Hassocks Parish Council

Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on 9th April 2024

at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks

Attendees: Parish Councillors: Frances Gaudencio (Chair), Kristian Berggreen, Don McBeth, Paul Shepherd, Robert Brewer, Peter Richardson, Lesley Cruickshank-Robb and Alex Simmons.

Parish Clerk: Ian Cumberworth

Visiting member: WSCC – Kirsty Lord

MINUTES

PC23/145     APOLOGIES Cllr Weir, Cllr Bunting, Cllr S Hatton, Cllr B Hatton, Cllr Barton, Cllr Bailey.

Absent without apologies Cllr Neil

PC23/146     DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS

Disclosure by Councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, and whether the Councillor regards their interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct. – None.

PC23/147     MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on the 12th March 2024, were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

PC23/148     PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

No members of the public were present.

PC23/149     MINUTES

149.1     Members agreed the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on the
11th March 2024.

149.2    Members noted the minutes of the Grounds & Environment Committee for the 21st March 2024.

PC23/150     FINANCE

150.1    Members considered the finance reports and the supporting bank statements and reviewed the following payment list for the period 1st February – 29th February 2024. Members sought clarification on one of the payments referenced ‘Retention’ the Clerk advised Members this was in relation to the Play Equipment contract where retention sums had been retained as a result of a particular piece of equipment being faulty. This was subsequently replaced by the supplier. Members APPROVED in the sum of £58,980.50.

PC23/151     Reports

151.1     County Councillors reports: – Cllr Lord advised members on the following matters.

Road safety (KL) encouraged members to consider the proposed traffic regulation order for London Road favourably which was to be considered later on in the agenda.

Other areas were being explored on Brighton Road, however this is more complicated with the speed of vehicles coming down Clayton Hill.

Exploring the possibility of creating a simple crossing facility between Bugden’s and the park.

Highways are currently pushing for the re-instatement of yellow lines outside Morrison’s with the intention of installing double yellow lines.

Double yellows to be installed in John Saxby Way. Also looking to establish a disabled bay without encroaching on Grand Avenue.

Recycling – Recycling centre in Burgess Hill has now moved over to summer hours. The introduction of pre booking visit time slots has been received reasonably positively with a few teething problems.

Schools

Ofsted

The Happy Feet nursery based at the football ground have recently been assessed by Ofsted. As a result of its current assessment, it will not be able to provide additional places to support the government’s role out to support children aged two. This could therefore impact on some parents.

151.2     District Councillor Report Cllr Berggreen provided a brief update on behalf of Cllr Hobbs      (MSDC):

Centre for outdoor sports – its anticipated that the venue will be open by the end of the year and benefit the south of the district, at a recent meeting with Burgess Hill FC they indicated they looked forward to the facility being available which will provide much needed increased capacity for the benefit of the community.

Car Parking Strategy – the consultation is due to commence shortly on the proposed parking fee increases being introduced in the three main towns (Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and East Grinstead.

151.3     Police Report – nothing to report.

151.4     Rail Matters – nothing to report.

151.5     Youth Initiatives – nothing to report

151.6     Report from Councillors on meetings of outside bodies where the Council is represented – None.

PC23/152    CHAIRPERSONS REPORT – Cllr Gaudencio wished to place on record her thanks to former Chair Cllr Weir who for the many years has been the Chair of the Council, who recently decided to step down as Chair but to continue to serve as a Councillor. Cllr Gaudencio indicated Cllr Weir had a kind and encouraging manner, was non-abrasive and always willing to take on lots of work and in particular championing Footpaths, Traffic-Calming and Flooding. Cllr Weir had indicated that he would like to continue to focus on areas of particular interest.

All Members expressed the view they would like to place on record their appreciation for all Cllr Weirs work as Chair to the Council over many years.

PC23/153     CLERK’S REPORT

153.1     Royal British Legion – War Memorial tablets.

The report set out the position regarding the memorial tablets currently located on the former Royal British Legion club. (Images set out in Appendix 2).

Members were advised that the site is currently under offer and the Legion have indicated, that they would consider allowing the Council to remove and relocate the tablets.

Some indicative costs have been obtained to remove and make good (if required) (circa £1,000), if there was no requirement to make good costs would reduce to around £600.

The stonemason has indicated there could be a risk of breakage during removal, however they indicated that they should be able to be removed.

Members were firstly requested to consider whether they supported the principle to attempt to remove the tablets.

Members discussed the merits of their removal and expressed some reservation around the potential risk of damage to them when being removed, however Members RESOLVED that the Council should attempt to remove the tablets from the current site at a cost up to £1,000.

Members were then requested to consider further logistical issues which were set out in the report. The Clerk informed Members that as the site is under offer the opportunity for removal is likely to be time limited.

Members considered what contingency plans could be put in place in the event that the tablets were not able to be removed successfully, however the intention was to relocate them at a future point somewhere within the Garden of Remembrance.

Some concern was expressed regarding the possibility of them being subject to vandalism, therefore their siting will need to be considered carefully.

Due to the limited timescale available to remove the tablets, Members proposed that the stonemason be approached to see if they could be stored until the Council were ready to
re-install them.

Members considered the potential issues surrounding transportation, and reinstallation.

Members were advised funds had been set aside for their relocation within the Garden of Remembrance Earmarked Reserve which were likely to cover the removal and re-installation costs.

After careful consideration Members RESOLVED to PROGRESS the removal, transportation, storage, re-location and re-installation of the tablets within the Garden of Remembrance to be funded from the allocation set aside in Earmarked Reserves.

Cllr McBeth was tasked with overseeing co-ordinating the removal of the tablets.

153.2     Hassocks A273 London Road- near Friars Oak – Traffic Regulation Order (TRO)

WSCC had contacted the Council seeking its views as to whether they were supportive of the proposed extension of the 30 mph speed limit zone set out in the attached TRO (Appendix 3).

The proposed extension was set out in the attached map and Members are requested to indicate whether they were supportive of the proposal.

Members RESOLVED to support the introduction of the extended 30mph speed limit as set out in the Traffic Regulation Order.

The Clerk undertook to notify County of the Parishes views.  

PC23/154    URGENT MATTERS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN – Cllr Gaudencio sought member’s views on varying the format of the proposed Annual Parish meeting in light of the recent change to the Chair and the current workloads. The consensus amongst members was the proposals could be paired back to make the event more manageable. The intention would still be to invite a number of guest speakers but to reconsider the venue.

PC23/155     DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To note that the date of the next Parish Council meeting is Tuesday 14th May 2024 at 7.30pm.

Confidential

PC23/156     Confidential minutes

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on the 12th March 2024, were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.