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(1073) Cowfold Parish Council Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Monday 13 October 2008 in the Village Hall Present: Mr B Baldwin (BB) (Chairman) Mr R Holden (RH) Mrs S Lucas (SL) Mr C Collins (CC) Mrs E Precious (EP) Mrs M Cutbush (MC) Mr G Sibley (GS) Mr G Case (GC) Mrs J Wright (JW) Mr I Shepherd, Horsham District Councillor Mr L Barnard, West Sussex County Councillor Public: 6 Press: 0 Mr Baldwin announced that he had received a letter of resignation from Mr J Dorman. Joe had taken on more commitments at work and did not feel that he could give the necessary commitment to the Parish Council. Mr Baldwin said that he would write a letter of thanks to Joe for his efforts whilst a Member of the Council. 1. Apologies Apologies for absence were received from Mr V Allmond (VA), and Mr J Chowen (JC) 2. Approval of the Minutes The Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 8 September 2008 were agreed by all as a true and correct record: 3. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest with regard to any item on the Agenda. 4. The Public Mr Lock commented on the overgrown vegetation in Henfield Road and was informed that letters had been sent to residents. Mr Lock also asked about the proposed new refuge to be installed on the A272 from Mercers Mead to the Playing Field. He was informed that the work was included in WSCC Works Programme. Mr Dickinson said that he had investigated the possibility of planting new trees on the Playing Field but said that there were drains in the area which needed to be assessed. Mr Holden said that he would investigate the problem. Mr Dickinson also said that a grant could be applied for under the Trees for Shade Scheme. It was agreed to submit an application. Mr Chamberlin asked if any progress had been made regarding Active Road Signs. Mrs Wright said that she had had a long conversation with Jon Forster at WSCC and he said that he would send an email outlining the criteria etc. required, but it had not been received to date. It was agreed to send the latest SID statistics to Jon Forster and ask him to visit the area to assess the problem. Mr Chamberlin offered to put a ‘No Smoking Sign’ in the new Bus Shelter. Mrs Wright agreed to supply the sign. 5. Matters Arising With regard to the fingerpost at Picts Lane, WSCC had responded to a request for them to repair it, by offering to do so, provided the Parish Council agreed to maintain the post in the future. It was agreed to accept the offer and Mrs Wright agreed to write to WSCC accordingly. No response had been received from Vince Tipper at WSCC regarding the possibility of installing double white lines at the Kent Street junction. It was suggested that Jon Forster should be contacted regarding this matter and Mrs Wright agreed to do this. The rubbish that had accumulated in the garden of the Indian Restaurant had been cleared. Mrs Wright had written to the Co-op regarding the rubbish at the side of the shop. Mr Baldwin had spoken to Tim Boxall regarding flooding issues but very little additional information was available at present. Mr Chamberlin had made the portable goal posts on the Playing Field safe to use. Mrs Wright had reminded Joe Dorman to contact Ken Hall regarding footpaths but did not know if this had happened. Mrs Wright had contacted Sue Whitehead for an update of the pond situation. Sue had sent a copy of the email she had sent to Pete the Pond reminding him that the Parish Council were waiting for quotations and suggesting dates for the work to be carried out. Mrs Cutbush said that she would contact Sue. Mrs Wright had contacted Will Jones at HDC regarding courses for Mr Dickinson to attend. Will said that any notification of courses would come from WSCC who Mr Dickinson was already in contact with. Will said that Mr Dickinson would be welcome to attend the Parish Councils’ meeting at the end of the month which he would be attending. The faulty streetlights had been reported. Mrs Cutbush had decided to rename the Parish Newsletter ‘Cowfold Village News’. 6. District Councillor Report Mr Shepherd reported on the following matters: • Flooding • North East Review • Partridge Green Pharmacy Application 7. County Councillor Report Mr Barnard reported on the following matters: • Suspension of Fit for the Future • Flooding Issues • CDLP – Green Paper • Council Partnerships 8. Correspondence Mr J Crake: Speeding in Cowfold. Information to be sent to Jon Forster at WSCC and a request for volunteers to operate SID to be published in Cowfold Village News. Natalie & Koen Bouchaert: Request for permission to use Playing Field for a boot camp. A copy of insurance had been received. Mr & Mrs Knight: Garage in Thornden. Mr Baldwin agreed to respond appropriately. The Royal British Legion: Notification of The Poppy Quiz being held on 16 October 2008. Noted. SE England Region Assembly: Partial Review of the South East Plan: Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs. Mr Baldwin offered to review the document. West Sussex NHS Primary Care Trust: The NHS Consultation – Public consultation period. Noted. AiRS & SALC: Notification of AGM on Friday 7 November 2008 at the Norfolk Pavilion, South of England Showground, Ardingly. Noted. (RH) (JW) (JW) (1074) (JW) (JW) (MC) (1075) (JW/MC) (BB) (BB) 9. Representatives’ Reports Planning Mr Baldwin read the October 2008 Planning Report. Finance A Finance Committee meeting had taken place on 15 September 2008 where it had been decided to redeem at par the 9% Treasury Stock and put the proceeds into the savings account. Mr Collins reported that a cheque for £3,250 had been received from WSCC towards the cost of the teen shelter. Mr Collins also said that he would be arranging a Finance Committee meeting at the end of November to discuss the budget for 2009/2010 and asked all Members to think about anything they would like to be included. Open Spaces Mr Holden said that the goal posts on the Kicking Field had been vandalised and, therefore, removed. It was agreed to reinstate the posts at a later date. Mr Holden said that he would clear the brambles on the Playing Field. Mr Holden said that he would be asking Mr Reynolds for a quotation to carry out minor repairs to the Play Area on the Playing Field. Complaints had been received regarding overgrown vegetation at Sitcom in Henfield Road and 4 Alley Groves. Mrs Wright agreed to write to the occupiers of 4 Alley Groves. Mr Case was in attendance and, therefore, made aware of the complaints at the meeting. Mrs Lucas said that the hedge at the Twitten by the Post Office was still too wide and Mrs Wright agreed to contact Saxon Weald again to ask them to cut the hedge further back Pond Warden Nothing to report. Footpaths Mr Case agreed to take on the responsibility for Footpaths and to obtain any information on the subject from Mr Dorman. Tree Warden Nothing further to report. Allotments Mrs Wright said that a request had been received from an allotment holder to keep bees. No objections were raised but it was suggested that the Gardens & Allotments Association should be contacted in case there were any rules etc. to be concerned about. Mrs Wright agreed to investigate the matter. Roads & Transport Nothing to report. Streetlights Nothing to report. Health Care & Social Services Mrs Lucas said that it was extremely busy at present with people booking hospital cars. HDALC Mrs Lucas said that she and Mr Baldwin had not been able to attend the last meeting and that she was not receiving information for future meeting dates etc. Mrs Wright agreed to contact the Secretary to make sure Mrs Lucas received the information in future. Village Hall The next meeting was due to be held on 21 October 2008. The 200 Club was continuing for another year. School Governors Mrs Precious said that fifteen new pupils had started school in September, bringing the total to One Hundred and Fifteen. Mrs Precious also said that she would be attending a one day Governor’s course in November. Newsletter Mrs Cutbush reminded Members that the copy date for the next issue was 1 November 2008. Website Mrs Precious commented on some out of date information on the website. Mrs Wright said that she had notified Graham Tickner and asked him to update the information. 10. Dog Fouling Mrs Wright had contacted HDC regarding the possibility of banning dogs from the Playing Field and had received information detailing the procedure that would need to be adhered to. She had also investigated the possibility of using the Street Scene Wardens, but had discovered that for ten hours of their time a week, the cost would be £8,108 per year. However, correspondence had been received from a couple of residents who were against a total ban from the Playing Field and Mr Crake, who was in attendance, suggested that maybe dog walkers could be recruited to pick up any mess, keeping a record of what they find and when, in order to get a better idea of when the fouling is mainly occurring. Mr Case agreed to take on the responsibility of forming a group to consider the problem and come up with a plan of action. Mr Sibley said that he had spoken to a member of the Football Club who said that lately the problem had not been dog fouling, but mole hills and fox mess. Mr Case agreed to write an article for the next newsletter. 11. Publication of Minutes Mrs Wright had contacted SALC regarding the publication of draft Minutes. Trevor Leggo had responded by saying that as long as it was clear that they were draft Minutes that it would be permissible. Mrs Wright agreed to display the draft Minutes on the main noticeboard at the Village Hall in future, one week before the next Council meeting at the same time as the Agenda is displayed. 12. Pavilion Mr Baldwin said that the information received from AiRS was still being digested, but meetings were being held usually following the Planning meetings twice a month. A fund raising committee was currently being formed and there were plans to invite a representative from AiRS and the Football Association to come and speak on the subject. Mr Baldwin agreed to write a brief update for the next newsletter The next meeting will be held on Monday 10 November 2008 at 7.30 p.m. The meeting closed at 9.20 p.m. (CC) (RH) (RH) (JW) (JW) (GC) (1076) (JW) (JW) (GC) (GC) (1077) (BB)
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