Meet the neighbours at Littlehampton community group

The inaugural meeting of the New Road Littlehampton and Surrounding Area Community Group will be held at The George, Surrey Street, at 7pm on Monday (February 21).

Founder Paul Hackett said: “We live around here, but we don’t really know any of our neighbours, it’s the way things are that everyone keeps themselves to themselves.

“I think it’s about time that we started getting together to see what we can do for each other. We are in the middle of the town, and there is quite a lot that goes on around here.

“There is a social element to it as well.”

He added that the idea had been born out of issues he and other residents were having with the newly-opened Lidl store, in relation to its parking policy, last year.

“I have been here for 15 years, and up until those problems with the parking, I had only ever spoken to people in about three other houses in the street,” said Paul.

“I have been broken into, and have been the victim of other crimes, like vandalism, and I think it would be useful if everyone was looking out for each other.”

One of the ideas he had for the project was to look into setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme, but, he said, the first meeting would be to find out what issues people had in the area.

“To be honest, I don’t really know what to expect myself.

“I don’t know how many people will come along, or what sort of things they will be worried about.”

To find out more, search Facebook group New Road Littlehampton and Surrounding Area Community Group or call Paul on 07525 357390.