No Mow May

As in previous years, the Parish Council will be leaving an area of lawn at Court Bushes Community Hub uncut as part of No Mow May. This year however, small areas will remain uncut until September to provide the maximum benefit to butterflies, moths and other insects. Many butterfly and moth caterpillars feed on grasses to get the energy to complete their life cycle so they benefit from having access to areas of longer grass. Hopefully wildflowers such as dandelions and buttercups will appear which will provide valuable nectar for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Methodist Church Update

On 20th March 2025, the old Methodist Church at 42 Cuckfield Road, Hurstpierpoint, was sold at auction. The Church closed in December 2023. In response to requests from residents and local community groups, the Parish Council was able to register the building as an asset of community value in February 2024, prior to it being sold. Although there are a number of good-sized halls for hire in the parish, there is still a high demand for large hall spaces for all types of community activities. Due to this ongoing need, the Parish Council considered taking out a loan to purchase the old Church to help meet some of the demand. A valuation, building condition survey and structural survey were undertaken to ensure the building could be refurbished. Despite the cost of the building, the Parish Council recognised what a fantastic asset it would be for the community. On 13th March 2025, we agreed to put in an offer to purchase the venue for a price that was considered affordable and fair for council taxpayers. Sadly, this offer was not accepted, so the building was unable to be saved for community use. Assuming the current sale goes through, we anticipate much interest in how the land and building are developed in the future.

To read the full article, please pick up your copy of May’s Hurst Life today or click the images to enlarge them.