Category Archives: Grass Mowing

Getting this done, and paid for, is a regular PC topic.

2009 07 09 PC Minutes

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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

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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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2009 04 09 PC Minutes

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

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

Apologies for Absence: Mrs Pamela Rowland

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

The Chairman reminded the meeting about the current arrangement regarding publication of the minutes. The trial arrangement of not reading out the minutes but posting draft minutes on the notice board and the website would continue until the next Annual Parish Meeting, at which point public opinion would be re-canvassed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2009, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

Rights of Way: DMMO 07/01 Perching Drove. A response had been received from the landowner to the PC s request to review whether a Permissive Path agreement could be put in place. The landowner cited the judge’s ruling from the Hearing which stated that the Drove had always been a private road and once the matter had been referred to the Secretary of State, the PC were not in a position to make any separate contracts or agreements. He reassured the PC that he had no intention of revoking his verbal agreement which allowed villagers continued use of the path during daylight hours and he would endeavour to ensure this informal agreement would continue if he were ever to sell his property. The PC therefore intended to let the matter rest.

Highways: The PC had reported a number of issues to WSCC Highways. These were:-

Flooding at Brook House and Hillbrook Nursery — WSCC Highways had responded that a contractor will dig a drainage grip in the west verge leading to the existing pipe running into the new culvert. This should help to clear any standing water from the causeway.

Blocked stream pipe near The Sands — WSCC Highways had responded that a contractor will clean out the sand from the ditch to allow the covered pipe to be cleaned out, which they thought should prevent surface water from flowing across the causeway.

Blocked gullies at Old Wood/Holmbush Lane junction — WSCC Highways had responded that a contractor will dig out the existing grip into the culvert at the junction to improve drainage. The damaged barrier adjacent to the culvert will also be repaired.

The PC had also written to WSCC Highways to chase up its request for a non- skid surface at the northern junction of Clappers Lane. Highways had now responded that the Accident Investigation & Prevention Section at County Hall will investigate the accident pattern at this junction with regard to any remedial measures that may be considered. The problem with the surface of the road at Clappers Lane breaking up in parts had also been reported.

The ‘Unsuitable for HGVs’ sign was in place at the northern end of Clappers Lane. The sign at the village end had not been accepted by nearby residents. These residents no longer lived in the village.

The new fittings for the streetlight at Stammers Hill had now been sourced and fitted. The streetlight outside Fulking Cottage also now had new fittings.

The streetlight in Clappers Lane had been badly damaged by a recycling truck. This had been fixed by EDF and the PC had claimed back the money for the repair from MSDC’s re cycling contractor SERCO.

A problem with tree branches breaking off at the village end of Clappers Lane had been reported. Councillor Brooks had spoken to the main landowner, however not all the land was owned by him. Councillor Brooks said he would speak to the Tree Warden to assess the condition of the trees.

Market Garden: There had been no further developments.

Preston Nomads: Councillor Brooks reported that the Club had a new Chairman. He would follow this up in the future with a view to arranging a meeting together with District Councillor Gina Field.

North Town Field: The issue of ongoing maintenance of the play area was discussed. Councillor Brooks had potentially found someone to carry this out at a reasonable cost. However, he said that it was necessary to define the tasks that needed to be carried out in order to properly assess this.

The work on the entrance to the NTF had now been completed. A grant for half the cost of the work had been received from WSCC. The outstanding amount had been covered by contributions from the Social Committee, the NTF Trust and the precept. The PC thanked the Social Committee and the NTF Trust for their generous contribution.

The PC was looking into the possibility of a permanent soft surface to replace the barkpit surface. This would save money in the long run due to the high cost of replacing the barkpit on an ongoing basis. WSCC were inviting applications for their Playbuilder fund and the PC were going to investigate whether they would qualify for any money which could cover the cost of a permanent play surface. It was thought that the grant may only be available for completely new projects. County Councillor Peter Griffiths suggested that the PC should also consider applying for funding for this from the Community Initiative Fund.

The idea of new play equipment was also discussed. A suggestion had been received from Hollie Trist about the need for new play equipment and using fund-raising (e.g. sponsored walk) for this. The PC was asked whether they would match whatever money was raised by fund-raising. Other issues would be how to choose the equipment and the problem of how it would be maintained given the current problems of on-going maintenance with the existing equipment. It was agreed that a separate meeting should be arranged with interested parties to explore these issues further.

Foster Playscapes were due to inspect the play area in April. It was a concern that they thought that the barkpit levels needed to be topped up again given that it was done recently at a cost 360. This would have been more costly had Councillor Brooks not sourced a cheaper supplier and helped out with the work. It was agreed that a meeting would be arranged to discuss the barkpit levels. Foster Playscapes confirmed that they would continue to do the monthly inspections at the same cost as the previous year.

The mowing of the North Town Field would continue to be carried out by Danny Flynn. He had confirmed that this would be at the same cost as the previous year.

Both the PC and the NTF Trust had agreed on the proposal for a legal agreement in order to avoid the cost of taking out two Public Liability Insurance policies. However, the savings could be outweighed by any legal costs. The NTF Trust had asked the PC if they knew of anyone that could help draft up a legal agreement. A possible suggestion was made and this person would be contacted.

Affordable Housing: No further information directly affecting Fulking had been received. It was noted that Fulking would fall within the South Downs National Park and that there would be stringent criteria for new development.

Community Transport: An informal poll on whether there would be enough support to reroute no 17 bus through Fulking to Brighton/Horsham had been conducted by Chris Gildersleeve. This had been done via Pigeon Post and the Website. The PC was interested in the outcome of this. Clerk to contact Chris to find out response and to offer survey to be posted on the noticeboard.

Beachdown Festival: The PC was asked to support the idea of having independent noise level monitoring of the festival. Clive Goodridge had proposed to do this and had asked for the formal and financial support of the Parish Council. The details of how this could be achieved were discussed in terms of the purpose, the location and the cost. The main purpose of the monitoring was to define a more representative Background Noise Level than the one currently being used. The Clerk would contact Susanna Kemp to find out more details about Background Noise Level . The PC agreed that the whole issue needed further investigation and discussion before deciding whether it should spend funds from the precept on this.

Councillor Corner updated the meeting about the 2009 Licensing Hearing, highlighting the commitment from the festival organisers to re-measure the Background Noise Level.

Fly-Tipping at the Bostal: Councillor Brooks advised that one of the issues surrounding installing a gate as a solution to fly-tipping had been establishing which land at the entrance area to the Bostal was public and which was private. He was currently discussing this with the landowner of the surrounding private land.

Village Plan: The PC was looking into defining a village plan. Once drafted this would be published in Pigeon Post and posted to the website for feedback from villagers.

APM: The date of the Annual Parish Meeting was 7 May. Two speakers had been arranged, one speaker from Henfield Area Response Team to talk about the defibrillator and one speaker from the National Trust.

District County Councillor Mr Peter Griffiths addressed the meeting about Education and Council Schools, Community Transport and the forthcoming County Local Committee Update meeting. He also advised that if a bridle gate were to be installed at the Bostal it must meet the legal condition of being kept unlocked.

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

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

The problem of overhanging tree branches particularly near the Market Garden site was raised. Councillor Brooks said he would speak to the Tree Warden to look at this area. Also the problem was raised of big tree trunks on the bank of the east side of Clappers Lane near the village end. The landowner explained that constant traffic driving up the bank was eroding the bank and exposing more of the tree trunks.

The problem of the external lighting at the Market Garden site being on all night was raised. The PC reiterated the point made at the previous meeting that if photographic evidence could be provided to the PC then this should make a more powerful case so the PC could pursue the issue again.

Two issues concerning the support of the police were raised. One was that an illegal rave had been held at Saddlescombe the previous weekend and it was queried about how the police could deal with these situations more effectively. The other issue was that a car had been broken into and the owner had not received an effective response from the police. It was suggested that these matters could be directly addressed to the Community Police Officer who would be attending the Annual Parish Meeting.

It was requested whether a more detailed financial breakdown than the Annual Return could be published. The Clerk confirmed that a more detailed financial summary that was produced as part of the Audit Commission process was available. Clerk to ask for this to be posted to the village website.

The planning decision concerning a house that had recently been extended was queried in terms of how such an extension could be passed particularly in a AONB. The planning application had been made a couple of years back and the PC advised that that they did not consider that there had been any planning criteria that could constitute grounds for objection, which was borne out by the Local Planning Authority’s decision to grant planning consent. There was also discussion about cases where final building works changed from the original plans granted consent.

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

The meeting closed at 9.10

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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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2008 10 09 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 9 October 2008 at 8.00pm

Present : 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 : Chairman Mrs Jenny Vaughan

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

The Vice Chairman advised that the PC, in response to public feedback, had decided that the minutes would not be read out at the beginning of meetings. Instead printed copies would be available to read at the meeting and in future draft minutes would be posted to the website and on the notice board. The minutes would still be formally approved, accepted and signed at PC meetings. Concerns were raised by some members of the public that this was not democratic as draft minutes of the previous meeting had not been available before this meeting. Therefore it was decided that for this meeting the minutes of the previous meeting would be read out. The minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2008 were, after having been read out, then approved and signed by the Vice Chairman.

Rights of Way: DMMO 07/01 Perching Drove. A further letter had been sent to Mr Gort-Barten on 17 September. The PC had just received a reply but had not read it yet but planned to review it as soon as possible.

Highways: WSCC Highways had agreed to the PC s request to place ‘Unsuitable for HGVs’ signs at each end of Clappers Lane. This was requested to try to reduce the heavy traffic some of which was being diverted along the lane by sat nav systems. The signs were scheduled to be in place by the end of October.

WSCC Safety Engineering was currently reviewing the PC s request to authorise a section of non-skid surface across half of the Clappers Lane northern junction.

The PC had ordered new street light fittings to replace the worn and damaged ones for the street light at the bottom of Stammers Hill. These will be fitted when EDF can source fittings to match the style of the street light.

Clappers Lane had been closed for work on a culvert from 15 September. The work had now been completed and the lane was now open.

Market Garden: As agreed at the last meeting the PC had written to Development Control again (11 July) to ensure that the specific requirements for conditions 7 and 8 were included in the layout schemes. As Development Control had not replied this was chased up again on 3 October.

Preston Nomads: District Councillor Gina Field was asked if there had been any response from PNCC. She confirmed that there continued to be no response and that for now Cricket Club it appeared that the situation had reached an impasse.

North Town Field: The Chestnut Tree which had partially fallen down turned out to be completely rotten and the whole tree had been felled. The fence which had been damaged by the fallen branches had been repaired by Councillor Brooks.

To address the problem of the need for ongoing maintenance in the play area, the PC were considering asking someone to do this if it was possible to do it at a reasonable cost.

An informal meeting was held with the NTF trustees in August. The suggestion about improving access to the field was revisited. It was agreed to investigate resurfacing and levelling the top of the entrance without extending the tarmac. Quotations would be obtained which would also include the need to better secure the main gate.

An NTF working party was held on the August Bank Holiday weekend. This included clearing the areas where the nettles were taking over the field. This meant that Danny Flynn was now able to mow these areas.

A quotation had been received from the NTF Trust for major tree work which was now needed as this had not been done for a long time. The quotation was for 429. Councillor Brooks thought it would be prudent to obtain another quotation.

The Clerk had investigated the request from the NTF Trust asking if the PC s Public Liability insurance could cover both the play area and the rest of the field. The position was that the NTF Trust as owners of the field had a strict liability that arose from their ownership of the land. This meant that although the PC’s insurance covered any activities that the PC was responsible for (e.g. mowing grass, play area) it did not cover any activities that were not organised by the PC and therefore the Trust did need a separate insurance policy. The NTF Trust had been informed about this.

Village website: Draft minutes of PC meetings were now to be posted on the website within a month of the meeting.

The PC also thought it was a good idea to post dates for NTF Working Parties on the website as well as being noted in Pigeon Post.

The PC wanted to be able to post dates for Planning Meetings on the website. One possible problem was that they often had to be arranged at short notice and therefore the update process would need to be quick.

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

MSDC Community Grant: Councillor Brooks asked County Councillor Peter Griffiths if funding for the improvement to the NTF entrance was something that could be applied for from the WSCC grants scheme. Peter Griffiths confirmed that this was the case and that the next application deadline would be in November.

Pigeon Post: A black and white printed version of Pigeon Post was now available again which Printing would be distributed as before. This would be on an opt out basis meaning that people could choose not to receive the printed version if they wanted to print it themselves. A colour version would be available on the website. The question was raised as to whether it would still be emailed out. Councillor Parmar said that she would ask the new editor, Aidan Walker, about the current process.

Diseased Trees: Councillor Rowland had spoken to the Landowner about the trees on the field at side of the road and the Clerk had reported the trees on the road side of Clappers Lane to WSCC Highways. WSCC Highways were awaiting a report Lane from a Tree Specialist. The local Tree Warden was also waiting for the WSCC tree survey.

Action in Rural Sussex: The PC had agreed to join the Action in Rural Sussex Community Planning Rural Network group. The group wanted the PC to let them know the top three priorities to focus on. The PC was going to discuss this further and report back at the next PC meeting.

Fly Tipping at the Bostal: Problems with fly tipping at the entrance to the Bostal bridleway had been reported. The question was raised whether there was anything that could be done to prevent it. It would not be easy but it was something that could be looked into further. The fact that fly tipping can be reported directly to MSDC was noted.

Financial Matter: The Vice Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and cheque stubs. The internal audit of the Annual Accounts 07/08 had been carried out by Nick Hughes and the Annual Return had been sent to Mazars, the external auditors. The PC thanked Nick Hughes for his services.

AOB: County Councillor Peter Griffiths addressed the meeting about Health (including the suspension of Fit for the Future proposals), Highways, the proposed South Downs National Park and the County Local Committee.

District Councillor Gina Field addressed the meeting about forthcoming events, next year’s County Council and European Elections. She also gave a personal view assessing the recent Beachdown Festival event.

Councillor Brooks who was chairing the meeting opened up a discussion with Mr Goodridge addressing points that he had written to the PC about. The discussion covered communication between the PC and the village, village website, minutes being read out at meetings, publication of draft minutes and publication of agendas. The PC supported the idea of publishing draft minutes and would be trialling minutes not being read out. Details about the agenda needed to be looked into further. It was noted that some suggestions regarding the website and general communication needed people to carry out the work and it was not always possible to find volunteers. Mr Sapted requested that the PC bear in mind that not everyone had access to the website or email.

Date of Next Meeting: 8 January 2009.

The meeting closed at 9.25.

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2008 04 10 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 10 April 2008 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.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman signed the Appointment Letter for the new Parish Clerk.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2008 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

Rights of Way: DDMO 07/01 Perching Drove. No further news had been received from the Landowner so it was proposed that the Council now write to the Landowner to get an update on the legal situation regarding the Permissive Path Agreement.

Highways: The Clerk had reported potholes on the hill down to the Shepherd and Dog pub. Councillor Corner had reported a pothole at the northern end of Clappers Lane. Councillor Corner had spoken to Highways requesting Unsuitable for Heavy Goods Vehicles signs at both ends of Clappers Lane and the Council said that they needed this request in writing from the Clerk. The Clerk to make a written request.

Market Garden: The Breach of Condition Notice was not complied with. John Arnold (Enforcement Officer MSDC) had advised There is a file with legal for a prosecution in relation to the breach of the Breach of Condition Notice for the conditions imposed by the Planning Inspector. The patio that has been constructed also needs permission and I am waiting a response from their agent in relation to that .

Preston Nomads: There had been no further progress on communication between the club and the village. Meetings that were planned had been cancelled due to illness and Cricket Club holidays. District Councillor Gina Field advised that she had contacted David Laing to arrange another meeting but had not yet received any response. It was proposed that District Councillor Gina Field and Councillor Tony Brooks should arrange a meeting with the PNCC for an informal talk.

Gina Field advised that the PNCC were still in negotiation to purchase the garages for storage facilities.

North Town Field: Danny Flynn had verbally quoted to carry on cutting the grass for the same price as last year. He would start the cutting as and when it was needed. He had also taken away the rubbish from the last clear-up.

Replacement toddler swings were installed by Fosters Playscapes. Second- hand swings were chosen because they were so much cheaper. Councillor Brooks confirmed that the sign to say that any children using the playground were to be supervised had been installed. He also advised that he needed to wait for better weather before he could fill up the bark pit.

The cost of Foster Playscape Inspections were going to increase to 32.50 from 30. It was agreed that this was acceptable.

A request from the NTF Trust had been received asking if the Parish Council would rent the whole of the field for insurance purposes. The implications of this would need to be checked in terms of the future security of tenure. There is an amount allowed in the precept for the insurance.

Village website: The website was planned to be up and running in May together with the necessary email addresses.

Conservation Area: Ed Lancaster had produced a set of draft proposals and asked the Parish Council for their comments which needed to be returned to him by 27 March. The Chairman read out a summary of the draft proposals and the Parish Council s views on each proposal.

APM: A guest speaker from West Sussex County Council has been arranged to talk about recyling. Arrangements for the food and wine needed to be confirmed.

Bird Scarer: Councillor Brooks had spoken to the farmer/landowner who has since addressed the issue and is happy to take suggestions for improvements to the noise level and siting.

Affordable Housing: The Chairman advised that MSDC are assessing sites for potential housing and the timescales of when they are likely to be developed.

MSDC Community Grant: The details and conditions of this grant were to be investigated before a note was put in the Pigeon Post asking for suggestions.

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

A renewal quote from Allianz Cornhill for the village insurance for 817 had AOB been received. Councillor Corner was seeking an alternative quote from another company.

County Councillor Mr Peter Griffiths addressed the meeting about Highways, Health and Adult Services. District Councillor Mrs Gina Field addressed the meeting with an update about Health, Core Strategy, Leisure Division and Planning Hearings.

Mr Goodridge commented on the MSDC’s Conservation Area proposal to put the overhead telephone and electric cables underground in terms of the disruption and upheaval of the work. The Parish Council felt that it was a good proposal but in reality the prohibitive cost of the work would mean that it would be a very long way off actually happening.

Mr Linford strongly expressed his concern that the residents of the Market Garden site had not complied with one single condition imposed by the Planning. The Council agreed to write to Mr Arnold (Enforcement Officer MSDC) to also strongly express this unsatisfactory situation.

Mr Linford also raised concerns about the upcoming auction of the land at Small Acres because it had a history of planning applications to develop the site.

Mr Rowland requested that the letter to the Perching Drove Landowner about the Permissive Path agreement should ask for a speedy response as this matter had taken a long time.

Ms Dyos informed the Council that a generator had been running in one of large wooden sheds on the corner plot of land owned by Michael Cox. As planning permission has only been given for using these sheds for storage she requested that the Council pursue this matter.

Mr Sapsted asked why MSDC had not notified objectors about a planning decision to a recent planning application. Councillor Rowland explained that there had not been a public planning meeting for this application.

Dates of Next Meetings: 10 July and 9 October 2008 and 8 January 2009.

The meeting closed at 8.45 followed by a public meeting to discuss the proposed Beachdown music festival.

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2008 01 10 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 10 January 2008 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 Sheena Trist.

Apologies for Absence : None

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

The Chairman welcomed the Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council Mrs Hersey and her husband Councillor Mr Hersey.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2007 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

Rights of Way: DDMO 07/01 Perching Drove. An e-mail was sent by the Chairman to the Landowner but a response had not been received.

Highways: There was no further news or developments regarding parking by The Shepherd and Dog. A planning application had been lodged with MSDC but this did not include provision for extra parking.

The hedges in Clappers Lane had been cut back. The faulty street lamp had been reported to EDF Energy and it had been repaired. Councillor Corner agreed to speak to Highways about the possibility of a ‘Unsuitable for Heavy Traffic’ sign at either ends of Clappers Lane.

Market Garden: District Councillor Gina Field had been in contact with MSDC Planning who had advised that the Hearns had been served with a Breach of Condition Notice (BCN) on 3 Clappers Lane December 2007. This required them to remove the old Huet caravan on the site and to provide details of the laying out and landscaping of the site (including lighting) and to then implement the approved details within 56 days. If the BCN is not complied with then MSDC can move to a prosecution in the magistrate’s court. This would be at the end of January and Mrs Field agreed to pursue this with Planning at that time.

Preston Nomads: Two meetings had been held with representative from the cricket club. There were still some matters outstanding but it was hoped that these would be resolved shortly. The Cricket Club lights that had been approved by Planning were now in place and felt to be much better than the ones there previously. Noise was still a problem and it would be suggested to Preston Nomads that they consider sound baffles on their equipment and intensive planting on the boundary to try to muffle any noise.

North Town Field: It was agreed to ask Danny Flynn to carry on with the grass cutting for the 2008 season and the Clerk was asked to contact him to ask for a quotation and schedule of cutting.

Further to the Rospa report, a site meeting had been held and various actions agreed. Councillor Corner agreed to speak to Highways about road signs. Councillor Brooks had removed the moss from the surfaces and built up and turfed the levels. He had also been quoted 35 for an engraved sign to say any children using the playground were to be supervised and it was agreed that this quotation should be accepted. A quotation of 240 (4 x 60 bags) had been received to replace the bark pit and it was agreed to wait until the weather improved to do this work.

Village website: Richard Linford was progressing with the website.

Conservation Area: A presentation was held in the village hall in November 2007 and questionnaires handed out. These were currently being assessed and a report/recommendation would be available in the Spring.

Parish Clerk: Two local residents had approached the Clerk regarding the forthcoming vacancy and she had explained what the role involved. Formal applications were awaited.

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

Indemnity cover for officials was now in place and the increased fee will be included in the 2008 premium.

It was agreed that the Clerk’s salary be increased to 8.04 per hour, in line with the NALC published payscales.

The precept for 2008/09 was set at 4,980, an increase of 5%

APM: The date for the Annual Parish Meeting was set for Thursday 1 May 2008. County and District Councillors would be invited to attend, along with Neighbourhood Watch, the Social Committee and Poynings Parish Council. The Clerk to ask Ed Lancaster if he would like to give a talk on the Conservation Area.

AOB: A complaint had been received about a noisy bird scarer and although this was not a PC matter Councillor Brooks said he would speak to the owner to try to resolve the problem.

It was asked if money could be included in the precept to cover the cost of tree surgery etc in the North Town Field as at present money was raised by locals for this. As the precept for 08/09 had been set it was agreed to look at this for the following year.

Affordable Housing. The Chairman agreed to follow up about the survey.

A grant of 1,000 is available from MSDC to go towards anything needed in the village. A note to be put in Pigeon Post to ask for any suggestions.

District Councillor Mrs Field advised that they were still fighting for the Princess Royal Hospital. Mrs Hersey, Chairman MSDC, also spoke about the Princess Royal with particular reference to the Maternity Unit.

Dates of Next Meetings: 10 April, 10 July and 9 October 2008 and 8 January 2009. The meeting closed at 8.50, followed by a public meeting to propose and vote new member(s) onto the North Town Field Trust.

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2007 10 11 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 11 October 2007 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 Sheena Trist.

Apologies for Absence : None

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2007 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

Rights of Way: DDMO 07/01 Perching Drove. The Landowner had suggested that access revert to the status quo, but the PC were not happy with this and asked that the agreement for a permissive path still be put in place. The Landowner agreed to go back to his solicitor for advice and that he did not wish to offend anyone.

A Statement and Map under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act had been received from WSCC regarding the estate of the late Brian Harris, showing the rights of way over his land. The Clerk was asked to check these rights of way with the definitive map in her possession.

Highways: Parking on the bend by the pub. Councillors Brooks and Parmar had had two meetings with the Landlord of the pub, the second of which was also attended by Martin Small of the National Trust (NT). The NT’s stance was that parking was not their problem and that visitors to the proposed National Park would be encouraged to come by public transport. Extra parking would mean more customers and any extension to the pub would be strongly opposed. The meeting ended in stalemate.

Market Garden: The conditions imposed by the Planning Inspectorate were still outstanding and the Clerk was asked to write a strong letter to the Head of Environment and Planning at MSDC to ask why enforcement action was taking so long.

Preston Nomads: The PC had met with PNCC officers and a plan of action had been put in place with a follow up meeting due in November. After this follow up meeting a plan of action Cricket Club would be made public.

North Town Field: Unfortunately the Chairman of the Trustees died before the Clerk had the opportunity to write to him. The Secretary of the Trustees advised that he would publicise the nomination of new trustees in Pigeon Post and that they would go to vote after the PC meeting scheduled for 10 January 2008.

Grass cutting had taken place as scheduled throughout the summer months. The contractor advised that one more late cut may be necessary if the grass carried on growing.

Rospa report. A site meeting had been difficult to arrange and so it was agreed that everyone make an effort to agree a convenient date.

Village website: Richard Linford was progressing with the website and the quote of 50 a year for web hosting was agreed to by all PC members. The Clerk asked Mr Linford to provide her with an invoice with his costs in order that they could be reimbursed.

Village Signs: Only one letter of response to Paul Wayne s letter had been received and as this was from the artist it was agreed to let the matter lie.

Conservation Area: The appraisal of the Conservation Area had taken place and a public exhibition was to be held in November, with details being published in Pigeon Post.

Village Sign: Condition of sign at junction of The Street and Clappers Lane had been reported to Highways who said they would put it on their schedule of works and that if it needed to be replaced, a similar one would be used, not a metal one.

Lawn Mower: The now redundant lawn mower was now in the safe keeping of Councillor Parmar until such time it be needed again.

Joint Meetings: Two joint meetings with Poynings had taken place. One on Health, the outcome of which Councillor Corner said he would publicise in Pigeon Post, and Housing, which would result in a survey to establish if Fulking had a need.

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

Councillor Corner had received a quote of 40pa for the officials indemnity cover and it was agreed that this be taken up. Councillor Corner agreed to speak to Allianz to get the necessary paperwork.

AOB The Parish Clerk reminded the meeting of the new refuse and recycling system. She then advised that, due to personal reasons, she would stand down as Clerk in April 2008, as this would be the end of the one year that she had agreed to give the new Parish Council. The vacant position would be advertised in Pigeon Post.

Gina Field, District Councillor and Peter Griffiths, County Councillor addressed the meeting on various issues including the legal battle concerning the Princess Royal Hospital, the Highways Rangers and grants available to the PC.

Councillor Corner had attended a meeting on Rural Issues but there were no particular needs for Fulking.

Councillor Brooks advised he was in consultation with Mr Rawlings regarding the hedges in Clappers Lane and that they were to be cut back imminently.

A member of the audience advised that he would be putting in for planning permission for a mobile home at Folly Farm as he needed to live on site. He was advised that this would be discussed at the relevant planning meeting.

Mr Sapsted reported that the street lamp on the junction of Stammers Hill and The Street was not working and the Clerk agreed to report this to Seeboard.

Dates of Next Meetings: 10 January & 10 April 2008. The meeting closed at 9.35pm

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2007 04 12 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 12 April 2007 at 8.00pm

Present : Chairman Mr Robert Rowland, Councillors Mr Tony Brooks, Dr Jen Green, Mrs Carolyn Loveless and Clerk to the Council, Mrs Sheena Trist (late arrival).

Apologies for Absence : None

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2007 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

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

Due to the relocation to Devon of Councillor Nick Bremer and his subsequent resignation, Chairman Mr R. Rowland proposed Councillor Tony Brooks as Vice-Chairman. This was seconded by Mrs Carolyn Loveless.

Rights of Way Bollards on Bridleway 6B the Backway. No further problems had been reported with cars parking on the backway and no feedback from the South Downs Conservation Board. The PC agreed to let the subject lie unless there were further complaints.

DDMO 07/01 – Perching Drove. The Inquiry took place on 26/27 February and the PC were awaiting the decision of the Planning Inspectorate.

Highways: parking on the bend by the pub. Parking had been as bad as ever over the Easter weekend but it was agreed that without the cooperation of the owners of the pub there was little the PC could do to overcome this.

The Sheds Clappers Lane: a retrospective application for works on the site had been received and the PC had objected to this, with a request to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) that if it be passed an embargo be placed stopping the sheds being used for accommodation or office purpose. The LPA decision was awaited.

Market Garden: the LPA had received some further information regarding the landscaping of the site. It is partially acceptable as it shows some of the stones/gravel being removed from the site and replaced with lawn. However the landscaping condition also covers lighting at the site and the LPA still have not received details of this. It was being chased up with the applicant’s agents who are based in Malta.

The LPA believe that the Hearnes have now submitted a new planning application to retain the old Huet caravan on the site to be used for storage. The advice the LPA had received is that even though the Planning Inspector put a condition on requiring this old caravan to be removed, they will have to determine the new planning application that has been submitted to retain it.

It was noted that the big caravan had now been removed from site and there was speculation that this was to make room for a new caravan to replace the burnt one.

Huet Caravan: further to a letter to Mr Tucker asking that the site be cleared of remaining rubbish, he had replied stating that this would be done as soon as possible and someone had been seen on site on 12 April. The Clerk to chase-up with another letter at the end of the month if there was no improvement.

Preston Nomads: several planning applications had been received. Variation on conditions – refused. Retrospective lights – refused. Retrospective roller shutters – refused. Electronic scoreboard – refused. New practice nets – granted.
 
Two burglaries had taken place – BBQ and oil tank, but nothing from the interior.

North Town Field: D.J. Flynn had started mowing the field but the grass clippings were not being picked up. The Clerk advised that Mr Flynn had experienced problems with the first mowing as the grass was long but that he would be picking p the grass in the future.

Further to the discussions regarding proactive Trustees for the North Town Field, the Chairman proposed Jen Green, seconded by Carolyn Loveless, to take effect from 3 May when Jen would no longer be on the PC. It was agreed to wait until the new PC were in place to nominate another Trustee.

The Ram House: the Chairman thanked Tony Brooks and Jim Sapsted for re-siting the finial on the top of the Ram House and for cutting back the trees that had caused the problem. As no response had been received from the National Trust regarding ownership it was agreed to pass this onto the new PC if they wished to pursue it.

Garages in Clappers Lane: Barry Leppard, the Tree Warden was reporting any problems to WSCC but nothing had been heard back at the time of the meeting

Village website: No one had volunteered to take on the role of coordinating the village website.

Resignation of Clerk: further to the advertisement in Pigeon Post for a new Parish Clerk, no one had come forward. In the interest of continuity and to help the new PC settle in, Mrs Trist agreed to stay on in the post for at least another year. However, she was now going on holiday in July and would not be available for a meeting on 12 July. It was agreed that due to these exceptional circumstances the July meeting be held on the 5th.

Grant for defibrillator: Michael Trist had only received two responses from parishioners willing to be on the defibrillator rota for the defibrillator and this was not enough for it to be a viable proposition. The idea was therefore shelved.

APM: The date for the APM was set for 8.00pm 10 May. Richard Corner agreed to speak on behalf of Neighbourhood Watch and Bob Rowland for the Social Committee. MSDC had already been contacted by the Clerk to see if they would provide someone to speak about the new rubbish collection system. Carolyn Loveless agreed to organise refreshments and glasses.

Dates of next meetings: 5 July and 11 October 2007, 10 January and 10 April 2008.

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

Renewal paperwork had been received from Allianz Cornhill. The Clerk had made enquires about professional indemnity but they do not provide this cover. Their advice was that the PC was covered for Public Liability in case of error or omission and that as long as Councillors abided by the Code of Conduct then they were covered. It was agreed to carry on with renewal and for the new PC to take up further cover if they required it.

AOB There was no any other business.

Closing remarks: as this was the last meeting of the current PC, the Chairman thanked his fellow Councillors for being such a dedicated Council and also gave his thanks to Mrs Trist.

He went on to say that he had greatly enjoyed his time on the PC and as Chairman but expressed caution at the suggestion that the village be run by referenda as it is the duty of a PC to express the wishes of the parish and to decide what is best for the village as a whole. If a referenda route be followed the PC would be denied the very reasons for which it was elected and that this should be considered very carefully when voting on 3 May.

Date of Next Meeting 5 July 2007.

The meeting closed at 8.50 p.m.

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2007 01 11 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 11 January 2007 at 8.00pm

Present : Chairman Mr Robert Rowland, Councillors Mr Nicholas Bremer, Mr Tony Brooks, Dr Jen Green, Mrs Carolyn Loveless and Clerk to the Council, Mrs Sheena Trist

Apologies for Absence: none

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2006 were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

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

Peter Griffiths, County Councillor for our area, gave a brief update on subjects he was dealing with at present, including reinstatement of Best Practice within the NHS, landfill sites and speed restrictions.

Rights of Way Bollards on Bridleway 6B the Backway. Despite a strong letter from the Chairman to Andy Gatticker for an update no response had been received. The Clerk was requested to write to the Head Office at the South Downs Conservation Board. According to the parish minutes, it was noted that problems with vehicles on the Backway had been in existence since 1975.

Highways DDMO 07/01 – Perching Drove. The Planning Inspectorate advised that the Public Inquiry would take place at Springwells in Steyning on 27 February 2007. The Planning Inspectorate would like a written statement of the case that the Parish Council intended to present at the inquiry and this had to be with them at least three weeks before the inquiry date. Chairman Robert Rowland advised that he would attend.

Re parking on the bend by the pub, Councillor Loveless had not had a suitable opportunity to speak to the Landlady, but would continue to try.

The culvert at the bottom of the hill by the pub had been cleared and at present it was still clear.

Peter Griffiths offered to speak to Highways regarding a recently blown down tree in Clappers Land and various blocked drains.

The Sheds, Clappers Lane: it would appear that little activity is taking place on this site but it was agreed to keep it on the agenda.

Market Garden, Clappers Lane: the outcome of the appeal had been formally advised to the Parish Council. The Hearn family are allowed to stay on the site for a period of five years and the PC had written to MSDC to ensure that conditions were complied with in the timeframes stated, however, since then, the caravan had been burnt down and this was being investigated by the Police.

Huet Caravan: although the dilapidated caravan had been removed, a lot of rubbish was still on the site. It was agreed to hold the annual village ‘clear up’ on 4 March 2007 and this site would be included in this. The Clerk to write to Mr Tucker to request his permission.

Planning Meetings: no planning meetings had been held in the previous three months, but the Chairman expressed his dismay at the PC’s comments being totally ignored in relation to the planning application at Downside. The Clerk was asked to write to the Planning Department.

North Town Field: quotes for mowing the NTF and playground area had been sought from Sussex Field Landscapes and D.J. Flynn. These were awaited.

Discussion took place on the need for more proactive members of the Trustees of the North Town Field. Nick Bremer proposed Pam Rowland, seconded by Tony Brooks and Jen Green was proposed by Robert Rowland and seconded by Carolyn Loveless. It was thought that it was not in the best interests of the village for a Councillor to be a Trustee, but Jen Green advised that she would not be standing for election. The Clerk to find out what the process is for voting on new Trustees.

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

The precept for 2007/8 was set at £4,705.

The Ram House: no response from Glynn Jones to the Chairman’s letter regarding the National Trust taking over the Ram House. According to the Parish minutes, in 1988 Brian Harris said that the National Trust had agreed to take over ownership of The Ram. It was noted that the finial on the top was askew and Councillors Brooks and Green offered to put this back in place, as it could not wait for the National Trust and it was in danger of falling off.

Garages in Clappers Lane: MSDC had been contacted by e-mail to request that they inspect the dead elms on the site. The Clerk was asked to contact the Parish Tree Warden (Barry Leppard) to see if he could put some pressure on MSDC.

Village website: due to work commitments by the Parishioner who had volunteered to look into the village website, no further details were available at the time of the meeting.

Preston Nomads: an application from Preston Nomads Cricket Club was expected shortly and it was agreed that this would be discussed at a Planning Meeting. However, Councillors Rowland and Bremer had visited the site to inspect external lighting and roller shutters that did not appear to have planning permission and which they felt were unacceptable. The Clerk to write to MSDC to express the PC’s concerns. It was also noted that the roller shutters sometimes remained down whilst people were using the clubhouse and it was felt that this was a health and safety concern with regards to fire risk. Noise from the turf rollers was also still a problem and Councillor Brooks offered to speak to Paul Hird to see if something could be done.

Resignation of Clerk: the Chairman read out a letter of resignation from Mrs Sheena Trist, Clerk. A job vacancy would be posted in the next edition of Pigeon Post, along with calls for new Councillors to come forward for the election in May. Mrs Trist agreed to stay in the post until after the elections in May, or for one further year if no suitable applicants came forward.

AOB: There was no any other business.

Date of Next Meeting 12 April 2007.

The meeting closed at 9.00 p.m.

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