Washington Parish Council Council news & updates for residents

Report from Washington Parish Council. From the Chairman, Cllr Patrick Heeley.

Rampion 2 Cable Pipeline Route

In our response to the first Rampion 2 public consultation, following the outcome from a public meeting in Washington in September 2021, we pointed out that whilst the parish council fully supports the increased use of wind power, the chosen onshore cable route through the centre of Washington and underneath the recreation ground is not acceptable to local people. The energy company RWE were asked to look again at their original first choice of routing which ran south of the village.

However, it appears that no further research has been conducted into finding alternatives and they have pressed ahead regardless. In a second public consultation last October, the company released details of new proposed construction access roads to the cable route, coming off the A283 directly opposite the junction of Hampers Lane and near the junction of Georges Lane. Additionally, up to three construction compounds are proposed in the area around Rock Common Quarry, which would add significant lorry movements to the already overstretched A283 and Washington Roundabout. The council’s response to this second consultation may be viewed on the website.

Rock Common Quarry

The restoration of the quarry after sand winning is subject to a planning application under consideration by West Sussex County Council. A significant number of public responses were received during the initial public consultation, and the applicants have now produced a response with further clarifications and comments.

By far the largest concern expressed by respondents was the impact of traffic, with a predicted 300-500 daily lorry movements being generated to infill the quarry with inert material. As mentioned above, should the Rampion compounds go ahead in the same area, there could be an intolerable level of additional traffic generated by two projects running simultaneously in this area. The parish council has highlighted this in a further response, together with further questions relating to the data provided and any potential water contamination from the quarry into the local water course. A key question relates to the future availability of sufficient inert waste, which could potentially expand the period of infill for many years. The parish council’s latest response can be viewed on the website.

Parish Council Precept 2023/24: No Increase

Parish Councils are partly funded through a small contribution within your council tax. Recognising the current pressure on household costs, councillors unanimously agreed to again freeze the level of the parish precept charge with no increase in the 2023/24 financial year. The Washington parish precept has only been increased once during the past 10 years, and at £38.22 per “Band D” household, our precept is amongst the lowest in the Horsham District. As a parish council with a neighbourhood plan, we have benefitted from increased contributions from planning developments which are subject to a community infrastructure levy, of which the council receives 25%. This will enable increased community investment in the coming years.

Annual Parish Meeting

Following the cancellation of last year’s planned Autumn meeting due to the extended period of mourning following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, we are pleased to confirm that this year’s meeting will go ahead on Friday 10th March at the Washington Village Memorial Hall, 7.30pm. Andrew Griffith MP has been invited once again to be our guest speaker, and there will be an opportunity to discuss the above and other topics of concern to residents of Washington, Heath Common and Millford Grange. Refreshments will be served during and after the meeting. We hope you can join us.

Parish Councillor Vacancies

We have councillor vacancies for co-option in the Washington and Heath Common Wards. Councillors are volunteers and there’s no political affiliation. If you want to support your community and have a say in matters that affect our area, contact the Clerk for more information and an application form on clerk@washingtonparish.org.uk or 0777 6771921. www.washingtonparish.org.uk