STORRINGTON & SULLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Infrastructure, Communications and Environment Committee held in The Chanctonbury Room, The Parish Hall, Thakeham Road, Storrington, on Wednesday, 11th November 2009 commencing at 7:00 p.m.

Present:  Mr. J. Sanson in the Chair, Mr. D Atkins, Mr R. Dawe, Mr. E. Gibbons, Mr. A. Head and Mr. D. Roper.

In Attendance: Mr R. Jerman, Mrs. L. Wheatley and Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese.

36. Apologies for Absence. There were no apologies for absence.

37. To Receive Declarations of Interest from Members.  There were no declarations of interest from Members.

38. To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Last Meeting held on the 7^th October 2009. The date of the meeting should read October. With this amendment, the minutes were duly APPROVED as being a correct record of the proceedings thereat and were signed by the Chairman.

39. Matters Arising.  There were no matters arising

40. Storrington Pond Matters.   A quotation had been received from Silver Tower Services for

cutting of weeds and clearance of debris.  However members were advised that this

quotation had been withdrawn and that the work would be completed free of charge in

readiness for the children’s bulb planting event to be held on Saturday 14th November. Mr

Sanson confirmed that he would be attending this event to represent the Parish Council and it

was AGREED:-

That a letter of thanks should be issued to Mr Hutchins of Silver Tower Services

for his generosity.

Mrs Worthington-Leese reported that she had been in contact with the solicitors regarding

the Parish Council’s claim in relation to pollution of the pond and had been advised that they were still trying to find grounds for establishing negligence before any further progress could be made.  A further opinion has been requested from Counsel and once this is received, the solicitor would make contact with the Parish Council to decide on the way forward.  The solicitor has been in touch with Parish Council’s insurers who prefer to continue trying to establish negligence at this stage, rather than pay the remediation costs which are not covered by the insurance.

 

41.    Christmas 2009. Update on Plans for Late Night Shopping Event.  Members had been provided with  minutes from the last Working Party Meeting and plans were progressing forthe event.  The decorations had been erected onto the lampposts along the High Street and the Children’s light design had been received and would be put up on the wall of Fowlers Estate Agents with the winning designs from previous years being erected on the walls of The Fruit & Veg Patch, and Bo Belle, to provide this area with decoration. A further meeting of the Working Party would be held on 19th November where plans for the event would be finalised.

 

42.  Street Lighting – Increase in Charges for energy and maintenance.  Members were advised that charges for maintenance would be increased to £31.00 from February 2010. Mr Dawe enquired whether alternative suppliers could be sought and this would be investigated.

 

43.  Publication of Storrington & Sullington News.  Members were advised that delays had been experienced with the publication and distribution of the previous two issues and Mr Jerman had met with the producer to discuss the situation.  A commitment to deliver the December edition in time for the Late Night Shopping Event had been made by the producer  and Members would be kept informed of further developments.

 

44. W.S.C.C. Blue Book – Suggestions for inclusion.  Mr Dawe explained that the Blue Book is a list of proposed future expenditure by West Sussex County Council and Members had been asked for their suggestions for improvements within the Parish that could be included in this list.  The following suggestions were put forward:

 

                        Fryern Road – Traffic Calming measures.

                        School Hill – Zebra Crossing

                        Spierbridge Road – Crossing to Leisure Centre

                        Amberley Road – Crossing from Monastery Lane Car Park to Tesco’s Express.

                       

45.   Documents Available for Councillors to Read. 

     Article in Scottish Newspaper regarding Pond Pollution remedies – Mr Jerman took this to read.

           

46.            Health and Safety.  There were no issues raised.

 

47.  Chairman’s Announcements.  Mr Jerman had recently attended a Communication PAT Meeting at Forge House and Members were advised that plans were being put into place to enhance the Village Website. It had been suggested that the Parish Council look into the matter of setting up it’s own website but it was considered more appropriate that support be given to the Community Partnership in its endeavours to improve the existing site. It was

            AGREED:-

That a member of staff from the Parish Office should be asked to attend future

meetings to provide relevant information and input to the Parish Council section of the website.

           There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7:40 pm.