Come and celebrate the season at our annual Christmas party which will be held in the atmospheric Regency Town House this year. Wine, soft drinks and a light supper will be available, so come and meet your neighbours for an enjoyable evening out.

As you may know we are presenting the Brunswick Town Art Fair on Sunday 3 July in Brunswick Square. If you know of any artists, photographers, painters, illustrators etc who may be interested in exhibiting, please forward them the downloads below.

And please let all your friends know about this exciting new event which we hope will become an annual fixture in Brighton's art calendar. If you need any further information please contact Peter Sofroniou on 07947 801023 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We look forward to seeing you on the 3rd July!

Downloads

Poster - Invite -  Exhibitor information

St Anns Well Spring Festival Sat May 21st. 11am - 7pm | Press Release

"Instinctively, I believe Brighton and Hove should have its own “311″ service, a means by which citizens with non-emergency needs can access the information they require about public and community services, in an easy and speedy fashion.

Furthermore, I feel that such an innovation is intimately bound up with the creation of an open-data city. Data generated by citizens seeking a service can identify gaps in provision, build a knowledge base for immediate use, and inform strategic solutions in the longer term." (article continues here)

This is the view of Greg Hadfield, founder of Open Data, Brighton and Hove. What do you think?

Are you female, aged over 50 and a frequent facebook user? If so you could be part of an innovative online project with residents, looking at how you travel around the city. There are some great incentives on offer. You should either live or work in the city. If you think you fit the bill, and want to be involved, or you''d like to find out more, please contact JourneyOn.co.uk at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please put "PTP Facebook" in the subject line.

Happy New Year to all members.

Many of you will have been to the Christmas Party, which was very well attended and seems to have been well received.  Importantly, despite generous helpings of food and drink (particularly the latter...), the event was broadly neutral on cost, largely due to the generous help of those who prepared food, loaned furniture and hunted around for pre-Christmas wine bargains!  Thank you once again to all those involved.

Many members have detected problems with the paint used in the ongoing redecoration.  There appear to be issues with flaking after the cold weather, even on properties which were well prepared and well decorated (which is sadly not all properties).  The paint manufacturer's rep will be coming down to look at the issue and the Council has been notified by your Chairman.  We will update you as things develop from here.  None of this affects the requirement for those properties still undecorated to get their works done as soon as practically possible. The Council is clear in their determination to follow up (with legal proceedings if required) to ensure that all properties are painted.  If you are unpainted and unaware of the deadlines and threats of action thereafter, then you should chase your managing agent for further information as a matter of urgency.

The gardens have been subject to recent pruning which has caused some concern (even despair!).  We are assured that the species concerned will grow back rapidly and vigorously and that failure to prune would otherwise lead to growth deformities and (as has been the case with one tree) sabotage by residents who like their views into the gardens.  We will be keeping a close eye on things.

On other fronts, your committee is pushing forward on a small, naturalistic play area in the copse, bike racks, more residents' planting, repair / repainting of the railings and, possibly, a summer party.

We'd urge all of you, as ever, to join our litter clean ups  in the gardens and to do all you can to help the Friends, and for those of you who aren't paid up yet, that includes handing over your money!  Enjoy 2011 and thanks again for all your support.

Leaseholders. I have been warning of impending, tougher Landlord and Tenant Regulations relating to safer control of your money with new requirements for comprehensive audits of detailed service charge accounts. All intended to add significant safeguards and diminish improper practices of 'managers', both in house and as Agents. .Apart from audit cost implications those Regulations were in general being welcomed by national Leaseholder organizations - the FBST being a significant contributor to the drafting process.  The new Government has now said they will not be 'enacted' because their requirements were excessive (I suspect that problems with big land lords groups and with the cost of statutory Audits could not be reconciled with proof of the intended advantages). However this may leave you exposed to deliberate or accidental 'malpractices'. Thus you should take your own precautions to reduce your vulnerabilities.

Lights are going out all over the country - well in Brighton and Hove anyway. A report in the Argus says that 60 went missing in one week. Residents are asked to be vigilant and report anything dodgy (or anyone light-fingered?) to the police.

In his new bestselling book Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, celebrated British writerWilliam Dalrymple sets out to discover how South Asia's diverse sacred traditions are managing to survive in the new India. 

Now Dalrymple is touring the UK, US and Australia. Helping him bring his book to life will be a group of ganja-smoking tantric Baul singers, or Madmen, from rural Bengal, led by the charismatic and prolific recording artist Paban Das Baul.

And matched in charisma and sheer vocal power will be Susheela Raman, an award-winning British Tamilian virtuoso who has helped to foster an ancient but dying sacred song tradition from the temples of southern India, and her husband Sam Mills, an anthropologist of Sufi mysticism, an accomplished guitar player, and a pioneering music producer.

Sunday 13 June
7.30pm, St Andrew's Church, Waterloo Street, Hove 
Tickets £15/£12 (concs £9) 

The weather is finally improving, and the scaffolding is beginning to go up around the Square. Members will no doubt recall Tom Chavasse's efforts to convince the Council to extend the painting cycle to 8 years.  The Council will make its decision during this next 5 year period, based on the state of the houses in a few years' time, so, if there was ever a year to pay for quality and to ensure that your decorators don't cut corners, this is it!
In the Gardens, the planting area for residents is now available, so if you'd like to add your personal touch to the gardens, just let me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), Peter Sofroniou ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Jeannie James ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) know what you'd like to plant.  We'll get the go-ahead from the gardener and you can contribute to the beauty of the gardens.

There is a litter picking and weeding session in the Square at 10 am on the last Saturday of every month. Given the number of members who express an interest in the gardens, the turnout is rather low, and it's always the same stalwarts coming out.  I'd like to see more people making the effort.  It's an hour's work (less if we have more hands), it strengthens our relationship with the council and it has a dramatic effect on the appearance of the gardens. Do please make a contribution of your time if you can.

The Friends have made representations to the Council on four issues since our last newsletter:

• 1. We have registered our objection to the merger of parking zones, although this is not yet formally under review by the Council.
• 2. We have requested that the railings be repaired this year and the paths repaired as well.
• 3. We have requested that the byelaws be posted on the reverse side of the heritage board.
• 4. We have requested that the Peace Event planned for the Lawns be held elsewhere, and that the number of events on the Lawns be reduced.
   

All our requests have been noted.  I will be following up to try to get action.
Southern Water are visiting the Square next week to advise on the appropriate site for a standpipe for watering.  This has been an administrative nightmare, but I still hope to have water installed before the height of summer.

The usual problems of uncollected recycling and seagulls tearing apart rubbish bags have returned to haunt us again.  Could all members remind their fellow residents that they should put their rubbish out only on Tuesday morning, and their recycling, properly sorted, every Friday morning, remembering to adjust the day for bank holidays?  I would like five volunteers from around the Square to place notices on stray bags and poorly sorted boxes to remind new residents of the way the system works.  Could you please get in touch at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you'd be willing to pick up some of these notices and distribute them when you see a bag out on the wrong day, or a box with mixed glass and plastic?

Finally, there's more dog mess in the gardens than there has been for some time.  If you do see someone with a dog in the gardens, do politely remind them that they are not allowed and, if they do make a mess, it's the owner's responsibility to clear it up.

The Council have agreed to repair damage to Hove Lawns at the Peace Statue end and it has also been agreed to prepare and reseed the areas of damage.  At the same time the Council agreed  to step up placement and enforcement of No ( Disposable) BBQ Notices

I look forward to seeing you at our next quarterly meeting on 8 May at 11am when we welcome Roger Amerena as guest speaker.
In the meantime, fingers crossed for more sunshine!

I have followed up the proposal to remove the BT phone box south of the Square but have nothing to report yet. Paul Elgood has spoken to some of the council officers for us but has not come back to me. BT was not helpful, claiming they had a legal obligation to provide phone service on the site. But other boxes have been removed in this city and I have made contact with the council's conservation department to discuss it further. I hope to have more news for the next issue.

Not too much to show at the front end of the website, but behind the scenes we have been preparing the database in readiness for those of you that have requested to receive your newsletters by email. By opting to get your information in this way, it cuts down on our costs and the time taken to deliver them.

There have been a lot of abandoned bikes in the Square. These have been reported to the council and I've been assured that these will be ticketed for removal very soon, although they are "very short staffed". There are also discussions re more cycle racks in the south of the Square.  If you're for them, let the dept. for Walking and Cycling at the council know to help get them installed.

Weather's warmer, the windows are open and the scaffolding's up. Be very careful with doors and windows left open.  Opportunists are constantly on the lookout for insecure properties and will burgle in day light.  Residents are also advised to not keep laptops, handbags, phones, and other valuables near windows, nor keys near doors.   In a recent spate of burglaries, the offender used a stick to get keys through windows and cat flaps and letterboxes.

Always be aware of bogus callers, posing as police, electricians and other service provider reps.  Use chain, ask for ID, and use the number on it to check. If suspicious ask them to call to make an appointment. If you or your friends have experienced a suspicious caller, tell the police; 08456070999, and Brighton and Hove Trading Standards; 08454040506.

Some information residents may be interested in can be found within the Local Action Team (LAT) notes and blogs found on the website - www.sussex.police.uk. Key in your postcode and "Wornham", and go to Local Action Team Priorities on right of page.  You'll find out more of what's going on in your area, plus a constantly updated blog. There's a LAT memo our website www.fbst.org.uk.

I'm giving up Neighbourhood Watch in May, so hoping someone will take over. If not, you'll still have access to local issues and news relevant to you.