Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting of Fulking Parish Council held Thursday 16th March 2023 at 7.30pm at Fulking Village Hall.  

Present 

Chairman: Cllr Mark Hind 

Fulking Parish Council (FPC) Cllrs Karen Healy and Tom Kardos 

Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) Cllrs Alison Bennett and Colin Trumble 

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) Cllr Joy Dennis 

There were three members of the public present and the meeting started at 7.45pm. 

23/018/OM.            Apologies for Absence. 

Apologies were received from Cllrs Linda Dyos and Cllr Lucy Mehta (FPC) and Cllr Rodney Jackson (MSDC). 

23/019/OM.            Declaration of Members’ Interests. 

There were no members interest declared prior to the meeting. 

23/020/OM.            Approve the Minutes of Ordinary Council Meeting of 12th January 2023 and Planning Meeting on 2nd February 2023. 

The minutes, subject to any amendments, to be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting. 

The minutes of the meetings were approved by all councillors as a true record and signed by the Chairman.  

23/021/OM.            Reports from District and County Councillors.   

Cllr Bennett (MSDC) reported 

•  that MSDC precept has increased by 2.7%. 
• that she has requested that the resilience forum look at the rising number of power outages occurring across Mid Sussex. Cllr Hind confirmed that there are power cuts monthly in Fulking. This leaves mobile phones without signal and therefore unable to contact the emergency services. Cllr Trumble recommended keeping a diary of power cuts in the village. 
• Our MSDC Councillors are not standing for the new Downland Villages Ward at the elections in May 2023 and therefore a new District Councillor will be elected. Cllr Trumble is not seeking re-election to MSDC. 

Cllr Hind thanked Cllr Bennett and Cllr Trumble for all the support they had provided to Fulking Parish Council and its residents and wished them well for the future. 

Cllr Joy Dennis (WSCC) reported: 

• Construction of the new school in Burgess Hill has commenced at a cost of £50m and is expected to be finished in 18 months. Birth rates across Mid Sussex has dropped therefore there is less pressure on school places. 
• Powers from Dept for Transport have been granted to charge utility companies for digging up the roads. This has resulted in roadworks being completed quicker with road closed for less time. The revenue generated from the charges will be used to employ compliance / enforcement officers to monitor the quality of the repairs. 
• Parish Councils may now formally request a Community Traffic Regulation Order to apply to make changes to speed limits within the parish. 
• WSCC has increased its core Highways budget by 25% plus an extra £4.5m from govt for repairs. 
• The WSCC Jet-Patcher pothole repairer will be deployed to when the weather improves.   

23/022/OM.            Matters Arising & Outstanding Actions To clarify and report on actions brought forward from the last meeting.   

Fulking Parish Council commissioned planning specialists Triptych PD to prepare an appeal document on behalf of the Parish Council in relation to the Small Acres appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Triptych PD submitted the document directly and the receipt by the Inspectorate was received.  Andrew Griffith MP has also written to the Inspectorate supporting the Parish Council position.  

23/023/OM.              Council Elections   

Cllrs Mark Hind, Karen Healy, Lucy Mehta & Tom Kardos have agreed to stand again as Fulking Parish Councillors. After serving two terms as councillor, Cllr Linda Dyos has decided not to seek re-election. 

23/024/OM.              Reports from Outside Bodies & Correspondence 

None 

23/025/OM.             Information Items.  To receive information and items for the agenda at future meetings. 

None 

23/026/OM.           Playground Update 

The clerk advised the meeting that we are still waiting for the quote for the playground repairs from Toby English. 

23/027/OM.            WSCC Watershed & Drainage update 

Cllr Trumble recommended that a meeting between Fulking Parish Council, MSDC, SDNPA Planning, Environmental Health and the new District Councillor to review the flooding and drainage situation in the village. 

23/028/OM.            Clerk Pay Review.    

Following a recent review of the Clerk’s pay, councillors agreed unanimously to increase the pay scale from SCP20 to SCP30 from 1st April 2023. This will increase the hourly rate to £18.86 for the six hours per week employed. This amount will increase in line with the annual NALC pay review. 

23/029/OM.             Financial Matters. To receive the report on the Council’s income and to approve future expenditure. 

The current cashbook of income and expenditure was sent to Councillors prior to the meeting confirming a balance of £4,923.68 was held in the current account. This is after the VAT reclaim had been received and payment to the planning advisor, clerks pay and other bills were paid.  £12,184.07 held on instant access deposit. 

Date of the Annual Meeting is Thursday 18th May 2023.  

Next Ordinary Meeting provisionally scheduled for Thursday 6th July 2023.   

 

The meeting closed at 9.35pm.