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Parish council news
58 Parish Council News
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Those of you who have been following local planning issues recently will be aware that Horsham District Council (HDC) is currently reviewing its local plan ie the number of new homes needed in the District and where they should be built. The simple facts are that: a minimum 18,409 homes are needed by 2036; sites for 9,479 have been identified already; HDC is 8,930 short; 500 potential new sites have come forward to HDC. The target for the Review to be published is late 2021. It is HDC’s responsibility to identify ‘strategic’ sites in the District ie 500+ homes and to allocate other land for development in Parishes/ areas where there is no Neighbourhood Plan. At the Parish Council meeting in October it was indicated that there are possibly no ‘strategic’ sites in Ashington (none at the time of writing) but there are many potential smaller development sites in the Parish. The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has been working with HDC throughout the 3 year Neighbourhood Plan project and HDC are aware of the draft Neighbourhood Plan, its policies, spatial strategy, proposed housing numbers etc and even gave it positive feedback recently at a formal ‘Healthcheck’ in 2019. HDC knows that the Neighbourhood Plan is awaiting some essential archaeological reports and has ad
vised that this information is essential before progressing to the next stage. There is constant dialogue between HDC and the Parish to make sure that the plans are appropriate for a ‘medium sized village’ such as Ashington. HDC is taking the draft Neighbourhood Plan into consideration in the Local Plan Review. While we wait for the archaeological reports the Site Promoters have been working on visions and more detailed plans for the allocated sites and we expect to see fuller details, exhibitions and publicity early in the new year. Email: clerk@ashingtonpc.org.uk tel: 07851 009655 www.ashingtonpc.org.uk
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Parish Council News
Storrington & Sullington
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that 2020 brings you happiness and success. Climate Action Our first step has been to gather data so we can establish the Parish Council's carbon footprint. We are following advice by the Carbon Trust for local government (based on the same approach recently taken by Horsham District Council). While doing this, we are already identifying some ways we can start reducing our emissions, e.g. improving communication with users of our buildings on how to reduce energy consumption, using automated timers to turn off equipment when not needed, etc. We have been investigating what other Parish and Town Councils in the area are doing to tackle climate change, and other issues such as reducing plastic use, and getting the information we need from environmental organisations to apply pressure at district, county and national government level. We will be monitoring their agendas closely. Councillors have attended local events at which how rural communities can respond to climate change has been discussed and reported back to the Parish Council, including the Climate and Environment Hustings for MP candidates. Although the question we submitted on County Council budgets and cleaner
school transport did not make the final cut, candidates had to answer questions on what measures they would take to reduce traffic on our roads and how to ensure new houses are built sustainably. Planned activities for 2020 We hope to introduce a new outdoor gym facility at Sullington Recreation Ground in the next few months and will be arranging for improvements to the condition of the Hormare field to try to make it more usable for the community. The matter of the public toilet has been suspended whilst we try to ascertain whether these will be available as part of the plans to reopen the garage on Old Mill Drive along with a new convenience store but if it transpires that the facilities are not available to the public then we will press on with the plans to install a toilet in the Library car park. Community events such as the Village Day and SADCASE Classic Car Show are being planned and we look forward to working with the organisers to ensure that these continue to be successful. We are also exploring the possibility of hosting some form of outdoor performance on the recreation ground and continue to invite local groups and organisations to apply for funding for events and activities for young people. Text by Anna Worthing-Lees, Parish Council Chairman. For further information on any of the Parish Council’s activities, please contact the Clerk on 01903 746547. Next council/committee meetings are in February.
Thakeham PC Plans for 2020 For those reading after Christmas, we hope everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed the New Year’s celebrations. 2020 looks set to be another busy year for Thakeham! Items high on our agenda are the Abingworth development, securing the opening of the new village shop, clarifying a timeline for the delivery of the allotments and more bridleway improvements. We also aim to progress our Community Transport proposals and provide more fantastic community events. Abingworth Phase 3 We understand that Horsham planners are likely to reconsult the Thakeham community during January on another version of the Abingworth Phase 3 planning application. We expect this application will be for a similar number of houses (around 75), but other details will have changed since September. Details of upcoming meetings will be on our website and Facebook page soon. Abingworth Shop As of late November, the Abingworth shop building still awaits further works to rectify construction defects. Both the Parish and District councillors have
Washington Council Quarterly Update by the Chairman, Cllr Patrick Heeley Readers living in Washington Parish will have received a copy of our newsletter with last month’s edition of Sussex Local. We hope that you find it informative, and we will endeavour to issue two full newsletters each year, supported by this quarterly update in the magazine. Local Policing Following our previous update on police resources, the parish council was pleased to receive confirmation that, effective from November 4th, we have a new Police Community Support Officer for Washington Parish, Joseph Marimla-Alvarez. This appointment is part of the wider plan by Sussex Police to provide up to 200 more officers by 2022 and is very welcome news. Winter Emergency Plan The Parish Council has revised and updated its winter emergency planning. For details, visit the website at www.washingtonparish.org.uk During the winter, grit bins on the public roads will be maintained by WSCC, whilst those on the unadopted roads and Lanes will be maintained by the parish council. Washington Roundabout Concerns Members attended a recent meeting with WSCC Highways and local residents, to discuss concerns about been pressing for the involved parties to resolve their differences in order to get the shop up and running. Road Gritting WSCC have informed the parish council that they are reducing the gritting and snow ploughing commitments within the parish and wider areas due to budget cuts. Although the gritting route within Thakeham is largely unchanged, if we do get substantial snowfall there may be problems with the main B roads (B2139/B2133) remaining uncleared. Unfortunately, the parish council doesn’t have the capacity to take over this responsibility, but we are exploring options to minimise the impact where we can. Updates on any major road problems in the event of severe weather will be posted on our website and Facebook page Summer Community Event Thakeham Parish Council and Thakeham Community Events have agreed on a funding arrangement to provide another large community event in the summer of 2020. There is also now funding available to other groups who wish to hold their own community events within the parish. If you are a potential event organiser and would like further support or funding, you can contact Thakeham Community Events by email at thakehamcommunityevents@gmail.com. Charlotte Dumbrill, Assistant Parish Clerk. Find us at thakehamparish.co.uk
lane discipline when entering the roundabout from the Storrington Road. There have been several accidents and near misses, where vehicles in the outside lane turn left across those continuing over the roundabout in the inside lane. New road markings, with white painted arrows, have been proposed for the roundabout entry lanes from Storrington. Councillor News We welcome Cllr Kathryn Woods, who took up her position in the Washington Ward at the December meeting. Your Parish Needs You At the time of writing, there are vacancies in both the Washington and Heath Common wards, and we’d very much like to hear from people who can volunteer some time to maintain a healthy number of councillors and make much needed progress on a variety of issues. Full details and an application form can be obtained from the clerk, Zoe Savill email: clerk@washingtonparish.org.uk Parish Meetings Parish Council meetings are open to the public and all are welcome. The next full council meeting will be on Monday 6th January at 7.30pm in Washington Village Hall (The Dore Room). In the meantime, we take this opportunity to wish everyone the compliments of the season with our very best wishes for 2020.
