HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
To: All Members of the Grounds & Environment Committee (Kate Bailey, Jane Baker, Kristian Berggreen, Leslie Campbell, Frances Gaudencio, Peter Gibbons, David Hammond, Bill Hatton, Frank Rylance and Alex Simmons) and Co-opted Members (Tony Copeland) with copies to all other Councillors for information.
cc Richard Higgs
A virtual meeting of the GROUNDS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE will be held on Thursday 22 October 2020 at 7.30pm.
Parish Clerk 15 October 2020
1. TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
2. TO ACCEPT DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.
3. MINUTES To accept the Minutes of the Grounds and Environment Meeting held on Thursday 3 September 2020. (Previously Circulated).
4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
5. OFFICER’S REPORT. (Appendix 1)
6. MOBILE REFUSE COLLECTIONS. Members are invited to note that MSDC will no longer be providing this service. (Appendix 2)
7. ADASTRA PARK MASTERPLAN. Verbal update (Parish Clerk).
8. DOG WASTE BIN. Members are invited to note an update on the request for a dog waste bin by the residents of South Bank. (Appendix 3).
9. TREE SAFETY SURVEY. Tree Safety Survey. Verbal Update (Parish Clerk)
10. URGENT MATTERS at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.
11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. Thursday 3 December 2020 at 7.30pm.
Please Note
All members of the public are welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council and its Committees.
Item 4 – a period of 15 minutes will be set aside for the public statements and questions relating to the published non-confidential business of the Meeting. It may be necessary to consider particular items in confidential session and where this arises, these items will be considered at the end of the agenda.
If you wish to attend this virtual meeting please email info@hassocks-pc.gov.uk before 09.00 hrs on the day of the meeting to be sent an electronic invitation by 12.00 noon on that day.
FILMING, RECORDING OF COUNCIL MEETINGS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
During this meeting members of the public may film or record the Committee and officers from the public area only providing it does not disrupt the meeting. The Confidential section of the meeting may not be filmed or recorded. If a member of the public objects to being recorded, the person(s) filming must stop doing so until that member of the public has finished speaking. The use of social media is permitted but members of the public are requested to switch their mobile devices to silent for the duration of the meeting.
Appendix 1
HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
To: Grounds & Environment Committee
Date: 22 October 2020
Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk
Subject: Agenda Item 5 – OFFICER’S REPORT
1. The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on Grounds and Environment (G&E) Matters.
2. AGREED ANNUAL DONATIONS. Members are asked to note that the following agreed annual donations/grants have been paid.
3. TALBOT FIELD. Some years ago the Parish Council planted a number of Poplar trees on the edge of the field bordering an adjacent property. The Council previously installed a root barrier to prevent any tree roots impacting on the same property at a cost of around £2,000 – £3,000.
Up until recently this barrier had proved effective, however the property owner has now been in contact with the Council and provided pictures showing that the roots from the poplar trees have breached the barrier and are now appearing in his garden. He has requested the Council to take appropriate action to address this problem. The same property resulted in a number of established trees having to be removed from Talbot Field earlier in the year.
A tree safety survey is currently being arranged of the trees on Council owned land at Adastra Park, Parklands Copse and Talbot Field. This is required to be undertaken periodically. It is proposed that if possible a site visit to this property will be incorporated during the inspection of Talbot Field trees as part of the arrangement. Once this has been undertaken this matter will be reported to the Committee with a proposed course of action.
4. ADASTRA PARK.
Bulb Planting. In 2015 the Hassocks WI were given permission to plant 100 crocus bulbs in the small triangle of grass at the side of the Adastra Hall to mark the 100th Anniversary of the WI. To mark the 105th year anniversary the WI will be replanting bulbs in the same location.
Emergency Tree Works. Due to the high winds recently experienced some emergency tree works were required to a Scots Pine on Orchard Lane involving the removal of a branch and the removal of a fallen tree on the eastern border of the North Field. These were two separate incidents. The total cost for the work was £330 net coming from the Adastra Park Tree maintenance budget which is £2000, some of which will also need to be used to finance the Tree Safety Survey referenced on item 3 of the Agenda.
5. ADASTRA PAVILION.
Heating System. Both fan motors on the Daikin outdoor unit and a damaged rotary isolator have now been replaced and the underfloor heating actuators have been reattached. The system is now fully functioning and will be monitored over the coming months. The total cost of the repairs was £750.50 net and will come from the pavilion Repair & Renewals budget which is £2350 in total.
Roof Leak. The Pavilion roof leak has been exacerbated by the down pipe to the rear of the building being pulled away, resulting in water running into the wall membrane rather than down the pipe. This has now been repaired and further minor repairs have been carried out on the roof. It is hoped that these may resolve the leak, however it will be monitored over the forthcoming weeks.
Appendix 2
HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
To: Grounds & Environment Committee
Date: 22 October 2020
Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk
Subject: Agenda Item 6 – CEASING OF MOBILE REFUSE COLLECTION SERVICE
1. The purpose of this report is to invite Members to note the following correspondence received from Mid Sussex District Council regarding Mobile Refuse Collections.
2. MSDC has previously provided mobile refuse collections for Towns and Parishes in Mid Sussex. The collections are paid for by the Town/Parish Council. Hassocks PC has paid for 9 collections a year which have taken place at Dale Avenue car park and the car park at Belmont Recreation Ground. The cost to HPC for last year was £2,740.32 plus VAT.
3. MSDC informed Parishes and Town Councils at the beginning of the year that a review was planned regarding the future of the provision, however the collections for 2020 would be taking place as scheduled. However the pandemic lockdown meant that the planned collections to be suspended for 2020.
4. Subsequently, the following communication has been received from MSDC notifying councils that the collections have now been ceased permanently. This information will be shared with residents via the HPC website and an article in The Talkabout.
Dear Clerks,
As you may be aware, each year Mid Sussex District Council reviews the provision of discretionary waste services and the charges applied to them.
This review, coupled with the guidance from Government on social distancing as the coronavirus pandemic continues, has led to the recommendation that we cease provision of Mobile Civic Amenity Sites with immediate effect. This recommendation was accepted by our elected members.
The decision to cease provision of this service is supported by the following information:
We will be happy to support you with communications to advise residents of the alternative services that we provide; but in the first instance the links below provide more information on the additional services available for residents to dispose of their waste:
Bulky waste service: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/waste-recycling/bulky-electrical-household-waste/
Garden waste service: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/waste-recycling/garden-waste/
Household Waste Recycling Sites: https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/waste-recycling/household-waste-recycling-sites/
Appendix 3
HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
To: Grounds & Environment Committee
Date: 22 October 2020
Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk
Subject: Agenda Item 8 – REQUEST FOR A DOG BIN.
1. At the G&E meeting held on 3 September 2020 Members considered a request from the South Bank Residents Association (SBRA) for the Parish Council to adopt responsibility for a dog waste bin which was installed privately by a resident of South Bank some years ago.
2. Members considered the request and the Deputy Clerk was requested to acquire further information in order for the Committee to make a decision. The purpose of this report is to update Members on the information requested.
3. Members are invited to consider how the Committee wishes to proceed with this request.
HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the GROUNDS AND ENVIRONMENT Committee held virtually on 22 October 2020 at 7.30pm.
Attendees: Cllrs Jane Baker, Frances Gaudencio, Bill Hatton and Frank Rylance.
In attendance: Tracy Forte – Deputy Clerk
Ian Cumberworth – Parish Clerk
Cllr Claire Tester
Cllr Sue Hatton (from item 3)
GE20/31 APOLOGIES. Cllrs Leslie Campbell, Peter Gibbons and David Hammond and co-opted member Tony Copeland. Absent without apology Cllrs Kate Bailey, Kristian Berggreen and Alex Simmons
GE20/32 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. There were no declarations of interest.
GE20/33 MINUTES.
It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Grounds & Environment meeting held 3 September 2020 be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Cllr Sue Hatton joined the meeting.
GE20/34 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. There were no members of the Public present.
GE20/35 OFFICER’S REPORT. Member’s noted the Officer’s report. The Clerk drew Member’s attention to item 3, Talbot Field, regarding concerns which have been raised over trees which are impacting on the garden of a neighbouring property. Although the Council has previously installed a root barrier at a cost of several thousand pounds, it appears that the barrier is being breached causing roots to appear in the owner’s garden. The owners have submitted a request for the Council to resolve this issue. Members were asked to note that this matter would be referred to again in Item 9 of the agenda regarding a tree safety survey.
GE 20/36 MOBILE REFUSE COLLECTIONS. Members noted correspondence from MSDC regarding the ceasing of the Mobile Refuse Service.
GE 20/37 ADASTRA PARK MASTERPLAN. The Clerk informed Members that the Park Working Group meetings had reconvened and the group is currently exploring potential workstreams/initiatives which will come forward to the committee for consideration once they have been developed further.
GE 20/38 DOG WASTE BIN. At the G&E meeting held on 3 September 2020 Members considered a request from the South Bank Residents Association (SBRA) for the Parish Council to adopt responsibility for a dog waste bin which was installed privately by a resident of South Bank some years ago. Following consideration of the request at the previous meeting, the Deputy Clerk was instructed to acquire further information in order for the Committee to make a decision.
As an update, The Deputy Clerk informed the Committee that an email had been sent to the District Councillors requesting that the District Council was urged to review the current policy to refuse all requests for the installation of new dog bins and the lack of responsibility for the installation and collection of dog bins on adopted estates and roads.
Cllr Sue Hatton informed Members that she had followed this up and had received a response from the Divisional Leader at MSDC for Commercial Services and Contracts. Cllr Hatton shared the response with the Committee which clarified that the District Council has not made a formal decision to provide no more dog bins, however it is the case that MSDC has very limited capacity at this time to accommodate the emptying and servicing of any additional bins, and are therefore resisting requests unless and until a demonstrable need can be identified. Where there is evidence of need, the District will do what it can to accommodate the request by considering opportunities for rationalisation elsewhere on the round and/or varying emptying frequencies.
As part of the revised corporate plan adopted by Council on 30 September there is a commitment to carry out a review of the waste, recycling and street-cleaning service, with a view to implementing a full service redesign. The future approach to the provision of litter and dog waste bins will be considered as part of this review.
It was also confirmed that the Council has no jurisdiction over, or responsibility for private land. Where land on new developments is not adopted, the responsibility for street cleaning, and the provision and emptying of litter bins, would rest with the developer and/ or any management company they choose to establish to oversee the ongoing management of the development.
In the Officer’s report included with the agenda, the Deputy Clerk had informed Members that it had proven difficult to obtain estimates for costs to empty dog bins from private contractors. However an indicative quote has given the cost of £12.50 plus VAT per week to empty one bin, or in the region of £6.00 plus VAT per bin if awarded the contract for the emptying all HPC dog waste bins in Hassocks. This compares with £3.05 plus VAT per bin under the current MSDC contract.
Following this information, the Committee agreed that it had considered the request as far it could but without the support of MSDC with the provision and emptying of bins on private estates, the Parish could not agree to fund the emptying of the bin on South Bank without being prepared to do so for all private estates in Hassocks. Therefore, the Committee requested the Deputy Clerk to contact the representative from the SBRA to explain that the Council had endeavoured to find a solution to assist the SBRA with the emptying of the dog bin, but would unfortunately not be able to adopt the bin at this current time.
GE 20/39 TREE SAFETY SURVEY. Tree Safety Survey. The Clerk advised Members that a Tree Safety Survey is about to be commissioned to undertake a safety inspection of all trees on Hassocks Parish Council owned land: Adastra Park, Parklands Copse and Talbot Field. The total cost of the commission will be £850 and will be met from the tree budget. As part of this survey, it has been agreed that the specific issue with trees in Talbot Field (as referred to in the Officer’s report) would also be included. The contractor will inspect the trees concerned and provide advice on possible courses of action.
GE 20/40 URGENT MATTERS at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda. There were no urgent matters.
GE 20/41 DATE OF NEXT MEETING 3 December 2020 at 7.30pm
There being no other business the meeting closed at 7.45pm.
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The Council Office is located at:
Parish Centre, Adastra Park,
Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 8QH.
Opening Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Wednesday CLOSED
Friday
10.00 a.m. to 12 noon.
