Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held in Plumpton Village Hall on 13 th March 2018 at 19.45. Present: Cllr N Beaumont (Cllr NB) (Chair), Cllr Paul Stevens (Cllr PS), Cllr C Thompson (Cllr CT), Cllr C Jackson (Cllr CJ) and Cllr E Elford (Cllr EE), Cllr N Satchell (Cllr NS), Cllr G Murphy (Cllr GM), Absent: County and District Councillor Sarah Osborne (Cllr SO), Cllr R Stone & Cllr S Morris (Cllr SM). (Clerk & RFO). Members of the Public: 1 (Simon Kiley of Action in Rural Sussex who presented prior to the meeting). 1. To accept apologies for absence and to discuss Cllr R Stone ongoing as Councillor. Cllr S Morris tendered his apologies, it was noted that County & District Cllr S Osborne & Cllr R Stone were absent. Cllr NB made members aware of Cllr Stones current situation and the legalities around his continued absence. After much discussion it was reluctantly decided to ask Cllr Stone to step down from the Parish Council. The Parish Council wanted to note thanks to Cllr Stone for all his hard work over the years as Councillor. Addendum to the above minute. Cllr Stone tendered his resignation on 14 th March prior to receiving communication of the above from the Chairman. 2. To Approve Minutes from Parish Council meeting held on 13 th February 2018. Cllr PS queried the terminology used regarding the car parking restrictions in the Parish Magazine as it differed to the minutes of the meeting. Cllr CJ confirmed she will clarify parking consideration in the next Parish Magazine. 215: It was RESOLVED and AGREED that minutes of the meeting held on 13.2.18 were an accurate account of the meeting and were duly signed by the Chair. 3. Clerk s Report on any Matters Arising not covered elsewhere on the agenda. Clerk confirmed that the light at Riddens Lane had been changed by LDC to a sensory motion light. Clerk updated Council regarding GDPR and she had been in contact with Satswana the Data Protection Officer and provide all necessary policies. Clerk will obtain a quote from Shred it for paper cleanse. Clerk advised need to encrypt laptop and the potential upgrade to Windows Pro. Cllr PS to investigate and report back. Clerk to report back at next meeting.
4. Declarations of pecuniary and disclosable interests in respect of matters to be discussed. Cllr N Satchell Nolands Farm. 5. Brief Report from the County and District Councillor Sarah Osborne (Cllr SO) on matters affecting this Parish. Clerk confirmed no report received. 6. Questions from Members of the Public limited to a maximum of 10 minutes in total None 7. Planning Applications Cllr CJ requested if anyone would declare any interest regarding the planning applications to do so. None declared. SDNP/17/06047/HOUS SDNP/17/06048/LIS The Laines, Plumpton Lane, Plumpton BN7 3AJ Construction of a single-storey porch extension to the lower ground floor, partial demolition flat-roofed addition, internal alterations including the insertion of new openings to the south elevation, partial demolition of existing outbuilding and conversion/extension of retained portion to create a fitness suite, construction of detached garaging and removal of existing oil tank, and construction of new outbuilding adjacent to existing swimming pool. Grade II Listed Cllr CJ reported on the application after a small discussion; 216: It was RESOLVED and AGREED to defer to SDNP. Cllr CJ to advise SDNP. 8. Finance Committee Report 13.2.18 Cllr PS bought Councils attention to expenditure over 500 on all accounts. Cllr PS advised that if there were any surplus on budgets then these would be fed into the longer term expenditure plans that would be developed. Cllr PS advised that in line with the approach for Village Hall users, and due to the increased maintenance costs, the users of the Playing Field (PF) will receive an increase in their fees by 2% for the use of the field for the 2018-2019. Even with this modest uplift the PF remains heavily subsidised by the Parish Council. Cllr PS advised that once Plumpton College had reviewed the ground care regime for the PF, there may be enhanced maintenance on the field which the users may need to contribute to either through effort
or financially. Cllrs EE and PS would engage with the users to discuss options before any final decision. Cllr PS also advised Council of the Grants Section 137 issued to Happy Club 200 and Honeybees 100. 8.1 To adopt expenditure as itemised on the schedule for PC, VH & PF accounts 8.2 To adopt year to date account 2017/18 8.3 To adopt the Finance Committee Minutes of 13.2.18 217: It was RESOLVED and AGREED to adopt items 8.1 to 8.3 of agenda dated 13.2.18. 218: It was RESOLVED and AGREED to increase the Playing Field User Group fees by 2% from April 2018. 9. Neighbourhood Plan Update Cllr NB reported the referendum took place on 8 th March, himself and Cllr Jackson attended the count on Friday 9 th. 47% turnout and 80% voted in favour. Plan to hopefully be made official on 2 nd May 2018 at a full LDC meeting. Nick Beaumont, PC Chair, expressed concern about two items of negative campaigning circulated immediately before the referendum, both of which ignored the facts and explanations given in the Plan, which had been communicated widely. He pointed out that, while a no campaign was completely legitimate, both items were anonymous, so voters could not assess whether they were produced by parties with a vested interest. One was a leaflet that was not distributed to all voters in the Parish, but more worrying was a Facebook advert, which accused selected members of the steering group of undue influence and personal gain from the revised final Plan. This was particularly upsetting since it brought into question not just the integrity of named individuals but also all the Steering Group members, the LDC representatives and the parish councillors as well. No one has claimed responsibility for the advert, and Facebook has been contacted to identify the source. 10. Bandstand Update Cllr NB had nothing to report. 11. North Barnes Lane/Hastoe. Cllr CJ reported Cllr SM was going to send letters to residents regarding deeds. Cllr SM is chasing up and obtaining Hastoe agreement. Cllr SM is taking this on as a resident, not as a Councillor as the PC agreed that it was a resident versus land owner issue. Cllr CJ recommended that there was nothing more the PC could now do and suggested to take the item off future agendas. 219: It was RESOLVED and AGREED to remove North Barnes Lane/Hastoe off future agendas. 12. To discuss Willow Trees on Village Green. Cllr NB requested the Willow Trees be looked at. Cllr CT advised this is in hand. Cllr CT to report back at the next meeting.
13. Committee/Working Group Reports. 13.1 Transport and Environment/Footpaths Cllr NB reported T&E are meeting next week and had received correspondence from a resident regarding plastic free zones which will be discussed. Cllr PS reported the fingerpost north of the village was damaged. Cllr NB/PS to inspect and report back to the Clerk. Clerk to contact Community Match Funding and report back. 13.2 Policing & Neighbourhood Watch Working Group Nothing to report 13.3 Village Hall Cllr CT reported new curtains fitted. The door system needs replacing and the VH Manager is investigating cost of a new system. New mats have been installed as one went missing. 13.3.1 New Local Tenders Cllr CT reported now has 3 quotes. Cllr CT needs to clarify if pick up of grass cuttings is included and will report back 13.3.2 To discuss use as a Rest Centre Cllr CT reported that LDC met with VH Manager who issued many rules and regulations after having initially confirmed that the onus would not be on the VH and PC. Clerk to contact LDC to advise not acceptable to PC unless LDC wish to pay for changes that need to made to meet criteria. PC also not accepting to have one point of contact 24/7. Clerk to report back. 13.4 Playing Field/New Pavilion Cllr EE Cllr EE reported looking to complete Pavilion refurb at the end of April. First grant payment received, and second tranche applied for on 12 th March. Cllr EE had received correspondence from the grass cutting contractor noting that it was 3 years since last negotiations and also noting the problems he incurs. Cllr EE requested the Clerk contact contractor advising Council take on board his comments and costs going forward. Clerk to report back Cllr EE will obtain Honeybees fencing requirements with regard to the Woodland Walk.
13.4.1 Playing Field and car park proposal Nothing to report 14. Communications/Website Cllr SM Clerk advised Cllr SM had nothing to report. 15. Questions from Parish Councillors None Meeting closed 21:30 Dates of next meetings: 10 th April 2018 19.00 Finance Committee Parish Council 19:45 Parish Clerk 14 th March 2018