Your West Sussex county NFU update

Following concerns raised by NFU members about delays to firearms certificate applications and renewals, the NFU recently met with Sussex Police to and Surrey discuss the situation, understand the reasons behind the backlog and seek reassurance on how the force is responding.

 Members should be aware that Surrey and Sussex Police firearms licensing function is collaborated, meaning all applications and renewals from across the two counties are handled by the same firearms licensing team. 

The key message for members is that Surrey and Sussex Police has significantly increased resources within its firearms licensing team to address the backlog and improve processing times. More than 20 additional staff have been brought in on secondment and are working through outstanding applications, with further planning underway to manage anticipated demand over the coming year. As part of this work, Sussex Police has advised that any applicant who has been waiting since before July 1st 2026 will be allocated to a backlog team and will be contacted directly and provided with a point of contact for their case.

 What members should do

If you are awaiting a firearms certificate renewal or application decision and:

• You have been waiting since before 1st July 2026, and
• You have not received any contact from Sussex Police

please get in touch with the NFU by emailing your County Adviser: [email protected].

The NFU will continue to engage with Sussex Police and keep members updated as progress is made in reducing the backlog.

After many years of dedicated service, Hugh Passmore will step down as Treasurer of the NFU Surrey & West Sussex General Fund at this years AGM, creating an opportunity for a new volunteer to take on this important county role.

The county would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Hugh for the time, commitment and professionalism he has brought to the position. His stewardship of the General Fund has helped support educational and charitable county activities. 

The county board is now seeking expressions of interest from members who may be interested in becoming the next Treasurer.

Members who would like to learn more about the position or discuss what the role involves are encouraged to contact Hugh Passmore or Romy Gue. 

Whether you have previous financial experience or are simply interested in supporting your county's NFU activities, we would be delighted to hear from you.

A specialist response team for South East Coast Ambulance Service is looking for suitable land for off-road driver training.

The Hazardous Area Response Teams need areas in Kent and Sussex that provide realistic off-road conditions, such as muddy tracks, uneven terrain, gradients, fields, woodland tracks, or other challenging ground where vehicles may become immobilised and require winch recovery.

Access to such environments would enable the safe and effective training of staff in vehicle handling, recovery techniques, and winching operations under controlled conditions.

HART Team Operative Rob McGlew said: “The support of the local farming community plays an important role in helping us maintain the skills needed to respond effectively to incidents in rural and difficult-to-access locations.

“Any training would be pre-planned, risk assessed and carried out by qualified instructors.

“We would work closely with the landowner to minimise any disruption during training activities.”

Please email Rob McGlew if you can help.

Wednesday 9 December | 9:30am - 1:00pm

Want to get better at telling your farm's story and engaging with the public? Join this practical, farmer-led workshop designed to help you share your farm, tackle misconceptions and champion the industry with confidence.

You'll hear from Brighton creative agency TILT on the art of storytelling and how to capture people's attention, before learning from local farmers Rachel from Trenchmore Farm and Kathy from Berries on Tap, who will share real-world examples of engaging customers through farm visits, newsletters and social media.

The session also includes interactive workshops, take-home resources, and plenty of opportunities to exchange ideas with fellow farmers.

Tea, coffee, cake and a light lunch included.

For more information and to sign up click here.

It was a pleasure to attend the West Sussex Growers Association (WSGA) Executive Meeting yesterday at Merrist Wood College and University Centre.

A huge thank you to Richard Cant and Sarah Markham for hosting us and providing an insightful presentation on the wide range of courses and apprenticeships available to young people and adult learners. We were also given a tour of the recently completed £22 million Norman Shaw and Peyto Shrubb buildings, along with the new commercial glasshouses.

These impressive facilities have been designed with the future in mind, giving learners access to modern workshops, laboratories, technology and specialist learning environments that closely reflect the industries and workplaces they will move into.

It's encouraging to see such significant investment in developing the next generation of horticultural and land-based professionals.

Click here to watch Merrist Wood's video of their new facilities. 

Members should be aware that parts of East Sussex and West Sussex have moved into severe drought status, following months of low rainfall.

The Government made the announcement on Thursday (15 October) after the latest National Drought Group meeting, which NFU National Water Resources Specialist Mark Betson attended. 

It said the change to severe drought status had been prompted by specific concerns for reservoir levels. Ardingly in West Sussex is only 19.4% full.

Declaring a severe drought ensures proactive steps are taken to safeguard water before any disruption occurs. These include: 

• Ministers instructing water companies to conduct daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels and tougher water quality monitoring; 
• The Environment Agency to increase compliance checks on businesses that withdraw water from natural sources, to ensure they are only taking permitted quantities of water
• Local Resilience Forums stood up to enable quick and effective development of support if required.

The NFU has pulled together information and advice on the impact of dry weather.

Farmers and growers met with Andrew Griffith MP on 2 October to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the farming sector.

Hosted by Tim and Joanna Binnington, the meeting brought together NFU members and representatives from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for an open discussion on issues affecting the industry's future with the Shadow Chancellor, who is MP for Arundel and South Downs.

Topics raised included uncertainty over future agricultural funding and the limited availability of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), along with rising input costs such as fuel and fertiliser, driven by global market pressures.

Attendees also highlighted concerns about the speed and availability of bluetongue testing and the impact delays can have on livestock businesses. The group discussed the forthcoming consultation on aligning UK animal welfare standards with European regulations, particularly in relation to livestock transportation.

The long-term sustainability and profitability of farming businesses were also key themes throughout the meeting.

Assistant County Adviser Paul Williams said: “The visit provided an important opportunity for farmers to share their experiences directly with policymakers and officials.

“Events like this help ensure that the challenges facing agriculture in the South East are understood at both regional and national level.”

Members in the High Weald National Landscape may be interested in the Removing Barriers to Access Fund, which supports projects that make the countryside more accessible and welcoming for people of all ages and abilities.

Funding is available until March 2029 for capital projects such as replacing stiles with accessible gates, improving paths, installing accessible facilities, creating inclusive outdoor spaces, and providing adapted equipment. Landowners, farmers, businesses, community groups can all apply.

Projects should be sustained or kept open for at least five years and up to 100% of eligible project costs may be supported. The contribution may be limited to 40% of eligible project costs if the project has a commercial benefit.

Members interested in improving access on their holdings are encouraged to submit an expression of interest and discuss their project with the High Weald team. Applications are typically considered within three weeks.

Find out more: https://highweald.org/grants/removing-barriers-to-access/

The South Downs National Park Authority is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the 2027/28 Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme. Applications will be open from 1 October to 31 December 2026.

Funding is available for projects that deliver lasting benefits for nature, climate, people and place within the South Downs National Park. Farmers, land managers and rural businesses are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest via the official FiPL online EOI form. 

EOIs submitted by email or any other method cannot be accepted.

As demand for funding is expected to be high, we have produced an Expression of Interest ​​Guidance Document to help applicants prepare their submissions.

Successful EOIs will be invited to develop a full application for projects starting from April 2027.

Further details of FiPL in the SDNP can be found on our website by clicking here.