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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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Fulking Conservation Area

In November 2007, Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) held a public meeting and an exhibition to illustrate the work that had been carried out on Fulking Conservation Area Appraisal over the proceeding months. The public meeting was held in the Village Hall, the Street, Fulking on Thursday 12th November 2007. The exhibition was held in Hurstpierpoint Library, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint from Monday 26th November until Friday 7th December. At the time, exhibition panels were also made available on the MSDC website.

The exhibition included a detailed assessment of the character of the conservation area, suggested a number of changes to the boundary and provided some potential ideas for enhancement. Questionnaires relating to the draft management proposals were made available at all of the locations listed above. The deadline for the receipt of comments was Friday 14th December 2007.

In May 2008, as a result of local consultations, the MSDC Planning Policy Division issued the Fulking Conservation Area Appraisal Document (PDF).

Another document (PDF) summarised the comments the Council received to the questionnaire and set out responses prepared by officers on behalf of the Council to the main issues raised. Wherever possible suggestions made by the public were included in the appraisal document.

It should be noted that, although MSDC agreed in principle to the extended conservation area, it has not been been legally adopted. Thus the original conservation area still stands.

Updated and corrected, 5th & 9th December 2013.

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.

[ BoilerPlate plate = “PC_Disclaimer” ]

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 07 11 PC Minutes

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting Held on Thursday 7th July 2011 at 7.30pm

MT, PR, KW, LD & DS. Clerk to the Council. Apologies from MSDC & WSCC representatives. 20 Members of the public present.

The minutes from the last Ordinary Parish Council meeting held on 14th April 2011 were approved.

Tony Brooks wrote to SDNP re: operation of the 28 days rule for the flight strip, however has no response to date. Pump House adjacent to the public house — SDNP were to take over responsibility for this issue, however no further correspondence has been received. Bus Services Cuts: No 17 from A281. WSCC have not jetted the drains outside the Old Thatch. This issue is in need of attention,

Fulking Village Hall: The Chairman gave a brief update on the VH. The Chairman then introduced Rev Currer to brief the meeting in more detail. Rev Currer reported that the Hall belongs to the Parochial Church Council. The hall has been in disrepair for many years. Discussions have taken place regarding selling the site, or demolishing the building and rebuilding. The PCC were reluctant to sell the site commercially. A letter of intent was received by the PCC from residents proposing to develop the site and build a hall for the use in the village. It would be agreed that should this option there would be an agreement that the use is non-commercial gain and for development for the village. This is the current position and still under discussion. The Big Society encourages this type of work with communities. There would be a village trust in place should this option be chosen in order to ensure there are no commercial sales in the future. The ownership was registered without the deeds for the VH therefore whoever purchases the site would take out insurance in order to cover any Covenants issues. Suggestions took place regarding the possibility of the Church considering leasehold for the VH site. The PCC will aim to keep the village informed of the progress on this issue. The next steps are for the PCC to meet with the proposing group to discuss further. The next step should this proceed would be for a surveyor to come and inspect the site for advice. A proposal then goes to the dioceses of Finance for approval before going to solicitors. It was felt it was important to ensure the village have been consulted as part of this proposal. Discussions took place regarding historic ownership. The PC could not afford this in the past due to the costs involved. Thanks extended to Caroline Currer for attending the meeting this evening.

Local Planning: Lower Kents — Cllr Rowland updated: 2 buildings – one achieved retrospective planning. The second building required full planning permission; however there had been delays due to Elections and neighbourhood issues with consultation. MSDC thought there was no need for this application to go to committee, however, following lengthy discussions with our MSDC Cllrs we have managed to get this to go to committee. No date set yet.

Market Garden — The 5-year agreement expires on 26th Sept 2011 in order to give MSDC time to establish further information. Martin Small and Mike Bleakley from SDNP are the Link Officers for MSDC, and have been involved in this issue. It would be key to continue with Mike Bleakley with this issue as the SDNP are not happy with the current situation. The owner is thought to be registered at the Withey Patch, so the 5 year agreement was due to the lack of availability to re-homing them. CLAG asked for support from the PC to work with MSDC to establish what has been worked on in the 5 years since this 5 year temporary planning was granted. The PC agreed this issue will be supported and will work with CLAG where required. The land is understood to be owned by the Hearne family. Cllr Dyos updated that the SDNP felt this was of significant issue, therefore will require further investigation.

Old Pump House — Previously known as smugglers walk. A mobile home was placed in situ in April, and subsequently the Enforcement Officers from MSDC completed a site visit. There is a 6-8 week timescale currently for the removal of the mobile home, along with various building materials. There has been a history of Enforcement issues with this property.

Backway: It was noted there are more vehicles using the backway. Access for 3 vehicles only had been agreed. This is a Bridleway, and should be 1 metre wide. The Chairman informed members that this issue was not for the Parish Council and this should be discussed between the residents in the area.

The Village Action Plan: to be delivered with this week’s Pigeon Post. Thanks to all those who have worked on the Action Plan.

Notice Board: Cllr Dyos stated that the current notice board is in need of repair and is too small. Clerk to look into the costs of a new notice board.

Concerns have been mentioned to Cllr Watson regarding the control of dogs around the access land in order to protect nesting birds. 1st of March to 31st July. Information is on the National England Website.

Next Meeting Date: Thursday 6th October 2011 at 7.30pm.

Meeting closed at 9pm.

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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

2010 07 08 PC Minutes

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 10 08 PC Minutes

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

Present: Chairman Mrs Jenny Vaughan, Vice Chairman Mr Tony Brooks, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Mrs Jennifer Parmar, 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.

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

Highways: An update on the status on outstanding issues previously reported to WSCC Highways was given. These were:-

Blocked stream pipe near The Sands – Works completed.

Blocked gullies at Old Wood/Holmbush Lane junction Works completed.

There was no further information about the request for a non-skid surface at the northern entrance to Clappers Lane.

The recurring flooding problems at the Shepherd and Dog stream culvert and at the bend opposite Four Acres had been reported to WSCC Highways.

The street light at Stammers Hill had often been on during the day due to overhanging branches. This had been reported to EDF but they had advised that they were no longer responsible for street lighting maintenance. Therefore tree work would need to be arranged. It was agreed to find out when NTF have any tree work planned and try to do all this work at the same time to save on costs.

Preston Nomads: The PC had received a response to their letter about speeding and the large size of coaches being used. The letter from PNCC was read out which Cricket Club acknowledged these concerns and agreed to advise drivers to adhere to the speed limit. The club also said it would also raise the issue of large coaches but thought that resolving this may be constrained by economic factors.

PNCC had announced that they were planning to provide six parking spaces for residents of Clappers Lane. Councillor Brooks explained the details of the proposed plans which were still under negotiation and were seen as providing a solution to the parking problem there. It was discussed how it was envisaged that the parking spaces would be charged for but the exact details remained to be finalised. The PC took questions from the floor and Councillor Brooks said that it was important to gauge the number of residents interested in using the parking spaces. Linda Dyos offered to canvass local opinion.

North Town Field: Ongoing maintenance The possibility of being given help by the Hurstpierpoint maintenance team had been explored but it transpired that they were overstretched. Therefore it was still hoped that somebody could be found to do this work at a reasonable cost. A working party took place in September to clear the sprayed nettles, brambles and to carry out general gardening and tidying work.

Permanent play surface and play equipment: Chairman Jenny Vaughan and Councillor Pam Rowland had met with Hollie Trist and Anna and Lily Frost to discuss the type of play equipment that their age group would like. The equipment that they are interested in can be found at Buckingham Park and the Clerk will contact Adur District Council to find out who the suppliers are and the issue will be researched further. A new type of surface to replace the barkpit will also be looked into. It was suggested that it would be worth contacting Slaugham Parish Council as they had recently had a new play surface installed. It had become clear from discussions that fund raising would be necessary as the cost would be quite substantial.

Mowing: The mowing had now been carried out on a more regular basis by Danny Flynn. He had also sprayed the nettles around the edges of the field in time for the working party to clear the nettles.

Public Liability Insurance: The NTF Trust were now looking at this and were trying to find a property solicitor who could give both bodies legal advice about the insurance position.

Fly-Tipping at the Bostal: The farm manager had established that the land at the entrance area to the Bostal was not part of the private farm land and would now be speaking to the National Trust about ownership of the land.

Phone Box: BT planned to remove the telephone connection unless the village was prepared to pay 300 per annum to keep it going. The Parish Council could buy the phone box itself for the nominal sum of 1 but that would mean that the telephone connection would be removed with no possibility of reinstatement and the PC would be responsible for maintaining and insuring it. The PC canvassed opinion as to whether the PC should fund the annual telephone costs and how this could be achieved. This was in light of the fact that mobile phone coverage is poor in parts of the village and the village is often subject to power cuts. There was support from the meeting but subject to the view that the village did not think they should fund it. County Councillor Peter Griffiths recommended that the PC contact Action in Rural Sussex to see if they knew of any funding initiatives.

Diverted Footpath 4dF: It had been brought to the PC’s attention that footpath 4dF had been diverted. It was reported to WSCC Rights of Way and they were now handling the situation with the owner of the land. WSCC had advised the PC that there was an outstanding diversion application in Fulking but said that they could not confirm whether it related to this footpath until the application came up before the Rights of Way Committee at which time the PC would be consulted.

Reopening of Bridleway 11F: The PC had been asked if it could help with getting this bridleway reopened as it had been blocked for some time. The PC had contacted WSCC Rights of Way and the South Downs Joint Committee. SDJC had now formally advised the landowner that he had two options. These were to either allow SDJC to install 2 hunt gates and appropriate way marking on the line of the legal right of way or to apply to WSCC Rights of Way for a diversion order.

Development at land opposite 45 Clappers Lane (Lower Kents): The PC had been in touch with MSDC Enforcement Officer John Arnold about the ongoing and obvious development at this site. The latest letter from John was read out which stated that the owner had been invited to either cease the breach of planning control or make a retrospective planning application.

South Downs National Park: Councillor Corner talked about proposals for how the South Downs National Park Authority membership will be organised with a particular focus on representation by Parish Councillors. He had attended a recent meeting which had discussed this. It currently looked like there would be between 6-8 Parish Councillors that would be elected to serve as part of the board to represent the entire Park area. DEFRA had asked for submissions on how representation should be set up at the Parish Council level. Councillor Corner had detailed his submission and sent this to DEFRA. The PC supported this view and it was agreed that the Clerk should write to DEFRA to formally support this view on behalf of the PC.

Overhead Power Lines: Councillor Brooks had been in contact with EDF who had clarified the issue of putting power lines underground. It was very unlikely that power lines on the pylons in Fulking would be buried underground as it would be prohibitively expensive. Councillor Corner said that he had been advised a couple of years ago by the South Downs Joint Committee that it would cost EDF at least 500,000 per kilometre. The power lines in the Cuckmere Valley that had been buried underground were not the lines on pylons but the lines on the wooden poles.

Crimestoppers: Carolyn Randall, Area Manager of Sussex Crimestoppers, gave a talk about its background and operations. She gave examples of cases that had been helped by Crimestoppers and stressed that one of the key features of the service is the guarantee of anonymity for callers.

Financial Matters: The Chairman and Vice Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and cheque stubs.

AOB: County Council Update – County Councillor Peter Griffiths gave an update to the meeting about Highways, the recent County Local Committee meeting and his work on the organisation of special schools in Mid Sussex. He said that he would follow up the PC’s request for a non-skid surface at the northern entrance to Clappers Lane.

District Council Update District Councillor Gina Field talked about her work on the Better Lives initiative with a focus on demonstrating that current licensing legislation is inappropriate for large outdoor events. The Better Lives committee has agreed to go to Full Council with the proposal that they put a request to the Secretary of State for separate legislation. She also talked about Core Strategy, Heritage Planning Policy, and Community Hub initiative.

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

The PC was advised that the dog at the Market Garden site had been continually reported to the Dog Warden who had advised that as there were outstanding fines, they had the powers to impound the dog.

The PC was asked what it was doing about the damage to the tiles of the Pump House which had previously been reported to the PC. Councillor Brooks thought that this should be the responsibility of the National Trust. Clerk to follow up with Charlie Cain of the National Trust

The problem of dog fouling along the footpath alongside 45 Clappers Lane was reported. CC Peter Griffiths said that he would investigate whether it was possible to have an official sign installed to try to address this problem.

Date of Next Meeting: 14 January 2010, 8 April 2010, 8 July 2010.

The meeting closed at 9.30

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2009 07 09 PC Minutes

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 9 July 2009 at 8.00pm

Present: Chairman Mrs Jenny Vaughan, Vice Chairman Mr Tony Brooks, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Mrs Jennifer Parmar, 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 Council Update — County Councillor Peter Griffiths gave an update to the meeting on Highways Drainage, County Local Committee and Education Policy. He also commented on the issue of potentially providing parking on part of the bank on the west side of Clappers Lane. This issue had been raised by local residents and he was going to investigate whether the land was owned by WSCC. He also commented upon policy for school transport for Horsham District residents which had affected residents living in Edburton. He explained that he raised this issue because although Edburton does not fall within Fulking Parish, he understands that the two villages are closely linked.

Minutes — There had not been any objections to the current arrangements for publishing the minutes. Therefore it had been decided to continue with the arrangement of posting the draft minutes on the notice board and the website in place of reading them out at the PC meeting. The minutes would then be formally signed off at the following PC meeting.

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

Highways An update on the status on issues previously reported to WSCC Highways was given. These were:-

Flooding at Brook House and Hillbrook Nursery Works completed to rectify this problem.

Blocked stream pipe near The Sands — Work had just started on rectifying this problem.

Blocked gullies at Old Wood/Holmbush Lane junction Work had just started on rectifying this problem.

Preston Nomads: Communication with PNCC was improving. Residents had expressed concerns about the high speed of traffic visiting the Cricket Club club along Clappers Lane and the large size of the coaches being used to transport people to the club. The PC will write a letter to PNCC asking them to point out the 20mph speed limit and to respect the quiet and unspoilt nature of the area. PNCC will also be asked whether smaller coaches can be used bearing in mind the unsuitability of the large coaches being used in such a narrow lane and the damage that is being done to the verges and hedgerows.

North Town Field: Ongoing maintenance — A working party took place in June covering the maintenance, painting, cleaning and gardening of the play area. This covered outstanding tasks but the long-term problem of maintenance still remained.

Permanent play surface and play equipment: The PC planned to have a meeting about the playground equipment and play surface with representatives from the younger generation. When the requirements had been defined then the PC would apply for funding. The PC had asked Foster Playscapes for play equipment recommendations and information and was waiting to hear back from them.

Mowing: A meeting had been held with Danny Flynn to discuss the issue of the inadequate and late mowing. It had been agreed that there should be more frequent mowing in the early season if required, which should be balanced out by less mowing later in the season. It was hoped that this would prevent the problem of the poor appearance of the field reoccurring.

The problem with the spreading nettles had also been discussed. It had been agreed that Danny would spray the nettles to clear the edge of the field back to the boundary. A two week period would be needed before the field could be cleared of large debris such as logs in order to allow mowing up to the edges. It was agreed that the spraying should be done at the end of July so that a working party could be organised for mid-August. The date for the working party would be announced in Pigeon Post.

Public Liability Insurance: The PC were trying to find a solicitor that could help draft up a legal agreement.

Diseased trees in Clappers Lane: Work had been completed on clearing the diseased trees on public land.

Fly-Tipping at the Bostal: The issue of establishing which land at the entrance area to the Bostal was public and which was private was being looked at. Councillor Brooks planned to speak to the manager of the private land.

Beachdown: It had been decided that the precept money would not be used to help fund the independent noise level monitoring. It was felt that there were more appropriate ways of allocating precept money for the general benefit of the village.

Village Plan: The PC now had a contact to help take the village plan forward. Clerk to pursue this.

Financial Matters: The Chairman and Vice Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and cheque stubs. The 2008/2009 Annual Accounts had been prepared and the Audit Return had been signed off. In previous years it had been signed at the July meeting, however the Audit Commission had brought forward the deadline by which the accounts had to be signed to the end of June. Therefore a meeting had been held between the Chairman and the Responsible Financial Officer on 19 June to sign off the accounts. The PC meeting may need to be brought forward to before the end of June next year so that the accounts can be signed at the PC meeting. Clerk to check with the Audit Commission. The internal audit had been carried out by Nick Hughes and the PC expressed thanks for his services and time.

AOB: The PC had been contacted before the meeting to raise the subject of the problem of parking in Clappers Lane. One potential solution of utilising a banked area on the west side of Clappers Lane had been discussed with County Councillor Peter Griffiths at the beginning of the meeting. One drawback was that it could be prohibitively expensive because of the work that would be required on the steep bank. The PC said that another potential solution was being investigated and that they were in delicate negotiations with someone at present but were not at liberty to disclose the details. If anything did come out of the negotiations it would not be until next year and would almost certainly involve a charge for the parking rights.

District Councillor Susannah Kemp addressed the meeting about her work. This covered canvassing for resurfacing the A23 between Handcross and the Pillars with a new quieter surface, flooding problems which would be alleviated if Southern Water met its responsibility of jetting the drains annually and changing licensing law for large events such as the Beachdown Festival which would more appropriately be dealt with by the Magistrates system. In terms of organising support against such festivals, she recommended that residents form a Residents Association which would be taken more seriously by local authorities and could gain charitable status. She also noted her concern that MSDC officials did not have the capability to adequately monitor the Beachdown Festivals from a number of angles including noise monitoring. She noted the issue of the maintenance of the play area and said that Hurstpierpoint Parish Council employed a maintenance person who might be able to help. Clerk to investigate.

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

The PC was asked to elaborate on their decision not to fund the noise monitoring equipment for Beachdown.

The issue of the very large size coaches used by Preston Nomads was raised and it was requested that this point be emphasized in the PC s letter to the club.

Concerns were raised about the amount of development activity and land clearing at two sites in Clappers Lane. One site was the corner plot of Clappers Lane (referred to previously as two sheds). The second site was the Market Garden Site. District Councillor Susannah Kemp said she would take this up with Development Control.

Date of Next Meeting: 8 October 2009.

The meeting closed at 9.10

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2009 05 07 PC Minutes

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held at the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 7 May 2009 at 8.00 pm

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

The clerk asked for nominations for Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Planning Committee.

Mrs Jennifer Vaughan was nominated as Chairman by Mrs Pamela Rowland and seconded by Mr Tony Brooks. The vote was unanimous and Mrs Vaughan was duly elected Chairman.

Mr Tony Brooks was nominated as Vice-Chairman by Mrs Jennifer Vaughan and seconded by Mrs Jennifer Parmar. The vote was unanimous and Mr Brooks was duly elected Vice-Chairman.

Mrs Pamela Rowland was nominated as Chairman of the Planning Committee by Mr Tony Brooks and seconded by Mrs Jenny Vaughan. The vote was unanimous and Mrs Rowland was duly elected Chairman of the planning Committee

Apologies for Absence: Richard Corner

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 May 2008 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman. The PC proposed that in future the current arrangement for the publication of the minutes would continue unless there were any strong opinions against doing so. This arrangement involved not reading out the minutes at the meeting but posting draft minutes on the notice board and the website before the meeting where the minutes were approved.

Matters Arising: None

AOB: None

Chairman’s Report

Planning: During the period May 2008 to April 2009, 15 applications were received. Of these 9 were granted, 2 were refused and 1 withdrawn. 3 were under consideration.

Market Garden Site: The case came to court and Mrs Hearn pleaded guilty and was fined for failing to comply with the Breach of Condition notice. The PC chased up Development Control to ensure specific requirements for outstanding conditions were complied with. MSDC advised towards the end of last year that they regarded all conditions as having been complied with and discharged. It seemed that external light pollution was still an issue for residents in Clappers Lane. The PC had suggested if photographic evidence could be provided to the PC then this should make a more powerful case so that the PC could pursue the issue again.

Finance: The Parish precept for 2009/10 has been set at 5,776. The accounts for 2008/09 were currently being prepared. The PC thanked Nick Hughes for doing the internal audit last year.

Highways and rights of way: DDMO Perching Drove. The matter of the Permissive Path Agreement had now been concluded. Communications with the landowner had shown that the situation could not be taken any further formally but he had agreed that continued use of the path would be permitted for villagers.

‘Unsuitable for HGV’ signs had been placed at northern end of Clappers Lane.

The PC had requested a non-slip surface at exit of Clappers Lane onto A281. This was still under consideration by WSCC.

New fittings had been fitted to the street lights at the bottom of Stammers Hill and Fulking Cottage.

Culvert work was carried out outside Hillbrook in September 2008.

Several issues of flooding and blocked gullies had been reported to WSCC. The work to rectify these problems was scheduled to be carried out.

North Town Field: The grass cutting contractor, Danny Flynn, had continued to cut the grass in the North Town Field (NTF). Foster Playscapes were again hired to do the monthly safety checks, and ROSPA to do the annual check.

A new entrance to the field had been proposed and the works for this had been completed. A grant was received from West Sussex County Council for half the cost and the remainder was funded from NTF Trust, Social Committee and the precept.

There was a possibility of a grant being available for new playground equipment but this issue needed further meetings to define what was needed and to liaise with the NTF Trustees.

The barkpit in the play area had been topped up

Following a survey, major tree work had been carried out on trees particularly around the play area for safety reasons.

Working Parties from the PC, NTF and the residents had been carried out, clearing areas of undergrowth which were encroaching on the field.

Preston Nomads: No further news, developments or meetings had occurred but there was now a new Chairman and the PC were hoping for better communications.

National Park: The decision had been made to create a South Downs National Park which would include Fulking. There was no detailed information as yet but our County Councillor would press for full democratically elected decision-makers particularly in respect of planning.

Village website: James Lightfoot had now taken over the website. He had updated it and it was running smoothly. The PC minutes were now published within a month of PC meetings. The Annual Return was also posted.

Pigeon Post: Thanks were given to Aidan Walker for taking over and running this. The PC also gave thanks to Tony Brooks for organising the printing of hard copies, the people who distributed it and Bob Rowland for funding the printing for this year.

Action in Rural Sussex: A survey had been placed in Pigeon Post for the top three priorities for the village. The themes chosen were Allotments, Community Shop and Community Transport. Allotment garden sharing was suggested as no land was available for allotments. Community Transport – The possibility of no 17 bus being re-routed via Fulking connecting Horsham to Brighton had been raised by Chris Gildersleeve. It was a very good idea but needed village support for it to be implemented. Community shop at present no progress.

Fly Tipping at Bostal: This was being monitored and the possibility of installing a gate was being looked into.

Freedom of Information Act: The Freedom of Information Publication Scheme had been adopted.

Village Plan: This was under discussion.

Local Reports and Guest Speaker

The Chairman read out a report from the Tree Warden Barry Leppard.

The Police Community Support Officer for Fulking, Eve Todhunter, gave a short talk about her role supporting Fulking and several other surrounding villages.

The Chairman read out the Neighbourhood Watch report from Richard Corner.

David Fletcher, Leader of the Henfield Area Response Team (HART), gave a presentation about the work of the HART team and how they supported the Ambulance service by responding early to serious medical conditions particularly those that benefitted from treatment by a defibrillator. He explained what would be involved if Fulking wanted to keep its own defibrillator and provide a similar service.

National Trust warden Charlie Cain gave a talk about the work of the Trust in the Devil’s Dyke Estate area and talked about particular issues concerning management of the land.

The Chairman read out a report from County Councillor Mr Peter Griffiths. District Councillor Mrs Gina Field talked about the origins and functions of Mid Sussex District Council and the role of a District Councillor.

The meeting was opened up to the floor and a reminder was given that if issues were raised at the APM then they could not be discussed until the following APM. Therefore the best forum to deal with issues was at the ordinary Parish Council meetings. The issue of parking in Clappers Lane was raised and it was requested that this was dealt with as part of the regular Parish Council process.

Date of the next meeting to be arranged. The meeting closed at 9.25 pm and refreshments were served afterwards.

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