Keep your home and belongings safe

There has recently been a spate of burglaries in this area. Police have increased their patrols in the area but are asking for your help in reporting any suspicious activity.

If you see anything suspicious please report it – don’t assume that your information is known already or is insignificant. The police rely on the community to be their eyes and ears. They can only crack this problem if we work with them.

To reduce the risk of your home being broken into:

DO:

• keep doors and windows locked
• secure side gates with a mortise lock or good quality padlock
• leave a light on when you go out in the evening
• consider installing security apps or software on your devices such as those that allow you to track them by GPS if they’re stolen
• mark valuable items with a UV pen or other approved method such as SmartWater

DON’T:

• leave keys in the inside locks as this can help a thief to escape after getting in
  
• leave valuables on display, particularly laptops, mobile phones, etc

For more information on home security, see the Sussex Police website. Or you can email Sgt Chris Lane, of Sussex Police Hollingdean and Preston Neighbourhood Team, at chris.lane@sussex.pnn.police.uk, and he will send you through some literature.

To report an emergency, including any crime in progress, dial 999.

To report non-emergency crime dial 101 or report it online.

Councillors agree to introduce residents parking scheme

Councillors voted on 15 January to include the area covered by Southdown Rise Residents Association in the Area J residents parking scheme. The orders for the pay and display equipment will be placed and the Traffic Orders advertised in due course. Concerns about the detail of the scheme can be raised during consultation on the Traffic Orders. An exact timescale for the scheme’s introduction is not yet available.

Councillors also agreed that the Round Hill area will be included in the scheme.

A full list of the decisions taken at the meeting is on the council’s website.

Parking consultation results published

The results of the residents parking consultation have been published in a report which will be considered by the council’s Transport committee on Tuesday 15 January. For details of the meeting and copies of the papers click here.

Overall, 58% of respondents supported the proposed extension of the Area J scheme and 42% were not in favour. The consultation achieved a 40% response rate. Street by street results were:

The report recommends that councillors vote to progress the scheme to the final design, advertise the Traffic Orders and order the pay and display equipment needed. As the area as a whole voted in favour of a scheme Ward Councillors in St Peters and North Laine are happy for the recommendations to be taken forward.

A few roads to the north voted against the proposals but it is likely that these roads would suffer vehicle displacement if they were not included. If particular roads still want to be removed from the scheme then residents would need to argue their case during the formal traffic order consultation stage. Officers would then consider the geographical layout of the scheme to see if this would be possible.

Experience of previous schemes has caused concern about displacement into surrounding roads. The council is considering these concerns as part of the Citywide Parking Review.

The Ditchling Road Tram Shelter

Many SRRA members will be familiar with the Victorian tram shelter that stands at the junction of Ditchling Road and Upper Hollingdean Road. It is one of only about four left in the City, and is over 100 years old.

About 15 years ago, the Council was planning to remove this shelter and put it in a museum. Several local people objected to this, and formed a group to lobby for its retention as a working shelter. The group managed to save the shelter, and carried out several repairs to it, some of which were eventually funded by the Council, who then undertook to maintain it.

Since then there have been ups and downs but it clings on to life. However, the electric lighting, which was working in the mid-1990s, was never restored, and the cleaning it receives is fairly minimal. People tend to leave rubbish in it because there is no bin nearby. It would also be good to have a noticeboard so that some information could be provided about its history, and this could perhaps also be used for community notices.

I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who feels, as I do, that this shelter is worth preserving as a piece of living history, and should therefore be properly looked after. If there were several of us lobbying the Council, they might take more notice. Perhaps we could form a sort of “watching brief” rota so that the shelter is checked regularly and any defects reported.

If you would like to help, please contact me, Jim Grozier