The Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting of Shipley Parish Council held on Thursday, 16th July, 2015 at The Andrew Hall, Shipley at 7.30pm.

116/15 Attendance and Apologies For Absence

Those Present:P Baxter, W Beckett,J Coad (Chair), J Emrich, T Hayes, L Lovett, N King-Tours (Vice Chair), S Roggendorff, P Sinton, G De Zoete

Also Present:PCSO Julie Green, Parish Clerk F McNeile and 5 members of the public.

Apologies: Cllr N Jupp (Prior Commitment)

Cllr Coad stated that ‘Due to the nature of matters to be discussed in item 131/15 (Staff Matters), press and public if present will be requested to leave the meeting’

117/15 To Receive Declarations of Interest, Notification of Changes to Members’ Interests and consider any requests for a dispensation.

None

118/15 Approval Of The Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on Monday 15thJune 2015

The minutes having previously been circulated were taken as read. Cllr Coad proposed that the minutes be accepted and signed as a correct record, this wasAGREED.

119/15 Matters Arising from Item 118/15 (For information only)

096/15 The Clerk confirmed that Public Notices regarding risks of use, dog fouling, litter and gate closure are now displayed at Coolham Playing Fields.

The Clerk confirmed that further communication from McDonalds had been received and that they will supply staff to assist on community litter clean up’s in the Autumn and Spring. However, they can only supply staff Monday to Thursday as weekends are their busiest period of the week. They are also regularly inspecting ‘parish hot spots’ which were sent to them on a map. They have suggested that a notice be put up by the Parish Council in these hotspots to request litter is taken home or placed in a bin.

101/15 The Clerk confirmed that she had written to both Affinity Sutton and HDC Environmental Health regarding the grass cutting at Church Close. A member of the public confirmed that the grass had been cut and that Enterprise will be cutting the grass but they will not cut the hedges or two large shrubs.The Clerk to request that Geoff Langridge prune the shrubs and trim the hedge alongside the church.

103/15 The Clerk confirmed that she had written to John Lytton thanking him for his time and report regarding the Pavilion building.

The Clerk confirmed that an application for funding had been submitted to Cllr AJupp for the Big Members Fund from FOSP (Friends Of Shipley Parish).

108/15 The Clerk has told John Lytton who had been previously asked to carry out the presentation to the Bob Phillips, Clive Charman and David Meadows that Cllr AJupp was making the arrangements and John confirmed he would liaise with Cllr A Jupp.

110/15 The Clerk has confirmed to Laura Bourke that the Parish Council will be leading the Neighbourhood Plan which will be an item for discussion in the Parish Council’s September meeting.

111/15 The Clerk has applied to HDC Planning Committee for replacement goal posts and 3 benches for Coolham Playing Fields from the final funds available within the Kinswood S106 funds. The committee meeting is being held on 10thAugust.

120/15 Report from the Police

PCSO Julie Green introduced herself to the Parish Council. PCSO Green has been responsible for the Shipley area since October and prior to this was based in Worthing. There were two incidents to report on which took place in June.

The first incident was a man who drove his vehicle into other parked vehicles outside William Penn School. He was arrested for being drunk in charge of his vehicle.

The second incident took place sometime between Saturday 20 June and 1pm on Tuesday 30 June an unknown intruder gained entry to a house in Bakers Lane. The owner is in a nursing home but the family visit the property regularly to check on the property. The suspect gained access to the premises by forcing open a ground floor window. A tidy search was made of the property and it is still to be confirmed which items have been taken.

PCSO Green has been liaising with Cllr Coad regarding speeding problems on the crossroads in Coolham. This has been escalated to the Community Speed Watch team. The Clerk confirmed that a complaint had been received from residents regarding speeding along past Coolham Village Hall. PCSO Green will report back as soon as possible.

Cllr Baxter informed PCSO that the shed at Knepp Castle which is used by Shipley Bowmen was broken into and a bow was taken, some arrows and an arm guard. Following a search by Knepp Castle estate workers the bow was found along with four arrows in some undergrowth. The windows have been boarded up on the shed.

PCSO Green stated that the crime figures in Shipley are low in comparison to other local villages. PCSO Green covers Shipley, Coolham, Coneyhurst, Billingshurst, Pulborough and Thakeham. The Clerk confirmed receipt of crime reports on a regular basis from the Police.

PCSO Green will be attending the Parish Council meeting on 29thOctober.

121/15 Report from the County Councillor

None

122/15 Report from the District Councillors

None

123/15 Report from Representatives on Outside Organisations

HALC

Cllr Baxter reported on his first meeting on 8thJuly as the HALC representative (Horsham Association of Local Councils). There was quite a reasonable attendance of 38 people from a variety of Parish Council’s. For those who would like to see the minutes these can be found by Googling HALC on the internet. The idea of HALC is that Councils who are members of the association meet periodically to chat about things. Cllr Baxter’s opinion is that HALC is a talking shop and he is unsure how useful it will be to the Parish Council. It is a way of exchanging information and gaining information. Cllr Baxter noted the very interesting presentation from the Clinical Commissioning Group in West Sussex. This was useful information although not directly relevant to the needs of the Parish Council. There was also a useful presentation on behalf of the Sussex Police Commander. Cllr Baxter will be attending the conference on 31stOctober.

Kings Mill

The Clerk asked for feedback from Cllr Baxter, Emrich, Sinton and De Zoete on the evening held by Douglas Briggs Partnership regarding the proposals regarding Kings Mill. The owners of Shipley Mill have put forward a proposal to arrange or generate clients to maintain the windmill. Part of the plan is to develop a plot of land in Kings Land on which 3 cottages would be built. There are no plans for access to the cottages. The idea is that the cottages would be sold and the money used to generate funds to build some offices and carpark by the Mill. The offices will be let and the income from this will be used to maintain the Mill. The Mill will be run by a Trust which includes a member of the family, probably a member of a local authority, an accountant and 3/4 others as trustees. Visitors to the open evening were told that English Heritage have ‘agreed’ on the proposal. Cllr Baxter’s opinion is that a number of people were opposed to the development but not everybody in attendance was opposed. Cllr De Zoete pointed out that two people who were in favour of the project lived outside of the Parish. Cllr Baxter noted that several people asked what the alternative to the plan was and there was no answer to that question. Douglas Briggs Partnership produced plans and discussed them with people who attended. The significant factor seemed to be whether the plot proposed for the build of the cottages is a conservation site and the question of access to the cottages. The carpark will be sited on an area that is referred to as a tennis court. Cllr Baxter’s opinion is that the Parish Council will need to wait and see what happens with any planning applications. The Mill is a Grade Two Star building which means that there is an obligation by the owner to maintain it and not allow it to fall down. It was also noted that in the past there was a party of people from Shipley and farther afield who worked together to maintain the Mill. Grants had also been obtained to help maintain the Mill but after some time and the elapse of a lease, the owner took the Mill back and stopped maintaining the Mill.

The Clerk had invited Douglas Briggs Partnership to attend the Parish Council meeting. They responded as follows:

“Thank you for your invitation to attend your Parish council meeting on 16th July 2015.

We judge that the public meeting held on Wednesday 8th July about the above was very worthwhile because it enabled local residents and interested parties to tell us what matters they considered to be important and introduce fresh ideas on how a sustainable future for the King’s Mill might be created.

We think that there was general acceptance about the amount that it costs to maintain the Mill each year and that sufficient grants from local or central government or Historic England for maintaining privately owned historic buildings such as the King’s Mill are unlikely to be forthcoming in the future.

We had anticipated considering alternative ways of achieving the above objective using ideas generated by the public and envisaged holding a second meeting to gather public reaction to more detailed ideas but we have not been instructed to proceed further with this initiative.”

Cllr Coad invited those members of the public who had concerns regarding Kings Mill to raise their issues although he stressed that until a planning application was received there would be no response from the Parish Council. The points raised were:

  • The owner has said that he wants to sell the land with permission for three properties to be developed to raise £600,000. He would not develop the land himself but would use the funds raised to maintain the Mill. Concerns were raised that developers might look to develop more than three properties.
  • The Mill would change enormously with the bottom floor reception/office adaptations, a lift at the side of the Mill and two toilets, three offices and a tea room.
  • With 18 car parking spaces and additional traffic from the new cottages this would increase the traffic considerably through the village.
  • Planning permission for similar plans for properties has been refused twice before due to the vicinity of listed buildings.
  • Cllr Lindsay has sent an email to Douglas Briggs Partnership with a correction as they had said that the lease had been given up on the Windmill by mutual agreement. Gordon has stated that the lease was removed and that the Windmill committee had asked to renew the lease but it was refused by the owner.Cllr Lindsay has also copied this to HDC planning.
  • Looking at the plans, effectively what will be left is the shell of a Windmill with an office bolted onto it. The Windmill will not be able to be used as a film location with the proposed changes. The offices would be better built on the tennis court.
  • If the main issue is the maintenance of the Windmill, then having listened to all the discussions during the evening from various parties within the area, it seemed apparent that there were enough interested people who would find ways to maintain the Windmill.
  • Most people would like to see the Windmill restored. When it was open to the public and maintained it was a genuine community asset.
  • The Windmill was maintained by volunteers and there were also other external parties who provided funding to the tune of £175,000. These parties included English Heritage, WSCC and HDC.
  • The Parish Council are urged to consider any plans received for the Mill from two aspects which are not linked. Firstly the maintenance of the building and secondly building in a conservation area.
  • The owner of the Mill has a duty under legislation for the upkeep of the building. It should not be the down to the Parish to make sacrifices. If he is struggling with the upkeep, he should look to other sources such as public ownership or a trust.
  • In 1999, planning was refused on the basis of parking, access, increased traffic and noise. All these conditions remain the same. HDC concluded that planning was inappropriate for Shipley, it was then and still is now.
  • The proposed development is in a conservation area, previously Clare Vickers, HDC, said ‘this proposal is in a village conservation area and is contrary to policy’.
  • The Mill needs work on it now. These proposals and applications will take some time to be put forward and in the meantime the Mill continues to go into further disrepair.
  • The Clerk was requested to ask HDC to see if they can ask the owner to start work to repair the Mill.
  • A member of the public volunteered to put together an information pack regarding the previous history of the Mill and previous proposals which they will pass onto the Parish Council.

NALC – Fly A Flag Commonwealth Day

The Clerk informed the Parish Council that a letter had been received asking whether the Parish Council would like to take part in the Fly A Flag Commonwealth Day in March 2016. It would require the Parish Council to purchase a flag and possibly flag pole (approx. cost £200). It was suggested that the Scouts might like to be involved in Commonwealth Day.The Clerk to pass the information to the Scouts for consideration.

Age UK

Age UK have requested feedback on assisting the elderly in parish communities. The Parish Council considered this and confirmed that the Clerk should feedback the following information:

Priorities for the elderly would be easy access to healthcare and transportation to healthcare appointments.

The Charity should check whether there is a demand for transportation from rural communities.

The Charity should investigate the need for Dementia support and providing activities in rural communities.

Quite a number of parishioners do not want to leave their homes to join in activities such as Shipley Senior Club which ran out of steam and so the Charity may be best providing one-to-one house visits with parishioners in rural communities to provide company in the home.

A member of the public informed the Parish Council of a reduced fee taxi service provided by Jakes Taxi’s Billingshurst which costs £2 per trip during non-peak periods and reduces in price for each additional person sharing the taxi.The Clerk to display this information on Parish notice boards and inform Gina and Sue regarding the service so that it may be promoted in the parish magazines.

Cllr Baxter mentioned the Billingshurst Community Transport service which offers a driver and vehicle service at fair prices. This service is beneficial to those needing transport further afield such as hospital appointments.

Cllr Emrich suggested that it would be a good idea for a user friendly pack to be put together which detailed grants which might be accessible to the elderly for facilities such as stair lifts etc.

WSCC Highways

The Clerk reported on road works in the Parish over the forthcoming weeks including the Barns Green Marathon Temporary Road Closure Proposals which takes place 9:30 to 12:45 on 27thSeptember and proposed affected roads are: Bakers Lane, Chapel Road, Christs Hospital Road, Dragons Green Road, Dragons Lane, Itchingfield Road, Lakenhurst Road, Marlpost Road, Muntham Drive, Sandhills Lane, Trout Lane, Two Mile Ash Road and Westons Hill.

West Chiltington NHP

The Parish Council considered whether a response was necessary to the West Chiltington Neighbourhood Plan. The decision was that as none of the proposed development areas affected the Parish then a response was not necessary. Cllr Coad noted that the NHP was using data on dwellings from the 2011 Census and in thinking about Shipley Parish Council putting together a NHP, using data of that age will mean that a lot of the information would be vastly out of date.

124/15 Public Session (Members of the Public may speak for up to 3 minutes at the discretion of the Chairman).

A meeting was held recently regarding fund raising activities for the repair works of the Coolham Pavilion building. A Just Giving Site requires a bank account and it was agreed that the FOSP bank account would be used as soon as it is up and running. The activities planned are:-

  • 29thAugust – Family Fun Day at Coolham Playing Fields. The Clerk will investigate the Public Liability cover with the Parish Council insurers.
  • Just Giving Site for donations
  • Email residents and businesses within the parish with the bank account details for donations
  • Jam Jar donations tubs within pubs, garages etc. to increase interest in the pavilion fundraising
  • 10thOctober – A Car Treasure Hunt starting at the village hall and going round the community and then ending up with a BBQ and Raffle evening. The Clerk will investigate the Public Liability cover with the Parish Council insurers.
  • 6thNovember – Bonfire Night and Fireworks. The Clerk to further investigate the Public Liability cover.
  • January – Cheese and Wine with Racing Night at Coolham Village Hall.
  • February – Andrew Bernadi has offered to put on a concert.
  • March – A Jumble Sale.
  • April – A Sponsored Walk
  • May – A Car boot sale

All activities for the first event to be forwarded to the Clerk so that insurance policies can be checked and the Clerk to provide bank account details as soon as possible for FOSP. Cllr De Zoete suggested the charity bank account – CAF.The Clerk to investigate the account options.