Category Archives: Bridleway

2012 07 12 PC Minutes

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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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2011 07 11 PC Minutes

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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

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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

2011 01 13 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 13 January 2011 at 8.00pm

Present: Chairman Mr Tony Brooks, Councillors Mr Richard Corner, Ms Jo Hudek and Clerk to the Council Mrs Paula Hazard.

Apologies for Absence: Vice Chairman Mrs Pamela Rowland, Councillor Mrs Jennifer Parmar

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

County Council update — County Councillor Peter Griffiths addressed the meeting. He talked about Highways covering Fulking’s Local Winter Management Plan and local flooding problems. He gave an update on the implications of the reduced budget for West Sussex. He was asked if there was something that could be done about a kissing gate that had been very badly damaged by a vehicle. This was outside 45 Clappers Lane. He agreed to report this to the Head of the Rights of Way team.

Minutes — The minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2010, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

Highways: Flooding problem by the Shepherd and Dog stream culvert — The PC had agreed at the previous PC meeting to monitor how badly this part of the road flooded in the winter. As suspected, there was still a flooding problem caused by water flowing down the hill on to the northern side of the road. The drain still blocked easily during heavy rain. The PC planned to request that WSCC clear the drain more frequently and press again for a more permanent solution such as a gully.

Flooding by The Sands in Clappers Lane — The stream was running over the road again by The Sands. This was proving lethal when the temperature dropped and the water iced over. WSCC had been notified that the pipe needed to be unblocked. Rubbish that had been dumped in the ditch was also aggravating the problem. This had been reported as fly tipping to Mid Sussex District Council in early November but it had still not been removed.

Flooding by the junction of Clappers Lane and Holmbush Lane — This has been reported to WSCC with photographs to illustrate the issue particularly the problem that one of the ditches does not get cleared.

Flooding by Four Acres on Poynings Road — This flooded badly with the recent heavy rain. It had been reported to WSCC stressing that the flooding on a blind bend caused a danger to traffic. The drain needed to be blasted through.

The Chairman said that he would compile a summary of all the recurring flooding problems in the area and submit this to WSCC Highways and enlist the support of CC Peter Griffiths.

North Town Field Play Area Surface — The PC s grant application to Viridor had been successful. 5000 had been awarded to the cost of the new play surface. The new wetpour surface to replace the old barkpit had been put in. The surrounding area needed to be turfed which was planned to be done soon.

Public Liability Insurance — NTF Trust had advised that the new lease contract had been completed and it would now be circulated to the PC for signature.

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

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

Permissive Path near Paythorne Farm — It was planned that this path would be opened by 31 January.

Bridleway 5/3F — This path runs alongside West Dean to Cabbage Patch and suffers from very poor drainage. It was discussed whether this problem could be addressed. Previously the South Downs Joint Committee had carried out some work to improve the drainage. However only a small part of the path had been worked on. The Chairman said that he would contact the South Downs Joint Committee to see if they improve drainage on the rest of the path.

Local Winter Management Plan: WSCC had approved the arrangement for the local farmer, David Ellin, to clear snow from local lanes. To support this, WSCC had lent the farm a snow plough attachment which required some modification for it to work.

The PC had looked into ordering bulk bags of salt but had decided to go for a permanent solution so five grit bins had been purchased. Three of these had been installed in Clappers Lane and two in The Street. All the bins had been filled by WSCC with a salt mix. Each bin has a nominated keyholder. It was agreed that details about the grit bins should be posted to the village website.

Village Plan: A draft Village Action Plan had been circulated to all households in December. Following a consultation period due to end on 15 January, a revised draft would be presented to the village at a meeting on 10 February.

Ram House: The National Trust had carried out the repair work to the Ram House. This involved removing branches from the nearby trees which were damaging the roof tiles and fitting the replacement roof tiles. The work was carried out at no cost to the PC.

Lower Kents: The PC had written to MSDC Development Control at the end of October stressing local concerns about the sheer length of time it was taking for the landowner to submit a retrospective planning application. The PC had proposed that a time limit be set by which plans must be submitted with the alternative being that the half finished unapproved building be taken down. No response had been received. It was decided that the PC should contact Susanna Kemp (District Councillor) about this matter as well as writing a follow up letter to Development Control.

Powered Microlights: The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) had not responded about their view on policy on powered microlights/hang gliders/paragliders etc. in the National Park area. It was agreed that the Chairman and Councillor Corner would raise this issue at the upcoming SDNPA meeting.

Offshore Wind Farm: A planning application was expected to be submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) on 2 January 2012. The IPC has 28 days from the day after submission to review the application and decide whether or not to accept it. If the application was accepted, IPC will advise the timescales when interested parties can register to make a representation .

Information had been received which indicated that it was likely that the cables would be laid underground at Truleigh Hill. This would require very large trenches to be dug over the Downs. The PC planned to contact the South Downs National Park Authority to assess their view.

Electricity Power Cuts: An article had been put in November Pigeon Post to make residents aware that in order to get power cuts fixed, it was necessary for residents to phone EDF. There had been a long power cut on Christmas eve for part of village which had proved again that action was only taken by EDF if enough people rung them. A reminder would be put in PP again as some residents said that they still didn’t know that they had to ring EDF. The larger issue of improving the electricity service to the village was discussed and it was agreed that this issue should be added to the Village Plan.

Market Garden Site: MSDC had made little progress with setting up a new site due to widespread objections to any proposed new sites that had been identified. At the last PC meeting the query was raised as to whether a site in another District Council area within in West Sussex could be offered. The Clerk had discussed this issue with District Councillor Susanna Kemp who had confirmed that the family could be offered a site in another District Council within West Sussex. It was noted that the family had previously lived in Horsham and before that in Adur District Council. The PC had now raised this issue at a senior level by writing to Claire Tester, Head of Planning.

Private Airstrip: The PC had been made aware that a local resident had written to the Directorate of Airspace Policy about a private airstrip that has been set up at Folly Farm. The matter was discussed in terms of the nuisance caused to local residents by the very frequent use of the airstrip.

Parish Council Elections: It was announced that the current Parish Council was coming to the end of its four year term at the beginning of May. The public was advised that any prospective candidates should get in touch with the current Parish Councillors to find out more details. The Clerk to put an article about this in the next edition of Pigeon Post.

Financial Matters: The Chairman signed off the interim audit, cheque list and cheque stubs. The precept for 2011/12 had been set at 6144, an increase of 2.7%.

AOB: The Chairman advised that the PC had successfully applied for a grant from West Sussex County Council to repair the fingerpost at the junction of The Street and Clappers Lane. The repair work was planned to be carried out soon.

Councillor Corner talked about problem with rats getting close to or actually into houses. He advised the meeting that Mid Sussex District Councill offered a free service to treat rat problems. It was agreed that Councillor Hudek would put an article in Pigeon Post about things that can be done to deter rats from residences.

The Chairman said that he had been asked if PC meetings could start half an hour earlier at 7.30. The PC agreed that this would not be a problem and the next meeting will start at 7.30.

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

There was a discussion about the selection and prominence of articles in Pigeon Post. Also the issue of keeping the village website up to date was raised. The point was made that both these village resources relied solely on volunteers who did a good job and fitted this work around their own jobs.

The issue of the purchase by Preston Nomads of the ground that the garages are on was raised. The process was still ongoing.

The issue of whether the village needed an emergency contact was raised. This followed on from part of the village having no electricity for over 18 hours and whether there was a need for coordination of support services. Apparently there had been an emergency contact in the past. It was agreed that this would be added to the Village Action Plan.

Date of Next Meeting: 14 April 2011.

The meeting closed at 9.45

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2010 07 08 PC Minutes

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

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

Apologies for Absence: None

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Date of Next Meeting: 14 October.

The meeting closed at 8.55

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2010 04 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 April 2010 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 14 January 2010, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

County Council Update — County Councillor Peter Griffiths gave an update to the meeting on Highways, Schools and the National Park. The issue of whether the Planning Authority will lie with the District Council or the National Parks Authority had not been resolved yet. In response to Councillor Brooks query about returning to the method of the County Council paying local farmers to clear the snow, he advised the PC to write to Derek Whittington who is Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport. The PC had already requested a return to this method to the recent WSCC snow summit by writing to WSCC and SALC. Clerk to write to Derek Whittington reiterating this view.

Highways: Flooding problem near The Sands the stream had been cleared out and water was flowing through the pipes.

There was no further information about the request for a non-skid surface at the northern entrance to Clappers Lane. County Councillor Peter Griffiths said that he was chasing up this issue.

Flooding problem by the Shepherd and Dog stream culvert: The owner of the Shepherd and Dog, Geoff Moseley, had had a meeting with WSCC Highways and it was understood that the outcome was that he was going to fit a larger overflow pipe. He expressed at the meeting that there was a problem with clearing the gulley and felt that not enough maintenance had been carried out by Highways in the past. It was agreed that the PC should send CC Peter Griffiths the correspondence between the PC and Highways about this issue so that he could look into the matter.

Tree problem at Stammers Hill: A tree surgeon who had carried out previous work in the North Town Field had identified a potentially dangerous sycamore tree. The local tree warden, Barry Leppard, also agreed there was a problem and had reported this to WSCC Highways. The Arboriculturalist Southern Area WSCC had inspected the tree in March and had concluded that it was not a health and safety risk. He also stated that the tree was not on Highways land. An independent tree surgeon was asked to quote for the required work as the PC would have to pay the bill. The quote was around 700 which was not an immediately manageable sum. As the WSCC Inspector had judged it not to be of any immediate danger, the PC had decided to monitor the situation and ask for another assessment by WSCC at the end of the summer. It was agreed that the PC should ask for the opinion of another tree surgeon as soon as possible.

North Town Field: Cost of Maintaining Play Area — It was noted that the costs of maintaining the Field play area were escalating and were becoming beyond the budget of the PC. The costs included maintenance of the play equipment, tree work around the playground and a replacement surface for the barkpit. A quote for wetpour rubber had been received of 8500. Geoff Moseley was able to recommend a company that could provide a better value rubber surface that would comply with Health and Safety Guidelines as he had experience in this area.

New Play Equipment — The PC had submitted an application for a grant from WSCC County Local Committee who would be meeting on 27 April. Fund raising was under way in the village. An appeal flyer had been sent to every household in the village. The PC had also approached local businesses and applied for a grant from West Sussex Community Chest (run by Hall and Woodhouse) with a decision due before July.

Play Area Surface — quotes were being obtained for replacing the barkpit as a surface. The PC has looked at an ecomulch and wetpour rubber surface. It would be necessary to apply for a further grant to cover these costs.

Mowing and Maintenance of field — The first mow of the year had been done. Some tree work had also been carried out.

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

Fly-Tipping at the Bostal: There was no further update about the ownership of the entrance area.

Phone Box: The Clerk had written to BT and they had confirmed that they did not currently have any plans to remove the telephone service.

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: The PC discussed the problem of where to locate grit bins. The eastern bank of Clappers Lane near The Street junction had been looked at but it was agreed that it would mean the grit bin would be placed too high and be difficult to access. Other suggestions were by the bus stop. Precise locations for the bins remain to be decided.

Village Plan: There had been a good response to Councillor Brooks’s discussion document in the Pigeon Post. All the replies would be kept and used to formulate the Village Action Plan. A talk would be given at the APM by a representative from Action in Rural Sussex about the process. The next stage would be to form a committee of representatives from the village to produce the Village Action Plan.

Market Garden Site: The PC had not been able to write to MSDC Enforcement as no evidence had been forthcoming that there was another family living on the site.

Ram House: The PC had asked the National Trust to carry out the repairs to the roof of the Ram House. However they had responded that they did not own it and therefore did not bear any responsibility for it. It appeared that this was borne out by historical documents and that ownership did rest with the Parish Council. The previous PC had asked the National Trust to take over ownership of the Ram House but they had not responded. As it is a historical structure the PC agreed that ownership of the Ram House by the National Trust fell within their remit. It was agreed that the PC should write to the National Trust again asking that they take over ownership.

The fountain had been repaired in 1995 with the aid of grants from West Sussex County Council, Mid Sussex District Council and Sussex Rural Community Council. The Chairman asked CC Peter Griffiths if there was a possibility of grant aid for the Ram House.. He advised that the PC should put this request in writing explaining the problems caused by the damaged roof.

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

AOB: Councillor Brooks updated the meeting about the goal of improving broadband access with a fibre optic system. Whereas previously it was envisaged that this would cause huge disruption with road digging and replacing the telegraph poles, it appeared that there were now new methods of installing fibre optic cables involving the use of existing sewer networks which would greatly reduce disruption.

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

The issue of affordable housing was raised. It was discussed that Mid Sussex District Council had in the past identified the need for 4 houses but this had not been followed up in detail and there were no concrete plans.

Date of Next Meeting: 8 July 2010, 14 October. APM 13 May.

The meeting closed at 8.50.

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2010 01 14 PC Minutes

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Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held in the Village Hall, Fulking on Thursday 14 January 2010 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 8 October 2010, as previously circulated, were approved, accepted and signed by the Chairman.

Highways: Various problems in Clappers Lane had been reported. The large potholes had been fixed. However there was still a flooding problem near The Sands. Low overhanging trees had been reported and removed.

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

WSCC Highways had responded to the report about the flooding on Poynings Road at Four Acres by cleaning out the gully. The situation there had improved but Highways also proposed to investigate why surface water is draining away slower than it should be.

With regards to the flooding problem by the Shepherd and Dog stream culvert, WSCC Highways had reported that they have previously removed silt from gullies on the north side of bend and jetted the pipe connection. However, the serious flooding problem remains. Highways believed that the northern ditch needed digging out and proposed to investigate ownership. However as the flooding problem occurs every year, the PC thought that a more permanent solution was needed and had written to WSCC explaining why they believed that the ditch was owned by WSCC and proposed a permanent solution by building a wide brick and concrete gully on the northern road side. The proposed solution was also an improvement on the current underground pipe as it had the advantage that the blockage could be easily identified and easily cleared. A letter from WSCC responding to this request had just been received and the Chairman read it out. Highways had rejected the request. It was agreed that the PC should write again to argue the case for the permanent solution.

Preston Nomads: Linda Dyos had canvassed local opinion about the proposed parking spaces. There had not been a huge response and some people expressed concerns about the distance and security. Currently only one person was definitely interested in taking up the parking spaces.

The garages were no longer owned by the Downlands Housing Association but were now owned by a new Housing Association called Affinity. The change had resulted in the area needing to be surveyed again which meant that PNCC could not go ahead with their plans until this was done. Six parking places were still definitely allocated on their plans.

North Town Field: Mowing and Maintenance — The PC had found someone (David Marshall) who could do the maintenance of the play area equipment and could also do the mowing of the field. Clerk to write to David Marshall to confirm contract for this year.

Work was required on the steps to the climbing frame in the playground. Foster Playscapes had quoted 101 (+ VAT) to do this work. Councillor Brooks suggested that it would be worth looking at doing this repair with David Marshall. A meeting will be arranged so that he can quote for this work

New Play Equipment — The PC had looked at the suppliers for the play equipment for Buckingham Park, however it was very expensive. Following further discussions with Hollie Trist, a piece of equipment had been identified which suited a wide range of ages. The cost was roughly about 3000 but there were no extra costs for the surface as it could stand on grass and did not require a special surface. The PC is waiting for a precise quotation.

New Play Surface — Cut-up tyres will be used in future for topping up the bark pit instead of bark as although the tyre surface was dearer it was believed that it lasted a great deal longer.

Public Liability Insurance — The NTF Trust had found a lawyer who was working on this.

Councillor Rowland had received a quote of 100 from Francis Mnich for tree work that needed to be done. It was agreed that this work should proceed as soon as possible. Councillor Rowland to arrange.

Fly-Tipping at the Bostal: There was no further update about the ownership of the entrance area believed to be owned by the National Trust

Phone Box: The Clerk had looked further into the issue of the removal of the phone service and had contacted OFCOM. They had advised that as there is only one phone box in the village, BT could not remove the phone service without applying to the Local Planning Authority and consulting with the local residents. There may be a good case for retaining it where there is a poor mobile phone signal or overhead cables are vulnerable. MSDC had advised that they do not currently have an application by BT to remove the service. The invitation to buy the box implied that the phone service would be removed imminently. However it appeared that currently it would only be removed if the PC were to buy the box, as this was a condition imposed by BT. It was agreed that the Clerk should write a formal letter to confirm that BT does not currently have any plans to remove the phone service.

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

Reopening of Bridleway 11F: The Joint Committee had been originally hopeful that the Bridleway landowner would open up the bridleway or apply for a diversion order. However the landowner had now decided to continue holding out against the reopening of the bridleway. Therefore the case had now been passed to West Sussex Rights of Way as an enforcement issue.

Development opposite 45 Clappers Lane (Lower Kents): The PC had not received a retrospective planning application for this work. No at land further development activity had been seen at the site.

South Downs National Park Authority: The election for parish members for the West Sussex area was due to be held at the end of January. Thirteen members had been nominated and each Parish Council could vote for two members. The PC agreed to vote for Mark Lee from Poynings and Rodney Jackson from Hurstpierpoint

Local provision of grit: In the past Fulking used to have two grit bins. One in the Street outside Fulking Cottage and the other in Clappers Lane near Sunnyacres. Because of the recent severe snow the PC had investigated the possibility of the village having grit bins again. WSCC do not pay for grit bins so the PC would have to buy and maintain them. However, WSCC would fill the bins with rock salt free of charge provided it was used on the public highway. WSCC have said they will contact the PC about range and cost of grit bins.

The PC agreed that it would be a good idea to have two grit bins and discussed where they could be located. It was agreed that it would be a good idea to have one located on the junction of The Street and Clappers Lane. However, the bank outside Fulking Cottage, where it was previously located, may not be possible as this is now privately owned. It was agreed that a good location would be on the eastern bank of Clappers Lane as near to the junction with The Street as possible. It would be necessary to find out where the boundary of Yew Cottage was in relation to this bank. It was agreed that the other grit bin should be located further down in Clappers Lane with the precise location to be discussed further.

The general issue of clearing the snow from the roads was discussed. In the past the County Council had paid local farmers to clear the snow. It was agreed that it would be worthwhile exploring this issue further to see if it was possible to reinstate this arrangement.

Village Plan: It was planned that the next Pigeon Post would contain a questionnaire regarding the village plan and what people would like to see happening in the future in the village. If there were enough responses, a speaker from Action in Rural Sussex would be invited to speak at one of the next meetings.

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

AOB: County Council Update — The Chairman read out a report from County Councillor Peter Griffiths who was unable to attend due to the severe weather. The report covered the impact of the recent heavy snow on the County Council’s stock of grit and Highway’s ability to be able to continue gritting of the roads.

Councillor Brooks raised the subject of a current planning application to install a mobile telephone mast in Bramlands Lane. It was agreed that the PC should write to Horsham District Council to request that the location be changed to north of the Henfield Road.

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

The PC was given an update about the dog at the Market Garden site. The Dog Warden had visited but as the dog was in a kennel it could not be impounded.

The issue of another family living on the Market Garden site was raised. It was agreed that MSDC Enforcement should be advised of this matter as temporary planning permission had only been given for one family to live on the site.

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

The meeting closed at 9.

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2009 10 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 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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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

Posted on

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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