The Bournes Community Forum
Minutes of Meeting held at St. John’s Church Centre,
Southbourne on Thursday 22nd September 2005 at 7pm
Present:John Marsland, Chief Executive, CDC
Stuart Miles, LDF Project Leader, CDC
Mike Penny, Chidham Parish Council
Cliff Archer, Chidham Parish Council
Mary Marrs, Councillor, Southbourne Parish Council
John Popplewell, Compton Parish Council
David Myers, Councillor, Bosham Parish Council
Myles Cullen, Councillor, Bosham Parish Council
Maureen Elliott, Councillor, Westbourne Parish Council
Joan Graham, Westbourne Parish Council
David Todd, Westbourne Parish Council
Julian Snell, Fishbourne Parish Council
Barbara Gowlett, Councillor, Southbourne Parish Council
Barry Mann, Clerk for Chidham & Funtingham Parish Council
Nigel Brown, Funtington Parish Council
David Hyland, Chichester District Council
Ieuan Sherwood, Action in Rural Sussex
Lawrence Tirebuck, Southbourne Parish Council
Tony Wavish, Southbourne Parish Council
Graham Hicks, Councillor, Southbourne Parish Council
Marilyn Wright, Clerk, Stoughton Parish Council
Andrew Smith, Leader of the Council
John Burton, Southbourne Parish Council (Chairman)
John Tierney, Chichester Harbour Conservancy
Paul Over, Chichester District Council
Marilyn Blunden, Chichester District Council
ApologiesAdrian Moss, Councillor, Fishbourne Parish Council
Frank Garrett, Councillor, Funtington Parish Council
Patsy West, Bosham Parish Council
Val Owens, Westbourne Parish Council
Dennis Borsberry, Bosham Parish Council
Michael Gauntlet, Stoughton Parish Council
Carla Barnes – West Sussex Association of Local Councils (Who has now retired as Chairman)
1.Introduction
The meeting was chaired by Mr. John Burton, Chairman of Southbourne Parish Council who thanked everyone for attending and gave a brief summary of the evenings events.
2.Apologies for absence and Minutes of the Last Meeting
Apologies for absence were noted and the minutes of the last meeting accepted subject to the following amendments:
(a)In the list of those present Tony Hamish should read Tony Wavish.
(b)Item 3(a) refers to the resurfacing of the A27(T) It was also noted that Paul Over has written to the Highways Agency.
3.Matters Arising
(5)It was pointed out that agendas for the County Local Committee (CLC) meetings were very similar to those of the Community Forums. Invites had been sent out to some parishes to attend the meeting of the CLC on Tuesday 27th September 2005.
4.LDF – Preferred Option Core Strategy – Stuart Miles
Stuart Miles highlighted the need for parishes not only to complete their Parish Plan but also to encourage members of the public to participate in its development.
He updated the meeting on the latest stage of the LDF and said that consultation on the Preferred Option Draft of the Core Strategy would commence on 23rd September 2005. Consultation will also be undertaken on the Urban Potential Study and the Statement of Community Involvement submitted to Government. Feedback from workshops, questionnaires and the requirements of the South East Plan, which is due to be adopted in the spring of 2008, will all have an influence on the Core Strategy.
There was some discussion on the figures for housing allocation on previously developed land (pdl) and greenfield sites within the Bournes area.
Questions raised
Question:The figures 40-50 for housing in Westbourne, is it envisaged they will be built on one site?
Answer:SM pointed out that the Core Strategy took an overall view of the area and was not site specific. The 40-50 homes predicted to be built in Westbourne comprise sites identified in the Urban Potential Study with a capacity of 5 or more homes, plus a proportion of the sites we would expect to come forward District wide on sites with a capacity of 1-4 homes.
Question:If the entire housing allocation for an area were built in one hit – on one site, would this mean no other houses could be built in that area?
Answer:Not necessarily. The Urban Potential is used to predict the number of homes likely to come forward on brownfield sites so that we can determine how much greenfield land is needed. Housing land supply is monitored annually, and the release of sites is managed to take that into account.
Concerns were also raised about the lack of affordable housing for local and young people in the area. SM was also asked if there had been any liaison with road, rail and education agencies because of the lack of infrastructure to support new housing.
5.Draft Community Strategy & the Local Community
Partnership – Penny Lane
Penny Lane explained that the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) brought together agencies and organisations within the private, public, voluntary and community sectors to plan for the future of the district and coordinate work to address its long-term needs.
Parish councils were issued with a copy of the Draft Community Strategy prior to the meeting and were asked for any feedback. The Strategy has been produced in consultation with key partners in the LSP and sets out the long-term shared vision for the area.
Issues identified include:
- Housing
- Transport
- Health
- Demographics
- Community safety
- The Local economy
- An enriched and active community
Consultation on the Draft Community Strategy will be undertaken over the next two months with the Local Strategic Partnership, other Community Forums and the Citizen’s Panel.
Question
Concerns were raised that local people would not necessarily benefit from new housing in their community and therefore the objectives of the Strategy would not be met. How was it envisaged that this issue could be redressed?
Answer
PL stated that the Council did have an allocations policy which sets out procedures for determining priorities based on housing need. It also was however helpful for parishes to feed these comments back to the District Council.
6.Action in Rural Sussex – Ieuan Sherwood
Ieuan Sherwood from Action in Rural Sussex outlined the advantages to the parishes of producing a Parish Plan. He said that although the plans had to be realistic they would help to identify issues and solutions and could be used as a business plan for the parish councils. It could be used as documentary information as part of the LDF. Countryside Agency funding has now been replaced by DEFRA parish plan funding and more money would be available to parishes who had already started their plan.
He asked the meeting to consider the possibility of producing a Forum Action Plan. Some parishes advised that they had neither the resources or the funding to put toward further public consultation and asked what it would entail and what could be gained from it. The Chairman, John Burton, proposed that this issue should be put forward as an item for a later agenda, and IS said he would look into the possibility of funding for the project and would be prepared to facilitate a workshop session on the topic.
7.Any Other Business
A259 Replacement Lighting & Street Numbering – Julian Snell
Julian Snell, Chairman of Fishbourne Parish Council, explained how Fishbourne had received Heritage funding to replace the street lights along the main road through Fishbourne with more traditional style lanterns. He also outlined how the parish council had, in consultation with Chichester District Council, drawn up a new numbering scheme for a half mile stretch of Salthill Road to make the numbering system more logical and identification easier for emergency services. He offered his thanks to Sarah Hobbs (Chichester District Council) for the professional way she had handled the two schemes.
Minerals Development Plan
18 sites have been recognised in the Minerals Development Plan. Westbourne, Lavant and Southbourne will be part of the Minerals Liaison Group.
Waste Plan
Funtington Parish Council are to appear as part of the Inquiry into the Waste Plan.
Planning Applications
Mrs M. Marrs appealed to parishes to attend planning committees to support applications in their area. It was pointed out that the system of alternating the decision-making process on applications (ascending and descending alphabetical order), had greatly improved the waiting time for parishes, although it was acknowledged that it was still difficult to estimate times due to not knowing the number of speakers commenting on the applications.
Village Hall Grants
Julian Snell asked for a review of the current grant of £25,000 for village halls which was considered insufficient. A grant of £100,000 was thought to be more appropriate. Mr Marsland said a review of the grant would be considered as part of the budget funding.
Off Road Bikers
Some parishes are experiencing problems with off-road bikers and it was suggested that perhaps a parcel of land on Thorney Island could be identified for bikers. In the meantime incidents with bikers should be reported to the mobile warden or to the police.
Possible subjects for next meeting
Forum Plan
Just Ask Us
Best Value Review
District Council budget
CPSO funding
8.Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday, 6th December 2005 at Bosham Village Hall
Thursday, 23rd March 2006 – To be hosted by Westbourne Parish Council. Venue to be confirmed.