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Our mission is to bring all the local information available on line into one easy to use website. Est : January 2010

                                                                 All the local Village news and Information in one place ~ Lets keep it local
    The Village Magazine                   01243 574899                                       Highgrove Farmhouse, Main Road, Bosham, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 8EH.
                                     email : Fiona advert.dvn@hotmail.co.uk           Cookie : cookie@thevillagemagazine.co.uk

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WANTED . . . .
Community Driver for the Bosham Monday Club Bus - please contact Roy Retallick 572981
URGENTLY NEEDED ~ MINIBUS DRIVERS
Can you drive a car ? Do you want to help other people? Can you spare a couple of hours a month?
If so, please consider becoming a driver for the Monday Club minibus. It is used to take people to church, to village events, and to the shops, both locally and in Chichester. Without your help, we will be unable to continue this valuable service to the community. If you would like to know more, please contact Peter Sweet: 574239 or peter.sweet@talktalk.net

How WSAD can help you
Many disabled people and their families are not always sure where to go to find information about specialist equipment, leisure activities and other available services. West Sussex Association for Disabled People (WSAD) is a local charity, which works across the county to provide a number of different services for disabled people and those who support them.
Their Information and Advice service, is open 10am
to 4pm Monday to Friday throughout the year.
They also run a second hand disability equipment sales service, AskDES, which offers you the chance to buy and sell specialist disability equipment, from scooters to portable ramps, at an affordable price.
Log on to www.askdes.org.uk to find out more. WSAD runs social groups – so contact WSAD and they’ll put you in touch with your local group. What’s more - two Access Groups, based in Arun and Chichester work within their local area to promote disability equality and provide advice about accessibility issues.
For more information about any of their services, call 01903 244 457 or email info@wsad.org.uk. You can also pop into the offices at 7 St John’s Parade, Alinora Crescent, Goring-by-Sea, BN12 4HJ.

FRIENDS OF STANSTED

The friends formed over ten years ago to support the estate in maintaining the high standards that make it a popular venue. There are now over 450 members, Stansted is widely recognised as a haven of great peace and beauty. The friends play a real part in promoting local enjoyment of the estate. If you would like to join us you would be warmly welcomed, the subscriptions are modest and there are benefits such as guided walks on the estate, regular talks, free entry to the Mansion and various discounted events
Contact Michael Olding 02392 484008
email: michael.olding@btinternet.com

Action for the Older Voice
Through its consultation with older people in a number of areas across the District, Chichester District Older People’s Partnership (ChOPP) has established a need to provide a common branding for older people’s reference groups, making them easily recognisable and accessible to all.
Action for the Older Voice has now been established as the brand name for older people’s reference groups being set up across the District. Although each group will have its own identity and constitution, the brand name will reflect their overall common purpose in consulting, supporting and acting upon the views of older people.
ChOPP continues to welcome contact from older people’s groups and individuals, from across the area, interested in discussing and addressing issues within their local communities that affect their daily lives. For further details, contact the ChOPP team on 01243 528460 or email: choppadmin@vcacd.org.uk

Proposed Closure of Bosham Fire Station

It was a cruel blow to the retained firemen at Bosham on 21st June West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service un-veiled their plans to save 1.2 million pounds by 2011 which included the closure of 3 fire stations, Keymer, Findon and Bosham. Their proposals also include losing the 2nd full time fire appliance at Horley and two further retained 2nd appliances at East Preston and Lancing. The bulk of the saving will come from the loss of the appliance at Horley.
If the closure goes ahead, Chichester fire station will be left to cover not only their own wide area but also that of Bosham and its surrounding villages. Bosham residents need to know how vital their fire station is and how much it needs your support at this time. Having saved the fire station from closure once before in 2007, we once again, call upon all local residents to help stop this happening again. What you need to know:
Chichester fire station has two fire engines, one heavy rescue tender (to aid in road traffic collisions etc) and 1 landrover. Only 1 engine is crewed full time 24/7 by wholetime firefighters, the 2nd engine and other vehicles are crewed by retained firefighters living and working in Chichester.
What this means to you:
If the 1st engine from Chichester is out on a call, and there is an emergency situation in Bosham, the retained crew from Chichester, if they are available, will be alerted and they have 5 minutes to travel to the fire station before being mobilised from Chichester to Bosham, this could mean a delay of 15 minutes or more, quite a long time if you are watching your house burning! A worse scenario still, if Chichester’s wholetime crew are out on a call and their retained crew are un-available or out on another call, which can happen quite often, Bosham residents would have to
wait for either a retained engine from Emsworth to attend or a full time fire engine from Bognor Regis or Havant!
Crewing issues at Bosham have been a problem in the past and it is hard to find a team of local residents/workforce who are available/willing and able to drop everything at the sound of their alerters to man the fire engine within 5 minutes. Bosham are lucky and have a very dedicated crew with 3 further recruits from Filarinski’s shop in Bosham who are keen to join. There may be times during the day where there are not enough crew available due to work commitments etc. and the fire engine will be unable to respond BUT during the night and the early hours of the morning when the majority of dangerous and sometimes fatal house fires occur, Bosham residents can, at the moment, sleep soundly in their beds with the knowledge that their fire engine will be crewed and on their way within 5 minutes of the 999 call.
Reason given by WSF&RS for closing Bosham:
We need to save money!
If that is the situation let’s look at some figures;
Bosham Fire station currently costs approx £90,000 per year to run, (salaries, vehicle, building, equipment and admin’ costs).
WSF&RS currently pay Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service approx £60,000 per year for the use of the Emsworth and other vehicles when they are used in the Bosham area to cover when Bosham may not be available. This would undoubtedly rise and quite possibly double if Bosham were closed, no saving made here then!
When Chichester fire station come into Bosham to cover a call, Chichester’s retained fire engine will usually be called in to cover Chichester, (costing more than Bosham’s crew as there are more retained firefighters at Chichester) therefore no saving made here either!
The Chief Fire Officer has also announced plans to build a new training facility which will run into millions but that’s another budget so we are told! So it does not count.
Does this not make the cost of keeping Bosham fire station open just a drop in the ocean?
So where exactly will the savings be made we ask?
There will be a public consultation period for local residents to voice their questions and concerns directly to the Chief Fire Officer and we urge as many of you as possible to make your feeling known.
Ask your local MP/Councillors what their support is. Attend any meetings you see advertised.
Remember Bosham fire engine not only covers the Bosham area but Chidham, Nutbourne, Hambrook, Westbourne, West Ashling, Woodmancote and many more villages as far as Rowlands Castle.
The date of the meeting is yet to be confirmed but we will make sure it is widely publicised. Keep your eyes open for posters leaflets etc.
Please help save our station as we’re here to save you!
From the retained crew, Bosham Fire Station

The Village Magazine.co.uk

Welcome to the internet magazine for the West Sussex villages of . . . . Ashlings ~ Bosham ~ Chidham ~ Fishbourne ~ Funtington ~ Hambrook ~ Nutbourne ~ Prinsted ~ Southbourne Westbourne ~ Woodmancote.