Welcome to the Cowfold Parish Council website
This provides information on the Council and links to related documents, as well as a summary of local facilities and village activities.
If you want to contact the Council, please call the Parish Clerk, Jan Wright, on 01403 864806 or send her an email at:
Struggling With Living Costs?
If you are short of money and struggling to pay for food or other essentials as a result of the current cost of living crisis, some sources of local help and support are included on the Struggling With Living Costs page.
Our Next Meeting
The Parish Council Ordinary Meetings are normally held in the Allmond Centre at 7:30pm on the second Monday of every month and are followed at 9:00pm with the monthly Planning Meeting.
The next meeting will be held in the Allmond Centre on Monday 9th May 2022.
Local Bus Services
WSCC need your views and ideas about bus services in West Sussex, to help us understand where the service is running well and where improvements are needed.
Here are some ways to take part:
- Submit a regular passenger journal
- Tell us the things that you need for a better bus experience
- Think of an idea to improve local buses: all ideas are good ideas
- Sign up to the #WestSussBus e-newsletter
See https://yourvoice.westsussex.gov.uk/westsussbus for more details.
Cowfold Butterfly Haven
The Kicking Field
April 2022 Update
Last Autumn we had a contractor lift the turf and power harrow the ground in preparation for the creation of a small wildflower meadow.
The area was seeded with a specific heritage grass/wildflower mixture which is finally showing some signs of life.
It is important that the grass is of a type that will not outcompete the wildflowers and best results are when the soil is of relatively poor quality as the wildflowers will grow quite happily whereas the grass growth is limited.
An exceptionally dry April has reduced the Wildflower germination but, at last, the first signs of tiny wildflower plants are becoming visible amongst the grass.
The first year was always expected to be a relatively poor one as the plants need at least a full season to become established. Wildflower seeds can lie dormant for a number of seasons and so we need to be patient but once we see the results, we can judge if we need to consider re-seeding the area.
A chalk mound has been created to form a specific habitat needed to attract some of Britain’s rarest butterflies. In time this chalk will become covered in grass.
We have also planted some Alder Buckthorn as this is the only plant on which the Brimstone Butterfly will lay its eggs.
More information can be found on the Greening Cowfold page
Cowfold Community Improvement Plan
January 2022 Update
We would like to extend our thanks to all those who provided feedback on the Cowfold Community Improvement Plan for 2021. More information can be found on the Cowfold Community Project Plan page.
We have successfully completed a number of projects during 2021 and look forward to focusing on new initiatives for our lovely village in 2022.
With all ideas comes a cost, both in terms of person power to carry out the project and, of course, a materials cost. The ideas presented were great, however, the costs for some of these projects were in excess of £100,000, well over the budget of the Parish Council, but not impossible if they are sponsored by local fundraising over several years to make it happen.
Where do Parish Council funds come from to spend on Community Projects?
The previous Section 106 scheme has been replaced by the Community Infrastructure Levy scheme which is a fairer system, as the money received due from housing development comes direct to the Parish Council and does not have to be applied for from Horsham District Council. Cowfold Parish Council now uses this money for local community projects.
Our success stories in 2021 included:
- Cowfold Rewilding Project.
- Butterfly Haven.
- Recycling Project in the Local Community.
- Recycling Scheme at St Peter’s School.
- Speed sign(s). Cowfold Parish Council originally proposed four signs but only one location has been agreed with West Sussex County Council currently.
Proposals for 2022
New initiatives for 2022 include the installation of an outdoor gym on the Playing Field; this will be put to public vote at the Annual Parish Meeting.
Dates for your diary
- Annual Parish Meeting Meeting: Thursday 24 March 2022 (Village Hall)
- The Queens Platinum Jubilee Party: Sunday 5 June 2022 (Playing Field)
- Cowfold Village Clean-up Day: Saturday 19 March 2022
Community Speedwatch in Cowfold
You may have noticed the local Cowfold Speedwatch group of volunteers who have started monitoring the speeds of vehicles travelling through the Village.
They desperately need to recruit more members to continue this very important initiative!
You can apply on the Community Speedwatch website:
https://www.communityspeedwatch.co.uk
(Once on the home page, click on the “Register” tab on the top menu and then the “Join Existing” tab on the sidebar menu.)
Remembrance Day Service on 14 November 2021
The Remembrance Day Service, held in St Peter’s Churchyard on Sunday 14 November 2021, was well attended with an excellent turnout from the Scouts.
The photo includes (back views of) the colour party following the wreath laying: Jenny Langlands-Pearse (RBL Women’s Section), Donna Everest (Cowfold Parish Council) and Mike Gething (RBL).
Greening Cowfold
Greening Cowfold is a new initiative brought to you by Cowfold Parish Council.
We are set up to help Cowfold become a more sustainable, biodiverse and healthy place to live. We want to work with all the organisations and businesses in Cowfold. So if you, or anyone you know, would like to plant trees, help Cowfold homes become greener or get involved in any way – we’d love your help. Please get in touch by emailing us at greeningcowfold@gmail.com.
Here are links to our latest newsletters:
April 2021
https://mailchi.mp/b7b91cf89910/april-newsletter
May 2021
https://mailchi.mp/91c268ccb43f/greening-cowfold-may-2021
June 2021
https://mailchi.mp/791dea60dd21/june-2021-newsletter
July 2021
https://mailchi.mp/c795a3b8f234/butterflies-bugs-bbqs
August 2021
https://mailchi.mp/d24524882d3f/august-2021-greening-cowfold-newsletter
September 2021
https://mailchi.mp/6a4b45de6686/september-news
October 2021
https://mailchi.mp/ff5ffd2e8d73/greening-cowfold-october-newsletter
November 2021
https://mailchi.mp/24e0c8ed2712/new-recycling-scheme-in-cowfold
December 2021
https://mailchi.mp/e96ea934c5ac/new-recycling-scheme-in-cowfold-4167410
January 2022
https://mailchi.mp/0f803e8f8258/january-2022-new-year-and-new-opportunities
February 2022
https://mailchi.mp/4391a38c9bd3/how-many-hours-tv-1-recycled-aluminium-can
Please take a look and do forward the links it to anyone else who might be interested – thank you!
In order to provide more details of our activities, we have established a separate web page which can be accessed here:
Wild Verges
As part of the Greening Cowfold initiative, it has been proposed that, for the next several years, the village collaborates with West Sussex County Council to introduce an annual ‘No Mow’ policy for designated verges between March and September. These areas (see maps) will be clearly marked, not obscure any lines of sight for motorists and allow habitat regeneration with the possibility of enhanced wildflower planting from 2022.
Cowfold Neighbourhood Plan
The Submission version of the Cowfold Neighbourhood Development Plan, which can be viewed at CNP_Submission_Plan_Final_.pdf, has been submitted by Horsham District Council for independent Examination.
The Examiner’s report has now been published and can be viewed at:
HDC published the full Regulation 16 documentation including all feedback and the Clarification Note from the Public Examiner in early March 2021.
Our response to the Examiner’s Clarification Note was sent by HDC to the Examiner on Wednesday 17 March 2021. This can be reviewed here:
CNP-Response-to-Examiner-Clarification-Note.pdf
The full documentation can be examined here:
https://www.horsham.gov.uk/planning/neighbourhood-planning/cowfold
An overview of the overall planning process is provided in the Cowfold Neighbourhood Plan page.
Grants available to businesses to alleviate the financial impact of the COVID pandemic
HDC has received a number of sums of money from central Government for grants to businesses to alleviate in part the financial issues caused by various lockdowns and shutdown measures as a result of the pandemic.
The issue in our District is that, despite a number of businesses applying for grants, it is believed that there are others that are not availing themselves of the possible grants. Some businesses may think that this help does not apply to them but it may, in one way or another.
If you are a small business that has not applied for a grant, please check out what support is still available on the Council’s website at:
https://www.horsham.gov.uk/coronavirus/coronavirus-business-support-grants
Follow the Countryside Code!
Our local farmers and other rural businesses are pleased to see people out enjoying the countryside but have sometimes been negatively affected by irresponsible behaviour. Some of this is often due to a lack of awareness and the following poster is useful in explaining the basics.
West Sussex County Council’s Electric Vehicle Strategy 2019 to 2030
West Sussex County Council has published its electric vehicle strategy for the period from 2019 to 2030.
The vision for the County is that, when residents travel by car and small van, they choose ultra-low emission vehicles, and travel in a carbon neutral way.
To achieve this vision, WSCC has three highly ambitious aims:
- At least 70% of all new cars in the county to be electric by 2030.
- There is sufficient charging infrastructure in place to support the vehicles predicted to be reliant on public infrastructure to charge.
- Ensure that there is a renewable energy source for all charging points on County Council land or highway.
More details are given in the WSCC Electric Vehicle Strategy document or are available on the WSCC website.