Dear Members of the Council,
Community Engagement Members are summoned to attend the MEETING of the Community Engagement committee to be held on Thursday 14th January 2021 at 7.30pm using Microsoft Teams.
Members of the public have a right to and are invited to attend the virtual meeting using Microsoft Teams. If you wish to attend, please email the office@hurstpierpoint-pc.gov.uk before 4pm on 13th January 2021 to be sent an electronic invitation.
Sarah Groom, Clerk to the Council
AGENDA
- Apologies for Absence: To receive and accept apologies for absence.
- Declarations of Interest: To receive and record any declarations of interest.
- Minutes of the Previous Meeting of the Community Engagement Committee: To receive and adopt the minutes of the 8th October 2020 Council meeting.
- Adjournment for Questions from the Public: To consider adjourning the meeting, to receive questions from members of the public in accordance with Standing Orders.
- Hurstpierpoint Food Bank: Wendy Baldwin and Catherine Tong volunteers from the Hurstpierpoint Food bank will be discussing the future of the food bank in Hurstpierpoint.
- Police Reports: The Committee is asked to note the answers received from Sgt Jon Crabtree which were raised at the Community Engagement meeting held on the 8th October 2020. Sgt Jon Crabtree was invited to attend this meeting but was not available. Future Community Engagement dates have been sent to him.
Ref: 6. Sgt Jon Crabtree answers to Councillors Questions.
7. Parish Council Grant Applications:
Grants gifted in 2020/21
| Organisation | Grant Request for | Grant Approved | Date |
| Knit ‘n’ Natter | To help the group continue | £220 | Granted in 19/20 budget but paid in 20/21 budget. |
| Hurst Covid-19 Neighbours Support Group | Thank you, posters, thank you cards, and street banners produced to thank everyone involved in the Neighbours support group. | £165.51 | November 2020 |
Grant applications that have been received and deferred for 2020/21:
Grant Budget 2020/21: £4,000
Grant Budget Remaining 2020/21: £3,798.50
(Total includes a refund of £18.50 from another grant that the cheque was not cashed, Hurst Covid-19 grant paid from budget line 3020)
| Organisation | Grant Request For | Amount Requested | Grant Approved |
| Know Dementia | To cover the costs of part support for Memory Moments Café for the year April 2020- March 2021 | £500 | |
| West Sussex Mediation Services | To support the provision of free mediation services to the residents in your parish who are experiencing conflicts in their lives. | £150 | |
| Victim Support | Support for victims and volunteers’ expenses. | £50-£500 | |
| Older Peoples Tea Parties | Outings to garden centres, Christmas party and some tea expenses | £300 | |
| St Peter & St James Hospice | Patient transport services delivered by our 40 volunteer drivers. A free door to door service for patients attending wellbeing services. | £400 | |
| Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey and Sussex | To help reach the £14 million required to continue providing our vital pre-hospital care to patients across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. | £250 | |
| Albourne, Sayers Common & Twineham Parochial Church | To assist with the maintenance of fabric and the grounds of Christchurch, Sayers Common; and to assist with disability access. | £700 | |
| The Monday Group | To support the work of the Monday Group to maintain and improve rights of way for footpath users. | £500 | |
| Hurstpierpoint Cricket Club | To aid the overall refurb & redecoration of the communal space & social area within the pavilion including new flooring. | £500 |
7.1 Health & Wellbeing Budget: The Health & Wellbeing grant and project budgets were introduced in this financial year. However due to the pandemic we have not been able to utilise the funds. A request was published in the latest Hurst article encouraging residents/groups/charities to contact the Parish Council if they had any suggestions on how this money could be used. At present we have not had anyone come forward. The committee is asked to discuss whether the budget should be spent on local organisations who deal with issues such as domestic violence, mental health and refuge which have been identified as key issues through the pandemic. The total budget left for Health and Wellbeing grants and projects is £1,628.
8. Community Initiatives and projects
8.1 Budget Monitoring: To receive the budget monitoring report for the Committee.
Ref: 8.1 CE Nominal Ledger Dec 20
Ref: 8.1 Detailed Income & Expenditure – CE Dec 20
8.2 Review of Action Plan: To note the content of Action Plan version 12 and to discuss the Community Engagement action points.
Ref: 8.2 20201126 Parish Action Plan Revision 12
8.3 Hurst Festival Update: Cllr Hand agreed in principle with the Chair of Hurst Festival that the Parish Council would sponsor the ‘Super Sunday’ event in 2021. The festival committee agreed that they would be back in touch when they have a budget for this event to show the Parish Council. Cllr Hand will bring a verbal update to this meeting with more information.
8.4 Heritage Trail: The Assistant Clerk wrote to the owner of 71 High Street regarding her permission to allow the Heritage Map to be affixed to the boundary wall. The owner has given her permission subject to the drafting of a license which will also include the Parish Notice board that is already attached to the wall of her property next to the Village Garden. The owner has requested payment of a nominal rent (which is already in place for the noticeboard) but has asked for the nominal rent to be increased for both boards. The Clerk is looking into the history of the original license before a new one is written.
The Parish Council need to apply for advertisement consent from Mid Sussex District Council to be able to display the Heritage Map on the wall. The application fee required is £462 and covers a five-year period.
RECOMMENDATION: The committee AGREE to applying for the advertisement consent through Mid Sussex District Council. The committee AGREE the fee will be budgeted from the Tourism & Attractiveness code.
8.5 Dog Poo Fairy Campaign: Several Councillors collected the smaller posters and displayed them in the village where dog poo had been left. The Maintenance Officer will be putting up the large A3 posters in various places around the village to highlight the problem further. The Parish Office has more of the small posters if any Councillors would like to collect and display them.
8.6 Communication Strategy: The Chair of Community Engagement is requesting in the February Hurst Life article for residents to contact the Parish Office with ideas of improving communication between both parties. The Committee is asked to note that a meeting will then be organised for February/March between the Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Chair of Council and the Chair of the Community Engagement committee. A report will be brought to the next meeting.
8.7 Christmas Lights and Village Garden for 2021/22: The Committee is asked to discuss the Christmas lights provided each year for the Parish. The Committee is asked to consider whether any more lights need to be purchased including specific locations so the Parish Office can investigate costs and agreements from building owners (if required). The Parish Council currently own the flagpole double tree Christmas light display for the Village Garden. The High Street lights including a string of lights that was purchased in 2020 to replace the lights that were put up by the traders in 2019. Merlin Lighting store, install and remove the lights each year on behalf of the Parish Council.
The Committee is also asked to discuss the planting in the Parish and the Village Garden for 2021/22. The Committee is asked to consider whether additional planting is needed including specific locations so the Parish Office can investigate costs.
Ref: 8.7 Tourism & Attractiveness budget 2021/22
8.8 Health & Wellbeing Network: The Chair of Community Engagement attended an online meeting for the Health and Wellbeing Network on 19th November. The Chair will bring a verbal brief to the meeting.
8.9 Annual Parish Meeting: The Annual Parish Meeting will be held in May 2021. The COVID restrictions will determine whether this can be held at one of our building or virtually. A working group was established for this event last year and the committee is asked to agree to allow the same group to meet and discuss plans for the meeting. The working group will report back to the committee with ideas and suggestions.
RECOMMENDATION: The committee AGREE to re-appoint the working group to establish plans for the next Annual Parish Meeting in May 2021.
9. Publicity: The Committee is asked to note the following:
9.1 The Parish Councils response to Lockdown 3: The Committee is requested to discuss with neighbours, friends and residents about how we can best support them as a Parish Council with regards to COVID. The Parish Council has previously sent out leaflets, updated the website and Facebook page with services and phone numbers. The Committee is asked to bring ideas for discussion on how to best support the parish.
9.2 Newsletters: The newsletters remain on hold until the new financial year. The Hurst Life has been used as our key communication tool with the Parish. In the December and January issue’s an extra page was purchased to display help numbers and information that could assist residents. The newsletter and Hurst Life programme has been created by the Assistant Clerk ready for the new financial year.
9.3: Website: The website is being assessed weekly to ensure the information is up to date and accurate. The Assistant Clerks are regularly adding ‘announcements’ and sharing on our Face Book page. Recently work has taken place on adding the High Street Improvement information, changing the home page to show announcements at the top and updating the format of the transparency page. The Assistant Clerk has created a six month and yearly check to ensure information that should be changed and updated is actioned by the Parish Office.
9.4: Social Media: The Face Book page is regularly being updated by the Assistant Clerks including announcements such as Mid Sussex Bin collection over Christmas, volunteering for the vaccine for Covid-19, International Men’s Day etc… The Committee is asked to discuss the information gathered by the Assistant Clerk on how to increase followers to our page.
Ref: 9.4 Facebook – How can we improve followers?
10. Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests: To note any items.
