The Argus • 20/11/2024

'Predatory' vicar given life sentence

Ifor Whittaker, 80, admitted rape and gross indecency with the child in the vestry of St John The Baptist Church in Sedlescombe, near Hastings, where he served as a priest under the name Colin Pritchard. Hove Crown Court heard that Whittaker had baptised the boy, who he went on to abuse. Sentencing him to a discretionary life sentence on Tuesday, Judge Gary Lucie said: “You are a predatory paedophile and have been for many years. “I doubt that you will ever cease to be a serious dang...

The Argus • 20/11/2024

Two schools in Hove consider joining academy despite council pleas

West Hove Infant School and Hove Juniors are currently engaged in a four week consultation on plans to join the Aurora Multi Academy Trust (MAT). The two schools have worked closely together and even formed the Hove Learning Federation following a public consultation in 2021. Yesterday, Brighton and Hove City Council urged the schools to reconsider the proposal. If the schools were to join the trust it would move them out of local authority control.  Parents, carers and staff are...

The Argus • 19/11/2024

Council urges schools to rethink plans to join academy trust

West Hove Infant School and Hove Juniors are currently engaged in a  four week consultation to consider a proposal to join the Aurora Multi Academy Trust (MAT). The two schools have worked closely together and even formed the Hove Learning Federation following a public consultation in 2021. If the schools were to join the trust it would move them out of local authority control.  Parents, carers and staff are being asked to comment on the proposals, which the council believes will lea...

The Argus • 19/11/2024

Local MP secures £20 million in funding after lobbying government

Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne Josh Babarinde has announced that he has secured the future of the £20 million Towns Fund to be spent in the town. The government funding was originally pledged in March, but Labour ministers placed it under review in July, with many fearing it would be scrapped altogether. Mr. Babarinde met with government ministers to urge them to protect the funding for Eastbourne, wrote to them, and raised it on the floor of the House of Commons to try and secure the fund’s...

The Argus • 19/11/2024

'We were fighting a losing battle' MP and residents react to Royal Mail lease grant

The cabinet at Brighton and Hove City Council approved the leasehold grant of the site in Patcham Court Farm at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The lease will be for a term of 250 years of the site to Royal Mail for the provision of a 4,145sqm delivery office. Residents in Patcham have been fighting against the development for over a year, forming the  campaign group Patcham Against Royal Mail with hundreds supporting the cause.  The entrance to the site in Patcham Farm Court (Imag...

The Argus • 19/11/2024

MPs and farmers among the tens of thousands of protesters in Westminster

The rally, which was attended by an estimated 13,000 people in Westminster, according to police, was held alongside a mass lobby. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) held the mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members, three times as many people as originally planned, to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million. The protest aims to highlight the impact of the recent Budget on their farms, specifically the changes...

The Argus • 18/11/2024

School is rated 'outstanding' in all areas

Cardinal Newman Catholic School on The Upper Drive in Hove was inspected between October 8 and 9. Inspectors found that pupils are immensely proud to attend this school and feel a strong sense of belonging. It highlighted that students “extoll the ethos and values of the school, as captured in the declaration ‘I am valued, I am valuable, and I value others'". When Ofsted last inspected the school in 2023, it mentioned that the school could be rated ‘outstanding’ in its next inspectio...

The Argus • 14/11/2024

Royal Mail is granted leasehold to build new depot

The cabinet at Brighton and Hove City Council has approved to grant a leasehold of the site at Patcham Court Farm at a meeting this afternoon. The lease will be for a term of 250 years of the site to Royal Mail for the provision of a 4,145sqm delivery office. This comes after more than 1,000 objections have been raised to the planning application since its submission in July 2022. The planning application was granted in September. One of the protest signs on a resident's property (Im...

The Argus • 14/11/2024

Children were sat in football stadium when it is believed to have been set alight

A suspected arson attack was carried out at 7.10pm at the Hailsham Town Football Club ground in Western Road. A youth team was sat in the stand when the fire was noticed, the club has stated. East Sussex Fire and Rescue were called to the scene and tackled the blaze, putting it out by 8.05pm and reporting no injuries. Children who were a part of the youth team were evacuated safely after the coaches noticed smoke. The fire is being investigated as suspected arson (Image: Dan Jessup)...

The Argus • 14/11/2024

Level crossing on busy main road to close for works all weekend

Work to replace railway track on the level crossing at Portslade Station means that diversions will be necessary for motorists, trains, pedestrians and cyclists. The work taking place from 1am on November 30 through to 2am on December 2 means that motorists are advised to use the A270 Old Shoreham Road as a diversionary route. Buses replacing trains between Brighton and Littlehampton will be provided all weekend. Rail services that usually run between London Victoria and Littlehampto...

The Argus • 14/11/2024

Hundreds of parents rally to save school from closure

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Hollingdean, Brighton, sent out a letter to parents and carers on Monday to announce they are consulting on its closure. The school highlighted a "declining birth rate in Brighton and Hove" as one of the main contributing factors. In the letter it mentioned that various options had been explored but due to "no viable solutions" the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton is now consulting a proposal for its closure. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School h...

The Argus • 14/11/2024

Work will finally start to restore historic arches next week

Brighton and Hove City Council announced last month that the first phase of the Madeira Terrace project, would begin in late November. The work will start on Monday, when lead contractor JT Mackley and Co will start to clear rubbish and greenery so repairs can begin on the A259 retaining wall, known as the East Cliff wall or the Green Wall.  Work to restore the first 28 arches and build a new, fully accessible lift is expected to be completed in summer 2026. An important part of the...

The Argus • 13/11/2024

Plans to build apartments to go ahead following successful appeal

Churchill Living has been granted planning permission for the independent living retirement apartments at a site in Keymer Road in Hassocks. The apartments will provide "high quality, secure and self-contained accommodation designed to enable independence, freedom and low maintenance living for over 60s". READ MORE: Brighton gasworks development to go before Planning Inspectorate The planning application was first submitted on December 5, 2023, and was rejected for not being in keepi...

The Argus • 13/11/2024

Primary school may have to close due to falling numbers

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Hollingdean, Brighton, sent out a letter to parents and cares on Monday to announce the news. The school highlighted a "declining birth rate in Brighton and Hove" as one of the main contributing factors. In the letter it mentioned that various options had been explored but due to "no viable solutions" the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton is now consulting a proposal for its closure. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has been in service for over...

The Argus • 13/11/2024

Fire at football club's ground being investigated as suspected arson

Hedges were left burning after a fire broke out at 7.10pm at the Hailsham Town Football Club ground in Western Road. East Sussex Fire and Rescue were called to the scene and can be seen tackling the blaze which left a billow of orange smoke rising into the sky. A spokeswoman said: "We were called at 7.10pm on 12 November to reports of a hedge fire at the recreation ground in Western Road, Hailsham. "Two fire engines from Eastbourne were in attendance and crews used two hose reel jets...

The Argus • 12/11/2024

Council reopens high-rise business hub

New England House reopened to its tenants today after being shut over the weekend so the necessary fire safety mitigations could be put in place. Brighton and Hove City Council has apologised to the traders affected. It said it was forced to close the building at short notice after a fire safety report uncovered “intolerable” safety risks. Businesses in the building, in New England Street, Brighton, said they were losing thousands of pounds in revenue every day as the busy Christmas peri...

The Argus • 12/11/2024

Man and woman arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

Sussex Police responded to a report of a serious assault at a flat in Rymill Road, St Leonards, at around 5.39pm yesterday, November 11. A man in his 40s, from St Leonards, has been taken to hospital with significant injuries, where he remains in a stable condition. READ MORE: Dangerous lorry driver who drove into holiday park sentenced A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: "This is being treated as an isolated incident, all parties are believed to be known to one another and no othe...

The Argus • 11/11/2024

Dangerous lorry driver who drove into holiday park sentenced

Janis Rimovics was driving a 44-tonne articulated lorry when he struck a parked vehicle in Church Lane in Pagham. The 50-year-old then drove into the nearby Church Farm Holiday Village which was busy with families and children on a busy Saturday evening during the summer holidays. Despite there being pedestrians, Rimovics continued to attempt to manoeuvre the lorry before members of the public persuaded him to give up. Rimovics smelt of alcohol and the police were called. When office...

The Argus • 10/11/2024

Inadequate primary school turns rating around in five years to good

Moulsecoomb Primary School in Brighton, part of The Pioneer Academy Trust, has been rated as good in all areas following an Ofsted inspection in October. The school was given the lowest possible rating by the education watchdog after a visit in April 2019. The damning report started a process which saw the government intervening to force the school, which is off Lewes Road, to become an academy. Staff, pupils and parents are delighted that their school has now been rated ‘Good’ (Imag...

The Argus • 09/11/2024

Community rallies together to release balloons in support of girls burned in incident

Last evening more than 50 people turned up next to St Cuthmans Church in Whitehawk, Brighton, to release pink and silver balloons. Children, parents and relatives all showed up in a show of solidarity with the four girls who were left with life-threatening injuries after an accident at Wendy’s in Western Road, which led to them being taken to hospital with burns. Laughter and cheers could be heard the moment all the balloons lifted into the air in unison. (function (d, s...