Category Archives: Henfield

Portable Defibrillator Machines for Fulking

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220px-Defibrillation_Electrode_PositionTricia writes:-

The Village has been given a gift of 2 defibrillator machines by the Henfield Heart team.

We plan to have one attached to the outside of the Village Hall and the other at the Shepherd & Dog. We are fund raising to pay towards the containers they are kept in. I am contributing in memory of Lucie. We are waiting to hear if the Social Fund will also make a donation.

In the meantime Dave Fletcher paramedic is going to do training sessions on:-

Sat 5th January at 11am.
Sat 12th January at 9.30am.
Sat 19th January 9.30 am.

All ages welcome, you never know when or where you will need this skill. It is far simpler these days, & the machines tell you clearly what to do. I had to perform Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation on Lucie, I was relieved I’d just been updated, but it was frightening and lonely. Hence I feel strongly about as many people being trained as possible.

Tricia

2010 07 08 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 8 July 2010 at 8.00pm

Present: Chairman Mr Tony Brook, Vice Chairman Mrs Pamela Rowland, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Ms Jo Hudek, Mrs Jennifer Parmar and Clerk to the Council Mrs Paula Hazard.

Apologies for Absence: None

Declarations of Interest by Members (if any) are shown against the relevant items in the minutes.

Minutes — The minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2010, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman introduced Jo Hudek who had been co-opted to the Parish Council at an Extraordinary Parish Council meeting held on 1 July, 2010. This was following the resignation of Jenny Vaughan at the Annual Parish Meeting.

Highways: Non-skid surface Clappers Lane — The recent re-surfacing work of Clappers Lane had included adjusting the gradient of the northern entrance. This had meant that the problem of wheel-spin had been cured. Therefore there was no longer such a pressing need for a non-skid surface.

Flooding problem by the Shepherd and Dog stream culvert — The PC had sent County Councillor Peter Griffith a copy of the correspondence between the PC and WSCC Highways concerning the PC’s request for a more permanent solution. Clerk to follow up with Peter Griffiths.

Tree problem at Stammers Hill — Jamie Thompson, a local Tree Surgeon, had taken down the potentially dangerous sycamore tree that had been identified earlier on in the year. He had saved the village a lot of money by asking that his fee be donated to the Playground Appeal. The PC expressed their thanks to him and his team.

North Town: New Play Equipment — The new play equipment had been installed and the project had now been completed. The Chairman expressed his thanks to everyone involved with the project, particularly Councillor Pam Rowland. Thanks were also given to everyone that donated to the Playground Appeal.

Play Area Surface — The merits of four costed options were debated. The options ranged from upgrading the current barkpit to three other types of surface. It was agreed that the best option would be to replace the current surface with the wet pour surface. This would require a grant. Councillor Hudek to investigate the possibility of obtaining a grant from Viridor. If it was not possible to obtain a grant then the current bark surface would need to be topped up and maintained.

Mowing and Maintenance of field — The field was being maintained by a new person, Mark Stepney, who was doing an excellent job.

Public Liability Insurance — No further update from the NTF Trust.

Diverted Footpath 4dF: There was no further news from the Rights of Way Committee.

Reopening of Bridleway 11F: There was no further news from West Sussex Rights of Way.

Local provision of grit: Jenny Vaughan had kindly donated the money for the village to buy a grit bin for the Clappers Lane/The Street junction. The grit bin had been ordered and grit delivered. The Chairman was working on agreeing a precise location with householders.

Village Plan: Action in Rural Sussex (AirS) had given a talk about the Village Action Plan process at the Annual Parish Meeting. The last two issues of Pigeon Post contained articles requesting volunteers to come forward to join the Village Action Plan team. Several villagers had expressed an interest in joining the team. The Chairman reiterated the request for volunteers at the meeting. AirS had recommended that ideally two members of the PC would be represented on the Village Action Plan team. It was agreed that the two members would be Tony Brooks and Jo Hudek. The next step was for a kick-off Village Plan team meeting to be arranged.

Ram House: The PC had formally written to CC Peter Griffiths, as requested at the previous PC meeting. The letter detailed the need for the roof repair and asked whether a grant would be possible. The PC had also written to the National Trust asking if they would consider taking over ownership. This was on the basis that the National Trust would have the resources to look after this historical structure for future generations. Clerk to follow up.

Lower Kents: The Chairman had spoken to the landowner who had given an assurance that a planning application would be submitted by the end of July. The Clerk had also spoken to MSDC Development Control asking them to chase up the landowner.

Henfield Medical Centre Link: The PC had decided to donate 100 to the Henfield Medical Centre Link. The service provides transport to hospital, dental and medical centre appointments Centre for people in the Henfield area, including Fulking, who do not have other transport available to them. A significant number of clients are Fulking residents. Users of this service pay a small fee but there is a small shortfall. The PC had agreed that they hoped to make this an annual donation.

Motorbikes on South Downs: Motorbikes had been reported riding on the top of the Downs and across Fulking Escarpment. The problem had been reported to the South Downs Joint Downs Committee who advised that they had set up an initiative called Sussex Pathwatch to address this problem. People could either ring the non-emergency Police telephone number quoting Sussex Pathwatch or report it via the on-line Sussex Pathwatch website. In order to give weight to the problem and support the police in prioritising it, they recommended that as many people as possible registered incidents using this method. The problem was also reported to the National Trust who also advised that more people needed to report the problem in order for the police to give it sufficient priority. Councillor Parmar to alert Farm Manager of issue which could affect the herd of cows on the Escarpment.

Powered Microlights: The issue of the growing number of powered microlights flying over Fulking was discussed. The South Downs Joint Committee had advised that they were not aware of any specific policy on this. Chairman to speak to Mid Sussex District Council about its policy concerning the private use of runways.

Financial Matters: The Chairman and Vice Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and Matters cheque stubs. The Annual Accounts for 2009/2010 had been signed off by the PC and Responsible Financial Officer. The internal audit was being carried out.

AOB: The Chairman and Councillor Corner paid tribute to Gina Field who had sadly died recently. They both spoke of her service and commitment to the village in her role as District Councillor.

Mr Goodridge had raised a concern before the meeting about dog fouling and dogs being out of control along The Backway and asked whether signs could be installed there to address these issues. The Chairman felt that as this was private land it was a private matter that needed to be dealt with by the parties involved and did not fall under the remit of the PC. It was also noted that there was a desire to keep signs in the village to a minimum. However, the PC did understand the general issues raised and agreed to post an article in the Pigeon Post.

The meeting was opened up for local residents to raise any issues.

The location of the sound stage in Small Acres during Fulking Fair was raised as a concern because it had caused a noise nuisance to residents who lived directly next to the stage last year. The Chairman said that he would see if it could be sited in a different position but he thought that the location could be constrained by the wiring.

It was queried as to why the issue of parking in Clappers Lane was not on the Agenda. The Chairman explained that as the purchase of the garages by Preston Nomads was still not complete, it was not possible to progress further with the creation and allocation of parking spaces for residents of Clappers Lane. It was discussed that other solutions to the parking problem had been explored. This had included the involvement of Peter Griffiths, particularly looking at using the banked area on the west side of Clappers Lane which had been viewed as prohibitively expensive.

The issue of external lighting at the Market Garden site was raised. The PC reiterated that they can pursue this as soon as they are provided with photographic evidence by residents which they can then supply to MSDC Development Control

Date of Next Meeting: 14 October.

The meeting closed at 8.55

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2009 01 08 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 8 January 2009 at 8.00pm

Present : Chairman Mrs Jenny Vaughan, Vice Chairman Mr Tony Brooks, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Mrs Jennifer Parmar and Mrs Pamela Rowland and Clerk to the Council, Mrs Paula Hazard.

Apologies for Absence : None

Declarations of Interest by Members (if any) are shown against the relevant items in the minutes.

County Councillor Peter Griffiths addressed the meeting with an update about Highways, the grant for the North Town Field and the Health Service review. District Councillor Gina Field had sent her apologies as she was unable to attend the meeting due to illness.

The Chairman reminded the meeting about the current arrangement regarding publication of the minutes. The previous meeting s minutes would not be read out but draft minutes of the previous meeting had been posted on the notice board within a month of the meeting and had also been posted to the website. This trial arrangement would continue until the next Annual Parish Meeting at which point public opinion would be re-canvassed. It was confirmed that in future the agenda would be posted on the notice board five working days before the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2009, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

Rights of Way: DMMO 07/01 Perching Drove. The Chairman read out the letter from Mr Gort-Barten of 6 October 2008, received shortly before the previous PC meeting, which laid out the legal judgement that this was private land. The PC’s reply of 12 December was also read out which asked whether consideration could be given again to putting a Permissive Path agreement in place.

Highways: WSCC Highways had installed ‘Unsuitable for HGVs’ signs at each end of Clappers Lane. However the sign at the southern end was not located in an acceptable place for nearby residents and had been removed. County Councillor Peter Griffiths said he would see if there was any nearby WSCC land that would enable an acceptable location.

The PC had not received any news from WSCC Safety Engineering about the PC’s request to authorise a section of non-skid surface across half of the Clappers Lane northern junction. County Councillor Peter Griffiths said he would chase this up.

EDF were still trying to source suitable street light fittings to replace the worn and damaged ones for the street light at the bottom of Stammers Hill. These would be fitted when EDF was able to source fittings to match the style of the street light.

The fixed rate agreement for the street lights had now expired. EDF had advised that the new fixed rate would be 350 p.a. instead of 100 p.a. As this was such a vast increase, the PC decided that for the time being the street lights would be billed at the variable rate which was currently 160 p.a. This would be reviewed if it was necessary to switch back to a fixed rate.

Market Garden: MSDC Development Control had advised that they had received a landscaping scheme which had been approved and now regarded all conditions in relation to the site as having been complied with and discharged.

Preston Nomads: No further progress.

North Town Field: The problem of the maintenance of the play area was discussed. Councillor Brooks agreed to continue investigating finding someone to help with the ongoing maintenance at a cost that was affordable.

Quotations had been obtained for improving the entrance to the NTF and to better secure the gate. On the basis of these quotations, the PC had applied to WSCC for a grant of 1693. The grant was approved but for only half the amount (850), therefore the outstanding funds would need to be found. Clerk to contact NTF Trust to see if the original quotations could be looked at again with the contractors to see if the quotations could be reduced. If this did not prove possible, the possibility of holding a fund-raising event was suggested.

The NTF Trust had reported that all major tree work had been completed. There needed to be an on-going programme to ensure safety of trees. Councillor Brooks advised that EDF had arranged for a company to assess trees that interfered with the power lines and to carry out any necessary work. EDF would be responsible for the cost of this.

The issue of the PC and NTF Trust trying to avoid taking out two Public Liability Insurance policies to cover the same risk was discussed. The NTF Trust had investigated this and had been advised by the PC s insurance broker that if the PC were to sign a legal agreement stating that they are responsible for looking after the field then the PC’s existing policy would provide Public Liability Insurance cover for the whole field at no extra cost. The PC agreed that they would be happy to do this. Clerk to advise NTF Trust.

The November report from Foster Playscapes suggested that the barkpit in the play area needed to be topped up again. This was a surprise as it had only been topped up last year and was previously thought only to be required every 3-4 years. It was queried as to why it needed to be so high. The PC agreed that if the following month’s report still reported the same problem then a meeting should be arranged with Foster Playscapes.

Village website: Wherever possible Planning Meeting dates were to be posted to the website. However there was not always sufficient notice as Planning Meetings had to be arranged soon after MSDC advised the PC of planning applications.

Affordable Housing: No further information directly affecting Fulking had been received.

Pigeon Post Printing: Pigeon Post was now being distributed both as a hardcopy version and by email.

Diseased Trees on Clappers Lane: Councillor Brooks advised that the Tree Warden had received a definitive map from WSCC which enabled him to work out whether any problem trees were on public or private land. The Tree Warden was now speaking to landowners Lane about the diseased trees and advising them of their legal responsibility.

Action in Rural Sussex: A survey had been placed in the December issue of Pigeon Post asking for residents to choose the top three priorities for the AiRs Community Planning Network to focus on. The detailed results of the survey were read out. The top three priorites chosen were Allotments, Community/Public Transport and Community Shop. Clerk to advise AiRs of results. Because of the problem of finding one plot of land for allotments and the old allotments now being farmland, it was suggested that a garden-share scheme may be a solution. It was agreed that this suggestion should be put in the next edition of Pigeon Post to gauge interest. With reference to the bus service it was suggested that a bus service to Henfield would be useful. A request for any specific ideas from residents concerning these themes was to be put in Pigeon Post. These themes would also be explored further with AiRs.

Freedom of Information Act: The PC had adopted the Freedom of Information Act Publication Scheme. The scheme had been published on the website.

APM: The date of the Annual Parish Meeting was set for 7 May. Speakers needed to be arranged and it was suggested that the National Trust was invited to talk about work in the area, Aidan Walker to talk about Pigeon Post and the local Tree Warden to talk about his responsibilities. County and District Councillors, local MP Nick Herbert, Poynings PC and police representative to be invited. Clerk to arrange speakers and issue invitations.

Financial Matters: The Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and cheque stubs. The precept for 2009/10 was set at 5776 an increase of nearly 16%. The large increase was necessary as additional expenses had needed to be budgeted for. These items were the maintenance of the play area in the NTF, mowing of the NTF, street lighting and an increase in the Clerk s hours.

AOB: The meeting was opened up for local residents to raise any issues.

The issue of trees at the southern end of Clappers Lane presenting a danger was raised. This had been caused by very large trucks cutting into the trees.

The problem of the external lighting at the Market Garden site being on all night was raised. The PC had written to MSDC Development Control about this on numerous occasions but MSDC had said they had visited the site and were satisfied with the lighting. Partly because it was thought that their site visits were during the day, it was discussed that photographic evidence may make a more powerful case. It was suggested that if this could be provided to the PC then they could pursue the issue again. The positioning of the caravan had also been raised with MSDC but they had said that they were satisfied with the current caravan position.

The PC was asked why they seemed to be involved with many aspects concerning the NTF which gave the impression that the NTF Trust was not shouldering these responsibilities. It was explained that the NTF Trust received no funds and therefore were reliant on the PC or the Social Committee for funding. Because the PC had their meetings in public this publicised the work they were doing, but the PC and the NTF Trust were working closely together on issues concerning the NTF.

It was requested that the agenda give more detail than had historically been the case. It was agreed that in future the agenda would be issued with greater detail.

Date of Next Meeting: 9 April, 9 July, 8 October 2009.

The meeting closed at 9.05

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