MINUTES of the Meeting of the COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at 7.30pm on Thursday 11 August 2022 in the Village Centre Conference Room.

Also present:                         Sarah Groom, Clerk to the Council and Cllr Rodney Jackson.

CE22/23.009. Apologies for absence: There were apologiesfor absence from Cllr Helen Bedford, and it was:

RESOLVED:  That the Committee ACCEPTS apologies for absence from Cllr Helen Bedford.

CE22/23.010. Declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest.

CE22/23.011. Minutes of the Previous Meeting of the Community Engagement Committee: Members received the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2022, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED the minutes of 16 June 2022 meeting.

CE22/23.012. Adjournment for Questions from the Public: There being no members of the public present the Committee was not required to adjourn in accordance with standing orders.

CE22/23.013. Parish Council Grant Applications:There were no current applications to be considered.  Grants are still being advertised on Facebook and the Website and a new poster will be displayed on the Noticeboards.

CE22/23.014. Health & Wellbeing Budget: There were no current applications to be considered.

CE22/23.015. Community Initiatives and projects:

CE22/23.015.1. Budget Monitoring: The Committee considered the nominal ledger and income and expenditure for the Committee at 31 July 2022.  Only 7.5% of the grant code had been spent. The payment of the Super Sunday Festival Grant was noted.  The correction to the Hurst Life budget code had been made, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee NOTED the nominal ledger and income and expenditure for the Committee at 31 July 2022.

CE22/23.015.2. Community Engagement Action Plan: The Committee considered the Community Engagement Action Plan.  The following amendments and updates were suggested:

1. Item 1: The Annual Parish Meeting in May 2022 has been a great success.
2. Item 3: The plan for promoting youth facilities at Court Bushes is dependent on MSDC agreeing a master plan layout for the site.
3. Item 3: The Head Teacher attended the Annual Parish Meeting (APM).
4. Item 3: One of the Hurst Meadows volunteers is a student of Sussex University and is completing her thesis on the impact of dog waste on the countryside;
5. Item 3:  Work experience is now offered by the Parish Council.
6. Item 4: The Chair attended an Older People’s Forum run by MSVA and made good links with the Food Partnership and Community Transport.
7. Item 4:  Are our buildings Dementia Friendly and could greater links be built with the Pharmacy in future.
8. Item 6: The Chair is working on a “Help” page for the website that will signpost people to local services.
9. Item 6: The Chair is attending the local GP Patient Liaison Group.
10. Item 7: The Local PCSO was unable to attend the APM in May 2022 so a new fraud awareness session is being organised.  Cllr Lank had raised the absence at a Police and Crime Commissioner meeting.
11. Item 8: The bags and maps were produced and issued at the APM and St Lawrence Fair.
12. Item 11: The “SUSBUS” bus service portal welcomed feedback and there was some useful content on there following its promotion by the Parish Council.  The Chair would like explore more about the Community Transport services.
13. Item 14: A Topographical Survey has been undertaken at Reeds Lane Recreation Ground to help design a drainage management plan.  After that, consideration of further play equipment will be revisited.

The Committee agreed to add a “review date” to the front page and move any completed items to the bottom section.  Any items that appeared out of date, would be updated accordingly, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED to adopt version three of the Community Engagement Action Plan, as amended.

CE22/23.015.3. High Street Update: The Committee received a verbal update from Cllr Duncan Ranger.  The Committee was concerned that the Traders may run out of time to apply for a grant for a Christmas event despite a polite reminder, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee NOTED the High Street update report.

CE22/23.015.4 Engagement with residents: The Committee considered a briefing note on how the Parish Council can help facilitate further the good networking achieved at the Annual Parish Meeting, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED that the Events Working Group would partner with Mid Sussex Voluntary Action to host a networking event in 2022/2023.

CE22/23.015.5. Happy to Chat Benches: The Committee noted the new signage for the benches in four locations in the parish and a new page on the website to promote them, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee NOTED the update on the Happy to Chat benches.

CE22/23.015.6. Hurstpierpoint Village Centre Action Plan: The Committee considered the study commissioned by MSDC earlier in the year and the resulting action plan.  The study had been funded by the EU Regional Economic Development Fund.  The Committee had concerns over the methodology and value of the results of the study and discussed whether there were any items that the Committee wished to take forward.  Cllr Jackson agreed to ask whether MSDC were taking forward any actions under their areas of responsibility and the Committee agreed to review each action and add an item to the next agenda to agree which, if any would be adopted, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED to review each action and agree which, if any would be adopted at the next Committee meeting.

CE22/23.016. Publicity: The Committee noted the following:

CE22/23.016.1. Communication: The Committee noted the Parish Council stand at the St Lawrence Fair was well received and the free game and giveaway encouraged resident to come and speak to the councillors.The Chair has been regularly attending Health & wellbeing networking events and encouraging partnerships with the Parish Council, in the hope of building on relationships, to be able to better support our residents

CE22/23.016.2. Website: The Committee noted updates have been made to the Hurst Meadows, financial information and transparency pages to ensure all documents and text are up to date. The Chair will be working with the Assistant Clerk to create a ‘where to get help’ page which will contain useful information for support and advice

CE22/23.016.3. Social Media: The Committee noted the Facebook page continues to grow and is regularly used by the Parish Office. The page currently has 779 followers.  Cllr Sampson believes the average age of Facebook users is now 55.  The Chair will add an item to the next Communications meeting as to whether the Parish Council is maximising the benefits of social media.

CE22/23.017. Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests:

CE22/23.017.1. Hurst Festival Super Sunday: The Chair informed the Committee that the Parish Council pop-up banners would be used on the Village Garden at the Super Sunday event on 18 September 2022, and called for volunteers to attend.

There being no other business, the Chair closed the meeting at 8.53pm.