Grounds & Environment Committee

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting of the GROUNDS AND ENVIRONMENT Committee held on Thursday 27 July 2023 at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks

Attendees: Councillors David Bunting (Chair), Frances Gaudencio, Bill Hatton, Sue Hatton, Angus Neil, Peter Richardson, Alex Simmons and Paul Shepherd.

In attendance: Tracy Forte – Deputy Clerk.

GE23/16 APOLOGIES. Apologies were received from Cllr Kristian Berggreen and Ian Cumberworth, Parish Clerk. Absent without apology:  Councillor Kate Bailey.

GE23/17 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. There were no declarations of interest.

GE23/18 MINUTES. It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Grounds & Environment meeting held on 1 June 2023, be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

GE23/19 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. There were no members of the public present.

GE23/20 OFFICER REPORT. Members noted the Officer’s report.

The Deputy Clerk also updated the Committee on the following matters:

GE23/20.1 Hassocks Parklife Coffee.  The new refreshments outlet in the park opened on Monday 24 July and have reported that the first few days have gone well.  The intention is to trade Wednesdays to Sundays, however the first two weeks will be slightly ad hoc for various reasons.  The feedback to date has been very positive.

GE23/20.2 MSDC Play Days.  This took place on the afternoon of Tuesday 25 July and was very well attended and well received by local families.  It is a really well organised event funded by MSDC and provides an afternoon of free activities for families with young children.  The Parish Office will receive confirmation of the number of attendees but it is anticipated that this year’s number was an even further increase on the 300 people that attended last year.

GE23/20.3 Park Maintenance.  The Groundsman is currently unwell and therefore arrangements have been made for external contractors to cover the key duties of litter collection, bin emptying and mowing for the next few weeks.  The Deputy Clerk also reported that local park users had informed the office that they were aware of the groundsman’s absence and were very kindly organising themselves to assist with litter collections.

The Garden of Remembrance Volunteer group have turned their focus to taking on some of the duties in maintaining the Gardens, which is greatly appreciated.

GE23/20.4 Festive Lights.  As previously approved by the Committee, the Festive Lights contract has been renewed for a further three years starting December 2023 and therefore the Committee will have the opportunity to select a new design.  Unfortunately there has been a delay in the design options being made available, however these should be ready within the next couple of weeks and will be shared with the Committee in September.  In the meantime the Deputy Clerk invited the Committee to provide a steer on whether there was a preference to continue with white/gold lighting or whether a change was preferred to include some colour.  Cllr Gaudencio suggested inviting some representatives from Light Up Hassocks (Hassocks Community Organisation) to be involved in the selection of the lighting design which was supported by other members of the Committee. The Deputy Clerk indicated that she would contact the Light Up Hassocks group to discuss this.

GE23/21 BURIAL GROUND PATH. Members were invited to consider a proposal to resurface the remaining section of original tarmac path at the far southern end of the burial ground.  This had been originally left to avoid any risk of disturbing graves adjacent to the path with the groundwork. However it has been advised that a layer of the Terrabase surfacing could be installed on top of the existing tarmac without the need for any groundwork and this would be sufficiently robust for this final short section of path.

Members were therefore invited to consider approving the installation of a layer of Terrabase on the remaining tarmac surface of the southern end of the existing path at a cost of £2,728 plus VAT. Members were informed that £40,000 had been ear-marked for the path and as the final cost had been in the region of £35,500, funds remained to cover the additional surfacing should Members be minded to approve this proposal.

Members were fully supportive of this proposal.

GE23/21.1 It was RESOLVED to APPROVE the installation of a layer of Terrabase on the remaining tarmac surface of the southern end of the existing path at a cost of £2,728 plus VAT.  To be funded from the Burial Ground Ear Marked Reserves allocated for the path improvements.

GE23/22 BURIAL GROUND BENCH. Members were invited to consider a request to install a new memorial bench in the burial ground.

Members were invited to consider a request made by a family to install a new bench on the western border towards the bottom of the burial ground.   This would not have previously been possible, but the installation of the path has now created a suitable area for a small bench to be located, up to 1500mm.

Members were informed that there are currently six benches in the burial ground of the same design which is green steel Victorian 1800mm seats and are installed on block paving.

As part of this request Members were invited to consider the following three matters:

i. To agree whether all additional benches should continue to be of the same or similar design as the existing or if this design could be changed.

ii. To approve the installation of additional benches in suitable locations in the burial ground at the discretion of the Clerk/Deputy Clerk. In line with the Memorial Bench Policy for Adastra Park.

iii. To agree a donation policy for further benches in the Burial Ground.  It is proposed that this is based on the same procedure as for benches in Adastra Park, however the amount will be dependent on the type of bench agreed on.

Members discussed this item in detail and the consensus was that there was a preference towards maintaining consistency in bench design within the burial ground, therefore it was agreed that any further benches installed in the burial ground should be of the same or similar design to the green steel framed Victorian design benches already in situ.

It was noted that the existing Victorian steel benches could only be manufactured as 1800mm, however a 1200mm bench could be made using the same steel frame but with wooden slats instead.

GE23/22.1 It was RESOLVED to APPROVE that any additional benches installed in the burial ground should be of the same or similar design to the current Streetmaster Victorian Steel seats, with wooden or steel slats as appropriate.

GE23/22.2 It was RESOLVED to APPROVE to delegate the installation of additional benches in suitable locations in the burial ground at the discretion of the Clerk/Deputy Clerk.

GE23/22.3 It was RESOLVED to APPROVE the implementation of a donation policy for Memorial benches in the Burial Ground in line with the Memorial Bench Policy for Adastra Park.  The donation amount to be determined once final costings have been achieved.

GE23/23. STONEPOUND BUS SHELTER (NORTH). Members were informed that the wooden seat outside of the Bus Shelter at Stonepound North was in poor condition and required removal.  Arrangements have been made for the seat to be removed, however, to ensure that seating remains available, the Monday Group has installed a wooden bench inside the bus shelter.

Members were therefore invited to consider replacing the external seat with a Glasdon Eco rest seat outside of the Bus Shelter at Stonepound North in place of the removed wooden bench at a cost of £530.00 (exc. VAT) plus removal and installation costs in the region of £370 (exc. VAT).  This seat is made of recyclable materials.

To be funded from the Seats budget which is currently £500 and the Pedestrian Environment Budget which is currently £750.

Members were in full agreement of this proposal.

GE23/23.1 It was RESOLVED to APPROVE the removal of the existing external wooden seat at Stonepound North Bus Stop and to replace it with a Glasdon Eco rest seat at a cost of £530.00 (exc. VAT) plus removal and installation costs in the region of £370 (exc. VAT).

To be funded from the Seats budget which is currently £500 and the Pedestrian Environment Budget which is currently £750.

GE23/24 ADASTRA TENNIS COURTS REFURBISHMENT.  The Committee noted the following update shared by the Deputy Clerk on behalf of the Clerk:

The tennis court project completion has been delayed due to a combination of reasons on the contractor’s side.

The original completion date was the end of July, however this has now been moved to mid-August at the earliest. The revised timeline will also be reliant on weather. In light of this it has been necessary to cancel the initial launch date proposal and the Clerk is in ongoing discussion with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to reschedule the official launch in September. It is anticipated that the facility will be available for use prior to the official launch date.

Some snagging work was identified earlier in the project which the contractor returned to resolve. It was necessary to reheat sections of the tarmac to smooth out some of the levels. The issue related to a variation in levels in some of the tarmac joints.

The following elements are yet to be completed: fencing, court colouring, line markings, gate, nets & signage.

In addition, the back-office systems are yet to be fully installed with more configuration required to automate the booking payment system with the support of the LTA.

This was noted by the Committee.

GE23/25 WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL (WSCC) FORMAL CONSULTATION: Traffic calming and Parking Restriction on Windmill Ave, Hassocks.  Members were invited to note and consider the above formal consultation.  Full details are available on the WSCC website via the following link.  https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/traffic-regulation-orders/

Members re-iterated their concerns about the potential dangers of the shared cycle footway project, but recognised that this was outside of the consultation being considered. Members noted the consultation.

GE23/26 SPEED LIMITS IN HASSOCKS.   Cllr Weir introduced this item following the Full Council meeting held on 11 July 2023.  At that meeting it had been agreed that the G&E Committee would further discuss potential options to reduce speed limits in areas of Hassocks.

The following issues were discussed with the option for the Parish to raise one or more Community Highways Schemes for submission to WSCC:

GE23/26.1 Ockley Lane. The Section 106 agreement relating to Ockley Park allocated funds to pay for a Traffic Regulation Order. Therefore an opportunity would exist for the parish to apply for this to enable speed reductions to be put in place. It was suggested that this could include an application for WSCC to consider moving the 30mph zone to the top of Ockley Hill and propose a 40mph zone from the top of Ockley Hill to Burgess Hill.

Members were fully supportive of this proposal.

• It was AGREED that the Clerk/Deputy Clerk would be asked to write to the relevant WSCC Highways Officer and to Cllr Kirsty Lord strongly requesting the above speed reductions are put in place.

GE23/26.2 Friars Oak Pub A273.  Extending the 30mph zone to the north of the Friars Oak Pub.

With the commencement of the additional development on the Land to the rear of the Friars Oak Pub and the new development on the opposite side of London Road, Members strongly agreed that there was a need for extending the 30mph zone further north.

• It was AGREED that an application should be submitted to WSCC through the Community Highways Scheme on behalf of Hassocks PC by the Clerk/Deputy Clerk.

GE23/26.3 Brighton Road A273. Moving the 30mph signage by the garden centre slightly to the north to improve its visibility and extend the proposed 40 mph zone from The Jack and Jill Pub to join up with the 30mph zone outside the Garden Centre. This proposal was also fully supported by the Committee.

• It was again AGREED that an application should be submitted to WSCC through the Community Highways Scheme on behalf of Hassocks PC by the Clerk/Deputy Clerk.

GE23/26.4 Village Centre 20mph Scheme. This had been raised initially by Hassocks Community Organisation (HCO).  Cllr Weir explained that the viability of a scheme is being explored with WSCC Highways, however in order for this to progress it was important for the Parish to indicate if there was support for such a proposal and to consider the area to be covered.

This was considered by the Committee, who fully supported the proposal in principle and it was agreed that it would be included on the next G&E Agenda for a more detailed discussion.  It was also agreed that the relevant representatives from HCO would be invited to share their ideas on this item.

GE23/27 FLOOD ACTION GROUP. Cllr Frances Gaudencio updated the Committee on matters related to the Flood Action Group.

GE23/27.1 In the past year HKD Transition have been able to install the flow meters and gauge boards at various points in the village streams, funded by Hassocks Parish Council.  Readings are being taken and in some places this can be done using a mobile device.

GE23/27.2 The Riparian Responsibilities booklet is now finished and includes a map showing the flood risk areas of Hassocks.  Cllr Gaudencio extended her thanks to Cllr Simmons for his assistance in producing this map.   She also thanked the office staff for their assistance in producing this booklet.  An indicative cost had been obtained to have the booklet printed ready for distribution.

A list had been created of potential properties in Hassocks which might have riparian responsibilities; this is in excess of 450 properties and Cllr Barton and WSCC Cllr Lord had previously confirmed that they would be happy to distribute these booklets. Cllrs Neil and Simmons also offered support with the distribution. It was noted that some residents may be unaware of their riparian responsibilities and maybe concerned by the implications of the booklet. It is important therefore that the Parish is prepared for this.

Cllr Gaudencio invited comments from the Committee about including local solicitors and estate agents as recipients of this booklet for sharing with relevant potential property owners.

This proposal was fully supported by the Committee and it was AGREED that when distribution to residents commenced, the Clerk/Deputy Clerk would also send a copy of the booklet with a covering letter, to the relevant commercial organisations in the village.

GE23/27.3 Cllr Gaudencio informed the Committee that other work was ongoing in the background as part of the flood prevention initiatives in the village but much of this was reliant on working with other parties.  Therefore the timescales and progression was not always predictable.

GE23/27.4 Parklands Copse.  Work is still ongoing with MSDC with regards to various proposals for the land around Parklands Copse Play Area which is owned by MSDC.  The Clerk is currently involved in setting up a meeting between some members of the Flood Action Group and the relevant Officer at MSDC.  Cllr Hatton suggested that Robert Anderton, MSDC Assistant Director for Commercial Services & Contracts, should be included in any correspondence to ensure he is informed of the projects being proposed.

Cllr Hatton also confirmed that she would be happy to be invited to Flood Action Group meetings as MSDC Councillor Representative.

GE23/28 PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY (PROW).

GE23/28.1 Cllr Ian Weir updated Members on the situation with currently agreed Public Rights of Way projects.

In the previous financial year (2022/23) the following four projects were approved and expenditure allocated:

• PROW 21K. Which runs from Grand Avenue to Woodsland Road (behind Queens Drive) – the path is heavily used as a link to Adastra Park and the Thatched Inn avoiding the busy Keymer Road and is also a direct walking route to Clayton Mills. Length 400 Metres with estimated cost of £25,000.
• PROW 23C. Upgrading Path 23C to Hard Surface.  This is an important link from Clayton Ave to the tarmacked Cinder Track (14C) providing a direct route from the village centre to the South Downs – levelling and upgrading to a hard or tarmac surface would improve safety and access in wet weather. Length 120 Metres with estimated cost of £9,000.
• PROW 8C. Cleaning debris from existing hard surface and cutting back of Bridleway 8C. Uncosted but likely to be under £5,000.
• PROW 10K. Diversion of path 10K in Adastra Park to allow ticketed events to be held in North Field without having to apply for temporary stoppage orders. The cost of this application to WSCC is £2000.

Due to a range of issues including significant increases in costs, these projects are currently outstanding and Committee was asked to consider the following revised approach:

• PROW 21K. This route is in a Tree Preservation Zone and a detailed evaluation of the route is ready to submit to MSDC to get agreement on the works required. It has been on hold due to the workload of the Clerk. There is currently uncertainty as to whether the Parish should seek approval for tree works or if it should be tendered on the basis that the contractor will do this work. A suggested approach is for the Clerk to approach at least one contractor to seek their advice and a re-costing of the work.
• PROW 23C. This needs to be re-tendered to determine current costs for the upgrade to tarmacked surface.
• PROW 8C. It has since been discovered that S106 funds are available for this path and it is suggested that the original request for refurbishment be passed by the Clerk to WSCC.
• PROW 10K. WSCC previously indicated that they were not accepting diversion orders due to workload constraints. It is suggested that the Clerk approach them to ascertain if they will now accept an order and if not to provide an anticipated date.

Members were in agreement of the actions as suggested above and it was agreed that the Clerk would be asked to:

PROW 21K Identify at least one contractor to seek advice and costs regarding the proposed improvements to the relevant section of this route including associated planning permission for necessary tree works.

PROW 23C Re-tender to obtain current costs to upgrade to a hard surface.

PROW 8C Refer the project to WSCC on the basis that S106 funds are available for the bridleway.

PROW 10K Contact WSCC to ascertain whether WSCC is now accepting diversion orders for PROW or for an anticipated date as to when this might be possible.

GE23/28.2 PROW 15C.  Cllr Weir informed Members that the Cinder Path from Hassocks Station to Clayton has deteriorated to the point where regular complaints are received from users. This is probably one of the most important PROWs in the Village due to its heavy use towards the SDNP at Clayton and the local link it provides to Clayton Avenue and Ockenden Way. A long term improvement plan for the entire path would be the ideal.  Commencing with a major improvement to the existing tarmac surface which is between the Station and the northern boundary of Butcher’s Wood as the first stage.

Both WSCC and SDNP have indicated that funds are not available for major works but that the position might change if a funding partner were available.

Therefore the Committee was asked to consider, in principle, if it would agree to allocate funding in the next financial year (2024/25) and future years to the long-term upgrade of this path.  Some Members expressed reservations as to whether such an extensive improvement was required and of the costs involved.  It was noted that more detailed information of the costs would be required.

Following a full discussion, the Committee indicated unanimous support for this proposal in principle.

GE23/29 URGENT MATTERS at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.

GE23/29.1 Windmills School Year 6 Environmental Project.  The Chair informed Members that the Parish Council had received correspondence from Cllr Kirsty Lord regarding an environmental project that had been undertaken by Year 6 pupils at Windmills Junior School.   The project involved supporting the pupils to learn more about Climate Change and encouraging them to consider actions to protect and improve their own environment.  The pupils worked in small groups to research, plan and subsequently present their ideas to an invited audience.  The winning groups were to be offered the opportunity to develop their ideas further and to see if any could be implemented in Hassocks.  Cllr Lord had spoken to the pupils involved and committed to sharing the winning ideas with Hassocks Parish Council, inviting the Council to consider the potential to implement any of the proposed suggestions.

The Committee were in full support of this being included on the next G&E Agenda for further consideration.

S106 Funding – Art Projects.  It was noted that at the recent Full Council meeting members were informed that there was £10,000 available as S106 funding for Arts Projects in Hassocks.  Cllr Simmons suggested that this could potentially be accessed to fund art work or art centred initiatives based on proposals made by the Windmills School, which was fully supported by Members.

GE23/29.2 Adastra Park Drainage. Cllr Peter Richardson enquired about the drainage project in Adastra Park.  It was noted that an update had not been provided due to the Clerk’s absence.  Cllr Bunting reported that the delay in any action had been due to a consistent lack of communication from the contractor originally tasked to support this project.  The contractor has recently confirmed that they are able to continue to offer its services to the Parish but in the meantime the Clerk has also explored an alternative source for advice. A full update will be provided at the next meeting.

GE23/29.3 Cllr Bunting informed the Committee that there would be a further meeting of the Park Working Group at the beginning of September in advance of the next G&E meeting.

GE23/30 DATE OF NEXT MEETING. 21 September 2023 at 7.30pm.

There being no other business the meeting closed at 8.55 pm