ANNUAL REPORT 2009/2010
1) Housing Development Issues - The Parish Council is very familiar with having such busy years but it would be refreshing not to spend so much of our time defending the community against unwanted housing developments.
An Extraordinary meeting was held in April last year jointly with Lindfield Urban Parish Council to highlight to residents the options for housing developments within the area and how they could influence that decision. Under their ‘Core Strategy’ criteria, the Government was demanding the construction of 17100 dwellings in the Mid Sussex area up to 2026 but latterly Mid Sussex District Council took the pragmatic view that they would attempt to allocate a pro rata number in batches of five years. However, it was moving towards the stage where the Villages were being threatened with bolt on developments so a group of representatives from those villages around Haywards Heath (called 4 Parishes and 3 Tiers - WSCC, MSDC and Parishes) met several times to formulate a concerted opposition to those unwanted developments.
The various decisions under the Core Strategy were postponed several times but we are now being asked to recommend to Mid Sussex District Council appropriate sites that have a potential for development
I stress, however, that there is still a substantial threat of a development of 760 dwellings in the Gravelye Lane and Walstead area.
2) The Parish Council viewed 59 planning applications over the past year some of which caused an element of
controversy. In general, the Council have resisted the proliferation of mini industrial estates within the rural area but conversely the community appeared to favour what appeared to show the sort of activities, which would stimulate rather than intrude on the rural setting. One such development was the re-development at Scaynes Hill Nursery that, although it had some critics, was generally welcomed by the community at large.
3) The ‘Village Plan’ (for Scaynes Hill) – A Committee was formulated at the latter part of last year to consider the future for Scaynes Hill Village with an inaugural open meeting held before Christmas which was very well attended. The Villagers responded with enthusiasm and a Steering Group has been formed from volunteers to research every aspect of community life and to develop the right approach to consult with the residents at large. This will include a questionnaire to the residents and also a stall at the Village Day in the summer. An interim report is due to be presented to Council in June of this year.
4) Children’s Playground – Scaynes Hill – After the last Annual Meeting, the Parish Council has addressed the request to expand the play equipment for the 3-5 year olds. We will soon be able to consult the community on the type of possible equipment.
5) Fingerposts (historical directional signs) – After several years of attempting to persuade West Sussex County Council to maintain our historical heritage they have finally agreed to fund 50% of the cost on a once only basis. The Parish has nine such directional signs all of which need attention. Work has commenced on their replacement or refurbishment and we hope that within the next few months all will be in a fit and upright state! The Parish Council will be maintaining them for the future.
6) Other news as follows:
a. Lighting – The Parish Council is observing closely the provision of street lighting within the Parish, especially as WSCC has announced that they are reviewing all of their lighting within the County. There is now a strong demand to consider our carbon footprint as much of our lighting is some years old. After discussion at the Annual Parish Meeting it was agreed we would consider the prospect of re-establishing the lighting opposite Ham Lane, Scaynes Hill.
b. Traffic Calming – Under a WSCC survey several measures were taken but only in the form of signage (e.g. vehicle activated signs) but we have been informed that a speed limit review is still active and we must be patient as we were still pushing for a 50mph speed limit from Lindfield to Ardingly and 40 mph from Bedales Corner to Scaynes Hill. The Speedwatch, where residents take part in assisting the Police with vehicle speed checking, was very successful in the area of The Farmer’s Pub at Scaynes Hill. Several other areas were to be investigated (e.g. Gravelye Lane) but action has not been forthcoming at present. We need to address this issue again in the near future.
c. Inter–Parish Cooperation – Apart from above on the housing development, we are still taking every opportunity to combine with Lindfield Urban Parish Council for the benefit of the community. One such endeavour is the Lindfield
Directory and Year Book which is circulated to every house
in Lindfield free of charge. The question of its relevance and cost is raised every year and it was agreed we would ask the community at large for their views on the subject. Cooperation continues with the Communication Forum and our Clerk’s assistant has recently accepted the role of secretary to that committee. However, the Joint Traffic Study Working Party committee has been disbanded as it was felt that we had achieved its main purpose.
d. Walstead Burial Ground – After many years of enduring the unsightly appearance of the chain link fencing on the east side main road frontage, the Parish saved enough money to remove the offending fence and replace it with a wall, pillars and wrought iron inserts to the length of 100 meters.
Donations from the County and District Authorities reduced the cost of the wall by a third. The wall certainly
substantially enhances the appearance of that area.
e. Severe Weather in January - A report from the Parish Council was published in the March issue of the Lindfield Life magazine and was in response to a meeting held in 8th January which was attended by public authorities and emergency services. The main adverse observation concerned the lack of attention the authorities paid to the residential roads and pavements and WSCC were proposing to hold a meeting to consider what lessons were learned and action required for the future. WSCC held a ‘Snow Summit’ on 11 March and from there recommendations were forthcoming which will be discussed in Council and in Village Plan meetings.
f. Allotments Gardens – Gravelye Lane. The gardens continue to flourish under the stewardship of Jason Lainchbury with George Mason and a small band of plot holders willing to assist with the maintenance. The popularity of the allotment gardens encourages the Parish Council to actively research the possibility of purchasing or renting land for this very environmental activity.
The Allotment Cup was awarded this year to Jim Yule – well done Jim or should it be Jeannette?
g. Landfill site at Freshfield Lane - The prospect is again in evidence when the owners volunteered their site for inclusion as an inert landfill site. It is only recently that the site was rejected as a non-inert site by a Government Inspector but it was necessary to register our disquiet at the prospect. WSCC will decide at the end of the year whether to recommend the site to Government.
h. The Parish continues to support a small band of Charities and the list can be viewed in the Council office. We continue to administer bus passes but are unable to issue Senior Citizen Rail vouchers although we wish to encourage residents to contact MSDC at Oaklands, Haywards Heath where a £4 per annum discount can be obtained.
i. We are pleased to welcome two new Councillors: Steve Minter and Steve Windsor.
SUMMARY OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR 2009/10
Income
Precept 47,941
Allotment Rents 464
Walstead Cemetery 26,146
Investment & capital receipts 169
Lodge Income 10,110
Chapel Income 5,000
Total Income £ 89,830
Expenditure
General Administration 29,673
Office equipment 2,134
Subscriptions & Donations 2,012
Walstead Cemetery 17,913
Lodge 1,634
Walstead Wall repair 8,505
General Expenditure 4,800
Total Expenditure 66,671
Capital Expenditure
Walstead Lodge 1,835
Walstead special projects 7,844
Others 29
Total Capital Expenditure 9,708
Total Expenditure £ 76,379
Transfer to Reserves £ 13,451
Balance Sheet
Assets Debtors £ 7,801
Cash at Bank £140,420
Current Assets £148,221
Creditors £ 30,676
Net Assets £ 117,545
Capital & Reserves
General Reserves £ 21,985
Earmarked Funds £ 82,109
Retained Reserves for year £ 13,451
Total Capital £ 117,545
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