Billingshurst Community Partnership
Representing Billingshurst
Billingshurst is located in the heart of West Sussex on the course of the ancient Roman Road, Stane Street that connected Chichester to London. Billingshurst is surrounded by lovely open countryside containing many smaller beautiful hamlets and villages. Billingshurst contains many delightful properties of considerable age as well as newer buildings including a recent extension to the Weald School and a modern village hall with conference and meeting facilities. The village hall also contains a display of the village’s history. No doubt the oldest building in the village is St. Mary’s Church with some parts dating to 1200. It is thought that a settlement probably existed before the Norman invasion in 1066, as Billingshurst’s name comes from the Saxon, meaning the ‘wood of the Billa’s people’.
There are many local societies and clubs in the area and Billingshurst is the home to the areas local comprehensive, the Weald School. Community spirit is strong amongst many people who have been born and raised in the area and many new people who have more recently joined the community. The current population is in access of 7000.
Billingshurst has changed and grown over the years as have many areas. As Billingshurst lies on the meeting point of two main routes, the A29 north/south and the A272 east/west, a by-pass was built and opened in 1999. This relieved much of the pressure of traffic heading through Billingshurst but did involve quite considerable development on the western side of the village. However, the majority of the modern developments have been designed and built in a sympathetic manner and are not as much of an eyesore as the ones that sprang up in the middle of the 20th century.
Billingshurst is currently experiencing exciting yet challenging times. To the west of the village a large new complex of sports fields is under development. Once a pavilion is built to complement these wonderful new facilities Billingshurst is likely to have some of the best sports facilities in the district. Another exciting and unusual addition to the new sports and recreation project is a proposed fishing lake. Billingshurst is also in line for a swimming pool to be built; this will further enhance the leisure and sports facilities in the area and greatly complement the current facilities at the Weald’s Leisure Centre.
Another project that will hopefully soon come to fruition is the redesigning and enhancing of the High Street area. This will involve providing improved access and street furniture for pedestrians and is hoped to encourage shoppers in for years to come. Although traffic will not be banned from the High Street it is hoped that the scheme will reduce the volume and speed of traffic in the area.
Billingshurst has an active Parish Council who in 2002 commenced a Healthcheck process. As a result the Billingshurst Community Partnership was formed and currently they are working on the following seven key projects; Walking & Cycling, Rail & Bus Services, Village & Visitors, Billingshurst Centre, Sports & Recreation, Care of the Young Elderly & Disadvantaged and Safety & Security in the Community.
Billingshurst is served by the main London to South Coast Railway Line and has many local attractions. There are many lovely restaurants and pubs in the area and a good selection of shops. There are many pastimes and clubs to be involved in for the young and not so young. These are hoping to grow as the Community Partnership continues to work on its Key Projects.
