April 2015 Pigeon Post Published

Posted on Tuesday 31st March 2015

Badgerwood House

Posted on Sunday 29th March 2015

Badgerwood House, Clappers Lane, Fulking

Aerial view of the house and grounds in 2007

Badgerwood House was originally a bungalow, built by Captain Lawrence Clayton, [the architect] Charles Clayton’s son. Captain Clayton was also an architect and took over his father’s business when he died. In a 1934 auction, Dr. Beresford, a surgeon at Brighton Hospital, then purchased the house and grounds, which at the time included Furzefield to the north, along with fields on the west side of Clappers Lane, up to what is today Badger Brook. This combined holding was then called Badgerwood Farm. The bungalow was enlarged to become a house and subsequent owners added extensions to this. During the Second World War, Henry Harris farmed all the land (except what is now the bluebell wood at Furzefield) under the Government War Cultivation programme, to produce food. After the war a large pig farm was established on the site and this was later converted to stabling. The pig farm was later divided up and sold off as smaller parcels of land. Graham and Rosemary French purchased Badgerwood House, but sold off the parcel of land known as Furzefield in the early 1990s. The house has since been altered and extended and a recent owner has also added several features. At one time, a droveway through the grounds of the property provided access from Clappers Lane to Holmbush Lane.

Badgerwood House, Clappers Lane, Fulking

Tony Brooks

On the market

Posted on Sunday 29th March 2015

Badgerwood House, Clappers Lane, Fulking

Badgerwood House

Brighton City Plan

Posted on Saturday 28th March 2015

Never say die:

Mayfield Market Towns, which is proposing a new 10,000-home town near to Sayers Common, raised their own concerns that the plan in its current existence does not address any solutions in either Horsham district or Mid Sussex district.

The developers claim that with Brighton and Hove City Council exhausting all avenues to find land for housing within its borders, decisions on meeting demand elsewhere should not be longer term considerations but an urgent need and that their specific scheme should be included in the plan.

Call for Parish Councillors

Posted on Friday 27th March 2015

yourvillageneedsyou As you are probably aware, the current Parish Council’s term is coming to an end and nominations are needed for the new Council – Fulking Parish Council has five councillor positions. The nomination period will run from 30th March until 4pm on Thursday 9th April.

If anyone is interested in having an input in what happens in our community and wants to help to protect (and improve) what Fulking already has, please do feel free to contact any of the councillors for a chat – contact details are available from our clerk Derek Blackhall andreadickson@gmail.com

Full information and nomination papers can be found on the MSDC website or by clicking the links below:
local-elections-england-and-wales and Nomination pack”

Completed nomination papers must be delivered in person to MSDC offices. If more than five people stand, there will be an election and this will be advertised in due course. Once elected, parish councillors sit on the Council for a term of four years, after which they may stand for re-election.

Is it frustrating? Yes, at times.

Is it rewarding? Yes, very – you will learn a lot about the community, meet many people and also discover issues you didn’t even know existed! And yes, these do outweigh the occasional frustration. Protecting the community and seeing it change for the better is something that can give a huge sense of achievement and pride.

Most importantly, if nobody stands for election, control of our village will pass back to MSDC, so it really is vital that people come forward if we want to continue to have a say in what happens.

[Read more..]

Some background:
A Parish Council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish. It is the level of government closest to the community, with the district authority (Mid Sussex) and county council (West Sussex) above it in the hierarchy. The Council’s main task is to represent the views of the community – this is sometimes very difficult as the meetings can be poorly attended.
A Parish Council is there to support the community in any matters which may affect it and will try to influence decisions by reflecting the feelings of the people in the community. Parish Councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the community, the most common in our situation probably being planning matters (we are statutory consultees) and campaigning for better services and facilities (ie road conditions, flooding, broadband etc).

In this respect Parish Councils do have some powers – organisations that make the final decisions know that a Parish Council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and therefore its views should be taken seriously.

Residents can bring to the attention of the Parish Council anything that concerns them. If matters raised are not the responsibility of the Council, the clerk can direct them to the proper authority or correct point of contact.

Fulking Parish Council meets once a quarter for the ordinary Council meeting, to which members of the public are invited, and annually in May for the Annual Parish Meeting, which is combined with the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, when the Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected. The ordinary meetings generally last one and a half hours, depending on the agenda, and there is a forum at the end of the meeting when members of the public can raise concerns and ask questions. In addition to this, occasional planning meetings are held on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesday of the month as required and these generally last 15 – 20 minutes, again depending on the applications.

So please do think seriously about standing to keep decision making within our village and not at district level.

Shepherd & Dog Licensing – Public Meeting

Posted on Friday 27th March 2015

Notes from the public meeting of Fulking Parish Council held on Thursday 19th March at 7pm in the Village Hall to discuss the licensing application are now available.

Click here to view

A reminder ..

Posted on Thursday 26th March 2015

With blackthorn and wild plum in blossom, early butterflies on the wing and also kestrels and buzzards to spot. April is a magical time to visit Woods Mill as spring takes hold at a galloping pace. A mixture of woodland and meadow with good views of the South Downs, this peaceful nature reserve near Henfield is centered around a large reed-fringed pond.

Mute swan, little grebe and heron can all been seen on the pond and you may even be lucky enough to see a flash of a kingfisher. Removal of fish a couple of years ago has rejuvenated the pond. The water is now clear enough to see the tadpoles of the frogs and toads and grass snakes bask on its sunny banks.

Over the Easter school holiday, we will be running regular drop-in pond dipping sessions with the Woods Mill Warden on-hand to help you find out what you have caught. Newts, water boatmen and dragonfly nymphs all thrive in the numerous ponds.

Woods Mill is free to visit. It has a car park, public toilets and a wheelchair friendly all-weather path .. but no dogs are allowed on the nature reserve.

Summer Breeze Bus

Posted on Wednesday 25th March 2015

Brisk walks and bus rides – sounds like just the ticket. The new 77 bus timetable is out for the Dyke to Brighton route. This forms part of the “Breeze up to the Downs” partnership between B&H City Council, The National Trust and SDNP. It starts on 19th April, and from 14th June to 31st August you can, er, “do it topless”. More importantly it now connects with similar services to Stanmer Park and Ditchling Beacon. More details here…