The MINUTES of the Meeting of the COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at 7.30pm on Thursday 11^th September 2025 at The Village Centre, Hurstpierpoint.

Also present:                         Viv Aloy, Assistant Clerk

Absent:                                   Cllrs Bob Sampson, Sarah Baldey and Lindsay Thompson

CE25/26.011. Apologies for Absence: Apologies were received for Cllr Sarah Baldey and Cllr Lindsay Thompson and it was:

                RESOLVED: That the Committee ACCEPTS the apologies for absence from Cllrs Baldey and Thompson.  

CE25/26.012. Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest received.

CE25/26.013. To receive and accept the minutes of the Community Engagement Committee meeting held on 12^th June 2025: Members reviewed the minutes, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED the minutes of 12^th June meeting

CE25/26.014. Adjournment for Questions from the Public:  There were no members of the public present.

CE25/26.015. Members reviewed Version 2 of the 2025/2026 action plan. One Cllr noted that while the Sustainability Action Plan forms part of the Committee’s terms of reference, there is no specific action relating to it.  The plan is currently developed and implemented by the Sustainability Working Group, and goes directly to Council, therefore the terms of reference may require review.  It was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED:

i)             to Version 2 of the 2025/26 Action Plan

ii)            for the Assistant Clerk to update Version 3 of the 2025/26 Action Plan as per the                 committee discussions and bring it to the next meeting as Version 2 of the 2025/26 Action                 Plan.

iii)          for the Assistant Clerk to highlight the Sustainability Strategy oversight to the Clerk,                 potentially for Council to amend the terms of reference as part of next planned review                 (May 2026).

CE25/26.016. Budget Monitoring: Members reviewed the budget monitoring report for the Committee, noting:

1. The Nominal Ledger (Year to Date) and
2. Detailed Income & Expenditure as of 31 August 2025, and it was:

RESOLVED That the Committee NOTED the budget monitoring report for the Committee including:

a)            the Nominal Ledger (year to date)

b)            the Detailed Income & Expenditure as of 31August 2025

CE25/26.017.1 New Small Grant Applications to be considered 2025/26: Members noted the Grants Budget 2025/26 was £4,500 with £3,000 remaining.

There were 2 Small Grant Application(s) received:

The Committee discussed each application in detail.  It was:

                RESOLVED that Committee AGREED to

                                a) AWARD £500 to KSS Air Ambulance towards the operating costs of HEMS – helicopters, rapid-                                                response vehicles, medical equipment, fuel & highly-trained crews

                                b) AWARD £500 to Citizens’ Advice West Sussex to support local residents in accessing support and                                    advice         

CE25/26.017.2 Community Events Grant Applications to be considered 2025/26 Members noted the Community Events Budget for 2025/26 was £4,500 with £0 remaining.

There were no Community Events Grants Applications received.

CE25/26.017.3 Health & Wellbeing Grants application to be considered 2025/26 Members noted the Health & Wellbeing Grants Budget for 2025/26 was £1,000 with £1,000 remaining.

There was 1 Health & Wellbeing Grant Application(s) received.

The Committee discussed the application in detail

                RESOLVED that Committee AGREED to

                                 AWARD £500 to 4Sight Vision Support Towards supporting residents living with sight loss

CE25/26.017.4 Sustainable Communities Grants applications to be considered 2025/26. Members noted the Sustainable Communities Grants budget for 2025/26 was £1,500 with £1,500 remaining.

There was 1 Sustainable Communities Grant application(s) received:

The Committee discussed the application in detail, noting the sustainable approach to treating the plot.

                RESOLVED that Committee AGREED to

                    AWARD £500 to Hurstpierpoint Allotment Association towards the effective, sustainable                           management of marestail issue on proposed community plot

CE25/26.017.5 Health & Wellbeing Projects 2025/2026.  Members noted the Health & Wellbeing Projects Budget was £1,000 with £748 remaining.

There were no Health & Wellbeing Projects discussed.

CE25/26.018. Review of the Media and Communications Policy: The Committee discussed the proposed Media and Communications Policy in detail, agreeing minor amendments to Appendix A.It was:

                RESOLVED: for the Assistant Clerk to incorporate the agreed amendments to Appendix A, and that                 Committee then recommends the revised policy for adoption by Council at a future meeting.

CE25/26.019 Review of St Lawrence Fair: Members received the feedback from the St Lawrence Fair Stall 2025, noting the high numbers of councillors volunteering this year and the success of using Greenscene Landscapes for setting up and packing away. It was:

                RESOLVED: for the Assistant Clerk to collate a list and costings for all the items required to be presented                  at the November Community Engagement Committee.

CE25/26.020 Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests:

CE25/26.020.1 High Street Update: Cllr Bedford confirmed that the Santa Sunday was further ahead with planning than it has ever been at this time of the year. 

CE25/26.020.2 Parish Council Events: The Committee NOTED the date for the Community Forum of Tuesday 4^th November, 12:30 – 14:30 at Court Bushes, and that the Orchard Wassail will now be Saturday 10^th January 2026 (not 17^th as shown on the agenda). The Events Working Group will be meeting over the coming weeks to discuss both events, as well as the future of the Annual Parish Meeting.

CE25/26.020.3 Youth Project Update: Cllr Majsai gave a verbal update of the meeting held on 11^th September with Lydia Mead, the Youth Worker from Holy Trinity Church.  Currently the youth worker has no capacity to take on additional work until at least January.  Another possibility is to go via a group called Audio Active, who ran some ad-hoc sessions over the summer. The Assistant Clerk is exploring the costs and logistics of this option.

CE25/26.020.4 External Communication: Cllr Majsai gave a verbal update on communication, including recent improvements to the “report an issue” page of the Parish Council Website.  This area is to continue being developed and updated.  Social media to be used to highlight grants awarded by the Committee, and provide information about what these groups and organisations do, and how to access their services or activities.

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 20.45