A Big Fun Day Thank You!

We would like to thank those many people who contributed to the success of Saturday's Fun Day. Every organisation in Chidham & Hambrook took part and members of each organisation gave significant time, effort and money to help make the Day a very enjoyable experience. The good weather - sunshine, comfortable temperature and a slight wind certainly helped as well.

There were two objectives in holding the event - to provide a focus for a happy community afternoon and to raise funds for the Pedestrian Crossing on the A259. The Crossing will help the whole parish, but will especially benefit the 40+ children from Hambrook who go to Chidham School and have to cross the busy, fast Main Road. The Parish Council felt that it had pressed for a crossing for so many years, to no avail, and could not wait for 15 years, or so, for the County to find the necessary money. It therefore took the plunge and increased its portion of the total income from your Council Tax to meet some of the cost of a crossing.

The amount of money raised will be reported on our Village Website as soon as the accounts have been finalised.

We thank Steve Hambry, of Marshalls, who put in much time, work and cash to help make the event go with a swing, our generous raffle donors and, of course, the many people who came along and spent their money.

The parish has now had two Fun Days – in 2006 and 2008. If we made the Fun Days biennial, the 2010 one would fit in with two anniversary celebrations that year – 100 years of Chidham School and 800 years of St Mary's, Chidham. Let's do it!

Cliff Archer and Steve Clark
On behalf of Chidham & Hambrook Parish Council

Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council!

The name of the Parish Council will change to Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council on 1 August this year. The name change was proposed by Cllr Cliff Archer and wholeheartedly supported by the Parish Council at its January meeting this year.

LETTER FROM DISTRICT COUNCIL ABOUT THE NAME CHANGE:
I refer to Chidham Parish Council's request to change its name to Chidham and Hambrook Parish.
At the District Council's Executive Board meeting on 3 June 2008 the decision to change the Parish name to the Parish of Chidham and Hambrook was taken and an Order is to be made under Section 75 of the Local Government Act 1972 implementing this change with effect from 1 August.  However, this change will not appear on the printed Register of Electors until it is next re-published in December 2008.
Peter Buglass , Electoral Services , Chichester District Council

The South Chichester County Local Committee of the County Council resolved last week to grant the Parish Council £2000 towards the cost of a new light-controlled Pedestrian Crossing on the A259, between Broad Road and Chidham Lane.

Cliff Archer, representing the Parish Council at a meeting of the Committee, spoke of the vital importance of providing such a crossing and presented a petition with 68 signatures from Chidham School. The crossing will help many local people and will be of particular benefit to children at the School, because 43 live north of the Main Road in Hambrook and could potentially walk or cycle to school.

The Parish Council will fund the majority of the cost, between £35000 and £40000, but is looking for support. To date, two local residents have each made a useful donation and a sizeable village business has promised to contribute.

A major Parish Event in September, supported by the Chidham School PTFA and other village organisations is being planned to raise more funds for the Crossing.

June 2008

There is a vacancy for a Parish Councillor to be co-opted on to the next Parish Council
If you wish your name to be put up for candidature, please email any councillor for an application form. The candidate should reside in, or within three miles of the Parish.

What is a homeshare?

A homeshare involves two people with different sets of needs. Both of them will have something to offer which can help to meet each other's needs.

Firstly, people who have a home that they are willing to share. They may need some help and support with tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Or maybe they simply feel the need for companionship. These people are known as householders .

Secondly, people who need accommodation. They will be willing to give up to a maximum of ten hours a week of their time and help in exchange for somewhere to stay. These people are known as homesharers .

More info or e mail dawn.blake@westsussex.gov.uk

Pedestrian Crossing on the Main Road planned .
This will be a Light-Controlled Pedestrian Crossing on the A259 between Broad Road and Chidham Lane.

The Parish Council has resolved to take the lead on the installation of a light-controlled pedestrian crossing on the A259. The cost will be met from the parish precept, augmented from other sources such as charitable trusts, funding bodies, fund-raising events and donations.

• Traffic speed on the wide A259 between Broad Road and Chidham Lane means that pedestrians find the road difficult to cross safely.
• Pedestrian refuges are provided, but not infrequently cars see the bollards too late when overtaking and pass them on the wrong side.
• The Parish Council and Chidham School Governors have discussed the lack of a proper A259 crossing for many years. The project is on WSCC Highways' list of schemes, but it will be many years before installation by WSCC could become a reality.
• Parents and carers of children at Chidham School are reluctant to allow their children to cross the A259 alone because of its dangers. 43 of the pupils live north of the Main Road and could potentially walk or cycle. Pedestrians and cyclists alike would benefit from a proper crossing.
• The objectives of the School's 2006 formal Travel Plan are in accordance with the Local Transport Plan. The objectives are:

• To improve road safety
• Reduce car use
• Raise awareness of transport-related environmental issues

In the Travel Plan, the School expressed its concern specifically regarding the lack of a proper crossing on the Main Road and reported that a significant number of children would prefer to walk or cycle to school.

• A light-controlled crossing could also act as a useful traffic-calming device.

PARISH COUNCILS TO CONTINUE INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN LOCAL PLANNING DECISIONS

Parish councils will continue to play an influential part in local planning decisions, a committee of Chichester District Councillors has decided.

A joint meeting of the North and South Area Development Committees came to the conclusion after reviewing procedures for dealing with planning applications at committee level.

Domestic planning applications cannot be approved by district council officers acting under delegated powers if the parish council objects. This means the matter has to be decided at an area development committee, made up of district councillors and allows the opportunity for a parish council representative to state its case.

“Parish councils have an important role to play in the planning process, and we felt this procedure should be retained,” said Councillor John Ridd, chairman of the joint meeting.

Current planning procedures have been in place for five years, and in that time, the number of applications being considered by area development committees has risen. Therefore, to speed up the decision-making process at meetings, the maximum number of speakers will be reduced from 12 to eight, but speakers will continue to be allowed to state their case for up to three minutes.

Planning applications will also be heard at the beginning of meetings, leaving the standard items until the end.

“There is a lot of public interest in planning applications, and it is not fair to ask people to wait around from the morning until mid afternoon for their particular application to be heard. This change is about managing the meeting better and speeding up the democratic process,” said Councillor Ridd.

“To reduce the cost of running the committees, we will also end the practice of sending out letters to interested parties inviting them to speak at committee meetings. If members of the public are interested in a particular case, we know they will follow it from start to finish, and will already be aware of the committee dates, so we are reducing duplication of work for our officers as well.

“It is right that we should be reviewing our procedures in light of various changes over the past five years, and we hope that everyone involved in the planning process will see the benefits of the changes and support them.”

The changes will come into force from 1 February 2008.

Is this you?
Would you like the parish council to notify the police of offenders?

Latest Edition of the Chidham and Hambrook Parish Directory now out!