Policy, Resources & Communications

Agenda

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To:      All Members of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee: (Maria Angelaki-King, Lesley Cruikshank-Robb, Frances Gaudencio, Don McBeth, Paul Shepherd, Ian Weir) with copies to all other Councillors for information.

A meeting of the POLICY RESOURCES & COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE will be held on Tuesday 3 June 2025 at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Parish Clerk 28 May 2025

1. TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2. TO ACCEPT DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

3. ELECTION OF CHAIR & VICE CHAIR

4. MINUTES. To accept the Minutes of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee held on 29 April 2025. (Previously Circulated).

5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

6. BUSINESS PLAN – the Committee Chair’s met on 30 April 2025 to review progress against action plan, in the Business Plan adopted by Council on 8 October 2024. The updated version is attached in Appendix 1. To view Appendix 1 please click here.

7. DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS – at the PR&C meeting in April 2025, Members requested information regarding Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and S106 allocations in Hassocks. Details are attached in Appendix 2. To view Appendix 2 please click here.

8. MSDC PARKING STRATEGY – at the Council meeting on 20 May Members discussed proposals by Mid Sussex District Council to introduce new charges in Hassocks car parks and resolved to consider the matter further at the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee. The new charging proposals are summarised below

a.  A digital “disc” available for £4 each year, allowing users to park for 1 hour a day, for free, in the car parks.

b.  A tariff regime for the car parks of 60p for the first hour, up to £1.80 for 4 hours, charged from 8am to 6pm.

c.  Heavily discounted season tickets, including a resident’s overnight cost (4pm-9am) of £52 per annum.

d.  Additional enforcement visits to the villages.

MSDC will carry out formal consultation before taking the matter back to Cabinet in September. Full details of the proposals are available in the MSDC Cabinet Report dated 10 March 2025 MSDC – Parking Strategy Village Car Parks

9. COMMUNICATIONS (Verbal update)

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

11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING – 1 July 2025

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.

CONFIDENTIAL

12. MINUTES – to accept the confidential minutes of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee held on the 29 April 2025 (previously circulated).

Please Note
All members of the public are welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council and its Committees.
Item 5 – 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.

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft Minutes of the meeting of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee held on 3 June 2025 at 7.30pm in Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks.

Attendees: Parish Councillors Maria Angelaki-King, Lesley Cruikshank-Robb, Frances Gaudencio, Ian Weir

In Attendance: Elaine Langridge (Clerk & RFO)

MINUTES

PRC25/1      APOLOGIES – Cllr Paul Shepherd

Absent without apologies: Cllr Don McBeth

PRC25/2      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.

PRC25/3      ELECTION OF CHAIR & VICE CHAIR

At this inaugural meeting, Members were requested to elect a Chair and Vice-Chair of the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee for the forthcoming year

i) Appointment of Committee Chair

Cllr Shepherd had expressed an interest in the position by email sent to the Clerk.  This was proposed by Cllr Cruickshank-Robb and seconded by Cllr Gaudencio.  All Members voted in favour.

RESOLVED that Cllr Paul Shepherd was duly elected as the Chair of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee.

ii) Appointment of Vice Chair

Cllr Weir volunteered to act as Vice Chair. This was proposed by Cllr Cruickshank-Robb and seconded by Cllr Gaudencio.  All Members voted in favour.

RESOLVED that Cllr Ian Weir was duly elected as Vice Chair of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee.

PRC25/4      MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2025 were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

PRC25/5      PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

No members of the public were present.

PRC25/6      BUSINESS PLAN

Members reviewed the updated business plan and requested that notes were recorded against each line item in 2025/26 to reflect the current position. The following information will be added to the working draft:

PRC25/7      DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS

Members reviewed the list of projects identified on the South Downs National Park Authority Infrastructure Business Plan. They recognised synergies with the Hassocks Parish Council Action Plan in relation to improving Public Rights of Way, the footway along Lodge Lane, pedestrian safety at Stonepound Crossroads and developing village centre facilities.

Members queried whether the WSCC S106 funding allocated to PROW 8C could be used to extend this route northwards where further improvements are needed.

They noted that MSDC has awarded £50k in S106 funds toward the Adastra Park drainage project and that there is a further £16k available for new play and kickabout equipment in the park.

There was a discussion about the large S106 budget allocated by MSDC to the London Road Rec masterplan project and Members would like information about the scope of this project. They would also like to know how the Community Building contributions for expenditure at the pavilion will be spent by MSDC and if this can be included within the masterplan works.

They noted the Formal Sport and Community Buildings S106 monies, and the land received in respect of the Ockley Park development.  They would like further discussion about how these contributions could be used to improve facilities in the Parish.

They also suggested that the Council bid to MSDC for LCI monies toward the new Hassocks village signage.

Members AGREED to hold a meeting with the Clerk to discuss these matters further and report back to the PR&C Committee.

PRC25/8      MSDC PARKING STRATEGY

In February 2025, the Parish Council responded to a stakeholder engagement exercise carried out by Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) and opposed the introduction of new parking charges.  This feedback was disregarded by MSDC, and they have proposed a new tariff regime to be introduced by the end of the year, subject to Cabinet Approval in September 2025.  It is not clear whether there will be any wider public consultation prior to the introduction of the new parking charges so Members propose to publicise the MSDC proposals in Hassocks Life.

It was AGREED that Cllrs Weir, Shepherd and Gaudencio will work with the Deputy Clerk to draft an article for publication in the next edition of Hassocks Life.

PRC25/9      COMMUNICATIONS   

i) Hassocks Life

Cllr Gaudencio commented that Hassocks Life do not do any proof-reading prior to publication, so this responsibility needs to be undertaken by Hassocks Parish Council.

There was a discussion about a complaint received from a football coach who was concerned about dog poo on the pitch and dogs disrupting play.

It was AGREED that an article will be placed on the Council page in Hassocks Life to encourage dog walkers to respect other park users, keep their dogs under control and pick up after them.

ii) Hassocks Twinning Association

The Clerk informed members that the Hassocks Twinning Association had invited Councillors to attend the AGM on Monday 9 June and would like to share information about future plans and visits in 2026.

It was AGREED that the Clerk should arrange a meeting with the HTA after the AGM

PRC25/10    URGENT MATTERS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRMAN – None

PRC25/11    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To note that the date of the next meeting as Tuesday 1 July 2025 at 7.30pm