplan for the King Edward VII estate was not landscape-led and feedback from the South Downs independent Design Review Panel noted that our scheme was a clear improvement on the existing consents.

“Probitas and BE Midhurst Devco Ltd will be taking some time to consider these refusals and the comments made by officers, residents and committee members.”

Scrum half Alfie Spurle got his forwards moving and powering over the gainline. A strong run from impressive No8 Bradley Smith had the Uckfield defence scrambling. Ben Barker carried the ball on and the ball was moved wide for Edward Gilbert Jones on the wing to score in the corner.

Fly-half Elvis Millen was having one of his best games of the season and a beautifully judged kick saw Owen Henton regain possession. Freddie Hayes cut a strong line and the ball was moved to the rampaging Jamie Foote who scorched clear to score under the posts. Lewis Decarteret converted.

Tyrone Masaki in midfield clattered into his opposite numbers. Skipper Harrison Southerm ran the ball back and Charlie Weller smashed the ruck and the ball was moved to full-back Decarteret, who sizzled down the line to score in the corner. He converted from out wide.

Second rows Nathan Thompson and Matthew Norrell ruled the defensive line around the ruck. HT 19-0.

Bognor sent on the cavalry and after a disallowed try, George Orchard secured a tremendous turnover. Jack Trenham thundered on and Spurle put in a long pass, Charlie Jays exhibited a perfect catch and pass to winger Jacques Robinson, who skinned his opposite man to score. Decarteret converted.

Uckfield’s centre broke through but Ben Woolnough appeared from nowhere to take him down.

Owen Thomas and Josh Galea carried impressively. Uckfield infringed and Bognor’s maul took them close to the Uckfield line with Andrew Fadera crashing over to score.

Uckfield scored a well-deserved consolation try.

Bognor will play Haywards Heath in the quarter-final on Sunday, February 9.

Bognor: Jack Trenham, Harrison Southern, Charlie Weller, Josh Galea, Nathan Thompson, Mathew Norrell, Owen Thomas, George Orchard, Jamie Foote, Ben Barker, Charlie Jays, Andrew Fadera, Bradley Smith, Alfie Spurle, Elvis Millen, Owen Henton, Freddie Hayes, Tyrone Masaki, Edward Gilbert-Jones, Jacques Robinson, Ben Woolnough, Lewis Decarteret.

Chichester District Council plans to write to Ofsted to ask inspectors to look into education services at West Sussex County Council.

The decision was made after Paul Wagstaff, the county’s director of education & skills, pulled out of a meeting to discuss education in the district.

The discussion with the overview & scrutiny committee, would have included the proposed closure of three small schools in the county, Rumboldswhyke Infants, Clapham & Patching Primary, and Stedham Primary.

While Mr Wagstaff sent his apologies and agreed to attend the next meeting, in March, members felt this would be too late as the consultation into the future of the schools would almost be over.

Feelings about the proposals were already running high and Mr Wagstaff’s absence appeared to be the final straw for some.

After hearing from residents, one of whom said getting answers out of the education department was ‘like getting blood out of a stone’, the committee shared their own concerns.

There were questions about the reliability of the data provided by the county when it came to future pupil numbers in the area, while others questioned whether people could have ‘faith’ in the decisions being made at County Hall.

Sarah Sharp (Green, Chichester South) said: “This has been going on for a long time – more than six months – the public have no more confidence in West Sussex as a body to look at itself.

“It needs somebody from the outside to come in and look at it.”

Last year, Ofsted rated children’s services at the county council ‘inadequate’ – a fact highlighted by several members, including Clare Apel (Lib Dem, Chichester West).

She called for representatives of that service to also speak to the district council.

Mrs Apel said: “We have so many young people in our district who are being failed by West Sussex from both the education point of view and the children’s services point of view.

“I think we as a council are duty bound to bring both services in to really answer some very pertinent questions.”

Mrs Sharp agreed, adding: “We’ve got evidence of a culture which isn’t conducive to supporting schools, we have evidence that schools are struggling and are not getting enough support.

“Maybe it’s time for us to encourage Ofsted to come in and look at the education department.

“They’re making these huge decisions which affect many people’s lives. We don’t get answers from that department.”

Christopher Page (Con, North Mundham & Tangmere) said the way the county council predicted school numbers was ‘deeply flawed’.

And David Palmer (Con, Lavant) declared: “The more I’ve listened to this, the more I’m really, really cross that Mr Wagstaff isn’t here today.”

Members agreed to take legal advice before writing to Ofsted.

They also agreed to send a formal letter to Mr Wagstaff, laying out their concerns and the concerns of the members of the public who turned out to speak to him.

A county spokesman pointed out that Ofsted no longer inspects education as a whole, instead looking at children’s services and individual elements, such as schools.

He said the number of children in ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools ‘are the highest they have been for over three years’, with improvements made being ‘well above the national trend’.

The spokesman said Mr Wagstaff had been ‘committed to attend another important meeting’ and added: “We have a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient school places locally for every child.

“Forecasting pupil numbers is based on factors such as birth rate data, migration trends and anticipated housing numbers and we us software used by many other local authorities to give the most accurate projection possible.”

The following are the latest results contributed by HM Courts Service, for cases sentenced by West Sussex Magistrates’ Court sitting at Worthing from January 20 to 23, 2019.

Lewis Gurr-Goodban, 25, of Melville Way, Goring, admitted breaching a community order by leaving early from an unpaid work starting block session on December 21, 2019. He was dealt with for the original offence, receiving an eight-week prison sentence for possessing an unloaded air weapon, a gas powered air rifle, in the car park at the Mulberry pub in Goring on May 31, 2019. He was jailed for 16 weeks, to run consecutively, for having an offensive weapon, a snooker ball within a sock, in High Street, Tarring, on November 23, 2019.

David McLellan, 46, of Jevington Court, Kingston Lane, Shoreham, must pay £60 costs after breaching a community order by failing to attend unpaid work on November 27, 2019, and December 11, 2019. The order was varied to include an additional 20 hours’ unpaid work to the amended amount of 135 hours.

Linton Woolley, 31, of Lavinia Way, East Preston, was fined £40 and must pay £60 costs after admitting breaching supervision requirements following release from prison by failing to attend appointments on October 10 and 18, 2019, and on December 13, 2019.

Natalia Maciocha, 18, of Ashdown Road, Worthing, was discharged conditionally for 18 months and must pay £75 compensation, £21 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting assaulting an emergency worker, a police constable, at Worthing Custody Centre on December 8, 2019. She also admitted disorderly behaviour while drunk in Bridge Road, Broadwater, on December 8, 2019, no separate penalty.

Peter O’Sullivan, 68, of Hammy Way, Shoreham, was fined £230 and must pay £32 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting drink-driving (66mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath) in Eastern Avenue, Shoreham, on December 16, 2019. He was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Harvey Sayers, 18, of The Templars, Broadwater, was given a community order and must carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work after admitting failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis when required in Worthing on September 1, 2019. He must pay £90 victim surcharge, £85 costs, and was disqualified from driving for 20 months. He also admitted driving without insurance and driving without the correct licence in Beaumont Road, Worthing, on September 1, 2019, no separate penalties.

John Scott, 47, of Sea Lane, Ferring, was fined £440 and must pay £44 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting drink-driving (56mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath) in Goring Street, Goring, on December 19, 2019. He was disqualified from driving for 13 months.

Daniel Smith, 43, of Heatherstone Road, Worthing, was fined £384 and must pay £38 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting assaulting an emergency worker, a police officer, in Lancing on December 23, 2019.

The following are the latest results contributed by HM Courts Service, for cases sentenced by West Sussex Magistrates’ Court sitting at Worthing from January 20 to 23, 2019.

Katarzyna Geborys, 36, of Bedford Avenue, Bognor Regis, must pay £60 costs after admitting breaching a community order by failing to attend appointments on December 11 and 16, 2019. The order was varied to include an additional 10 hours of unpaid work, making a total of 50 hours.

Read more: HM Courts Service: Results list for November 22 to 28, 2019

Ryan Leask, 35, of Wood Street, Bognor Regis, must pay £60 costs after breaching a community order by failing to attend Building Better Relationships sessions on November 21 and 28, 2019. The order was varied to include an additional 13 days’ Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Inga Bubenane, 58, of Gravits Lane, Bognor Regis, was given a community order with Rehabilitation Activity Requirement after admitting failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis when required at Worthing Custody Centre on December 16, 2019. He must pay £90 victim surcharge, £85 costs, and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Steven Chandler, 32, c/o Priestley Way, Bognor Regis, was discharged conditionally for two years after admitting stealing a bank card in Bognor Regis on September 5, 2019; and three charges of fraud by dishonestly making a false representation, presenting a bank card belonging to another to buy goods, intending to make a gain, in Bognor Regis on September 5, 2019. He must pay £87.41 compensation, £21 victim surcharge, £40 costs.

Daniel Grace, 27, of Albert Road, Chichester, was fined £438 and must pay £43 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting drink-driving (51mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath) in Cathedral Way, Chichester, on December 15, 2019. He was fined £300 after admitting driving without insurance in Cathedral Way, Chichester, on December 15, 2019. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Christopher Jones, 64, of Heathfield Copse, West Chiltington, was fined £323 and must pay £32 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting drink-driving (100mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath) on the A283 Pulborough on December 14, 2019. He was disqualified from driving for 24 months.

Boris Todorov, 36, of Sudley Road, Bognor Regis, was fined £346 and must pay £34 victim surcharge, £85 costs, after admitting failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis when required in Bognor Regis on December 15, 2019. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Katherine Wood, 28, of Red Lion Street, Midhurst, was discharged conditionally for 12 months and must pay £21 victim surcharge after admitting being drunk in a highway, Spitalfield Lane, Chichester, on December 15, 2019.

Brennan Angelson, 19, of The Moat, Pulborough, was discharged conditionally for two years after admitting assaulting an emergency worker, a police constable, by beating in Pulborough on August 13, 2019. He must pay £50 compensation, £85 costs, after admitting damaging a vehicle in Cousins Way, Pulborough, on December 20, 2019. He also admitted breaching a conditional discharge order, no action taken.

Staff sickness figures at Chichester District Council are being monitored to make sure people aren’t working from home when they should be resting.

At a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee, members were told the number of sick days taken had fallen in the past 18 months, from almost 10 per person to just over seven.

When asked whether the ability to work from home had helped improve the figures, business support manager Joe Mildred said: “I’m sure it does help.

“Because if you are not feeling 100 per cent but you feel like you could do some work but maybe have a shorter day, then our flexible working practise for some jobs allows that.”

Mr Mildred said there had been some debate about when it was OK for staff to work from home when sick, with concerns some would not want to admit they were ill.

He added: “Ultimately, if you’re too ill to work and you need to recover, then you should have a day’s sick.

“We are trying to ensure that we aren’t masking sickness.”

Of the 7.08 days per year taken by staff on average, more than four were due to long-term illnesses. Front-line and manual staff were more likely to go sick than their colleagues.

Mr Mildred said a lot of work had been carried out over the past 18 months to look at the way staff sickness was managed.

This included the rewriting of the absence management policy ‘to remove ambiguity as much as possible’ and to make sure staff were ‘being treated on an equal playing field’.

He said there had been a particular focus on stress because the amount recorded by staff ‘had taken a worrying upturn in the previous five years’.

To tackle the rise in numbers, a stress management policy was introduced, which Mr Mildred said seemed to be working quite well.

A stress management survey was carried out with staff – but while work was often a contributing cause, it was not seen to be the root of the problem.

There were some concerns about warnings being issued to people who took long-term sickness – a warning that would stay on their record for up to a year.

Mr Mildred said the council was not questioning whether people were genuinely ill, adding everything would be done to help them back to work but ‘ultimately we need to have a fully resourced workforce’.

Between April 2018 and March 2019, the number of sick days dropped to just over six per person before rising again.

Mr Mildred told the committee: “Because we’re not a huge authority and we don’t have lots of staff, just a couple of long-term sickness really does skew the figure and does make a difference.

“The averages over time can be influenced by individual cases.”

Plans to make a temporary traveller site permanent have been rejected by Horsham District Council.

The site, in Pickhurst Lane, Pulborough, has been used by travellers since 2007, though temporary permission for them to do so was only given in 2011.

That permission was extended on appeal to December 31 2019, to allow a child living on the site to finish his education.

Planning officers recommended the application be approved, saying the council did not have the required five-year supply of land for gypsies and travellers.

But members of the planning committee disagreed when they met on Tuesday (January 21).

There were a number of concerns about the application and Paul Clarke (Con, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley) said: “Just because a council does not have a five-year land supply does not mean we should just approve the site in order to make up the numbers.”

Mr Clarke said part of the report presented to the committee was ‘slightly misleading and incomplete’ – it only detailed the planning history from 2011, omitting the years the land was being used without permission.

The meeting heard from several residents as well as Pulborough Parish Council, who spoke about smells from unsuitable sewage disposal, abusive language, noise and stone throwing.

They also reported that black smoke had been pouring from fires ‘being used to remove plastic insulation from cables’.

The meeting was told that matter would be passed to the environmental health officer for further investigation.

Members voted against extending the temporary permission to 2022.

Instead they refused the application on the grounds that the site was in an unsustainable location and had caused ‘significant harm to the landscape character of the area’.

A warning is going out to parents after police discovered ‘sickening images’ of children using catapults to kill wild birds.

Sussex Police say that there have been a number of incidents of ‘school age children’ killing birds and then sharing images on social media.

They are now urging parents to monitor their children’s behaviour and to check ‘bags and bedrooms for paraphernalia.’

A spokesman said: “Across the county border in Surrey they are experiencing problems with school age children using catapults to kill wild birds, they are also sharing sickening images on social media.

“Just in case it crosses into Sussex please keep an eye out for any evidence.

“The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects wild animals, plants and habitats. Under section 1(1) (a) of the Act it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild bird.

“To that end we are urging parents, guardians and teachers to look and listen out for behaviour like this in social media. It might also be worth checking bags and bedrooms for paraphernalia.

“Sickening images of wild birds enduring agonising deaths are being actively shared on children’s social media, in this example via Instagram and occurrences are generally under reported.

“This behaviour must stop immediately. If you have knowledge of young people actively taking part in these senseless pastimes, please send us names and school details by calling 101 or by reporting anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

“If you witness anyone using catapults please call 999 immediately so that we can attend and deal with any offences on site.”

Further training and systems have been put in place at a Loxwood doctors' surgery after the death of a 30-year-old patient, an inquest has heard.

Hamish Hardie died at his home in Harsfold Lane, Billinghurst on August 16, last year, after accidentally overdosing on medication for severe back pain, he received at Loxwood Medical Practice.

An inquest at Crawley Coroner's Court on Thursday (January 23) heard how Mr Hardie, a public relations consultant, was 'on the road to recovery' after a history of drug dependency, but died following an 'unfortunate error'.

Mr Hardie's mother Mary-Anne, who was in charge of her son's medication, told the inquest that he was given a prescription of dihydrocodeine and diazepam but the dosage was not written on the bottle.

She said: "I collected the prescription and it said use as directed on the bottle. The prescription was not written on the bottle. It didn't say how much to use.

"It was a mistake that could have been avoided if the proper dosage was on the bottle.

"I checked the prescription label but I relied on Hamish to tell me what the direction was. In retrospect, I should have called the hospital.

"I kept his medication locked away because of his previous issues. He had no access to it. If I went out, I took both keys with me. I was aware of the dangers."

'Lack of experience' behind absence of instructions on prescription

The inquest heard that Mr Hardie was treated by doctor Carlos Novo, who said he was in the third year as a trainee GP, working under the supervision of doctor Emma Woodcock.

Ms Hardie said she was not party to any discussions her son had with Dr Novo, who she met once in the waiting room after finding out he had seen her son instead of Dr Woodcock as planned.

Giving evidence at the inquest, Dr Novo said he didn't know Ms Hardie was in charge of her son's medication, and didn't know if he had consent to speak to her about his dosage.

Dr Novo said he wasn't aware of the patient's drug history because it wasn't clearly marked in his medical notes.

He added: "He was in a lot of discomfort. I tried to understand the pain complaints and I looked for any red flags.

"I had discussions with Dr Woodcock about how we could move the treatment forward and we agreed on what medication to give him."

After being questioned by Karen Henderson, the assistant coroner for West Sussex, Dr Novo admitted that he did 'have the capability' and it was his responsibility to write the full the prescription on the bottle but a 'lack of experience' may have led to him not doing so.

Mrs Henderson told Dr Novo that he had 'a duty of care' to ensure a controlled drug was administered correctly. Dr Novo said since Hamish's death, he has endeavoured to 'develop my understanding'.

Medical practice to make changes

Dr Woodcock, a GP trainer and doctor of 20 years, explained that there was a template system in place, where 'use as directed' or abbreviations including OD, meaning once a day, were used. She revealed that changes to this system have been made with all staff instructed to write the full prescription.

Dr Woodcock said she 'wasn't familiar' with the patient and wasn't aware of his current medical situation prior to discussions with Dr Novo.

She added that the day Hamish was first seen by Doctor Novo was 'particularly busy', and she was trying to 'manage the workload'.

She added: "If it hadn't have been, I may not have asked Carlos to see that patient. If I had known his history, I would have seen him myself.

"The first change [we will make] is that any alert is highlighted on the front cover of the medical notes."

A post mortem examination found that the cause of death was 1A drug overdose after suffering a prolapsed disk.

It said morphine was detected in the blood showing severe toxicity, whilst there were 'extremely consistent' signs of respiratory depression, leading to respiratory arrest.

Mrs Henderson said there was 'no dispute' about the confusion over what doses should have been given but she was unable to reach a conclusion without an opinion of an independent medical expert.

'This needs to be considered nationally'

Following the inquest, which was adjourned, Tim Deeming of Tees law released a statement on behalf of the family.

He said: "The coroner has now heard part of the evidence in relation to the inquest and will be considering further opinions to enable her to reach a conclusion.

"Hamish was a devoted son, brother, uncle and great friend to many and is dearly missed. Hamish graduated from Leeds Uni with a 2:1 in international history and politics and then worked in public affairs and business.

"It is reassuring to hear that further training and systems have been put in place at the GPs' but we remain concerned that this needs to be considered nationally to ensure that such tragic circumstances do not arise again, and that patient safety is enhanced, given that such events could sadly be repeated elsewhere."

West Sussex could end up worse off under the government’s fair funding review, county councillors have been warned.

The review, which will affect how much money each local authority receives from the government, is due this year but may not bring good news.

While presenting his draft budget for 2020/21, Jeremy Hunt, cabinet member for finance, told a scrutiny committee on Wednesday: “We’re proposing to prepare a strongly evidenced document, clearly setting out how West Sussex has suffered disproportionately large reductions in our government funding since 2010.

“We intend to demonstrate how it is imperative to reverse that trend in order to properly fund all our services, including highways.”

Mr Hunt said the county’s MPs had agreed to ‘campaign strongly’ of behalf of West Sussex.

The draft budget included plans for a council tax rise of 3.99 per cent, two per cent of which would be spent on adult social care.

This would add £55.20 to a Band D bill, taking it from £1,383.57 to £1,438.74. Any increases proposed by district and borough councils as well as Sussex Police would go on top.

Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne launched a survey on Thursday (January 23) to gauge public feeling about a 20p per week/£10 per year rise.

In December, Mr Hunt warned the council there would be a £2.2m budget gap in 2020/21 but that the aim was ‘to present a balanced budget without the use of reserves’.

While acknowledging the draft budget had been ‘set against a backdrop of a very challenging year’, he confirmed to the scrutiny committee that that aim had been achieved.

It wasn’t all cheery news, though. The need to improve the county’s struggling children’s and fire services saw the 2019/20 budget ring up an overspend of £7.4m.

Mr Hunt said this had been covered using money from the budget management reserve. While this was ‘far from ideal’, he said there were plans to rebuild the reserves by around £9m over next four years.

Paying for those improvements is by no means over and another £12m was included in the draft budget for children’s services with another £2.6m for the fire service.

Mr Hunt said: “One of the challenges in preparing the budget was the lack of any certainty to our government funding until just before Christmas when the provisional finance settlement was finally confirmed.

“There was welcome funding announced but once again it was for one year only, which makes any long-term planning very difficult.”

It’s certainly been a rough year for West Sussex and Mr Hunt was well aware of the need to plan for possible challenges still to come.

As such, he doubled the contingency budget – which cushions the impact of unexpected events or emergencies – to £6.8m.

While the 2020/21 budget position was presented as balanced, the papers showed a huge gap of £45m between 2021 and 2024, assuming a council tax rise of 1.99 per cent.

The draft budget will be considered by the cabinet on Tuesday before being put to a meeting of the full council on February 14 for final approval.

More than £50,000 of prize money is on offer at Fontwell Park on Sunday as the Sussex venue prepares for its first meeting of the new decade. The seven-race card gets under way at 1.20pm and finishes with the 4.20pm. The Racing Post have previewed all the action with stats and analysis.

The feature contest is the £10,711 Mansionbet Proud To Support British Racing Handicap Hurdle over two miles and one furlong (3.20pm). Sussex handler Gary Moore is no stranger to success at his local track and is the winning-most trainer at Fontwell Park in the past five seasons with 60 wins from 339 runners.

He saddles Aiguille Rouge in the big race of the day who is a former course and distance winner. The six-year-old was sixth at the track on Boxing Day, but this race is not beyond his scope with Jamie Moore in the saddle, who has ridden three winners from 14 runners in the past fortnight.

Chris Gordon is another trainer with an excellent record at Fontwell and he runs Itsonlyrocknroll in the feature contest. The eight-year-old has plenty to find on ratings, but looked rejuvenated when scoring at Wincanton last time after wind surgery.

Newmarket trainer Amy Murphy has enjoyed one winner eight runners at Fontwell and saddles the unexposed Marlbourgh Sands in the 3.20pm. He has finished in the placings in a pair of novice hurdles since moving over from Ireland and is of interest on his first start in handicap company for the yard.

Gary Moore is represented elsewhere at Fontwell, including by the unexposed Et Moi Alors in the Jamie Snowden Racing Club Maiden Hurdle (4.20pm). The son of Kap Rock is yet to win in 11 starts over hurdles but shaped well on his first start this term at Sandown in December and a race of this nature is will within his compass over two miles and three furlongs.

Colin Tizzard has a fine record at Fontwell with 59 runners at the track overall. Currently operating at a 17% strike-rate, he runs the progressive Beaufort West who should be a warm order for the Best Odds Guaranteed At MansionBet “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle (2.20pm). The six-year-old bolted up by eight lengths at Chepstow earlier this month following wind surgery and whilst he has to defy a penalty, he looks to have the right materials to do so.

Fontwell selections:

1.20pm Paul Humes Memorial Handicap Hurdle (Div I) 2m 5f 164y SKY

Tip: No Trumps

1.50pm Paul Humes Memorial Handicap Hurdle (Div II) 2m 5f 164y SKY

Tip: King Cool

2.20pm Best Odds Guaranteed At MansionBet "National Hunt" Novices' Hurdle 2m 1f 162y SKY

Tip: Beaufort West

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Designs for new temporary accommodation for the homeless on the outskirts of Chichester have been revealed.

Chichester District Council is looking to demolish an existing single-storey bungalow in Freeland Close and build a 17 flats in an L-shaped building.

MH Architects has submitted a planning application for the scheme on its behalf.

The short-stay temporary accommodation would serve as an extension of services currently provided at Westward House, which is run and managed by CDC housing services.

The current single-storey building has been used by CDC to meet the needs of homeless households since it was purchased from housing association Affinity Sutton.

The purpose of the application is to provide a new residential unit which ‘will fit in well with the existing context and location in order to provide a greater number of short stay accommodation units’.

The proposed development has been designed as three attached blocks. The first would house nine self-contained studios, while blocks two and three would include four self-contained flats and four studios.

The application concludes: “The design team as a whole have worked in conjunction with Chichester District Council through pre-application consultation and design consultants to create a new development which responds respectfully and appropriately to its surrounding context.

“The architectural language responds positively to the setting of the site, the immediate neighbours and both close and distant views.

“The proposals represent a dwelling type and accommodation designed for their time. The building will be highly sustainable incorporating high levels of insulation on a fabric first approach with interior spaces that accommodate the needs of end users.”

To comment visit www.chichester.gov.uk/planning using code 19/03139/FUL.

The last breeder of dahlias in Britain has asked for permission to build a house at his nursery to help deter thieves.

Philip Godsmark, of Ryecroft Nursery, in Storrington, applied to Horsham District Council to build a three-bedroom, chalet-style house, which would allow him to live at the site.

Members of the planning committee south were told the nursery had been targeted by thieves in the past, with equipment and new varieties of dahlia tubers among the things stolen.

While officers felt the application should be refused, saying there was no functional evidence the house was needed or that the business was viable, the committee was not so sure.

Nigel Jupp (Con, Billingshurst) said the council should ‘celebrate and encourage’ the business, while former farmer Kate Rowbottom (Con, Billingshurst) added: “I think it needs an injection of good luck, good will and good everything, and I think we ought to grant it.”

There was also plenty of support from the public.

Speaking in favour of the plan, Robert Schiller said Mr Godsmark was ‘renowned through the world for what he does’.

He added: “One of the reasons the business hasn’t been allowed to expand is simply because when your stock is stolen, when items and machinery have been stolen, you have little incentive to carry on.”

Good will, though, is not a planning issue and councillors were keen to give Mr Godsmark every opportunity to provide all the information needed to prove to the officers that his business was viable.

Several suggested giving temporary permission to see how things panned out – but were told that was not what was being considered.

In the end, council leader Ray Dawe came up with a solution.

He said: “I think we’re in a dilemma here. We want to support a business but we don’t have the robust evidence enough to go for this particular application.

“If more robust evidence can be produced, then I think it’s perfectly reasonable for us to defer it and give an opportunity for this applicant to come forward again with that information, then we can make a further decision when we’ve got that.”

Committee members agreed and the application was deferred.

Children from Littlehampton and Rustington have sung at The O2 Arena in London as part of Young Voices 2020.

The concerts form the largest school choir in the world and among those taking part were five schools from our area, Summerlea CP School, Rustington Community Primary School, Georgian Gardens Primary School, White Meadows Primary Academy and East Preston Junior School.

Teacher Dave Burrows, music lead at Summerlea, organised a singing day for the five schools on January 11, to help everyone prepare, though they were not all taking part in Young Voices on the same day.

He said: “The get-together was an opportunity for the children to all come together and rehearse the songs with each other. This was the first time we all pulled together like this and it was great fun.”

Summerlea took 54 members of its Glee Club to The O2 for the concert on Thursday, January 23.

Mr Burrows said: “There were 8,452 children, all singing together. It was a huge undertaking, it was massively tiring but so rewarding and so worthwhile.

“For the concert, they use lots of coloured lights and everyone is so focused because it has the feeling of a really big performance.”

Tassia Wormald, 10, was taking part for a second time.

She said: “Last year seemed different, because I didn’t know what it was and how the atmosphere was going to be. This year, it was really good. I felt I was back there and I was singing my heart out, knowing it was the last time I would be able to take part.

“Sometimes you might forget some words but it is nice to sing everything and there are little microphones so they pick up your voice.

“You get a little wristband and a torch. You see the children waving the lights around and they look like stars.”

Ali Gadelrab, 10, was also taking part for a second time. He said he had been to concerts at The O2 before, so he knew what the venue was like, but sitting up on the upper tier was quite an experience.

He said: “When you go to your seat, you think you are going to fall.”

He really enjoyed the day but found it quite tiring and struggled to stay awake in the coach on the way home.

Ali said: “I came home and just went straight to bed, I didn’t even get into my pyjamas. I just brushed my teeth and went.”

Caitlen Wilkinson-Smith, eight, has sensitive ears but said she was so excited at the concert, she did not need her ear defenders.

She said: “It was my first time and I was really excited. I was not expecting it to be that big at all.”

This year’s main artists were Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet, The Shires and Ruti, who won the seventh series of The Voice UK.

Mr Burrows said: “Ruti was an inspiration for them as she sang in Young Voices 10 years ago and now she was back as a big act.”

Andy Instone from street dance company Urban Strides was also there to inspire the children.

Mr Burrows said: “He was an amazing motivator for the children. They have to rehearse for two hours and everyone is tired, but he gets everyone up and dancing again.”

The chances of becoming a professional female footballer are slim – so imagine turning down the opportunity to become one.

That’s exactly what former Tottenham Hotspur player Maya Vio did when she left the same club she joined as a nine-year-old last year – the same year they earned their first-ever promotion to the professional top-flight.

The now 22-year-old had to make a decision between her medicine career or her future in football and after desperately trying to juggle the two, decided that her first-ever passion would become her ultimate sacrifice.

Commuting from St George’s Hospital in Tooting to Enfield four times a week, the pain was too much.

Vio found herself losing weight and struggling mentally. meaning something just had to give.

“Full-time medicine and training four times a week just doesn’t work sadly – I loved it so much, but I was burning the candle at both ends and I just couldn’t cope,” said Vio, who grew up in Southgate, north London.

“It took me two hours to get from Tooting to training and I remember it was such an ordeal to get there that when I arrived, I thought ‘oh my god how am I actually going to do the training now’.

“I’d get home past midnight and then have to get up before 7am to go back into work and it wasn’t healthy.

“I wasn’t taking care of my own body, I was running around so much that I was losing weight and I wasn’t even getting much playing time towards the end.”

Vio broke into a team playing third-tier football at a time when it was impossible to even dream that women would be playing for prize money in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League in 2020.

Last season she entered the fourth year of her degree while Spurs were vying for promotion from the Championship but because of her circumstances, appearances were limited.

With a Spurs-mad mother; Munna and a former semi-pro father; Massimo, football was running through her veins from birth and Vio was even scouted by the late Glenn Weaver – the man credited as the founder of Tottenham’s women’s team.

With such a strong bond to the club it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to call time on it but restrictions placed on medical students mean that Vio could have only deferred her studies for one year before returning to complete them.

After a brief hiatus from playing, the picture became clearer – although if she knew how far the sport would progress things may well have been different.

“It was a big decision at the time for sure and that took a lot out of me,” she said.

“I had a two-week break and I felt much better, I gained weight and my mind was rested and the results were good, but it didn’t last and that’s when I knew I couldn’t do both.

“So I set up a meeting with the managers and told them that I needed a break and I couldn’t do two things I love at the same time because I ended up resenting both of them.

“When I was playing third-tier football, the thought of being a professional never even crossed my mind.

“I couldn’t just throw four years of medicine away but if I was at that age now and knew it would have been possible to go pro – then I would have played football and started a career in medicine afterwards.”

“I would love to get into football-medicine when I progress. Maybe I could work at a club in the future.”

On Saturday the best distance runners in the south - including many from Chichester - will be converging on Hampstead Heath for the iconic South of England cross country championships at Parliament Hill, considered to be the home of English cross country running.

Over the years the event has witnessed some of the memorable sights of athletics from the heroics of a precocious David Bedford winning the senior and junior races on the same day 50 years ago to, more recently, Mo Farah first making his mark as a talented teenager in the 1990s.

Saturday’s action starts with the under-15 boys at 11am and will culminate with the massed start of the senior race with 2000 runners charging up the first hill at the start of their nine miles through mud and over ditches, one of the memorable sights in the nation’s athletics calendar.

West Sussex is home to a wide variety of protected beauty spots – but half of them have been found to be in a poor state, new analysis shows.

Official inspections by Natural England at the county’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) found conditions at 50 per cent of them to be unsatisfactory.

SSSIs are protected areas for nature conservation and can cover anything from breeding grounds for rare species to peatland.

In West Sussex, several harbours, beaches, estuaries, forests and parks have earned the designation from Natural England – including Cissbury Ring north of Worthing and Amberley Wildbrooks near Pulborough.

SSSIs in England are divided into units, which are monitored and assessed as either being favourable – which means they are in a healthy state and are being conserved by appropriate management – or unfavourable, meaning they are in an unsatisfactory state.

Of the 414 assessed units in West Sussex, 207 have been categorised as unfavourable, analysis from JPIMedia’s data unit has found.

While many SSSIs are privately-owned or managed, others are cared for by public bodies or non-governmental organisations.

The figures for West Sussex mirror the picture across England.

There are 4,111 SSSIs in England, divided into 21,359 separate units. Of these, 53 per cent have been rated ‘unfavourable’ (11,306).

Guidelines state SSSI features should be assessed at least every six years, but analysis found more than half of the sites (58 per cent) have not been assessed since 2011.

Findings are ‘shocking’

Paul de Zylva, of Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s shocking that our top wildlife sites are in such poor condition.

“The failure to protect and restore these vital nature havens has been going on for far too long.

“The number of SSSIs recorded as being in decent condition has been hovering around the 50 per cent mark for a decade or more.

“If we can’t even protect the jewels in the crown, it’s little wonder that UK nature is in such poor shape.

“The new government must make the protection and restoration of our natural environment a top priority.”

Kate Jennings, the RSPB’s head of site conservation policy, said the current state of SSSI’s was ‘shocking’.

She said: “Many have not been assessed for years so the actual picture may in fact be worse.

“If our governments are serious about tackling the climate and nature emergencies we need a huge step change in action, and it needs to happen now.”

Nikki Williams, The Wildlife Trust’s director of campaigns and policy, called for statutory agencies Natural England and the Environment Agency to receive ‘substantial increases in their funding to enable them to carry out their functions effectively’ and to ‘ensure our protected sites are restored and enhanced, contributing to a Nature Recovery Network and a wilder future’.

This newspaper spoke to some of the landowners of West Sussex’ beauty spots to find out what work was underway to improve conditions.

Hopes for improved rating at Cissbury Ring

‘Excellent progress’ has been made in improving part of a north Worthing beauty spot which had been rated unfavourable, according to the National Trust.

Cissbury Ring, a much-loved walking destination which falls within the boundaries of the Adur, Arun and Worthing districts, is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and split into four units, three of which have been rated unfavourable.

Two of the units are owned by the National Trust.

Of these, one is in favourable condition and while the other has been rated unfavourable, Charlie Cain, National Trust area ranger, said there had been a lot of ‘hard work’ to improve its condition.

He said: “This unit was last assessed in July, 2013, and the issues highlighted then were under-grazing as a result of a lack of water for grazing animals on the site, which has always been an issue due to the height of the site.

“Since that last assessment we have restored grazing, with New Forest ponies, following a scheme to install water troughs.

“With this grazing, alongside some volunteer-supported scrub clearance, there has been some excellent progress in improving the condition and we are seeing a recovery in species such as Adonis and Chalkhill Blue butterflies there.

“Natural England will re-assess at some point and we hope that there will be an improvement in the rating, following this hard work.”

Describing the land at Cissbury Ring, Mr Cain said centuries of continuous grazing had produced ‘a wonderful habitat for butterflies and flowers’.

Rare plants, such as the round headed rampion, known as the ‘Pride of Sussex’, also thrive at the chalk grassland.

Mr Cain said the National Trust worked closely with Natural England and that its work at the site was part-funded by the Higher Level Stewardship scheme.

He said: “We want to work together at a landscape scale, with all our partners and communities at Cissbury Ring, as this is our best chance to care for this remarkable landscape and find solutions to conserve nature and heritage for future generations.”

Conditions are recovering at Amberley Wildbrooks

Elsewhere in the county, the Amberley Wildbrooks SSSI is a lowland grazing marsh adjacent to the River Arun in Pulborough, which falls within both the Chichester and Horsham district.

The SSSI designation covers land owned by the RSPB, private land owners and the Sussex Wildlife Trust, which owns The Amberley Wildbrooks Nature Reserve.

Dan Ross, director of land management at Sussex Wildlife Trust, said the land was an active floodplain during heavy rainfall and was drained via a network of ditches throughout the site.

Within these ditches was a good diversity of flowers, including one nationally rare plant cut grass leersia oryzoides, as well as several uncommon insects such as the lesser whirlpool ramshorn snail anisus vorticulus and downy emerald dragonfly cordulia aenea.

Amberley Wildbrooks also provides important habitat for wintering and breeding birds including a nationally significant number of overwintering teal, shoveler and Bewick’s swans and one of the best sites for breeding redshank, he said.

The presence of Bewick’s swans combined with the overwintering assemblage means that Amberley is included within the Arun Valley Special Protection Area.

The SSSI as a whole is divided up into 14 units, of which 11 have been rated as unfavourable by Natural England. Mr Ross said the Amberley Wildbrooks Nature Reserve consists of six of the units making up the SSSI.

He said: “The most recent assessment by Natural England found that the units under Sussex Wildlife Trust and RSPB management are recovering due to increased investment from both charities.

“In addition, Sussex Wildlife Trust has worked hard to obtain grant income from agri-environmental schemes such as Higher Level Stewardship, to help improve habitat management on site.”

Mr Ross added: “Sussex Wildlife Trust closely monitors wildlife on site through its own ecologists, together with a network of specialists, as part of a long-term ecological monitoring strategy.

“Sussex Wildlife Trust also has an independent external advisory body called the Conservation Committee made up of regional and national experts in nature conservation to ensure robust feedback on the recovery of the SSSI.”

SEE MORE: Children from Littlehampton and Rustington sing at The O2 Arena in London

Alert after police discover ‘sickening images’ of children killing wild birds

A Sussex Police inspector has been dismissed after engaging in sexual activity with vulnerable women on duty, the force said.

Inspector Tony Lumb chose not to appear before an independently-chaired misconduct hearing at Sussex Police HQ on Friday (January 24), to face allegations that he had breached standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy; duties and responsibilities; and discreditable conduct, police said.

The panel heard that he had formed inappropriate relationships with five vulnerable women and acted inappropriately on several occasions, when he engaged in sexual activity while on duty, said Sussex Police.

The panel found the majority of the allegations proven, confirmed police, but found insufficient evidence with regard to one of the women he was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with.

Insp Lumb was suspended at the point of allegations coming to light in 2017, police said, and the case was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) for a full investigation.

In 2018, the IOPC subsequently directed Sussex Police to progress a gross misconduct hearing following a review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The CPS concluded that there was no criminal case to answer, police said, but it was then subject to a further review following a victim’s right to appeal.

The appeal was not upheld, at which point Sussex Police were able to commence arrangements for the misconduct hearing.

Chief Superintendent Lisa Bell, head of Sussex Police’s professional standards department, said: “We expect the highest possible standards of our officers and staff and we take any report of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously.

“Tony Lumb’s behaviour is a violation of the trust that the public put in the police to serve and protect them.

“He has let down victims and his colleagues who carry out an enormous amount of good work with victims of serious offences every day. He has let down Sussex Police, the people of Sussex and vulnerable victims who must be able to trust those they turn to for help.

“Protecting vulnerable people is a key priority for Sussex Police and we have a responsibility to recognise abuse of power as a distinct area of corruption which deflects from the honourable work of our officers.

“For any member of the police service to pursue a sexual or improper relationship with a member of the public by using their role to gain an advantage is an abuse of their position and a form of serious corruption.”

Addressing the matter of the long period of suspension in this investigation, Ch Supt Bell said: “Suspension is a neutral act and can be done for a number of reasons - primarily to ensure the integrity of an investigation, prevent interference with evidence or witnesses or because it is in the public interest to do so.

“Suspension must be considered on a case by case basis - not least because the officers are being paid to work from taxpayers funds - and the alleged breaches of the standards of professional behaviour must be taken into account. However, sometimes, as on this occasion where the investigation was led by another agency and was also the subject of a criminal investigation, the time taken to conclude matters is not within our control.

“Similarly, the policy around payment while suspended is governed by terms and conditions set out in law by Parliament, known as Police Regulations.”