Chidham and Hambrook Village - everyday

Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council Meeting - October 2008

Matters Arising
It was reported by Councillor Steve Clark that a letter had been received stating that the Harbour Trust believe the purchase of the land on Cot Lane has been unsuccessful.

Councillor Archer stated that three people have shown an interest in the vacancy for a school governor.

The planning application for a development of houses on The Avenue has been refused by the District Planning Committee. This application came in front of the committee with a recommendation to approve from the planning officer.

District and County Councillors

Councillor Cullen reported on the matter of St. Richards hospital and the plan to combine the Chichester hospital with Worthing 's hospital forming a foundation.
Councillor Cullen informed the council that he had attended the recent district planning meeting and had spoken against the planning application at The Avenue. Councillor Cullen went on to say that Chichester District has a target of providing 480 new homes per year, but this figure cannot include “Windfall Sites” which account for 60% of all new developments. A Windfall Site is classed as a small development, ostensibly from re-development of private gardens etc.

Councillor Dunn informed the council that he could not guarantee that any shortfall in funds for the A259 crossing would be made up by the County Council.

Councillor Dunn reported that he believes there will be a filtering down of responsibility to the District and Parish councils for local services, such as verge cutting. It was also mentioned that we must strive to reduce our waste as it is very expensive to dispose of, and carries a tax burden from central government.

There is a proposal to have candidates for local Police Chiefs proposed by each political party and elected locally. Councillor Dunn stated that he believes having a Police Chief attached to a political party is a bad thing and the County Council disapproves of this idea.

Report from PCSO
PCSO Bruce Ives reported to the council that he is investigating the placing of SID devices in and around Chidham and Hambrook. Several crimes were reported on including the theft of catalytic converters, horse tacks and number plates, several burglaries and drug possession by a youth at Cobnor Activity Centre.

A259 Pedestrian Crossing
Councillor Archer reported that approx. £1250 was made from the recent village fun day. Thanks were given to Councillor Archer, and also to Steve Hanbury and his staff from Marshalls . The sum raised at the fun day, along with other donations, brings the total of funds raised to approx. £6400; this includes a recent donation from Chidham School 's travel fund of £800. There is still a shortfall of about £18k needed for the crossing and a letter from the Chairman will be drafted and sent to the County Council asking if an agreement for the crossing to go ahead can be received and what the options for making up the cost difference are.

Traffic in Priors Leaze Lane
A reply was received from the Highways department in response to the enquiry about a footpath along Priors Leaze Lane . The cost of the footpath would be up to £60k and it is not likely that the Highways department would agree to go ahead and install this.
The Parish Council are actively pursuing a SID device to measure volume and speed of traffic along Priors Leaze Lane .

Any Other Business
The Parish Council has been offered a small plot of land in Shepherds Close. The council will decide at the next meeting whether to accept this offer.

John Wingrove attended the meeting on behalf of the Village Hall Committee and asked for funds to be made available to refurbish the hall. The Parish Clerk advised that a letter should be sent in and that a sum of money was allocated towards Village Hall repairs for this financial year but had not yet been asked for.

Next Parish Meeting: 7.30pm , Thursday 6th November

Matters Arising
Councillor Archer gave an update on the land for sale on Cot Lane . The Chichester Harbour Trust has tabled a bid for the land, this bid was bettered by two others, one that was accepted but fell through, and one the vendor is now progressing with.

District and County Councillors
Councillor Myles Cullen of Chichester District Council commented on the on-going process to try and have the decision to downgrade St. Richards hospital reversed. The decision has been referred to the Secretary of State with the possibility of it going to a judicial review. A judicial review cannot reverse the decision but can analyse the process taken to reach the review, which Councillor Cullen believes was flawed.
Councillor Mark Dunn of the county council informed the meeting that Chidham Primary School has a vacancy for a governor.

Co-option of Parish Councillor
Jonathan Bentall of New Barn House, Chidham, has filled the vacant parish councillor position.

A259 Pedestrian Crossing
The location and design of the pedestrian crossing was reviewed, debated and agreed by the parish council. The location will be between the two entrances to the Chidham Garage and a Puffin crossing will be installed. The estimated cost is expected to be £58,000

Traffic in Priors Leaze Lane
Residents living along Priors Leaze Lane are concerned with the speed of the traffic through this area, especially since the temporary planning permission was granted to the grain store to produce bio-diesel. Councillor Mike Penny proposed a pavement along the lane and Councillor Steve Clark has already contacted the highways department to progress this matter. The use of a speed indicator device (SID) will be investigated to measure the average speed along the lane. The process for getting these devices has changed and despite repeated requests by the parish clerk to seek the rent or loan of one of these devices he has thus far been unsuccessful. Councillor Cullen has agreed to help with this and will check what needs to be done to acquire a SID for a day.

Cot Lane Verges
Robin Yeld brought to the councils attention the deterioration of the verge bank opposite the Old House at Home pub on Cot Lane . The council agreed to contact the highways department to see what could be done.

Any Other Business
Village litter picking will happen on the 21 st September, volunteers can meet up at 2pm outside the Village Hall. If anyone has a suggestion of areas that need targeting please contact Alastair Woolley ( zoeandalastair@btinternet.com tel:575715).
The village fun day will be held at Marshalls car park on the 20 th September, proceeds will go towards the village pedestrian crossing. Please come along and support the village.

Next Parish Meeting: 7.30pm , Thursday 2nd October
(Thanks to Alastair Woolley for the report)

Declaration of Interest
Councillors Cliff Archer and Steve Clark declared an interest in the planning application CH/08/02410/OUT due to section 106 funds possibly going towards the new village centre project, of which they are both on the committee for.
 
Matters Arising
Councillor Archer has had dialogue with Natural England with regards to maintenance of sea walls, in particular, the sea wall along Chidham Lane . They informed him that, provided there is no intrusion on the inter-tidal zone, no permission is required to raise the tide bank.

A meeting was held between councillors Clark and Archer, the district council and the owners of Havenwood and Broad Road nurseries with regards to proposed development of the now derelict land to the east of Broad Road . The proposal was presented to the district council who responded that the type of development within the proposal would not be approved.

District and County Councillors
Councillor Myles Cullen of Chichester District Council reported that the decision to downgrade St. Richards hospital had been referred to the Secretary of State. Councillor Cullen also commented on the four year planning permission granted to the grain store in Priors Leaze Lane , on which he spoke on behalf of the local residents against the planning application, to produce bio-diesel. It was also mentioned that the hostels in the area are becoming full as people have their homes repossessed.

Councillor Mark Dunn of the county council commented that he did not think central government would change its decision to downgrade St. Richards due to fund shortages.

Guest Speaker
The parish council were happy to welcome Penny Wing from the Citizens Advice Bureau who wanted to raise awareness of the changes in the funding model for advice agencies which means that within each region, agencies along with private companies, could tender for advice contracts. Ms. Wing warned that this change could greatly reduce the level of advice available to individuals currently enjoyed by visitors to CAB offices.  

Tree Planting on Broad Road
A very generous donation of £250 from Hambrook and District Residents Association has allowed the parish council to go ahead with the tree planting proposal for Broad Road .

Planning Matters
 The council discussed planning application CH/08/02410/OUT and reached a unanimous decision to object to the development. Various comments for the objection included the strategic gap, drainage and flooding issues, access and congestion.
Letters have been received from local residents in reference to the permitted planning application for the grain store to produce bio-diesel for a period of four years. They are concerned about the increased traffic through the village and want the parish council to prioritise Priors Leaze Lane as an area for traffic calming measures.

Correspondence
Confirmation of the parish name change has been received.

The parish council has received a grant of £2,000 towards the pedestrian crossing.

Councillor Steve Clark contacted Chichester District Council with regards to a request from a parish resident in respect to fan noise from a local nursery. The district council explained that they could not respond unless the affected person contacted them, and that anonymous complaints could not be acted upon. Councillor Clark also spoke with the nursery owner explaining the situation who said he would look into the issue.

A259 Crossing  
A consultation has been done with the necessary statutory authorities with no issues raised. The cost has now risen to approximately £60,000 due to the increase in material costs.

Vacancy
There still remains a vacancy for a Parish Councillor. If you feel you would like to help the Parish by filling this position please contact any of the Councillors or the Parish Clerk for further details. Parish Councillors details can be found on the parish notice boards.

Next Parish Meeting: 7.30pm , Thursday 4th September

Chidham Parish Council Meeting July 2008

Matters Arising
It was reported that the proposal for the pedestrian crossing on the A259 is likely to escalate in cost, although no estimate has yet been received. A £2,000 grant has been awarded by the County Local Committee towards the crossing and donations from local residents and businesses now exceed £2,000. A fun day will be held on 20 th September in Marshalls car park (many thanks to Steve Hambry), Broad Road with proceeds going towards the cost of the crossing.

District and County Councillors
There was no representation from District or County this week. Mark Dunn sent his apologies.

Broad Road Tree Planting
A planting plan for mature trees along Broad Road has been received from West Sussex County Council. The quote of approximately £1,000 includes the supply of twelve trees split equally between Ash and Maple varieties, and planting. The Parish Council agreed to fund to a maximum of £750 towards the planting with the remainder of the money hopefully coming from grants, donations, fund raising and cost savings through voluntary help.

 Land for Sale in Cot Lane
At the time of the meeting negotiations for the purchase of the land were still taking place and no new information was available.

New Village Centre
It was reported by Councillor Archer that a valuation of the St. Wilfrids has been received. The valuation was based on the land and property with the proviso of detailed reserved ‘no-cost' usage of the new centre by the Church. This reserved usage includes a once monthly Sunday morning service, storage, a quiet room/chapel and permanent management representation by the Parochial Church Council on the Village Centre committee. With all this taken into account St. Wilfrids was valued at £120,000.

Other Business
It has been confirmed by the District Council that the name of Chidham Parish will change to Chidham and Hambrook from 1 st August.

Vacancy

There still remains a vacancy for a Parish Councillor. If you feel you would like to help the Parish by filling this position please contact any of the Councillors or the Parish Clerk for further details. Parish Councillors details can be found on the parish notice boards.

Next Parish Meeting: 7.30pm , Thursday 7th August

A special meeting of the Parish Council was convened at short notice to discuss the land for sale at Cot Lane.

The council discussed the terms laid out by The Chichester Harbour Conservancy which needed to be agreed to in writing before they would commit to any involvement in the project to try and acquire the land as part of a community initiative.

The conditional terms set out by the Harbour Conservancy included:

• 60-70% of the land be planted to woodland
• The site be entered into the Woodland Grant Scheme or other appropriate grant scheme
• The boundary trees are retained, appropriately managed and enhanced where possible
• The community use of the site is appropriate and in keeping with the landscape and nature reservation objectives. This would prohibit the construction of inappropriate structures or infrastructure or uses such as allotments and camping
• The local community fundraise to assist in the long term establishment and maintenance of the site
• A management committee formed made up of key local community representatives to manage the site
• A 5-year management plan be developed

The Parish Council unanimously agreed to support the proposal and agreed to the conditions set out by the Harbour Conservancy. The council expressed a preference for a 40% grassland area.

As the Cot Lane land is in the Parish of Southbourne the Chidham Parish Council are bound by regulations about expenditure outside of its Parish boundaries. This meant that the maximum amount the Parish could pledge was £3500. After a short discussion it was agreed by majority decision to pledge the full amount towards the proposed purchase of the Cot Lane Land.

Chidham Parish Council Meeting June 2008

Matters Arising
Councillor Sandra James was thanked for the many years of effort she has put into the Parish Newsletter as Editor.

Councillor Cliff Archer has spoken with Chichester Harbour Conservancy in an effort to seek information on the sea wall next to the catch pond on Chidham Lane . They have advised Councillor Archer to contact Natural England, which he will do in the near future.

A meeting had been held with a County Council representative in relation to the proposed cycle path along A259. It was advised that the installation of this path had been delayed from its original date in the early spring due to nesting birds in hedgerows and bushes that would need to be altered when the path is installed. A question was raised over the excessive amount of signage that would be along this route.

Councillor Archer has had a meeting with the highways department about the proposed pedestrian crossing. The position of the crossing was discussed, with it being located between the two entrances of Chidham Garage as the agreed spot. The crossing will be a Puffin crossing, which is a pedestrian only crossing, and will be a single crossing i.e. no refuge island in the middle. A request for a grant of £6,000 has been sent to the County Local Committee (CLC) to help fund the crossing.

District and County Councillors
Representation from both District and County attended the June meeting. County Councillor Mark Dunn spoke about Government and County funding and the decision to downgrade St. Richard's hospital. He informed the Parish Council that an independent audit review of this decision has been requested. Councillor Dunn spoke of his new role as Chairman of the County Council and his intention to create better relations between County and District councils. He also mentioned that the portfolio he had for schools and young people had been handed to someone else.

District Councillor Myles Cullen spoke passionately about the decision to down grade St. Richard's hospital and his belief that the decision process was not a fair one for the Chichester Hospital . Councillor Cullen informed the Parish council that the District Council had agreed funding to fight the decision and that the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Commission had been asked to review the case. The next step would be to ask for a judicial review.

Land for Sale in Cot Lane
Stephen Johnson addressed the council on the subject of the plot of land in Cott Lane for sale with the view of somehow acquiring this land for use by the local parish people. James Davis then introduced himself and spoke of his role as administrator for the Chichester Harbour Trust and also of the work the trust did around the area of Chichester Harbour . An idea was presented that the Trust may help to fund the purchase of this land. The Parish Council discussed at length whether it could contribute financially towards this proposal. The general consensus from the Parish Councillors was that it may be able to contribute something, although no amount was agreed upon nor a commitment made. Councillor Dunn advised that as this land is in the Parish of Southbourne, there may be legal implications to using Parish Council funds to help purchase it. Councillor Stephen Clark informed the meeting that Southbourne council had been approached and that in principal they were also for the idea of this land being purchased for the use of local residents in some form or other.

Other Business
The Parish Council has been informed that the telephone box outside the post office is to be removed due to the limited amount of use it gets.

The Parish Clerk informed the council that he had written a letter to the highways agency to ask whether re-surfacing of Steels Lane to resolve the pot hole problems could be undertaken. They replied stating that no such work was planned.

Councillor Archer informed the council, on the topic of the new village centre, that three valuations had been carried out, one of the Village Hall and two of St. Wilfrids. Design drawings are currently being prepared.

The Parish Clerk has written to the District Council to object to the proposal to withdraw the mobile refuse collection facility in Marlpit Lane .

Vacancy
There still remains a vacancy for a Parish Councillor. If you feel you would like to help the Parish by filling this position please contact any of the Councillors or the Parish Clerk for further details. Parish Councillors details can be found on the parish notice boards.

Next Parish Meeting: 7.30pm , Thursday 3 rd July

Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council Meeting May 2008

Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Councillor Mike Penny was once again voted in as the Parish Chairman, Councillor Steve Clark was voted in as Vice-Chairman.

Community Speed Watch
The Parish Clerk is trying to arrange a joint meeting with other members of the Bourne Forum in which Inspector Bartlett of the local constabulary will train people in the use of the Police mobile Speed Indicator Device (SID).

Local Development
Some time ago the Parish Council were approached by a person representing the now derelict, Broad Road and Havenwood Nurseries. The proposal is to re-develop this site and the Parish Council were asked to respond indicating what type of development they felt would best fit in with a rural village and community. Discussions took place and it was agreed that a small amount of affordable housing with small commercial units would be the best option for this site. It was also pointed out that serious consideration should be given to any increase in traffic around the village. A letter was drafted, by the Chairman, reflecting the Council's views and sent.

Mr. Jag Grewal, the managing director of LRH-Homes addressed the council on the matter of the development at Summertons Care home, and also the proposed development at Estrella Care home, both on Main Road . Mr. Grewal explained that his company was in the process of purchasing Estrella Care Home and the plan is to combine both facilities into one. Suggestions for the name of the combined care home was sought and the Council suggested the name of Cutmill or Chidham.

Chichester District Council have written to a wide range of land owners, developers, agents and local Parish Councils asking for recommendations of land that could be developed as part of the Chichester District Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment . This study is required by Government planning policy and will assist the Council in the work to prepare the Local Development Framework (LDF). This LDF will provide the District Council's part of the framework for housing and other development across the District over the period to 2026. The Council considered this request and decided that it would not be suitable for the Parish Council to make any recommendations for possible development areas within the Parish.

The decision on the Bio-Diesel application from the Grain Store on Priors Leaze lane has been deferred by the District Council and will now happen at the end of May.

The creation of a cycle lane along the A259 between Southbourne and Bosham is due to commence work in August. The Parish Councils of Chidham and Southbourne are both keen to speak with highways in regard to this to clarify several points before the work gets underway.

Other Business
One of the bus shelters on Main Road requires it's roof repairing. Councillor Cooper has volunteered to look at this.

Concerns about the sea wall on Chidham Lane next to the catch pond were voiced at the Parish AGM. Councillor Archer has agreed to investigate this.

A complaint was also received at the AGM with regards to cars parking on the pavement along Main Road . Councillor Wilkinson has agreed to liaise with the local PCSO to try and resolve this problem.

A part of the fence along Hampstead Meadow is broken, Councillor Steve Clark agreed to look at this.

Welcome and Introduction
A very good turn out of around fifty parish residents attended the 2008 Chidham Parish AGM. The AGM was chaired by the vice-chairman, Steve Clark. He started the meeting by introducing the Parish Council and Parish Clerk, the guest speaker, Mrs. Shona Archer and District Councillor, Myles Cullen. Apologies were received from County Councillor Mark Dunn and Chidham Parish Council Chairman Mike Penny. Thanks were extended to the Parish Chairman and the Parish Clerk for their hard work and efforts over the last twelve months.
The minutes from previous AGM were confirmed and agreed with no matters arising.

Chairman's Report
Councillor Steve Clark gave the Chairman's report and summarised the previous twelve months in the Parish. The increase in this year's precept due to the pedestrian crossing on main road and the plans for the new village hall was explained. The Chairman spoke of some of the other work the Parish Council had been involved in which included receiving over sixty planning applications, publishing the Parish news letter, supporting the village web site, the on-going efforts to improve road safety including the plan to provide a pedestrian crossing along Main Road, responding to residents concerns, in particular the applications for bio-diesel production at the grain store and the development of land along Newells Lane, and environmental issues such as organised litter picking and bike posts at bus shelters.

The Chairman mentioned the vacancy for a Parish Councillor and invited local residents to attend the Parish meetings which happen on the first Thursday of each month in the village hall.

Planning Applications and Planning Enforcement
The guest speaker at the meeting was Mrs. Shona Archer, the Enforcement Manager in the Planning and Applications and Planning Enforcement Department at Chichester District Council. Mrs. Archer gave an interesting and informative talk about the role of an enforcement officer within the district. Over 3200 planning applications are received every year and last year saw 581 complaints.
Mrs. Archer explained that unauthorised development is not an offence with the application laws allowing for this in the form of retrospective planning applications. Developments that would be classed as an offence would be unauthorised modifications to listed buildings or alterations to a tree that has a Tree Protection Order upon it.
Mrs. Archer finished her talk and took several questions from the meeting which included questions on permitted development in AONB, migrant and seasonal workers in caravans and storage of scrap materials on sites.

The New Village Centre
Councillor Cliff Archer briefed the meeting on the diary of events for the New Village Centre. He explained the original concept of the Village Centre evolving from the Parish Plan in 2005 up to the unfortunate negative result in the bid for a lottery grant in December of 2007. Finally Mr. Archer explained that the working group still works towards a new village centre despite the lottery grant setback.

Road Safety
Councillor Steve Clark spoke on road safety in the Parish and explained the measures that were being taken to both reduce speed and increase safety. In the past twelve months various initiatives have taken place including local commitments to reduce speed, a visit from SID (Speed Indicator Device) to Broad Road resulting in the alarming statistic of more than 60% of cars exceeding the speed limit, the intention to plant extra trees along broad road to try and reduce the impression of an open space and the joining of forces with Southbourne Parish Council to try and reduce the speed along Main road.

District Councillor
Mr. Myles Cullen, the District Councillor for Chidham, spoke about the 3.5% increase in council tax and explained the reasons behind this increase, which included central Government passing down more responsibilities to local councils without always supplying adequate funding. He mentioned that since the last elections 50% of all district councillors are new to their posts. On the subject of free bus passes for pensioners, Mr. Cullen explained that the scheme would commence at 9.30am each morning due to cost and that it is possible the district council may need to top up the funding for this. There is no new news on the future of St. Richards and the district council do not believe that centralised ‘mega' surgeries work in rural areas. It was explained that after the council spent £500,000 developing the Local Development Framework (LDF) the government scrapped it and they have to start again which will include approaching local councils to ask where they believe development can take place.

Open Forum
The Chairman opened the meeting to questions and several topics and subjects were talked about. Items raised were; speeding and road safety and which roads were deemed as priorities, concerns were also expressed about speeding in Priors Leaze Lane; the flood banks around Chidham and in particular who owns or accepts responsibility for the sea wall next to the catch pond; the potential closure of Marlpit Lane refuse facility; a timescale for the pedestrian crossing on Main Road; the SAAB garage parking cars on the pavement.

The Chairman closed the meeting by thanking everyone who had attended and inviting anyone interested in helping out in the Parish to either apply to fill the vacant position of parish councillor, or attend the monthly meetings. The closing statement from the Chairman was that this would be the last Chidham Parish Council AGM, from next year residents would be attending the Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council AGM.

•  Thanks were minuted to the retiring vice chairman Robin Yeld for all the hard work he has put in over the years. Robin will continue as an advisor when available on drainage matters.

•  A new Parish councillor is to be sought along with advertising for tree wardens.

•  A £2000 grant was approved for the village hall committee, pending confirmation of a renovation project. This was felt prudent in order to maximise it's possible sale price. This is an increase from previous year, when £800 has been given.

•  Approval was given to a kill your speed signage scheme for Broad Road and Priors Lease Lane , up to £200. Provided Highways approval was given!

•  A tree planting scheme is to be put forward to WSCC for approval in Broad Road . Highway verges are to be show as areas for improved tree planting in the hope this may lead to reduced speeds as the road will appear to be more enclose.

•  Cliff Archer tabled a proposal to change the councils name to that of Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council.
This is to be debated at the February (Feb 7th) meeting as January will be taken up with financial matters.

•  Next years projects are to include;
-Further investigation into a pedestrian crossing on the A259. A sum will be set aside in the budget and external funding is to be sought.
-Tree planting
-Ditch maintenance
-bird boxes and a link via web cam

•  Councillor Steve Clark was elected new Vice Chairman

January meeting headlines-

Co-option of new Parish councillor -
The application by three members of our community to serve on the council by necessity lead to a vote.
It was felt a great shame that only one could fill the vacant post and the Chairman Mike Penny urged the unlucky two to reapply in March when an other seat would become available.
After a ballot former Chairman of the council Bernard Clarke from Cot Lane , Chidham was voted on to the council and took his seat for the rest of the meeting.

Bernard, a sailor of some note see link has served before in Chidham prior to his round the world trip, and has delivered a new village hall in a previous parish, Great Brickhill!

Precept 2008/09-
A strong debate was held to consider the options put forward by the finance committee.
The final decision, when tied up, will appear in this months parish news letter (link) , but it was agreed an increase was needed to fund a crossing on the A259 and to further develop the village centre project.

Speeding Signs in Broad Road-
The long promised WSCC enhanced signage in Broad Road is due for implementation in March, but it was felt dedicated ‘kill your speed' signage was needed both in Broad Road and Priors Leaze. The council is to seek approval via highways.