Hassocks Parish Council

Agenda

A meeting of the Parish Council is being held on Tuesday 14 April 2026 at 7.30pm in the Council Chamber, Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Parish Clerk 8 April 2026

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 10 March 2026.

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 note the minutes for 16 March 2026

5.2  Grounds & Environment Committee – to note the minutes for 5 March 2026

5.3  Policy Resources & Communications Committee – to note the minutes for 17 March 2026

6. COUNCILLOR CO-OPTION

• To consider applications to co-opt a councillor to fill the current casual vacancy. Two applications have been received and they have been circulated confidentially to Members, prior to the meeting.  Please note, the Parish Council is not obliged to select any candidate. The following procedure should be followed:
• Candidates to be sent a full agenda for the meeting at which they are to be considered for appointment.  They may speak for up to three minutes to support their application during the co-option item on the agenda.
• Voting takes place in public by show of hands or signed ballot at the request of at least two Councillors. After the voting has concluded the Clerk will announce the result and the Chair can declare the successful candidate duly elected.
• The successful candidate must sign their Declaration of Acceptance of Office form before they can act as a Councillor and participate in Council meetings.  The Register of Interests form must be completed within 28 days.

 7. REPORTS

7.1  Police Report

7.2  West Sussex County Councillor

7.3  Mid Sussex District Councillors Report

7.4  Rail and Public Transport Matters

7.5  Community Initiatives

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

8. FINANCE

8.1  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £0issued between 1 – 31 March 2026 from the Barclays Tracker Account (3548) (Appendix 1). Please click here to view Appendix 1.

8.2  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £0issued between 1 – 23 March 2026 from the Barclays Business Saver Account (5015) (Appendix 2).  Final statement – account closed. Please click here to view Appendix 2.

8.3  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £48.74issued between 2 February – 2 March 2026 with the Corporate Purchasing Card (0651) (Appendix 3). Please click here to view Appendix 3.

8.4  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £21,169.87issued between 1 – 31 March 2026 from the Barclays Current Account (2114) (Appendix 4). Please click here to view Appendix 4.

8.5  To approve the Financial Report and authorise the list of payments in the sum of £33,516.60issued between 1 – 31 March 2026 from the Unity Current Account (7654) (Appendix 5). Please click here to view Appendix 5.

9. CHAIR’S REPORT

9.1  Current matters (oral report)

10. CLERK’S REPORT

10.1  Current matters (oral report)

10.2  Health & Safety Policy– Members are requested to APPROVE the draft Health & Safety Policy (Appendix 6) as recommended by the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee on 17 March 2026. Please click here to view Appendix 6.

10.3  Employee Handbook– Members are requested to APPROVE the draft Employee Handbook (Appendix 7) as recommended by the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee on 17 March 2026. Please click here to view Appendix 7.

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 12 May 2026.

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.

Minutes

Draft Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 14 April 2026

Attendees: Parish Councillors Frances Gaudencio (Chair), Maria Angelaki-King, Kristian Berggreen, David Bunting, Lesley Cruickshank-Robb, Bill Hatton, Sue Hatton, Don McBeth, Peter Reime, Peter Richardson, Paul Shepherd, Alex Simmons, Ian Weir

In Attendance: Elaine Langridge (Clerk & RFO), David Withycombe, Clare Black and one other person

MINUTES

PC25/146      APOLOGIES Cllrs Robert Brewer

PC25/147      DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS Disclosure by Councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, and whether the Councillor regards their interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct – None.

PC25/148      MINUTES The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 10 March 2026 were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

PC25/149      PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Three members of the public were present.

PC25/150      TO ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING MINUTES

• Planning Committee – Members noted the minutes for 16 March 2026
• Grounds & Environment Committee – Members noted the minutes for 5 March 2026
• Policy Resources & Communications Committee – Members noted the minutes for 17 March 2026

PC25/151      COUNCILLOR CO-OPTION – The Council received three application forms for the Parish Councillor vacancy.  One candidate was unable to attend Council meetings in April and May so his application was deferred until another vacancy arises. The two remaining candidates were invited to speak in support of their applications and answered questions from Councillors.  Both were excellent candidates with varied experience and much to offer the Council. Members wished they could appoint them both, but the number of Councillors is limited to fifteen.  In accordance with Council Standing Order 4e, Cllr Gaudencio proposed a signed ballot and Cllr Bunting seconded the proposal.  The candidate with the greatest number of votes was appointed to fill the Casual Vacancy.  The other candidate was encouraged to join one of the Council Working Groups and to apply again in the future.

Members RESOLVED to elect Clare Black to serve on the Hassocks Ward, subject to receipt of the signed Declaration of Acceptance of Office form.

PC25/152      REPORTS

PC25/152.1   Police Report – the Clerk provided a summary of the most commonly reported crimes in the Hassocks area during February 2026 listed on the Sussex Police website:

10        Anti-social behaviour

7          Violence and sexual offences

3          Other crime

2          Criminal damage and arson

She informed Councillors that the Police hold Beat Surgeries every second Thursday of the month, by the exit at Tates Garden Centre between 11.30am-12.30pm for drop-in enquiries.

PC25/152.2   West Sussex County Councillor – WSCC Cllr Erika Woodhurst-Trueman gave her apologies that she could not attend in person and provided a written report (Appendix 1).

PC25/152.3   Mid Sussex District Councillor report – Cllr Berggreen provided a report on behalf of MSDC Cllr Chris Hobbs (Appendix 2). With regard to the public toilets, it was noted that MSDC accepted responsibility for the maintenance and utilities and these costs would have to be covered by the Parish Council in future years. It was agreed that they are in a poor state of repair and the situation will be considered by the Grounds & Environment Committee.  MSDC has allocated S106 receipts to fund capital improvements to the toilets (£200k) and sports pavilion (£200k) and full details will be provided to the Policy, Communications and Resources Committee.  The public toilets are subject to constant vandalism and as a result MSDC has restricted the opening times.  The Clerk agreed to contact MSDC to ask them to consider extending the opening hours whilst the future management arrangements are decided.

PC25/152.4   Rail and Public Transport Matters – the Rail Group reported that

• The temporary works by GTR to improve accessibility to the east side of the station have been completed in March.  GTR are going to monitor this before proceeding with the permanent works in 2026/27.  One trade-off is a loss of a few parking spaces on the east side but accessibility is much improved which will make a big difference for those pushing wheel chairs, push chairs or pull along cases or with mobility or sight challenges.
• The memorial bench for Leslie Campbell is planned to be installed on the east side platform as soon as it has been delivered – the Deputy Clerk will order the bench.

PC25/152.5   Community Initiatives – none

PC25/152.6   Report from Councillors on meetings of outside bodies where the Council is represented – Cllrs Cruickshank-Robb, Angelaki-King and Gaudencio have been working with Age Concern to identify and address the needs of older people in the Parish.  They suggested installing community notice boards in the new housing developments to promote local services, an Open Morning or networking event to provide information and advice and an Annual Forum for people working in the sector.

PC25/153      FINANCE – Cllr Weir asked for future reports to include the opening and closing balances.  He also asked for a progress update on the new investment accounts due to be opened.  The Clerk responded that accounts had been opened with Virgin and CCLA and she would arrange for funds to be transferred.  

PC25/153.1   Members noted that no payments were made between 1-31 March 2026 from the Barclays Tracker Account (3548)

PC25/153.2   Members noted that no payments were made between 1-23 March 2026 from the Barclays Saver Account (5015) and this account is now closed.

PC25/153.3   Members APPROVED the payments list totalling £48.74 for the period between 2 February – 2 March 2026 from the Corporate Purchasing Card (0651).

PC25/153.4   Members APPROVED the payments list totalling £21,169.87 for the period between 1 – 31 March 2026 from the Barclays Current Account (2114).

PC25/153.5   Members APPROVED the payments list totalling £33,516.60 for the period between 1 – 31 March 2026 from the Unity Current Account (7654).

PC25/154      CHAIR’S REPORT – none

PC25/155      CLERK’S REPORT

PC25/155.1   The Clerk reported that she had met with the Chair of the Hassocks Twinning Association and agreed a schedule for the weekend events (Appendix 3). Members are invited to attend any or all of the events highlighted in red and are asked to contact the Clerk to confirm attendance before 29 April, so the Twinning Association can reserve tickets and organise catering.  It was agreed that five parking spaces will be reserved in the Parish Centre car park over the weekend, from Friday 22 – Monday 25 May, for the visitors’ vehicles. Cllr Angelaki-King has been contacting business owners on Keymer Road to ask them to display welcome bunting and to invite them to the High Tea.

Mid Sussex District Council has asked Members to review and amend their Declarations of Interest, published on the Parish Council website. Where necessary they should inform the Clerk of any changes and she will update the Monitoring Officer.

PC25/155.2   The Clerk presented a Health & Safety Policy, as approved by the Policy Resources & Communications Committee and recommended for Council approval on 17 March 2026.  The policy was prepared by WorkNest on behalf of the Parish Council and it outlines the Council’s responsibilities, rules, arrangements and monitoring requirements. The Clerk reported that WorkNest had carried out site visits of all Council premises and public spaces and Fire Risk Assessments of the buildings.  A number of actions are required, and progress will be monitored by the Policy, Resources & Communications Committee.

RESOLVED Members voted unanimously in favour to adopt the Health & Safety Policy.  The Health & Safety Policy Statement was signed and dated by the Chair of the Council.

PC25/155.3   The Clerk presented a Health & Safety Handbook, as approved by the Policy Resources & Communications Committee and recommended for Council approval on 17 March 2026.  The handbook was prepared by WorkNest on behalf of the Parish Council and it provides information and advice regarding employee responsibilities and arrangements for Health & Safety and will be circulated to staff.

RESOLVED Members voted unanimously in favour to adopt the Health & Safety Handbook.

PC25/156      URGENT MATTERS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR – None

PC25/157      DATE OF NEXT MEETING Tuesday 12 May 2026

Appendix 1

County Councillor Report to Parish Council 14 April 2026

South East Water – issue appears to have been resolved (on the 3^rd attempt). Due to the reticence of SEW to accept that the problem was with their network there was a period of approx. 6 days delay in re-opening road. I have requested SEW be held to account and applicable financial penalties enforced. Some upside – the final stage of the drainage works at the Keymer end of the village were brought forward and undertaken during the Clerks Acre road closure. Credit must be given to WSCC officers for their tenacity and forethought.

At last full council on 27 Feb, I brought a motion on the issue of violence against women and girls. The motion was accepted unanimously. If you’d like to know more about the motion or to see the text of my speech, please let Elaine or myself know.

At the start of that full council, the gov’t’s decision to delay a decision on the Sussex unitary authority was met with universal disappointment and frustration. A judicial review is being considered.

Along with NHS Sussex WSCC has co-produced a new plan to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The new West Sussex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Strategy 2026 to 2030 has been launched. It was developed with families, young people, schools, health services and the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum to focus on the things families have said matter most to them.

WSCC has renewed its Adult Social Care Strategy to improve how adults and carers are supported across the county. The plan – Living Well and Being Independent – has been shaped with people who experience care, carers, and partner organisations, and focuses on providing clear information, early support and help closer to home. With more people needing care and services facing financial pressures, the strategy aims to make it easier for residents to understand their options and get the right support at the right time.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has launched its new Community Risk Management Plan 2026 to 2030, setting out how it will prevent emergencies, protect people and property, and respond effectively across the county for the rest of the decade. It aims to respond to the risks identified in the county, including house fires, road traffic collisions, wildfires, and flooding, as well as emerging risks the service could face in the future.

Links to the three strategies detailed are embedded in the text of this report so can be sent to you electronically if you wish.

Finally, I want to say apologies for not being able to be with you in person  – I am attending a meeting at BHTC offices. Secondly, I want to say thank you for being so welcoming and helpful. I have very much enjoyed my time working with you as the Hassocks and Burgess Hill County Councillor and I hope I can continue to do so after 7^th May, but if that turns out not to be the case, I wish you all the very best and look forward to bumping into you in the village or working with you in different guises.

Erika Woodhurst-Trueman
West Sussex County Councillor for Hassocks and Burgess Hill South

Appendix 2

District Councillor Report to Parish Council 14 April 2026

The planned implementation of the new village carparking regime has unfortunately been compromised as Mid Sussex has not received a response from West Sussex County Council prior to the pre-election period. Until that is received from the new Cabinet Member, a new timeline cannot be set.

Via the planning team, we are pushing Taylor Wimpey to understand their timelines for recommencing work on the Burgess Hill bridleway from their site at Ockley Park. Planning permission was granted in late January for the last section, on land owned by Burgess Hill Town Council.

For the past few months, I have been working with the Clerk and the team at MSDC on a plan for the provision of new toilets in Adastra Park. The current block is well used but requires refurbishment and modernisation, and potential remodelling of the layout;  but there is a question mark as to how the District Council ever became involved in their operation as the land on which they sit (and therefore the building) is in the ownership of the Parish Council, there is no lease and no record of the arrangement. In Hurstpierpoint and many other villages, public toilets are operated by the parish.

I am pleased to report that last week we have been able to secure 2 substantial tranches of s106 funding which would allow this work, and other works, to proceed and I hope that we can work at pace to unlock this opportunity for the community.

Cllr Chris Hobbs
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure & Customer Services
Ward Councillor, Hassocks

 Appendix 3

Hassocks Twinning Association – Schedule