When Lindfield grandmother Carol Rieley asked councillors for a new bench on the Common she didn’t expect her request to be granted several times over!

But to Carol’s delight, visitors to the Common now have a great choice of places to sit and relax.

Carole explained how she met with Will Blunden and some of the parish and district councillors last April. “I asked whether it was possible to have a bench outside the children’s playground as, although there were seats within the play area, there were none outside for Grannies like me to sit with the dog and rest up whilst the youngsters had fun on the swings,” she said.

“Last month, there was not just the one I had suggested but all the extra seats all the way along the boundary of the Common!

“I want to say a huge thank you to both the parish and district councils. The seats are being well utilised and one rather elderly lady commented: ‘I can walk all the way round the Common as there are plenty of places to rest now.’”

Andrew Funnell, Clerk at Lindfield Parish Council, commented: “We welcome the additional benches installed by Mid Sussex District Council on Lindfield Common. The benches were installed following dialogue between representatives of both councils. The newly installed benches benefit from hardstandings and have a higher seat allowing for easier access. The Parish Council understands that S106 funds (contributions from housing developers) were utilised to help fund the project.

“In addition to the benches, work has been undertaken by MSDC on some of the footpaths on the Common. This includes the footpath at the bottom of Old School Court which has been widened. The Parish Council wishes to thank MSDC and Councillor Gary Marsh.”