The bonfire lighting will be at 6.30pm and fireworks at 7pm. Please come along and enjoy the fireworks with a mulled wine or hot chocolate and support your local 1st Balcombe Scouts! As ever, we would be grateful for any help from volunteers with this event - please get in touch by emailing secretary@1stbalcombe.cdscouts.org.uk if you can help.
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY is Sunday, November 10, and the traditional service will be held in the Church at 10.45am. After the service the Royal British Legion will host a lunch in the Balcombe Club. Attendance is open to anyone and bookings can be made at the Club on 01444 811226. The price is £15 a head for a two course lunch and glass of wine.
ROAD CLOSURES – Borde Hill Lane (Haywards Heath Road) will be closed until December 13 by West Sussex County Council for urgent carriageway drainage works. This will be in a stretch on Borde Hill Lane from Naldred Farm access south to the Copyhold Lane junction. It is anticipated that the work will finish on December 13 with a further traffic order to cover the additional time.
BALCOMBE STORES – the road closure above has had a profound impact on Balcombe Stores with regular passing trade adversely affected. Please pop in and support the Stores if you can, your custom will be greatly appreciated.
SURGERY CLOSURE, update, drop-ins and public meeting. The Parish Council has formed a Working Group to address the decision of Ouse Valley Practice to close the Balcombe Surgery. They have been working to try and learn how best to influence the outcome for Balcombe: the aim to ensure health services remain accessible for all in Balcombe.
Whilst the Practice has decided to apply to close, they must get the agreement of the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) who are the ultimate decision makers and who are responsible for primary (GP) care in Sussex.
Whilst engagement with the Surgery has been limited, they have been encouraging the practice to hold a public meeting but at the time of writing details have not been finalised. The current offering is being arranged by/with the ICB and is for a small-scale public forum/meeting on the 8 November, but numbers of attendees are likely to be limited to around 40 people.
The Parish Council have also asked to meet the Practice but so far have been unable to get the Surgery to agree to such a meeting. Progress has however been made with the ICB and there is a meeting with them scheduled. They have also been engaging with our MP and County Councillor.
Balcombe Parish Council intend to formulate a formal response to the ICB in due course and to that end the Working Group will be holding two drop in sessions to gather views and data on how the village access services now, and what we feel that we need in the future. By this time they should also have some more information from the ICB on how we can assure future services.
The drop in events will be held in Bramble Hall from 10am to 12 noon on Sunday, November 17 and from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday, November 20. (Look out for posters and village facebook posts over the next few weeks in case times change.) Please drop in to speak to us at these events.
BALCOMBE SMARTPHONE FREE CHILDHOOD GROUP: Social Media and its Relationship to Child and Adolescent Mental Health. On Tuesday, November 12, 8pm – 9.30pm in the Balcombe Club, Dr Felicity Williams, a clinical psychologist at Beacon House Therapeutic Services and Trauma Team, will explore some of the links between social media and mental health. Felicity aims to provide practical strategies to help families navigate their way through this often difficult aspect of parenting. This talk is relevant for parents/carers with children of all ages.
WAR PAINT BY ROB GARFIELD is the next production by our very own Victory Players. It is An Act of Remembrance Inspired by The Victory Hall First World War murals and there will be three performances on Saturday, November 9 at 3:30pm and 7pm and Sunday, November 10 at 3:30 pm. Tickets are on sale now from £6.50|£8 (includes a £1.30 donation to the Royal British Legion) Box Office: Contact Ticketsource.co.uk/victoryplayers
BALCOMBE CLUB QUIZ is on Sunday, November 10, 7pm for 7.30pm. Teams of four at £2 per person. Please book your table by calling 01444 811226.
SPEEDWATCH - The Speed Indicator Device (SID) has been positioned around the village over the past few months and has an immediate effect on reducing the speed of passing traffic while in place. Moving it around the village means that drivers do not become ‘blind’ to it being there. A bonus is that it records speed and vehicle counts to provide the Parish Council with evidential data to support the application for a 20mph zone in the village.
Likewise, when the Speedwatch team are out and about there is an immediate effect on traffic speeds. More volunteers are needed so this can be done more often. Please contact Nicky by email on nicky.gould@balcombeparishcouncil.com or call 07725596317 to find out more.
ST. MARY’S CHURCH SERVICES – Sunday, November 10, 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Parish Eucharist with Fr David, 10.45am Remembrance Service.
Every Monday morning during term time in St Mary’s Church, they will be serving free coffee, tea and pastries between 9.30am and 1am. All are welcome, whether after school drop off, before a dog walk, or if you just fancy a sociable start to your week.