Here’s a roundup of some of the other stories making the news in Rye this week.
Rural crime
Two thefts to report this week. A house under renovation on Rye Hill was burgled between 1pm on Tuesday May 21 and 6pm on Wednesday May 22. Stolen property includes: Makita Drill, Stihl hedge clippers and keys to a tractor. The crime reference is 1141 22/05.
Later in the week a garden shed was broken into on Houghton Green Lane near Playden. A lawn mower was stolen between 1pm and 2.30pm on Friday May 24. Crime reference: 978 24/05.
Strand public toilets could re-open mid June
In last week’s Rye News we reported on the town council agreeing to take up to £10,000 from reserves to re-open and repair the public toilets on The Strand for the summer. They were closed as part of a cost-saving measure by Rother District Council. Repairs are about to start, with an initial deep clean on Thursday May 30. The toilets could be open in about two weeks.
Richard Fairhall, Town Clerk, has this update. “Rother District Council has agreed to allow Rye Town Council to re-open the Strand Quay conveniences, subject to the Men’s being opened as well (the original plan was to make the Women’s unisex). We have just received the keys and are about to commence repairs. We are awaiting a cleaning price from a local cleaning contractor. Water samples (to test for legionella) were collected on Wednesday May 29 but it will be 2 weeks before the results are known. Therefore, assuming the samples test negative, the intention is re-open the conveniences mid-June to mid-October.”
The state of the place
Rother is in the 40% most deprived authorities in England according to a new report, with parts of Rye and Camber highlighted. Rother District Council’s Overview and Scrutiny committee will discuss this year’s “State of the District” report on Monday June 3. Using census data and other reports it pulls together the latest research about where we live. The 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation gives an overall rank for Rother of 135 out of 317 English local authorities. Eastern Rother and parts of Rye, along with parts of Bexhill, are described as the most deprived areas of Rother.
The average age in Rother has increased from 50 to 53 between the 2011 and 2021 censuses. The number of people aged 65 to 74 years rose by just over 2,900 (an increase of 23.8%), while the number of residents between 35 and 49 years fell by around 3,200 (19.3% decrease). People under the age of 16 represent 17% of the population and over 65s represent 33% of the population.
The report also tells us that 21.6% of the local population is employed as a direct result of tourism, and that Rye and Winchelsea have the greatest proportion of holiday homes relative to the local housing supply (41.6 holiday homes for every 1,000 dwellings).
You can read the full report here
Solar panel plan
More than a thousand solar panels could be installed at a Camber holiday camp. Parkdean Resorts is seeking permission to install the equipment on four roofs writes Huw Oxbugh Local Democracy Reporter. The planning application details 1,060 monocrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic modules on the roof the Oasis Leisure Centre and 3 others.
In the planning documents a spokesman for the applicant said: “The system, with a power capacity of just under 472kWp, will produce low carbon renewable energy for the site and the local electricity network.” The spokesman goes on to say the total area covered by solar panels will be approximately 4,200 square metres.
You can view the application on the Rother District Council website using reference:
RR/2024/741/PN2.
Remembering D-Day
This week marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied landings on the Normandy beaches in Northern France.
At lunchtime on Thursday June 6, D-Day will be remembered outside Rye town hall in The Buttermarket. The Ryebellion drummers will perform before the event starts at 1.15pm with readings, music and a minute’s silence to honour those who fought and died. Town crier Paul Goring will give the official cry, however instead of his usual bell he will be using an ARP warden’s bell from 1939.
Later on Thursday, an evening of events is planned in Winchelsea starting at the New Hall at 7.15pm hosted by the town’s Millennium Artefacts Society. Photographs and documents will be on display marking the history of the military based locally and “Winchelsea at War”. Story boards will cover the visits of Montgomery and Eisenhower who were briefly stationed at Greyfriars, as well as the stories of the contribution local people made to the Allied landings. The evening will finish with the lighting of the Winchelsea Beacon at 9.15pm.
Fair play
A local befriending charity has launched a new fundraising campaign after being accepted onto East Sussex County Council’s Community Wellbeing Project. For FAiR – Friends altogether in Rother – it means every donation it receives will be match funded by ESCC.
Founder Chris Pollard says the news will help the charity take it services much further. “We need to raise £3,000 which will help us with getting our telephone and 1:1 Befriending Service up and running. We have until June 30 to raise £3000. For a chance of receiving the double-donations, we need a minimum of 25 unique donations from different individuals and organisations. Thanks so much for helping us to support our community and reduce loneliness and isolation in Rother – we can’t do it without you!”
You can donate here
Image Credits: Geograph https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mermaid_Street,_Rye_-_geograph.org.uk_-_72791.jpg, James Stewart , RDC , Ineco Energy , rwapixel.com https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ , Nick Forman .