Minutes of Ordinary Meeting held Thursday 12th January 2023

Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting Fulking Parish Council held Thursday 12th January 2023 at 7.30pm held at Fulking Village Hall. 

Present 

Chairman:                                Cllr Mark Hind
Fulking Parish Council (FPC):      Cllrs Tom Kardos, Karen Healy and Lucy Mehta 

Mid Sussex District Council:        Cllr Rodney Jackson
Parish Clerk:                             Trevor Parsons 

There were four members of the public present. 

Public Participation 

A member of the public representing the gypsy community raised a complaint about the current enforcement activity being undertaken by the South Downs National Park relating to the removal of hedgerows and shrubs on the Conifers gypsy site.  

The meeting opened at 7.30pm. 

23/001/OM.            Apologies for Absence.  

Apologies received from Cllr Dyos (FPC), Cllrs Trumble and Bennett (MSDC) and Cllr Dennis (WSCC). 

Linda Dyos is currently in hospital and it was agreed to send some flowers. 

23/002/OM.            Declaration of Members’ Interests. 

No members interests declared prior to the meeting. 

23/003/OM.          Approve the Minutes of Ordinary Council Meeting of 13th October 2022 

The minutes, subject to any amendments, to be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting. 

The minutes of the meetings were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman. All Councillors in favour. 

23/004/OM.            Reports from District and County Councillors.   

Councillor Jackson (MSDC) reported that:  

  1. District Plan Review. The Regulation 18 consultation was concluded in December. He doesn’t anticipate any further update until the local elections are over in May.  
  2. Budget 2023/24. MSDC will be considering the draft budget at their scrutiny meeting on Wednesday evening. Total spending of MSDC is projected to be £19.8m, of which £1.6m is due to the effects of inflation. As well as proposals to increase Council Tax by 2.75% (the maximum permitted without a referendum is 2.99%) and increasing fees on some of the Council’s services (e.g. green waste collection), the remainder of the gap is being balanced by using £675k from Treasury Management Interest.   

23/005/OM.            Matters Arising & Outstanding Actions To clarify and report on actions brought forward from the last meeting. 

Playground Repairs – The Clerk reported that two quotes had been received by the Council for the medium risk repairs according to the RoSPA annual report. Both quotes came to over £6,000. 

A third quote is currently being sought from local contractor, Toby English and the Clerk will advise Councillors as soon as the quote is received. 

23/006/OM.            2023 – 2024 Precept 

Following the finance review of Parish income and expenditure held in December 2022 where the Clerk laid out a budget of spending for 2023/2024 an increase in precept of 10% would be required to balance revenue against spending. 

A discussion was held Cllr Hind proposed an increase of 6% raising annual precept from £10,080 to £10,680. Seconded by Cllr Healy. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the increase. Any spending beyond £10,680 would be met from reserves. 

ACTION: Clerk to write to Mid Sussex District Council to request a precept of £10,680.  

23/007/OM.             WSCC Road & Drainage Repairs 

Cllr Hind reported that he had submitted details the pot holes and flooding on Edburton Road around the Ladybrook Spring area via the WSCC online reporting system. No information had yet been provided by WSCC Highways about when any repairs may be undertaken. Cllr Hind has subsequently sent an email to Cllr Dennis (WSCC) to find out what can be done to fix the problems but is also waiting a response.  

23/008/OM         Small Acre Update   

Cllr Hind reported that he had been advised by the SDNPA that an appeal had been lodged with The Planning Inspectorate under the reference APP/Y9507/C/22/3313813. This means that Enforcement Notice issued by the SDNPA in December will not be progressed until an appeal decision is made by The Planning Inspector. 

23/009/OM         Village Hall Update 

Discussions have continued with the Church regarding the terms of any sale of the Village Hall however progress is slow. 

23/010/OM.             Reports from Outside Bodies. 

None discussed 

23/011/OM.             Information Items.  To receive information and items for the agenda at future meetings. 

None discussed  

23/012/OM.              Correspondence.  To discuss correspondence and respond to correspondence received. 

None discussed 

 23/013/OM.              Financial Matters. To receive the report on the Council’s income and to approve future expenditure. 

The current cashbook of income and expenditure was sent to Councillors prior to the meeting confirming a balance of £4,477.39 was held in the current account and £12,184.07 held on instant access deposit. A VAT reclaim form for £5,534.79 has been submitted to HMRC. 

23/014/OM.               To set a date of the next Ordinary Meeting and Annual General Meeting of the Council and Annual Parish Meeting:  

Date of the next Ordinary Meeting: Thursday 16th March 2023 

Date of the APM & AGM to be Thursday 18th May 2023.