Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING held on
23rd May 2024 at 7.00pm in Adastra Hall, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Attendees: Parish Councillors Frances Gaudencio, Bill Hatton, David Bunting, Carolyn Barton, Kristian Berggreen, Paul Shepherd, Lesley Cruikshank- Robb, Don McBeth and Kate Bailey.

Parish Clerk: Ian Cumberworth:

Presenting Groups present: Woodland, Fauna & Flora Group, Cycling Without Age Hurst & Hassocks and Greener Hassocks & Ditchling (formally HKD Transition).

Also present Sussex Police

1. APOLOGIES Councillors Sue Hatton, Alex Simmons, Peter Richardson and Ian Weir.

2. Minutes – The minutes of the Annual Parish meeting held on the 16th May 2023 were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

3. CHAIRMANS ANNUAL REPORT – May 2024 (Cllr Gaudencio)

Copies of the Annual report were distributed to attendees present which is set out in Appendix 1 of these minutes .Rather than readout the report verbatim the Chair provided a power point presentation talking around the contents of the detailed report covering the work, achievements and challenges of the Parish Council over the last year.
To view Appendix 1 please click here.

4. OPEN FORUM: OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO RAISE ANY ISSUES.

Question (Q) & Answer Session (A)

Members of the public had previously been invited to submit questions to the Parish Council in advance of the meeting but were also provided with an opportunity to raise questions from attendees.

The Clerk read out the questions received in advance of the meeting:

4.1 Q It should be mandatory that there shall be no more building on Adastra Park:

A. If an application is received at some future point it would need to be considered on its merits at that time. It would be subject to going through the normal planning process where individuals would have the opportunity to make any representations in favour or against which would inform any planning decision by Mid Sussex District Council.

4.2 Q Equally there shall be no increase in car parking within Adastra Park.

A. There is no capacity to extend car parking in the park therefore there are no plans to consider this.

4.3. Q. There has been an increase of 1,000 houses around Hassocks. Therefore increase in population of 3 – 4,000, and a minimum of 1,000 cars. Also this means an increase of 2.3 million to 3 million pounds income per year. What improvements have been made in and around Hassocks?

A. With respect to the Parish Council the property base has increased by 314 (Band D equivalent properties in the last four years and the total precept for the Council for this year is £331,827.

With regard to the developments developers are required to make developer contributions towards infrastructure which cover a number of elements some of which the Parish Council is able to access such as:

• Formal Sport
• Community Building
• Play space
• Local Community Infrastructure
• Public Art

Other agencies are allocated contributions directly such as West Sussex County Council for schools and Highways and the Health Service.

These contributions are collected and held by Mid Sussex District Council when the trigger points have been met during the course of the development this could be at the point the first property is occupied or when a certain number of properties have been constructed.

With respect of the Parish Council we have utilised some of the contributions secured under Formal Sport and Play space towards the upgrading of facilities in Adastra Park such as the Skate park playgrounds and the Tennis Courts.

4.4 Q. Are there any plans to put down a tarmac or similar path around the main part of the park where the cricket ground is located? The reason being that we have a small child in the family and we are unable to enjoy the full extent of the park due to the condition of the ground and it not being suitable for a pram or buggy. If the path was of a resilient Material then it could be used in most weathers. The existing path is also in need of improvement.

I realise that recent funding has been used on the extension of the hall, but it would be helpful to know if there are any plans to source further funding for the pathways.

A. The Council in the medium to long term has aspirations to improve the path network within the park but before considering this further work will need to be undertaken to improve the current drainage in the field.

Attendees were then invited to ask questions from the floor which Cllr Gaudencio responded to:

4.5 Q. Is the groundsman being replaced

A. Yes a recruitment process is currently in progress and we are hopeful we are able to recruit and contractors have been undertaking the work in the interim.

4.6. Q. Skate park–at present users are required to bring their own brooms to sweep, can a broom be supplied.

A .The Council indicated that they had provided some brooms previously but they were not returned.

The resident confirmed that they had also previously brought their own brooms but have disappeared from hiding places. They therefore asked whether an arrangement could be put in place for designated volunteers to collect a broom from the office.

A. It was suggested that they liaise directly with the office to arrange this.

4.7. Q. Adastra Hall – when will it be finished and will work to the park be reinstated

A. A trustee of the hall (Carolyn Barton) responded advising that the project was slightly behind at present due to weather, delays in supplies of steel and glass. Contractors are now working to catch up but the finish date has been pushed back. It’s anticipated the handover will occur during June.

Re-instatement is part of the agreement and it will be done. Turf has been generously donated by Tate’s garden centre for the main area. The other grassed area will be seeded and should regrow naturally.

That concluded the questions.

5. A short break was convened for people to view the displays present prior to the presentations from the groups present, all of which have either worked in partnership with the Council or received grant funding.

6. After the break each group was provided with an opportunity to talk about the work of their respective groups and how the grant funding was being used:

The attendees then heard a series of short presentations from:

• Woodland, Fauna & Flora Group.
• Cycling Without Age Hurst & Hassocks
• Greener Hassocks & Ditchling (formerly HKD transition)

Meeting closed at 8pm