Grounds & Environment Committee

Agenda

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To:      All Members of the Grounds & Environment Committee (Kristian Berggreen,
David Bunting, Frances Gaudencio, Bill Hatton, Sue Hatton, Peter Richardson, Paul Shepherd, Ian Weir, Cllr Peter Reime, Cllr Maria Angelaki-King) with copies to all other Councillors for information.

A meeting of the GROUNDS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE will be held on 30th July 2026 at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Parish Clerk 23rd July 2026

1. TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2. TO ACCEPT DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

3. MINUTES. To accept the Minutes of the Grounds and Environment Meeting held on 25th June 2026. (Previously circulated).

4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

5. OFFICER’S REPORT. (Appendix 1).

6. GROUNDSPERSON REPORT. (Appendix 2).

7. SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB FLOOD MITIGATION. Members are asked to consider a request by Keymer & Hassocks Social Club to install a drainage channel. (Appendix 3 & 3.1).

8. PARKLANDS COPSE ALLOTMENTS 2026 RENT REVIEW. Member are asked to consider two reports related to the allotments (Appendices 4 & 5).

9. ADASTRA PARK MASTERPLAN:

9.1 ORCHARD LANE – Members are asked to consider quotes for works to Orchard Lane to alleviate flooding issues during heavy rain. (Appendix 6). To view Appendix 6 please click here.

10. HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP – Verbal report following meeting on 10th July 2026. (Minutes & spreadsheet of road signs – Appendix 7). To view Appendix 7 please click here.

11. BUS SHELTERS – West Sussex County Council (WSCC) has secured funding to upgrade a number of bus shelters on the 273 Brighton to Crawley bus route, which runs through Hassocks along the A273 Brighton Road and then west toward Hurstpierpoint at the Stonepound crossroads. There are eight stops in Hassocks with the potential to install four new shelters at Hurst Road (West Bound), South Downs Nurseries (North & South Bound), Jack & Jill (North Bound) plus two replacement shelters at Stonepound Crossroads (North & South Bound). The Parish Council would be required to arrange installation and take responsibility for ongoing maintenance of the assets. Members are asked to consider the proposal and give agreement in principle before WSCC will proceed with a design and feasibility study.

12. PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY (PROW). Verbal Update.

13. URGENT MATTERS at the discretion of the Chair for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.

14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. 17th September 2026

Exclusion of Public and Press – In view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted Councillors will be referred to the Confidential agenda. If any members of the public or press are present they will be requested to withdraw from the meeting.

15. CONFIDENTIAL:

15.1 – ADASTRA TOILETS IMPROVEMENTS – Members are asked to consider the quotes and award the contract. (Appendix 8).

Please Note: All members of the public are welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council and its Committees. Item 4 – a period of 15 minutes will be set aside for the public statements and questions relating to the published non-confidential business of the Meeting.
It may be necessary to consider particular items in confidential session and where this arises, these items will be considered at the end of the agenda.

FILMING, RECORDING OF COUNCIL MEETINGS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. During this meeting members of the public may film or record the Committee and officers from the public area only, providing it does not disrupt the meeting. The Confidential section of the meeting may not be filmed or recorded. If a member of the public objects to being recorded, the person(s) filming must stop doing so until that member of the public has finished speaking. The use of social media is permitted but members of the public are requested to switch their mobile devices to silent for the duration of the meeting.

Appendix 1

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To:  Grounds & Environment Committee                    

Date: 30th July 2026

Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk                         

Subject: Agenda Item 5 – Officer Report

The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on (G&E) Matters:

  • Memorial Bench – The new bench for the Garden of Remembrance was delivered on 29th
  • The tree behind the pavilion on the edge of the car park was cut back on 9th July to avoid debris falling on the roof.
  • The lines in the car park will be repainted on either 20th or 21st The contractor will confirm a week before. A sign will be displayed at least two weeks before to inform users that the car park will be out of use. The contractor will arrive around 6am and should be completed by 11am, the car park can be used immediately afterwards.
  • The Council previously stored salt hippo bags at Jobes Depot and Burgess Hill Town Council was able to deliver them when necessary. Unfortunately, WSCC is no longer willing to provide space for storage and BHTC can longer offer a delivery service so we are unable to stock salt supplies for the Highway in winter.    To ensure we are not completely unable to respond in the event of snowy/icy winter weather we have asked WSCC to consider installing more grit bins on the Highway boundary at the following sites (where the hippo bags would previously have been dropped off).
  • Clayton – Underhill Lane junction / Brighton Road (on grass verge, by fingerpost)
  • Clayton – Underhill Lane, south of Spring Lane (left of public right of way)
  • Hassocks – Keymer Road / Woodsland Road (on corner by lamppost, outside Marchants estate agent)
  • Hassocks – Keymer Road / Wilmington Close (on grass verge)
  • Hassocks – Keymer Road / Ockley Lane (on grass verge, by street name)

The request will be considered by the WSCC area teams to assess and go through a consultation process with the residents which is likely to take several weeks so it is unlikely they will be installed before winter 2027.

  • The Council has engaged Balcombe Pest Control to lay more bait boxes for the rats on Orchard Lane. The District Council’s Environmental Health Officer has been informed.

 Appendix 2

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL 

To:      Grounds & Environment Committee                                     

Date: 30th July 2026

Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk                         

Subject: Agenda Item 6 – Groundsperson Report

In addition to day-to-day grounds maintenance, recent duties include:

  • cut most hedges in the park, prioritising those with brambles and nettles and where access was becoming restricted
  • cleaned windows and bifold doors on pavilion building
  • Grass cutting and strimming
  • strimming at allotments, including strimming and tidying a plot in preparation for a new tenant
  • working on plans for new shrub planting and potentially bulb planting for the autumn/winter
  • weekly checking of parkland copse (previously monthly) due to stream blockages and fly tipping becoming more regular
  • more frequent litter picking patrols due to increase in rubbish being left

Appendix 3

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To: Grounds and Environment Committee

Date: 30th July 2026

Contact for this report: Deputy Clerk

Subject: Agenda Item 7 – Keymer & Hassocks Sports and Social Club

Members are asked to consider a request from the Sports Club for permission to install a drainage channel across the front entrance of the building. During heavy rain, water runs into and accumulates in the paved area outside the front door.

The request is to install a linear drainage channel across the existing pathway and connect it to the existing rainwater downpipe gully. The club are not asking for any financial contribution from the Parish Council.

(Click here to view the plan – Appendix 3.1)

Appendix 4

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL 

To:      Grounds & Environment Committee                                

Date: 30th July 2026

Contacts for this report: Deputy Clerk             

Subject: Agenda Item 8 – Allotments Rent & Water Charges Review 2026/27

Members are asked to consider the following:

The purpose of this report is to invite Members to approve a proposed increase in Allotment Rent for 2026/27. A formula was agreed in March 2015 by Hassocks Allotment Holders Association for calculating allotment rents which composes of three elements, plot rent, water installation, and water charges. This formula continues to be the agreed process for calculating allotment rents, with amendments as agreed on 3 September 2021 and 21 September 2023 relating to water charges. (Minute 7b)

1. The Rent formula is as follows:

(a)       Plot Rent 2013-14 Plot Rent £18.50 – increased annually based on inflation.

(b)       Water Installation. 2011 – an addition of £10 per annum for water installation costs to run for 21 years until 2032.

(c)        Water Charges. The charges for water usage were increased from £8 per half plot to £10 per half plot in July 2025. Minute ref: GE 25/22.

2. PLOT RENT 2025 – Using the agreed formula, applying inflation (CPI Apr 25) to the rent of £25.98 for a half plot for 2024/25 resulted in a total increase of £0.90 (3.5%), bringing the plot rent to £26.88 for 2025/26

Rent                                                    £ 25.98

Inflation increase                             £   0.90

Water installation                             £ 10.00

Water Usage                                   £ 10.00

Total Rent 25/26                               £ £47.00

 

(a) Current charges for water:

62 plots in total

Half plots – 19x£10 water charge = £190

Quarter plots – 43x£5 water charge = £215.00

Total income 25/26: £405.00

Current monthly direct debit: £51.00 x 12= £612.00

Annual Budget 26-27 £720

Actual annual expenditure as per bills from SE Water: £569.96

3. PLOT RENT 26/27

CPI Apr 26 – 2.5%

£26.88 + 2.5% = £27.60

4. Members are asked to consider and choose one of the three following options:

Option A: Members approve an increase of £0.68 to the allotment rent for 2026/27.  This would take the total rent to £48.00 per half plot per annum, based on applying a £0.70 inflationary increase and rounding to the nearest pound as previously agreed.  Water charges would remain at £10 per half plot.

Option B: Members approve the above increase with an additional increase to the water charges:

Water usage – half plot       £13.00

Water usage – quarter plot  £6.50

Total income: £526.50

Total Rent 26/27:

£51.00 per half plot

£25.50 per quarter plot

Option C: Members approve the above increase with a further additional increase to the water charges:

Water usage half plot                      £14.00

Water usage quarter plot                £7.00

Total Income: £567.00 – This increase is required to ensure the parish council is not subsidising water usage.

Total Rent 26/27:

£52.00 per half plot

£26.00 per quarter plot

5. Members are asked to consider the report provided by Hassocks Allotment Holders Association in relation to the HAHA funds. (Appendix 5).

Appendix 5

To:        Grounds Committee, Hassocks Parish Council

From:   Hassocks Allotment Holders Association

Date:    12 June 2026

Re:        Proposal to increase annual funds to HAHA (membership subscriptions)

This proposal is requesting an increase in the annual funding to HAHA from October 2026.

The amount currently paid is £200 per annum

We are proposing to increase this to £496.00 per annum

Background
The Hassocks Allotment Holders Association formed in April 2008. Its purpose was to represent the interests of allotment holders and work with the Parish Council to improve the allotment site at Parklands Road.  When HAHA formed, we asked allotment holders to pay a £5 membership fee to the Association.

In 2010 as our role in supporting the Parish Council developed, it was agreed that the Parish Council would add £5 to the allotment rent for each plot, so that all plot holders would become a member of the Association. In return, the Parish Council would pay the accumulated total of £5 membership fees back to HAHA each year. For this, the Association would represent the interests of all plot holders at Parkland Road allotments: agree to a joint programme of activity; and use the funds to support the development of the allotment site and community.

This £5 membership fee has not increased since it was introduced in 2010. Neither has inflation been added to the membership fee.  There are now  62 plots and 62 plot holders.

We would like to propose that the £5 is increased to £8 to cover the general inflationary increase from 2010. And that the £8 is paid for 62 plots, so that HAHA is representing all 62 plot holders. This would mean an annual payment to HAHA of 62 x £8.00 = £496.00

HAHA Membership Fees

Since the pandemic, the Association has worked to develop more community engagement at the allotment site. We have initiated:

  • regular year-round compost deliveries, which is helping to improve the soil conditions over the long-term;
  • invested in a new notice board and regular communal tidy up social events;
  • contributed towards the cost of rubbish removals helping to keep the site tidy and clear of rubbish;
  • undertaken an allotment survey to engage the allotment community and to assess how well used the allotment site is throughout the year;
  • Hosted two groups from the 1st Hassocks Beavers in Spring 2026, which we funded as part of our community engagement programme;
  • Met with the Head of Downlands Community School to discuss piloting a project to engage students with allotments and vegetable gardens.

All these activities require funding, and our membership fees support all these activities. No committee member receives any renumeration for their role, and everyone involved is a volunteer.

We would welcome a conversation about the membership fees and hope that the Parish Council will consider this request as an investment into the Hassocks allotment community.
Hassocks Parish Council
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