The MINUTES of the Meeting of the COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE held at 7.30pm on Thursday 13th July 2023 in the Village Centre Conference Room.

Also present:                         Sarah Groom, Clerk, Viv Aloy, Assistant Clerk and 2 members of the public

CE23/24.001.Apologies for absence: Apologies were received from Cllr Mark Froud, Cllr Lindsay Thompson, and Cllr Bob Sampson, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee ACCEPTS the apologies for absence from Cllr Froud, Cllr Thompson, and Cllr Sampson.

CE23/24.002. To receive and record declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest.

CE23/24.003. To elect the Vice-Chair of the Community Engagement Committee for the following year: Members received one nomination for the Vice-Chair of the Community Engagement Committee for the ensuing year, proposed by Duncan Ranger and seconded by Claire Majsai, and it was:

RESOLVED:  That the Committee ELECTS Cllr Bob Sampson as the Vice-Chair of the Community Engagement Committee for the ensuing year.

CE23/24.004. To receive and accept the minutes of the Community Engagement Committee meeting held on 9^th March 2023: Members reviewed the minutes, and it was:

RESOLVED: that the Committee AGREED the minutes of 9^th March 2023 meeting.

CE23/24.005. 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 and it was:

RESOLVED: that the Committee AGREED to adjourn the meeting for questions from members of the public.

One member of the public asked for an explanation of the criteria for the grants process. Cllr Majsai gave a brief overview and referred them to the Parish Council website for the full criteria.  The financial limits for small grants were explained.

CE23/24.006. Budget Monitoring: The Committee reviewed the budget monitoring report for the Committee,

a) Community Engagement Budget 2023/24, b) The Nominal Ledger (Year to Date) and c) Detailed Income &

Expenditure at 30 June 2023 and it was:

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

                a)            The Community Engagement Budget 2023/24

b)            the Nominal Ledger, noting that the expenditure for the Coronation Bunting had been journalled across as was purchased in the previous financial year but for 6^th May Coronation this financial year.

c)            the Detailed Income & Expenditure at 30 June 2023 noting that the communications expenditure was high so far due to extra pages being taken in the Hurst Life magazine.

CE23/24.007.1 New Small Grant Applications to be considered 2023/24: The Committee noted the Grants Budget 2023/24 was £4,000 with £4,000 remaining and considered two grant applications that had been received.

The Committee considered each application. The issues regarding the speed indicator device in Sayers Common were discussed at length; in particular as to whether the indicator is actually an effective speeding deterrent and whether other traffic calming measures have been considered.  A vote was taken on this application with two Councillors for, one against and one abstaining, the motion was carried, and it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREED to:

1. award Victim Support £300 and
2. award Sayers Common Speed Watch Group £500

CE23/24.007.2 Community Events Grant Applications to be considered 2023/24 The Committee noted the

Community Events Budget was £3,500 with £3,500 remaining and considered the grant application received.

The Committee considered the application.  The community value of the event was recognised but was noted that representatives from Hurst Festival have failed to appear at the Annual Parish Meeting twice now, and at other local events, despite advising they would.  Also, despite being a major sponsor, the Committee were disappointed with the lack of recognition in advertising literature.  It was also noted that Hurst Festival are not charged by the Parish Council for use of the South Avenue Recreation Ground.  It was suggested that the grant amount could be reduced so the Community Events Grant Budget could be more evenly split between other community events, particularly now that Hurst Festival is a well-established enterprise.

RESOLVED: That the Committee AGREES to award £2000 towards the costs of the Super Sunday.

CE23/24.007.3 Health & Wellbeing Grants application to be considered 2023/24 The Committee noted the Health & Wellbeing Grants Budget was £1,000 with £1,000 remaining and considered the grant application received.

The Committee considered the application.  They would like the Assistant Clerk to confirm that residents of the Parish can access the services of the hospice and it was:

RESOLVED: That the committee AGREES to award £500 to St Catherines on the basis that the assistant clerk can confirm with them that residents of the parish can access their service.

CE23/24.007.4 Health & Wellbeing Projects Budget 2023/2024.  The Committee noted the Health & Wellbeing Projects Budget was £1,000 with £1,000 remaining.

The Committee noted that there were no current projects.  Cllr Majsai outlined previous projects including attempts to provide a local midwife to avoid people travelling to PRH for routine appointments, which is still a long-term goal.

CE23/24.008 Review of Action Plan: The Committee reviewed version six of the action plan and discussed version 1 for 2023/24 and it was:

RESOLVED: that the committee AGREED:

i)             to version 6 of the 2022/23 Action Plan which will be archived on the website

ii)            for the assistant clerk to update version 1 of the 2023/24 Action Plan as per the committee discussions and bring it to the next meeting as Version two.

CE23/24.009 Review of the Annual Parish Meeting: Cllrs Majsai and Ranger provided a brief verbal review of the Annual Parish Meeting, and it was noted that a more comprehensive review was done at the Full Council Meeting on 29^th June 2023.  A lot of positive feedback was received about the event from many of the groups that attended. Actions following the meeting are to purchase better microphones and to ensure the Hearing Loop is functional.  The professional printing of the Annual Report was discussed as it was time consuming for the office to edit and produce these.  The concern was getting the report together in time to be printed, particularly in respect of the financial report, and it was:

RESOLVED that the committee AGREED:

1. for the Assistant Clerk to establish the lead times for printing and put together a proposal for the professional printing of the Annual Report.
2. for the Events Working Group to discuss further the microphones and hearing loop

CE23/24.010 Defibrillator Training: The committee discussed the briefing note, and it was:

RESOLVED that the committee AGREED to proceed with the defibrillator training in the autumn, including funding the room hire from the Health & Wellbeing Projects Budget 2023/2024.

CE23/24.011 Mid Sussex Applauds Award: The members noted that there was nothing on the website about this year’s award and the Assistant Clerk had no response to the email sent to establish if the awards will take place this year, and it was:

RESOLVED that the committee AGREED to highlight this at the next MSDC meeting and that the Assistant Clerk will attempt to contact the number on the website to query if the awards will take place this year.

CE23/24.012 Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests:

CE23/24.012.1 High Street Update: There were no updates.  Members noted that it be relayed that any grant application for the Santa Sunday should be done in time for the next meeting in September. The deadline for applications was confirmed as 25^th August.

CE23/24.012.2 St Lawrence Fair Parish Council Stall: A verbal update was received from Cllr Claire Majsai.  The gazebo was set up and taken down by the Estates and Facilities staff this year which was very helpful.  Several councillors volunteered on the day.  Positive comments were made about the display, events box, and gazebo and that the event was very well organised this year.  The possibility of purchasing a banner was discussed, to enable easier identification as the Parish Council stand.  This will be further discussed at the next Events Working Group meeting.

CE23/24.012.3 Foodbank Update: The notes from the foodbank meeting of 18^th May 2023 were noted by the Committee.  It was clarified that only the collections trial of the foodbank would be ceasing at the end of the school year, deliveries were to continue.  The foodbank has also been providing £5 vouchers for the village greengrocer, feedback for which has been very positive.

CE23/24.012.4 Closure of Sussex Clubs for Young People: The Committee noted the closure and expressed concern about the lack of youth provision in the Parish. This has been raised with MSDC and WSCC but at this stage there are no updates.

CE23/24.012.5 Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common Community Forum: The Committee noted that the date for the next Community Forum is 2^nd November at Court Bushes in partnership with MSVA.  All contacts from our mailing list will be invited once a theme is set, depending on the speaker arranged.

CE23/24.012.6 External Communication: The Committee discussed the ongoing communication including via Facebook and Hurst Life.  Communication with Sayers Common was discussed including more Council meetings now being held in Sayers Common, the free bus laid on for Sayers Common residents for the Annual Parish Meeting and discussions with Hurst Life about the prominence of “Sayers Common” on the front page of their publication.  The Committee noted that two new notice boards are ready to go into Hurst Meadows but that the ground is currently too hard to put the boards up.  The owner of “What’s On Hurst” has contacted the Parish Council about taking over the running of this service.  It was noted that we already publicise various events and will also be working in conjunction with the library who already provide information about local events, and it was: 

RESOLVED that the Committee DOES NOT AGREE to take over the running of “What’s On Hurst”.

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 9:16pm