|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A scenic, clean, well organised, thriving up-market town with top class leisure facilities. That is what Newhaven is not.
|
|
|
|
Starting with the Now & Then button, visit these gateways for a critical but sympathetic view of what is happening in the South Coast port of Newhaven in Sussex, situated just twelve miles east of Brighton.
|
|
|
|
According to the News Media
January 2010
Fire appliances, ambulances and police vehicles attended a quite serious incident at Newhaven Beach when a man and his two children suffered burns following an accident with a camping gas cooker.
Eon were awarded the licence to build a 100 turbine wind farm at Hastings Bank, an identified offshore site near to Newhaven.
The smuggler of 3 million cigarettes reportedly worth around £500000, arrested at Newhaven in September 2007, was finally brought to court after disappearing whilst on bail awaiting trial. He was sent to jail for more than three years.
Snow returned in the early part of the month causing transport chaos again.
December 2009
Following on from the donation Friends of Tide Mills received in October it is reported that they have now persuaded British Rail to install self-closing gates at the level crossing. The intention is to make the area more accessible to disabled people and others who find the present gates difficult or impossible to negotiate.
A snowfall in the middle of the month caused the usual transport chaos but by Christmas the roads and pavement had returned to near normal.
November 2009
A plaque commemorating the presence of Royal Navy Coastal Forces in Newhaven Harbour during World War II was unveiled at the Fort. A Sussex Express report included a quote by Captain Trevor Robotham in which he said “Coastal Forces craft were of wooden construction, heavily loaded with high-octane fuel and ammunition, which was a very lethal cocktail.”
October 2009
The UK Border Agency frustrated an attempt to smuggle into the country at Newhaven five million cigarettes discovered on a lorry crossing by the ferry service from Dieppe.
The Friends of Tide Mills have received £1000 from Newhaven Town Council towards a project to improve access to the Tide Mills site at the railway level crossing.
September 2009
The Youth “drop-in” service run by Newhaven Community Development Association has been awarded nearly £200,000 by the “Big Lottery Fund”
Newhaven Port & Properties Ltd, announced that they had plans to develop a manufacturing hub for offshore wind industry renewables within the port. Norman Baker seemed pleased with the idea but no details were released to allow wider evaluation of the merits.
Asda unveiled plans to build a 40000 sq.ft. supermarket in Newhaven on unused Eastside land in conjunction with homes, business units and a hotel.
A Public Inquiry will be held to evaluate the claim for Newhaven West Beach to be designated Village Green status. It is expected to be held before the year end
August 2009
MP Norman Baker declared Newhaven to be the worst hit by the recession of anywhere in his constituency. A Multi Agency task force plans to convene in September in an attempt to address this problem.
Due to unprecedented demand the Newhaven Job Centre, threatened with closure in September 2006, is to be expanded.
|
|
|
|
|
July 2009
Children and parents marched to Newhaven’s West Beach adding their voices to have this highly valued amenity reopened to the public. Particularly during the school summer holidays this sandy beach will be sorely missed both by local youngsters and others from further afield
The US owners of Parker Pen announced their proposal to close the Newhaven factory during 2010. After a Management Buyout and subsequent changes of ownership it looks as though this well-known manufacturing company will finally disappear from the town. Successful high profile products in past years were the Parker 51 fountain pen and the catchilly-named Quink ink.
June 2009
The annual Fish Festival took place as usual despite the demise of sponsor Oakdene Homes. Developer of the controversial Waste Incinerator, Veolia, stepped in to replace them.
Sussex Express reported that a basement for the waste incinerator had been completed underwater then floated and winched into position at the North Quay site.
May 2009
Swine flu made its presence felt in Newhaven causing the temporary closure of the Quayside Medical Centre for cleaning after treatment there of one person suspected of having the virus.
Entering the debate on MPs’ expenses causing such a furore nationally, Lewes MP Norman Baker was quoted as saying he had applied to the Fees Office for a bike under his “London Living Allowance” - but was turned down. Now Norman, was this for a new bike, or a second-hand one - and what was going to happen to it after you left the Westminster arena?
An idea for a Riverside Park on land next to the River Ouse has been included on a draft plan for the site released by ESCC. It is stressed that these are “only initial ideas for discussion.” Surely they can’t think that Newhaven would actually expect it to happen.April 2009
Newhaven MP Norman Baker and South East MEP Sharon Bowles have jointly asked the European Commission to look at certain legal issues relating to the proposed Waste Incinerator. They are contending that Councils promoting this scheme broke competition law by not putting the contract out to tender.
Newhaven Port & Properties are said to have threatened closure of Newhaven Port to ferry and other commercial uses if the Town won the right to designate West Beach as having Village Green status.
March 2009
Shop vacancies running at 20%, said to be amongst the highest in the UK, prompted Newhaven Chamber of Commerce to call a traders’ meeting at a High Street venue to discuss the situation.
With their usual vessel undergoing refit, Newhaven Lifeboat carried on rescuing using RNLB Volunteer Spirit borrowed from Plymouth.
Sussex Police have given £1000 for use on repairs to the Newhaven Coastwatch Station. This donation is particularly welcome as brickwork on the structure built in 1960 needs urgent attention.
The controversial waste incinerator moved forward another step when the Environment Agency issued a Pollution Prevention and Control Permit which allows the project to proceed and sets out public health control conditions
February 2009
Sainsbury are reported to have submitted plans to extend their Drove Road supermarket sales area from 35000 to 56000 square feet.
Work began on a state of the art play area located at Denton Road costing £80000, designed in consultation with parents and children.
January 2009
A Russian ship Sinegorsk shed its load of timber during rough seas 14 miles off Beachy Head. Coincidentally this was on the first anniversary of the day that Ice Prince sank off the Dorset coast distributing masses of timber along Southern Counties beaches.
The national financial mayhem has claimed Newhaven’s most prominent property development company as a victim. AIM listed Oakdene Homes plc has been forced into administration. The company has extensive plans in existence to continue its impressive development of the West Bank of the Ouse with more still on the Eastern side. Administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers are said to be intending a sale of the company’s assets rather than a sale of the company as an entity.
The offshore wind farm project announced in June 2008 attracted some media attention when the Crown Estates, who own the seabed, released maps placing the power plant at a point directly south of Bolney where there is apparently a major electrical substation. However planned construction is not intended to happen before 2014.
A party with free-entry, music and food was arranged at Newhaven Fort aiming to raise support for the plan to claim village green status for the West Beach
|
|
