MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MARESFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

held on Tuesday 18^th October 2005 in the Memorial Hall, Nutley

Present:         Cllr W King (Chairman), Cllr Mrs S Weekes, Cllr R Street, Cllr J Gutteridge,

Cllr T Sparrow, Cllr C Stephens, Cllr  H Fry, Cllr C Stevenson, Cllr K Ogden, Cllr G Hardy, Cllr P Tester, Cllr R Tester, CCllr T Reid, DCllr F Brown, T Allen (Clerk), C Goossens (Asst Clerk)

The Chairman welcomed Cllr Stevenson to the Parish Council and welcomed back Cllr Mrs S Weekes.

A.    Public Session:  None

1.      Apologies for absence: Cllr S Leaney, DCllrs Buck, Hollins and Mrs Kennedy.

2.      Declarations of interest:  None

3.      Minutes:-

3.1.   Minutes of the Council meeting (20 September 2005) for adoption

• Item 6.5.1 (Page 5) Reads incorrectly, the budget was not in deficit, expenditure running at 35% over 42% of the year i.e. an under-spend if anything. However, it was agreed that this was a true record of what was said.
• Top of Page 7, Line 1 – transpose the words “weighted” and “arguments”.

The minutes were adopted subject to the correction as outlined above.

3.2.   Matters arising from these minutes

• The Chairman was asked (end of item 6.1) to write to the Chairman of ESCC about CCllr Whetstone’s comments.  Cllr King reported that he has not yet done so but will once he has consulted with Cllr Street and the Clerk.

 CCllr Whetstone joins the meeting.

• Item 6.5.2 Nutley Memorial Hall car park lighting – having placed the order for works with EDF, the Clerk has established that payment is required in advance. Under these circumstances, Cllr Street recommended that Council gets EDF to commit to a date for commencement of works.  The Clerk confirmed that the original quote obtained from EDF is still current and noted that there will be additional wiring work within the light required to complete the job and therefore some additional expense.  It was Agreed to make advance payment to EDF to allow this work to proceed. ACTION:  Clerk
• Item 6.8 reference website training for the Clerk – Cllr Fry has yet to carry out this action but will do so.
• Item 6.6 – Cllr King reported that this is ongoing and that he has asked the Clerk to advise if it is legal/desirable to have an appeals process for revisiting questionable planning decisions.

4.      Reports by and questions to:-

4.1.   County Councillors

CCllr Reid made the following points:

·         A briefing pack outlining the County Councils budget situation has been sent out asking people to lobby the Government for a fair funding settlement for ESCC

·         ESCC is currently reviewing the services it offers mainly in anticipation of the fact that there will be no change in Government funding, and that ESCC will therefore be in a very difficult financial position.

·         Action is imminent on the widening of the Nutley footpath (North of the Post Office on the High Street), with the final safety analysis of the design being currently looked at.  Funds are available this year so it is essential that works proceed as soon as possible.

·         Action is imminent in Maresfield with reference to footpath widening on School Hill.  However, CCllr Reid is keen to see the design and make sure that it is what the community, the School and Parish Councillors  believe will make a difference.  The imminent commencement of these works has only just come to light due to the issue being disguised in the handover between Colas and May Gurney. 

·         The Onyx planning application is expected to go before the Highways and Planning Committee on 21^st December, though this date is yet to be confirmed.  CCllr Reid confirmed that all Applicants are offered advice on how to make an application that satisfies planning issues.  In the case of the Onyx application, an outcome based on fact is essential and it is hoped that an intelligent planning decision can be made on this application first time around.  It was noted that similarly, people objecting to planning applications are able to obtain advice from County Council.  It was agreed that this issue should go on the agenda for the next Planning Committee meeting and that a member of the committee should speak with the relevant people at County. 

ACTION:  Clerk to add to Onyx application to agenda for next planning meeting.

Council Minutes 18 October 2005                                                                                      Page 2

·         On 25^th October at 7.00pm in Maresfield Village Hall, there will be a consultation meeting with the Sussex Police Authority.  CCllr Reid encourages Councillors to attend this meeting and raise the subject of speeding with the local Police Commander and highlight the need to address the issue of speeding in our rural community.

In the last 3 years, there have been 1700 injury accidents in Wealden, plus 41  fatalities each at a cost of c£1.5m  to society.

A discussion ensued about the potential for lobbying the Police Authority with regard to speeding enforcement in rural areas and the possibility of a rural policy as adopted by WDALC.  CCllr Reid said thatthe £2 million spent each year by County Council on traffic calming engineering could be better spent educating people to drive more carefully.  However it was noted that our Police Commander has his hands tied as to what he can do, although if ESCC works towards reducing speed levels this in turn can be pushed onto the Police Authority, although it was noted that rural areas are not a top priority.

·         CCllr Reid and Cllr Tidy will be looking at the first tranche of applicants for the £500,000 Community Fund in the next couple of weeks.  An announcement regarding the release of the funds can be expected within the next month.

• Cllr Ogden asked for assurances from CCllr Reid that the Parish Council can have support from County Council  re. Oakwood Park access i.e. looking to ESCC highways department to bring events at this site to a halt, until the required works have been completed.  ACTION:  Clerk to provide CCllr Reid with the details.

4.2.   District Councillors

DCllr F Brown - the following points were noted:

·         The appeal decision re. Local Plan is still pending – one main concern being housing and the insufficient number of Affordable Houses available to keep up with demand.  The waiting list currently stands at over 2000 resulting in a need for 600-700 each year to fulfil the demand.  Land isn’t coming forward and even a recent application for 60 one and two bedroom houses (all for rent) at Rotherfield was turned down as the development was outside of the framework and contrary to policy.  However, DCllr Brown hopes that the applicant will win his case on appeal.

·         Comments in a recent newspaper article concerning the performance of Wealden’s planning department, reflected the results of the audit carried out earlier in the year, although things are now starting to improve.  DCllr Brown understands that most applications are dealt with under delegated powers.  Furthermore, the ODPM is continually pressurising the department to push through planning applications quickly although it is his view that if they are of a controversial nature, they should be considered carefully ensuring that the views of Parishioners are clearly represented.

·         Cllr King attended a National Audit Offices examination of Wealden’s planning department in the Spring.  Many other Parishes were represented and the general feeling was that quality is better than speed and that this is recognised by  the Audit Office.  However, it may be the case that the view of Government differs from that of the Audit Office.  Furthermore, a recent informal meeting of Chairmen of local Parish Councils brought to light a number of issues relating to planning practices at Wealden.  It was decided at this meeting to get together the chairmen of the local Parish planning committees to further discuss such issues.  Many noted that there are still a number of planning issues outstanding from a year ago.

5.      Council bodies: Actions, minutes and reports by, and questions to, Chairmen:-

5.1.   Business Park Development Sub-Committee -

Cllr P Tester reported that there is no need for a meeting at present.  But a recent informal meeting between himself and Chris Lawson of Lawson Commercial, the agent acting on behalf of Summerthorne, provided a useful opportunity for striking up a contact which might be useful in the future.

5.2.   Civil Protection -

Cllr Gutteridge stated that this committee has not met since the last Council meeting, but added that one of the key issues at the next meeting will be Item 5.2.1 on this Agenda i.e. what measures should the Parish Council take to protect its population in the event of an epidemic? 

5.2.1        Council contingencies in the event of an epidemic e.g. Avian Flu

The following points were noted:

Council Minutes 18 October 2005                                                                                      Page 3

• Cllr King noted that this issue is more about what measures the Parish Council would need to put in place in terms of carrying out its day to day business in the event of such an epidemic.  For example, should procedures be put in place to operate without meetings i.e. to be run by the Clerk via telephone or email or should the Parish Council choose close down.  The Clerk is currently seeking advice in this regard.
• It was noted that this issue needs to be dealt with before it is too late and an epidemic occurs.
• It was noted that a “Force Majeure” would be declared and regarding the processing of payments, procedure is covered in the Financial Regulations i.e. if there isn’t a meeting prior to the payments being made, they will be authorised at the next meeting that takes place.

Cllr Mrs S Weekes leaves the meeting.

5.3.   Communications Team – Nothing to report.

5.4.   Environment & Maintenance -

Parklands Play Area – Cllr P Tester explained the history of this issue and stated that a number of Forest Park and Parklands residents were present at the last E&M meeting when some expensive solutions were put forward.  One suggestion being to move the offending apparatus to another of the Parish play areas where existing equipment requires attention.

Cllr Weekes rejoins the meeting.

The following points were noted in discussion:

·         The Forest Park residents do indeed have a legitimate argument.

·         The problem will not go away and needs to be rectified one way or another.

·         Funding may be clawed back if the equipment is moved although it may be possible to look to the Local Network Fund for assistance.

·         The group working on the refurbishment of the play area at Fairwarp may be interested in utilising this apparatus and they too are speaking to the Local Network Fund re.  financing. 
ACTION:  As a matter of urgency, Clerk to speak with Fairwarp play area people.

·         The existing screening is inappropriate for those residents living in Forest Park and simply moving equipment to another location in the same play area will not resolve the problem. 

·         When the apparatus was ordered, the providers advised the purchasers as to the optimum positioning of it, however, the equipment is high and offends neighbouring properties and the manufacturer would not have taken these issues into account when making his recommendation, but would merely have considered its suitability for children.

·         Prior to the positioning of the apparatus, there was a meeting with models illustrating the proposed layout of play area, however, it is not clear if the residents of Forest Park or Parklands fully understood the plan at this stage.

·         This is a play area and children should be allowed to play there but with the appropriate equipment.  It is the piece of equipment that needs to be dealt with not the fact that children play there.

·         There are a number of play areas within the Parish which could provide adequate space for the re-siting of the PPA apparatus.

·         The Parish Council could cast its net wider in looking for alternative locations for this piece of equipment e.g. schools.

5.4.1    Co-option of Cllr Stephens to the E&M Committee

Cllr King noted that Committees do have the power to do their own co-opting.

All were in favour of appointing Cllr Stephens to the E&M Committee.

5.4.2        Councillors Footpath Walking

Only two or three reports have been received in the Parish Office thus far – the Clerk urged everyone to provide their relevant feedback as soon as possible.

5.5.   Finance & Administration

5.5.1.      Month 6 Financial Reports

Cllr Street reported that there are no issues or anomalies that had not previously been discussed.  The Council is within budget and if spending continues at the present level, the result will be an under-spend of approximately £10,000 which will go towards building up reserves as per the recommendation of the auditors.

The following points were noted:

·         The F&A Committee have looked at the first pass of for the budget for next year and the total figure is currently in excess of what would be acceptable.  At the next meeting these figures will be looked at in greater detail and reduced to within the margin of increase that would be appropriate. 

Council Minutes 18 October 2005                                                                                      Page 4

·         There appears to be a discrepancy on line 4023 to the tune of -£51.00 although this may be an accrual made by the auditors at the beginning of the year.
ACTION:  Clerk to investigate.

·         Easylink - It was Agreed to authorise the payment of a minimum of £510 and a maximum of £1250 from the Project Contingency budget, to support the continued running of the Easylink bus service until the end of March 2006.

·         Maresfield Recreation Ground – Cllr R Tester stated that the quote approved by the E&M Committee from Turners Fencing was for £2770, which included fencing to the rear boundary of the children’s play area.  It was noted that the amount in the current budget for this was £2500 leaving a shortfall of £270, however the cost quoted for the work covered in the budget was below our budget – the increase is by reason  of adding in extra work to obtain cost savings of doing several jobs atonce It was Agreed that this additional money could be taken from the Projects Contingency budget.

5.5.2.      Grants and donations policy

It was one the recommendations of the auditors that such a policy be put in place.  H Fry has a number of questions regarding the detail of the draft policy.  Cllr King proposed that the principles be adopted for F&A to polish off the detail.  This was Agreed by all.

ACTION:  Cllr Fry to attend the next F&A meeting to discuss his comments.

5.6.   Planning

The following points were noted in discussion:

• Affordable Housing – various delivery options were discussed.
• Mary Claire Dean[W L K1]  and David Phillips from WDC have both agreed with Cllr Ogden to come and look over possible Affordable Housing sites in the Parish.

• Cllr Ogden stated that he had concerns regarding the projected number of houses to be built in the region over the next 10 years, when compared with expected demand.
• CCllr T Reid stated that ESCC is aware that the population is shrinking i.e. deaths are exceeding births and any growth is due to immigration.  There is no pretence that this plan provides a house for everyone who needs one, rather it is a balancing act in conjunction with the availability of land.  This County needs more jobs and there is an emphasis on economic regeneration particularly along the coast. 

5.6.1    Co-option of Cllr Stevenson to the Planning Committee

It was Agreed to appoint Cllr Stevenson to the Planning Committee.

5.6.2        Referral of Telephone Mast siting issues to Policy Committee

Cllr P Tester explained that Cllr Leaney has led on this issue and that it was his feeling that this issue should be considered by the Policy Committee.  Rather than being on the defensive it would preferable to be prepared,  i.e. have a number of suggested sites in mind prior to any future applications.  Furthermore, consideration is required with regard to the AONB the following possibilities need to be looked at: (i) roaming, (ii) disguising, and (iii) sharing (all being policies that Wealden should adopt when considering the future positioning of masts).  This was Agreed by all.  ACTION:  Clerk to add to Policy Agenda.

5.7.   Policy Committee - It was noted that there is nothing urgent currently on the Agenda and that the next meeting date is being looked at.

5.8.   Strategy Sub-Committee – It was noted that the Strategy committee has not met since the last Council meeting and that the next meeting will take place on Wednesday 19^th October.

5.9.   Traffic & Transport Committee -

Cllr Fry reported that he has recently attended two meetings largely concerned with Speedwatch. 

1) Safer Wealden Partnership – Inspector Allum explained various stages of Speedwatch exercises and suggested that there may be no enforcement. However, it was agreed that they would go ahead with the Speedwatch exercises in as many Parishes as possible.

2) North Wealden Meeting in Uckfield – Cllr Fry pointed out to Inspector Allum again that he has personally been selling the Speedwatch exercise on the premise that there would indeed be eventual enforcement, and questioned whether our own Parish Council (or the T&T Committee) would unconditionally support the Speedwatch exercise without the guarantee that police will enforce adherence to the speed limit.  Cllr Fry encouraged those Parish and Town Councils present at that meeting to make representations to the Police Authority as we ourselves plan to do.

Council Minutes 18 October 2005                                                                                            Page 5

The following points were noted in discussion:

·         The Clerk has already approached Neil Banks at the Safer Wealden Partnership with reference to a Speedwatch exercise on the B2026.  Cllr Fry would favour saying to the Police Authority that we will go ahead but ask for an assurance that there will be enforcement from them if necessary. 

·         Cllr Sparrow feels it is extremely worrying that Parishes have been encouraged to do more and now that they are stepping forward, we are finding that Police are pulling back on enforcement and ESCC are pulling back on resources.  Parishes do need the support of the public authorities – to say the money isn’t there is not good enough.  The Police need to be pressed into reinstating enforcement rules they put in place for the Ringmer exercise i.e. “Three strikes and you are out” and ESCC needs to be more positive in trying to find financial support for individual schemes which Parishes are prepared to part fund themselves.

·         The Parish Council is wasting Parishioners time and money unless it can establish something will be done with regard to enforcement.

·         The Parish Council needs to seek Police Authority and ESCC support of community needs.

·         Perhaps the PCSO’s could be trained to this kind of work?

·         Speedwatch in Ringmer is currently on hold due to a number of accidents thought to be as a direct result of motorists distracted by volunteers conducting the exercise.  The Police are now looking specifically at all sites to consider suitability.

ACTION:  Clerk to formulate Cllr Sparrows original proposal into letters to be communicated to the Police Authority and ESCC.

5.9.1.      Traffic Management Plan

The Clerk explained that Cllr Leaney was to speak on this subject tonight, but that he would do so in his absence.  It was the intention of the Traffic & Transport committee that this document would be more complete than it is prior to being presented at this Council meeting.  However, it was thought appropriate to let councillors see where the document is at present despite a number of pictures still being outstanding. 

ACTION:  Defer until the next meeting.

CCllrs Whetstone and Reid leave the meeting.

6.      Outside bodies’ reports:-

6.1  Ford's Green Management Committee – There has been no meeting since last Council.

6.2  Maresfield Conservation Group – Cllr Gutteridge stated that he had an exchange of views with Alistair Robson, ESCC, regarding the change of date for the consideration of the Onyx application.  Secondly, traffic issues are being revisited and Mr P Knivett is to make a presentation at the next meeting.  Finally, it is felt that there is a need to raise the identity of Maresfield to prevent it becoming a suburb of Uckfield.

6.1  Maresfield Recreation Ground Committee – The Clerk explained the history behind the current access issues. Cllr P Tester and the Clerk had an informal meeting with Mr Watts whereby an amicable and unofficial understanding was reached that Mr Watts would put forward a proposal which would accommodate the requirements of all interested parties.  The letter received today does not achieve that. It says that the access will be closed and suggests that the Parish Council creates a new access point some distance away. Cllr P Tester agrees with Clerks précis and added that Mr Watts had intimated that there would a benefit to the Parish Council in terms of additional land for the Recreation Ground to offset the land required for parking.  Cllr P Tester feels this is a move to get some action.  It was Agreed that a Sub-Committee is formed to include Cllr P Tester, Cllr R Tester, Cllr Street and Cllr Ogden, with authority to negotiate and to obtain advice up to a cost of £500.

Additionally it was suggested that advice is sought from the Open Spaces Society especially as the Parish Council pays them a subscription.

Cllr Sparrow made the following reports on Items 6.2 – 6.5:-

6.2  Wealden District Association of Local Councils

Meeting on 21 September had presentation about and discussed the Local Strategic Partnership. Also the subscription rate for 2006 will not be changed and Parishes alerted to respond to the S.E. Plan consultation.  Wealden District Council's Parishes' Conference will be on 28 November at Uckfield.

Council Minutes 18 October 2005                                                                                      Page 6

6.3  Action in rural Sussex

AirS is busy across a wide spectrum of rural issues and a newsletter is shortly to be circulated updating Parishes on this range of activity. AGM is on Friday 18 November at Ardingly.
Wealden Local Strategic Partnership

Now consolidating the work of the partners and the most recent meeting concentrated on Transport and Access.  Some major progress in safer pathways and in providing more villages with 30mph speed limits, but no real progress on enforcement.  Also no major progress on public bus provision.  In discussing the implications of the S.E. Plan, the LSP is putting forward clear calls for infrastructure and jobs before houses, but allied to a reinforcement of a clear need for additional houses in Wealden, especially smaller and "affordable" homes.

6.4  Sussex Association of Local Councils

Please note that the AGM is on Friday 18 November at 3.00pm and representatives from this Council are cordially invited (the full day includes AirS' AGM).  It was agreed that Cllr Ogden and the Clerk will attend.  Councillor Sparrow will also be in attendance in a different capacity.

7        Chairman’s Report

The Chairman added that he was not as fully engaged in Council business as he would like at present asthere are currently a number of additional demands on his time.

8        Clerk's Report

With reference to Item 5, Cllr Sparrow and the Clerk will attend the Community Networking Event.

9        Payments to be made for approval

Payments amounting to £3627.65 were Approved.

10    Councillors surgeries

• Cllr Fry stated that it had previously been decided that “Councillors Surgeries” would be held regularly and although this has not been the case, he feels it would be a good idea to reinstate these once a week in the Parish Office, Nutley.
• Cllr Ogden noted that it is mainly the elderly who call him to discuss matters or seek advice and they would most probably be unable to make it to Nutley.
• It was suggested that an article be included in the next issue of The Parish Matters encouraging Parishioners to contact their local Parish Councillor by telephone if they so wish.
  ACTION:  Cllr Fry to discuss reinstatement of “Surgeries” with both fellow Councillors and the Clerk and provide an article for TPM.

11    Quality Council

• Cllr Fry and the Clerk have had several meetings to discuss the break down of work required and to put it into a time-frame.  The Clerk’s draft submission is to be completed by the end of November, when it will be passed around various people for comments, for final submission by end of December and hopefully certification in January.  In January, work will commence on the Council’s submission, for informal assessment in February, prior to submission in March for formal approval.
• The Clerk stated that greater support is required from councillors over this period with regard to work on action points which come out of the various Committee meetings.
• Quality Council status will be a significant addition with regard to our input on the LDF and also in relation to our work with the Police Authority.  Therefore a level of priority ought to be given to the effort put into attaining Quality Status.
• Cllr P Tester stated that working on the assumption that Clerk will not be in the office on these days it is necessary to ensure that the Assistant Clerk is in the office to provide relevant cover.
• Cllr Sparrow asked for the timetable to be copied out to all Councillors and asked Cllr Fry and the Clerk to alert Councillors in advance if there is any slippage in the timetable.

ACTION:  Clerk

12    WDC District/Parish Conference

Cllr King and Cllr Ogden to attend. Cllr Sparrow will also be there but in a different capacity.

13    Communications 
 ACTION:  Speedwatch issues need communicating to the press – Clerk & Chairman

13.1                      The Parish Matters – autumn edition

ACTION:  Asst Clerk to circulate details of articles and who is writing them.

ACTION: Include reference to the fact that closest A&E is now either Brighton or Redhill.

Date of next meeting, 15 November 2005 (Maresfield)

There being no further business the meeting closed at 22.05.