The case involved an allegation that the defendant had failed to declare a bank account into which substantial and regular payments were credited and therefore had failed to notify this undeclared income.

She had pleaded not guilty at a previous hearing but after a two hour trial involving witnesses giving evidence, she was found guilty. The Chairman of the Bench on sentencing said: “When you started giving your evidence you did state you were a person of some intelligence, we have looked at the bundle and heard the evidence. You did not declare that you continued to hold the HSBC account in the claim form in December 2010 nor did you declare that you were receiving money on a regular basis. You stated that was on the form of loans but no evidence has been provided of any loans and the money being paid in is mostly to the undeclared bank account. It is too convenient and we find the case proved.”

The Magistrates sentenced Mrs Alp to be subject of a Conditional Discharge for 12 months. She was also ordered to pay a contribution to prosecution costs of £200.

The second - After a three day trial at Chichester Crown Court, Lisa Moore aged 39 years of June Close, Goring by Sea was found guilty of four offences under the Social Security Administration Act 1992, two of dishonestly making a false representation and two of dishonestly failing to notify changes of circumstances to obtain benefits and was sentenced to six months imprisonment.

The jury heard that Mrs Moore had claimed Income Support from the Department of Works and Pensions and Housing Benefit from Worthing Borough Council in 2003 but had failed thereafter to declare and notify the two authorities that she had a working partner who was living with her.

A joint investigation was undertaken by The Department of Work and Pensions and Worthing Borough Council. Following a long and complex investigation, it was established that her undeclared partner had retrospectively had been in residence with her and was in full-time employment.

Her benefit claims were re-assed based upon the correct circumstances and as a result it was revealed that Mrs Moore had received £42,523.58 Income Support and £5529.45 Housing Benefit, making a total of £48,053.03 benefits received to which she was not entitled.

Both Authorities will be seeking civil recovery of these overpayments.

This is yet another example of the close joint working practices of the Department of Works and Pension and Worthing Borough Council.

As a result of Worthing Council’s public consultation on the future of Splash Point the Worthing Society proposed that there should be a memorial dedicated to the RNLI to recognise the significant role the organisation has played in saving so many lives in our area, and the bravery and dedication of Worthing’s lifeboat crews who operated between 1850 and 1931, and the fishermen who acted as the lifeboat before it was taken over by the RNLI.

Following the completion of Splash Point regeneration the new garden on the beach was designed by Len Sephton and created by Worthing Borough Council’s Parks Department.  The garden is to be dedicated to the RNLI and the significant role the organisation has played in saving so many lives in our area.

The Lifeboat memorial slate boulder designed by the Worthing Society, is sited in the garden.

The garden has been funded through the remainder of Worthing’s allocation from CABE’s Seachange Programme which also funded the main Splash Point project.

During the 77 years that the lifeboat operated out of Worthing there was a succession of four Lifeboats rowing and sailing with seven Coxswains during that time.

There were many significant rescues during this time when more than 60 lives were saved.  In 1915 the lifeboat capsized when a crewman drowned.

There will be a ceremony at the Lifeboat Garden at 11am on Monday 7th May when Sir Peter Bottomley MP will dedicate the garden to the memory of the lifeboat crews and fishermen.  Peter Huxtable MBE who will be replying on behalf of the RNLI, was the Coxswain of the Shoreham lifeboat from 1991 to 2011.  He was awarded the MBE for services to the RNLI and also two RNLI awards.  Peter helped to save 449 lives during his service with the lifeboat.

Council office, Len Sephton, who designed the garden says: “All gardening is a battle with nature and no bigger battle can be fought than with the salt winds and shoreline environment of the open beaches of Worthing.

“In creating the new garden at Splash I wanted the design to have the look of a ‘Garden’ rather than the natural beach growth that can be found growing wild along the coast. Also I felt that the design should be an analogous reflection of the style of the recently constructed Splash Point regeneration project.

“The hard formality of the decking, the rectangular timber-edged beds, and the formal planting of the Tamarisk trees contrasts with the natural beachscape. This contrast emphasises a purpose-built ‘Garden’ which is then softened somewhat by the more casual planting in the other beds of various species that should survive the battle."

Families are asked to come along to the sandcourts on Beach House Grounds from 10am through to 3pm on Saturday 28 April to have their say on which designs and options on display from various specialist playground providers they prefer. If raining the consultation will be held in Coast Café nearby.

The playground, planned to be installed over the summer period will complement the other initiatives around Splash Point including the new pool which in turn will help support the surrounding businesses.

Regeneration officer Lynda Spain who is in charge of the project says: “We are inviting all children and parents to come along and see the exciting designs for the new playground from 10am to 3pm on Saturday 28tht.  The new playground is the next step in creating a fantastic destination for residents and visitors at this end of the promenade and will complement our recent improvements at Splash Point.  Once the new pool complex is completed next spring this area will be a magnet for visitors and residents to come and enjoy”.

The playground will be funded 50/50 from the EU’s 2 Seas Programme through the Seaconomics Project and Worthing Borough Council.

He was sentenced to a 12 month Community Order on condition that he completes 90 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay the full amount of £746.10 prosecution costs incurred by Worthing Borough Council.

The court heard that Mr Millership of South Farm Road, Worthing, first claimed Job Seekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit in August 2009 whilst living in Eldon Road. He claimed that he was an unemployed single man who shared the property with a female joint tenant, a Ms Paivi Salo. In October 2010 he moved to South Farm Road and submitted further claims for Job Seekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit, still declaring that Ms Salo was his flatmate.

Following a joint investigation undertaken by The Department of Works and Pensions and Worthing Borough Council, Mr Millership attended for formal interview at the Town Hall where he confirmed that he had been in a relationship with Ms Salo for over four years and that they were engaged.

His benefit claims were re-assessed based upon his correct circumstances, including income received as a self employed musician and student grant for Ms Salo paid into an undeclared bank account. As a result he had received £746.79 Council Tax Benefit and £4295.70 Job Seekers Allowance, making a total of £5042.49 benefits received to which he was not entitled.

He has since repaid the Council Tax Benefit overpayment. The Department of Works and Pensions will be seeking recovery of the overpaid Job Seekers Allowance

The mural is sited on the hoarding of the new swimming pool and will complement the first mural created last summer – again with the help of Creative Waves – on the west side of the pool hoarding.

Local community arts group - Creative Waves run by Nadia Chalk and Vanessa Breen, was commissioned by the council to deliver this project. They worked with 40 talented children from local schools and used an empty shop in the Guildbourne Centre as a painting studio to create their own 4ft x 2ft painted panels.

Worthing Museum opened its fantastic costume collection to the children to give them inspiration and a great starting point for many of their designs.

Nadia Chalk of Creative Waves says: “Vanessa and I designed the project to help the children to tune into something that they were particularly interested in whether it was film, costume, music, art, etc. We encouraged them to research their chosen decade and keep a sketchbook for all ideas; they all worked diligently to create the striking panels that contribute to a collaborative mural.”

Cliff Harrison executive head of technical services adds: “Worthing council commissioned Creative Waves as part of the Worthing Piers’ 150th birthday celebrations and of course to herald the new pool! It is great to see the youngsters in our community participating in what will be this time next year a community facility.”  

Debs Stainforth, family intervention project (FIP) officer, involved in the youth project, added: “FIP works with local families in greatest need – it’s been great to get children involved who don’t often get these opportunities.”

David Sershall, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: “We are delighted to be involved with this exciting project, which celebrates the pier’s vibrant past. While we have been on site constructing the new Worthing pool, we have developed a great relationship with the local community and we are very pleased to be supporting this event in partnership with our contractors, J.P. Dunn, Proto Group, and Watson Steel Structures.”

“The youngsters involved in the Creative Waves project have worked so hard to create this great selection of artwork and their effort will now be recognised as it goes up on display for everyone from the local area to admire and enjoy.”

The project was also supported by the Proto Group, J.P Dunn and Watson Steel Structures.

The new Worthing pool is due to open in spring 2013 but progress can be checked on the webcam by visiting www.worthing.gov.uk and clicking the ‘new pool’ button.

18 Feb to 21 April 2012

With the support of the Public Catalogue Foundation and linked to the BBC project www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/  the new Your Paintings exhibition at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery is your chance to discover some of the hidden gems from the museum’s collection.

Find out about stories and memories inspired by the Art Store as told by museum staff, members of the Friends of Worthing Museum, and other volunteers, pupils of Davison Church of England High School and a wide range of other community groups. In all thirty-five people were asked to choose their favourite paintings in the Museum collection.

Each person was also asked to give their thoughts about the painting they chose and their comments have been made into museum labels with a difference, as cartoon speech bubbles.

Hamish MacGillivray, exhibition curator, said: “It’s been a chance to ask Worthing residents to cast a fresh eye over our collections, and choose things they like. What has been very interesting is that the most popular paintings chosen are portraits and pictures that show extreme weather such as flooding in Worthing. This exhibition also shows the strong Sussex links that the collection has showing scenes from the Downs to the Coast.“

For those unable to visit the exhibition or wanting to add their own comments images of all theWorthingMuseumoil paintings are now available on the BBC Your Paintings website, making the collection accessible to a national and international audience.

To see more examples there is also a video of interviews on the exhibition on You Tube.

Paul Yallop, Leader of the Council, said: “A big thank you to everyone who took part in our ‘Your Chance to be the Chancellor’ exercise last summer. This was the most successful consultation exercise the Council has run for some time and we had a great response to our request for ideas to help us balance our budget. It important to recognise the partnership with neighbouring Adur District Council and the hard work of staff at both Councils in continuing to deliver savings of over £2m per year to help protect frontline services. This has also meant that our residents will continue to benefit from the lowest average Council Tax in West Sussex.”

The final decision on the council tax will be made at the full Council Meeting on Tuesday 21 February 2012.

18 Feb to 21 April 2012

With the support of the Public Catalogue Foundation and linked to the BBC project www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/  the new Your Paintings exhibition at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery is your chance to discover some of the hidden gems from the museum’s collection.

Find out about stories and memories inspired by the Art Store as told by museum staff, members of the Friends of Worthing Museum, and other volunteers, pupils of Davison Church of England High School and a wide range of other community groups. In all thirty-five people were asked to choose their favourite paintings in the Museum collection.

Each person was also asked to give their thoughts about the painting they chose and their comments have been made into museum labels with a difference, as cartoon speech bubbles.

Hamish MacGillivray, exhibition curator, said: “It’s been a chance to ask Worthing residents to cast a fresh eye over our collections, and choose things they like. What has been very interesting is that the most popular paintings chosen are portraits and pictures that show extreme weather such as flooding in Worthing. This exhibition also shows the strong Sussex links that the collection has showing scenes from the Downs to the Coast.“

For those unable to visit the exhibition or wanting to add their own comments images of all the Worthing Museum oil paintings are now available on the BBC Your Paintings website, making the collection accessible to a national and international audience.

To see more examples there is also a video of interviews on the exhibition on You Tube.

Tony Seabrook of 1 The Haven, Lancing pleaded guilty to three offences at Worthing Magistrates’ court.  He was fined £450 for each offence and ordered to pay £245 Council costs and £15 victim surcharge (total £1610 amount to pay).  He was originally offered fixed penalty notices of £100 for each offence to avoid prosecution but now faces a bigger bill and a criminal conviction for not paying the notices.

The Council has received many complaints about vehicle sales on Brighton Road and Grinstead Lane over the past two years from residents that have had difficulty parking near their own homes and are fed up with the road being treated as an unofficial showroom. 

The offences were witnessed by a member of the public and an Adur District Council Officer, who saw Mr Seabrook expose vehicles for sale on three occasions despite numerous warnings not to carry out this practice.  Despite several attempts to offer Mr Seabrook a means of dealing with the cases without the need for prosecution, he ignored all correspondence and the Council therefore took further enforcement action.

Councillor Keith Dollemore, Adur’s Cabinet Member for a Clean and Green Environment, said:  “Residents who live along Brighton Road and Grinstead Lane in Lancing have repeatedly told the Council that they are thoroughly fed up with traders exposing their cars for sale outside their homes.  Selling vehicles on the public highway is a nuisance and an eyesore for those living and visiting the area. Traders who engage in this activity are misleading potential buyers into believing that they are dealing with a private individual.  The Council will therefore use enforcement action where appropriate to emphasise that this practice will not be tolerated.  Fixed penalty notices will be issued to those caught in the act, and if these are ignored the Council will prosecute offenders.”

Ms Garrison was served with an Abatement Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in 2010 after a long history of complaints concerning loud music and vocal noise. However, the problems continued and council officers were called out on a number of occasions in 2011 to witness loud music which was audible in the street and in neighbouring properties, preventing neighbours from sleeping and was in breach of the notice.

Ms Garrison was fined £75 for each of the two offences and was ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and the Council’s costs of £659.20, a total of £824.20.  

Cabinet member for the environment, Clive Roberts, said: “Persistently noisy neighbours can make life intolerable for those living near-by and this is completely unacceptable. I hope this prosecution demonstrates that Worthing Borough Council takes the issue of noise nuisance seriously and is willing to take action against those that ignore warnings and continue to make the lives of their neighbours a misery.”

After months of agonising waiting for staff and theatre goers, Worthing council has decided that its three theatres will continue to be run from in-house as none of the other bidders' proposals offered the savings required.

The theatres' management team have been asked to prepare a business plan that will deliver substantial savings and stop the high subsidy levels currently necessary to keep the venues open.

The business plan will look into offering a substantially improved and more attractive theatre experience. This will include things such as upgrading the buildings (particularly the Connaught and Pavilion Theatres) using council funds and for example, introducing a small ticket levy, creating a more modern dining experience, offering more options to the customer such as buying tickets and booking meals online, and possibly installing 3D in the Connaught. It is anticipated that a substantial increase in income from running the theatres could be achieved which would be put towards any improvements.

“A great deal of work has been undertaken to ensure sufficient resources are available to continue current operations until 2013,”

says Paul Yallop, Leader of Worthing Council,

“Over the next few months we will be taking a hard look at the programming of the venues. The review has shown the Assembly Hall to be a great community asset which needs to be utilised in a more efficient way. It has always been our intention to maintain good theatre provision in Worthing but we can’t ignore the fact that the level of public subsidy necessary to do this is unaffordable in the medium to long term. I really look forward to working with the theatre staff over the next year or so to help bring their business plan to fruition. I also hope to involve local groups who have shown great commitment to saving the theatres. I am sure the public will show their support by enjoying the excellent upcoming shows including the Christmas Pantomimes.”

Councillor Mary Lermitte, member of the Theatres Working Group set up in March this year added,

“In May we asked for expressions of interest to run all or part of Worthing's theatres. Seventeen bids were received resulting in the detailed consideration of three serious proposals. And although the Group was impressed with the level of interest and standard of the three proposals it decided, after very careful analysis and deliberation, that none of them would both innovate the service and reduce the net cost to the council tax payer over the next few years. I would like to take this opportunity though to thank those shortlisted for their interest.”

The Theatres Working Group will remain in place to ensure the targets set out in the business plan are met.

The full report concerning the future of the Worthing Theatres operation/management will be considered by the Joint Strategic Committee which meets on the 29th November at 6.30pm at the Adur Civic Centre, Ham Road, Shoreham. The report can be found on Item 11 (PDF) of the 29 November 2011 meeting of the Joint Strategic Committee.