A landlord and a former company director who operated an unlicensed house of multiple occupation in Three Bridges have lost an appeal against imposition of financial penalties.

Gatwick and Crawley Rooms Limited, along with its former director Carolyne Hunt, were issued with notices by Crawley Borough Council, imposing financial penalties of £10,000 each.

The company and Mrs Hunt appealed the council’s decision, but a Tribunal decided to amend the penalties to £15,000 for Mrs Hunt and £5,000 for Gatwick and Crawley Rooms Limited.
A further application for permission to appeal was refused on 14 February.

A decision notice said that: “The Tribunal is entirely satisfied that Crawley Borough Council’s procedures were carried out properly and fairly.”

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If you suffer from hay fever then you could be in for a bit of a rough week.

Levels of tree pollen, which include ash, oak, plane and birch will be high across the southeast.

Hay fever has reportedly been confused with Covid as coughing, sneezing and loss of smell are symptoms of both.

This year has seen an early start to the hay fever season due to a mild winter, but things should start to ease by the second half of next week.

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Firefighters are urging residents not to compromise on safety when trying to save on energy bills.

Last week West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service attended several incidents caused by candles being used as a source of heat and light.
Many are turning off their lights and central heating and moving over to using alternative methods to save money. However, the lighting of candles can pose significant fire safety risks and have devastating consequences if used incorrectly.

When using candles always keep the naked flame away from flammable materials, use a proper holder to keep candles upright and ensure they are placed on a heat resistant surface.
There are a number of fire safety best practices you can undertake which will likely help reduce your energy bills too. These include:

• Not leaving electrical appliances on standby.
• Unplugging items as soon as they’ve charged and when they’re not in use.
• Making sure that any open fires have fire guards.
• Getting your chimneys swept regularly.

Nicki Peddle, Head of Prevention, said: “If you’re thinking about saving money, please don’t compromise your safety in doing so. As a service we’re urging the public to be cautious when using candles, log burners and open fires to reduce the risk of harm.
“Smoke alarms are always the best line of defence for fire protection and they’re absolutely vital if you’re making use of cheap rate off-peak electricity. We understand this is a difficult time for many and we encourage people to keep themselves safe by always following our safety advice.”

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The M25/M23 Merstham interchange is closing for repairs.

A statement from National Highways says it will be done over weekends to minimise disruption and diversions will be put in place.

“We will soon be replacing several bridge expansion joints at the M25/M23 Merstham interchange, and some weekend road closures will be needed.”

The Merstham interchange is a vital part of the south east strategic road network, connecting more than 100,000 journeys between the M25, M23 and A23 every day. The work is needed to keep the interchange safe for road users and to reduce the risk of having to carry out emergency repairs. By doing the work now, we will avoid future road closures, which would otherwise be needed to more frequently to maintain the joints.

Built in the 1970s, the Merstham interchange has five separate viaducts over three levels that cross the M25. We will need four separate weekend closures to safely deliver work on each of the linking roads between April and July 2022.
We’ve planned this work, and the necessary closures, for the following dates:

Date & times – 8:00pm Friday 22 April to 5:00am Monday 25 April
Road closure – M23 junction 8 southbound carriageway, including the M23 southbound to M25 clockwise link road
Diversion route – M25 junction 6 and return

Date & times – 8:00pm on Friday 13 May to 5:00am Monday 16 May
Road closure – M25 junction 7 clockwise link roads to the M23 northbound and southbound
Diversion route – M25 junction 8 and return

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