The Argus • 29/09/2024

Ofsted praises school in new report

Seadown School in Farncombe Road, Worthing caters for children aged eight to 16 with social, emotional and mental health needs. It had an inspection in early July which found pupils felt "safe, secure and well supported" and that "strong relationships and high levels of mutual respect permeate throughout the school". Inspectors found staff encourage pupils to achieve their very best, and that there is a strong curriculum that places youngsters' social and emotional needs at the core of t...

The Argus • 29/09/2024

Padel tennis, a new gymnasium and a revamped clubhouse come to rugby club

The proposals for Haywards Heath Rugby Club received strong backing from local councillors and East Grinstead MP Mims Davies. In March, the Tory MP secured funding worth £250,000 for them through the Levelling Up Fund, a scheme introduced by the former government. The club in Whitemans Green, Cuckfield, was granted planning permission on September 12. Ms Davies said: "Many of my current constituents will benefit from its reach, from the juniors and girls' section as well as their par...

The Argus • 26/09/2024

Hunt for motorhome owner who keeps parking in grassy square

Residents were up in arms when the motorhome took over part of the historic seaside square in front of the Brighton i360, setting out deckchairs in the middle of the communal space. Brighton and Hove City Council said that the driver should be in "absolutely no doubt that it was not appropriate to return for a third time". The motorhome first parked just there on August 10, sparking fury from residents until it was moved on three days later. The van then returned at the end of August...

The Argus • 25/09/2024

Director of Angelina Jolie film brings special screening to Brighton

Iain Softley will be at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton, tonight at 7pm, for a screening of the 30th anniversary of his film Backbeat. The night will involve a showing of the movie in its original 35mm format followed by a live Q and A session. Backbeat is set in 1960 following the complex story of The Beatles' first bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and the rest of the band (Image: Mark Tille)“The Duke of York cinema has a reputation for showing 35mm film and Backbeat was shot in tha...

The Argus • 24/09/2024

Repairs begin in village where 'residents and businesses cut off' by flooding

The banks of the Cuckmere River in Alfriston and the flood embankments in place to protect the village are currently being repaired. Alfriston is subject to consistent flooding during the winter which is caused by overflowing of the section near the village. The A27 north of the village often is flooded also during this period and causes major traffic disruptions. Earlier this year hundreds of residents were left without water, as flooding caused issues with a Southern Water treatmen...

The Argus • 23/09/2024

Pink sea of mourners celebrate the life of beloved drag queen

There was a sea of pink at The Downs Crematorium in Brighton today as mourners gathered to celebrate the life of Phil “Pinky” Lewis who died in his sleep on August 23. Pinky, 65, was one of the main inspirations behind Russell T Davies's TV drama It's A Sin about a group of young gay men living in London during the Aids crisis in the Eighties. The pair met at West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company in the 1970s. There was a sea of pink at The Downs Crematorium in Brighton to celebrate the l...

The Argus • 23/09/2024

Minibus and electronic devices stolen from nursery in burglary

Sussex Police said they were called to a report of a burglary at a nursery in Rotherfield Avenue, Eastbourne, at around 11pm on September 16. Multiple items were stolen from the premises, including a white nursery branded minibus and electronic devices. READ MORE: Brighton: Man suffers head injury in alleged St James's Street attack An investigation was launched and police arrested two men from Eastbourne, aged 35 and 44, at an address in Midhurst Road. A spokeswoman for Sussex P...

The Argus • 21/09/2024

Royalty and musical pioneers; 100 years of the orchestra

Now it is marking its 100th anniversary with a centenary season of that will run until April next year. The first programme will be The Rite of Spring: Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky  at  Brighton Dome tomorrow at 2.45pm, conducted by musical director Joanna MacGregor and award-winning solo pianist Aidan Mikdad. Joanna MacGregor became the fourth musical director of BPO in 2020  (Image: Pal Hansen)  “This is a really big concert and I deliberately designed it to be very big and very exciting...

The Argus • 19/09/2024

Fan pictures from Albion's triumph over Wolves

The fixture ended as a 3-2 triumph on Wednesday night for the Albion despite a nervy finish. It was an end to end fixture from the first whistle, with Brighton setting the tone early on with a 14th minute wonder strike from Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba marking his maiden goal. Wolves were caught in-possession in their defensive half as Brighton applied a high-press. Baleba took advantage of the pressure by catching Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes napping before slotting it into the...

The Argus • 18/09/2024

Footpath still can't reopen after a year due to risk of wall collapse

The footpath between Woodland Drive and Woodland Avenue in Hove was closed after a storm caused a brick wall and fencing to collapse in autumn last year. It was due to reopen on Tuesday with Sussex Police in attendance, after Brighton and Hove City Council sent a letter updating the residents of Woodland Drive. Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, parking and the public realm, wrote in the letter: ”We have been working with the resident and their insurance company to ge...

The Argus • 18/09/2024

Thousands of jobs at risk as restaurant franchise owner falls into administration

Hostmore, the UK owner of TGI Fridays, is now seeking to sell its 87 restaurants in a bid to prevent the brand from vanishing. TGI Fridays has two branches in Sussex, at Brighton Marina and Crawley. TGI Fridays at Brighton Marina (Image: The Argus)  The parent company said it had appointed administrators after plans to buy the US restaurant chain collapsed earlier this month. It is in the process of trying to sell the UK restaurants to new owners, which it hopes to complete by th...

The Argus • 17/09/2024

MP slams 190-home development as she submits formal objection

Beccy Cooper, who represents West Worthing, has made her feelings known to Arun District Council over the bid for homes on land west of Bewley Road in Angmering.  Gleeson Land submitted an application in August for up to 190 homes including 57 affordable homes and a community building. The bid has been condemned by villagers in the area. They formed an action group, Protect Farmland West of Bewley Road, in an attempt to stop any new developments. People in Angmering have been taking...

The Argus • 16/09/2024

Deprived Sussex town where one in three children grow up in poverty

Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, expressed concerns over the number of children living in poverty in his constituency during a speech at the Building Safety and Resilience debate on Wednesday. Crawley is one of the most deprived areas in Sussex. One neighbourhood in the town, Broadfield South, falls within the 10% most deprived areas in England, the latest data, from 2019, shows. A total of four neighbourhoods also scored in the top 20% most deprived nationally. Mr Lamb told the House...

The Argus • 16/09/2024

Residents of seaside town plagued by burst sewage pipe

A main sewer burst off Ravens Road and Southdown Road in Shoreham on September 9. The Argus understands that it burst due to being under pressure from pumps transporting wastewater to the Southern Water treatment works. There was major disruption in the area as tankers and equipment arrived to fix the burst pipe. There was major disruption in the area as tankers and equipment arrived to fix the burst pipe (Image: Eddie Mitchell) A section of Ravens Road has been closed off as wor...

The Argus • 16/09/2024

World premiere of musical based on Vincent Van Gogh dazzles the audience

Vagabond Skies - The Van Gogh Musical was staged this weekend, September 12-14, at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne for a world premiere. The production, by Tony Norman and Mark Edwards, combined an original score with an "array of emotional and memorable lyrics" to tell the dramatic story of Vincent Van Gogh’s life as an artist. READ MORE: Sam Tompkins to perform debut album at the Brighton Dome I attended on the last matinee of the new musical and was taken aback by the sh...

The Argus • 13/09/2024

Old nightclub and 19th century sail loft up for sale at auction

The site which lies in the heart of Shoreham at 11 and 11a West Street are being put to auction this month as a single lot by Middleton Estates. The guide price is £640,000. 11a is a former clubhouse with planning permission to be converted into a detached house (Image: Middleton Estates) The house is an early Victorian dwelling in need of refurbishment and 11a is a former club house with planning permission to be converted into a detached house. The dwelling currently has four b...

The Argus • 13/09/2024

South Downs secures major boost in bid to get more schoolchildren funded trips

South Downs National Park has announced the Discover the Downs initiative which aims to bring scores of children into the outdoors. It is designed to help those who do not have easy access to the countryside, to get out more. Schools from across Hampshire and Sussex are now being invited to apply for fully-funded visits. The initiative was made possible by funding from the government as part of Defra’s ongoing support for access to nature. Since the National Park was created more...

The Argus • 13/09/2024

Mercury award-winners set to launch album in Brighton

Ezra Collective will be launching their new album Dance, No One’s Watching at Chalk in Brighton on October 1. Tickets for the show start at £20 and can be found here: The collective made history last year by becoming the first jazz winners of the Mercury Music Prize. They had stiff competition with Arctic Monkeys, Raye, Fred Again and Jessie Ware but still won the £25,000 prize. READ MORE: Pink Floyd's David Gilmour to perform at Brighton Centre Their album Where I’m Meant To Be...

The Argus • 12/09/2024

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd's guitarist duets with daughter at pub

David Gilmour, guitarist and singer-songwriter for Pink Floyd, performed at The Neptune Inn in Hove on Monday night with his daughter Romany. Romany had been performing a set that evening at the pub's regular Monday evening open mic night. Romany then invited Gilmour Snr on to the stage to perform a rendition of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here title track. Romany Gilmour performing at the Open Mic Night (Image: Pockett Marketing) READ MORE: Pink Floyd star David Gilmour's Hove seafro...

The Argus • 09/09/2024

Residents furious over approval of controversial Royal Mail depot plans

People in Patcham have told of their stress and dismay over the proposals for a new distribution centre in Vale Avenue. The scheme was approved on Wednesday by Brighton and Hove City Council despite more than 1,000 objections from residents as well as representation from Brighton and Hove Wildlife Forum, the Brighton Society, Patcham and Hollingbury Conservation Association and the Patcham Local History Group. The Royal Mail wants to demolish the existing farm buildings in Vale Avenue an...