First of all, the Parish Council would like to send best wishes to all residents for the New Year! Due to the earlier Newsletter deadline this article was written before the December Parish Council meeting, therefore the resolutions for budget approval and the precept had not taken place. This will be reported in the February Newsletter.

Adult gym equipment

Thank you to the residents who emailed the office to inform us of their opinion on the installation of adult gym equipment at Court Meadow. This was discussed at the Community Development Committee meeting at the beginning of December 2023. Disappointingly, only eight emails were received providing the view of ten residents and two were against the installation of the equipment.

Initial investigations roughly determined that a selection of six pieces of equipment costs in the region of £25k. The preferred location was near the swings and slide at the top of the recreation ground so any ground works would be costly as it would need to be levelled. It was therefore decided that the provision of equipment should be reconsidered after the Community Centre has been developed.

A reminder of the January waste collections:

Usual collection day:	Revised collection da:
Monday 01 January	Wednesday 03 January
Tuesday 02 January	Thursday 04 January
Wednesday 03 January	Friday 05 January
Thursday 04 January	Saturday 06 January
Friday 05 January	Monday 08 January
Monday 08 January	Tuesday 09 January
Tuesday 09 January	Wednesday 10 January
Wednesday 10 January	Thursday 11 January
Thursday 11 January	Friday 12 January
Friday 12 January	Saturday 13 January
Normal collections resume from Monday 15 January 2024

Parking antisocially

Several complaints have been recently received on antisocial parking. There have been complaints of cars parked on double yellow lines at the entrance to Criers Lane from the A267 in Five Ashes. This is hazardous as if there is a queue of traffic trying to turn out of the lane there is no access into the lane causing a queue on the A267.

Vehicles are also parking on the verge at the junction of Queensmount and Criers Lane. Not only is this causing the verge to be churned up creating an eyesore, it is also blocking sightlines of vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road past the illegally parked vehicles in Criers Lane.

Complaints have also been received of vehicles parked on double yellow lines at the west end of the High Street opposite the junction with West Street. This is very hazardous for vehicles trying to turn out of West Street towards Station Road as those travelling towards the High Street are on the wrong side of the road passing and cannot be seen. There have been several near misses.

Please be considerate when you park and take time to think about whether your vehicle is causing a hazard or blocking sightlines. The double yellow lines are there for a reason.

Temporary road closure warnings

Balfour Beatty, working in partnership with East Sussex, will be carrying out targeted patch repairs in Station Road to help improve the condition of the road surface. This is scheduled on Tuesday 9 January and Wednesday 10 January and the road will be closed to through traffic between 8pm and 6am. A diversion route will be in place via High Street, Tunbridge Wells Road, A267, Stone Cross, Station Road & vice versa.

If you need vehicle access, please discuss this with the team on site to see if this is possible. Please bear in mind there will be delays whilst the area is made safe and your vehicle is escorted by site marshalls.

Scotsford Hill is scheduled to be closed on 19 January from the junction with Witherenden Road to the junction with Piccadilly Lane to allow BT Openreach to carry out further apparatus repair works. Advance warning signs will be placed on site advising of the actual date of the works.

East Street is scheduled to be closed from 22 January to 26 January from the junction with Scotsford Hill to the junction with Coggins Mill Lane for South East Water to carry out apparatus repair works.

Coggins Mill Lane is scheduled to be closed on 16 February from the junction with Lake Street to the junction with Fletching Street to allow BT Openreach to carry out further works at this location.

Pledge to clean up Wealden rivers

A motion has been passed by Wealden councillors to investigate river damage and preservation in Wealden’s rivers and waterways. They requested a working group be set up by Wealden’s Overview and Scrutiny committee to study river damage and preservation, silt run off in developments close to rivers, and to work with the Environment Agency to reduce silt run off into rivers. The motion also called for a meeting to be held between the Environment Agency, Wealden District Council officers and the chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to look at the state of the district’s rivers, and an audit to be produced by the Environment Agency regarding river damage and best practice to protect wildlife.

The overall aim is to have healthier rivers by the end of the current term in May 2027 and have a long-term plan on river restoration using the Local Plan and the Council Strategy as vehicles for progress. It also looked at working closely with relevant stakeholders to clean up the rivers and stop third party contaminants reaching waterways. 30% of the rivers and water bodies in and around Wealden are apparently in poor or bad condition, which is above the national average of 20%. Only one, Arlington Reservoir, is rated ‘good’ by the Environment Agency.

Immediate Justice Grant Funding For Providers

After being selected as one of ten trailblazer areas to deliver Immediate Justice (IJ) in Sussex as part of the Government’s National Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Action Plan, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne and the IJ Taskforce have seen the scheme become fully functional in Brighton & Hove, with over 40 cases managed so far across the county

By using Out of Court Disposal options, Immediate Justice will see offenders (mainly of ASB) undertake visible, practical and meaningful activities, such as graffiti removal, litter picking or maintaining public spaces, swiftly repairing the harm and damage they have caused.

The Immediate Justice taskforce are seeking applications to identify providers who have the capability and capacity to identify and deliver reparation in the community. Providers will liaise and communicate with offenders and victims, as well as arrange and supervise, suitable reparation activities in the community.

The IJ Taskforce is welcoming applications from a broad range of providers including local services, community hubs and rehabilitation programmes to ensure the scheme can take place across the wider county. To find out more and how to apply visit: https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/about/news/

Keep Warm and Well in East Sussex

As it gets colder, Health and Social Care News East Sussex is encouraging you to wrap up and do all you can to stay warm and well over winter. If you’re struggling to stay warm at home then do look at  the Warm Home Check Service, and how it can help people stay warm at home for less. You can also get tips and advice on keeping warm and well https://warmeastsussex.org.uk and sign up for free cold weather alerts  https://coldalert.info/about/

Cold Alert is a FREE service provided by the Sussex Air Quality Partnership (Sussex-air) and funded by East Sussex Public Health. The service is operational between 1 November and 31 March, providing free severe cold weather warnings for individuals with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, parents of young children, carers and healthcare professionals.

The Cold Alert service provides:

• FREE severe cold weather alerts directly to you and/or your carer or health professional by text, voicemail or email over the winter months from November to March
• Information about when, where and how long a period of severe cold weather event is forecast
• Advice on what to do to prepare for severe cold weather events

Parish Council Meetings

The meeting schedule on the website: http://www.mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk/ shows this month’s Council and Committee meetings as well as agendas, minutes of meetings and other meeting documentation

Janna Todd, Parish Clerk

Old Manor House, High Street, Mayfield TN20 6AL

Telephone 01435 873784          E-mail: clerk@mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk