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PARISH COUNCIL Horsted Keynes Parish
Council
Mrs O.M. Wales
Parish Clerk
Rear of Village Hall
The Green
Horsted Keynes
RH17 7AP
791919
Email:
horstedkeynespc@tiscali.co.uk
The latest Parish Council minutes can be found by
clicking here.
SCHOOLS
St Giles Church of England Primary School
Horsted Keynes,
Haywards Heath,
West Sussex.
RH17 7AY
Tel: 790240
Contact:
office@st-giles.w-sussex.sch.uk
School web site:
http://www.st-giles.w-sussex.sch.uk/
Headteacher Mrs. J. Francis.
Accommodates children from 4 to 11. After this most children go on to
Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath.
www.oathall.w-sussex.sch.uk .
There is a bus provided by West Sussex County Council to take the children to
and from school from outside the Post Office at 08.10 on schooldays.
N.B. This bus had been somewhat unreliable in the past meaning
that the parents had to organise a car rota, however things have improved
dramatically and this bus is now very reliable.
Latest performance figures report on BBC web site
Horsted Keynes
PLACES OF WORSHIP
St Giles Church
Church Office
Martindale Centre,
Station Road,
RH17 7ED
Rector The Reverend Timothy Rawdon-Mogg 790317
Churchwardens Richard Harrison
740570
Mrs Chris Wheatley 790467
Church Web Site
http://www.stgileschurchhorstedkeynes.org.uk
Parish Magazine - Parish and Parishioner "P&P"
Editor Sally Lamb 01342 810814
Delivered free (a small donation is always welcome) to every house in the
village this contains much more than church notices and the local adverts in the
back of every issue are very helpful. We don't know anyone who doesn't hang onto
the "P&P" as it contains much useful information for villagers of all religious
persuasions.
St. Stephens Church (RC)
Hamsland, Horsted Keynes, Haywards Heath, West Sussex.
C/O St. Paul's Presbytery, Hazelgrove Road, Haywards Heath. 01444 450139
Horsted Keynes
YOUTH CLUB
Village Youth Club at The Martindale centre
We are delighted to report that young people in school years 7 to 11 of
Horsted Keynes now have somewhere to go on Wednesday evenings!
Activities planned include a drum session, “Junk 2 Funk II” show, bowling/Laserland
trip, the Christmas Party and taking part in the Pink Variety Show as well as
regular Club Nights. More details when we have them, but in the mean time
if you would like to turn up at the Martindale Centre after school at 7.15 to
9.15 p.m. on any Wednesday you will be made most welcome.
Horsted Keynes
HEALTH
Family Practioners who cover this area.
The Medical Centre, High Street, Lindfield. 01444 457666 Drs A. Harding, S.
Alden,
A. Reader, J. Parsley and A.J. Lawrence. Appointments 01444 483411.
Although based in Lindfield 3 miles away this is the de facto main practice for
the village. A village surgery used to be held at The Martindale Centre but
along with many local amenities this has now ended.
Ashdown Forest Health Centre. Lewes Road, Forest Row, Sussex RH18 5AQ
Tel: 01342 822131 Fax: 01342 826015 Drs A.R. Del Mar, D.A. Martin, S.A. Miller,
S.J. Andrews & R.J. Baxter
Exemplary web site at
www.ashdownforesthealthcen.co.uk
Rather more remote is the other surgery which covers some parts
of the village and the total area to the North and North East.
Local
Hospitals
The Princess Royal Hospital.
Lewes Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 4EX 01444 441881
The Princess Royal has recently reorganised which patients are
treated there and which are "offloaded" to Brighton (yes 20 miles away!). You
can find a press release about this "reorganisation"
here. Our
opinion is that you might do better falling ill in a different area, like Leeds
or London or Liverpool or... ;-)
The Queen Victoria Hospital
Holtye Road,
East Grinstead,
Sussex
RH19 3DZ,
Tel: 01342 410210 Fax: 01342 317907
Web site which is extensive but fails to give some of the most basic information
at
www.queenvic.demon.co.uk/index.html Email
queenvic@queenvic.demon.co.uk
Once again Horsted Keynes is in the middle, and is situated
midway between two major hospitals. The larger in Haywards Heath has a full 24/7
casualty department and has a specialised neurological unit. If your problem is
of a more minor nature then the A&E at The Queen Victoria Hospital in East
Grinstead (famous world wide as the home of Sir. Archibald McIndoe's "guinea
pigs" during WW2 and known as "The Queen Vic" without an Eastender in sight!) is
far more homely. Here you are likely to be seen by one of the National Health's
new Nurse Practitioners who can do most of the jobs of a doctor and you often
don't have to wait so long. The Queen Vic Casualty is only open from 9 until 6
each day but they are well able to set broken bones and put in the odd stitch.
Beware if visiting The Princess Royal, their parking charges are
astronomic, they don't give change on principal, and they have been known to
clamp people who parked their cars without paying because they are bleeding on
the floor! Just entering the grounds means that you have accepted their
stringent parking terms and makes you liable to pay their parking fines and
unclamping fees. The Queen Vic charges less, and are rather more interested in
helping you than making money on the side running a car park!
Hospital Television
The Princess Royal now have a new money making scheme,
personal televisions! Patients have a unit by their bed where they can make
outside telephone calls which they will need to use if they want to watch TV. An
organisation then takes your credit card number (yes, in hospital!) and then
activates the TV set. The schemes' owners do however allow all patients to watch
one hour of breakfast TV for free! Seeing as there used to be a free set in the
corner of the ward this is not exactly generous. We would love to hear from a
recent patient to hear what they think of this service - you can guess our views
already we hope!
Hospital Radio
The Princess Royal has its own radio station which is not that
unusual, however this radio station can also be heard on your radio!
Provided you have a good receiver Mid Downs Radio can be heard in Horsted Keynes
on 1350 KHz.
Contact them for requests if you have a relative in hospital.
Mid Downs Hospital Radio
The Studios,
The Princess Royal Hospital,
Lewes Road,
Haywards Heath
Direct telephone line 01444 441350 or via the hospital switchboard 01444 441881
ext 4139
Dentists
There are National Health and private dentists and orthodontists in East
Grinstead and Haywards Heath. The Main Haywards Heath Health Centre is located
centrally in Heath Road, Haywards Heath. A very good place to contact for health
information, child clinics, contraceptive advice (including "morning after"
pill), chiropodists, N.H.S orthodontics, speech therapy, hearing tests, etc.
etc. 01444 414767. The health centre itself can be hard to find
first time but is actually underneath the large doctors' surgeries in Heath
Road. A small car park adjoins but can get crowded and blocked, better to park
in the road if you need to get away without delay.
Chemists
You do not have to get the car out to get your prescription made up as there
is a local service which will collect your prescription if you leave it at the
shop, get it made up, and then bring the medicine to your door! There is no
charge for this service which is provided by Harmony Pharmacy in Lindfield. As
this service is only provided on certain days obviously many people will prefer
to get their 'script made up themselves so for you there are two independent
chemists in Lindfield. The nearest Boots Chemists are in Haywards Heath and East
Grinstead, both about the same size; whilst Sainsbury's in Haywards Heath have a
pharmacy which is sometimes closed when it should be open!
Harmony Pharmacy 83 High Street, Lindfield, 01444 483130
We have been serving Lindfield with pills and potions, perfumes
and toiletries for over one hundred years. The remedies have changed but the old
world courtesy and service remain. Cantassium vitamins and minerals, Homeopathic
and herbal remedies, Aromatherapy Oils Animal Medicines, Horse Wormers, Pet
foods and medicines Babies toys, clothing and accessories Prescription
collection & delivery service. Web site
www.harmonypharmacy.co.uk .
Selbys Pharmacy 33 High Street, Lindfield, 01444 483614
Open 8:30 to 6:00pm weekdays, 8:30 to 5:00pm Saturdays.
Collection and Delivery service available
Hospice
St Peter and St James Hospice and Continuing
Care Centre,
North Common Road,
North Chailey,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN8 4ED
Tel: 01444 471598
Fax: 01444 471088
www.stpeter-stjames.org.uk
St Peter and St James is set in 28 acres of countryside on the border of
Wivelsfield Green and North Chailey and serves the towns of Lewes, Uckfield,
Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and surrounding villages. We provide in-house, day
therapy and specialist community services. Currently, around two thirds of those
in Mid Sussex needing specialist hospice care are being referred to St Peter and
St James. Charity no: 1056114
Horsted Keynes
Old Peoples Housing
We were not sure how to title this paragraph but if you have an aged parent
and they live in sheltered accommodation you will most likely find them at The
Abbeyfield Society (Mid Sussex) otherwise known as Westfield House.
This recently extended building is divided into two halves with a
nursing home on one side and small flats (called bungalows) on the other.
Residents eat in a communal dining room and just make light meals for
themselves. To be honest this is one of the better residential homes that we
know of, the staff are kind and there is none of that shall we say "musty" smell
that is the sign of a badly run care home. There are clubs and things to keep
them stimulated and the whole ambiance is light and airy. Unfortunately to gain
access one must still ring a buzzer, explain oneself and then ask to be let in,
which reminds us of establishments owned by Her Majesty! We have never been sure
why sane old people have to live behind such a rigid security screen. There used
to be two care homes on the road to Lindfield, Paxhill Park was one of the most
depressing places that we have ever visited (both our parents died there) and
has thankfully closed down, the other is friendly and still open. N.B. Paxhill
Park Golf Club which occupies the grounds of the former, is NOT to
be confused with the previous sentence.
Westall House,
Birch Grove Rd,
Horsted Keynes
Haywards Heath
RH17 7BS
Tel. 791157
Police
Sussex Police
The village used to have its own policeman who covered Horsted Keynes
and Danehill on his push bike (the police house is still there) but to have a
face to face meeting with the police (unless they come looking for you ;-) can
be a little awkward in these cash starved times.
The nearest police stations are:
East Grinstead open 08.30 - 16.30 Mon to Fri and 09.00 to 13.00 Sat.
Haywards Heath open 08.30 - 20.00 Mon to Fri and
10.00 - 18.00 Sat and Bank Holidays.
Crawley is open 08.00 - 00.00 Every Day.
The only Sussex police station with a manned 24/7 front office is in Brighton
(in Kemp Town, just up from the Palace Pier).
Emergency ONLY dial 999 or 112
Non-Emergency 0845 60 70 999
(Local call charge but can be a queue after establishing that
your call is not an emergency.)
Neighbourhood Watch
Coordinated by PC Geoff Bennett at Haywards Heath Police Station 0845 60
70 999
Fire
West Sussex Fire Brigade
Our nearest fire station is in Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath.
RH16 1XQ
As usual in the UK the number for emergencies ONLY is 999 or 112
For non-emergency call 01444 414512
Web site - www.wsfb.co.uk
Ambulance
Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust
40 - 42 Friars Walk, Lewes, East Sussex. BN7 2XW
Emergencies ONLY 999 or 112
Non-emergency 01273 402116
Rubbish Collections
SEE HERE FOR DISCUSSION OF
THE NEW COLLECTION RULES
The dust cart collects from the road outside village homes weekly.
The current collection day for Horsted Keynes is Thursday,
normal rubbish one week, recycling the next. Full details on the
Mid Sussex web site.
In addition several
times a year on Sunday morning (much to the chagrin of church attendees ;-) you
can bring household and garden waste to the car park by the British Legion free
of charge courtesy of a deal with the Parish Council. This saves the car journey
to the nearest council tips which are at East Grinstead and Burgess
Hill. A welcome service which is well used, so get there
early. For weekly collections it is soon to be necessary to leave your dustbin
on the roadside. The men will not open gates to look for your bins. There is
also a recycling scheme and you are given two different coloured boxes, in one
you leave newspapers and in the other you leave clean recyclable plastic. The
boxes' contents are collected on alternate weeks so you need to get (and
remember to stay) in sync with the current weeks collection schedule! The Parish
Council ask that you bring your box in after the collection especially if the
men have neglected to empty it. Newspapers blow everywhere, and there is no
chance that the men will come again in the week.
The next visit of the rubbish tanker is booked
for Sunday 20th April 2008 at 10.00.
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Horsted Keynes
BUS SERVICES
Route 270 Runs sort of hourly to East Grinstead and Haywards Heath 6
days a week with just 5 busses in total on Sundays.
www.metrobus.co.uk will show you the
gory details. We have been contacted by MetroBus who tell us that
the service is much better that it used to be, perhaps it is but busses still
often run empty (apart from the driver;-). Shame as it's use it or lose it!
The main village bus stop is located on Station Road about 20 metres from the
Post Office. there is under cover seating and public toilets. You will probably
spend quite some time there waiting for the busses but punctuality has improved.
Some people who work in Haywards Heath, and even London, manage to travel by bus
for part of their journey.
Horsted Keynes
RAILWAY
We can't not mention Horsted Keynes railway station run by
The Bluebell Railway.
At present the line runs South to North from Sheffield Park to Kingscote a mile
or so South of East Grinstead with Horsted Keynes in the middle (again!). When
the line is extended to reach East Grinstead in 2008 (or 2009 or 2010...) there
could be a very handy local service. The trip would be just 15 minutes and the
new Bluebell station will be right outside East Grinstead Sainsbury's. So there
is no reason why you won't be able to leave the car in the garage or at the
station (free parking) -and get your shopping by train in the not too distant
future! We must also mention that local residents get a very substantial
discount on The Bluebell Details Here. This isn't
particularly well publicised and you have to ask at Horsted Keynes station and
show a locally addressed document to qualify but the discount card is worth
getting. The Bluebell also own the line of the track from Horsted Keynes to
Haywards Heath via Ardingly. Reinstalling this short line would be a real boon
for commuters, but it isn't going to happen anytime soon! Parking in Haywards
Heath is expensive at £5+ a day to park near the station! If you become a life
member of the Bluebell you receive free First Class travel FOR LIFE on all
services, at just £400 this could prove quite a bargain!
Horsted Keynes
ELECTRICITY
Horsted Keynes is supplied by EDF Energy (the new name for Seeboard). Whoever
you actually pay for your electricity it is through their wires that your supply
comes and it is these overhead wires that can give problems. It is not at all
uncommon to have power cuts lasting several hours especially in Winter. In the
calendar year 2005/2006 we had 10 power cuts, the shortest lasting 90 minutes,
the longest 8 hours. The last substantial power cut on 17th. January 2007 lasted
for 6 hours.
The village is supplied with electricity from two directions which splits it
very roughly into South East and North West halves - the dividing line is across
the green between the two pubs. It is almost unknown for both halves to be off
supply at the same time so whilst your neighbour may be tucking into their meal
you might well be huddled around a candle, and of course vice versa! The upshot
of all this is that many residents have their own portable generators to keep
the central heating pump and a few lights going, others use rechargeable
batteries with inverters. The problem got so bad recently that the local old
persons housing had their own full size mains back up generator installed in the
garden - you have been warned, prepare for winter (or adopt a granny at Westall
House! ;-)
Electricity Emergency Number
0800 783 8866 - it is pre programmed into our 'phone!
DO ring them if your power goes off as they have no automatic
detection equipment for small blackouts in this area
and rely on being told about faults so that they can get the engineers out.
GAS
For the sake of completeness we should mention that there is no mains gas
supply in or near the village, nor is any connection mooted. There IS a high
pressure underground gas supply line a couple of miles to the South which
carries the main UK gas grid but we don't recommend a drill and long hose pipe
;-). Quite a number of local houses have a bottled gas tank in the garden
however.
TELEVISION
in Horsted Keynes
Horsted Keynes is at the extreme range of all the television transmitters so
it will entirely depend on which part of the area you live in which television
service you will receive. Most parts can get signals from the Heathfield
transmitter meaning that they will get the Meridian East ITV service together
with the "Tunbridge Wells" BBC local news. Others have a tall aerial pointed at
Crystal Palace so they get the London ITV and BBC stations albeit with rather a
lot of aircraft flutter from Gatwick Airport. There are even a few nooks and
crannies to the West where the only usable signal is from Midhurst, meaning that
these viewers have to watch stories about Southampton and the New Forest before
all else! Unfortunately Channel5 is NOT available to any terrestrial viewer in
Horsted Keynes without using Freeview*. In Summer continental interference can
virtually close down all TV reception (including Freeview*) for hours or even
days on end so for a good service Sky satellite, which is not affected by this
sort of interference, is to be firmly recommended.
* If you want to watch the new digital "Freeview" channels then you may well
need an aerial upgrade. Despite Heathfield being only 20 or so miles away it
seems that older aerials just aren't good enough to get all the Freeview
services. With an older aerial you may just get the main channels.
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You can get television, DVD,
satellite, Sky, video and TV repairs advice on 790406.
We will be happy to install your new equipment too!
We will be happy to put you in touch with a local aerial fitter who won't
rip you off!
There are aerial firms who have featured on ITV "House of Horrors" working
in our area - be careful! |
On another television point you can't miss the fact that Horsted Keynes is on
TV in one shape or form (usually Horsted Keynes Bluebell Railway station)
almost every week (and
sometimes several times a day if you watch the Satellite Channels ;-).
Occasionally they need film extras at short notice; the best way to join in is
to join the Bluebell
Railway as a member. The film people are very good and usually clean up very
well after themselves, although there are exceptions. Our office still has a
broken window caused by them "blowing up a train" with a massive explosion on
two nights in succession at 2 a.m. for the movie
Charlotte Grey. We lost
two nights sleep, didn't even get free tickets, and the film flopped. (moan
over!)
Horsted Keynes
SHOPPING
Unlike many (perhaps most) of our neighbouring villages Horsted Keynes still
has a shop and Post Office available to all. Before getting the car out
therefore please don't forget that unless these businesses are used our green
will become like many others, houses (owned by weekend residents), parked cars,
and little else! The businesses in the village between them stock most regular
things that a family needs and after taking petrol or fares into account
shopping locally for day to day items can work out cheaper than driving into
town.
Horsted Keynes Village Stores
Open every day including Sunday mornings, sell food, drink, wine and
newspapers. Newspaper delivery service.
Horsted Keynes Post Office
Open Monday to Saturday for pensions, benefits, cards, stationery etc.,
as well as the usual Post Office items, and yes you can tax your car there!
Monday to Saturday 9.00 to 5.30. Closed for lunch 1.00 - 2.15.
Closes for the day at 1.00.p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.
Telephone 790360
Haywards Heath and East Grinstead both have the usual rather limited
range of shops. In East Grinstead Woolworth's, W.H.Smith, Sainsbury's, etc. are
in both towns although Haywards Heath tends to have larger stores and also a
small Mark's and Spencer store in the "Orchards" shopping centre. "Shopping
Centre" is something of an exaggeration as there is little else there! Tesco
have a small store in Haywards Heath near Boots the Chemist. With their limited
range of goods there's not really enough for a weekly stock up, and they can't
at present compete with Sainsbury's who tend to exploit their monopoly
with some of their prices, apparently one of the most expensive branches in the
country!
East Grinstead has most of the above shops as well as an Argos store,
together with some smaller specialist shops.
In contrast Crawley has the South's largest indoor shopping centre
right in the town centre at County Mall. If a shop isn't found in or next door
to County Mall then it isn't worth visiting anyway! Vast car parks (40p an hour)
and easy access. Crawley is about 15 minutes drive away from
Horsted Keynes if you keep to the speed limit. This is highly recommended as
Crawley's 30 m.p.h. speed limit (otherwise known as "The Crawley Crawl") is well
enforced even at 2 a.m. with cameras a plenty. You have been warned.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Ravenswood (www.theravenswood.co.uk) hosts top-quality national and
international live music acts put on by highly-regarded local organisation,
Acoustic Sussex. All profits go to charity. Visit the website for details at
www.acousticsussex.org.uk.
Horsted Keynes
OTHER NUMBERS (please advise errors or corrections)
Women's Institute
Monthly meetings at the Village Hall.
Secretary Veronica Griffiths 790401
President Jennifer Cowderoy 790333
There are 3 "Men's Institutes" in the village. The Crown, The
Green Man, and the British Legion ;-)
Halls for Hire
The Village Hall
Mrs C Wilson 791505
The Martindale Centre Mrs V Griffiths 790401
Useful Numbers
Horsted Keynes Parish Council Mrs O Wales 791919
Rotary Club
The local Rotary Club is held in Lindfield at The Bent Arms Hotel.
More details can be found at http://www.rotarysussex.org
Lions Club
The local Lions Club also meets in Lindfield at The Bent Arms Hotel.
Full details on www.communigate.co.uk/sussex/haywardsheathlionsclub
Golf
There are many golf clubs within a short drive of Horsted Keynes, (joke
;-) the nearest is
Paxhill Park Golf Club,
Lindfield,
West Sussex.
RH16 2QN
01444 484467 Fax 01444 482709
Cricket
Horsted Keynes Cricket Club has its own web site at
www.horstedkeynescc.hitscricket.com
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