LocalCouncilNews

Neighbourhood Plan, Village Hall & Highways

Edited extracts from draft minutes of the Bury Parish Council meeting on 7th November 2022. District Councillor reports - Funding for non-statutory services may have to be reviewed in 2024 unless government funding becomes available, but there was some left from Grants and Concessions Panel for village halls and amount available depends on when you apply. Changes to what can be recycled to include milk bottle tops (bottle needs to be squashed). Neighbourhood Plan - Council spoke to a senior planning officer in the SDNPA about concern that any development at Hillside Nursery may be counted as windfall and not part of Neighbourhood Plan’s housing allocation. Officer advised any housing on Hillside site would count towards housing allocation and there was no point reviewing NP whilst SDNPA Local Plan was being reviewed. Suggested hosting a conference for landowners to find out about aspirations and get a better understanding on issues they may face - Council agreed to approve. Village Hall - Village hall consultation leaflet delivered to every household in the parish and advised there were spares should anyone hear of a resident not receiving one. Leaflet included a slip for residents to return stating whether they supported proposals. A newsletter was circulated which provided further details and links to online survey. 30-35% of community support required for access to certain funding. Discussion about when to inform current users of village hall about plans and whether they could continue using it during refurbishment whereupon it was agreed that a leaflet be sent to them explaining it was early days and the Council was unsure how the plans would affect use of the hall. Grounds and Highways - Police reported 54 deployments of a camera van on Bury Hill during summer with 664 offences recorded. Bury wasn’t selected for acoustic camera trial and the only two places in the country that had were neither in Sussex or Surrey. RIC moving onto its next objective and drew up a list of improvements for A29 and thought it would be more efficient to host a conference for stakeholders and asked MP Andrew Griffith to host it in spring 2023. www.buryparishcouncil.co.uk

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Budget, precept & traffic issues (speeding)

Edited extracts of draft minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 8th November 2022. Budget and precept for 2023/24 financial year Clerk explained figures in the budget for discussion for 2023/24: highlighting changes to: the Alban Head salaries as the minimum wage rate has not been announced yet, an increase of 5% to £10 per hour has been included - might change if the minimum wage is higher than this amount; there will be an External Audit fee. Mentioned the possible purchase of speed cameras or any such items, noted that this was an important issue but would not be covered by this budget increase. Resolved: Members agreed budget of £17029. The Clerk reminded members how the precept is calculated; the Parish requests an amount, which is then divided by Tax Base, this will give the amount a Band D household will pay. The Clerk noted that the tax base figures not been received yet, so the calculations are based on last year’s figure. The clerk distributed calculations showing various increases. Members discussed Precept, chair suggested an increase of 3%, Chairman suggested members continue to consider this and would confirm at the meeting in January. Items from members of the Council - Noted an email giving an update on traffic issues but there doesn’t appear to be any progress. Suggested a strongly worded letter to the major players involved; Members confirmed this course of action. Agreed that police have had a greater presence in the parish recently, however when they leave the speeding returns, this is the same effect experienced when speed watch run a campaign. Following the suggestion for the use of technology in this situation to tackle speeding in the village, Council approached a company Westcotec, but awaiting costs. Noted that main problem is speeding, which is enforced by police. However, this is not enforced frequently. Suggested contacting David Hurst, as the Pulborough Partnership are also looking into the control of speeding options. www.coldwalthampc.org.uk

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West Chiltington Parish Council

Queen’s green canopy, dark night skies policy & climate

Meet and Greet It was lovely to see so many people at the Parish Council’s open morning in November at the Cricket Pavilion. There was an informative display about past and future projects, and refreshments were served while residents chatted to councillors about a wide variety of issues. Excessive speeding by drivers along our lanes, and environmental issues were hot topics of the day amongst others. Please look out for other open events like this, but of course anyone is always welcome to come to meetings where you can just listen or speak about anything in the Public Session.

Queen’s Green Canopy Our oak tree has now been planted on the grassy bank next to the car park. Chair of the Parish Council Bob Gustar placed a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. The Dark Night Skies policy West Chiltington’s Draft Neighbourhood Plan includes a Dark Night Skies Policy (EH6). The vast majority of the Parish is free of streetlights; light pollution is minimal and the full night sky can be seen. Its location next to the South Downs National Park, an International Dark Sky Reserve, justifies attempts to keep light pollution to a minimum as the Parish can be viewed easily from the South Downs Way. Residents value the unlit status of the Parish. The creation of artificial light is a factor that threatens the survival of protected and threatened local wildlife and tranquillity. Birds, insects and other wildlife need to know when it’s night. Outside lighting needs to be neighbourly in its use. If and when it is necessary to illuminate houses, driveways, gardens this can be achieved by ensuring lighting is deflected downwards rather than outwards or upwards, that it is switched off at midnight at the latest and that movement-sensitive triggers are regulated to reduce illumination periods to a minimum. Climate and Environmental Emergency Horsham District Council and West Sussex County Council have launched a new Climate Action Hub for community use. If we all make small changes to how we travel, shop, eat, think and live, together we can make practical changes on a huge scale that make a difference. By building a picture of all the activities taking place across West Sussex to address climate change, residents can explore what is already being achieved and how you can help. h t t ps : / /w ww. h o r s h am. g o v. u k /c li m at e-an denvironment Sussex Green Living is a fast-growing charity set up by local people, creating a network for the benefit of the community and the planet. The emphasis is on encouraging people to refill, repair, recycle. Go to their website for ideas, activities and events about living an environmentally friendly lifestyle, respecting nature and reducing that all important carbon footprint. www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk Improve energy efficiency and keep the heat in There are some simple and effective ways to help insulate your home. This can help reduce the heat lost, keeping you warmer for longer and saving money on your energy bills. Win Win! Even small DIY measures, such as fitting a hot water cylinder with an insulation jacket can save you £20 a year in heating and 150kg of carbon dioxide. Check to see if you could qualify for a home visit to install energy saving measures. https://westsussexenergy.co.uk Contact the Parish Council: Email: clerk@wcpc.org.uk or @wcpc.org.uk for planning. Tel: 01798 817434 or 07483 114836 Write to: The Parish Clerk, The Reading Room, Church Street RH20 2JW Visit our website for details of meetings: Agendas, Minutes and how to book attendance. www.wcpc.org.uk