Parish Council News October 2016
Bus service to Crowborough
The Parish Council was informed of the new timetable for the bus service that the Parish Council subsidises to and from Crowborough the day after the changes commenced so it was not possible to give residents adequate notice. Needless to say the service provider has been requested to give more notice for any future changes to the timetable.
The 224 no longer serves Mayfield, instead the same stops from Mayfield will be served by the 226 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There will be three return journeys on each of these days between Crowborough, Blackness, Alderbrook, Rotherfield and Mayfield (Southmead Close). Departures from Crowborough, The Broadway are at 09:48, 11:48 and 13:18; and Mayfield Southmead Close at 10:13, 12:13 and 13:43.
Armistice Day Rockets
Regrettably, news has been received from the supplier of Armistice Day rockets that they will no longer be able to supply them to Local Authorities. The rockets that Councils have purchased are a professional product with a specific exemption available for local authorities and national commemorative events. A European Directive has made it a requirement that in order for our contractor to supply the rockets the Parish Council must have undertaken training recognised within the industry, have used the products before and have valid liability insurance to cover this specific type of firework.
Sadly there is insufficient time to comply with the requirements or to find away around them in time for their deliveries in 2016. Naturally with the approach of Brexit, it may be that the situation can be put back to how it used to be but it will require legislation that won’t happen overnight.
Planning Matters
There have been lots of rumours circulating about the possible relocation of Mayfield cricket ground. At the time of writing this article there are two applications submitted to Wealden District Council for screening opinions that are registered under WD/2016/6511/SO and WD/2016/6512/SO. ‘Screening’ is a procedure used to determine whether a proposed project is likely to have significant effects on the environment and decides whether the potential project requires an Environmental Impact Assessment. This is not a procedure that is open to Parish Council or public consultation. When a planning application is submitted to Wealden District Council it is posted on a weekly list of planning applications which can be accessed by residents via its Planning and Building Control website pages at www.wealden.gov.uk .
Wealden Community Grants Programme
Wealden Grants Programme is open for applications until 30th November 2016. Community Groups and Voluntary Organisations can download an application form from this link:
The Small Grant Scheme is for grants between £500 – £3000 and the Capital Scheme is for grants between £1000 – £10,000. This year the match funding required can now be entirely “in-kind” such as volunteer time, member contributions etc.
A limited number of 40 minute pre-application advice sessions, will take place during office hours as follows:
- Uckfield – Tuesday 11th Oct (am)
- Crowborough – Friday 14th Oct (pm) and Monday 17th Oct (am)
- Hailsham – Thursday 20th Oct (am) and Wed 2nd Nov (pm)
- Forest Row – Tuesday 1st Nov (am)
Sessions must be booked in advance and are to directly discuss a drafted application for your organisation. Please contact Michelle Gray by email on: communitygrants@wealden.gov.uk , or telephone (01323) 443520. Detailed information about Eligibility and Conditions are given within the application forms. Funds for capital and small grants must be spent within the financial year April 2017 – March 2018. Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 30th November 2016.
Anti-social Behaviour In Wealden
Operation Blitz is the police response to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) across Sussex and in Wealden. On designated evenings a team of police officers go out in a police van to tackle ASB anywhere in the district as it occurs. A phone number is provided for that one evening only and members of the scheme are invited to use it to call direct to one of the involved officers to report the problem. The Blitz van will then go straight there and tackle the matter immediately, providing a somewhat imposing presence to the culprits.
This operation is specifically designed to deal with youngsters who may be drinking, taking drugs and causing a nuisance/noise during late afternoon and early evening. The aim is to prevent them getting drunk resulting in worse activity later in the evening. Anything connected to the nighttime economy with pubs or clubs closing times, is dealt with by a completely different ‘response’ area of Sussex Police. However the times are regularly reviewed and we also appreciate feedback on the initiative.
Residents are invited to sign up to the Op Blitz scheme, or to ask questions about it, by emailing district.wealden@sussex.pnn.police.uk. The nightly phone number will only be provided to scheme members for the evening the operation is running.
Wealden Road Safety Activities
Many Wealden residents already know that a district priority for councils, police and the fire service is the prevention of serious road collisions. Various initiatives are going on behind the scenes to deal with the problem which sees a high number of collisions that result in serious injuries or death on our roads. To support the Community Speedwatch groups already active in the district, our local police team has started to carry out patrols around our A roads to watch out for speeding drivers, occupants not wearing seatbelts and drivers using a mobile phone whilst at the wheel. So the culprits had better beware!!
Phishing Email Alert
There is a phishing email currently in circulation that claims to be from the City of London Police. The departments that it claims to represent include the ‘Fraud Intelligence Unit’ and the ‘National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’. The email is titled ‘compensation fund’ and has a letter attachment that claims to be offering financial compensation to victims of fraud. The letter uses the City of London Police logo.
The letter states that in order for compensation to be arranged, the receiver of the email should reply disclosing personal information. It states that HSBC and the South African Reserve Bank have been chosen to handle the compensation claims. All of these claims are false. The email and letter are fraudulent and should not be replied to.
Protect Yourself
Opening attachments or clicking links contained within emails from unknown sources could result in your device being infected with malware or a virus. The City of London Police and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau will never email you asking for you to disclose personal information.
If you believe you have become a victim of this fraudulent email get your device checked by a professional and make a report to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre: www.actionfraud.police.uk
Final touches to Uckfield improvement scheme
The final touches are being applied to a major improvement scheme that has transformed Uckfield town centre. Contractors Colas have now completed lining work in Uckfield High Street and are due to finish any remaining ‘snagging’,remedy minor issues and leave the site by the end of September.
The project included widening and upgrading the pavement with high quality Yorkstone paving, new street lights, upgraded traffic signals and tree planting to alleviate surface water flooding.
The work to improve High Street between Bell Lane and Church Street, is the second stage of the Uckfield Town Centre Highway Improvement scheme, funded by around £3 million of developer contributions. It has been overseen by a project board made up of representatives from East Sussex County Council, Wealden District Council and Uckfield Town Council. The focus will now move to finalising designs for the third stage of the scheme, which will see improvements at Uckfield Bus Station.
Waste and Minerals Sites Plan
East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority submitted their joint Waste and Minerals Sites Plan to Government for soundness and legal compliance testing on 14 April 2016. A Public Examination subsequently began and Public Hearings were held by an Independent Inspector between 2 and 4 August 2016. The Public Examination is still ongoing and will not end until the Inspector issues his report.
The Inspector is now seeking views on the proposed main modifications. Consequently, a consultation is being held. Should you wish to view and / or comment on the proposed Modifications further details are available at: http://consult.eastsussex.gov.uk.You can submit your representations by completing the online form or emailing wasteandmineralsdf@eastsussex.gov.uk. Representations can also be sent by post to the following address:
Waste and Minerals Sites Plan Main Modifications Consultation,
Planning Policy and Development Management Team,
East Sussex, County Council,
West Floor C,
County Hall,
St Anne’s Crescent,
Lewes, BN7 1UE
The deadline by which responses must be received is 5pm Friday 7 October 2016.