Mid Sussex District Council lights the way for Jubilee celebrations

Mid Sussex District Council is hosting a virtual 'Street party scrapbook', a design competition for children and will be shining a commemorative light beacon as part of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

This year's Platinum Jubilee celebration of The Queen's seventy years of service includes an extended bank holiday from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th of June to allow opportunities for communities to come together to celebrate this historic milestone. The Council has provided grant funding to 37 neighbourhood, charity, and local organisations to ensure community celebrations are able to take place right across the district.

As part of a programme of celebration, Mid Sussex District Council has announced a competition to design a royal woodland seat, which will be placed near to 250 new trees planted as part of the Queen's Green Canopy. Young people up to the age of 16 are being asked to design the woodland seat, and volunteers at Burgess Hill Shed will use the winning design to create a beautiful bench in remembrance of the occasion.

Many residents have applied for licences to close roads so they can arrange street parties or are planning community picnics on open spaces. Mid Sussex District Council plans to commemorate these, and all the Royal Street Parties over the years, by creating a 'virtual Street Party scrapbook' showing celebrations of the past alongside those of the Platinum Jubilee. Residents are encouraged to send in their images to be added to the album, which will be available on the Council website.

Both entries for the competition and submissions for the Street Party Scrapbook can be emailed to jubilee2022@midsussex.gov.uk or posted to the Mid Sussex District Council offices. Please note, the Council is unable to return any items that are submitted and by sending them you are confirming that you have permission for them to be shared publicly.

Drawing together all the celebrations across the district will be a beacon of light, which will shine up above from the Mid Sussex District Council offices between dusk and midnight during the extended bank holiday weekend (2 – 5 June). This will complement the traditional beacons that will be lit by Town and Parish Councils across the entire country.

Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Community commented,
"Recently we awarded £22,168 to local voluntary organisations in towns and villages through our Platinum Jubilee grant awards. These additional projects have been planned to ensure the memory of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations live on in a practical way and in our memories for years to come."

Full details of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations can be found at www.midsussex.gov.uk/platinum-jubilee