Goring News

Eirene Road
A new planning application has been submitted for the area round the Yacht Club, incorporating also the land in Eirene Avenue, Baloos which apparently will be taken over, and the Yacht Club moved into the dinghy park. The style is very similar to the previous application and is still too high, too obtrusive onto the sea wall, and definitely not in keeping with the low density housing of the rest of the area. We have submitted our objections.

A protest meeting is being held at the Yacht Club 10.30 Saturday 12 November
(updated 7 Nov 06)

Note the change for GRA Meeting Thursday 16th November 6.30pm
The meeting on 16th November will be a combined meeting with the Goring-by-Sea Action Group and will start at 6.30pm in St Mary's Hall.

The meeting will start with a presentation by the Action Group on the steps that have been taken to combat vandalism, graffiti, and joy-riding in Goring.

The second half of the evening starting at 7.50pm will be a complete change of style and will be 'Music that Goeth with a Wheel' by Bryan Somerville.

Normal meetings start at 7.30pm and for next year are:
15 February 2007 - Parham and the Pearsons - Caroline Adams
15 March 2007 - A Gallery of Inn Signs - Joan Watson
19 April 2007 - AGM - and - Cartooning and Me - Peter Pfeil
(updated 7 Nov 06)

Accident at Ilex Way / Aldsworth Avenue
A young man drove a car along Ilex Way and forgot to brake; shot across Aldsworth Avenue into a brand wall and wrought-iron fence; across the flower bed and into a car in the drive. What a mess. They did get his name and address, not that helps with the damage.
(updated 8 Nov 06)

Tree threat closes Ilex Avenue
A very big and beautiful Ilex Holm Oak has a serious split in the main stem and Ilex Avenue Has been closed just at Aldsworth Avenue. The good news is that cars will not any more be able to drive up the avenue. The not so good news is that pedestrians and their dogs will have to risk it and stride over the barrier, or take a short diversion. The dangerous tree will be lopped soon.

We gather, contrary to local opinion, that ivy climbing up trees does not do much harm and it does look pretty. We also gather that the lopped tree near the pavilion in Fernhurst recreation ground will probably survive, though it doesn't look too well at the moment.
(updated 8 Nov 06)

Hovercraft off Worthing
On the Sunday morning, the day the clocks went back, at 7.30 when all the dog walkers were already out, a hovercraft came past from the West towards Newhaven, quite close to the shore. Gosh these things are noisy. It must have woken anyone who was still abed.
(updated 8 Nov 06)

Also on Highdown
The Highdown Vineyard seems to be doing well and producing good wine. Worth a visit.

Not so good was the fire in a barn at the the farm up the slopes of Highdown which closed Titnore Lane for some hours.
(updated 7 Nov 06)

Adur and Worthing merger
A consultant is being hired to work out the nitty gritty of the proposed merger of all or some functions of Adur and Worthing. There are mixed views on this.
(updated 7 Nov 06)

Dome Cinema Re-opening
All being well, The Dome Cinema will re-open before Christmas. It is certainly looking very smart already.
(updated 7 Nov 06)

New Community Forum
We have a community forum which contains items of local interest, and to which you can join and contribute your news and comments
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Goring-by-Sea/

Once you have filled in the short form to join, you can sign-in for the first time, and thereafter you will go straight to the latest news items. You have options to have just the subject line, or the first three lines, or the whole text. The full text display option has a useful REPLY option which keeps your reply right next to the original item. There is advertising (someone has to pay for this!) and you may find it better if you display the forum on your full screensize.

If you wish you can decide to have each new news-item sent to you to your Email address. Note that news items are also repeated here if you find it easier, and you can still contact us with your comments.

When posting you should read through your material very carefully as mistakes are difficult to correct. If the mstake is minor, just leave it; we will understand what you are saying. If the mistake will really confuse the readers, please resubmit the whole message and the websmaster will delete the previous version.

Better bypass for Chichester
It looks like Chichester's got the thumbs up for improvements to its bypass. That's set to happen in five years time - along with three new safety junctions for the A24.

But Arundel's been left out of the government's latest roads list.

Highways Councillor Tex Pemberton says getting two are a good start.

Trees dying in Sea Lane Ferriing Walking down Sea Lane, Ferring, you will have noticed that nearly all the trees bordering the Goring Gap are dying. One has already been blown over onto the field; others will follow. There are some dead at Whitebeam woods, and I gather there are a lot more at The Gallops. It is a worry.

They tell me that a dead tree will probably stand for five years before the roots rot away and the tree falls over.

Hospital Ratings
Worthing and Southlands Hospitals won two stars in the ratings. Neither Brilliant, nor Poor. Congratulations anyway

Brighton Spike
The very tall I-360 tower is to go ahead on the site of the old West Pier in Brighton. There is discussion on what it will be nicknamed - I-360 is not very memorable. Brighton Spike is my best suggestion.

The Spinaker tower at Portsmouth is doing well, and a on a fine morning is proving a very popular attraction

Roadside Memorials
The council will now be removing roadside memorials after 12 weeks. Other councils remove theirs in 14 or 28 days. The relatives do indeed have our sympathy, but not for extended periods.

This is associated with the problem we have with people who put up planning notices, lost cat notices, happy birthday banners, garage sale notices, and then do not take them down. Lets keep Goring Tidy. Saving Water I left a message with Southern Water asking them for a 'hippo' bag to put into the toilet cistern. It arrived after a month - perhaps they were out of stock. They save one litre per flush, and my house has 20 flushes a day. Interestingly my plumber is against the idea. The cistern is designed to do the correct job. Anyway it would be easier to bend the ball-valve rod. Anyway, the hippo is now immersed and we shall see.

I have a whole water-butt full of grey water saved during the drought. I use it for washing the car; and for watering plants in the greenhouse. Can't think of anything else.

Mobile Phones and Laptops
Now every child seems to have a mobile phone, and many now have laptop computers, it comes as no surprise that the largest theft and mugging incidents now involve these two expensive and desirable objects.

The advice is good. Do not display either device when carrying them in public places.

Speed Cameras
There are several anti-speed-camera groups now. One of them destroyed the camera post on the A259 Littlehampton Road in Ferring. Cameras seem to be another form of stealth tax - while there is no doubt that a crash at high speed is more destructive than a crash at low speed, in fact only 5% of accidents are caused by speed, the most common by far being lack of driver attention to the road.

And cameras are no good for catching joy-riders, not only speeding, but no tax, insurance, or driving licence.

WBC Core Strategy
Following up from the display at the Guilbourne Centre, and the proposals suggested at that time for the improvement of Worthing town centre, WBC have now published three thick manuals "Core Strategy and Unblocking Development Potential" together with a "Sustainability Appraisal". Copies are at the Goring Library.

I would be interested to hear your views on these rather dense documents. Contact us

Associated with this, try:
www.worthingevolution.com/
www.tevillegateregeneration.org/

High Tides for Goring
There was a very high tide Sunday 9 Oct. The peak was at 12.49pm on Sunday 6.8 metres but the F8 gale force winds abated so no real damage was done. Tides are on here: (remember to set the summer time offset for 1 hour ahead)
http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/EasyTide/index.aspx
or you can get a free tide table from the Beach Office next to The Lido

Stones on the grass
Letter in the Sentinel 19 Sept by Steve Davies

I walk my dog on the Greensward every morning before work. These early morning strolls turn into a stone gathering exercise, with the whole ones being returned to the beach, and the broken ones disposed of safely.

The problem arises from visitors utilising the pebbles for goalposts, barbecue bases etc. They then leave them on the green for the tractor grasscutter to slice into razor-sharp flints, ideal for cutting the feet of unsuspecting children and dogs.

Also high on the list of offending items are serated bottletops. Are the revellers aware of the problems they cause, or do they just not care? I suspect the later.
Steve Davies Falmer Avenue

Follow up letter by Richard Waller

Steve Davis tells it well (letters 19 Sept) about stones on the Greensward. It worries me that the litter-pickers from the gardening contractors, who do such a good job on the litter, leave the stones. Despite the fact that they will ruin the blades on their own grass- cutter. And sometimes the stones are so thickly spread that it really needs a man with a bucket and shovel to put them back on the beach.

The random stones worry me. I saw a man throw stones from the beach onto the grass for his Alsation to chase. The dog gave them a good lick and then ran off after the next stone. I followed 50 yards behind picking all the stones up and throwing them back on the beach. Then of course my dog goes and retrieves those stones off the beach and brings them back to me.
Richard Waller Sea Lane

New red sign-boards in the Ilex
We have no less than eight smart new, red, signs along the Ilex Avenue. They look pretty good. A few too many words perhaps.

No mention of galloping horses, which are a real danger, but you are expressly asked not to practice golf along the Avenue. Not that we have ever seen anyone doing this. The mind boggles. It is about 1500 yards from one end to the other, and this would mean that par would be about 10. I must get my clubs out and try it.

Lots of rain in September
With over three inches of rain, September was the wetest for some years. Some very heavy showers, and because of the falling leaves blown down by the strong winds, some nasty puddles on the roads. We couldn't see the tornado off Brighton from here, but the effect was the same.

To think that back in August we were complaining about too much sun, though in fact the wind was quite strong each day.

NTL TV channel codes changed
NTL cable TV used to have two different programme access codes depending on where you live. Suddenly today last Wednesday, the second lot of codes have been dropped. Keying 1 for BBC1 now has to be 101. They have a great number of subscribers and none of them were warned. They do have a message on their help line. Neither the Radio Times, nor the Whats on TV papers had any mention, just quietly changed the top-of- page codes. But the Guide function now has all the programmes, so you can click from there.

The NTL website has a page that has the code card, but if you try and print it it is too small to read without changing your glasses. Apparently a better printed card is coming by post sometime.
www.ntl.com/home/epg/multichannel.asp

Meanwhile try my list on http://www.goring-by-sea.uk.com/ntlpages.htm

Who does watch all these channels? 120 NTL channels are available. 101 on Sky. About 30 on Freeview. Only 48 get a mention in Radio Times and 35 in Whats on TV. We watch only about 15 channels on occasion but three of these are not on Freeview.

And there is little consistency. Freeview has some, Sky has a lot, NTL have some that the others do not have. You go to the Internet websites for UKTV and for Discovery and there are several more channels mentioned. Maybe it is an ego-trip to produce your own TV channel, like self-publishing a book, and it doesn't really matter if no one views it.

Winter Wheat in the Goring Gap
It was linseed last year, with a pretty blue flower. This year it is winter wheat, and the area is nicely green after only a few days. Should be a good crop.

This year Farmer Langmede seems to have accepted that there is an informal footpath across the Gap. He has made a path for us, and thus it is dead straight; normally it wanders about, following the footsteps of the first dog to wander across.

Thursday Power Cut
The power was off in parts of Goring on Thursday 28 Sept, between 10 and 11am. The EDF help line said it affected everything between Littlehampton and Shoreham, but it was probably only Goring the Ferring. Shops in the Mulberry were not affected at all. Yet the Sea Lane Cafe had no power til late afternoon. The fault was due to contractors erecting a new telegraph pole in Ferring.

Some burglar alarms were set off by the power failure and rang, it seemed continuously, until the power came on again.

Goring Library celebrates 50 years
Goring Library was first opened 50 years ago and celebrated their Golden Jubilee with a marquee on the lawn and a slice of celebration cake for everyone. Congratulations. Also good news is that the toilets which were closed because of vandalism will be moved inside the library, and space made available also for a proper computer room for the many users that at presnt clutter the main area

Ferring in Bloom
Ferring won Silver/Gilt in the best village category in the South and South East in Bloom competition 2006. Congratulations to them. Goring was part of this because of the Ilex Conservation Group work to protect the Ilex Avenue which runs from St Mary's Church Goring, to Sea Lane Goring.

Goring-by-Sea Action Group
There has been a lot of agro, chiefly late on Friday and Saturday evenings down Aldsworth Avenue and parallel roads when the youths of the borough make their way down to the sea front. An Action Group has been formed, and anyone who notices a problem should get on the phone.

First ring 999 if there is trouble in progress, and remember to get an incident number.

If it is too late for the police to do anything immediately, then ring the non-emergency number 0845-60-70-999 to report the incident and get an incident number.

Now ring the Council ASBO line on 01903-221090.

Then the next day ring the Action Group number 07989-545750 and ask for an incident report form which will go to the police as input to their crime statistics and ensure that we are high up the areas requiring police support.

Several types of misbehaviour have been reported: Vandalism, Intimadation, Threatening behaviour, Theft, Burglary, Threats, Trespass, Drug Supply, Drink, Boy Racers, Lewd Sexual Activity.

Eco warriers still at Titnore Woods
WSCC have decided that Titnore Lane will not be straightened, and that there will be a 40mph speed limit. Only about 70 trees are threatened by the development at West Durrington, instead of 280.

Despite a high court ruling that the Eco Warriers should depart, they are still there, and will chain themselves to the top of the trees if threatened. They were featured on BBC South Today.

Worthing Society have a legal case in progress to fight the Durrington proposals by alternative means.

Eirene Road development
Eirene Road near the Yacht Club is due for development Local residents on their own initiative organised a public meeting to express their opposition to plans to build two five storey blocks of flats in Eirene Road on the land near Baloo's and the yacht club.

130 people packed St Laurence's church hall and made their feelings clear. We summarised the conclusions and wrote to the planners: it was accepted that some development could not be prevented but it should be in keeping with the surroundings. Now on another site in the same patch further to the East there are about three planning applications for high-density building. We have protested them all.

Frink Heads under threat
The four bronze sculpture heads overlooking Liverpool Gardens in the centre of Worthing are under threat as the owner of the site would like to be able to offer one or all of them for sale. The heads were created by Dame Elizabeth Frink as a sop to culture when the Odeon Cinema was pulled down and the Montague Centre built. They are a unique asset to the Worthing. Long may they remain there.

No ASDA at Durrington
The planning applcation for a new ASDA supermarket at Durrington has ben turned down - after four years of agro. The locals seem pleased, but the school will have to continue to use the same old building for several years to come. We would like to see an ASDA round here someplace, but not in our backyard.

Worthing Freecycle
A group forum like this one is
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worthing-freecycle/
where you can post items that you no longer need, and you can ask to be considered for items you see that you could use. The items are all free, and normally you will have to collect them yourself. I have found it very useful.

Water Meters in the Sea Lane area
Every house in the Sea Lane, Goring area has had a hole dug in the road, so that water meters can be easily fitted. Meters are not compulsory, but if you do decide to cut your water bill by having one, then they can install the meter very easily. The bad news for residents is that there has been extensive damage to the telephone cables which were not well protected against digging, and the bill for repairs to these could well exceed the cost of the meter facilities

One-time Care Home facing Goring Gap
The one-time care home on Sea Lane Ferring, at the end of Marine Drive on the Goring Gap has been cordoned off ready for conversion into nine flats. They say the ouside look of the place will not change. We are worried that there is not enough carpark space for nine sets of new residents.

Goring Gap Radio Mast
As was threatened a year ago, a mobile raio mast has been erected at the pumphouse in the middle of the Goring Gap. We think there is more to come on top, as there is currently only a small microwave dish on a very large pole.