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Close this message to accept our cookies, or find out how to remove them Overcoming loneliness and isolation is just one of the cornerstones of the Conversation Starter Project walking group who meet weekly in Horsham and Southwater Recently Horsham District Council Chairman Cllr Nigel Emery met up with the group to walk and talk around Horsham Park Founders of the Project Shirley Blanch and Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo set up the group officially in 2023 with the aim of bringing people together to get them out and about in a safe space in the fresh air to support both their physical and mental health The free walk and talk sessions meet in Horsham Park’s Human Nature Garden at 10am in all weathers to walk a circuit of the park and by ‘Iggy’ the dinosaur in Lintot Square Southwater on Fridays at 12 noon to walk around Southwater Country Park ” I was delighted to join the Conversation Starters walking group in Horsham Park and to learn about how they help people in both Horsham and Southwater with their mental health Many people struggle with mental health issues and Conversation Starters provides the company of others and the peace and beauty of our parks to provide some help.” “Tara and I are really proud to have run this project voluntarily for almost four years and we are now hoping to engage with local businesses who might want to use our training programmes to help us extend our free services in the community as we believe integrating local businesses with community wellbeing is the key to really making a difference.” Read the latest news Read the latest edition of Our District magazine for Horsham residents Horsham District Council media enquiriesCommunications Teampress@horsham.gov.uk Site and content © Horsham District Council 2025 the Sussex Cricket Foundation Primary School Indoor Competitions culminated in a couple of thrilling finals days held at the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy With over 60 schools entering across the county schools faced off in their local rounds to be crowned winner moving onto the Indoor Countdown Cricket Finals excited and enthusiastic schools competing on the day and the games were played in a very enjoyable fun and competitive environment with some great cricket being shown throughout Barnham Primary and Lindfield Primary Academy were the winners of their groups meaning that they would face off in the final Both sides played exceptionally well as they consistently took wickets throughout their fielding innings and had some incredible batting moments including massive hits down the hall for six It was a really close final with Barnham scoring 77 and Lindfield Scoring 64 A massive congratulations to Barnham Primary as they were undefeated throughout the whole day Many games were decided by just one or two runs The standard of cricket on display was fantastic supporting each other and showing real respect for the game.  Barnham and Blackthorns put in strong performances on Pitch 1 while Southwater and Summerlea shined on Pitch 2 Three Bridges and Our Lady of Lourdes also had some strong performances both getting one win each and continuing with a strong competitive spirit right up until the final ball.   The final saw Barnham Primary take on Southwater Junior in a tight-fought battle Both teams had been impressive throughout the afternoon securing the tournament victory and becoming the 2025 Year 5/6 Girls Indoor champions.  Congratulations to all schools that made the finals:  This competition links nicely into the summer Dynamos Schools Countdown Cricket Competitions which are run across Sussex culminating in the County Finals at the Blackstone Academy Ground For more information on these competitions, or to enter your school, please contact your local SCF Territory Manager and visit our Primary School Competitions page Police officers are investigating a late night burglary that took place in Telford today Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.comand on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 West Mercia Police were called to a report of disturbance at Southwater Square in Telford at around 3:45am today (Saturday A spokesperson for the police said enquiries are now on-going into a burglary The incident had resulted in the Southwater entrance of Telford Centre being shut this morning The team behind the shopping centre shared the temporary closure via the brand’s official social media channels The Facebook post said: “CUSTOMER NOTICE: Southwater entrance into the shopping centre is currently closed, due to an ongoing police incident Please use one of our other entrances for access into the Centre The entrance will be back open as soon as possible.” The entrance reopened about half-an-hour later Families Displaced After Major Fire in Southwater A serious fire in Southwater has forced three families into temporary accommodation after flames spread across four properties Ten fire engines were called to Roman Lane around midday last Sunday to tackle the blaze Police have launched an investigation and are urging anyone with information to come forward a 55-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson following a fire at a property on Twyford Road Emergency services cordoned off the area while crews brought the fire under control Police are appealing for witnesses to assist with their enquiries.   We use cookies on our website to give you the best experience possible, find out more here Families across Telford and Wrekin can meet the family hub team to get help and advice at a weekly drop-in session The event takes place every Wednesday from 9.30am to 12.30pm in the children’s section of Southwater Library Staff are on hand to provide advice to families and signpost them to key topics including parenting courses local activities in the community and information about services that can support their family life A volunteer member of the Dandelion Peer Parent Support Group also attends families can access support through six family hubs which are located across the Borough and operated by Telford & Wrekin Council The hubs provide a wealth of information on infant feeding healthy lifestyles and many other services “Our family hubs are busy helping families across the Borough access the support they need as we continue our pledge to protect care and invest to create a better borough for our residents “In the last 12 months we’ve increased the number of hubs from three to six and supported more than 8,500 people to access the services they need “We have plans in the pipeline to further expand our family hubs offer this year but for now I’d urge families to pop into our drop-in session or visit one of hubs.” Each of the Council’s family hubs have been named after trees – as a symbol of stability growth and strength and in light also of the borough’s “Tree City of the World” achievement Family Hubs are open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm In addition to the family hubs, information and support is also available online Telford & Wrekin Council is to hold a special civic ceremony and light up parts of the town to mark Holocaust Memorial Day The movement remembers the millions of people who were murdered in the Holocaust and in genocides around the world since the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau - the largest Nazi concentration camp Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina Telford & Wrekin Council has announced that it will be holding a special civic ceremony at AFC Telford United at 10.30am next Monday to mark the day The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is 'for a better future' The council said the event will include guest speakers who will share their experiences plus a short pre-recorded testimony from Manfred Goldberg who is a Second World War Holocaust survivor There will also be reflection from students at Burton Borough School on what it means to work towards ‘a better future’ before candle-lighting will take place as an act of remembrance Southwater One in Telford will be lit in purple as a mark of remembrance and residents across the borough have been invited to join in with the national 'light the darkness' candle-lighting at 8pm Households around the world will place a light in their windows to remember those who were killed Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for inclusion said: "Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity for the world to come together and reflect on the atrocities and millions of people murdered in the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides such as in Bosnia and elsewhere around the world so it’s a moment to think about what we can all do to make sure the horrors of the past are not repeated and show that we stand together against intolerance and hatred challenge prejudices and speak out against persecution." The council said the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony is open to all, but places are limited, and must be booked in advance. Visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/telford-and-wrekin-holocaust-memorial-day-commemoration-tickets-1151169993439 The Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony will also be livestreamed on the council’s Facebook page For best viewing experience of this website Please enter a place name in the search bar After provisionally the warmest May Day on record in the UK higher than average temperatures will subside over the weekend Environment Agency Updated: 10:25 (UTC+1) on Tue 6 May 2025 A cloudier day for many. Breezy and feeling cool. After a cold and bright start, with some sunny spells, it will turn increasingly cloudy from off the North Sea, although it will stay dry. Some bright or sunny spells developing by evening. Feeling cool, with a brisk northeasterly wind. Maximum temperature 17 °C. A fine end to the day, with some evening sunshine. Staying dry with some lengthy clear skies overnight. Turning chilly with a touch of grass frost in places. Light winds. Minimum temperature 1 °C. Largely dry with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells on Wednesday. Chance of a few light coastal showers. Feeling cool, with a brisk northeasterly breeze. Maximum temperature 19 °C. A few showers are possible on Thursday. Otherwise, largely dry, with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells throughout the period. Some chilly nights, but warm by day. Fairly typical weather for the time of year is most likely through this period. Overall, fine and dry weather is more likely to dominate although this will be interspersed with occasional spells of rain and showers, with a risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms in places. Overall, temperatures will most likely be near to or slightly above average. Win HappyPremiumSearch Rayogreatest hitssussexnewsInvestigations underway into string of house fires in SouthwaterPolice say the flames spread to five properties yesterday (Sunday 16th) Investigations are underway into the cause of a house fire in Southwater which spread to four other properties Emergency teams were called to Roman Lane at around 12pm yesterday (Sunday 16th) The road was closed while West Sussex Fire and Rescue worked to control and extinguish the fire and enquiries around the circumstances of the fires remain ongoing at this time In a statement Sussex Police said officers are 'aware' of videos circulating online and are asking anyone with information or footage to contact police or by calling 101 quoting reference 402 of 16/03 Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app. Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited Company number: 1394141Registered office: Media House Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern London NW1 2PL All registered in England and Wales VAT no 918 5617 01H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No: 845898) This was a second visit to Horsham parkrun having run event #15 in December 2104  Back then there was no winter route and I have memories of slipping sliding and splashing my way round a sodden Horsham Park Southwater Country park provides much more ideal surfaces for winter running and I wonder if there any other parkruns with such a distance between their winter and summer courses Andy Mitchelson provided an informative and amusing First Timers and Tourists briefing warning of the undulations and potential hazard of loose gravel on one downward slope and that there was a slight walk to the start (reference to the question in run report #486 the walk to the start at Oak Hill’s winter route is longer than this one) Next up was RD Andy Bateson with the full run brief - having established there were runners from as far afield as Northern Ireland and New Zealand he checked to see if there were any American visitors as their running would be subject to a 50% tariff (50% of free is free) he then moved on to milestones with special mention to Joanne Bull  who has been around since the start of Horsham parkrun and originally volunteered as part of the setup team and has continued to volunteer She has volunteered over 268 times including 60 times setting the event up Timekeeping 29 times and being Run Director at 31 events It was great to see so many people clapping and cheering her as she finally completed her 100 running milestone well done Jo and thank you from everyone at Horsham parkrun for contributing so much The walk to the start then followed and 364 people ran jogged or walked the course in dry sunny conditions with a deceptively cold breeze First finisher was Lewis Reeves in 17:00 a PB by 2 seconds and his 14th first finish at Horsham First Lady was Georgia Debling (20:55) her 7th First Lady finish at Horsham ( incidentally this was the 3rd time they were 1st finishers at the same parkrun) Best Age grade % was Gary Tomlinson with 81.62% There were 11 people who were at their very 1st park run Alex Wood and Abby Best welcome to parkrun and your Saturday mornings may never be the same again 38 other people were at Horsham for the first time and there were 35 PBs A huge THANK YOU to all the Hi-Viz heroes without whom the event would not take place If you’ve never volunteered before why not give it a go it doesn’t have to be every week and it is fun and very rewarding Alison & Paul Williams (Sittingbourne parkrun) & Andy B and the Horsham parkrun team © parkrun Limited (Company Number: 07289574) No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner