SAVE CLAIR HALL

05/06/2026

*** EVER WANTED TO BE IN PANTO? ***

Our friends at the Weald Theatre Group (still going strong despite losing Clair Hall after 50 years of occupation!) are holding auditions for their January production of ‘Aladdin’ on Sunday the 28th of June 2026.

All are welcome whatever your age or acting ability. There are loads of roles up for grabs so if you fancy yourself as the next Aladdin, Widow Twanky or even the Emperor of Peking! they’d like to hear from you.

It’s great fun with a great group of people. For more info contact them on the email address given.

If it helps – we’ve had a little look at the script. It’s hilarious. Oh yes it is

04/06/2026

*** TREE (or should that be Hedge) PRESERVATION ORDER UPDATE ***

As you may recall a month or so ago we made several Tree Preservation Order applications to protect the trees on the Clair Hall site.

These six applications were dismissed as the council explained that the trees were not under threat! And curiously the line of conifers on the eastern edge of the site were deemed to be a hedge and therefore not trees at all! Even though they stand some 30 to 40 feet tall!

So we appealed this decision and as you can guess MSDC would not budge. The final paragraph of the letter dealt with our observations on the so called hedge. It said, -

‘In the case of the conifer line, previously managed as a hedge, again, MSDC, in the absence of a written definition, defines a hedge as a line of trees or shrubs which have been managed as a hedge in the past. This has served us well in terms of a definition for the purposes of Section 211 Notices and providing advice to the public. Therefore, if a line of trees has been managed as a hedge, they then become a hedge and not a line of trees. Again, this has been our practice for around the last 10 years. Of course, it is open to you, to test this in the courts, if you believe it to be inadequate.’

But there is a written definition. The Cambridge English Dictionary has one. - HEDGE a line of bushes or SMALL trees planted very close together, especially along the edge of a garden, field, or road.

I don’t think anyone inspecting these conifers would ever say that they are small and they're not on the edge! The hedge is!

I think we’ll all have to agree to disagree on this one.

It’s rather reminiscent of the time MSDC insisted that Clair Hall wasn’t a theatre despite the obvious fully equipped auditorium and many shows that had previously been performed there.

As always we welcome your comments and we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

14/05/2026

*** TPO Applications Update ***

Today a request for a review of the council’s decision not to grant Tree Preservation Orders on a number of trees on the Clair Hall site was sent to the councils Tree Officer.

Along with the request was accompanying evidence to support that the trees are under threat from future development on the site.

Evidence was also provided by way of the 2022 Arboricultural Survey commissioned by MSDC which references the conifers on the eastern side of the site as trees and not hedge as stated in the original response.

When we hear more we will of course update further. Until that time, as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

08/05/2026

**CAN’T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES (or Hedges) **

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago we made applications to protect a lot of the well-established trees on the site. We’ve had a reply.

All six applications have been refused.

Citing that the trees are not under significant threat!!

And then there was this – ‘I should point out, that in relation to your request regarding the conifers adjacent to the car park, that these trees have been maintained as a hedge, therefore would not qualify for protection by TPO. ‘

We have some questions and observations that we’ll address in the coming weeks.

Attached is an image of Clair Hall’s magnificent (and probably record breaking) hedge! What do you think?

We welcome your comments and as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

22/04/2026

*** TREE-MENDOUS EFFORT! ***

We have today submitted our objection to the proposed disposal of the parcels of open space land on the Clair Hall site.

The land, home to a variety of well-established trees would’ve been safeguarded for the continued enjoyment and good of the community had the ‘Save Clair Hall’ and ‘The Haywards Heath Community CIC’ bids for the site been successful.

MSDC plan to dispose of the site for redevelopment and the current proposal for blocks of flats and a four screen cinema will surely mean the loss of yet more green space in our town.

If, like us you have concerns we would encourage you to air your views to MSDC. It doesn’t have to be ‘War and Peace’ just a few lines will do.

Email – [email protected] quoting Ref. IKEN 4740/WSX288106

But please ACT NOW as objections have to be received by 12PM on Friday the 24th of April 2026.

And just for good measure we’ve also made six Tree Preservation Order applications covering various groups and individual trees on the Clair Hall site.

As always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

28/03/2026

Followers of this group and page may remember that at the full council meeting on 10 December 2025, a statement was made in response to public questions.

This statement was factually incorrect and presented an inaccurate overview of the condition and status of Clair Hall.

The statement was strewn with inaccuracies relating to the planning situation, the existence of a structural engineers report and structural problems with the building, and mentioned a public consultation in 2023.

Since then, efforts have been made to have this acknowledged publicly by MSDC, so that anyone reviewing the meeting on YouTube or documentation via the MSDC website is aware that the original statement contained errors.

However, following questions raised by Councillor Henwood to a rather dismissive Leader of the Council, it appears that:

• No further action will be taken to formally address the issue
• Any acknowledgement must be found by reviewing other meetings
• Reference is made to previously published third-party reports

This raises an important concern: if viewers/readers are unaware that the original statement was incorrect, how are they expected to identify which information is accurate?

It would be relatively straightforward to clarify this by:
• Adding a short explanatory note to the relevant documents on the MSDC website
• Adding a clarification in the comments section of the YouTube recording

The council has previously committed to improving transparency, and we believe this would be a simple step in that direction.

The Haywards Heath Community CIC summed things up well in their latest post -
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=987326183632713&set=a.242090594822946

We welcome your thoughts in the comments, and as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

07/03/2026

Following on from the Mid Sussex District Council meeting held on the 25th of February they have replied to the supplementary question asked by the Haywards Heath Community CIC.

Notice how the answer steered clear of any mention of Public Law surrounding fairness and transparency.

It’s our opinion that of course the HHCCIC should have been consulted to answer any questions, queries, or to add clarification which the cabinet members clearly had before discounting the bid. Not only is it covered in legislation and case law it’s the decent thing to do.


But don’t just take our word on it.
Paste the document into ChatGPT along with the simple prompt – ‘Please examine this document. Do you think the Haywards Heath Community CIC were treated fairly?’

Happy reading and as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

The PDF of the response is available here - https://midsussex.moderngov.co.uk/documents/b10673/Response%20to%20Supplementary%20Question%2025th-Feb-2026%2019.00%20Council.pdf?T=9

27/02/2026

*** Process, Plans and Procurement — Still Questions to Answer***

One sentence summing up the responses given by MSDC to questions from Directors of the Haywards Heath Community CIC (HHCCIC) and Mr. Anton at the Council meeting held on the 25th of February 2026.

An interesting evening where we found out that even though the Clair Hall Steering Group, Cabinet members and the Technical Panel all had questions and queries about the HHCCIC’s bid none were put to the CIC prior to cabinet making their decision on the Clair Hall site. The first time the HHCCIC found out about the concerns was during the Cabinet debate on the 2nd of February immediately prior to members voting against the bid. This meant the CIC had no opportunity to address those concerns before the vote. The Leader stated that he believed the process was fair.

The ACV legislation itself doesn't give the bidders a formal right to respond but in our view, public law principles around fairness and transparency would usually allow a bidder to respond before a final decision.

We also found out that just how a block of flats and a four screen cinema complete with restaurant facilities will fit on the site isn’t known, as no plans yet exist and financial terms and risk allocation are still to be determined through the procurement process.

As always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.

12/02/2026

05/02/2026

*** ON THE RADIO AND A STRANGE OUTBREAK OF AMNESIA! ***

You may have seen the recent posts from Mid Sussex Conservatives.

It would appear that they are not ones to miss an opportunity to have a dig at the decision made by the Lib Dem council and they’ve raised their heads above the parapet with a few well-chosen words.

Strangely they seem to have forgotten completely that they were the instigators of Clair Halls closure and demise. They had to be dragged to the doors of the High Court and made to comply with their statutory duty of a public consultation, and when the public consultation delivered a result they didn’t like they then set about spending thousands of pounds trying to convince us all that what we, the community wanted was wrong.

Whilst lambasting the Lib Dems for turning down a workable solution for Clair Hall from the community they seem to forget that they voted against a motion to actively engage with community groups in order to try and find a workable solution to opening Clair Hall without cost to the council - Voting against engaging with the electorate!!! (Full Council Meeting held on 04/11/2020)

Whilst the conservatives reach for the minutes of the council meetings from September 2020 onwards to remind themselves that it all started with them you might like to take a few minutes to listen to a snippet from the Danny Pike show from the 3rd of February. Clair Hall was discussed by Marion Wilcock of the Haywards Heath Community CIC and Robert Eggleston.

Enjoy and as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.