HRH The Princess Royal visit to Haywards Heath Town Council
Published: 15 October 2020
Press Release – 12th October 2020 for instant release.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal’s visit to Haywards Heath Town Hall
The Town Mayor, Cllr Alastair McPherson had the pleasure and honour of welcoming Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, who was accompanied by Vice Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, Sir Richard Kleinwort, to Haywards Heath Town Hall on Monday the 12th October 2020.
The purpose of the visit was for The Princess Royal to meet, within a socially distanced and Covid secure setting, those responsible for the response to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak within Haywards Heath and the surrounding villages during the lockdown period, to understand the current arrangements in place, and to hear what the plans are for the future for the residents of the Town and the surrounding villages.
As well as meeting statutory and voluntary organisations that worked on the response, The Princess Royal also spoke to the volunteers themselves who had given their time to help those who were in need in the community. These volunteers were from the Haywards Heath Mutual Aid group led by founders Amie Cherverst, Jo Lee and Redwan Chowdhury who had worked in partnership with Haywards Heath Town Council and its ‘Leave No-One Behind’ campaign, to provide day to day and on the ground response to the needs of residents individually, and offer subsidiary services to Haywards Heath and surrounding villages. This work included receipt of 2,537 telephone calls and the making of 1,660 direct response, through their 750 volunteers, to help individuals isolating or shielding with day to day matters. Her Royal Highness also met the co-ordinators from Haywards Heath Mutual Aid’s ‘Emergency Food Hub’ set up to support the Haywards Heath Food Bank, which is supported by Haywards Heath Town Council.
Cllr Alastair McPherson said,
‘The impact of the Coronavirus has affected everyone in the Town, country and indeed the world so this partnership, developed in response to the pandemic, shows what can be achieved when the community comes together in times of need. Therefore, it was such an honour to greet Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and introduce her to the people who were so selfless during lockdown.’
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***Editors Notes Attached