Sidlesham Parish Council.

 Held in the Church Hall, Sidlesham on Wednesday 27 may 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Councillors present: Mr Adrian Harland (Chairman), Mr Colin Field (Vice-chairman), Mrs Patricia Tull, Mrs Debbie Kennedy, Mrs Elizabeth Smart, Mrs Diana Pound, Mrs Carole Ranjbar, Mr Christopher Bond.
Also present: Thirty-five Sidlesham Electors, Mr Alan Chaplin (County Councillor), three observers not from Sidlesham and Mr John Paul (Parish Clerk)

Mr Adrian Harland as Chairman of the Parish Council opened the proceedings and welcomed all present to the meeting.

1. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 28 May 2008
These were proposed by Mrs Vivienne Vaughan-Cox seconded by Mrs Daphne Bowling and agreed by those present as being a true record to be signed by the Chairman.

2. Parish Council report of the past year by Mr Harland.
Report to Annual Parish Meeting May 2009 by the Chairman of Sidlesham Parish Council

“This year I am going to start my report on the Parish Council activities by explaining to you what we did in response to the Parish Council Consultation Exercise. We have spent the last year considering all the matters brought up as a result of this initiative. In all we received 111 comments from 36 parishioners, which after allowing for “duplications” left us to ponder over some 60 matters. Each subject was considered over three of the bi-monthly meetings we held last year, and I believe we have now responded to everyone who was kind enough to respond to our initiative. If there is anyone who feels that he or she did not get a reply to any of the points they raised, then please get in touch with me later. We broke the items down into six sectors – Parish Environment, Housing and Development, Highways, Footpaths and Cycleways, Transport, and Recreation and Amenities. As you can guess, quite a few of the usual chestnuts were mentioned, but it gave the council the opportunity to look at everything afresh. Where we could, we have tried to make improvements – for instance we wrote to Stagecoach asking for the regular Selsey Link Service 51 to divert through Highleigh say once an hour – regrettably the request was turned aside as in their view it would not be possible to keep to the 15 minute timetable without using an additional bus and driver, a cost they could not sanction.

Two important matters were raised by a number of people.

Firstly there is the question of a dedicated parish hall or community centre. For one reason or another, the council agrees in principle that there are shortcomings in each of the main centres we currently use – the Church Hall and the Sidlesham Football Clubhouse. The council has debated this point many times over the years, without coming up with any concrete proposal to take the matter forward. We have decided therefore to set up a working party, mainly drawn from those who expressed an interest in seeing such a development. Whilst there is parish councillor involvement, the majority of members are not connected to the council, so hopefully with fresh ideas and a clean sheet of paper they will come up with a viable scheme. This group will work under the umbrella of the Parish Council, and the records of its meetings will be presented to the council to keep it informed. If more council involvement is required during any step of the progress towards a final scheme, then it will of course be given.

Secondly we had eleven responses requesting playground facilities. In fact this subject was raised by nearly twice the number for any other. Again we sought to raise a Working Party to carry this forward; for the council has considered this matter several times since the old playground equipment was dismantled about eight years ago, when it became dangerous, uneconomic to repair and uninsurable – the last point would have left each parish councillor liable to be sued personally should any claim for injury or damages have arisen, which was an unacceptable risk. Unfortunately we were unable to raise sufficient numbers to form a working party. However at the beginning of April both the WSCC and the CDC advised us that there were substantial grants available, which if granted would allow us to provide facilities from toddlers to teenagers, and quite possibly adults as well! To cut a long story short, Councillor Diana Pound and I have spoken to the Sidlesham Primary School Council and a number of teenagers to obtain ideas as to what they would like, met with 3 specialist playground contractors and obtained initial quotes, spoken to the planning department at the CDC, and submitted two grant applications which had to be in by 22nd May. Inevitably because of the short notice we were given of the availability of this money, there are still a lot of “i”s to be dotted and “t”s to be crossed, but the main WSCC funding will not be released until 1st April 2010, and we shall be given time to get firmer quotes, planning permission etc. We shall also consult with a few more young people, and parents and grandparents. Now I do not want to get hopes up too high, as there are probably a lot of other parishes and towns within the county also seeking this money. There are a number of circumstances which may make our application less attractive to the panel that delivers the grants (for instance the Recreation Ground site may be considered too much of a risk from vandalism as it is not directly overlooked by nearby housing, and cannot be managed on a regular basis by a paid employee, as would be the case if a parish hall was also in the immediate area), – and yes we have chosen the Recreation Ground as the only practicable piece of land available for the playground – after all we own it! The total sum requested is £75,000, of which the lions’ share £50,000 would come from the WSCC, that sum is dedicated for 8 to 14 year olds, whilst the CDC £25,000 would cover the younger children. We should know by mid July if we have been granted these monies. Incidentally you can understand from the sums that we have requested that playground facilities do not come cheap. On the table over there I have set out examples of the kind of equipment we might get. Fingers crossed!

The most regular task of the Parish Council is to consider Planning Applications. During the past year the planning committee met 13 times. The volume of applications is down quite considerably from 53 the previous year to 35 during the last 12 months. I guess this is a reflection of the difficult financial background now prevailing. Indeed most recently we have not been required to meet since 14th April, which on past history is most unusual. We raised no objections in 24 cases and of these 1 was refused. We objected to 6 matters, of which 3 were refused, 2 permitted, and 1 after amendment, which we had sought, came back to us for a second review, to which we raised no objection, and was then permitted. 1 matter came before us twice, and was subsequently deemed to require no consent as it fell within permitted development regulations – we had in any case raised no objection. 2 matters remain undecided. So for the vast majority, the council’s recommendations were shared by the planners.

Enforcement Matters. There are still several matters outstanding. One matter that was resolved covered a large wind turbine, to which both we and the CDC planners objected. On appeal the Inspector upheld refusal. The council does recognise that green policies are now being encouraged, and in general would sympathise with any such development if it was not too large, too obtrusive, and in harmony with the surrounding area. However there were a number of aspects relating to this matter, covering an initial lack of a planning application, the size, and the closeness to a conservation area, closeness to other housing, and the fact that it was considered to be an eyesore. We continue to pester the enforcement officers to bring other matters to a conclusion, but I have to say that these officers appear to be overloaded with work, and have to prioritise on the more serious matters

All members of the Council can sit on the Planning Committee. The Council meets formally every 2 months, when all remaining business is conducted. This covers the ever present concern over traffic matters on all of the parish’s roads, footpaths both alongside the roads and across fields etc, the parish amenities such as seats and bus shelters, the upkeep of the parish open spaces, such as the Paddock Straight, and ponds. We also review the parish finances, receive reports from various other bodies on which members of the council sit, amongst which are the Peninsular Community Forum, Chichester Association of Local Councils (CALC), the Manhood Parishes Road Safety Group, the Manhood Peninsular Steering Group (sea defences), the Pagham Harbour Coastal Issues Advisory Group (sea defences), and the Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve Advisory Board. Councillors may also attend the South Chichester County Local Committee when agenda items are relevant to the parish.

Amenities and Assets Working Group

This group of councillors carried out a full review of the various public areas and assets when it met last June. A number of recommendations were made, and in particular it was felt that the Recreation Ground needed some TLC. To this end a small group of councillors have been attempting to meet with the Football Club’s officials to improve matters. Although a meeting has taken place, not much has been achieved to date, but we will continue to attempt a closer liaison. Dudley Pound chaired the group, and in particular he has personally continued in carrying out some more work to Florence Pond.
 
Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve Advisory Board.

Most of you will probably not be aware that a few residents of the parish have permits to launch small boats into the harbour from the quay near the Crab & Lobster. The number of these permits currently issued is now four following the death of Hannah Wright. The permits have been deemed not transferable either to individuals, even to another family member living in the same house, or to new owners of houses where a permit has previously existed. The Nature Reserve’s policy has been that in the fullness of time all permits will expire, so that no one will be able to put a boat into the harbour. The parish council has repeatedly objected to this policy. The rights of Sidlesham residents to use the harbour we consider must have existed for many decades, and almost certainly centuries. Since the Nature Reserve has been created, the rights of Sidlesham residents have been continually eroded, so it is felt that a stand should be made on this issue. We have therefore been trying to establish a right for up to ten licences to be available to residents, if not in perpetuity, then at least for the foreseeable future. The Advisory Board asked the parish council to submit a case to support this policy, and this was duly done by Councillor Bond with the very considerable help and expertise of Malcolm Davis-White – my public thanks to him for the time he gave up to write this document, and then to attend the meeting we had with the Chairman of PHNRAB, Councillor Acraman, and other WSCC representatives and the Manager of the Nature Reserve. As a result of that meeting, we have now an understanding of Councillor Acraman’s recommendation to the WSCC cabinet minister under whose authority this matter rests to agree that 10 licences are made available under certain conditions, which on the whole are acceptable to the parish council – there is one in particular which may need further negotiation to protect the rights of an existing permit holder. Because of the impending elections, no decision will be made until later, as the cabinet minister might well change. Assuming he/she is happy, a recommendation will then be passed to the Environment Agency which has the final say

The Finance Working Group meets to draw up the budget, and then recommends the precept for the next financial year. The current precept is £13751. If the plans to install a playground go ahead, then there will be additional sums to pay out in future years to cover maintenance, insurance and capital replacement. I will briefly summarise the Income and Expenditure for the previous 12 months. Income totalled £14433 (precept and Vat repayment), whilst Expenditure totalled £14632 (£6056 Administration including Clerk’s fee – £633 Audit & Insurance – £851 Subscriptions and Donations – £6489 Parish Maintenance & Amenities including grass cutting – Vat £603) an excess over expenditure of £199, which was met by the sums held in reserve. In due course these figures will be published on the parish notice boards once the audit is completed. I am sure you will be pleased to know in this present time of revelations in the press that our parish councillors do not have individual expenses allowances, although they are entitled to claim for travelling expenses to attend training courses, and obtain reimbursement for any special expense incurred whilst carrying out their duties. During the past 12 months the total expenditure was certainly less than £5, and probably nil!

Roads Matters

I am pleased to report that the Manhood Parishes Road Safety Group has been successful in persuading the police and highways authorities to provide a Speed Indicator Device to those parishes on the Manhood who want to use it. Sidlesham PC completed the requirements, and we began operations earlier this month for a two week period, the first deployment manned by yours truly and the vice chairman. We have a number of volunteers amongst councillors and members of STAG, and 2 others have also since joined the list. The SID will be allocated to us in turn with other councils on the Manhood Peninsular, and at the moment it is likely we shall have it for 2 weeks every 8 weeks. More volunteers would be welcome – the duties are not onerous, mainly requiring 2 people to be on hand for 2 hours at a time at one of five positions within the parish that have been sanctioned. Richard Hall has kindly agreed to organise the teams, so any applications to join the volunteers should be made to him, or through any councillor or the parish clerk. Experience to date has been positive in that most vehicles certainly slow down, with the majority either under or close to the limit – the number of vehicles passing at excessive speed is usually just a handful per session. However the volunteers have noticed that as soon as the SID is packed away, speeds increase. Tonight PCSO Craig Vokes will show you what the machine looks like, how it works, and the benefits it can bring.

We are also hopeful that shortly a mobile more sophisticated version will also be present in the parish from time to time. This item will be purchased partly with the aid of the grant monies STAG obtained for a SID – the machine we are now using belongs to the police, and is one of a number being “loaned” to parish councils throughout the county. This new device will look more like the one stationed at the southern entrance to Hunston, but it can be fixed to street furniture, and does not have to be constantly manned. It will move around various sites for a few days at a time, and will again be shared out to other parish councils on the Manhood. Hopefully it will be up and running very shortly.

In general traffic volumes and speeding continue to be a scourge, and not just on the main B2145 and B2201. The rat runs through Highleigh/Keynor Lane, Lockgate Road, and Easton Road are a constant problem. The parish council does its best to object to any large development in Selsey, which would only exacerbate the numbers of vehicles passing through the parish – we were pleased to see that the planners recently turned down another 300 plus houses on the Pye field site, following many objections, including ours.
I would like to pass on my thanks to all of your councillors for the time and effort they have put in over the last 12 months dealing with a whole host of other matters in addition to those I have highlighted. I have to report that Dudley Pound resigned from the Council in mid-May, as his increasing involvement with the Chichester Canal did not allow him sufficient time to deal with his council duties. I thank him for what he has achieved, and in particular the transformation of Florence Pond. The procedure to co-opt or elect a replacement councillor is now in hand. Bearing in mind the average age of the remaining councillors, we do think it would be quite helpful if the new person was somewhat younger!

Once again a special thank you to our clerk, John Paul, without whose hard work the parish could not operate efficiently. John is also responsible for keeping our excellent website up to date – the address is www.sidlesham.org, and if you have never visited it, then I recommend you do so. For instance you will find all the records of the council minutes, as well as much else.

Lastly our thanks in advance to the ladies of the WI for the refreshments you will enjoy during the interval. “

3.  Craig Voke and Jason Lemm (PCSOs) Demonstration of mobile ‘SID’ (Speed Indicator Device) and local policing.
The mobile SID was set at 1mph for the demonstration, this ensured the screen was activated by the movement of people in front of it and illustrated the sensitivity of the device. For use on the roads of Sidlesham an upper limit of perhaps 40mph would be set to avoid drivers being attempting upper record speeds. The PCSOs stated that the device was to make drivers aware not to punish. Craig said he looked forward to working with the people from Sidlesham who volunteered to work the device.
On the topic of local policing Craig stated that his role was wide and included neighbours disputes, burglaries, problems of dogs, parking of cars etc In addition to Sidlesham, his area covered Donnington, Apaldram, and adjoining areas. To contact him the 0845 607999 telephone number should be used. He reminded meeting of Operation Crackdown that enabled anyone seeing a vehicle problem (abandoned, reckless driving, antisocial driving etc ) to get something done about it by  calling the telephone number 01243 642222. Further details are on the notice board page of the Parish Council website.
Mr Harland thanked PCSOs Craig and Lemm for the demonstration and the interested discussion it stimulated.

4. Refreshment break.

5. Open forum on topics of Parish interest
5.1 County Councillor Alan Chaplin reported on the Coastal Centre Project. A site assessment feasibility study was to be published in the autumn although as yet the Project Board did not have terms of reference. He considered there was a serious conflict in the demand for money and that the local communities concerns and wishes for flood prevention schemes should have priority.
5.2 Play park proposals. Mrs Gill Cook was concerned about potential vandalism and suggested CCTV would be needed. Mrs Diana Pound added that the WSCC grant proposals were to produce a challenging form of play for the early teen age group and that CDC grants were aimed at the younger childrens’ requirements. 
5.3 Dame Jeni Trimble introduced Reverend Stephan Guise who had recently become the Priest in Charge for Sidlesham.
Dame Trimble then raised the topic of the PCC Work Group that was to be formed in July to examine possibilities of a toilet facility and a new vestry / meeting room attached to the Church near the south door. It was noted that PCC was also attempting to buy a section of field from the Church Commissioners to extend the church yard.
5.4 Speed Indicator Device. Mr Colin Field stated that although the Parish Council had a nucleus of volunteers more were needed. Several members of the meeting raised their hands for inclusion.  Mrs Elizabeth Aylwin thanked the Parish Council for being successful in obtaining the SIDs for the Manhood Parishes; Mr Harland responded that a very major influence was Mr Chris Bailey (Earnley Parish Council). STAG members were thanked also for their collective input.

There were no further topics and Mr Harland thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.00pm.
Mr Harland closed the Sidlesham Annual Parish Meeting at 9.00 pm.