Some good power news

We have been criticised for only giving negative news, well you know the old story "Man Bites Dog" is news, "Dog Bites Man" is not! However we are pleased to report that the night of February 29th was one of the stormiest for a long time yet we did not suffer a single power outage! So it's "well done" to E.D.F. for keeping village lights alight. Perhaps the recent spate of power line tree cutting helped?

Crown Inn sold - Press Report

We are pleased to announce that the Crown has been sold and is to reopen as a pub in the near future. Now let's get that plastic down! More details soon. If the new owners would like to give us some firm info we would be delighted to pass it on to the village. It beats a natter outside the Post office anytime. ;-)

VILLAGE RUNS DRY TWICE IN ONE WEEK

The freezing weather not only disturbed travel arrangements this week. After being without water earlier this week when a leak was fixed, taps in Horsted Keynes again started to run dry on Saturday night when workmen set to repairing a leak that had been fountaining out of the road near Ludwell Grange for several days.

As soon as this leak was cured early on Sunday morning and full pressure restored, another part of the same pipe literally blew a hole in a field a hundred metres away near Medhurst Farm.

This meant that the village was without a mains water supply for the whole of Sunday. On what must have been expected to be one of the busiest days of the year The Green Man was forced to close, as was the British Legion.

Supplies started to return just after 6 p.m. on Sunday evening and are now back to normal.

South Eastern Water recorded contact details

More lightning on the Green!
June 23 2007

After the Crown strike another of the remaining Horsted Keynes hostelries was attacked by the elements today. The British Legion was near the centre of yet another lightning strike which came out of an almost blue sky. It seems that this time it was telephone lines rather than the power cables that were hit as with little warning a massive bang could be heard all over the village. Electrical items and computers took the brunt as they suddenly came to a halt at about 2.30 on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately there was no structural damage reported.

Is someone, somewhere trying to tell HK drinkers something or is it all a sinister plot by B.T. ? ;-)

New BBC Show Heir Hunters Features Former Horsted Keynes Resident

A new daytime programme to be shown on BBC1 will feature a former Horsted Keynes resident Clive Mussen. The programme Heir Hunters covers people throughout the UK who have died intestate - without leaving a will - and looks for their relatives who might be about to inherit a small (or large) fortune.

We understand that Clive Mussen has left property in the centre of the village and so far no relatives have come to light.

UPDATE

The series was shown on BBC1 at 9-15a.m. starting on June 4th. 2007 however  in the end there was no mention of Clive or his former home. Perhaps this is because the Government reportedly got the cash this time?

February 7th 2007 - Hosepipe ban lifted at last!

South-Eastern Water lifted their 18 month hosepipe ban today. 'Bout time too! This means that all areas of the village can once again wash their cars and water their greenhouses. Let's hope they don't reinstate a ban the first time that the sun shines on the village green.

 RAVING MAD?
(Updated Wednesday 14th. June)

An all night "Rave" caused much consternation last Saturday night - it could be heard as far away as Ardingly, Lindfield and Haywards Heath!

There is now a news report on the BBC web site about the rave. One interesting point is that the police say that they broke the rave up at about 2a.m. All together now... "Oh no they didn't!". We could certainly hear the thumping until well after dawn. Perhaps the police broke up a different rave?! ;-)

Another question worth asking is if it is Mid-Sussex Council's responsibility to act on this disturbance then why do they not have 24 hour "noise patrols" like other areas?

We received the following email just as things were breaking up and before the full facts emerged. Some of the comments are therefore still justified, while others may need to be modified as fuller information emerges....(Due to developments of news we have unusually decided to remove the entry)

The objective of the meeting was to share any information gathered about the Crown and to try to find a way to further two aims: to protect the cricket pitch as an open green space and to get the Crown rebuilt.

It was established that the owners of the pub have no intention of rebuilding the Crown in line with the planning consent that Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) has granted; i.e. as a two storey building operating as a pub. There will be many in the village who would be extremely sad not to see the Crown rebuilt as a pub. However it was agreed that for the present, our aim should be to try to preserve the structure as it is, as a Grade II listed building. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has advised that the best way to do this is for us to put pressure on MSDC to serve a notice of repairs, which would involve MSDC drawing up a list of necessary permanent repairs together with a specified time limit. The District Council has statutory powers to do this, but SPAB emphasised that the success of such a campaign would be largely due to local pressure. This means that as many people as possible should write in to MSDC to express support for this action. The address to write to is:

Mrs Fisher
North Area Planning
MSDC
Oaklands
Oaklands Rd
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 1SS

The identity of the owners of the Crown should be confirmed by Wednesday of this week. It was suggested that it might be beneficial to contact the owners to try to ascertain what their plans were.

It was also agreed that the Land Registry Office be contacted in order to get a site plan of the Crown and cricket pitch and to ascertain whether or not any covenants exist on the cricket pitch.

The position so far is that Mid Sussex District Council have sought the advice of English Heritage, presumably to investigate the viability of keeping the Crown as a Grade II listed building, and is awaiting a reply. Buildings can be de-listed at any time if a good case can be made, but this is a lengthy and costly process, involving the Secretary of State as well as English Heritage. An example would be a building where not enough of the original fabric remains to warrant listed status, or where the building is structurally unsound.

There will be an update at the beginning of the next Parish Council meeting on 14th February 7.30 pm in the Village Hall.

Could the village centre do with some fixed public lighting?

More than 100 years ago they used to hang oil lanterns and candles from the trees whenever there was an event at the church so that villagers could walk down the hill without falling into the hedge! Indeed we are told that there are still some of the hangers on the old trees in Church Lane if you know where to look. At the recent carol service there were many people walking down the lane holding lanterns and torches as the way was quite dark despite there being a full moon.

It's now nearly 2006 and perhaps time to consider a few strategically placed street lights again - this time we could use electricity instead of oil! Following requests from local residents we have decided to ask your opinions on the matter.

We do appreciate that Horsted Keynes is one of the few places between London and the coast where it is still really dark at night, and many residents want it to stay that way without the dreadful orange glow that can be seen on the horizon. Clearly some of the people who are suggesting a change are newcomers to rural living who have not been brought up to store a well charged torch by their front door!

On the other hand it is possible that a few more people might park at the top of the hill and walk down to the church instead of blocking Church Lane with their cars if they could see their way more clearly at night. (We did say possible - that's all ;-)

Anyway, we have been asked to solicit comments, so ask you to have a think about it and let us know your views. Obviously you could instead have a chat with your local Parish Councillor if you prefer the old non-electronic way of passing on your thoughts!

We try to publish all comments received but cannot guarantee this as the web site is run as an unpaid hobby rather than a business. As usual we will use your name or nickname unless you specifically ask us to keep your comment annonymous.

As a rate paying village resident I wondered if there might be any other residents out there interested in getting some attractive street lighting down the village high street? I twisted my ankle so badly this summer on the dark high street that it's not been the same since. Other residents I've spoken to say they'd love to go down to the local pub if it wasn't for walking in the pitch black. The local pub and shop would surely benefit from some extra trade from residents enjoying a lit walk to their venue? I feel the high street would look so much more beautiful and welcoming. Let's admit, lovely as HK is, isn't it feeling a trifle dead? The ghostly Crown doesn't help much I know.   Could you put this idea to residents on your website and get some kind of petition going? Not to scare them off though with the idea of dreadful neon lights, but the attractive old fashioned variety. What do you think?   Yours sincerely Sonia Knox

Hi I would vote NO on this one unless there is clear evidence that people are being injured  ( Although I have now lived here for 16 years, I had never previously lived anywhere without street lights  - However the lack of lighting never bothered me. Indeed it rather adds to the charm of the place). A more useful ( and cheaper ) safety measure might be to persuade the parents of young children that Church lane is a public road and not an extension of the School playground! Regards Trev

34 New Houses in Hamsland?

UPDATE, May 2006: We understand the development will not take place - for now! More details soon.

On the South Eastern edge of our village lies Hamsland, an estate built in the former fields adjoining the mansion of that name. Half way along this road is St. Stephen’s Catholic Church and behind this is a field.  

It seems that Mid Sussex District Council have put this (literally) green field site on a list of areas where new housing could be developed. You can read all about it here.

As can be imagined residents in the area are not too keen on having 34 houses built where they now have uninterrupted views across the Sussex countryside and have raised the matter vociferously at Council level. One of their main objections seems to be that the inclusion of this field has not been widely publicised (although we understand that specific public objections will be sought in the future).

We will try to keep you abridged of developments but in the mean time should you wish to comment on the proposal as it now stands we will be pleased to add them to this page.

Emails to the usual address please.

As residents most affected by this proposal, we have been looking at the MSDC website again to check on developments and notice that a list of objections is now available. http://www.midsussex.gov.uk/Nimoi/sites/msdcpublic/resources/022%20-%20GF04.pdf What is causing us concern and anger is that the Parish Council appears to be in support of the development:  Council recognises the need for affordable housing, and that there are limited sites available. Development of this site should be considered, but there are a number of issues that should be addressed. Parish Council supports further consideration of the site, but believes the number of houses proposed would create unacceptable traffic, and that the development should only be considered if a much lower housing density is agreed. We cannot but think that there is an ulterior motive behind this, possibly in using the possible development as ammunition against the Freshfield Tip. In any case, we feel that the Parish Council is not in tune with the thoughts of local residents, as we never received a reply to our first letter to them last July. Perhaps it is time again to raise this matter on the website so that people in the village are aware of what is happening.  Regards – David Cotterill/Len Walton

To keep HorstedKeynes.Com on the internet we MUST start to recover some of our costs. Unfortunately simple requests for donations seem to be a waste of time (with a few notable exceptions for which we are extremely grateful), so we have to think of novel ways to help defray our costs.

If you are thinking of subscribing to SkyTV then please do consider getting us to "recommend" you. If WE pass your details to Sky (instead of you contacting them direct) then we get a credit which we can apply towards our server costs and YOU get an extra discount over and above any advertised Sky offer. In this way we BOTH gain! If you are thinking of subscribing to Sky then please say to them that you have been recommended by RH17 7EH (that's our postcode). Sky will get in touch with us after you have signed up.

Alternatively please let us have your name and email address to pass to Sky who simply use the information to send you details, that's all.  You do NOT get loads of unwanted advertising from them. Contacting Sky places you under no obligation of course, and "no salesman will call" ;-).  Incidentally, Sky is the only way to beat summer foreign interference in this area, and their picture quality is superb, much better than Freeview, and that's without going for their new High Definition option!

Thanks for reading this, and please do consider getting in touch.  Your HorstedKeynes.Com webmasters.

WOW - Horsted Keynes live on the BBC!

We are delighted to announce that the BBC have selected Horsted Keynes as one of the most photogenic places in the UK and they are now taking our live web camera pictures so that visitors to their site (which is the largest web site in the UK and one of the largest in the world) can see up to date pictures of our beautiful Sussex village. This will of course bring the name Horsted Keynes to the attention of readers and viewers all over the world!

Whilst we are showing the best pictures that we can from our location, there are two things that would make this service complete. These are two windowsills, one overlooking the village green, and another looking out on Horsted Keynes station. How about it, do you have somewhere suitable? You would need a broadband internet connection but we'd provide the special cameras which don't need a computer to run and wouldn't interfere with your normal internet use at all.

Please email us if you can help.

If you'd like to see the new cameras that we are using take a look here.

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL OUR WORK!

If this web site was a book that you had written and you found that a local book shop was selling off photocopies with a different authors name on the cover you would be a little miffed, wouldn't you? This web site contains more than 50Meg of material most of which is unavailable anywhere else in this form and which has taken us literally years of work to compile. The fact that it is published on a computer is immaterial.

Lately we have found several cases of sites (mostly larger than ourselves) stealing our source material just to make their half empty pages look better. In one case more than 100k (that's probably 30 A4 size pages of text) have been found on another site - complete with our grammatical and spelling errors - now corrected. It just forgot to mention that we wrote the material! This is not only unfair it is illegal.

When we do a picture search for Horsted Keynes things are even worse; we see photographs from this site all over the internet! Let's make this 100% clear - if you find a photograph on the internet you cannot just right click it and then put it on your own web site. Photographs (up to a certain age anyway) are copyright and reproduction is illegal. Without exception if we have found a recent photo that we think might look good on these web pages we ASK FIRST. Usually people are honoured to help (as are we) but occasionally we get stonewalled. That's life!

As our site gets bigger and the village gets better known, more visitors will come to us both electronically and in person, so we are determined to make HorstedKeynes.Com the best village site in the UK. To do this we have to publish content that is both exclusive and accurate. This won't happen if out of date, unchecked, material is available all over the internet.

Here is our final warning. We now have a copyright lawyer who lives locally and has offered us free use of her services. Warning emails have been sent to the miscreants (sorry, copyright thieves) and if the theft continues we WILL sue and claim damages. You have been warned!

The silly thing is as we say at the foot of every page. Other web sites are welcome to use our material free of charge, as long as they ask first and acknowledge us as the original authors of the material! In this way we can advise them of amendments and updates, it's not much to ask, is it?

If YOU see our work (that's pictures or text) on other web sites please do let us know. As far as we are aware we have not lifted a single sentence from another web site without permission (except addresses and 'phone numbers which we copy and paste for accuracy), so if the text is the same or the pictures seem familiar, it's probably been "borrowed" from us!

Please email copyright@horstedkeynes.com with the address where you saw the information. We will take a look and in most cases can confirm with 100% accuracy whether it's our work or not. You may remain anonymous or give us your name as you wish. We won't contact you back unless you say that we can, and your name would never be mentioned publicly in form.

Thanks,
Your webmasters.

p.s. ANYONE may provide a link to this site without asking first. If you do link to us (and let us know) we will link back to you, this will boost both our ratings as we are at or near the top of many search engines!

Exactly 700 years since William Wallace's Death
We love anniversaries and it won't have escaped your notice that Scottish patriot William Wallace was put to death on August 23, 1305, exactly 700 years ago. This should be recognised as a holiday, especially in Scotland. (Please don't try and understand why this is here, it's just too complicated to explain! ;-)