Photo credit:  Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.  Photo shows Councillor Richard Biggs with Jonathan Lees, Good Company Managing Director at the Banstead Pantry launch event.

A community initiative in Banstead that offers affordable, healthy food has celebrated its opening with a launch event. 

The Banstead Pantry is part of the national Your Local Pantry network and has been jointly funded by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Good Company, and Raven Housing Trust together with some government funding.

Residents can apply to be members of the Pantry or referrals can be made by partners such as the Council and local food banks.  Membership is not means tested but aims to support those who may be struggling with the cost of living.  It also serves as a community hub offering workshops and social activities. 

The initiative already has a team of 20 volunteers and over 70 households currently holding membership.

The Church of Scientology has asked Mid Sussex District Council to impose an order stopping people from protesting outside its British headquarters in East Grinstead.

A request for a Public Space Protection Order was submitted in the hope of preventing protests like the one held by ex-Scientologists last November outside the grounds in Saint Hill Road.

Scientology became a recognised religion in the UK in 2013.

Alexander Barnes-Ross, a spokesman for the ex-Scientologist group, said such an order would be a “direct threat to their freedom of speech and right to protest”.