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Category Archives: Flooding
Met Office Weather Warning – Monday 28th October
National Severe Weather Warning Service – Chief Forecasters Assessment
A strong, high-level jet is expected to engage warm low level air to give rise to a rapidly moving low pressure system later on Sunday. This is expected to run northeastwards, probably across England and Wales, with very strong winds on its southern and western flanks.
There is the potential for gusts of over 80mph, especially on exposed coasts, bothin southwesterly winds ahead of the low and west to northwesterly winds behind it.
The Met Office have issued an Amber Alert of Wind
Valid from 00:05 on Mon, 28th Oct 2013 until 21:00 on Mon, 28th Oct 2013
A very intense low pressure system is forecast to run northeastwards across the countryearly on Monday, bringing the potential for an exceptionally windy spell of weather for southern parts of the UK. At the same time, persistent, heavy rain could cause some surface water flooding.
At this early stage there is uncertainty about the timing, intensity and track of the low. However, the public should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.
For more details please go to: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings
Issued by the Met Office at 10:38 on Thu, 24th Oct 2013
A2037 flooding
The Argus is reporting:
Reports of A2037 Henfield Road partially blocked due to flooding around High Street. There are reports traffic is taking it in turns to pass near to Towers Covent School.
Update 10:35am — this is now resolved.
The Clappers of Clappers Lane
evadere ad auras, hoc opus, hic labor est.
Nowadays the primary function of Clappers Lane, residents apart, is to act as a Bermuda Triangle for credulous users of satellite navigation devices. But, until the road to Poynings was built in the early 1800s, Clappers Lane provided the only public route into Fulking and Edburton from the north. So it is a matter of some interest to ascertain how this once significant thoroughfare came by its curious name. The answer lies in the streams that cross the lane.
Anthony Brooks tells us that:
Until the early 1900s Clappers Lane flooded in three places: by the entrance to Brook House, [at] a ford just north of Knole House and at the junction of Clappers and Holmbush Lanes. Today, the streams at these locations now run under the carriageway, but before that, on the west side of the ford near Knole House, there was a simple, raised footbridge constructed of boards placed length ways. [2008, page 62]
Clapper is an ancient local word for a bridge across a stream formed by laying a plank on piles of stones, or a similar raised footpath for pedestrians alongside an occasionally flooded lane. According to the English dialect dictionary, a correspondent of Notes and Queries wrote in 1880 that “we have here [at Edburton] a lane called Clappers, so named from its ‘clapper,’ i.e. a raised footpath at side, to keep foot-passengers out of the water”. John Rowe, Lord Bergavenny’s manorial steward in the early seventeenth century, tells us that there were clappers at Fridayesmead, Sandstrete and “in ffulkinge”. F. A. Howe equates the first with the field still marked as Great Fridays on the 1842 tithe map (see 130 on the map below); the second with one which “survive[d] unused” in his day (1958) over the northern branch of the local stream in Clappers Lane, previously known as Sands Lane; and the third with a spot “on the main road where the stream crosses under Stammers Hill near the sheepwash”. These arrangements were obviously of long standing, because one of these, or one in a parish close by, gave its name to John atte Clapere (‘John at the clapper’), recorded in a nearby hundred in 1332.
Anthony Brooks takes up the question of the word’s origin on page 62 of his book. He says that it arose from the fact that the planks were partly unsecured, and “clapped” when walked on. However, clappers in other parts of the country, especially Devon, were made of heavy stone slabs, so that cannot be the whole story; and it cannot be true as early speculators thought, that the word derives from clapboard, which the name of John in 1332 also proves. Clapper also meant ‘stepping stones’, according to the English dialect dictionary, so wood is clearly not a necessary component of the definition.
The first record of the property called Clappers is in the parish registers in 1652: the burial of “the wife of Thomas Smith of the Clappers” (Howe, page 20); and a house with that name shows up on the 1842 tithe map for the parish of Edburton (see 132 on the map above). Thanks to the 1841 census we even know who was living in Clappers at the time. Members of that family were still living in the parish in 1881. The property makes repeat appearances, in the same location*, on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1898, 1920, 1940-45, and 1962. The original house no longer stands but has been replaced by Brook House which is located in a different part of the property (Brooks 2008, page 83). As can be seen, the property borders the stream that runs along the southern edge of Boggy Lagg and crosses the lane just below Clappers Sands where Brookside stands today; and, as noted above, this was the location of a clapper that lasted into the twentieth century.
There are two plausible hypotheses as to how the property came by its name:
- It may have taken its name from being adjacent to a clapper (or between two of them, as it was at one time); in more recent times a clapper seems to have been indifferently called by a singular or plural term.
- The form of the name, possibly with a possessive –s, suggests that it might comes from the surname, and therefore only indirectly from the clapper(s). On this etymology, an individual associated with a property near a clapper would have become known by reference to the clapper (“John atte Clapere”), the property, in turn would have become known as Clapper’s and then Clappers.
Finally, the property would have given its name to the lane, previously known as Sands Lane, that ran alongside it.
*The current Clappers House is not in this location. It is further north, at the summit of a hill and thus far from both streams and clappers. Anthony Brooks reports that it was built and named after 1961 (2008, page 80).
References
- Anthony R. Brooks (2008) The changing times of Fulking and Edburton: 1900 to 2007. Chichester: RPM Print & Design.
- F.A. Howe (1958) A chronicle of Edburton and Fulking in the County of Sussex. Crawley: Hubners Ltd.
- John Rowe (1622-35) Rentals and custumals of Lord Bergavenny’s manors. MS. now in East Sussex Record Office. Edited for publication by Walter H. Godfrey (1928) as The book of John Rowe, steward of the manors of Lord Bergavenny, 1597-1622. Lewes: Sussex Record Society (vol. 34).
- Joseph Wright (1898-1905) English dialect dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press
With thanks to Nigel Vincent for the quotation from Vergil and to the local history editor for his help with research assistance and access to local material.
Copyright © Richard Coates, 2012
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2012 07 12 PC Minutes
Minutes of Ordinary Parish Council Meeting at 7.30pm on 12 July held at the Village Hall
Present: Chairman Ms K. Watson, Vice Chairman Mr M Trist Councillors Ms L. Dyos, Mrs P. Rowland and Clerk to the Council Mrs Andrea Dickson. MSDC Councillor Colin Trumble and 6 members of the public
1. Apologies: None
2. Declaration of Interest: None
3. The minutes of the previous meeting held 12 April 2012 having been previously circulated, were taken as read and approved and signed by the Chairman. The minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Parish Council to Accept Internal Audit and Annual accounts were read out, approved and signed by the Chairman.
Report from Councillor MSDC:
District Plan Will need to be agreed by Autumn. This is planned from the bottom up,with all local areas having a say in the amount of housing that can be sustained in their area. Local areas need to agree to the District plan if no ideas are put forward then new housing will be forced on the District.
National Park is separate planning should meet stringent conditions that compliment the South Downs National Park. (SDNP)
This led on to questions about Market Garden — Councillor Trumble stated that he should be kept informed about the situation. It was agreed that Councillor Trumble would put some points in writing and attend the proposed meeting with MSDC to discuss the policies and procedures with regard to Market Garden planning application.
Council Tax — April 2013 will see a change in the way Council Tax will be distributed. Councils will only be reimbursed 90p for every 1 collected. This is to encourage people to return to work. PC should comment on information that will be provided in August (who will benefit and by how much).
Polling Stations — Fulking Village Hall was assessed and it was felt it did not reach the criteria to be a Polling Station. Poynings will be the area Polling Station. Councillor Colin Trumble left the meeting 8.00pm
4. Matters Arising
Planning: Just to reiterate, approval of Market Garden was not unanimous. It was approved with conditions. The Parish Council (PC) is currently trying to arrange a meeting with Mid Sussex planning department regarding policy/procedures mid August onwards. (Clerk)
Old Pump House: An enforcement order was placed Oct 2011 for unauthorised development on the land. The applicant appealed against the enforcement order. A site visit has been carried out and a decision will be made in around 6 weeks.
Preston Nomads Work has started to improve the entrance and provide 6 parking spaces for villagers. The PC has approached the villagers and 6 people have expressed an interest. (subject to terms & conditions)
Planning applications now need to be lodged with SDNP not MSDC.
Highways: Speeding — It was agreed to take no further action would be taken as all the 20mph signs may be put at risk. Vegetation around the sign on Clappers Lane would be cut back (this is the responsibility of the residents) Lee Holden
Flooding on the corner by the Shepherd and Dog has been cured by West Sussex highways. West Sussex will monitor the situation over the next few months, any problems in this area, please let the Highways Department at Chichester and the PC know. PC agreed to get a quote to lay turf to prevent further erosion (Clerk to contact Mark Stepney) A work order has been submitted to fence the inlet on the opposite side of the road.
The Parish Council met with Tim Boxall and residents immediately affected by the flooding on Four Acres corner. Highways submitted a work order to increase the size of the sump at the top corner of the bridleway and also to clear the water and clean the existing pipe which runs under the road. After this has been carried out residents will further increase the size of this sump, which hopefully will allow a free run from the pipe outlet and will disperse the water more easily.
Banking on Clappers Lane is the responsibility of the adjoining property owners. Highways have written to the landowner asking to respond within 28 days (Clerk to chase response at end of July).
Footpath 4f — The proposed is currently with legal services to make the order. Prior to that there will be a consultation period with notices displayed on site and the PC will be notified.
Chalk run off from the Bostal — David Ellin, farm manager, has done loads of work digging drain off points, diverting chalk run so problem virtually fixed many thanks to David for this.
APM: The Annual Parish Meeting took place on 3 May. SDNP attended and gave a presentation on neighbourhood planning. Following on from this, the Parish Council called a meeting to discuss whether or not the village wished to submit a neighbourhood plan. After discussion, it was unanimously agreed that a neighbourhood plan was not needed, due to the likely (unbudgeted) large expense, the time it would take and Fulking’s situation within a national park (hopefully protected)
Ram Pump House: National Trust have visited the property and have agreed to carry out the work on the door and lock, hopefully within the next month. When the work is completed the PC will be given a key to the lock.
North Town Field: The annual inspection with ROSPA has been carried out and we are awaiting the report.
5. Councillor Vacancy: Nobody has come forward to fill the vacancy . Please ask anybody you think may be interested to come forward and speak to a member of the PC. (Everybody)
6. Financial Matters: Financial Regulations having been previously circulated, were agreed and adopted. They will be placed on the website. (Clerk) The cheque list and cheque counterfoils were checked and signed. Clerk’s timesheet having previously been circulated was agreed, cheque raised and signed.
7. Insurance Policy/Fixed Asset List: A weekly inspection of the playground will be carried out by Councillors to conform with the insurance policy. A notice will be placed in Pigeon Post and on the Parish notice board asking Villagers to report any damage to the Clerk. (Councillors & Clerk) The fixed assets list was passed around to see if anybody had anything to add. As this differs from the information the insurance company has, they will be asked to re evaluate the assets. (Clerk)
8. Acceptance of Standing Orders: Standing orders having been previously circulated, were agreed andadopted. They will be placed on the website .(Clerk) The following procedures having been previously circulated, were agreed and adopted as part of the Standing Orders: A. Complaints Procedure B. Sickness Procedure C. Disciplinary Procedure D. Grievance Procedure
9. Acceptance of New Code of Conduct: 1. New Code of Conduct having been previously circulated , was agreed and adopted. It will be placed on the Website. (Clerk) 2. New Register of Interest Forms were distributed to Councillors. They need to be returned to the Clerk by 2 August 2012 to enable them to be placed on the website within 28 days of acceptance of the New Code. (Councillors & Clerk) 3. The Chairman & Clerk were thanked for the work that they had put into the documents prior to the meeting.
10. Training Courses: A brief report was given on the training courses attended by The Chairman Councillor Dyos and Clerk. The Clerk reported on Society Of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) with regards to joining and studying by distance learning for the course Working With Your Council Course. The PC agreed to cover this cost. (Clerk) The PC agreed to the Clerk attending and covering the cost of Sussex Association Of Local Councils (SALC) Networking Day in November 2012 and covering the cost. (Clerk)
11. Joint Parish Meeting: These meetings have proved very useful in the past, Councillors and Clerks to attend. Details of the meeting to be chased up (Clerk)
12. Website: Thanks to James Lightfoot for running the website in the past. Thanks to John Hazard for taking over the running of the website. All Parish Council information is to be published on the website . (Clerk) PC would like a permanent section in Pigeon Post to help create interest and give access to all. (Clerk)
13. Comments from the Floor: The fair is cancelled due to bad weather.
A Planning meeting will be held on 18 July short notice due to the change over to SDNP.
A discussion took place with regards to the Bridleway, who is responsible for keeping the path way clear of brambles Tim Boxall or Public Rights of Way. (Clerk)
Kissing gate at end of Lee Holden s property is in need of repair/replacement . Peter Griffiths was looking into this, it needs to be followed up. (Clerk)
Road surface in Clappers Lane is bald email Tim Boxall (Clerk)
A member of the public would like to have a vote of no confidence in MSDC planning, but will wait to see what happens at the meeting August.
14. Dates of the next meetings: The next Parish Council meetings will be held on 11 October 2012 and 10 January 2013
Meeting closed at 8.50pm
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2012 05 03 PC Minutes
Annual Meeting of Fulking Parish Council: Meeting held in the Fulking Village Hall on 3 May 2012 At 8pm
Present: Ms K Watson (Vice Chairman), Mrs P Rowland, Ms L Dyos, Mr M Trist and Clerk to the Council Andrea Dickson. 8 members of the public.
1. Meeting opened by Ms Kate Watson
2. Nomination for Chairman and Vice Chairman were received by the Clerk. Chairman Ms Kate Watson was nominated by Mrs P Rowland and seconded by Ms L Dyos Vice Chairman Mr M Trist was nominated by Ms K Watson and seconded by Ms L Dyos The Chairman and Vice Chairman signed the Declaration of Office forms.
3. Apologies: Dr D Slavin and Colin Trumble.
4. Minutes of Annual meeting of Fulking Parish Council on 2 June 2011 were amended and approved.
5. Chairman s Report Clerk The previous Clerk did not meet the Parish requirements,this resulted in her resignation . Sheena Trist thankfully stepped in to help out until a new clerk could be recruited. Andrea Dickson took up the post of Clerk in April, her details will be on the website soon.
Planning: In the past year Fulking Parish Council has received 11 applications. 3 have been approved. 1 refused. 6 pending consideration. 1 called in by South Downs National Park Authority. Market Garden site is included in the pending consideration list (the application is for permanent permission for the stationing of caravans and a dayroom on the site). This has been called to committee by Mid Sussex, the planned date for this is 31 May (this has yet to be confirmed). The National Planning Policy Network (NPPN) was introduced at the end of March, hopefully this should not alter things too much for Fulking. More information can be found about the NPPN on the internet.
Finances The annual precept has increased by 3.26% to 6344.
Thank you to Bob Rowland for acting as The Responsible Finance Officer and for looking after all financial matters. Thank you also to Nick Hughes for carrying out the Internal Audit of the annual accounts. This was accepted by the Parish Council last night.
Highways: Flooding is still an issue despite Tony Brooks’s best efforts to get this sorted. Please report any flooding to West Sussex Highways Department in Chichester. Speeding is still a problem, articles have been posted in the Pigeon Post highlighting this issue. Fullking was very prepared this year with a winter management plan, although it was not necessary to put this into action.
Village Hall: Parochial Church Council considered selling the Village Hall due to lack of funds. At a public meeting in December the Village Hall Action Group was formed.The action group has worked tirelessly over the past few months improving the facility, raising funds and encouraging people to use the hall. The current arrangement is still in a trial period, the future of the hall is still very uncertain and in the hands of the community.
Village Plan: The Village Plan published last summer has recently been updated. This will be found on the website in the near future.
Crime: There has been a sharp increase in crime in the area recently so please be vigilant. Anything suspicious should be reported on the direct number for non emergencies 101.
Village Fair: Please support the village fair on Sunday 29 July 12noon-5pm. Thank you to the Social Committee which does a great job raising funds and orgainising cleans ups around the village.
Finally thank you to David Slavin for his work as Chairman in the last few months. David will be stepping down as councillor due to work commitments. This will create a vacancy on the Parish Council which will be advertised on the Parish notice board in the near future.
Thank you to all of the councillors for the extremely hard work they have put in over the past year. Thank you also to Aidan Walker for his continued involvement in Pigeon Post and to James Lightfoot for running the website for the village. Final thank you for attending the meeting and for taking an interest in the local community.
6. Speakers: Councillor Peter Griffiths gave an overview of the services West Sussex provide. Andrew Trigg (SDNPA) Neighbourhood Planning Officer for the National Park gave an update for Fulking on Neighbourhood Planning. Tricia Robinson gave a review of the progress made by the Village Hall Action Group.
7. Comments from the floor.
8. Dates of next Ordinary Parish Council meetings July 12, October 11, January 10 2013.
Meeting closed at 9.30pm
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2012 04 12 PC Minutes
Minutes of the Fulking Parish Council Ordinary Meeting held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 12 April 2012 at 7.30pm.
Present: Vice Chairman Ms K. Watson, Councillors Ms L. Dyos, Mrs P. Rowland and Mr M. Trist and Temporary Clerk to the Council Mrs Sheena Trist. Nine members of the public were present. Apologies for Absence: Dr D. Slavin.
The minutes of the PC meeting held on 12 January 2012 were approved and signed off.
Lower Kents: Councillors Ms Watson and Mrs Rowland attended the south area planning committee meeting and Mrs Rowland spoke on behalf of the PC objecting to the application. It was approved by Mid Sussex, subject to certain conditions (storage only/no distribution from the site/no increase in hard standing area).
Market Garden: has not been called in by SDNP, but it has been called to committee by Mid Sussex, currently no date due to the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework on 27 March, so certain things now have to be taken into account. The West Sussex Gypsy Liaison Officers were contacted to ask the availability of alternative traveller sites there are no spaces available anywhere in the area. As per correspondence relating to Market Garden, there are 50 traveller families waiting for vacancies in West Sussex and the Hearns are not on the current list. There are no vacancies in East Sussex, with a waiting list of 22 families.
Old Pump House: Mid Sussex are still waiting for a decision from the Planning Inspectorate. Councillors Ms Dyos, Ms Watson and Mrs Rowland, attended an informal meeting at the MSDC Planning offices. Although MSDC were unable to comment on any of the then current applications, they were able to give a general overview of their procedures.
Highways: Speeding in Clappers Lane. Tim Boxhall of WSCC advised that the legal procedures for the speeding signs had not been completed so, in effect, they were not legal. It was agreed to leave things as they are and for Mr Jason Holman to liaise with Mr Neil Cooper as this was part of the village action plan, in order to avoid duplication.
Tim Boxhall also asked the PC to bring to the attention of property owners in Clappers Lane that all verges and banks are the responsibility of the adjoining properties and tree damage is included in this.
Mr Brooks advised that the leak outside PNCC had been repaired by WSCC and the manhole cover outside Brook House had been repaired by BT. The kerb/double drain by the Shepherd and Dog was not scheduled to be done until 2013. The north end of Clappers Lane was due to be resurfaced once the problem of the leak/spring was solved. Mr Brooks had reported the flooding on the corner by Four Acres and was given a reference number of 767594, which should be quoted to Highways when reporting flooding. The PC thanked Mr Brooks for all of the time and work he had put into highway issues.
Chalk run-off from the Bostal had again become a problem during the recent wet weather, Mr Trist advised that he would have a look and see if he could rectify the problem.
Footpath 4df — One verbal objection to the re-routing of this path had been received by the PC. There would now be a consultation period during which time notices would be posted either end of the footpath.
Parish Clerk: Andrea Dickson had been appointed as new Clerk to the Council and Mrs Trist would be doing a handover to her shortly. She had been recruited through SALC and references taken up. The PC thanked Mrs Trist for her help during the intervening period.
Annual Parish Meeting: to be held on 3 May 2012. Representatives from SDNP were invited to attend but had not replied and MSDC Planning declined. The Clerk to ask Claire Tester, Head of MSDC Planning, to talk about the Local Bill and the new PCSO Anika Arnold officer to say a few words as well. A speaker from the EON offshore wind-farm proposal was suggested but it was thought that it would not have sufficient local interest.
Notice Board: The new notice board was now in place and the grant received. A letter of thanks had been sent to Peter Jones.
Ram Pump House: The National Trust had been chased to see when they would be looking at the door. It was on their list of items to do and they would be in touch shortly.
Financial Matters Interim Audit: cheque list and cheque stubs were signed off by Ms Watson and Ms Dyos and Mr Rowland advised that the VAT rebate had been received. The PC thanked Mr Rowland for his help with financial matters whilst a new Clerk was being recruited.
North Town Field: The contract with Foster Playscapes had been terminated and a letter sent to Mark Stepney to thank him for the mowing. Mrs Trist to hand over the RoSPA information to the new Clerk so that the annual inspection could be booked.
Local Plan: The PC were invited by MSDC to submit an outline plan showing potential building sites in the parish in order to help them attain the 10,000 sites they had to find to satisfy the numbers imposed on them by the Government (this was down from the 18,000 originally imposed). Mrs Rowland explained that this was a number crunching exercise and that 11 sites in Fulking had been identified and advised to MSDC. It was extremely unlikely that any of these sites would be built on in the future (being part of the SDNP and AONB) but that if the PC had not submitted sites then the MSDC would have identified their own which was not ideal.
Concessionary Fares: It was agreed that no fare subsidies would be offered by the PC, as in previous years.
AOB: There had been a spate of burglaries from sheds and outbuildings in the area and so Business people were advised to be aware and to warn neighbours.
Dates Next Meetings: 2012 12 July, 11 October. 2013 10 January. With a start time of 7.30pm. Note of new time to be put in Pigeon Post and on the website.
Members of the audience were invited to bring items to the attention of the PC. Work had commenced on the Village Hall and thanks were given to Mr Holden for refurbishing the surface of the floor and to Mrs Robinson for the curtains.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm.
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2011 10 06 PC Minutes
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting Held on Thursday 6th October 2011 at 7.30pm
Members of the PC: David Slavin (DS), Pam Rowland (PR), Kate Watson (KW) and Linda Dyos (LD) Also present: Jenny Hartley – Clerk to the Council. DS informed those present that sadly Michael Trist had to step down from his position of Chairman of the PC due to personal health issues. Apologies had been received from MT. Chairman for the balance of the Council year (until May 2012): Cllr D. Slavin. Proposed KW. Seconded PR.
The minutes from the last Ordinary Parish Council meeting held on 7.7.11 were approved.
Preston Nomads: Paul Hird – Chairman of PN was welcomed to the meeting. Residents were encouraged to use the pavilion during the winter months for events, for a minimal fee for covering the cost of heating. Issues relating to traffic and speed were highlighted to Mr Hird. Mr Hird confirmed PNs regularly write to their Members and visiting teams to remind them of the dangers of speeding in the area and country lanes. It was noted that should any of the lights be left on at the pavilion, residents were encouraged to call Mrs Robinson on 255. Thanks extended to Mr Hird for joining the PC this evening. Members were invited to attend PN committee meetings held once a quarter.
Market Garden: The applicant had been offered the opportunity to put an application in before 26.9.11, MSDC are waiting on SDNP to confirm who will be handling this application – (MSDC or SDNP). This is estimated to take approx. 1 month. Should SDNP not respond, MSDC will write to the applicant and give suitable notice. The PC have written to SDNP and MSDC in July, and chased again August, September and more recently, and this issue continues to be very frustrating. Unfortunately the Officials from WSCC and MSDC are not present this evening to assist us with moving this issue forward. [8.7.11 – Letter to MSDC and SNDP Chasing; 18.7.11 – Message left at MSDC & SDNP chasing; 3.8.11 – Letter to MSDC and SNDP Chasing; 30.8.11 – Calls to MSDC & SDNP; 12.9.11- Email sent to MSDC & SDNP (Copied to Claire Tester at MSDC); 30.9.11 – Email sent to MSDC & SDNP; 3.10.11 – Email sent to MSDC & SDNP; 20.10.11 – Email sent to MSDC & SDNP.]
Old Pump House: Enforcement should have been placed on the applicant at the end of Aug; however this is delayed awaiting a letter from SDNP.
Flooding: Assistance needed for the flooding by the Shepherd and Dog. Five members of the public are needed to contact highways and inform them of the issues relating to the flooding in order to gain the attention of WSCC.
Next Meeting Date Thursday 12th January 2012 at 7.30pm at Preston Nomad Ground.
Meeting closed at 20.16pm
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2011 04 14 PC Minutes
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 14 April 2011 at 7.30pm
Present: Chairman Mr Tony Brook, Vice Chairman Mrs Pamela Rowland, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Ms Jo Hudek and Mrs Jennifer Parmar.
Apologies for Absence: Clerk to the Council Mrs Paula Hazard
Declarations of Interest by Members (if any) are shown against the relevant items in the minutes.
County Council update: None (no County Council representatives attending).
The minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2011, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.
Highways: Flooding — The Chairman has compiled a Flooding Report detailing all recurring flooding problems in the area and submitted this to WSCC Highways and Peter Griffiths. This has resulted in a successful site meeting between the Highway Officer, Chairman and Clerk resulting in: jetting of drains by corner of Kent Cottage, Four Acres corner, and Shepherd & Dog corner; plan to stop soil erosion on northern bank of Shepherd & Dog corner; a ditch dug at the Four Acres corner for water to soak away. Highways confirmed that WSCC is responsible only for the first metre of the ditch off the road so the ditch has only been dug for that length. We ideally need a longer ditch to cope with heavy rain.
The Highways representative also stressed the responsibility of landowners to drain their land properly. Highways believe the main source of the problem in Clappers Lane is water coming off the land and ditches not being maintained adequately. The landowners need to ensure that their ditches are kept clear and free running. Ditches on the land running on the eastern side of Clappers Lane need digging out and maintaining in order to reduce water on the lane. WSCC Highways has written to the landowner to this effect. No action has been taken by the landowner to date.
Correct Signposting for Roadworks: WSCC and Peter Griffiths have been advised about a problem with incorrect road closed signposting at the Shepherd & Dog pub. When Highways plans to carry out roadworks where the road is still available for access, they must put up access to business signs. On 14 Feb the access open to business sign was not put up, only road closed only sign up. (Ref 557735). This has impacted both the pubs and Springs on a number of occasions.
North Town Field Play Area: The grand opening of the improved Children’s Play Area will take place on 22 April at 11am as part of a wider celebration including an Easter Egg hunt. Representatives from Viridor and WSCC have been invited.
NTF lease: The PC is arranging to register the lease with the Land Registry (which is an obligation of the tenant). This will reduce the insurance costs with one policy covering both the play area and NTF.
Field tidy-up: A major tidy up of the southern bank of the field was held in February. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped out.
Rights of Way: Diverted Footpath 4dF — There was no further news from the Rights of Way Committee.
Reopening of Bridleway11F — There was no further news from West Sussex Rights of Way.
Bridleway 5/3F — The PC has contacted the South Downs Joint Committee as they had previously carried out some work to improve the drainage. They advise that responsibility for the maintenance of rights of way within the South Downs National Park will pass to the local authority (i.e. West Sussex County st Council) on April 1. This means that the PC will need to look to them to fund the maintenance of this type of work. The SDJC advised that on a previous project to do this type of work, the local PC requested support from the Mid Sussex Bridleways Group. MSBG has been contacted to seek support. Awaiting response.
Village Plan: The draft Village Action Plan was discussed and final comments taken at a meeting on 10 February. The Plan booklet is now in production and should be ready for printing shortly.
Ram House: Further to the repairs to the Ram House, undertaken and paid for by the National Trust, there is no further news on the NT taking ownership of the House. A reminder letter will be sent to the NT.
Lower Kents: The planning application was received by MSDC in October and has now been passed to the PC and is available to residents for public for consultation. The PC has passed on its objections and concerns and those expressed by local residents at the Planning meeting. We are now waiting to be informed of the date of the MSDC Planning Committee meeting which is likely to be in May or June due to the local elections.
Powered Microlights: The Chairman raised the issue of noise and nuisance caused by powered microlights at the South Downs National Park Authority February meeting. The SDNPA are looking into it.
Market Garden Site: The Chairman read out to the meeting the letter received from Claire Tester, Head of Planning at MSDC in response to the PC’s letter. Copies of both letters were made available to attendees. The MSDC letter did not address the issues and concerns raised by the PC in respect of dealing with the expiry of planning permission. The letter merely states that there are no plans to offer additional sites for travellers and offers information for the family occupying the Market Garden site and advises them to contact the Housing Needs Team.
Parish Council: Two people have submitted nomination forms to MSDC to become councillors. As the PC needs 3 Councillors to be quorate, there aren’t enough councillors to Elections form a PC. The Clerk is in discussion with Returning Officer about how to deal with this. It may be possible for MSDC to extend the deadline for nominations and for a new election date to be set probably for mid June. However, the Clerk is waiting for confirmation from MSDC.
Finger post: The main post of the sign at the junction of Clappers Lane and The Street has been painted and new, painted finger boards have been fitted. Temporary lettering has been put on the finger boards, with final lettering now being manufactured. It was noted that Clappers Lane has been misspelt. The Chairman will report this to the contractor to ensure that all spellings are correct for the final version.
Parish Clerk: The current Parish Clerk is standing down at the end of April so the position was advertised in two editions of Pigeon Post. There were general enquiries from four local people but no formal applications received. A formal application was received from Jenny Hartley who acts as Clerk for 3 neighbouring parishes and she has been offered and accepted the post.
Annual Parish Meeting: Because there will be no new Parish Council to hand over to in May, the APM is being postponed until such time as a new PC has been formed. This is dependent on the outcome of discussions with MSDC. The APM should hopefully be held in June. The new date will be publicised in the Pigeon Post. A speaker from SDNPA has been requested.
Litter Bins: Bins are not emptied by Mid Sussex. 3 bins in NTF are being regularly emptied by 2 volunteers. The Chairman asked for a volunteer to empty the bin in the bus shelter.
Financial Matters: The Chairman signed off the interim audit and cheque list.
AOB: Councillor Corner informed the meeting that EDF are in the process of changing electricity meters for some residents. This is a routine operation. Any resident affected by this will receive a letter from EDF. All electrical appliances should be disconnected when this work is taking place to avoid damage to appliances.
Councillor Corner informed the meeting that he is submitting a funding application to MSDC to get funding for the village fair.
The meeting was then opened up for local residents to raise any issues.
A resident has written to and emailed Susannah Kemp with regard to Lower Kents. She has received no reply other than to say that Ms Kemp is stepping down.
A discussion took place to clarify PC issues in respect of the fact that the current Councillors lose their powers as of 9 May. The information provided earlier in the meeting was reiterated. Jenny Hartley said that she will email her details to residents.
A resident objected to Councillor Corner’s intention to apply for funds for the village fair on the grounds that the fair generates funds for the village and therefore it was not appropriate to apply for public funds to support this venture.
The issue of how WSCC deal with road closures was raised. A resident stated that official procedures are not being followed, leading to problems for businesses and residents. The key problem is that when road closure signs are put in place it is not made clear that people are still able to access businesses (Springs, Coles, Shepherd & Dog, etc.) and houses. The PC will make WSCC aware of this problem.
A discussion about the temporary airstrip at Folly Farm took place. The matter was discussed in terms of the nuisance caused to local residents by the very frequent use of the airstrip. In reply to a question from the owner of Folly Farm, the Chairman confirmed that it is the PC’s intention to enforce the 28 day rule in respect of this airstrip and that this would be monitored by residents living close to the airstrip. The owner of Folly Farm raised concerns about possible errors in recording flight frequency since there are other aircraft and motorised hang gliders using the area. The Chairman stated that the residents monitoring usage could tell where the craft are taking off and landing because of their close proximity to the airstrip. The Chairman also raised the issue of horses being disturbed by the noise. The owner of Folly Farm undertook to give warning when the airstrip was being used so that horses could be moved but maintained his right to keep a temporary airstrip and indicated that enforcing the 28 day rule will mean that a greater concentration of flights will take place which will increase the nuisance. Two pilots who use the airstrip also attended the meeting and made clear their intentions to minimise the nuisance to residents. The issue remains unresolved in as much as those residents living close to the airstrip will still experience noise disturbance from the temporary airstrip. The PC and some residents commented that the airstrip does not appear in keeping with the ethos of the new National Park with the emphasis on peace and quiet. The Chairman reported that the PC was waiting to hear from the SDNP with regard to the policy on motorised hang gliders and small aircraft in the National Park.
Date of Next Meeting: TBA once arrangements for the new PC are in place.
The meeting closed at 8.15pm