Ticehurst Parish Council

The Village Hall, Lower High Street, Ticehurst, East Sussex, TN5 7BB 01580 754 090

Minutes of Ticehurst Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 1 June  2010 at 7.30 p.m.

Thirty minutes were allowed at the start of the meeting for public questions and comments on relevant matters on the  agenda. The Chairman invited the public to stay and observe the rest of the meeting. 

Matters raised:
Mr J Poole requested that consideration be given to lobbying for action with regard to the A21 now that a new Government is in place.
Mr Poole also informed the meeting that he had spoken to Gary Reeve-Wing of Court Royale, who had told him that they hoped to progress the Warrens Coach site soon, and had been awaiting the outcome of an EDF planning application prior to commencement of works.
Members of the public and the TYPRP asked where the basket ball hoop had been moved to.  The Clerk informed them that the hoop was on the eastern side of the playground and would be installed in an appropriate position.  There was much discussion about the locking of the multi-court and the inherent dangers that a lack of exits can cause.  The Chairman explained that due to the continued complaints from an individual, Rother District Council had retrospectively imposed a curfew and now provided the means to enforce that curfew.  The Ombudsman confirmed the need for the curfew. D. Cllr. Jenkins reported that he is to meet with the complainant and would report back at the next meeting.   It was recognised that despite the continued complaints noise had not been identified as a ‘nuisance’.  The TYPRP stated that they felt having fund raised for the skate ramp and basket ball hoop which had planning permission, they would be considering taking an action against Rother District Council for compensation for the loss of those facilities. The Clerk informed those present that a questionnaire to go out to all the households in the Parish will have a space for the young of the village to put down what they would like to have provided as recreational facilities.

AGENDA

Present:  Cllrs. Goodall (c), Burley, Rigby, Semple, Seemann, Hastings, Yeo, Young and Cook.   In attendance  D. Cllrs. Jenkins, Elliston and C. Cllr. Barnes.

353.0 Declarations of Interest: Cllr A Cook declared a personal interest in agenda item 372 if any matters were to be discussed as a neighbour to that land.  Cllr. T Seemann declared a personal interest in any affordable housing matters as a member of the Amicus Horizon Board.

354.0 Apologies for absence:  Apologies and reasons for absence were recorded in the  attendance register having been accepted by the Council from Cllrs. Maynard, Mitchell and Cocking.

355.0 Minutes of the meeting held on 11th May  2010:  - these were proposed as an accurate record of those proceedings by Cllr. Semple, seconded by Cllr. Young and signed by the Chairman.
 
356.0 Additional Agenda Items:  Hanging baskets have been attached to the listed bus stop in Stonegate.  It was felt that this was inappropriate and the Clerk should continue to ascertain who had installed them and ask for their removal, together with continuing to register the land to the eastern side of Station Road to regularise ownership.

357.0  Shared  Spaces:  No update available – for next agenda.

358.0   Delegation of Duties:  Cllrs. were happy to serve on the groups that they had volunteered for earlier in the year.  Conveners of the groups were asked to meet over the next couple of months, inviting interested members of the community who had expressed an interest at the Annual Assembly to contribute their particular skills and expertise.
FINANCE GROUP TO MEET  17th June  2.00 p.m.  at the ANNEXE

359.0  Bin in Pickforde Lane:   Cllr. Hastings reported that the litter problem continued in Pickforde Lane and it was resolved that a bin be installed and a collection service organised.  It was suggested that Newington Court might have a contract that the Council could buy into.

360.0  Appendix of Outstanding Matters:

361.0 District Council Report:  Any matters had already been discussed within the agenda.

362.0 County Council Report: Cllr. Barnes reported that the County Council have been informed that they can expect up to £6,500,000.00 of cuts in their budget but will attempt to safeguard the various grants to organisations as best they can.

363.0 Reports:  Cllr. A Cook reported on the recent appeal with regard to Cross Lane House, informing the meeting that Rother District Council had not acquitted themselves terribly well, having not visited the premises for nine years and could not substantiate the claim that the building was of ‘historic significance’.  The determination of the Inspector is likely to be available in about five weeks time.  Councillors were disappointed to hear that the Inspector did not visit the Cross Lane Garden site.

364.0 Dog Bins:  Clerk has instructed Wealden to move the Stonegate bin and install an extra one at the entrance to the Recreation Ground, Cottenden Road.  Cllr. Goodall offered to meet the installation team to identify the new and final position of the Station Road bin.

365.0 Finance Report:  The Council approved the list of cheques for sanctioning and adopted the end of year return for submission to the internal auditor prior to being sent to Mazars the external auditor.  The Chairman and Responsible Officer signed the Annual Return.

366.0 Planning Report:  Report on meeting held on 27th May 2010:
Report on Planning Appeal hearing – Cross Lane House.
RR/2010/937/P – Oakdene  Berners Hill Flimwell – Redevelopment of site to provide four houses – recommendation for refusal.
RR/2010/939/P – Sunnyview Union St Flimwell – Construction of new house – recommendation for refusal.
RR/2010/948/P – 3 Bell Cottages – Conversion of loft space to provide bathroom. Recommendation for approval.
RR/2010/976/P – Sommerton St Mary’s Lane – Loft conversion with two dormer windows – recommendation for approval.
Tabled:  List of applications since November 09 and record of whether Parish Council recommendations were endorsed at Rother.
Next Planning meeting will be on  17TH JUNE 2010  6.00 p.m. followed by a meeting of the Community Group.

367.0 Playground Inspections:  Cllrs.  Burley, Young and Mitchell have been provided with a check list for playgrounds and ponds and asked to do a June inspection prior to the school holidays to ascertain if any works need to be commissioned.  Rospa check to take place during the summer.
368.0 Allotments:  Cllr. Maynard to report on progress made at Flimwell and Stonegate allotment sites and pest problems in the area.   Over 80 allotments  - rent received to date = £ 1370 received  £705 to come in. 
Invitation to visit all the allotment sites on 15th June 7 pm starting at the Springfields site.

369.0 Traffic Calming: It was resolved that the Clerk should obtain a date that Brian Banks from ESCC could attend and set a meeting for this group to make a recommendation to the full Council.

370.0 Correspondence: 

371.0 Items for the July Agenda:    

372.0 The Bell Field:  (Confidential). A report will be available for the next meeting.

373.0  Date of the next meeting: The meeting closed at 8.50 p.m. and the date of the next meeting set for  6th July 2010