| Welcome to the monthly newsletter from your local Green Party. Including updates on our Councillors’ hard work, members’ campaigning, dates for your diary, and all things Green! Local news  A number of our members took part in the successful campaign to get the Broadford Bridge borehole extension refused. West Sussex County Council planning meeting listened to detailed and informative submissions from two of our members, Ann Stewart (pictured) and Philip Maber. The Council then proceeded to vote to refuse the company’s unnecessary request. This was a great achievement, and showed the strength of feeling about leaving fossil fuels in the ground. Our local party worked with many other organisations across the surrounding area, and we’re all delighted with the outcome. You can read more about the campaign here and watch a recording of the meeting here.  We are encouraging all of our supporters to share with us what the local environment means to you. By making short videos for TikTok we aim to spread the Green message to more people! Please contact Faye to get involved. A new non-partisan MP Watch group is being set up for the Arun and Chichester area. MP Watch is an umbrella campaign made up of local groups that hold MPs to account on integrity and climate issues. This local group is initially “keeping an eye on” the MPs for Arundel & South Downs (Andrew Griffith), Bognor Regis & Littlehampton (Nick Gibb) and Chichester (Gillian Keegan). They’re currently looking for interested local people (from any or none political party!) to get involved – more details here. Election news  The Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner election is coming up on Thursday 2 May. We are delighted to have an excellent Green candidate running – Jonathan Kent from Rother. All Sussex residents on the electoral register are eligible to vote. Jonathan says: “We know what the best policing looks like because so many officers deliver that day-in day-out. I want everyone who lives in Sussex to be able to expect that, regardless of the colour of their skin, background, gender or orientation, I will focus on preventing crime and violence, women’s and girls’ safety and support better funding for youth services while working to ensure we have excellent officers who are welcomed to the heart of every community and every home.” Did you know? With the new rules around photo ID for elections one of the easiest things to do is to register for a postal vote. Anyone on the electoral register can apply for a postal vote and automatically get the papers for every election delivered – no ID or trips to the polling station required! The deadline to register to vote for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections is 17 April, and it’s quick to do here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. We’re excited to now announce the full list of our local MP candidates: Arundel & South Downs: Steve McAuliffe Bognor Regis & Littlehampton: Carol Birch Chichester: Tim Young West Worthing: Sonya Mallin Thanks to these candidates everyone locally will have the chance to vote Green at the general election. We will also be able to challenge and push all the other party candidates on their climate credentials. In order to campaign we need to raise more funds! If you can contribute, please click here to support our candidates – thank you! There will be more details of fundraising activities, hustings, and campaigning over the next few months. If you have experience in fundraising, or are keen to help out – please contact us. We’re also regularly supporting Siân Berry’s campaign in Brighton Pavilion. Greens from across the south east are coming together to help keep our first Green MP seat. There are many ways to get involved, and it’s a great chance to meet lots of enthusiastic campaigners! If you’re interested in attending any Brighton events, and want to go along with other local Green Party members, please let us know. News from our local councillors  Three of our Arun councillors recently took part in an event, speaking to school children about their local council. They enjoyed hearing their questions, and listening to the concerns of the younger generations in Arun. Councillor Steve McAuliffe has met with senior planning officers at Arun Council, to discuss the adverse impact of developments within 500 metres of ‘irreplaceable habitats’ (such as ancient woodland). Both direct and indirect effects were covered, and it was acknowledged that procedures must be improved in line with the guidance from Natural England and the Forestry Commission. Councillor Tim Young was the first parliamentary candidate for Chichester invited to visit the Bosham Association. On his visit he discussed some of the most pressing issues facing the village, including new homes development and pollution in the harbour. Councillor Steve McAuliffe was invited to unveil the newly installed House Martin Tower at the Arundel Community Orchard. The event was part of the annual wassail ceremony and celebration. The state-of-the-art tower has been funded through the South Downs Sustainable Communities Fund, and is part of the broader “Bring Back the Birds” campaign run by Greening Arundel. As a member of the South Downs National Park Authority, councillor Steve McAuliffe has sent a letter regarding the Rampion 2 plans, requesting that the reasons and justifications for routing the onshore cables through the Park be set out in detail by the developer. This has been taken up by the Inspector, and this question will inform the Development Consent Order decision. Please contact us if you want to get in touch with our councillors, or are interested in standing for election in the future. Upcoming events and actions Over the coming months we are going to be focused on getting our positive Green message out to local people. Can you help? Our candidates, councillors and volunteers will be delivering leaflets, distributing 60 second surveys, and canvassing across our wards. If you can help, please sign up here. Friday 19 April. Green Talk in Barnham Community Hall, Yapton Road, Barnham, PO22 0AY. What’s happened to Barnham? -min.jpg) We are arranging a meeting to discuss the flooding and sewage crisis that our local areas have been experiencing, plus the recent problems with anti-social behaviour. One of our Green councillors, Sue Wallsgrove, will be speaking about the ongoing situation, her experiences working on the frontline, and the recently established Arun Flood Forum. We also hope to have our Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Jonathan Kent joining us. All welcome – RSVP here. Sunday 28 April, 9.30am. Beach clean in Littlehampton. Local Green Party members will be joining The Beach Cafe on their monthly litter pick along the coast. This is part of the Surfers Against Sewage Million Mile Beach Clean project, and is not organised by the Party. Come along and join us to support them. We will be having coffee in the cafe afterwards. Meet 9.30am at The Beach. To attend with other Green Party members, please contact Sarah. Thursday 2 May. Don’t forget to vote for Jonathan Kent for Police and Crime Commissioner! Thursday 2 May, 7pm. Going WILD about your GARDEN event in Arundel. One of our Green councillors, Steve McAuliffe, is one of the guest speakers at this free event organised by Greening Arundel. The talks aim to help Arundel residents learn how to attract, protect and nurture wildlife in their own gardens. More details here. Sunday 19 May. Action Day supporting Siân Berry’s campaign in Brighton. A group of local party members will be travelling to Brighton by train, and we’d love you to join us. This will be a great opportunity to meet more Green supporters from across the south east. Please get in touch if you’d like to come with us. If you can, please plan your journeys on public transport. If you are able to offer / require a lift share to any of the events, please contact the relevant organiser. Next branch meeting: Wednesday 1 May, 7pm on Zoom. Click here to RSVP Can we help you? Want to join us? Have skills to share? Keep in touch with your local Chichester and Arun Greens Join the party: join.greenparty.org.uk Ask a question: contact@chichesterarun.greenparty.org.uk Keep up to date: Find us on Facebook, You Tube, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter)  Help us grow: We rely on one off donations or regular standing orders to help us cover the cost of our local campaign work. If you can help out, please click here or follow the QR code. All support is very gratefully received. Please include your last name and postcode as a reference, so we know who to thank. A big thank you to everyone that has worked so hard over the last month on all Green causes! We look forward to seeing you soon |