After almost 150 years sheep will return to the historic Market Cross in Chichester for a one-off event.

A flock of Southdown sheep will be at the Market Cross on Saturday 6 April as part of a week of wool-themed events at The Novium. Events will run from Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 April.

Sheep would have been among the animals sold in the city centre in the past. The last recorded instance of this was in May 1870, before the busy animal market was relocated to just south of Eastgate Square.

In 1314, Chichester was one of only 12 cities in England given a charter to trade wool, which has always been one of Chichester’s most thriving industries. Ebenezer Prior’s Woolstaplers, which once stood on the site of The Novium, was one of the city’s most influential employers. The traditional Southdown sheep returning to the city centre marks the city’s commercial origins.

Councillor Eileen Lintill, Chichester District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Wellbeing and Community Services, says: “The sight of sheep back at the Market Cross promises to be quite a spectacle. This has never been seen in any of our lifetimes and I would encourage local people to come along and see it.”

The event is being run in conjunction with the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton, as part of its Sheep and Shepherding on the South Downs exhibition which runs at the museum from 7-11 April. South Downs Folk Singers and Ann Feloy and Sam Hare will also be performing by the Market Cross during the early afternoon.

The Novium will be hosting a variety of activities as part of its Week of Woolly Wonder including:

· traditional wool spinning;

· yarn bombing;

· pompom Sheep, in support of HRH Prince Charles’ campaign for wool;

· stuff a sack time trial challenge; and

· craft activities to create sheep masks and Bo Peep bonnets.

Other wool related events and activities include:
· a film archives afternoon entitled Rural Life on Friday 22 March from 2-4pm at The Novium;
· a talk entitled Chichester Woolstapling on Thursday 11 April from 4-5.30pm at The Novium;
· a walk entitled Market Traders on Saturday 13 April from 11.30am to 1pm; and
· craft activities.

Councillor Lintill adds: “The abundance of Southdown sheep led to a long and affluent wool industry in Chichester. We are delighted to be able to celebrate this piece of local history in this special week of events. We are also pleased to be teaming up with the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton during this week for an event.”

Pre-booking is required for the film archives afternoon, walk and talk. For more information on any of the events taking place during the week please contact The Novium on 01243 775888, email at thenovium@chichester.gov.uk or visit www.thenovium.org

Planning and housing development in our rural environment

The Government have put forward some important changes to the planning system that includes the requirement for local Councils to set their own new housing numbers in conjunction with their local community but within an overall policy direction for growth. It is also the Governments intention to put applications for development in favour of the developer

Chichester District Council has introduced a Core Strategy: Housing Numbers and Locations Consultation that will run from 26 August to 23 September to help make these two key decisions. Within the consultative document it gives the options, amongst many other things, of setting a target within the CDC Southern District, which lies south of the new National Park boundary , of 305 new homes per year across a total of five options up to 415 new homes per year (6225 over the period) .

The document states that our district attracts high levels of in-migration with an increase of 11,000 residents from 1992 to 2008. Chichester District Council currently wishes to support and encourage this trend with the need therefore to increase housing development and availability. There are very similar pressures arising on the Hampshire side of the Harbour and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), in particular Havant.

I personally will complete the on-line consultative document http://chichester-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/ putting my emphasis on the lowest new house build option given and the highest emphasis given to preserving the existing character and environment of our rural district. I firmly believe that we should keep reminding our council representatives and officers that Chichester Harbour , the surrounding villages and Chichester town has landscape of national importance, is home to wildlife of international significance, and an attractive rural environment that we should protect for future generations. And, new housing levels and therefore development should be at an appropriate scale. I therefore encourage everyone to take advantage of this consultative process and help influence the Core Strategy that will be with us until 2028.

Bernard Clarke
On behalf of Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council

Chidham and Hambrook Parish Council can now be followed on Twitter at @ChidhamHambrook For all your latest, up-to-the-minute information relating to the villages follow our tweets. chidhamandhambrook@gmail.com

posted June 21

Free Seminar
at Birdham Village Hall
Thur Jan 20th at 6pm

More info David Siggs on 01243 790402

The ownership of this length of the Tidebank is not known. The owner, or any person having information regarding its ownership is asked to contact the Parish Council Clerk or any Parish Councillor as soon as possible.
B W Mann
Clerk to Chidham & Hambrook Parish Council
107 New Brighton Road
Emsworth Hants PO10 7QS
Phone: 01243 375865
Email: member@barrymann.wanadoo.co.uk
27 August 2010

New Puffin Pedestrian Crossing now in Operation

WORK STARTS ON NEW PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ON A259

The Village Centre Working Group has reluctantly decided to put the project on hold for the time being. However, it will undertake periodic reviews of the situation. Cliff Archer, Chairman of the Feasibility Study Working Group, explained to the Parish Council at its meeting on Thursday 6 November that the decision was taken in light of the current availability of funding, in turn affected by the general economic situation. The Parish Council will hold a full discussion of the Village Centre project at its next meeting on Thursday 4 December. All residents are welcome to attend.

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

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.

Public Meeting to Discuss the Development of Marshalls Yard

The Parish Council of Chidham and Hambrook called a public meeting to discuss the proposed development of Marshalls Yard on Broad Road in Hambrook. The Chairman of the council, Mike Penny, explained the three main options for the site; for it to remain industrial, for it to be developed as housing or for it to be a mixed development of housing and light industrial or commercial units. A proposal that Marshalls have drawn up was presented to the meeting which consists of 85 houses of which 35 would be affordable housing along with 5 units that could be used for light industrial or commercial ventures.

The Chairman then explained that this meeting was a chance for the local residents to express opinions and concerns so that the Parish Council could listen and take forward suggestions as to what the parish would like to see happen to the site to the District Planning Authority.

A packed village hall produced lots of comments and debate, many subjects were touched on but a large consensus were particularly concerned with increased levels of traffic and the problems of parking and speeding that come with extra vehicle movements, another issue is the current over subscription of the local school, any development would see this problem exacerbated.

Suggestions were put forward about how the local community could benefit from any development and amongst the many ideas ones that proved particularly popular were for car parking to be provided for users of the rail station, a recreational facility in the form of a sports field or some type of community focal point, a need for a level of sustainability within the community, be that employment opportunities through the development of offices or industrial businesses or by providing retail outlets to enable local residents to shop without travelling out of the village. Allotments also met with some approval.

The meeting was closed with an invitation to all those present to attend the next Parish Council meeting on Thursday 4 th June, at which an agenda item will be the discussion of what was said at the meeting with a view to approaching the District Planning Officer with the Parish's views on what the development at Marshalls yard should include.

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.