There has been a community association in the West Hill area of Brighton since 1976 and the activities pursued by the members have been numerous, often depending on the enthusiasm of individual members. There is committee of Trustees who manage the Hall and the Association's activities. West Hill’s cachement area stretches from the south side of Seven Dials down to the clock tower in Queen’s Road
and all roads on the right from the clock tower up D**e Road. All residents are automatically members of West Hill Community Association. West Hill Community Association’s base in Compton Avenue is West Hill Hall, which belonged to the Church until it was offered for sale in 1994. Thanks to the efforts of the then Chair, Sylvia Alexander-Vine, the Association rescued the Hall from the clutches of a property developer, and bought the freehold, financed by fundraising, a small grant from the Single Regeneration Budget, and a sum of money willed to founding member Pam Bean for use in the community. West Hill Hall has thrived as a space for community activities ever since and it is the Association’s intention to keep the Hall available and maintained for continued use. Regular activities can be seen on the timetable on www.westhillwhistler.wordpress.com/1937-2/ and we also hire the Hall out for ad hoc activities to local residents. There are steps into the kitchen. The Association runs a monthly Quiz, two talks a year by invited speakers and an annual Christmas social - all of which are open to residents. Every 30 years or so, it also holds anniversary celebrations for Bright News, a very convenient store in Buckingham Road, owned by our last Chair, Vinod Mashru. It also publishes "The Whistler". A Writers Group met in West Hill for some time and produced some exciting work, including a booklet in 1979 called ‘The West Hill Version’, in an effort to keep people in the area in touch with each other. This included illustrations, crosswords and stories. "The Whistler", the community newspaper published every two months since 1976, developed from the work of these members. It is distributed to every household in the area and is widely read throughout Brighton & Hove. Its aim has always been to maintain and improve communication among the local community, and every effort is made to present a fair and balanced view. "The Whistler" features stories and poems from a diverse range of contributors and our indefatigable regular contributors, the support of local businesses through advertising, donations made via Bright News convenience store and our printer has made it possible for the newspaper to survive for forty years. It has also been published online since 2009.
