Shoreham: The Mary Inniss Pavilion

Saturday saw the Shoreham Village Fete, and I was delighted to be asked to open the Mary Inniss Pavilion attached to Shoreham Village School.

The previous, more modest facilities suffered a fire some years ago. Mary Inniss, the long-serving Chair of Governors at the School (to whom I paid a tribute after her death in 2012), was committed to ensuring a new Pavilion for the use of both the school and community.

The project proved to be a long-running one but has now been delivered. A number of Heads and Governors at the School have given the project their support. Funding came from Corey Environmental Trust, a significant bequest from Mary's estate, from my Member Community Grant (as it then was) and other local KCC grants which I persuaded my colleagues to support. I also worked with KCC's legal team to ensure that all the necessary legal work was completed to deliver the project.

On Saturday I opened the Pavilion in the company of Richard, Mary's husband, and Gillian Lovatt-Young, who has driven such remarkable progress at the Village School. Given Mary's commitment to the School and to Shoreham, it is entirely appropriate that the Pavilion bears her name.

Pothole blitz to be launched in June

KCC will launch its annual pothole blitz in mid-June, it was announced yesterday. Some £3 million in funding, which includes £1.4 million received recently from central government, will be deployed. The work will be done on a District by District basis, and work will also be carried out on lines and verges.

This acceleration of our normal work in tackling potholes comes a little later in the year than usual - typically it starts in the spring - reflecting the later than usual release of government funding. However, it should now gather pace quickly, and residents are encouraged to report potholes via the Highways section of the KCC website. This should ensure the most timely response.