Steyning Parish Council News - September 2016

Steyning Parish Council News

September 2016

FINANCE AND COMMUNITY

The Finance and Community Committee continue to work hard to ensure finances are carefully managed and within budget. More recently we have set up a working Practices group to examine our internal procedures and protocol, to ensure we deliver an effective service on behalf of the Steyning Community.

There has been a lot of discussion over recent months regarding how best to proceed with the Youth Service. The current contract between Horsham Matters and Steyning Area Youth Service Charity is due to end in March 2017. It has been agreed that the SAYS charity will no longer deliver this service. A new contract will be arranged directly between Steyning Parish Council and Horsham matters, which will serve to significantly reduce costs, as VAT will not be payable in this case. The Four parishes: Steyning, Upper Beeding, Bramber and Ashurst will continue to work together. A 'Memorandum Of Understanding' will be formed to commit to work together for a period of 3 years. It is proposed that the existing Management Committee becomes a Joint Parishes Youth Committee and the terms of reference be extended to ensure that the contract is closely monitored and that each parish gets value for money. Committee members will report back to their individual parishes on a regular basis. Horsham Matters will invoice each Parish in proportion to an agreed formula, as is the current position. We all concur that the Youth service is an extremely valuable service, which delivers outstanding benefits to the younger members of the community.

Michelle Syred - Chairman of Finance and Community Committee

STEYNING CENTRE

The Steyning Centre Committee has met regularly, and still has one vacancy for another member.

The committee agreed to put in place a rolling maintenance programme to ensure works are done on a regular basis and to prevent any unforeseen expenditures that have not been considered within the budget. Following this strategy, the roof was surveyed professionally and minor repairs have carried out this summer.

The Film night continues to be successful and will hopefully get busier again during the Autumn and Winter months. The proposed films for the next 3 months are Eye in the Sky, Florence Foster Jenkins and Absolutely Fabulous.

The minutes of all meetings are available in the library and give details of other actions and decisions taken by the committee.

The public are very welcome to attend any of the meetings.

Michael Willett - Chairman of Steyning Centre Committee

PLANNING

In May I was appointed Chair of Planning, following the excellent work in 2015/16 of Cllr Gill Muncey

We have continued to have a busy agenda in the Planning Committee with a high level of Planning Applications to review at each of our twice-monthly meetings. It remains challenging to complete these within the allocated meeting timeframe, despite the recent extension to 45 minutes, and the continued availability of paper plans from HDC. Planning Applications have been predominantly for building extensions, large & small, and a considerable number of applications relating to tree surgery.

Subsequent to the brief informal public consultation of our draft Steyning Conservation Area Character Assessment Document, we received some constructive suggestions, comments and a few challenges from interested local residents, for which we are grateful. A working party meeting of the Planning Committee subsequently made a few textual changes to the document and added two more maps to the appendices. This document has now been accepted by SPC full council and will now be forwarded to Horsham District Council, to inform their own over-arching Conservation Policy document, to enhance and promote the historic and cultural heritage of Steyning and safeguard its unique identity and natural and built environment, and hopefully leading to an Article 4 Direction for a slightly enlarged Steyning Conservation Area. HDC will in due course conduct their own public consultation before any new conservation policy is implemented.

Councillor Nick Muggridge - Chairman of Planning Committee

PLAYING FIELDS

At an EOM of the Playing Fields Committee on the 31st May Cllr. Tim Lloyd was elected as chairman with Cllr. Gill Ness-Collins as Vice-chair. The Orchard Group continues to thrive and is intending to plant 6 more trees to finish their orchard planting. The key project for the committee is the proposal to enclose the Rublees allotments with 1.8 metre high wire mesh fencing, to protect the allotment holders' crops from the local wildlife. The fencing has been made possible by the fund raising efforts of a member of the public and the committee hope to make a decision on this at the July meeting. The first tranche of the funds is already available to allow half of the fencing to be erected. The committee is looking into the costs of replacing the open-topped bins on the Memorial Playing Field, with closed-top bins, on a phased basis, that are more in keeping with its semi-rural location.

Councillor. Tim Lloyd - Chairman of Playing Fields Committee

HIGHWAYS AND LIGHTING

The Highways and Lighting Committee has been very fortunate of late in securing funding and external assistance to enable some projects to be completed. Working jointly with the Steyning and District Community Partnership, a new light has been placed on the footpath over the A283. The Wilson Memorial Trust generously gave a grant to the Community Partnership to fund the light and its installation and it will certainly make the footpath from Goring Road to Kings Barn Villas a nicer and safer place to walk. We have also asked West Sussex County Council if the trees overhanging the footbridge could be cut back, both to improve visibility and reduce slippery leaf fall in the autumn.

Funding was also secured from the Wiston Estate and the WSCC Public Rights of Way Team for the concreting of the end of the bridleway opposite Charlton Court Cottages. A poor job was done there by contractors last year, for which we did not pay, but the concreting should last much longer and greatly reduce debris being swept down Mouse Lane by winter rains, as well as making the surface safer for bridleway users.  Phase 2 Operation Watershed grants have also been obtained from West Sussex County Council to improve the drainage works by Charlton Court cottages, which direct rainfall towards Wiston Pond. Gullies will be enlarged and protected from being blocked by debris and one of the open ditches will be enclosed. CCTV will be used to check that underground pipes are intact and the flow will be tested to ensure it is fully functional before next winter.

The Committee is very grateful to all external funders for their support to the residents of Steyning.

Gill Muncey - Chairman of Highways and Lighting Committee

VACANT ALLOTMENTS

The Parish Council have a few vacant allotment plots on the Rublees site. The cost of renting a half plot is £13.75 and a whole plot is £27.50 per year. If you live in Steyning and are interested in renting a half or whole plot please contact Hazel Roxby on 01903 812042.

NEXT MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

Parish Council:7.30pm12th September, 10th October & 7th November

Finance & Community:7.45pm6th September, 4th October & 1st November

Highways & Lighting:7.45pm18th October 7.30pm 22nd November

Steyning Centre:7.30pm27th September & 7.45pm 15th November

Planning:7.00pm6th, 20th September, 4th, 18th October & 1st, 15th November

Please see the Parish Council noticeboard or website - www.steyningpc.gov.uk for agendas, minutes and times of meetings.

Members of the public are welcome to attend meetings.

E-mail: spcclerk@btconnect.comPhone: 01903 812042

Dates for Blood Doner sessions:

Monday 24th October and Monday 28th November - 2pm to 8pm at the Steyning Centre.