News and events

Cuckfield Parish Council is delighted to present the trail of Cuckfield Advent Windows.

All windows will be lit on 24th December between 5-8pm to mark the night before Christmas and to bring the village together.

Please download the map if you wish to have a digital or paper version.

Document	Download
Advent Trail Map 2025	(PDF)

Significant Reforms for Business Rates from 1 April 2026

Businesses in Mid Sussex are being made aware that from 1 April 2026, major reforms to the business rates system will take effect across the district following a national revaluation.

Mid Sussex District Council will use updated rateable values, set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), to calculate business rates for local businesses. Every three years, the VOA reviews all non-domestic properties across England and Wales. Businesses can view their current and future rateable value through the VOA’s find a business rates valuation service on GOV.UK.

Additional changes to the business rates system will also be implemented, which Mid Sussex business owners should familiarise themselves with, including:

The introduction of new multipliers: Instead of two multipliers (which are used to calculate business rates), there will now be five distinct multipliers, including:

• • Permanent lower rates for Retail, Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) properties, replacing the current RHL Relief.
  • A higher rate for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more. 

• Two new support measures will be available to help businesses adjust:
  • Transitional Relief (TR): Limits annual increases for three years to soften sharp rises.
  • Supporting Small Business (SSB): Protects businesses losing Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, or RHL Relief, capping annual increases at £800 or the TR percentage. 

• A temporary 1p multiplier supplement: From 1 April 2026, for one year, the Government will apply a 1p supplement to the business rates multipliers for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme. 

To find out more about business rates and business support offered by the Council, visit Business Rates - Mid Sussex District Council

Full Council considered a petition during its meeting on Friday 12 December regarding the management of the West Sussex Local Government Pension Fund (the West Sussex Pension Fund). The county council participates in this as an employer to provide retirement benefits for its staff.

The petition called on the County Council to “urgently commit to divesting its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) investments from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, military occupation, and apartheid against Palestinians’”

During the debate, information was provided to assure members that the West Sussex Pension Fund does not have exposure to controversial weapons or arms manufacturers selling directly to Israel. The investment portfolio does not include companies considered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to be supporting Israeli settlements impacting the Palestinian people. There is also no information connecting the financial institutions held within the fund to any weapons manufacturing involving the Israel-Gaza war.

Following the debate a proposition was put forward by Cllr Pete Bradbury as follows:

“This council notes that the Pensions Committee already integrates environmental, social and governance principles throughout its investment decision-making process, from setting investment strategy to monitoring the fund’s investment managers, and that investment managers adhere to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment when approving investments. No further action is therefore required.”

A vote was carried out with 32 supporting the proposition, 20 against, and 10 abstentions.

‍The county council manages and administers the LGPS on behalf of almost 250 contributing employers covering more than 91,000 scheme members.

Only the members of the Pensions Committee, or officers where delegated, are responsible for exercising the powers and duties of the county council in its capacity as administering authority and therefore can take formal decisions in relation to pensions matters.

As an employer within the fund, Full Council can only draw matters of interest to the attention of the Pensions Committee. The council cannot direct members of that committee in any way.

An Investment Strategy, agreed by the Pensions Committee, sets the framework for how the pension fund money is invested and managed. This strategy is based on detailed advice and is consulted on with employers, fund members and other interested parties.

Decisions on the individual companies that the fund invests in are delegated to the fund’s third-party investment managers who have a responsibility to consider environmental, social, and governance factors. They are all signatories to, and comply with, the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment.

More information on the approach can be found in the fund’s Investment Strategy Statement (westsussex.gov.uk).

For further information please contact the news desk on 0330 222 8090 or email [email protected]. For urgent out-of-hours enquiries please call 07767 098415.

West Sussex County Council will urge the Government to make all primary schools smartphone-free, following concerns raised by councillors about the impact of social media and mobile phone use on children’s emotional health, wellbeing and learning.

The council’s Cabinet Members for Children, Young People and Learning and for Public Health and Wellbeing, will write to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson MP after a notice of motion was passed during a full council meeting on Friday 12 December.

The motion, proposed by Councillor John Dabell, builds on discussions from the full council meeting in March this year, when members spoke about the harmful influence of toxic online content and the importance of positive role models for young people.

It also follows a recent West Sussex Online Harms Seminar jointly organised by the county council’s Children, Young People and Learning and Public Health directorates, which provided an opportunity to explore the issue of online and digital harms for school-aged children and young people with key stakeholders, including some primary and secondary school teachers, public health professionals, police, digital safety experts and members of the West Sussex Youth Cabinet.

Government guidance currently expects schools to prohibit mobile phone use and other smart technology during the school day, including during lessons, breaktimes, and lunchtimes, reducing unnecessary distraction, disruption and diversion, and supporting a calm and safe environment, so all pupils can learn and thrive.

The motion passed by the council notes that current Children’s Minister, Josh MacAllister MP, previously introduced a Private Members’ Bill, known as the Safer Phones Bill, in October 2024. This Bill initially aimed to make all schools phone-free zones during the school day, raise the age of internet adulthood from 13 to 16 and strengthen Ofcom’s powers to protect children from addictive apps. However, the school phone ban provision was removed during the Bill’s progression and, whilst the Bill received both cross-party endorsements and support from educational and children’s organisations, it was withdrawn on 10 September this year.

Following support from county councillors, it was agreed that Councillor Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning and Councillor Bob Lanzer, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing will write to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, to request that the Government reconsiders its position on this matter and that all primary school settings become smartphone free.

Watch the debate in full: County Council - Friday 12 December 2025, 10:30am - West Sussex webcasts 

Advice and support to help you, your family and business stay safe online is available on the county council website.

For further information please contact the news desk on 0330 222 8090 or email [email protected].

People in West Sussex are being encouraged to get their flu vaccine ahead of the festive season as the number of flu patients in hospital hits a record high in England for this time of year.

The NHS nationally is warning that the country is facing an unprecedented flu season.

Health leaders in West Sussex County Council are joining colleagues nationwide by advising that vaccination is the best way for people to protect themselves against the virus.

Flu can have serious consequences, and the vaccine is particularly important for those at higher risk including over 65s, pregnant women, people with long-term health conditions and young children.

People in at-risk groups can get the free NHS flu vaccine from their GP practice or local pharmacy. Visit the NHS website to check if you’re eligible and to book an appointment. If you are eligible, you can also book your vaccine via the NHS App, visit Book free NHS flu vaccination, call 119, or contact your GP practice or pharmacy.

Those not eligible for the free vaccination can still purchase one from participating pharmacies.

Councillor Bob Lanzer, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "It’s important to keep ourselves well during the colder months with a number of winter viruses circulating and when we naturally spend more time indoors. If you’re eligible for a free flu vaccine, please take up the offer as soon as possible. Acting now will help protect you and your loved ones through the festive season and help protect our health and social care services, as it takes around two weeks to become fully effective.”

Alison Challenger, West Sussex Director of Public Health, said: "The flu is a debilitating illness which can have potentially serious consequences for those in high-risk groups, including people with long-term conditions such as diabetes, respiratory conditions, neurological diseases and heart, kidney and liver disease. A significant number of our residents who are eligible for a free NHS flu vaccination have taken up the offer already. The flu vaccine is still the best protection for you and those around you. If you haven’t had yours yet, now is the time to act and build your immunity.”

Flu viruses are spread by breathing in droplets from coughs and sneezes from an infected person or from touching surfaces on which those viruses have landed then touching their face and mouth. Taking care to follow good hand and respiratory hygiene is key to not passing on or picking up the virus. Symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, aches and pains in joints and muscles and extreme tiredness.

For further information please contact the news desk on 0330 222 8090 or email [email protected]. For urgent out-of-hours enquiries please call 07767 098415.

To read all the up and coming events please read our newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/c371bf4555f...

Below is a full list of up and coming events either being held at The Queens Hall or run but Cuckfield Parish Council

Document	Download
Queens Hall Events 2026	(PDF)