Crawley Borough Council has announced that work to transform Queens Square will begin on Monday 5th September.

Blakedown Landscapes Limited was appointed in May and will work from plans drawn up by urban designers, Burns and Nice.

The 3.2 million pound regeneration plans are a joint project between Crawley Borough Council, West Sussex County Council and the Coast2Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

The work includes new high quality paving, and improved lighting, planting and seating.

It is hoped that this in turn, will encourage neighbouring landowners and businesses to invest more in the area.

The town centre and shops will remain open for business during the works which should be completed next Summer.

Many thousands of Southern Rail passengers are currently facing more disruption with 5 days of strikes this week.

It’s thought to be the longest rail strike since the 1960s.

But what are your rights as a passenger if you are caught up in the chaos?

You will only qualify for strike compensation if the service you need is on an affected route.

However, you can still claim compensation if your train arrives at its destination more than 30 minutes late.

If you buy a ticket on the day, then you’ll get a full refund if you decide not to travel. If you do travel and are delayed by more than the 30 minutes you can claim compensation.

If you have a season ticket, you can make a claim at your local station if you decide not to travel, or if you are delayed by more than 30 minutes.

You’ll be paid in vouchers, which are exchangeable for cash.

And if it is genuinely impossible for you to get to work, employers may find it difficult to dock pay.

An employment law expert has advised employers to avoid knee jerk reactions if they think an employee is taking a ‘sickie’.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37011471

Train drivers employed by Southern Railway and Gatwick Express are to be balloted for strikes, the union Aslef has said.

The move follows talks over the imposition of new rosters and a “breakdown in industrial relations”.

Parent rail firm Govia Thameslink (GTR) is already in dispute with the RMT union over the role of guards on the Southern network.

They said it was a cynical and desperate attempt to heap misery on passengers.

The rail operator is currently running a reduced timetable to deal with ongoing disruption.The Aslef dispute is over the new timetable.

The RMT is due to strike for five days from 8 August.

That dispute is over new trains where the driver operates the doors using CCTV instead of guards, but the RMT has safety concerns and fears job losses.

A third union, the TSSA, is balloting more than 250 station staff in a row over ticket office closures.
Commuters have staged protests in London and the South East over continued disruption on the Southern rail network.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36965312