Chairman’s update
Councillor Chris Hersey Firstly, I need to report the sad death of our colleague, parish councillor Chris Hersey. Chris was a highly valued member of our parish council for many years and his fantastic insight into local issues was greatly appreciated by all those who knew him. Chris was the chairman of our parish planning committee and was also elected as a Mid Sussex District Council Member from 1984 to 2019. He acted as the Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council from 2001 to 2003. Many of you would have been lucky enough to come into contact with Chris through his dedicated work with a considerable number of local groups over the years. These ranged from district police community liaison to being a governor on primary and senior schools in the area. I personally always valued his good-natured and skilled input into our parish issues and he will be greatly missed by all of us. We are privileged that he served on our parish council for so many years.

Clerk’s update
By Santi Gil, Clerk to Lindfield Rural Parish Council

As our chairman has stated the sad loss of Cllr. Christopher Hersey, we wish Margaret (his wife and fellow LRPC Councillor) and his family our heartfelt condolences. Recently Christopher and Margaret were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Commendation from Mid Sussex District Council as part of their Mid Sussex Applauds event. This was for the nearly four decades of dedicated work for local communities and councils, that Chris and Margaret have performed. Our chairman Cllr. Trevor Webster presented this award to them in late January, at our full council meeting. This was indeed a fantastic accolade for them both and one they received with great pride.

Annual residents’ meeting

We are holding our annual residents’ meeting on 18th May at the Millennium Centre in Scaynes Hill. This is an opportunity for you to meet the parish councillors and parish staff and to raise issues and ideas with them. The meeting will start at 8pm and finish by 10pm with light refreshments being served. We will have a range of short presentations from subject experts including:
• Greener gardens
• Our new dark skies policy
• What and when to recycle
• Crime prevention and vehicle speeding statistics
• Our achievements this year and plans next year
• Residents’ opportunity to raise issues and ideas

We have a limited number of allotment plots that have just become available, so if you are an LRPC resident, you can apply for a plot and get ready for growing in summer. Please contact the details below if you wish to apply. LRPC meetings are held in person at Walstead Chapel and dates for these meetings can be viewed on our website at www.lindfieldrural-pc.gov.uk: feel free to come and along. You can telephone or email myself or Sarah about any issues you have or make an appointment to see us at the office (Chapel).