The police investigation into the December 2018 Gatwick drone incursion will be under the spotlight at Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne’s monthly Performance & Accountability Meeting (PAM) this Friday (October 18).

Mrs Bourne will be questioning Chief Constable, Giles York and his Deputy, Jo Shiner about the challenges Sussex Police faced during their investigations and the subsequent learning for police and partners.

A breakdown of the scope and scale of the investigation will also be provided as part of this discussion.

Commenting ahead of the meeting Mrs Bourne said: “The unprecedented disruption at London Gatwick Airport led to the airport being closed for 30 hours, affected 1,000 flights and caused massive inconvenience to more than 140,000 passengers.

“Last month, the force confirmed that there are no further realistic lines of enquiry at this time and ten months on, I would like to understand better the lessons learnt.”

A Rolls-Royce hand-built for children at St Richards Hospital in Chichester returned home to Goodwood for one night to help launch the Love Your Hospital ‘First Fifty Club’.

A new corporate fundraising initiative, the ‘First Fifty Club’ encourages businesses from across West Sussex to get their entrepreneurial thinking caps on and raise significant funds for local hospitals.

Love Your Hospital is the dedicated charity for the three hospitals that make up Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, Worthing Hospital and Southlands Hospital in Shoreham.

The charity provides vital funds to support hospital projects beyond core NHS funding, including providing state-of-the-art medical equipment, improving treatment facilities for patients, supporting staff development and enhancing the hospital environment for all.

The Rolls-Royce SRH was hand-crafted for the St Richard’s Hospital Paediatric Day Surgery Unit.

The ‘smallest Rolls-Royce’ allows children awaiting surgery to drive themselves to the operating theatre, through the Paediatric Unit corridors which are lined with ‘traffic signs’.

The experience of ‘self-drive to theatre’ aims to reduce child patient stress.

Since its unveiling in 2017, more than 1300 children have driven the RollsRoyce SRH to the operating theatre.

Find out more about the Rolls-Royce SRH at the hospital here: Feature: Big smiles for a little Rolls-Royce

Cash-strapped West Sussex County Council has spent more than £600 on a couple of new signs for County Hall, Chichester.

The council, which has to make savings of £75.5m over the next four years,  used £603.30 from a budget for corporate items to pay for a West Sussex Fire & Rescue sign and another bearing the county logo.

A spokesman said the existing County Hall sign had been ‘in a poor state of repair’ and, while replacing it, it was decided to add a fire and rescue sign for the first time.

He added: “Before spending any money we weigh up the costs against the benefits in order to make sure we deliver value for money to our residents.

“It is vital that we have signs to help identify the headquarters of both the county council and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.”

Karen Dunn , Local Democracy Reporting Service

A new development in Southbourne can now go ahead after a High Court legal challenge failed.

Chichester District Council refused planning permission for 34 homes east of Breach Avenue back in 2017, but a Government-appointed planning inspector overturned the decision at appeal.

The council then launched a High Court challenge but when this was unsuccessful it took the case to the Court of Appeal.

However this too has been dismissed with an official ruling published last week.

A spokesman for Chichester District Council said: “We are disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s ruling, because we felt that the inspector didn’t take sufficient account of the Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan when making their judgement. The purpose of a neighbourhood plan is to provide local people with the chance to influence where development should be placed within their area.

“What’s important now is that we continue to work closely with community groups in the district to bring their neighbourhood plans forward and plan positively for new developments in their areas.”

Although the inspector in his appeal decision found the proposed housing development conflicted with two policies in the Chichester local plan and did not accord with the aims of the neighbourhood plan for the location of new housing, he ruled it would not conflict with the policies of the neighbourhood plan.

The district council argued that developer Beechcroft’s application conflicted with both the aims and policies of the neighbourhood plan and the inspector should have seen that.

When the neighbourhood plan was being prepared the site in question was rejected as a suitable location for housing development.

The council believed the development was in conflict with the plan because it was outside the settlement boundary established for Southbourne and because it was not one of the allocated sites.

But in his judgement Lord Justice Lindblom rejected these arguments.

The ruling said: “In my view the inspector’s understanding of the relevant policies of the development plan was correct. Nor did he misinterpret or misapply, or overlook the policy in paragraph 198 of the National Planning Policy Framework.”

He described how when the inspector had conducted his overall balancing exercise he accurately identified the proposal’s conflict with the development plan, but reduced the weight he gave to these policies because of the district council’s inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.

The judgement concluded: “None of the inspector’s conclusions betrays any misinterpretation or misapplication of the development plan policies in play. There is nothing unlawful, or indeed surprising, about them. They represent a series of reasonable planning judgments in the application of the relevant policies,”

When Isabella Raccagna was announced as the Sussex Young Chef of the Year at the 2019 Sussex Food and Drink Awards, she was the first woman to ever win.

And to say she was surprised is an understatement.

“It was a complete shock,” the 22-year-old says.

“I couldn’t believe it when they called out my name it was a massive surprise.

“I was really nervous and because I had overrun on the day I didn’t think I had done it.”

Isabella also had other teething issues.

“I live in Portsmouth and had to come to Goodwood to pick up my equipment and it wasn’t until I was halfway to Brighton I realised I hadn’t picked up my chef whites. I just burst into tears and my boyfriend said he would get me some.

“When I got there people had picked their spot and I had to ask people to budge up so I could fit in, it just added to the nerves.”

However she did something right as the judges said: “Isabella is a real talent and definitely one to watch in the future. She pulled out all the stops in the toughest competition we have seen for this category.”

Isabella works as chef de partie at Goodwood’s Farmer, Butcher, Chef.

For the competition Isabella had a budget of £15 per person and had to use seasonal and local produce.

Devising the menu took a lot of research and Isabella phoned a number of suppliers to source UK artichokes and visited farm shops to talk about where they get their products.

“I also spoke to the butcher here are Goodwood about sustainable cuts of meat.

“I was really lucky that at Goodwood we have an amazing herb garden which helped keep costs down I also used the apples we grow,” she enthuses.

“I also spoke to the fish supplier we use based in Brighton. At Farmer, Butcher, Chef we only use certain boats that fish within 25 miles without trawler nets.

“Every day they call us from Brighton to say what they have and we put the menu together.”

The first person she told when she got down to the final three was her nan, who she describes as her ‘favourite person in the world’.

And is it her family that has inspired her culinary career path.

“I have an English nan and Italian grandparents who have always cooked,” she reveals.

“I used to cook with my nan a lot, a lot of home cooked meals whereas my nonna did an Cordon Bleu cooking course.

“It is more of an experience. People getting round a table talking and catching up it is about more than just the food but about the shared experience.”

Isabella had originally applied to do a business management and culinary art course at university but decided at 18-years-old to do an apprenticeship instead.

Her career has seen her work at the Sanderson in London helping to devise its famous Mad Hatters afternoon tea and the tipsy evening tea featuring alcohol infused cakes.

“I ran the section which saw about 300 covers on a Friday and Saturday and probably about 200 on a Sunday,” she says.

“I then worked at the Goring when it had its Michelin star.

“I have learnt a lot in all the kitchens I have worked in. I was prepared for a lot of shouting and swearing but it doesn’t have to be like that.

“I was 18 when I started working in kitchens and it was a little scary. And I was often the only female which was daunting. One chef in particular took the mick but I have learnt now that some things are just not acceptable. I was very quiet when I started but you can’t stop me talking now.

“It took me a while but I have found my voice.”

When she decided to leave London she first looked at Portsmouth.

“There were some good places as I didn’t want to drop too much below Michelin but no on one was hiring so I extended my search and came across Farmer, Butcher Chef,” she explains.

“I love the concept here, that I can talk to the butcher, we can forage on site it just all works and it feels like a family.”

At Farmer, Butcher, Chef Isabella is currently working on the larder section.

In the past she has worked on the garnish section adding the final elements on sides and starters before a move onto sauces and meats.

“With garnishes you can create more but sauces and meats everything is slow cooked or made well in advance so you have to have enough as it is unacceptable to run out,” she explains.

“I really enjoy working on larder but I would love to do pastry as I think every good chef should be able to make pastry.

“I’m not a fan of the measure out 200g of this and that but I know it is important.”

To those that are thinking about entering the Sussex Food and Drinks Awards, Isabella says: “It is a great experience and really helped me build my confidence.”

Isabella’s award winning menu:

Citrus cured sea bream served with pickled red cabbage, pickled shimeji mushrooms and a cabbage gel.

Pan fried lady steak, cooked in dripping with mushroom ketchup and wild garlic served with baby Jerusalem artichokes and oyster mushrooms. Apple and cherry blossom sorbet, rosemary crumble served with Chantilly cream parfait.

l The judging panel included the nationally acclaimed chef and Great British Menu Winner, Matt Gillan from Heritage, George Blogg from Gravetye Manor, Tristan Mason from Restaurant Tristan, Daniel Clifford from the two Michelin star Midsummer House and Fran Villani, food blogger and designer along with sponsor and former restauranteur Adrian Burr from Blakes Foods.

l For more information on Farmer, Butcher, Chef visit www.goodwood.com/stay-dine-relax/farmer-butcher-chef/
Pictures: Alex Benwell

READ MORE

Celebrating the best at the Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2019
See all the winners from the night

Police have arrested a man in connection with a burglary at a Selsey jewellers this morning.

A 28-year-old local man remains in custody following the incident, in which a quantity of jewellery was stolen from MSJ Jewellers in Selsey High Street.

Police said a man smashed the window of the shop with a hammer at around 10.15am. No injuries were reported.

A spokesman said: “Officers, assisted by the police helicopter, conducted an area search and detained a man matching the same description nearby.

“A 28-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and remains in custody while the investigation is ongoing.

Staff at ERA healthcare, the shop next to MSJ Jewellers, said they heard the window smash and saw a person run off toward the Co-op, persued by the shop owner.

A member of staff told the Observer people in nearby shops and on the street got in cars to try and track the suspect and several members of the community helped to search the town.

The 34-year-old is one of the outstanding white-ball players of his generation. His 6,646 runs in 331 T20 appearances make him the format’s 19th highest run-scorer of all time, while there are only 28 players with more T20 wickets than his 221.

He has played in many of the biggest tournaments around the world, including the Indian Premier League and Big Bash League and for England in both the 50-over and T20 World Cups.

Bopara has played 38 T20Is and his 120 ODIs make him England’s 16th most capped player in the format. In all List A cricket, he has 9,845 runs at an average over 40 and a top score of 201 not out, as well as 248 wickets from 323 matches.

He also has a formidable record in first-class cricket, amassing 12,821 runs and 257 wickets from 221 matches, including 31 centuries. Three of those hundreds came in 13 Test appearances for England.

In English domestic cricket, Bopara was in the Essex teams that have won two of the past three Specsavers County Championships, this year’s Vitality Blast as well as one-day competitions in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

In the 2019 Blast, he had a batting average of 48.5 and a strike-rate of over 162. An unbeaten 36 from just 22 balls was central to Essex Eagles' victory over Worcestershire Rapids in the final. He also took 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.45 and was named Essex’s T20 player of the year.

After completing his move to Sussex, Bopara said: “I want to thank Sussex for this opportunity. It is a great chance to play under a respected and acknowledged coach like Jason Gillespie and with a very strong and talented team of players, many of whom will no doubt go on to receive international honours.

“On a personal note I have a burning desire to achieve greater things in this wonderful game. I will now put a greater emphasis on T20 cricket. I am fitter and stronger than I have ever been and playing my best cricket.

“I want to emphasise that I am not giving up red-ball cricket but I will, for now, play less of it to find time in the calendar year to up-skill in T20 and take my game to a new level as I still have a drive to play international cricket. Here’s to the future and hopefully another decade of happy and successful times.”

Sussex head coach Gillespie added: “I’m really, really excited about having Ravi Bopara join us at Sussex. It’s a bit of a coup for us to be perfectly honest: what a wonderful player Ravi has been for England and Essex for a long, long time.

“His knowledge and experience are going to be invaluable in our dressing room. He’s a great lad and we’re very thankful that Ravi has decided to join us. Players and coaches alike are excited to work with him and learn from him.”

The team’s recent revival came shuddering to a halt last weekend when four second-half errors at the back led to a 4-0 home defeat against the Hertforshire side.

Two of the goals were given away by keeper Myles Roberts, making his debut on loan from Reading, while either side of his howlers, centre-half Joe Cook wrongly tried to play offside before their opener and full-back Joe Hancott sliced a clearance which led to their fourth.

The club have moved quickly to sign another keeper - who will be the fifth they have fielded this season after Petar Durin, Charlie Searle, James Holden and Roberts.

They have signed Amadou Tangara, 27. He is from the Ivory Coast and joins from Kingstonian, having previously been with Merstham last season and Dulwich Hamlet the season before. Both Merstham and Dulwich reached the play-offs with Tangera between the sticks.

Last Saturday's woes left fans and mangement wondering what the team need to do to start moving up the table.

But coach Robbie Blake insists the squad is now strong enough to recover and have a successful campaign.

Their next test is a stiff one. The Rocks go to Folkestone on Saturday to face a side who went four points clear at the top on Tuesday with a 4-2 home win against Cheshunt and who have strikers Ira Jackson and Jerson Dos Santos in flying form with half a dozen goals apiece already.

Pearce said: “The most interesting statistic for me from Saturday’s game was that our keeper made his first save when we were 4-0 down.

“Two of the goals, you don’t normally see at this level or at much lower levels of the game.

“We keep making mistakes like those you normally see once a season. It’s worrying. The second and third goals have got no place at this level of the game.

“We dominated the first half but they were the best-organised side we’ve seen in getting people behind the ball.

“I apologise to supporters because they would have expected to see another goal feast but it’s hard. We have to regroup, reorganise and go again.

“The goalkeeper will be very disappointed with his performance because you don’t see goals conceded like that very often. He’s got to learn and we’ve got to learn.”

Pearce said centre-half Cook had transformed the Rocks defence since he joined and he would know all too well he should not have tried to play offside in the move that led to the opening goal.

Coach Blake said after the game: “I’m quite shellshocked. At 0-0 at half-time if someone had told me we were going to lose 4-0 I’d probably have knocked them out!

“We’ve committed errors you don’t normally see on a football field and that’s the frustrating thing. Football’s all about learning and sometimes people can learn in a negative way and that’s what Myles has to do.

“But we’re a far better team than two weeks ago and I think the first half showed that.

“Did we work their goal enough? Probably not. But once they got one goal they got every man behind the ball.”

Blake said he still firmly believed the Rocks now had a squad who could go on and have a successful season.

Pearce said Folkestone would give his team a tough afternoon but he reiterated his view that most sides in the division were close to one another in terms of ability.

The manager, meanwhile, has rejected suggestions the midfield three of Harvey Whyte, Doug Tuck and Tommy Leigh is a weakness.

“Who controlled the first 45 minutes against Potters Bar?” Pearce asked. “We did, and if our midfield isn’t strong enough I don’t know how we did that.

"People say we need experienced midfielders but they do not exist in our area and anywhere near within our budget. If we got the sort of players in that some supporters would like, we’d run out of money in months.”

Bognor have also signed young ex-Pompey academy centre-half Eddie Wakley. He was a sub against Potters Bar.

The league match away to Bowers and Pitsea – called off this midweek because of the Essex club’s involvement in the FA Cup – will now be played on Tuesday, October 29, subject to neither club drawing in the FA Trophy on Saturday 27, when Bognor will visit Uxbridge.

Bognor visit Kingstonian next Wednesday and will go to Storrington in the Sussex Senior Cup on Tuesday, November 5 (7.15pm).

Mings made his first international appearance against Bulgaria on a difficult evening in Sofia. He performed well during the 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifying victory but the evening was overshadowed by racial slurs from Bulgarian supporters throughout the game.

Mings, 26, was credited with his class and professionalism on the night. Four people have since been arrested.

Fan group Project B6 raised money and created a large banner showing Mings with the word "PROUD".

A tweet from Project B6 read: “Target reached for Mings banner! Well done everyone and a big thanks to @ukfootballflags for sorting us out with such a short turnaround.”

After the England match, Mings said: "I am proud of how we dealt with it and took the appropriate steps. I could hear it as clear as day. It doesn't affect me too much. I feel more sorry for those people who feel they have to have those opinions.

"It was a great night for me personally. It was a really proud moment in my career. I hope everyone enjoys this moment and it isn't overshadowed."

While they may look like any other hospital, school or police station, many public-sector buildings across the country are in fact owned and run by private companies.

A private finance initiative (PFI) works in a similar way to a phone contract – authorities get their hands on shiny new buildings upfront and will usually get to own them outright at the end of their contracts.

The deals often last for 25 or 30 years, with payments also covering services such as cleaning and maintenance.

PFI began under John Major’s Conservatives in the early 1990s but proliferated during the New Labour years and continued under the Tories.

The model was abolished last year but about 700 active schemes remain – including ten in Sussex.

When contracts were signed, the cost of annual bills was often linked to the now-discredited Retail Price Index measure of inflation, meaning many annual payments have been rising steeply while public-sector budgets were being squeezed.

An investigation by JPIMedia has found taxpayers are shelling out billions of pounds more than planned for schools, hospitals and other infrastructure projects under the controversial deals.

Rocketing inflation and extra costs are set to add at least £4billion to the overall price tag of the schemes, according to figures obtained from hundreds of public bodies.

View an interactive version of our investigation into PFI schemes here.

The company conducted a poll of 4,000 passengers about how long they had to wait to get through the security scanners at airports across the UK, with the worst airport causing an average delay of 22.3 minutes. These are the worst ranked large and small airports for security wait times.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed the worst places for rural car park thefts in the district, with one vehicle even stripped of its doors and bonnet this summer.

The incidents recorded by Chichester police were requested by a retired police officer, who had served many years in the area and was concerned at the proliferation of break-ins and thefts.

Reports of crime in rural beauty spots showed West Stoke car park in Downs Road as the worst place for crime, with 17 incidents in the one area from January 1 to September 11 this year.

Measures to patrol the car park appear to have had a sizable impact – there were 43 similar incidents in the same car park during the same period last year.

Among the items reported stolen from vehicles in the district have been designer handbags, a lawnmower, a massage couch, number plates and a Land Rover Defender that had four doors and a bonnet ‘mechanically removed’ in South Harting.

There was also a Mercedes SLK stolen from Chidham Lane, containing medication and other personal items. The keys to the car had been in a Fiat parked in the same location, which had its window smashed.

In West Harting, a .17mm rifle was taken from a Ford Ranger via another smashed window, the most common modus operandi for thieves.

Hot spots in 2019 have included Harting Down, Rowlands Castle and Hunters Race in West Lavant.

The retired officer who requested the records said it showed greater strategic efforts were needed, particularly across counties, as thieves appeared to be branching out from the east-west lines of main roads deeper into rural areas.

He said the estimated cost to communities of the 864 incidents reported since January 2018 could have exceeded £800,000.

Sussex Police said it was aware of a number of break-ins at beauty spots in the Chichester district and reminded residents not to leave valuables in vehicles unattended, particularly when visiting beauty spots.

A spokesman said: “Officers conduct high visibility patrols in the affected locations and all lines of enquiry, including CCTV footage, of these incidents will be investigated.

“If you would like to report an incident of this matter please report online or call 101 quoting reference Operation Mini.”

Sussex Police has come under fire for not using one of the custody suites it pays a private company millions of pounds to run.

The force is now seeking to renegotiate the terms of the contract, with police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne saying that ‘with the benefit of hindsight’ the deal might not be one she would agree to today.

The custody suite in Chichester is one of four in the county that was built as part of a 30-year private finance initiative (PFI) contract agreed in 2001.

View an interactive version of our investigation into PFI schemes here.

Under the agreement, the contractor also provides custody services at these and two other custody suites in Sussex in exchange for a yearly payment, which amounted to £11.6million in 2018/19.

But the facility in Chichester has not been used since November last year, prompting criticisms that taxpayers’ money is being wasted.

Dr James Walsh, a councillor who chaired the former Sussex Police Authority in the 1990s, said: “The fact that the Chichester suite is not being used, even though it is being paid for by this scheme, just rubs salt into the wounds.”

He said the custody suite should either be being used or force bosses should be looking at ways of ending ‘this expensive waste of money’.

Explainer: What are Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs)?

Sussex Police defended the decision to mothball the site, with a spokesman saying it had the ‘lowest usage of the six custody centres across Sussex’.

A spokesman stressed that the custody suite in Chichester could not be viewed in isolation and said: “It forms part of a Sussex-wide estates strategy that seeks to make best use of the entire estate, drive an improved service and seek long-term value for money.”

Sussex Police was looking into a possible alternative use for the facility, the spokesman said.

Any alternative use would need to be agreed by Sussex Custodial Services, the contractor, which continues to own the suite until the PFI contract expires in 2031.

At a meeting of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel last month, Chichester district councillor Roy Briscoe asked the commissioner whether the PFI scheme was good value for money.

Mrs Bourne said: “This was signed many, many years before I came into office.

“For all the reasons we know around PFIs, probably with the benefit of hindsight it might not have been the decision I would make today.”

She added: “However, we have done the best with what we have.”

Mrs Bourne acknowledged that the Chichester suite was not being used but said: “What we’ve just done though is spend quite a lot of money upgrading the one in Hastings because it was felt operationally that that was a requirement that was needed... It’s a really good unit now.”

SEE MORE: Hastings Custody Centre reopens after 22-month closure

Ian McCulloch, chief finance officer, said the team was in discussions to renegotiate the terms of the PFI contract, which continues to run for another 12 years.

He said the force had ‘effectively mothballed’ the Chichester site, with detainees instead being taken to a facility in Worthing.

“However, it does have the capacity to be opened up at short notice should they require it,” he said.

He said the costs associated with the Chichester custody service had moved to Worthing, adding: “We are effectively left with – let’s say – the mortgage to pay on Chichester which is covered off by credits or payments that we get by the Home Office.”

The total cost of the scheme over the 30 years, which includes building and running the facilities, is set to be £341million.

View an interactive version of our investigation into PFI schemes here.

Bishop Luffa School is seeking planning permission to make significant changes to its ‘impractical’ 1960s building.

Two separate planning applications have been submitted by the school, based in Westgate, Chichester — one to build a new assembly hall and additional classrooms in place of the existing science block (CC/19/02094/OUT) and the other to demolish three mobile classrooms so new first floor science blocks can be constructed (CC/19/02093/FUL).

Headteacher Austen Hindman said: “The most important thing to say is we don’t yet have the funding to do this. We want to obtain planning permission first to make a case for funding.

“There are parts to the school which haven’t had much attention. It is a 1960s building, built for 600 children. We now have around 1,500 children so it is impractical. We cannot have children in certain parts.

“In the science block, you cannot get two full size adults standing side by side. It is not fair for the children.”

The design and access statement for plans to build a new 750 seater assembly hall, read: “The existing Bartlett Hall is now undersized, and can only seat a small proportion of the number of students. At present, it is multi-purpose and used for assemblies, dining and drama performance.

“This project offers many advantages. It creates much needed gathering space for half the school, allows the Bartlett Hall to become a dedicated dining and social space and in addition allows more flexibility to the school’s timetable.”

The school said the fabric of the old science block is ‘below current standards’ especially with regard to insulation.

Outlining why it wants to demolish three mobiles, the school wrote: “The existing single storey science accommodation, known as the ‘new science block’, was constructed in 1995. The new proposal seeks to accommodate the old original science classrooms in the proposed first floor above the ‘new science block’.

“This in turn allows for the relocation of a number of general temporary classrooms, built prior to 2000, which are nearing the end of their life and require high levels of maintenance, into the old science block.

“The current project will enable the school to upgrade classroom accommodation and replace sub-standard areas. This project is small, but seeks to upgrade and rationalise classrooms generally.”

Mr Hindman said the school is ‘remaining positive’ and will ‘hopefully see some changes within a few years’.

“We will be doing our own fundraising as well,” he said.

“We will hopefully make them realise how great the need is.

“Despite all this, we have achieved a lot with what we have. We have carried on being successful and will keep doing our best, even if we don’t get this funding to improve the sub-standard conditions.

“We do need the same facilities as other schools. We have had building work done in the last few years so it is nothing new. One of the buildings was refurbished.”

Have you read?: Consultation on closure of Chichester Free School Sixth Form

Chichester school to be closed ‘all week’ due to safety issues

Consultation on future of Chichester school opens

That’s the view of Dr Gary Stidder, principal lecturer in the University’s School of Sport & Service Management and Co-Founder and deputy director of Football 4 Peace, which aims to help resolve conflict between communities through football.

He said: “In the wake of the appalling scenes in Sofia and the racist behaviour of home fans towards English footballers there is no better time to address coach, supporter and teacher education through values-based programmes such as Football 4 Peace.

“If the English Football Association and UEFA are serious about radical reforms to addressing racism in football, the emphasis must be on education through programmes such as Football 4 Peace International.

“Unless anyone can persuade me otherwise, I remain convinced that changes to coach, teacher, player, supporter and grass roots education is the way forward and the most likely solution to combating racist behaviour in football.

“I realise that changes will take time and this will require the hard drives of the most extreme supporters to be wiped, with new data inputted and stored until the inconceivable becomes the achievable.

“There is a groundswell amongst sports fans and those involved in sport governance that something has to happen. If this does not happen, either they are not listening or they are simply ignoring what the research is telling us.”

The Football 4 Peace International (F4PI) programme featured on South Korean radio just days before an historic World Cup qualifying football match between the South and North Korea on October 14.

The interviewee was Graham Spacey, former projects officer for F4PI, who last year led a workshop in South Korea to promote the programme.

The broadcast was prompted by the South’s football team playing in the Pyongyang Kim Il Sung Stadium, the first time they have played in the North’s capital since 1990. The match ended 0-0 and was billed by the BBC as the ‘world’s strangest derby’.

Graham told how F4PI originally helped bring Jewish and Arab communities together in Israel “but it doesn’t actually solve things” so, in this case, a curriculum was designed to coach people to teach children how to interact and trust.

He said, "Sport was a piece of a jigsaw puzzle alongside justice, economics. Different aspects that need to come into alignment before peace can be achieved. Children from opposing communities in Israel would not drink from the same water tap in the beginning but by the end of matches they would happily do so and would hug each other, like footballers do anywhere."

"The World Cup qualifier," he said, "Mattered to an extent but the event involved elite athletes and had little impact for ordinary people. I’m not a great believer in those instances but they create a mood and get politicians thinking about what could happen.”

For more on F4PI, go to: www.football4peace.eu/

The home side’s dominance paid off in the 28th minute, as Zac Felbabel poked home the rebound after his initial effort was blocked by the goalkeeper.

Sussex equalised in the 69th minute in controversial circumstances, as captain Olly Kershaw was brought down in his own half and the tackler drove forward and fired home the equaliser past Oliver Eyres. An incensed Kershaw had to be strongly reprimanded by the referee in the aftermath.

The University of Chichester men’s football third team sent out a strong message to their rivals with a thumping 5-1 home win over Brighton 2s on the opening day.

Mike Connelly’s side got off to a flyer as winger Matt Brewer scored within five minutes after Brighton’s keeper spilled a shot.

In the 57th minute Brighton’s defence succumbed when Brewer finessed the ball into the top corner for his and Chichester’s second.

Brewer completed his hat-trick through a deflected effort but Brighton pulled one back in the 70th minute.

Ten minutes later the visitors were awarded a penalty, but the imperious Josh Bird pulled off a great save with his feet.

Liam Connelly made sure the points were going to Chichester with a long-range effort from outside the box before Ash sealed the rout after a brilliant set piece from Cam Russell.

See a weekly University of Chichester BUCS round-in the paper and on this website

Elsewhere, men’s football fours trailed Portsmouth 3-0 before goals from Kieran Thomas and Josh Smith got them back into the match only for Pompey to grab another late on.

The fives and sixes both lost as well but the ones, who missed out in the premier division play-offs last term after clinching the South Eastern 1A title, started the campaign with a 3-1 win at Reading.

There were mixed fortunes for the university’s racquets teams. Men’s tennis beat Sussex 8-4 at home and women’s badminton defeated New Bucks 7-1 on the road, while Royal Holloway got the better of men’s badminton 5-3 at the Tudor Hale centre for sport and women’s tennis lost 10-2 against Surrey.

Men’s rugby ones lost 25-17 to St George’s with the twos on the wrong end of a 50-7 scoreline in their home fixture with Kingston.

It was a tough first week in hockey as Brighton beat the men’s 1’s 4-1; UCL overcame the twos 3-0; and the women’s team suffered a 7-2 loss to Brunel.

Women’s basketball won 55-44 at Goldsmiths while the men’s side lost 84-64 at home to Royal Holloway.

There was a heavy defeat for last year’s south eastern conference cup finalists, the women’s lacrosse team, who were beaten 23-2 by Sussex. The threes were the only netball side to pick up a win with the newly promoted ones and fives losing to UCL and UCL (RUMS) respectively. The twos lost 44-28 to Reading and New Bucks beat the fours 35-28.

Chi’s men’s and women’s volleyball teams both won their home openers. The men’s team edged a tight five-set encounter against Kent with the women straight sets victors over St Mary’s.

The lead swung back and forth in a close first set in the women’s match that Chichester eventually took 25-22 before winning the second one convincingly 25-15. There were shifts in momentum in the third set against stubborn visitors but the hosts pulled away in the latter stages.

Reports by IAN WORDEN, JAY ROWLAND and JACK YOUREN

The county council continues to pay just under £1m towards a contract for schools in Crawley at a time when it faces ‘extreme financial pressure’, according to a councillor.

West Sussex County Council pays the annual sum as part of a private finance initiative (PFI) contract agreed in 2004, which saw three secondary schools built in the borough.

View an interactive version of our investigation into PFI schemes here.

Under the agreement, the contractor also maintains and operates the buildings over the 30 years of the contract in exchange for yearly payments, which amounted to £8.5m in 2018/19.

While part of this sum is funded by a grant from the Department for Education and contributions from the three schools themselves, the county council pays £999,800 from its own budget at a time when it is having to make millions of pounds worth of cuts.

The council has made over £239 million of savings since 2010, during which time its funding has been cut by £145 million by the Government, and it still needs to save £75.5 million over the next four years.

Earlier this year it cut its Local Assistance Network budget, which provides assistance to families and individuals in times of crisis, from £806,000 to £200,000, and it has recently proposed to further cut the remaining budget by half.

In light of these pressures, the PFI payments have been criticised as being ‘a burden’ to the taxpayer.

Councillor Michael Jones, who represents Southgate and Gossops Green on West Sussex County Council, said: “There’s no way that the PFI contract can be described as good value for money to taxpayers, and West Sussex County Council is clearly still paying a great deal at a time of extreme financial pressure.”

Explainer: What are Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs)?

A county council spokesman said the sum it paid was part of the original agreement for the scheme and said PFI scheme repayments were ‘factored into budget planning processes’.

“The county council has a duty to supply school places for all children across the county and a part of this includes schools with PFI arrangements,” the spokesman said.

Mr Jones said there should be more opportunity to re-examine contracts.

“I think that the PFI company with the contract should not have some indisputable right to continue to charge what it wants regardless, at a time of such great pressures on schools and public spending,” he said.

However the county council said renegotiating PFI contracts was generally ‘a complex process’ where all stakeholders involved needed to be in agreement.

‘Not the ideal scenario’

The total cost of the PFI scheme over the 30 years is expected to be £265.85m.

This is £29 million more than was initially expected at the outset of the deal, but the council said the reason for the ‘large increase’ was that one of the schools was extended in 2009/10.

Henry Smith, the MP for Crawley, who was leader of West Sussex County Council from 2003 to 2010, said he did not think the PFI contracts signed were ‘particularly good for either the schools in question or the taxpayer’.

While schools could be built straight away at very little cost, he said taxpayers were left with ‘quite a hefty sum’ to repay over the lifetime of the project, adding: “I think overall the PFIs longer term have been quite a burden to the taxpayer.”

However he stressed that, at the time, there was ‘a stark decision’ to be made – with a choice between either entering into the PFI deal or having no new schools.

Considering the two existing Crawley secondary schools ‘really weren’t fit for purpose’, he said: “On the balance it was decided it was better to get the school built, even though the financing of it wasn’t the ideal scenario.

“West Sussex County Council did request direct public funding but this was completely rejected by the then Department for Education and Treasury.”

When asked whether the PFI scheme constituted good value for money, the county council spokesman said: “PFI as a scheme was the Government’s preferred public-private partnership model to fund and manage public projects which the council utilised in order to provide new school places for our resident’s children.”

The impact on the schools

Under the scheme, Oriel High School was built as a new secondary school for the growing Maidenbower neighbourhood.

Replacement schools were constructed for the Thomas Bennett Community College and Ifield Community College on the existing school sites.

Headteachers at both Oriel High School and Ifield Community College have praised the PFI agreements.

Rob Corbett, headteacher at Ifield Community College, said the scheme worked well, allowing staff to concentrate on ensuring good teaching ‘without the headaches that managing a school site can bring’.

“We have a lovely learning environment for our students and the cost is largely met by the local authority who are the partners in the contract,” he said.

Philip Stack, the headteacher at Oriel High School, agreed that the project worked ‘exceptionally well’.

“Visitors often comment upon the high standard of our building and the manner in which it is maintained by the PFI provider,” he said.

“PFI has had a poor representation in the media, but as is often the case the reality is somewhat different and we could not be happier with the service provided by BAM FM.”

While both schools are maintained by the county council, Thomas Bennett Community College became an academy in 2011.

A spokesperson for the Kemnal Academies Trust, which runs the school, said the annual charge to the College for the PFI scheme was currently about 10 per cent of its budget.

Last year, the school announced plans for a restructure which involved cutting £987k from its budget, prompting strike action.

The National Education Union (NEU) said at the time that at least 22 teachers and support staff would lose their jobs.

A spokesman for the trust said: “The need to restructure staffing in 2018 was necessitated by low student numbers, which determines funding, and the PFI fixed charge.”

However the spokesman said the PFI contract had enabled the community to have ‘a state-of -the-art school’ which was ‘cleaned and maintained to the highest standard’, adding: “There has been discussions with West Sussex County Council and the PFI company about the charge to ensure value for money.”

A spokesman for BAM FM, which is no longer the PFI partner for the scheme but continues to provide a range of services at Thomas Bennett Community College including building and grounds maintenance, catering and cleaning, said: “Our service is efficient and value for money, and we are grateful that schools covered by this contract have indicated their satisfaction with what we do.

“We are aware of the background issues affecting funding at the school which we cannot influence.

“BAM FM has however held meetings with the College to offer its advice and support to help it identify and save costs whenever possible.

“We have also worked with them extensively in the local community.”

View an interactive version of our investigation into PFI schemes here.

Much has changed at the Amex in a short space of time, Jacob Panons looks at where they all are now...

An avid cyclist from Yapton is set to undertake her biggest charity challenge to date by travelling 420km in India.

Debbie Robinson, 46, who has recently sold her 16-year-old sign and print business in Littlehampton, said this is the latest chapter in her ‘big year of challenges’, as she looks to raise £1,000.

She said: “The challenge is Mumbai to Goa, 420km approximately over five days at the end of November.

“I am a very keen cyclist and this was a chance to go to India, which I’ve always wanted to do, so it will be fun. I have self-funded the trip so all money raised will be going directly to charity. I sold the company [O Studio] to take on new challenges — this ride being one of them.”

Explaining why she chose Breast Cancer Care as her charity on her fundraising page Debbie, who has so far raised £410, wrote: “It’s a sad fact that most people these days have been touched by the dreaded big C. Like myself, I’m guessing most of you reading this have family members, friends and loved ones, or know of friends of friends who have fought the fight and won, are still bravely fighting and some who we’ve sadly lost.

“It’s for them I want to do my bit and with your help raise some cash. To all the doctors, nurses, carers, scientists and researchers, please keep doing what you’re doing. Your great work and efforts are appreciated and valued. ‘Getting on my Bike’ is my small way of showing my support.”

Speaking to the Observer, she added: “I have family history in breast cancer. My nan and her sister had it and really all the women on that side of the family.  I really just wanted to put something back as we have had so much support in the past.”

Debbie, whose previous fundraising challenges included a ride around London at night with other women, is also holding a three legged, three pub crawl race on Saturday, October 26, in Elmer ‘as an extra fundraiser’. 

She said: “It would be great to be able to thank Jackie, from the Cabin, Colin, from the Elmer, and Victoria, from the Beresford Pubs, who are supporting and helping me to hold the event and the amazing local businesses who have donated prizes for the raffle and a cup for the [race] winners.”

Debbie said she is still looking for race participants and supporters. 

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-robinson24.

The Three mobile network is down across Sussex today (Thursday).

Customers have complained of no signal or data for at least 12 hours since last night, after the company says it is experiencing “technical difficulties”.

Update: Three’s mobile network is now back up and running –here’s what happened

In a statement on Twitter, Three said, “We’re currently experiencing technical difficulties with voice, text and data, meaning some of you will be experiencing intermittent service.

“Please accept our apologies, we’re sorting this out right now. Check back here for updates.”

Up to 10 million customers are thought to have been affected across the UK.

The company’s website is also down currently, with a message saying its “fleet of geeks” is doing essential maintenance work and it will be up and running again soon.

Have you been affected? Send us an email.