DRAFT MINUTES of the Meeting of the COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at 7.30pm on Thursday 12th January 2023 in the Village Centre Conference Room.
| Members present: | Claire Majsai (Chair) Michael Avery Tony Lank | Duncan Ranger |
Also present: Lorna Cooksey, Assistant Clerk to the Council
Members of public: 1
CE22/23.027. Apologies for absence: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Bedford.
RESOLVED: The committee ACCEPTS the apologises for absence from Cllr Bedford.
CE22/23.028. Declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest.
CE22/23.029. Minutes of the Previous Meeting of the Community Engagement Committee: Members received the minutes of the meeting held on 3rd November 2022, and it was:
RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED the minutes of 3rd November 2023 meeting.
CE22/23.030. Adjournment for Questions from the Public: The members considered whether to adjourn the meeting in accordance with Standing Orders to receive questions from members of the public in attendance, and it was:
RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED to carry on the meeting as the members of public in attendance was attending to discuss agenda item 5.
CE22/23.031. Hurst ReThink: The representative from Hurst ReThink explained that they are working on five action areas which include: Biodiversity & Nature, Community, Green Consumer, Green Energy and Homes and Green Transport. It was explained that the grant that the Community Engagement committee awarded in November 2022 will be used for marketing and admin for their community events. These events have been really well received by the residents and Hurst ReThink plan to do another Jumble Trial on the 2nd April 2023 and the Advent Window in 2023. It was also explained that the Village Market was launched in April 2022 and there are 14 local businesses who regularly attend. A partnership has been formed with the Co-Op and they kindly organise the recycling of the items in the bins which are located outside the Charity Shop. It was confirmed that No Mow May will return for a third year, and this will work in line with a Swift campaign that is planned in March to encourage the birds to return to the Village. Ten Swift boxes will go up in Hurstpierpoint and Hurst ReThink plan to go into St Lawrence school and try and educate the village on the life cycle of the birds. A discussion took place on wanting to highlight the need for drivers to slow down in the Village and the possibility of applying for a 20-mile zone in Cuckfield Rd etc. Cllr Lank explained that the Parish Council have been trying for four years to improve this problem and would continue to work on the traffic and speed through the village. Cllr Majsai encouraged that member of Hurst ReThink to read the minutes from the Highways & Cycleways working group and to check the Parish Council website for updates. It was commented that Hurst ReThink aim to do fun, family-oriented ideas to make Hurstpierpoint a nicer place to live in. Cllr Majsai thanked the representative for all of Hurst ReThink’s hard work in the community.
Member of public left the meeting at 7:55pm.
CE22/23.032. Parish Council Grant Applications:
New Grant Applications to be considered 2022/23:
Grant Budget Total 2022/23: £4,000
Grant Budget Remaining 2022/23: £2,807.50
| Organisation | Grant Request For | Amount Requested | Date Grant Approved |
| Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex | The awarding of a grant would enable us to continue to provide and deliver our pre-hospital care to those that need it the most – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. | £300 | Approved Full Grant Awarded £300 |
| West Sussex Mediation Services | To support the provision of free mediation services to residents within your parish. | £200 | Approved Full Grant Awarded £200 |
| The Monday Group | To support the work of the Monday Group maintaining and improving the rights of way network in our area for walkers. | £500 | Approved Full Grant Awarded £500 |
The committee discussed the grant applications in detail, and it was resolved to:
RESOLVED: (1) The committee AGREED to award a grant of £300 to Air Ambulance Charity Kent, Surrey and Sussex. (2) The committee AGREED to award a grant of £200 to West Sussex Mediation Services. (3) The committee AGREED to award a grant of £500 to the Monday Group.
CE22/23.032.1 Health & Wellbeing Budget
Health & Wellbeing Grants budget 2022/2023 £1,000
Health & Wellbeing Grants budget remaining 2022/2023: £0
Health & Wellbeing Projects budget 2022/2023 £1,000
Health & Wellbeing Projects budget remaining 2022/2023: £500
New Health & Wellbeing Grant Applications to be considered 2022/23:
The committee noted that there were no Health & Wellbeing grants received.
CE22/23.033. Community Initiatives and projects:
CE22/23.033.1 Budget Monitoring: The committee noted that the Christmas lights, event equipment and refreshment costs for the Community Forum will be paid from the Tourism & Attractiveness budget which will leave a remaining balance of £728.
CE22/23.033.2 Review of Action Plan: The Chair explained that a draft action plan will be brought to the March meeting which will be shorter and focused document and will not contain historic information but only the new projects that we plan to work on. The Chair asked for all members to think about and discuss with the community about potential new ideas or projects that the Community Engagement committee could work on in 2023/24 and to bring these ideas to the next meeting. It was agreed that a document should be produced which shows the on-going jobs that the committee does such as Christmas Lights, Annual Parish Meeting etc..
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to adopt V5 of the Community Engagement Action Plan
CE22/23.033.3 High Street Update: The Chair commented that the new owners of Gibson’s the Grocers had made a very positive and friendly impression to the village and had reached out to help work with the foodbank.
CE22/23.033.4 Santa’s Fun Sunday: An email had been received on 12.1.23 from Cllr Bedford updating the committee on the Santa Fun Sunday event. Cllr Bedford confirmed that although it had been a scaled down event it was well attended, and the traders were happy on the day. It was noted that unfortunately a child had been burnt on the side of a burger van and treated by the paramedic on site. Mid Sussex Environmental Health are taking this up directly with the burger van. Cllr Majsai asked for the Parish Office to discuss this incident and to think about future events to ensure that the Parish Council are not held liable. The committee discussed the funding assistance that was given to the 2022 event, and it was agreed that unless an application form is received in time and approved by the whole committee then a grant cannot be awarded in the future.
RESOLVED: (1) The committee AGREED that the organisers of the Santa Fun Sunday must submit an application form and follow the protocol for a grant to be awarded in 2023.
CE22/23.033.5 Hurst Life Protocol and Programme 2023/24: The committee reviewed the Hurst Life Protocol and the Hurst Life programme for 2023/24.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to adopt the Hurst life protocol and Hurst Life Programme 2023/24.
CE22/23.033.6 Food Bank Promotion: The Chair briefed the committee on the meetings that have been held between ourselves, the food partnership agency, MSVA and the Burgess Hill food bank, to try and support the return of a collection option in the village. A positive outcome from these meeting was confirmed just before Christmas that the foodbank will trial a return to the Melting Pot café for three months starting on the 12th January. A review meeting has been scheduled in February to see if the service is being used. The Chair encouraged the committee to spread the word about this service and to attend on a Thursday morning if available.
CE22/23.033.7 Fraud Prevention Talk: It was noted that The Fraud Prevention talk was held on 23rd November2022 and fourteen members of the public attended. It was commented that a lot of other groups such as the U3A are now also holding fraud prevention talks and this may have contributed to the lower numbers.
CE22/23.033.8 Event Equipment List: The Chair briefed the committee on the work that the Parish Office had been doing to replace the gazebo that unfortunately was broken at the St Lawrence Fair in 2022. It was explained that a branded gazebo was very expensive, and the preferred option would be to purchase a dark green gazebo with leg weights.
RESOLVED: (1) The committee AGREED to purchasing the listed items up to a value of £350 from the Tourism & Attractiveness budget code 5610 with the provision that items will be sourced locally where possible. (2) The committee AGREED to purchase a plain dark green gazebo with leg weights up to the value of £350 from the Tourism & Attractiveness budget code 5610.
CE22/23.034. Publicity: The Committee noted the following:
CE22/23.034.1 Communication: The committee noted that the Community Forum will be held on Thursday 26th January in partnership with Mid Sussex Voluntary Action at Court Bushes. All local groups have been invited and three speakers including the Parish Council will talk about funding opportunities. The Chair encouraged the councillors to attend the morning if available. The Chair informed the committee that she was involved in a Hurst Meadows presentation to 40 Hurstpierpoint Horticultural society members on 10th January alongside Cllr Brown and Dr Judd.
CE22/23.034.2 Website: The committee noted that the website is continually being updated by the Parish Council office and announcements are posted weekly to ensure residents have the latest news. Councillors are encouraged to feed back any changes or improvements that may be needed on the site.
CE22/23.034.3 Social Media: The Assistant Clerk explained the issues that had been found with linking an Instagram and Facebook account and advised both social media platforms can be used but we would have to duplicate the posts. It was agreed that the Assistant Clerk would add posts to Instagram for key events to see if we gain any followers.
CE22/23.035. Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests: No items were discussed.
Meeting Closed: 20:55pm