Hassocks Parish Council

Agenda

A meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 7.50pm in the Council Chamber, Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Parish Clerk 8 October 2025

Members of the public are encouraged to come to the meetings and there is an opportunity for them to address the Council relating to the non-confidential items on the published agenda. A period of 15 minutes will be set aside in item 4 Public participation. 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.

AGENDA

1. APOLOGIES

1.1         To accept Apologies for absence

2. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS

2.1         To deal with any disclosure by Members of any disclosable pecuniary interests and interests other than pecuniary interests, as defined under Hassocks Parish Council’s Code of Conduct and the Localism Act 2011, in relation to matters on the agenda.

3. MINUTES

3.1         To accept the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 9 September 2025.

4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Up to fifteen minutes will be available to allow for the public to make representations, answer questions or give evidence in respect of any items of business included in the agenda, in accordance with Standing Orders.

5. TO ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING MINUTES

5.1  Planning Committee – to accept the minutes for 8 September 2025 and note the minutes for 29 September

5.2  Grounds & Environment Committee – to note the minutes for 4 September 2025

5.3  Policy, Resources & Communications – to note the minutes for 23 September 2025

6. REPORTS

6.1  Police Report

6.2  West Sussex County Councillor

6.3  Mid Sussex District Councillors Report

6.4  Rail and Public Transport Matters

6.5  Community Initiatives

6.6  Reports from Councillors on meetings with outside bodies where the Council is Represented.

7. FINANCE

7.1  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £27,405.18issued between 1 August 2025 and 31 August 2025 (Appendix 1). (To view Appendix 1 please click here).

8. CHAIR’S REPORT

8.1  Current matters (oral report)

9. CLERK’S REPORT

9.1  Interim Internal Audit Report

Members are requested to note the contents of the Interim Internal Audit Report 2025-26 which is set out in Appendix 2. In the Executive Summary, the Auditor states, ‘Our sample testing did not uncover any errors or misstatements that require reporting to the external auditor at this time, nor did we identify any significant weaknesses in the internal controls such that public money would be put at risk. It is clear the council takes governance, policies and procedures seriously and I am pleased to report that overall, the systems and procedures you have in place are fit for purpose and whilst my report may contain recommendations to change these are not indicative of any significant failings, but rather are pointers to improving upon an already well-ordered system.’

There is one recommendation, that the Council increases the Fidelity Guarantee level to ensure it covers the maximum balances held at any point during the year, which can be addressed when the insurance policy is renewed.
(To view Appendix 2 please click here).

9.2  Business Plan – on 7 October the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Council and the Standing Committees were invited to a meeting to consider the Council’s business plan and priorities. A copy of the agreed programme of work is available for comment and will be published on the Council’s website (Appendix 3). (To view Appendix 3 please click here).

9.3  Council Policies – on 23 September the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee considered four draft Council policies and resolved to recommend the final drafts to Full Council for adoption:

• Publication Scheme (Appendix 4) (To view Appendix 4 please click here).
• IT Policy (Appendix 5) (To view Appendix 5 please click here).
• Code of Conduct (Appendix 6) (To view Appendix 6 please click here).
• Developers Protocol (Appendix 7) (To view Appendix 7 please click here).

10. APPOINTMENT OF STANDING COMMITTEES

10.1  To appoint Cllr Reime to join the Planning Committee

11. URGENT MATTERS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To note that the date of the next Council meeting is Tuesday 11 November 2025.

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.