Report from County Councillor
Mr Griffiths provided the attached
report.
Questions/Comments to County
Councillor
·
AS commented on the dangers of the severe flooding
to the A272 following heavy rainfall.
·
JD asked about responsibility for gritting of
pavements in Haywards Heath. PG confirmed he would speak to the
councillor concerned.
·
DW enquired why students who couldn’t get to exams
due to the severe weather had to wait 6 months to do them. PG
advised that only 2 students in West Sussex had been reported as
missing their exam and may be affected. If the exams were taken
shortly after those that had been able to do them then this
would give an unfair advantage.
Report from District Councillor
Mrs Seward advised of the difficulties at
MSDC due to the recent adverse weather. People had generally
been tolerant of delays with collection of bins which SERCO are
now catching up with.
The budget work is ongoing.
Questions/Comments to District
Councillor
·
DW advised that the dog bins have been
overflowing. DT has chased this up with Paul Hickman at SERCO
who has confirmed that it may be possible to replace the bin
with a bigger one.
·
JD asked what impact the weather has had on the
budget. SS advised that the result was falling income and extra
costs on gritting and outdoor work.
·
AS asked who was responsible for gritting at the
railway stations. SS confirmed it is the responsibility of
Network Rail
·
AS asked about gritting bins in the village. PG
advised that the bins either belong to MSDC or the Parish
Council but the grit comes from WSCC. Hippo bags should be
pre-ordered from the depot in the event of bad weather.
·
TS commented that the council could arrange for
local volunteers to drive gritting lorries etc in the event of
bad weather. SS advised that a list of approved contractors
would be useful.
PG left the meeting.
1. Apologies for Absence
There were
none.
2. Minutes of the last
meeting
It was agreed by all that the
Minutes of the meeting held on 15h December 2009 be
approved and signed by the chairman.
3. Declarations of Interest
There were none.
4. Finance
4.1
Agree the list of accounts for payment
The list of accounts for January
was agreed by all and signed by the Chairman.
5. Receive a report from the
roads and highways focus group
DW advised that the next review
of maintenance is due in March.
6. Receive a report from the
footpaths focus group
FW advised that there are no updates this month.
7. Receive a report from the
communications and action plan focus group
FW advised that the Open Doors sessions are going well with good
attendance. A list of items raised with action points is being
drawn up for the councillors concerned. BS advised of the need
to give feedback to the public. The intention is to continue
advertising in the Mid Sussex Times and Parish magazine, also to
confirm the representatives of organisations who will be
attending specific sessions.
8. Receive a report from the
housing and development land focus group
AS advised that he, DW and AM
have met with the 2 Housing Associations who specialise in
developments of small affordable housing units in rural areas.
Both were very good but they propose using English Rural Housing
Association (ERHA). Details can be found at
www.erha.org.uk. All councillors agreed to this. A village
information day will now be held on 3rd or 4th
March at which representatives from the Parish Council, AiRS,
MSDC and ERHA will be available to answer any questions.
Further details will be published in the February edition of the
Parish magazine to publicise the event further.
FW suggested that a statement is
produced to make it clear what affordable housing is as there
has been some confusion about this. All agreed.
9. Receive an update on the
fingerposts and agree further funding to ensure completion of
the project
EH advised that WSCC now have £50,000 to apply to fingerpost restoration
to a maximum of £5,000 per parish. An application for £5,000
has been sent in for Bolney and confirmation of receipt received
from WSCC. Although the parish also has a grant for £2,000 from
the CLC, there will be gap in the funding received and the total
refurbishment costs for all fingerposts in the parish of
approximately £4,000 to £5,000. All agreed to providing ongoing
financial support to complete the project.
10. Receive an update on the
Pavilion Café and agree ongoing financial support
EH advised that this item has been deferred. SS advised that she has
been in discussion with Sara Silcock about the cafe.
11. Agree feedback and response
on the new waste management sites
FW advised that following receipt
of background papers relating to the Minerals and Waste
Development Framework (MWDF), two potential sites in Bolney have
been identified at Ricebridge Industrial Estate and Hickstead.
Following discussion it was agreed to prepare a response
objecting to these sites on the basis of additional road
traffic, flooding risk and harm to wildlife.
SS declared a personal
interest in the following item and took no part in the
discussion.
12. Request to fund a school
safety zone
FW advised that he has been asked
by the School Travel Committee to look at the possibility of
having a school safety zone. He advised that although WSCC are
committed to providing a school safety zone for every school in
West Sussex, Bolney is not in the budget for the next 3 years
and is likely to be a long way down the list after that.
However, if funding is obtained elsewhere WSCC can provide
costing. FW asked for a decision in principle on whether to
investigate further. All agreed.
13. Discuss issues relating to
recent adverse weather conditions
FW advised that the minutes from
the Mid Sussex EPLG meeting held on 8.01.10 gave a good review
of the emergency response in the district.
14 Correspondence
There was none.
15 Date of Next Meeting
