Annual Parish Meeting 2026

Agenda

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

The ANNUAL PARISH MEETING will be held on Thursday 21 May 2026,

6.30pm at Adastra Hall, Keymer Road, Hassocks BN6 8QH

Members of the Public are invited to attend

Parish Clerk 11 May 2026

AGENDA

1. ARRIVAL & REFRESHMENTS (6.30-7.15pm)

2. WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS

3. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

4. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 20 MAY 2025

5. CHAIR’S PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT 25-26

6. OPEN FORUM: OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO RAISE ANY LOCAL ISSUES.

7. COMMUNITY GROUP PRESENTATIONS

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING held on
21 May 2026 at 7.15pm in the Adastra Hall, Keymer Road, Hassocks

Attendees: Parish Councillors Frances Gaudencio, Ian Weir, Maria Angelaki-King, Kristian

Berggreen, Clare Black, Robert Brewer, David Bunting, Bill Hatton, Sue Hatton, Don McBeth, Peter Richardson,

In Attendance: Elaine Langridge (Clerk & RFO), Helen Valler (Deputy Clerk)

1. ARRIVAL & REFRESHMENTS (6.30-7.15pm)

Representatives from Adastra Bowling Club, Garden of Remembrance Volunteers, Greener Hassocks & Ditchling, Adastra Tennis Club, Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Al Anon, Hassocks Life, U3A, Woodland Flora & Fauna Group and Keymer & Hassocks Cricket Club had displays to promote their organisations.  Parklife Coffee provided refreshments.

2. WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS

Cllr Gaudencio welcomed Parish Councillors and members of the public present at the meeting.

3. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Councillors Lesley Cruickshank-Robb, Peter Reime, Paul Shepherd

Absent: Alex Simmons

4. MINUTES

The minutes of the Annual Parish meeting held on 20 May 2025 were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

5. CHAIR’S PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT 2025-26

Cllr Gaudencio, Chair of Hassocks Parish Council gave a PowerPoint presentation to provide an overview of the Council’s achievements over the past year, as outlined in the Annual Report 2025-26 (Appendix 1).  She referred to the title page and the tree metaphor which represents the growing community at the roots, the councillors, the staff and the work undertaken by the Parish Council.

The day-to-day work of the Council includes dealing with telephone, email and in person enquiries, managing the street trees scheme, administering foodbank vouchers, dealing with bookings, responding to Planning consultations through the Planning Committee which meets every three weeks, and managing the burial ground.  Cllr Gaudencio recognised how the village population has increased significantly over recent years with additional housing and she is keen for the Parish Council to reach out to residents in the new developments.

She explained how the Parish Council is funded through the Precept which is paid by residents to Mid Sussex District Council as part of the Council tax bill.  The Council has sought to keep the cost as low as possible and also brings in income from other sources such as fees and charges for Council facilities, grants and developer contributions. Staff costs, grounds and environment works to maintain and improve public spaces such as Adastra Park account for a large part of the expenditure budget.

Adastra Park was gifted to the Parish Council by the late E.D Stafford in memory of his son who died in WWW1.  The park provides a range of recreational and sports facilities such as football, stoolball, cricket, tennis, skateboarding and Cllr Gaudencio was pleased see so many youngsters participating in activities.  Vandalism is an issue but sports do help to keep young people ‘off the streets’ and Cllr Gaudencio thanked the Police for their regular patrols and quick response to calls from the Parish office.

With regard to maintenance of Council facilities, Cllr Gaudencio stated that the new tennis courts had been jet washed for the first time in 2025-26 to keep them in good condition. The pavilion needs to be refurbished and the Parish Council had commissioned a consultant to provide recommendations for improvements which will be carried out during the coming year, funded through developer contributions and Council reserves. The Parish Council is proud of the Garden of Remembrance and she thanked the volunteers who do the gardening work. Cllr Gaudencio also stated that the allotments have a 3 year waiting list and the Council is currently looking for more land.

She highlighted some other projects that have been completed during 2025-26 such as the fingerposts in the village which were refurbished using CIL monies from the South Downs National Park.  Operation Watershed to address flooding in Downsview Road which was funded by West Sussex County Council but administered by the Parish Council.  A 20mph speed limit Community Highways Scheme application which was submitted with support from the County Councillor which is now in the design stage and will be delivered by WSCC, subject to the availability of funding.  The Parish Council also carried out four footpath improvements in 2025-26 and further monies have been set aside to upgrade more paths in the current financial year.

Cllr Gaudencio felt one of the highlights of 2025-26 was working with Fr Alex and other community partners to deliver a Remembrance Sunday event.  The event used to be managed by the British Legion but has not run for 2 years so the Parish Council stepped in.  There was a marching band, local children were involved and people joined the Parish Council to honour those who fought and died in previous wars who had lived in Hassocks.

Finally, she thanked the staff and explained that the Council had been on an 18 month recruitment drive to appoint a new Grounds person, Deputy Clerk and Clerk.  The new recruits had ‘hit the ground running’ and were supported by the two existing administrative staff who do a great job.  She thanked the Councillors who give up their time voluntarily and was pleased that they were willing to lead on projects and offer proactive oversight. Cllr Gaudencio also acknowledged the huge and positive contribution that local community groups make to life in Hassocks, making it a great place to live, work and visit.

6. OPEN FORUM: OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO RAISE ANY ISSUES

Question (Q) & Answer Session (A)

No questions were received in advance.  Members of the public were provided with an opportunity to raise questions.

6.1 Q Does the Parish Council know what is happening at 68 & 70 Keymer Road, National Tyres and the Royal British Legion development sites?

A. The Chair of the Planning Committee stated that he was not aware of any issues regarding 68 & 70 Keymer Road; the decision to refuse the National Tyres Planning application has been appealed; an amended Planning application has been submitted in respect to the Royal British Legion building.

That concluded the questions.

7. COMMUNITY GROUP PRESENTATIONS

7.1. Michael Naillard, Woodland Flora & Fauna Group
Michael gave an overview of the work of the group which was formed in 2004 after conducting a biodiversity study at Hurstpierpoint & Sayers Common.  This led to a number of new nature conservation initiatives to collect information about barn owls, dormice and bats. The group monitors and maintains Talbot Field for the Parish Council and has carried out meadow clearing and planting.  There are 12 bird boxes which have to be cleaned each year and the site is home to some rare bats and also moles. The group also works in schools to encourage interest in nature and relies on volunteers and fundraising to sustain their work.

7.2. Ross Watkins, Keymer & Hassocks Cricket Club
Ross gave a short presentation about the cricket club which has 40 adult members and 150+ junior members.  There are senior and junior teams that play on Saturdays, Sundays and midweek including the All Stars for 5-7 year olds and a growing girls squad who won their first game earlier this year. 2026 is the 130th anniversary of the club which will be celebrated at the Club Legends Day on 24 May, the Presidents Day on the August Bank Holiday weekend and a Gala Dinner at Sussex County Cricket Club in September. The club is continuing to fundraise for new permanent cricket nets to be installed in the SE corner of Adastra Park, subject to Planning approval. The new nets will enable them to provide more coaching for children and Ross thanked the Parish Council for their support.

7.3. Bernard O’Rourke, Mid Sussex Memory Cafes
Bernard wanted to raise awareness of the Mid Sussex Memory Cafes, which are run by the Rotarian Club and Promedica24, for carers and people living with dementia. There are two sessions at Adastra Hall on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month and further meetings at Court Bushes, Hurstpierpoint and Lamb House, Haywards Heath each month.  The group is fundraising and has a concert planned in Adastra Hall on 12 June to raise money for the project.