Uckfield Town Council once again had a tremendously busy month in July, while the summer of strange weather, sporting greatness and non-stop outdoor events continued at pace.
Revelling in the heat at the end of the month, we began to look back on the achievements of the last few weeks.
As ever with our Last Month in Your Council updates, these feats crisscrossed our events and restaurant teams, our grounds and caretaking squads, and plenty of civic and political events in between.
Here’s what the teams had to say as we caught up with them!
On the events side of our activity, it was a thrilling month in July, with plenty of smiles and positive conversations.
The month kicked off with a memorable night of Greek food and plenty of songs, where visitors to the Civic Centre were transported to the idyllic Mediterranean.
Louise Slaughter, Hospitality Manager, explained: “The Luxfords Restaurant team had a marvellous time whilst hosting their Mamma Mia Dining Experience on Saturday 6th July 2024. It was a fabulous evening enjoyed by all.
“The team served up authentic Greek dishes, such as spanakopita, chicken souvlaki, baklava and so much more to all our guests whilst The Song Birds performed the huge ABBA hits from the famous Mamma Mia films.
“There was lots of laughter and dancing, not only from the guests but staff too – check out our What’s On page for more events!”
Later in the month, the Town Council also had a great day of engagement and promotion over at the East Sussex National Golf Course & Spa.
Alongside Will Hugall, the Town Council’s Marketing and Community Engagement Officer, Louise attended the Wealden Business Expo to promote the Town Council, the Civic Centre Uckfield and Luxfords Restaurant.
Louise said: “Will and I had a very interesting day at the Wealden Business Expo on Thursday 11th July 2024.
“It was lovely to see some familiar faces from local businesses, and a wonderful opportunity to meet new faces.
“We had a great time talking to everyone about the Civic Centre, Luxfords Restaurant and the events that we have coming up, as well as listening to how other businesses are performing.
“Will had the fantastic opportunity of talking live on Ashdown Radio (very brave) and we both had the chance to attend the seminars that were being run on the day.
“All in all, we had a very productive day and hope that we have raised awareness of the fantastic building sitting in the middle of Uckfield town and how diverse it can be.”
After stepping into the role of Town Mayor in May, it was also an exciting month for Councillor Karen Bedwell, who was involved in countless civic engagements.
From community events to Mayoral duties and everything in between, there was plenty of meeting and greeting, as well as building strong relationships in the town.
Cllr. Bedwell said: “July was a very busy month as Mayor and gave me my first opportunity to meet some of the amazing people of Uckfield.
“My month included watching the children perform Annie at Harlands school, being invited to view local artwork at the Uplift art exhibition, singing the night away at Proms in the Pitch, watching a fantastic performance of The Vicar of Dibley from Uckfield Theatre Guild, dropping in to meet the volunteers at Housebound and Ridgewood Village Hall as they support the more vulnerable in our community, and being invited to attend the opening of the renovated clubhouse at The Oaks where AFC Uckfield Town kick off a new season of community football in style.”
“My highlight of the month was being asked to speak at the Chamber of Commerce summer event and on their podcast about Uckfield Town Council and my vision for volunteers and businesses finding greater ways to support each other in the town.
“This was followed by a visit to the Business Expo put on by Ashdown Radio, where I had the chance to meet and chat with many of our local businesses on what they need to develop as our community grows.”
Starting in late July and continuing into August, a noticeable project in the Civic Centre Uckfield foyer has seen the caretaker’s station become the site of improvement works.
This project forms part of an ongoing aim to improve the Civic Centre’s usability and efficiency for the whole community, as we found out in this catch-up.
James Hollingdale, Estates and Facilities Manager for the Town Council, explained: “We are currently carrying out works to improve the caretaker’s station to create better storage, make it more efficient and better suited to the current team’s needs, and make better use of the space by creating another room for hire.
“Included in the works are new dividing walls, a new doorway through an internal wall to create an additional room, installation of a fresh air handling unit, upgraded electrical works, replacement LED lighting and new emergency lighting.
“Additionally, we are adding new fire protection including new fire detection hoods, self-closing fire doors and a general redecoration.
“All of these works will be of a standard to meet buildings control guidelines.”
As well as all the activity within the Civic Centre, July’s brighter weather gave the perfect opportunity to get out into the town for several projects too.
Chief amongst them was the 2024 Uckfield Town Council Allotment Competition, in association with Staverton’s Nursery.
It was a beautifully hot day when the judging took place, and a great opportunity to bask in the hard work of many allotment holders this year.
Rachel Newton, Senior Administrative Officer for Uckfield Town Council and chief organiser of the Allotment Competition, said: “It was automatic entry for all tenants this year and the sun was shining, so the two judges were able to visit every plot on each site that same morning with their scoreboards.
“The judges were thorough as always and they also got to chat with a couple of tenants to find out what they were growing.
“We are hugely grateful to the judges for their precious time and judging skills. Without them, this competition would not happen!”
That wraps up another exciting edition of Last Month in Your Council!
We look forward to bringing you our next set of updates in early September, when we will reflect on Weald on the Field, all summer works taking place in our buildings and on our sites, and the preparations for a busy autumn – eek!
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