Hassocks Infant School's Millenium Clock needs repairs

By Erika Woodhurst-Trueman

The clock standing proudly over the Infants School arch was installed at the turn of the millennium by the Hassocks Amenity Association (now Hassocks Community Organisation), funded by donations from the people of Hassocks, local organisations and authorities. It’s a useful, and reassuring sight for all villagers and visitors as they wander (or rush!) through the village. Sadly, after a hefty bill for repairs in 2019, it is now in need of substantial upgrading to keep it running for years to come. The latest work is quoted at approximately £2,158 and you can help here: https://gofund.me/b1c726c0

We would be enormously grateful if you would consider making a contribution to help us keep this well-loved village clock ticking for future generations. Should we exceed our target, any additional funds will be kept aside for future maintenance and repairs. Thank you! Hassocks Infant School and Hassocks Community Organisation.

Food risk reduction in Hassocks

Hassocks Community Organisation

By Fred Maillardet

This has been the winter of floods: record rainfalls across the country, with a series of intense storms dumping a month’s-worth of rain in a day or two. Has Hassocks just been lucky to avoid flooding, despite the recent torrential rain? Maybe, but a group of local residents has been working for the last four years on natural flood management to reduce flood risk in our village. Our Floods and SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) group is composed of members of HKD Transition and Hassocks Community Organisation (HCO) together with the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust (OART).

The natural flood management approach is to ‘slow the flow’ – that is to reduce the volume of water entering the five tributaries which converge on the Herring Stream in the village. We have built ‘leaky’ debris dams in Lag Wood, built Rain Gardens in Adastra Park and Adastra Avenue and installed Rain Planters throughout Hassocks. An interpretation board in Adastra Park gives more details. We are also working with Downlands School on tree planting on their grounds.

This winter, Spitalford Bridge in the centre of Hassocks did not ‘choke’ as it did in similar storms in 2016, thus avoiding a repeat of the flooding in Parklands Road that year. It is now being recognised nationally that ‘the Government needs to increase the creation of more natural drainage systems...’ (The Guardian 17th Feb) and ‘to continue throwing concrete and endless amounts of money at defences such as high walls won’t stop the flooding’ (The Telegraph 11th Feb). The major flooding in Fishlake is now recognised by many flood experts to have been exacerbated by the £86m of hard engineered flood defences put in upstream to protect Sheffield. These defences had the effect of moving water quicker and in large volumes to downstream areas.

Sadly this pattern appears to have been repeated more recently in the Calder Valley which flooded for the third time in seven years despite about £30m already spent in the region on hard engineered defences.

The modest measures being taken in Hassocks do appear to be having an effect. We must prepare for more intense storms in future and it would appear that we are on the right track.

Memorial Garden Keymer - We shall remember them!

Hassocks Community Organisation

By Amanda Kenhard

If you had walked past the Grade II listed war memorial in the lower garden of St Cosmas and St Damian church in Keymer early last year, you may have noticed that the sloping grass bank behind the war memorial was looking a little sad. A more attractive and inspiring backdrop for the parish war memorial was clearly needed. What better year than 2019 - the 75th anniversary of D-Day to be chosen to give this area a makeover?

Conversations were started between the Hassocks Community Organisation’s (HCO) Green Group, the church Rector, Rev Alex Baxter and the volunteer group who look after the church grounds. Whilst the church team were very supportive and agreed that rejuvenating and tidying the Memorial Garden was highly desirable, they had no budget to be able to get this work done. Father Alex agreed that completion in time for the Remembrance Service on the 10th November would be an excellent goal. We enrolled the help of local professional gardener Jenny Curling for advice on suitable low maintenance shrubs and to produce an estimate of costs involved. With funding from HCO and a further grant obtained from Mid Sussex District Council, the work could begin and volunteers appealed for. During October the grass bank was strimmed and the volunteers met on the 26th October to start the planting. Beds around the memorial itself were also created and planted up with a mixture of red cyclamen and white heather. Happily, most of the work was completed in time for the Remembrance Service. Remaining funds will be used to add more spring bulbs and plant a few more shrubs by which time, the shrubs planted last year should be in full growth and looking great!

Thanks to Sage Garden Centre for their support and to Jenny’s mum for the tea and cake which fuelled the volunteers!

Hassocks Village Market seeks local support

Hassocks Village Market

Hassocks Village Market is seeking local businesses and causes to take up stalls, and aiming to help the local economy grow and develop new directions.

On the fourth Saturday of every month, apart from December when it’s the third, the centre of Hassocks is transformed into a village market, which features local businesses and also offers a showcase to local charities and good causes. The Market is based outside National Tyres, on the corner of the High Street’s junction with Dale Avenue.

The market has an array of longstanding stallholders, offering goods ranging through breads, cakes, local cheeses, fresh fish, fresh farm vegetables, pies, fresh meat and hand-made chocolate. These are well known in the village and many stalls have their regulars who look forward to the fourth Saturday just so they can replenish supplies.

And those regulars are encouraged to keep coming back not just by the quality of what’s on offer but also by a loyalty scheme, where customers can complete a card full of stamps and enter into a quarterly draw where the winners get a free hamper provided and stocked by the stallholders.

Opening at 9am and running through to 12.30pm, the market also offers local causes a great opportunity to show themselves off to villagers, by offering one pitch in every market free to local charities and causes. This could be anything local, from small fundraisers to organisations like the local hospices, and is worth doing to raise a profile.

In addition, a stall is reserved for local pursuits such as arts and crafts: for example, recently the Made in Hassocks stall was manned by a group selling knitwear, while it could just as easily be Hassocks artists offering their masterpieces. Taking this stall could not only give opportunities to sell local products but could also bring in new enthusiasts who hadn’t been aware their main interest is covered in the village.

The Village Market is managed by Catriona Hawksley, under the auspices of Hassocks Community Organisation. If you would like to take up a stall there simply email Catriona on: hassocksvillagemarket1@ gmail.com, it’ll be worth it.

The next market is on Saturday 24th August 2019.

Hassocks Community Organisation (HCO)

Hassocks Community Partnership (HCP) and Hassocks Amenity Association (HAA) have merged to form Hassocks Community Organisation (HCO)

By Erika Woodhurst-Trueman, Trustee

HCO is a registered charity (No. 1183097). Its main aims are to: provide recreation and leisure activities for residents of Hassocks and the surrounding area who might otherwise struggle to access such activities, and, by providing them, also benefit the general public so as to improve social welfare; protect and improve the environment we live in and look after features of historic or public interest.

HCO supports a wide variety of ‘life-improving’ projects, such as:

Monthly Village Market - A community market bringing local produce and crafts to those who might otherwise be less able to get to them.

Green Group - Protecting and improving the physical and natural environment by creating an attractive and welcoming village.

Hassocks Community Cycle Hire - Hiring out mountain bikes, cycle servicing and promoting cycling and environmental tourism in Hassocks and the surrounding area.

Rail Group - Representing our rail users to ensure rail services meet the needs of all residents.

Star Cinema - Bringing high quality films to Hassocks residents using professional projection services at Adastra Hall and providing an opportunity to socialise, especially for those for whom getting to a town cinema is difficult.

Village Flood Mitigation - Raising funds and working with experts and volunteers to tackle problems and sustainably address local flooding issues.

May Day Event - A traditional spring fair for all the community at Adastra Park.

Village Discount Card - For many residents access to shops is difficult due to transport or mobility challenges. This initiative aims to ensure that our community continues to benefit from the many and varied shops in Hassocks by encouraging shopping locally. Being trialled now – this card is currently free to existing or new Supporters this year.

Each of these projects is run by a small team of individuals and HCO provides support in the background.

We are on hand to provide help, advice and, in some cases, finance, and insurance. The Trustees at HCO are all volunteers and are passionate about the community and protecting and improving the environment we live and work in. We are always keen to encourage ideas for new projects and those who want to lead them. If you have a burning idea for an activity that would improve life in the village, please get in touch!