Friday 29th January 2010 Nuns lose striptease battle
The sisters of St Margaret's Convent in Uckfield have lost a battle to
block the establishment of a strip club on The Broadway in the High
Street. The sisters, whose convent is in the area of the proposed
club, argued that the strip joint could corrupt the vulnerable young
of the area. Wealden District Council’s licensing committee granted
permission for the nightclub to host striptease only at private
functions.

In a letter to the council’s committee Sister Jepson from the nunnery
said: "Numerous younger college students use the High Street regularly
and would be aware of its activities. Can we suppose that the dancing
entertainment and films are going to be Morris Men and Julie Andrews?" Sussex

Monday 25th January 2010 Brighton hopes for home-grown food bounty
Brighton and Hove council want to release more council-owned land for
growing food. A plan to seek out suitable patches of land for
community growing projects was approved at a meeting of the city
council’s sustainability cabinet. The scheme is part of the Harvest
Brighton and Hove project, which the city hopes will increase the
consumption of locally grown food.

A report prepared by the sustainability cabinet said: "The council
owns substantial land within the city, some of which is not being used
or is underused. Where there is interest from the community for
temporary or semi permanent growing projects, mutually beneficial
arrangements may be facilitated." Sussex

Monday 7th December 2009 Shingle recycled to protect Sussex town
The Environment Agency will carry out work to help protect the Sussex
town of Seaford. Workers will shift several tonnes of shingle
previously washed to the sides of the beach back into the centre to
help break the waves and reduce their energy before they hit the sea
wall.

The flood risk manager Mark Douch said: "The recycling of shingle each
year helps reduce the risk of coastal flooding to low lying parts of
the town and is the best way of maintaining the beach."

The shingle beach was completely rebuilt and the sea wall improved in
1987 as part of efforts to protect 350 homes and businesses from the
sea. Sussex

Monday 9th November 2009 Sponge Bob the crab
A sponge crab has been caught off the coast of England by a fishermen
who landed the creature in his pots off Hastings, East Sussex. The
sponge crab is more usually found in Mediterranean waters. The 6 inch
specimen hauled up in Hastings, and now nicknamed Bob, will go on
display at the town’s Blue Reef Aquarium.

Kate Buss, from the Blue Reef Aquarium, said: "They really are amazing
creatures and it's fantastic to have one on display here. Sponge crabs
have two pairs of modified legs tipped with needle-like pincers which
they use to secure sponges which sit on their backs. They are quite
adept at moving sponges over the whole of their body to enable them to
hide.” Sussex

Tuesday 1st September 2009 Britain’s piers an endangered species
Of Britain’s 55 remaining piers, at least 10 are in danger of collapse
or demolition. The figures come from the National Piers Society which
has produced an ‘at risk’ register of British piers. According to the
society the pier at Hastings is presently at the top of the at risk
list. The pier’s top rank on the list is not just a factor of its
present state of disrepair but also takes into account the piers
heritage value.

101 British piers were built in seaside locations between 1814 and
1957. Of the just over half of those built that are still left, 10 are
presently closed to the public. Sussex

Wednesday 29th July 2009 Bank error threat to wedding
A couple from West Sussex have had their plans to wed thrown into chaos by a bank error that siphoned thousands of pounds from their account. Kaj Harrison is due to marry Joanne Burge this weekend. But now he’s been left seriously in the red after the problems with a Royal Bank of Scotland credit card terminal led to his account being debited twice when he paid a £4,414 hotel bill.

The bank still haven’t reimbursed the money although his own bank, the HSBC have offered Mr Harrison an overdraft! It subsequently transpired that Mr Harrison wasn’t the only member of the public to fall foul of this double billing problem. The Bank of Scotland confirmed that a fault had been identified with its card terminals and has promised a full refund for all effected. Sussex

Monday 20th July 2009 Historic windmill closes
The Shipley Windmill Charitable Trust have been forced to close the windmill they’ve been running for twenty years. Shipley windmill closed after the trust failed to negotiate a new lease with owner and landlord Charles Eustace, great grandson of writer and former mill-owner Hilaire Belloc.

The mill was built in 1879 and was the largest working mill in West Sussex until its closure on July 19. The Shipley Windmill Trust and friends plan to exhaust the trust’s remaining funds making minor repairs and improvements before handing the building back to Mr Eustace. Sussex