After months of hard work the residents of Laughton have given the village a facelift to make the area more friendly and attractive.
During the past 18 months, and to coincide with the re-opening of the Roebuck Inn, a group of local residents has worked to restore to Laughton its original green heart – with extended areas of mown grass, ornamental trees and planters, and four custom-made oak benches.
Wealden District Council Chairman, Barby Dashwood-Morris, attended a party in Laughton Village on Sunday, July 5, to celebrate the new village centre which residents have created.
The scheme is intended not only to create a more useful and attractive centre for this ancient village, but to improve sight lines at the crossroads, reduce the speed of through traffic and to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the road to the pub and the village shop.
It is hoped that a 30mph speed restriction now adopted by so many Sussex villages will follow the residents’ initiative in Laughton.
Councillor Dashwood-Morris said, “Wealden District Council is both proud and pleased to have donated the Community Dividend to purchase the oak benches that are now in place on the green.
“This has been an amazing Community project with so many local people giving generously of their time and money to change the look of the centre of the village that will hopefully will help to slow the through traffic.”