Minutes of the Buxted Annual Assembly held at Buxted School on Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm.
- Present:
Cllrs. Blandford (Chairman), Cox, Dopson, Goldsmith, Hall, Harding, McQuarrie, Marlowe, Rose, Sheard, Skinner and Treacher.
Also present: WDC Cllr Ogden and Clerks Beccy Macklen and Claudine Feltham and approximately 40 members of the public.
- Apologies for absence:
Received from Cllrs Milner, Mulvagh, ESCC Councillor Galley and also Mrs Tricker.
- Minutes of the Annual Assembly held on 6th May 2014:
Having been available for inspection on the parish council’s web site for the last 12 months, these were approved.
- Buxted Pavilion Management Committee Trustees:
Four trustees had to be appointed and on the proposal of Cllr Hall, seconded by Cllr McQuarrie, the following were duly elected – Dave Butcher, Karl Harrison, Erick Reily and Jane Brooker.
- Presentations:
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. She explained how the evening would unfold and thanked all for attending. There would be an opportunity to ask questions at the end and finally everyone was invited to stay once the formal proceedings were concluded for refreshments.
Anthony Rogers – Chairman Beechbrook Park Residents Association
Anthony introduced himself as the Chairman of the Beechbrook Park development which is situated behind the Buxted Inn off the A272. He explained that the residents formed an association in order to have more of a standing when discussing estate issues with the management company. The association also wanted to build up a community/social atmosphere within the development and also to make associations with the rest of the community. They very much wish to join the village and be part of the village integrating within the community. He reiterated to all to feel free to pop into the Beechbook Park area and/or come along to the resident’s association meetings and become part of any events they are organising. They do not wish to be isolated from the rest of the village. Just as a further update the association has been advised that works to the roadways should be completed by the end of the month.
Rick Burton – Ionides Trust
Gave an update on the current business of the Ionides Trust and the land it owns in the centre of Buxted.It is currently in a healthy financial position due to the annual income from the surgery which allows the Trust to continue to carry out general maintenance of the land. This year the playground has been refurbished. There is a drainage problem on the land but long term solutions are being investigated.There has been a major problem with the car parking surface being slippery and there has already been one accident. Therefore, during bad weather this car park is being closed for health and safety purposes and a permanent solution is being sought. Prior to the Scout bonfire night there had been some health and safety concerns but these were addressed and improved. Post bonfire night, the Trust has made good the bonfire site (returfed).
A current project is the purchase of new playground equipment which is for older children with exercise equipment which can be used by adults as well This is being achieved via the receipt of off-site play space contribution from the Beechbrook Park development.A design brief has been prepared and a number of equipment providers and playground designers will shortly be approached to tender for a design and build project.The Buxted Fete has been resurrected and will be on Saturday 12th September 2015. The Trust, in association with the Buxted Inn, will have a bar and will also supply staging equipment. There will be two main acts - one for children and then one for adults later with a band, bar and food. It is hoped that all members of the village can get involved. It is important that extra people from within the community come forward to help with the co-ordination of events andgenerally help on the day.
Nick Tricker – Buxted Community Hall Trust
“The most important thing to happen since the last Annual Parish Assembly, as far as Buxted Community Hall Trust is concerned is that, just before Christmas, the scheme was granted Planning Permission by Wealden District Council. This means that we can build the new hall as planned on The Ionides Trust land next to the Surgery and Children’s playground. Eventually on that site there will be a fitting, modern facility for use by all in the parish. This replacement for the Reading Room on Church Road will include a good sized hall that can be extended by use of an adjacent smaller hall, a café overlooking the playground, a kitchen, an office that can be used by the Parish Council, and toilet facilities.
There are two main strands of activity over the next year: fundraising and developing the hall’s building project.
At present the main focus clearly needs to be towards fundraising. We need to raise an estimated £800k plus.
It is our intention to focus on activities that will make the most significant inroads into that large sum. We appreciate the need to deliver popular evenings of entertainment or interest for all sectors of the village. We recognise that these help to publicise our main aim (to replace the Reading Room), but they can also promote a feeling of fun associated with fundraising and obtaining contributions, hopefully, from the whole village community. I think that you will agree that our fundraising has started off well. My hope is that we shall be able to continue organising one event each month. That will keep the Trust at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts and it will provide worthwhile and entertaining social events for as many people as are interested. The Trust divides fundraising events into small and large. Next year we shall continue organising minor events, such as concerts or quiz nights, which typically raise about £500 in an evening. Following helpful suggestions from an interested friend of the Trust we are also thinking about a major event for the autumn, but whether this is taken forward or not will depend on how successful the current programme of events is over the summer. These events take a lot of hard work to develop and put on, and there is little point in continuing if it is felt that we shall not be able to meet our goals in a reasonable period of time. That is why we are looking for parishioners to come forward and help us fundraise. The average age of the trustees is too high and the amount of money needed is too much for us to do it on our own.
The second main area of activity underway at present concerns the building project. A small group of Trustees has worked hard to produce our business plan. It sets out our intentions and makes the case for the new village hall. It can be accessed on our website. We are now able to use the Business Plan to support bids from the Trust for funding from individuals or organisations. The Business Plan is an organic document, which is brought up-to-date as our circumstances or assumptions change. For example the cost of building the hall in the latest version of the Business Plan is a figure that will be revised as time goes on and we make decisions as part of the detailed design work for the new hall.
We are currently meetings with a few local builders to ask if they are willing to help us develop the project. We believe that those joint discussions with contractors over the next few months will help us gain a better understanding of the amount we will need to raise. Following helpful advice from one of the building firms we have been able to revise the cost of the project from over a million pounds to just over £800k. We already have about a quarter in our bank account, or promised to us.
Our talks with building professionals will also be an opportunity for us to make use of the contractors’ practical knowledge in order to spend our hard earned money as wisely as possible. We shall be able to discuss the project programme with them, including when we might make a start on site. They may advise us to divide the project into individual elements or phases that get built as funding comes in, rather than having to wait until we have funding for the whole project. This could mean that we start with the groundworks – including the car parking and drains - before starting to build the hall itself.
Finally I should like to remind you of an event coming up.
Please make a note in your diary for a concert by the Tunbridge Wells Men’s Orpheus Choir in St Margaret’s Church at 7.30pm on 13th June. The choir will be singing a variety of pieces to entertain you. There will be music to suit all tastes. I can guarantee you a delightful evening. It won’t be too highbrow andas always all proceeds will go to the new Village Hall. Please come and support us.
If you have any questions or you can help in any way, do please talk to my colleagues. We are very approachable……….”
Ed Bartlet – High Hurstwood Village Hall Committee
Stepped in at the last minute in place of Tim Burgess and John Packer and wished to refer to the two main issues at present for the High Hurstwood Village Hall Committee. Planning permission has been granted for a new storage facility to take the place of the current storage container to the rear of the hall.A large proportion of the funds required was successfully awarded via the Veolia Trust with a small amount still to raise, but once in situ the storage facility will be of great benefit to the village. Second issue is the positioning of a new cricket net on the green by funds released from the High Hurstwood Village Hall Committee. A full size new cricket pitch was considered a step too far and expensive at this time, so a cricket net was considered a great compromise and will hopefully encourage more sport into the village in the summer season. The location of this net is such that the net is set into the corner of the site and would therefore not cause any issues to those in the surrounding properties.
Chairman – Parish Council Update
The Chairman has chosen a few aspects of the parish council work that has been relevant throughout the last year.
Fingerposts – over the last year the parish council undertook to refurbish and reinstate all 17 of the fingerposts in the parish. Fingerposts became compulsory in 1766 to help stagecoaches and mail services to keep timetables and then in the 20th century the earliest signs were erected by cycle clubs and then the AA. Thereafter they became the remit of the County Councils. In April 1941 East and West Sussex County Council said that all fingerposts and milestones were stored safely- for the duration of the war. However, in 1964 the Warboys report standardised road signs and encouraged County Councils to remove them, but East Sussex County Council was one of only three County Councils in the country to refuse and thus they are still here today. In 2005 English Heritage stated they ‘Enrich the countryside and enhance local character’. The Parish Council fully agree with this feel it is important to keep the fingerposts and ensure they are regularly maintained.
Although it may sometimes feel that funds and services are being reduced, it is good to look back on some old photographs to see how things have improved due to County, District and Parish Councils. The chairman displayed a number of photographs showing how roads have improved and advising that if all pot holes, countrywide, were to be repaired it would take 13 years.
Where Parish Councils have the power and resources we try to make changes, such as the Pound Green Triangle at the top of Buxted. This triangle of land in between three roads, is surrounded by a wrought iron fence within which was planted a memorial tree to James Chalmers.Thishas recently succumbed to damage by an over-zealous lorry driver who managed to flatten two thirds of the railings. The owner of the land approached the parish council for help and it was decided that the parish council would purchase the piece of land for a nominal fee and replace the iron fencing in part with Sussex style post and rail fencing in order to maintain what is considered to be an important aspect to the west of the village.
Over to dog and litter bins! These are no longer the responsibility of Wealden District Council but now parish councils. A recent article in the Buxted Messenger and High Hurstwood Review reported that dog bins cost parishioners just short of £1500 per year – but are necessary so have to be paid for. The parish council, following a request for a very public spirited resident of Five Ash Down, who had been picking up litter in that area,will provide two new litter bins at the bus stops on the A26 so our local resident does not have to continue to clear up the litter of a daily basis.
BT Phone boxes – On occasion parish councils are advised the BT is decommissioning its phone boxes (old and new versions) and parish councils are given the option to purchase them for £1. As they are considered part of the local character the parish council felt it important to save one of the old style boxes due to be decommissioned opposite Tanyard Cottages, Framfield Road.Little use where it is, the parish council is considering moving the box to outside of the surgery installing a defibrillator in it. However some residents of Tanyards Cottages have stated that they wish to keep it there, so further communication is required. It is important to remember however that if the parish council had not agreed to take it on it would have been removed by BT.
The Parish Council website is currently undergoing some refurbishment as it was now a little out of date and not very user friendly when used with a touch screen. It is considered that money should be invested in this as it is rapidly becoming the most utilised form of communication. We also have a Facebook page where notifications from the website are automatically published.
Two more councillors were co-opted this year, but we are saying goodbye to Vi Treacher who has always worked hard on behalf of the village of High Hurstwood and Maggie Dopson who everyone will know from the Five Ash Down Post Office. We are also loosing Barry Marlowe but we may well still see him around via his role as a WDC Councillor. The Chairman thanked them all for their hard work and reiterated that even with elections due on 7th May, we will still be looking for more parish councillors to co-opt as it is believed three spaces will remain.
The Chairman thanked those who gave presentations and those clubs, societies and groups that are represented in the hall.
- Public questions:
Amanda Wright – where would we find events that are happening in the village? The Chairman advised that more use needs to be made of the calendar on the parish council website. Alternatively, events are also advertised on noticeboards, the Buxted Messenger and High Hurstwood Review magazines and Buxted E-Community (BPEC).
Buxted football club – wished to invite those from the Beechbrook Park Development to join the club. Anthony and the Football Club would converse.
The above was followed by drinks and conversation with those in attendance.