NEWS RELEASES
Southwater’s strong community spirit featured on TV
3 December 2008
THE very strong community spirit that belongs to Southwater has been highlighted on live regional and national television this week.
BBC TV South reporter Briony Leyland visited the village near Horsham as part of a feature looking at changing communities which featured on Monday’s 6pm and 6.30pm BBC 1 TV news (1 December).
The programme looked at how communities change over time, how they bind together, or not, and how a sense of belonging can be maintained when there's large housing growth and changes in demographics and living habits.
Southwater grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s from around 2,000 residents to over 10,000 now. The coming of the nearby A24 Horsham bypass some years ago also helped accelerate the change process for the village.
Horsham District Council’s recent £25 million Lintot Square redevelopment featured as a key part of strong community spirit being achieved in Southwater. The District Council’s partnership with Southwater Parish Council along with a host of other efforts being made by the local people has assisted in creating this strong and vibrant community.
Speaking on TV, Stephen Chapman, Chairman of the Southwater Action Plan, said:
“The recently redeveloped village centre has helped give a focus and sense of belonging to the 10,000 people who live here.
“Previously, the location was an old industrial estate with none of the facilities we have now.
“We have shops, a Post Office, a community centre, a library, a youth centre, a café, pub, health centre and lots more.
“And the local community is very actively involved in planning for the village’s future; we have very strong local involvement in how the village is run and people feel they belong.”
Ian Howard, Chairman of the Southwater Youth Project, also appeared on the programme and said:
“There has been a tremendous amount of work going on to give the village’s young people something to do.
“There are all kinds of things for them to enjoy such as arts, drama, talks, outings, games and much more.
“Much of this has been achieved by having a new youth centre and a dedicated youth worker led by the Parish Council, local churches and other agencies working together to achieve this common goal.”
Cllr Liz Kitchen, Leader of Horsham District Council, also spoke on live television. She said:
“It was very brave of Councillors at Horsham District Council to make this £25 million investment to create a new heart to this important village, something that's very rare for a local council to do.
“The redevelopment was finished two years ago and we can all see what a huge difference it has made to local people, very many of whom show remarkable community spirit.”
Ends
CONTACT: Richard Morris, Communications Manager
Email: richard.morris@horsham.gov.uk