MINUTES of the meeting of the Community Affairs Committee on Thursday 20 July 2017 at 8:00 pm in the Village Centre, Hurstpierpoint.
Members Present: Bob Sampson (Committee Chairman)
Allan Brown
Rosemary Burns
David Evans
Amanda Geel
Tony Lank
Steve Whitehead
Also Present: Malcolm Llewellyn, Parish Councillor
Roberta Taylor, Assistant Clerk
CA17/022. Apologies for absence and declarations of interest: No apologies for absence were received prior to the meeting. Declarations of interest were given at the meeting: Cllr Sampson and Cllr Whitehead, personal interest, regarding CA17/029.1 about the Allotments Rent Review. Cllr Whitehead, personal interest, regarding item CA17/027 about the grant request for Hurst Festival.
CA17/023. Minutes of the Community Affairs Committee Meetings held on 25 May 2017: The Committee received and accepted the minutes which were then signed by the Chairman.
CA17/024. Matters arising from Community Affairs Meetings held on 25 May 2017: to consider matters arising from the Minutes, which are not covered elsewhere on this agenda, for information only.
CA16/067. Short Presentation by Jenny Letton, Waste Prevention Advisor. A visit to the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) was suggested for Councillors and other interested people. The MRF is very popular, particularly with school groups; therefore it has been difficult to find a date that is available for both the MRF staff and Councillors. An autumn date has been suggested but is not suitable and further dates will be explored.
CA17/025. Adjournment for questions from the public: There were no members of the public present and therefore the Committee was not required to adjourn the meeting in accordance with Clause 1(d) of Standing Orders.
CA17/026. Police issues and information: The Committee did not receive the crime figures for the Parish.
CA17/027. Parish Council Small Grant Applications: Small Grants applications are considered at every Community Affairs Committee meeting. £4000 is available for the current year 2017/18. (Ref: List of Community Grants Awarded by Parish Council in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017: January, March, May and requests for July)
Budget for Grants 2017/18: £4000. £700 granted in May 2017. £3300 remaining for 2017/18.
| Organisation | Amount Requested/ Granted | Grant Request for: |
| Hurst Festival | £200 / £200 | A contribution towards the BBC Any Questions evening that took place on 5 May 2017. [Total cost was £1459.33 (to cover hire of Village Centre Hall, food and drink for BBC production team and broadcast speakers, hire of stage for Strawberry Marquee, and admin support for event). Other incoming funds (£839) will come from BBC (£350), Community Charity (£300) and Village Centre for hire of hall (£189). If the Parish Council contributes £200, the remainder of £420.33 will be paid by Hurst Festival.] |
Amount granted: £200. Amount remaining in 2017/18 budget: £3100.
The Committee discussed this grant request, particularly the fact that Hurst Festival stated that the Parish Council had agreed to contribute £200 towards this event, which took place in May 2017. There is no record of this agreement being made in Parish Council minutes. However the Committee agreed that the BBC Any Questions event was very well received by the community; therefore, it agreed to support Hurst Festival by granting their request.
RESOLVED: that the Committee agreed to grant the following amount: Hurst Festival, £200.
CA17/028. Christmas Lights 2017. The Councillors reviewed the attached Briefing Note and discussed decisions needed regarding the size of the Christmas Tree for the Village Garden and the High Street Christmas lighting. The Committee wished to remain with the current size of tree (25 foot), with white lighting. As the current High Street Christmas lights are about 8 years old, they felt that new lighting was needed. A discussion about purchasing the lights (horizontal banner and vertical) or renting the lights annually took place; purchasing the
lights was felt to make better financial sense, with the horizontal banner design/colour being stars as shown in the photo.
It was mentioned that there is a gap between the High Street banner lights and that it could be investigated for Christmas 2018 (costs, permission from WSCC), whether to fill that gap with a horizontal banner light, possibly hung on posts. If posts were chosen, they might be used for other banners/event advertising.
(Briefing Note, Christmas Lights 2017, 07.07.17)
RESOLVED: that the Committee agreed to acquire the 25 foot real Christmas Tree for the Village Garden in 2017, and purchase new High Street Christmas lights, both horizontal (3) and vertical (2). The design chosen was stars, with colours as shown in the photo.
CA17/029. Albourne Road Allotments.
CA17/029.1 Rent/water fees review for 2018/19. The current rent/water fees (2016/17) are £4.00 per rod. The fees will remain at £4.00/rod for 2017/18 as agreed by Community Affairs Committee on 21 July 2016. The Committee was asked to decide whether the fees should be increased for 2018/19, and if so, to what amount.
The Committee reviewed the Allotments Rental Comparison Sheet and noted that our fees are second lowest in the list of five neighbouring Parish/Town Councils. Discussion took place and the Committee agreed to increase the rent for
2018/19 to £4.20, which is an increase of 5%. (Allotments Rental Comparison Sheet, 14.07.17)
RECOMMENDATION to Council: that the Council agrees to increase the Albourne Road Allotment fees for rent/water for 2018/19 to £4.20, an increase of 5%.
CA17/029.2 Update. As of 14 July, there were 3 vacant plots on the allotments, of which 2 have identified renters from the waiting list. The waiting list had about 14 people listed. Spraying of the Horse Tail weed (by Greenscenes Landscaping) on plot 42A had taken place 2 times so far this season; a total of 3 sprays will take place.
CA17/030. Hurstpierpoint Food Bank. The Committee received the following update: The Hurstpierpoint Food Bank has closed; they were told to vacate the building before the 22nd of June 2017, the date of the imminent closure of the Ex-Serviceman’s Social Club building by MSDC.
CA17/031. Parish Councillor Surgeries. The Committee received the following update: The July Surgery took place in Sayers Common at the Church Hall; two people came to the surgery; one line of discussion was about the request for simple wooden seats in several locations in Sayers Common.
CA17/032. Older Persons’ Tea Parties 2017. The Committee received the following update: A tea party took place on 14 July 2017. There were 17 people who attended and enjoyed lovely food and poetry reading by the Hurstpierpoint Poetry Group. The organising group greatly appreciates the efforts of the tea party hosts in making this event such a success. Two further venues have been arranged for August and September’s tea parties.
CA17/033. Information Items and Correspondence Received: to note the receipt of the items below (all items available to be seen in the Parish Council Office).
CA17/033.1 Public consultation on Dog Control Orders. MSDC is running a six week public consultation from 3 July to find out what local people think about dog control measures in Mid Sussex. The consultation is available to view at MSDC Reception or at www.midsussex.gov.uk/dogcontrolconsultation .
CA17/033.2 Heat for Health project finished. The Heat for Health project has come to an end. This project was funded by the British Gas Energy Trust, working together with MSDC and Mid Sussex Older Persons Council (MSOPC). The project team had over 70 direct enquiries from households and was able to support 22 clients with funding, and many more with advice and information on how to stay warm and save money. Money was spent on replacing old and malfunctioning gas boilers, warm air systems and electric storage heaters, to insulate lofts and floors and for the insulation of park homes.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9:01 pm.
_______________________________ Chairman