Agenda for 24 September 2013 is issued by Hassocks Parish Council

The agenda for the above publicised meeting has been issued today

Agenda

"

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

An Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Parish Council will be held on
Tuesday, 24 September 2013, at 7.30 pm in the Council Chamber, in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

AGENDA


1) To Accept Apologies for Absence

2) To receive Declarations of Interest regarding any matters on the agenda

3) To consider and agree a Protocol for dealing with discussions with developers

4) To consider what if any village facilities or infrastructure the council would wish to see provided as part of any future developments in the village, over and above S106 or similar statutory requirements.

Clerk

Parish Clerk: "

Amazing News from Ham Fields

Yesterday looked like it was going to be a pretty ordinary work day but when I got home there was some amazing news waiting!

During the day one of the girls who keeps horses on the fields had been moving some horse rugs and underneath the rugs she found some newts.  I would not know one newt from another to be honest but some photographs were taken and e-mailed to the Sussex Reptile and Amphibian Group for identification.  Then late last night we received confirmation that these were indeed northern crested newts (the infamous Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus)).

Of course such a discovery is a very important find as great crested newts are a protected species under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.  It is also a European Protected Species and as such it has additional protection in the UK under Regulation 39 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 (the Habitats Regulations), as amended by the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2007. It is an offence to:

• Intentionally kill, injure or take a northern crested newt

• Possess or control any live or dead specimen or anything derived from a northern crested newt

• Intentionally or recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used for shelter or protection by a northern crested newt (in practice this means both its breeding sites, and its terrestrial habitat)

• Intentionally or recklessly disturb a northern crested newt while it is occupying a structure or place which it uses for that purpose

If you hurt or damage them or their habitat it is a criminal act.

In itself this does not win our case for us but it is another really strong point for us.

May be it will help Chris Marlow realise what a wonderful piece of countryside he is the custodian of for future generations and that together we can restore it to greatness.

24 September 2013

I advised by e-mail that there was an Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council scheduled for 23 September 2013 and that it was probably in our interests to attend.

I have noticed from the Parish Council website that this meeting is now listed for 24 September 2013 under the title "Policy, Resources & Communication".  The Clerk has confirmed to me today that this is the meeting that resulted from the vote at the meeting of 10 September 2013.  The minutes of that meeting can be found at minutes, which includes:

"13/104 Village Facilities. RESOLVED that the matters to be discussed 
regarding the possible provision of additional village facilities in conjunction 
with new development should be discussed at an Extra-Ordinary Meeting of 
the Parish Council, which would be open to the public. The Clerk would 
arrange a suitable date when the Chairman of the Parish Council was 
available."

I will attend and hope to see as many of you as possible there.

The Shadow of the Downs

Heard about this magazine and website last night, go have a read and a jolly good laugh

Shadow of the Downs

Parish Council Meetings

Please can I encourage everybody to attend as many Parish Council meetings as possible.  You can find out when they are by following this link:

Hassocks Parish Council - Forthcoming Meetings

There are meetings on 18 & 19 September.  On 19 September the meeting is for the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group.  This is the agenda for that meeting.

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL
To: Steven Ecroyd, Bill Hatton, Judith Foot, Peter Gibbons, Paul King, Penny 
Wadsworth, Ian Weir
Cc David Cumberland, Geoff Copley, 
A meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group will be held on Thursday 
19 September 2013 at 7.30 pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks. 
AGENDA
1. To accept Apologies for Absence.
2. To accept Declarations of Interest
3. To approve the minutes of the Meeting held on 20 June 2013 (previously 
circulated)
4. To agree that items 5 and 6 should be treated as confidential and any 
members of the public present should be invited to withdraw
5. To consider revised background papers and draft policy statements on the 
following :
a) Policies for Residential Development (Bill Hatton: attached)
b) Leisure & Recreation Policy (Bill Hatton)
c) Environment/Nature Policy (Judith Foot/Ian Weir)
d) Traffic & Parking Policy (Ian Weir)
e) Public Transport Policy (Peter Gibbons)
f) Community Facilities Policy (Judith Foot)
g) Hassocks Village Centre (Judith Foot/Penny Wadsworth)
h) Business Development & Tourism Policy (Paul King)
i) Highways Policy (Geoff Copley)
6. To consider a letter dated 25 June 2013 regarding a possible development 
site (attached)
7. To consider next steps and the consultation process.
8. Date of Next Meeting : 17 October 2013 at 7.30 pm.

Clerk

AQMA Action Plan Update

Ian Tovey drafted the following report after the publication of the AQMA Action Plan and sent it to MSDC to be discussed at the Cabinet meeting which was held yesterday afternoon.




I think it fair to say that Cabinet members are well aware of our concerns and whilst the measurements might not have been as robust as we would have liked they still indicate a significant air quality issue which must be addressed and the impact on air quality must be consider in any future planning applications.

The Air we Breathe

The well known lobbying site 38 Degrees are currently running a campaign regarding air quality and the potential "hiding of results".  See all the details here

38 Degrees - Air Quality

Do not forget to tell all your friends and family.

Let your Councillors know what you think.

Your District Councillors, Peter Martin and Gordon Marples are holding a surgery this Saturday at the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Keymer Road from 10:00am to 11:00am.  Why not drop in while you are doing your shopping and let them know what you think about the development of Ham Fields and the terrible pollution at Stonepound.

Air Quality Management Area Action Plan

There seems a bitter irony in that on the day Mid Sussex District Council published their action plan to deal with the air pollution at Stonepound Crossroads the traffic was the worst it has been for sometime.  The following pictures were taken at 17:05 and got worse later.  Southbound traffic was queuing back for over 1km, as far as the Friars Oak and the golf course. 

It is not practical to reproduce the report here but you can read it by following this link

AQMA Report

and then clicking the pdf called "Report".  A summary appears at pages 29-33 and the full report follows on pages 34-71.

Amazingly the main direct action points are limited to:

1. Re-assess traffic light sequencing;
2. Minimising HGV movements;
3. ‘Cut Engine, Cut Pollution’ signs.

and indirect action points:
1. Travelwise schemes to promote sustainable transport, such as school travel plans, provision and promotion of cycle routes;
2. Education and raising awareness in order to incentivise people to change their travel behaviour;
3. Enforcement and other transport related schemes, such as consideration of vehicle emission testing;
4. Planning policy - policies in the new District Plan for mitigating the impact of new developments on traffic congestion and air quality; and
5. Further air quality monitoring.

There does not appear to be any recognition of the increased traffic due to the Sainsburys Local which is to be constructed or the development in College Lane.  And yet astonishingly the plan predicts these actions will bring the Nitrogen dioxide within WHO recommendations by 2018.  It is heartening that they recognise the need for planning policy to be focused in this issue.

E-mail from MJ Gleeson

Please see the following which was received this morning.

Mark Jackson	08:48 (4 hours ago)
to me

Dear Mr Credland,

Thank you for your email and indeed your earlier correspondence, all of which we have noted.

We were intending to respond, but wished to await the end of the consultation period as it makes sense to respond to all comments once we have understood the views expressed.

In terms of the consultation we have undertaken, whilst we note your comments, we disagree with them and believe that personal notification of neighbouring residential properties, liaison with the Parish Council and District Council has allowed us to understand the views of local residents and indeed the Parish Council and take these on board as part of the emerging proposal.

We acknowledge your organisations aspiration to preserve Ham fields and would be willing to enter into dialogue with you with regard to the form of development that your organisation would like to see on the site or any local issues that we should be aware of.  So far feedback from interested parties has been very useful in allowing us to develop the proposal further.

It is anticipated that the application will be submitted by the end of September where all interested parties will be able to make representations to the Council who will be determining the proposal.

If you have any further queries do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Mark Jackson

From: Ian Credland [mailto:creders@gmail.com]
Sent: 03 September 2013 16:20
To: Matthew Richardson; Mark Jackson
Cc: kirstenk@midsussex.gov.uk; Alan Berry; Bill Hatton; Chris Bere; David Cumberland; Frank Rylance; Ian Weir; Jane Baker; Judith Foot; Leslie Campbell; Ms Penny Wadsworth; Paul King; Peter Gibbons; Steven Ecroyd; Sue Hatton; Sue Hatton; Bob Sampson; James Smith; John Lowman; John Wilkinson; Judith Marsh; Julia Shorrocks; Matthew Stokes; Neil Milton; Rodney Jackson; Rosemary Burns; Stephen Hand; Sue Bourn; Susanna Kemp; Andrew MacNaughton; Cherry Catharine; Chris Hersey; Colin Trumble; Edward Matthews; Graham Knight; Jim Knight; Mike Livesey; Mr Stephen Barnett; Ms Ginny Heard; Peter Martin; Robert Salisbury; Andy Petch

Dear Matt

I am absolutely certain that this must be an oversight on your part but I do not seem to have received a response from you in relation to the appended e-mail.

Yesterday I received disclosure from Mid Sussex District Council in relation to your pre-app meeting.  I have read your arguments with interest and to be honest find some of your statements beyond belief.

You seem to wish to convey to the Council that you entered into a period of public consultation, in my opinion such a statement is disingenuous at best, if not something worse.

You will see that I have copied into this e-mail all the relevant elected decision makers as well members of the Planning Department as I want to be sure they fully understand how little effort you are making to consult with the residents of the area.

Yours sincerely Ian Credland, Chair, Protect Ham Fields Group

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Credland <creders@gmail.com>
Date: 24 August 2013 17:31:31 BST
To: "mrichardson@mjgleeson.com" <mrichardson@mjgleeson.com>
Subject: Land to the west of London Road Hassocks

Dear Matt

I am writing to you on behalf of the large number of Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint residents who have formed a group that wish to preserve Ham Fields and other green spaces on the edge of the South Downs National Park with regard to the leaflet which was delivered to some (but not all) residents last week.  If you would take a moment to follow this link I think you will find it is a fair summary of how the residents feel:

http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/98-homes-proposed-near-polluted-hassocks-crossroads-1-5406851

I must say that the first letter that you sent to some residents; some of which were addressed to the wrong residents and some of which were addressed incorrectly, and this leaflet are of an amazingly low quality and quite frankly I am astonished that a multi-million pound company would choose to proceed in such an unprofessional manner.

Clearly if you would like to continue to the planning application stage for a development of this magnitude you would be expected to enter into a widely publicised period of public consultation and I am absolutely certain that your attempts so far fall way below the standards expected.

Please be under absolutely no misapprehension that a full record of your actions are being kept and at the appropriate time will be brought to the attention of the relevant authorities and decision makers.

I trust that any future communications will be of a high, professional standard and that we can look forward to being able to examine your vision at a full public meeting where you will be able to put forward your substantive proposal and demonstrate them with a scale model which will enable the residents to fully appreciate the proposal.  Perhaps you should consider hiring Adastra Hall in Hassocks for such an event and ensuring that you advertise it widely in the local press for several weeks in advance.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to do so.

--

Yours sincerely

 Ian

Credland, Chair Protect Ham Fields Group

Malthouse Lane Campaign

If you have not already signed this petition please can I encourage you to do so as soon as possible.

Malthouse Lane Speed Limit

Please support your neighboured campaigns.

Are you following our poster campaign?

Just for fun and I'm afraid there are no prizes, how many posters have you been able to spot?

Friars Oak: The historical context; Roman and Anglo Saxon remains

The following documents are reproduced with the kind permission of Chris Butler the author of Saxon Settlement and Earlier Remains at Friars Oak, Hassocks, West Sussex.