MINUTES of the meeting of the Community Affairs Committee on Thursday 28 January 2016 at 8:00 pm in the Village Centre, Hurstpierpoint.
| Members Present: Bob Sampson (Committee Chairman) | |
| Rosemary Burns | |
| David Evans | |
| Tony Lank | |
| Matthew Stokes | |
| Steve Whitehead | |
| Also Present: | 1 member of the public |
| PCSO Joel Havicon | |
| Rodney Jackson (Parish Councillor) | |
| Roberta Taylor, Assistant Clerk | |
CA458. Apologies for absence and declarations of interest: CA458.1 There was an apology given prior to the meeting by Cllr P Mitchell. CA458.2 There were no declarations of interest given.
CA459. Minutes of the Community Affairs Committee Meeting held on 19 November 2015: The minutes of the meeting was agreed and signed.
CA460. Matters arising from Community Affairs Meeting held on 19 November 2015: There were no matters arising from the Minutes of 19 November 2015, which were not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
CA461. Adjournment for questions from the public: One member of the public was present but did not ask for the meeting to be adjourned as she was present to support a grant request.
CA462. Police issues and information: PCSO Joel Havicon provided a report on crime figures in the Parish which was reviewed. The number and role of PCSOs are changing; the number will be reduced by one third and the new PCSO role does not appear to be very community based (more crime prevention and giving advice). PCSOs have to reapply for their jobs, with the new jobs starting on 4 July 2016.
The Committee would like a letter written from the Parish Council to Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (cc: Nick Herbert and Chief Constable) saying that we are unhappy with what is happening with the PCSOs and inviting her to attend a Council meeting to hear our concerns. The Committee members expressed their support for Joel as our local PCSO.
RECOMMENDATION to Council: that the Parish Council write a letter to Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, expressing our concerns with what is happening with Sussex PCSOs and inviting her to a Council meeting to hear our concerns.
CA463. Parish Council Small Grant Applications: Small Grants applications will be considered at every
Community Affairs Committee meeting; emails were sent to local community groups informing them of the process and the deadline for submitting their application forms and supporting information. £4000 was available for the current year
2015/16. (Ref: List of Community Grants Awarded by Parish Council in 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15, June, August, September, November 2015 and requests for January 2016)
CA463.1 The Committee noted a late grant request from the Hurstpierpoint Traders Association for £100 to provide extra lighting for the Late Night Shopping event that took place on 3 December 2015. The Community Affairs Committee Chairman and the Parish Clerk agreed the grant request on 1 December 2015; the Hurstpierpoint Traders Association has been advised to follow the proper grant application process in the future.
January 2016: (Budget for Grants 2015/16: £4000). Amount remaining: £500.
| Organisation | Amount Requested | Grant request for: |
| Hurstpierpoint Traders Association | £100 (Late grant request – Community Affairs Chairman and Parish Clerk approved this request on 1 December 2015) | Temporary floodlights for Late Night Shopping, 3 Dec 2015. (Ref: £100 for temporary floodlights Nov 2013) |
CA463.2 The Committee considered the grant request listed in the table below: January 2016: (Budget for Grants 2015/16: £4000). Amount remaining £400.
| Organisation | Amount Requested/Granted | Grant request for: |
| Hurstpierpoint Traders Association | £500 / £500 | Welcome bags – jute bags given to new people moving to the Parish. Distributed via estate agents, development sales offices and housing associations. Will contain information from clubs, Scouts and Guides, Shine Theatre, Hurst Players, churches, doctors, dentist and vets, as well as offers and samples from shops and businesses. [Total cost of project: £1086; will receive money towards project from Chantry Stables Charity Shop, Co-op and Columbines.] (Ref: £100 for temporary floodlights, Dec 2015 see above; Nov 2013) |
The Committee supported the grant request from the Hurstpierpoint Traders Association. Although only £400 remained in the 2015/16 budget for Small Grants, the Committee decided to grant £500, with £400 granted from the Small Grants budget and £100 from another Community Affairs budget source.
RESOLVED: that the Committee agreed that Hurstpierpoint Traders Association be granted £500, with £400 granted from the Small Grants budget and £100 granted from another budget source.
CA464. Parish Plan – Community Life 2016 – 21 update. A meeting of the Parish Plan Working Group took place on 25 January 2016 reviewing the data from the Parish Plan Questionnaires, and discussing the schedule of dates to produce the Parish Plan and the format of the new Parish Plan document. The Committee received a summary of the Questionnaire data and recommendations from the Working Group meeting.
Cllr Sampson will send the questionnaire data to Committee members; members will look at the data and give any comments/topic suggestions to Cllr Sampson by 7 February 2016.
CA465. Hanging Baskets for High Street. The Committee discussed and decided whether to provide hanging baskets in the High Street of Hurstpierpoint and the Sayers Common Community Shop/Hall for summer 2016, or whether to consider an alternative option. The Committee expressed their concern that last summer’s baskets were not retained for reuse. The Committee decided that the Council will continue with the wicker hanging baskets as in past years, with the baskets cleaned and retained in Parish Council storage for reuse. Three quotes from local contractors will be requested. RESOLVED: that the Committee agreed that the current system of providing wicker hanging baskets is continued for Summer 2016 and that three quotes are requested from local contractors.
CA466. Website update. The Committee discussed and agreed with the work recommended by our website designer, Simon Goodwin, to update the Parish Council website and decided that the work should be done in early 2016/17.
RESOLVED: that the Committee agreed with the work recommended by the website designer and that the work should be done in early 2016/17. (Ref: Emails from S Goodwin, 12.22.15 and 07.03.15 regarding website system update)
CA467. Older Persons’ Event update: The Committee received the following update: Six Tea Parties/events have taken place: The most recent Tea Party took place at Treeps, High Street, Hurstpierpoint this month. About 20 older people attended with about 8 helpers. A minibus was hired from Bluebird Community Partnership and various other people helped with transporting people in the community. It was a lovely venue with great food provided by Hurstpierpoint WI members. The Committee expressed its thanks to Mrs Taylor, Assistant Clerk, for her hard work on this project.
CA 468. Operation Watershed update: The Committee received the following update: Hurstpierpoint: Operation
Watershed paid for a drainage project at Washbrooks Farm, which was completed in September 2015. Tim Boxall, our WSCC Highways Officer visited the site after completion of the work and was happy with the work done. However he said that some additional work was needed to stop the stream on the opposite side of Washbrooks Farm from becoming blocked. A meeting took place on 13 January 2016 between all of the parties to discuss the works and agree future actions. The contractor has been asked to quote for this additional work.
Sayers Common: Under Operation Watershed, two of the four important watercourses in our village have now been cleared. The third, running from London Road west to Reeds Lane, was cleared in mid-December 2015.
CA 469. Albourne Road Allotments. The Committee is asked to receive the following update: There are three vacant plots which are in the process of being filled. The waiting list is very short and posters have been put up to tell residents that now is a good time to go on the waiting list.
CA 470. Information Items and Correspondence Received: The Committee noted the receipt of the items below (all items available to be seen in the Parish Council Office).
CA470.1 Letter received by H Arlidge, 4 January 2016, asking that the Parish Council consider providing a skate park for the young residents of the Parish, acknowledging that there is currently a small skate park in the village (Court Bushes Recreation Ground, owned and managed by MSDC). A reply was sent stating that the suggestion would be considered as part of the Parish Plan process.
CA470.2 Email from NALC, 12 January 2016, Letter from the Chairman about the HM Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations on 21 April 2016 to which Parish Councils can take part by holding an event.
CA470.3 Letter from Adrian Evans, Clean for the Queen, Campaign Director, 21 October 2015, stating that there will be ‘Clean for the Queen’ litter blitzes throughout the UK in Jan, Feb and March, and the most monumental of all litter clear-ups will be from 4 – 6 March 2016.
CA470.4 Email from G Guerrero, President of Sayers Common & Albourne WI, 25 January 2016, asking the Council for support with their Clean for the Queen event taking place on 5 March 2016 from 10am – 2pm.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9:50 pm.
_______________________ Chairman