Haywards Heath Town Mayor and Deputy Mayor share their vison for the future of Clair Hall

Published: 04 October 2021

Haywards Heath Town Mayor, Cllr Howard Mundin, and Deputy Mayor, Alistair McPherson, would like to share their hopes and vision for the future of Clair Hall, following the many discussions with residents about the future of Clair Hall, and our subsequent response as a Town Council to Mid Sussex District Council, which clearly indicated that this is a real opportunity for Haywards Heath to have a new community arts venue in our town. 

Cllr Mundin & Cllr Pherson comment “We appreciate that some residents wish to keep Clair Hall as it is but there is also a powerful desire for a new purpose-built venue, and we strongly believe that Haywards Heath deserves the best facilities for its residents. One local resident, architect and artist, Nigel Allyson-Ryan, produced an illustration portraying what a new Art and Community Centre in Haywards Heath could look like, and this is something we wholeheartedly aspire to for our wonderful community.

It is anticipated that a new building should be larger than the current facility, lending itself to multiple uses and activities for all our Haywards Heath resident’s uses, and importantly the residents of the whole of Mid Sussex, making it a truly sustainable and environmentally friendly building, powered with solar panels and wind turbines, thereby truly fit for the future.

The new building should be the key “Go To” destination for Mid Sussex, with cinema screens to give our younger residents, families and groups of friends, somewhere to enjoy the latest blockbusters and entertainment of all kinds in a safe and secure environment. It should house a large multifunctional hall with several smaller halls for community groups, events, meetings and workshops, with restaurants and bars to keep the site sociable and vibrant, whether it be for coffee mornings, lunches or pre-event drinks and dinner, meaning that the new building would become a real destination for Haywards Heath and the surrounding areas. This venue could even compete to attract the West End theatre and concert touring circuit, so could really place our new Haywards Heath Community Arts Centre on the map for all to enjoy!

With all this, together with beautiful gardens, views over Clair Park, and great transport links, we really believe and wish to create an exciting new destination in Haywards Heath for our ever-growing Mid Sussex community to enjoy. We invite you all as a community to get behind this aspiration for our town and help shape the future of Clair Hall and Haywards Heath.”

Town Mayor Deputy Mayor

Cllr Howard Mundin Cllr Alastair McPherson