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Friday, May 11, 2018
News 3
Artists put skills on show again in church f Housing protestors at a proposed site
Rare bat is found
f Heidi Walmsley with one of her paintings on show DOZENS of painters put their works on show in Pagham’s latest art exhibition. The bright bank holiday sunshine kept numbers of visitors to St Thomas a’Becket Church down compared to previous years. But the several hundred who went along still saw plenty that caught their eye. Some 30-plus paintings were expected to have been sold by the close of the three-day event on Monday. Organiser Trudi Kearsley said: “The weather has been too nice, really. I think everyone is on the beach. But the people who have come in are enjoying the quality of the work we have on show.” A total of 290 paintings were on view in front of the altar when the exhibition opened. They covered a range of media and subjects. “This is our 21st year of the exhibition,”
said Mrs Kearsley. “We are the only church in this year which has an art exhibition. The only other one we know about is at Birdham. “Artists like displaying here because the light is quite good and the atmosphere is nice and friendly.” Both the number of artists and works on view were less than 2017 – but Mrs Kearsley described that as a bumper year. This means the amount set to be raised from the exhibition, including refreshment sales, was likely to be about £1,000 against £1,400 last year. The church’s Raise the Roof appeal for essential repairs will again benefit from the exhibition. One of the artists who continued to back the event was Middleton resident Heidi Walmsley, 58. She sold her tenth painting, out of six framed and ten unframed, just
after the opening of the last day. “It’s a fantastic feeling,” she said. “I’ve been exhibiting here for 11 years and sold my first painting here. I still get the same satisfaction now as I did then. “People say my paintings are so cheerful, bright and colourful. I just have a passion for painting and I feel that comes out in my work. “Painting just relaxes me and I thank God every day that I can do it. If I wake up at 7am, I’ve got a paintbrush in my hand at ten minutes past.” Other artists on show in the exhibition included John Crowley with the watercolour Broken Light Bognor, Kathie Stocker (Study in Brown, acrylic), Jean Wapshere (Bosham from Chidham, watercolour), Marjorie Good (Tea Break, acrylic) and Roger Donovan (Tranquillity, acrylic).
Merger of parishes moves closer - see page 4
A RARE bat could halt plans for homes in Pagham. A new survey of one of the area’s four sites earmarked for large-scale development has revealed the presence of one of the rarest bats in Europe. The barbastelle is a woodland bat which is protected under the EU habitats and species directive and requires special measures for conservation. These include the designation of special areas for it. It was one of six bat species recorded by two experts on just one night walking around the site in Sefter Road in an initiative funded by Pagham Parish Council as part of its campaign to fight the housing plans. Parish council chairman Cllr Ray Radmall told the Pagham annual electors’ meeting he expected the findings to be a significant step in being able to stop the development. He said: “The survey was one of the most important things we have done. It showed the presence of the barbastelle bat, which is on the red list of endangered species.” Earlier surveys had also shown several other protected species of wildlife – including reptiles - lived in the Sefter Road field and another development site in Hook Lane. “The developers want to translocate – or move – them to another site. But that does not work, “ said Cllr Radmall. “You just can’t move the creatures somewhere else. That has happened before and they were just killed at their
new site.” Cllr Radmall said he had met with a legal team of two solicitors and a barrister to decide what action to take about the survey results. This could include a judicial review of the housing plans as a way of protecting the bats. “One of the things that has also arisen is the issue of joint and several liability. This is not just the people doing the damage to the wildlife but also those involved in making it happen,” he said. “That includes aiding and abetting, counselling, causing, procuring and promoting it. “This is all good grist to our mill. We want to promote these findings and do everything that will protect this parish from all sorts of inappropriate housing." The latest survey was carried out at dusk on April 22 by David King and Sheila Wright, who both hold Natural England scientific bat licences. They said: “Bats of six species were recorded, suggesting that this area is of local importance to bats, especially given its position surrounded by large arable fields and built up areas. “It is recommended that further activity surveys are carried out, throughout the active season and that steps are taken to establish the relative abundance of bats and suitable bat habitat in the surrounding area." The greatest level of activity was from pipistrelles. Two kinds were recorded during the survey from 8.39pm-9.24pm.
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