Minutes of the meeting of the council held on Thursday 28^th November 2019 at 8.00 pm in the Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint  

Members present 

Also present:   

Joy Dennis (WSCC Councillor)   

      Andy Beams (Clerk to the Council) 

C19/061 Apologies for absence and declarations of interest: The following apologies for absence were received before the meeting and accepted: Cllrs Peter Griffiths, Claire Majsai, Colin Trumble (MSDC) and Alison Bennet (MSDC).  

The following declarations of interest were declared: Cllr Seth Jee – Sayers Common Village Society 

C19/062 Minutes of the meeting of the council held on 24^th October 2019: To receive and accept the minutes.    RESOLVED:  The minutes of the meeting of the council held on 24^th October 2019 are adopted.  

C19/063 Adjournment for questions from the public: The council shall consider whether to adjourn the meeting in accordance with clause 70 of Standing Orders, in order to receive questions from members of the public in attendance.  

The meeting was adjourned to welcome the Contracts Manager and Public Liaison Officer of Jackson Civils to the meeting. They introduced themselves and explained their respective roles in the upcoming A2300 project. They emphasised their desire to complete the project efficiently, while respecting the impact on neighbouring residents and the traffic issues likely during the works. They also confirmed that a number of ecologists have been involved at every stage of the project to date, and they are mindful of the environmental impact concerns previously raised by the council and wider community. 

It was confirmed that the working schedule would be Monday to Thursday 7.30 am – 5.30 pm and Monday to Friday 7.30 am to 3.00 pm. There would be no Saturday or evening works without prior arrangement, although some night works would take place to minimise traffic disruption. 

The attendees were thanked for coming to the meeting and reminded of the Council’s desire to be kept informed and involved in the project, and it was agreed future contact would be directed through the Highways and Cycleways Joint Council Working Group. Contact details were given to the Clerk to share with all Councillors. The attendees left the meeting at 8.15 pm. 

C19/064 Reports from other authorities: To receive verbal reports from representatives of other authorities:  C19/064.1 West Sussex County Council County (WSCC)    Cllr Dennis’ report included:  

• • Discussions regarding potential cycleways are ongoing, with WSCC and Sustrans now looking at the proposals 
• • The Quiet Lanes proposal is due to be discussed at the next full council, subject to availability on the agenda 
• • A meeting is being arranged with Hurst College regarding TRO requests they have – Councillor Lank will also attend the meeting 
• • Flooding issues on Malthouse Lane continue to cause concern. One of the ditches is not being cleared by the landowner. It is recommended that the Parish Council apply for Operation Watershed grant funding for a scheme to alleviate the problem 
• • Other flooding issues should firstly be reported to WSCC for initial assessment 
• • From 1 December, anyone using a recycling site will need to provide proof of residency in West Sussex C19/064.2 Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) Cllr Jackson’s report included: 
• • The council has revised its licensing policies 
• • It is intended to provide cycleway connectivity between developments 
• • Grants of up to £250 are available to apply for with regard to the 75^th Anniversary of VE Day next year 
• • Up to £1 million is being made available to upgrade MSDC play areas – this includes at Court Bushes 

Cllr Lank asked again for confirmation of the occupancy level at Bramble Park. Cllr Jackson stated he was still awaiting a reply. 

Councillor Machin asked for an update on enforcement action at 145 High Street. Cllr Jackson stated he had received an acknowledgement of his email request and will chase up for a response on action to be taken. Cllr Hand expressed concern at the ongoing issues with sewage being caused by the Kingsland Lanes development, and asked Councillor Jackson to investigate as a matter of urgency what action MSDC is taking.  

C19/065 Committee and Working Group minutes: The committee chairmen will introduce each minutes, which the council is asked to receive and where appropriate, consider the recommendations:  

The Chairman agreed to alter the order of reports to follow up on issues raised in the WSCC Councillor report. 

C19/065.5 Highways & Cycleways Joint Council Working Group (28 October 2019)Cllr Lank’s report included:  

• • The CHS has been put in, moderated and passed, but with a low score, meaning it is low priority and would take several years to take effect. The council are determined to do something sooner, and the recent accident on London Road has further emphasised the need for action. 
• • A refuge is the most likely mitigation, and the Clerk had identified potential s.106 funds which could be used. Detail of the agreement is to be investigated by the office staff. 

C19/065.6 Hurst Meadows Advisory Group (29 October 2019) 

C19/065.1 Estates & Facilities Management Committee (29 October 2019) Cllr Brown’s report covered both meetings and included: 

Hurst Meadows 

• • The advisory board had held a very useful meeting, and discussed updating the management plan and making quicker decisions through a smaller group meeting more frequently to give guidance to the office staff 
• • The proposed boardwalk work has stalled pending a review by the ecologist, which won’t happen until the Spring 
• • A planting scheme for 57 trees has been agreed for the triangle of land, which has been discussed with the neighbouring landowner and is due to take place before Christmas 

Village Centre 

• • A meeting of the Advisory Group is set for the New Year 
• • The review of fire safety and emergency lighting has been completed 
• • The main hall lights are to be replaced with LED’s 
• • Standard terms and conditions for the Village Centre and Court Bushes have been agreed 

Court Bushes 

• • Work is underway to better isolate specific cost centre information for Court Bushes and the Village Centre 
• • To date, income and expenditure projections are being met 
• • The acoustics in the main room need to be improved and this is under investigation 
• • Security camera coverage at the site has been improved and lighting on the access road is in the process of being put in 

Cllr Dennis left the meeting at 9.20pm. 

C19/065.2 Finance and Governance Committee (7 November 2019) 

Cllr Llewellyn’s proposed the following recommendation from the committee meeting  

RECOMMENDATION: The committee recommends that the amount charged to the 

Hurstpierpoint Village Centre Charity be increased to £11,897.60 per annum, to cover Parish council staff resources used in direct connection with the Village Centre and this is taken to council to agree to this. The figure has been worked out at staff time at £20.80 per hour over 11 hours per week (5 hours bookings time, 3 hours management time and 3 hours maintenance time). 

RESOLVED: The council agreed that the amount charged to the Hurstpierpoint Village Centre Charity be increased to £11,897.60 per annum, to cover Parish Council Staff resources used in direct connection with the Village Centre.  

C19/065.3 Community Engagement Committee (14 November 2019)Cllr Sampson’s report included: 

• • The committee receives a youth mentoring presentation from the YMCA 
• • Cllrs Majsai and Sampson had attended a meeting regarding health and wellbeing, and informal dropin sessions are planned at Court Bushes 
• • A presentation from the police emphasised high levels of domestic violence in the area 
• • Support for the dementia awareness campaign continues through establishing safe places among traders in the High Street  
• • Proposals for the website are being addressed via a separate agenda item 

C19/065.4 Planning & Environment Committee (21 November 2019)Cllr Machan’s report included: 

• • The polo farm application is currently being analysed 
• • The issue regarding enforcement at 145 High Street is being pursued, as discussed with District Councillor Jackson earlier in the meeting 

C19/066 Committee membership and terms of reference: Following the adoption of the revised committee structure and meeting schedule on 26^th September 2019, and in line with the revised Standing Orders, for each committee, working group, panel, advisory board and advisory group, the Council must: 

1. (a) Determine the terms of reference (SO 4d (i))  
2. (b) Appoint and determine the terms of office of members (SO 4d (iv)) (c) Appoint the Chairman (SO 4d (vi)) 

(REF: Draft committee membership and terms of reference ATTACHED) 

RECOMMENDATION: Council adopts the revised terms of reference, membership and Chairman as per the circulated draft document 

RESOLVED: The Council adopted the revised terms of reference, membership, Chairman and Vice Chairman as per the circulated draft document 

C19/067 St George’s Millennium Garden Trust: The Council is asked to confirm acceptance of a grant of £10,000 to be used for the upkeep of the area of land which constitutes the Millennium Garden. The Trust requires a response from the council by 30 November 2019.  (REF: Letter from St George’s Millennium Garden Trust ATTACHED) 

RECOMMENDATION: Council confirms acceptance of the grant of £10,000 to be placed in an earmarked reserve for upkeep of the area of land which currently constitutes the Millennium Garden 

RESOLVED: The Council confirmed acceptance of the grant of £10,000 to be placed in an earmarked reserve for upkeep of the area of land which currently constitutes the Millennium Garden 

C19/068 Website contract and proposal: The Council is asked to confirm the recommendations of the Community Engagement Committee from their meeting on 14 November 2019. 

 (REF: Website contract and proposal briefing note ATTACHED) 

RECOMMENDATION: (1) The Committee AGREE to award the website development and support contract to Wasabi Design for a total cost of £2,625 +VAT covering the period until 31^st March 2020.  (2) The Committee AGREE to enter into a contract with TechQuarters for Microsoft 365 for email and software systems for an on-going cost of £117.35 +VAT PCM.   

1. (3) The Committee AGREE to allocate £1,500 in the budget 2020/21 for email and office systems. 
2. (4) The Committee AGREE to Alex Simmons from Wasabi design being named as administrator for our new .gov.uk domain name.  
3. (5) The Committee AGREE to the proposed new email addresses for the Parish Office and Councillors  

Councillors discussed the proposal and thanked the committee for the work put into gathering the information. In particular, thanked were noted to Lorna Cooksey for her research and preparation of the information. 

Councillors agreed that it would be preferable to amend the domain name to reflect the wider community, and include Sayers Common in the title, if it were practical to do so. 

It was noted that recommendation 1 was for a contract that would run to March 2021 as per the background document, not March 2020 as per the summary recommendation. 

Subject to review of the contract, being completed by the council Chairman, it was 

RESOLVED: (1) The council AGREE to award the website development and support contract to Wasabi Design for a total cost of £2,625 +VAT covering the period until 31^st March 2021.  

1. (2) The council AGREE to enter into a contract with TechQuarters for Microsoft 365 for email and software systems for an on-going cost of £117.35 +VAT PCM.   
2. (3) The council AGREE to allocate £1,500 in the budget 2020/21 for email and office systems. 
3. (4) The council AGREE to Alex Simmons from Wasabi design being named as administrator for our new .gov.uk domain name.  
4. (5) The council AGREE to the proposed new email addresses for the Parish Office and Councillors  

C19/069 Information items, correspondence received and requests: Council is asked to note: 

C19/069.1 Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Deployment: (REF: Email from Chief Inspector Shane Barker ATTACHED) Council noted the circulated information. 

C19/070 Confidential matters:  

The Council is asked to resolve that in view of the confidential nature of the following item, the press and public be excluded under section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. 

C19/070.1 Update from the Strategic Policy & Resources Panel (7 November 2019) 

Councillor Lowman provided background detail and information on an access issue within the Parish. He emphasised the confidentiality of the ongoing discussions, and it was agreed he would continue to work on the negotiations, supported by Councillors Llewellyn and Machan, reporting back to council any significant progress. 

C19/070.2 Staffing update Verbal report to be provided by the Clerk 

The Clerk informed council that the closing date for the Clerk vacancy had now expired, and six applications had been received. The next step was for the staff panel to select candidates for interview and the aim was to hold these next week. Confirmation of the panel’s recommended candidate would be on the agenda at the council meeting on December 19^th. 

There being no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.08 pm.  

Chairman