DRAFT Minutes of the meeting of the COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Committee on Thursday 7th October 2021 held at 7:30pm in the Court Bushes Function Room, Willow Way, Hurstpierpoint.
Members Present: Claire Majsai (Chair) Helen Bedford
Michael Avery Duncan Ranger
Tony Lank
Malcolm Llewellyn
Also Present: Lorna Cooksey (Assistant Clerk)
CE21/22.018. Apologies for Absence: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Sampson and Cllr Jee.
RESOLVED: The committee ACCEPTS the apologises for absence from Cllr Sampson and Cllr Jee.
CE21/22.019. Declarations of Interest: No declarations of interests were declared.
CE21/22.020. Minutes of the Previous Meeting of the Community Engagement Committee: Members received the minutes of the meeting held on 5th August 2021. The committee agreed that minute CE21/22.015.4 will be amended by removing the word “resolved” under the highlighted section and adding the additional sentence after the word KIWA (number 1): “subject to the VAT issue being clarified.”
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED the minutes of 5th August 2021 meeting, as amended.
CE21/22.021. 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.
CE21/22.022. Parish Council Grant Applications:
Grant Budget 2021/22: £4,000
Grants awarded in 2021/22: £1,300
Grant Budget remaining in 2021/22: £2,700
| Organisation | Grant Request For | Grant Approved | Date Grant Approved |
| Victim Support | Supporting victims and volunteers. | £300 | April 2021 |
| Sussex Clubs for Young People | For the continued running of the youth provision in Hurstpierpoint at Court Bushes | £500 | August 2021 |
| Know Dementia | To cover the costs of part support for the Memory Moments café for the year April 2021- March 2022 | £500 | August 2021 |
New Grant Applications to be considered 2021/22:
| Organisation | Grant Request For | Amount Requested | Grant Approved |
| Age UK | A grant of £200 would enable us to support around 13 local older people. A grant of £500 would enable us to support around 30 local older people. | £200-£500 | AGREED £500 |
The committee discussed the Age Uk grant application and the support the charity is giving to the parish. The committee fully supported the work being carried out and agreed to award a grant of £500.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to award the full grant of £500 to Age Uk.
CE21/22.022.1 Health & Wellbeing Budget
Health & Wellbeing Grants budget 2021/2022 £1,000
Health & Wellbeing Projects budget 2021/2022 £1,000
Health & Wellbeing grants remaining in 2021/22 = £0,000
Health & Wellbeing projects budget remaining 2021/2022 = £1,000
| Organisation | Grant Request For | Grant Approved | Date Grant Approved |
| YMCA (Downland School) | Counselling Sessions at Downlands School | £1,000 | April 2021 |
The committee noted that the Parish Office had still not received the invoice from the YMCA for the counselling sessions at Downlands School and the Assistant Clerk was asked to follow this up.
CE21/22.023. Community Initiatives and projects
CE21/22.023.1 Budget Monitoring: The committee received the budget monitoring report. It was confirmed by the Chair that although the Tourism and Attractiveness and Health and Wellbeing budget line were not showing any expenditure that these budgets had been allocated to the Christmas light project in Sayers Common and the grant to YMCA.
CE21/22.023.2 Budget Setting for 2022/23: The committee discussed in length about the draft 2022/23 budget for Community Engagement. Several councillors highlighted the need for additional budget for communication to allow for more work on Facebook campaigns and potential newsletters. It was agreed that the amount in the draft budget could incorporate these campaigns. The youth offer was discussed including the EMR for £5,000. The committee agreed that there currently was not a clear resolution for funding for the youth offer and work needed to take place on how grants are accessed and whether support will be given from Mid Sussex District Council and West Sussex County Council.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to present the Draft Community Engagement budget to the Finance & Governance Committee in November with an additional note highlighting that there is not yet a clear way forward for the youth offer and a resolution needs to be decided by Full Council.
CE21/22.023.3 Review of Action Plan: The committee noted that the action plan will be discussed at the communication meeting on the 12th October. The Chair confirmed that the Heritage Trail was now a completed item for the Community Engagement committee, but most other items are on-going. The Chair confirmed that the Action Plan is currently on version 18.
CE21/22.023.4 Heritage Trail: The Chair thanked Hurstpierpoint Society for their work on the Heritage Trail and informed the committee that the Parish Council and Parish Office had been personally thanked at the Hurstpierpoint Society AGM. It was highlighted that there are talks about different trails for the future which is encouraging.
CE21/22.023.5.1 Christmas Lights in Sayers Common: The committee was briefed by the Chair on the work that has been carried out on the Christmas Light project in Sayers Common. The Assistant Clerk confirmed that the Parish Office were waiting on SSE and contact would be made on the 12th October if no further communication had been received. A councillor highlighted that there were two different prices in the agenda for purchasing the Christmas motif and the Assistant Clerk confirmed that this was a typo and the correct amount to purchase the motifs was £365 + VAT.
CE21/22.023.5.2 Christmas Light Infrastructure: It was noted that the Estates and Facilities committee had recommended on the 9th September 2021 to fund the electrical box repairs on the high street through the tourism and attractiveness budget from the Community Engagement committee.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to award Merlin Lighting the improvement works of the two electrical boxes at a cost of £245 plus VAT from the tourism and attractiveness budget line 5610.
CE21/22.023.6 Youth Offer: The committee noted that the Chair was working on producing a youth offer action plan and a meeting would be scheduled for November for all the interested parties. The committee agreed it was essential to understand what young people wanted and whether this was a basket of offering such as the youth club, pump track etc… The Chair confirmed that the action plan would include the need for a survey to be carried out and it was suggested that maybe Downlands School could help with this as well as an online survey.
CE21/22.023.7 High Street Update: The welcome back grant from Mid Sussex was discussed in length by the committee and whether as a Parish Council they would like to express interest in all three funding streams. The committee agreed that the proposed Santa Sunday event on the 5th December 2021 would be the right fit for the event funding of £4,000. It was confirmed that the traders had already secured £3,000 and needed a further £3,000. It was raised by two councillors that the idea of reusable bags had been a well-received idea from the traders. It was asked whether a discussion could take place with Mid Sussex about using some of the funding in the events/vinyl grant to produce these bags.The Chair confirmed that the application process would need to be managed by the Parish Council but that the organisation of Santa Sunday needed to be taken on by the traders. Cllr Ranger and Cllr Bedford agreed that they would be happy to work on the application.
The committee discussed whether free parking could be implemented through November and December on a Saturday and Sunday to help the traders. It was agreed that the three-hour parking limit meant increased footfall in the High Street and stopped the car park being full. It was agreed that the Parish Council needed to advertise the parking and where to purchase parking discs through the website and Facebook page.
The Chair presented a draft action plan to the committee ‘Keep Hurst Tidy’ which is a plan to help the recycling issues in the parish. The committee agreed that the plan was good but felt that it was not the appropriate time to action, and it was agreed to launch the plan in 2022.
RESOLVED: (1) The committee AGREED for the Clerk to contact Mid Sussex to express an interest in all three funding streams for the Welcome Back Grant. (2) The committee AGREED that the event funding would be suitable for the Santa Sunday event and asked for the Clerk to detail this in the email to Mid Sussex. (3) The committee AGREED to publicise the 3 hour free parking in Hurstpierpoint and where parking discs can be purchased from on the parish councils website and Facebook page. (4) The committee AGREED to launch the Keep Hurst Tidy action plan in 2022.
CE21/22.023. 8 Safe Place Project: The Chair briefed the committee on the ‘Safe Place’ project and the current shops/businesses who have agreed to be involved. The committee all agreed that it would be good to have Lloyd’s pharmacy involved and the Assistant Clerk was asked to make contact with the manager.
CE21/22.023.9 Update on additional Community Engagement Activities: The Chair raised that a councillor had informed her that they felt the committee wasn’t engaged with groups in the parish like in past years. The Chair listed groups that the committee were working closely with and other groups where links had been made. A councillor questioned what groups were specifically being spoken about and raised that without this information the comment could not be discussed properly or investigated.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED for the Chair to approach the Councillor to ask for specific details and concerns so the committee could investigate further.
CE21/22.023.10 Wash up conversation after Covid: The committee agreed that the work carried out by the Hurst-Covid 19 Neighbours support group was fantastic over a very difficult period and that the model that was set up worked very well. The committee agreed that there needs to be a sub section in the emergency plan about how this group was organised including how the group communicated between themselves and then communicated to the residents and, if there were any gaps, how the Parish Council could help to stitch them together for future emergencies.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED for the Chair to contact the Hurst – Covid 19 group to report back our plans.
CE21/22.023.11 Annual Parish Meeting: The committee discussed ideas for the Annual Parish Meeting including the date and location. The committee agreed that a community event in person was the priority but if a digital aspect could be added then this would be discussed in the events working group. The Chair raised the idea of inviting users of Court Bushes, Village Centre and other local groups so they can demonstrate what they are doing with in the parish on the evening, this was a well-received idea.
RESOLVED: The committee AGREED to appoint the events working group to organise the Annual Parish Meeting on the 17th May 2022 at Court Bushes Community Hub.
CE21/22.024. Publicity: The Committee noted the following:
CE21/22.024.1 Communication: Several councillors commented that they had used their ID lanyards and they had been very helpful when approaching shops and residents. The Chair thanked everyone who had contributed to the Hurst Life articles including Dr Georgina Judd and Martin Sadler. It was requested by a councillor to leave a section in the December Hurst Life issue to advertise the Santa Sunday event.
CE21/22.024.2 Website: The committee noted that a new defibrillator page had been added to the website listing all the sites where a De-Fib can be found. The Chair informed the committee that a successful de-fibrillator training session had taken place on the 27th September at Court Bushes.
CE21/22.024.3 Social Media: The committee noted that the Facebook page continues to grow and it is regularly used by the Parish Office. The page currently has 495 likes and 610 followers.
CE21/22.025. Information Items, Correspondence Received and Requests: The Chair confirmed that the committee had received and read the letter sent from Andrew Griffiths MP regarding support when making applications or grants for funding.
Meeting Closed: 21:31pm