It has been very quiet since the last Newsletter article was written as the Council office has been closed for the summer break and there is no Council meeting in August.

Parish Council grants

One of the important roles of the Parish Council is to provide grants to organisations within the Parish to help them move forward with their own projects. Our grants policy can be found on the Parish Council website at www.mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk in the “Key Documents / Finance” section along with the approved grant application form. Individual grants may be made available up to a maximum of £500. They must be match funded so applicants must cover at least 50% of the total project cost. If you are planning to apply for a grant in 2023/24 the latest date your application and requested financial information must be submitted is 30 September 2023. If you do not have internet access, please contact the Parish Council office on 01435 873784 so a copy of the grants policy and application form can be forwarded to you.

High Street pavement

It was very disappointing on returning from holiday to find that East Sussex Highways had still not repaired the High Street pavement (initially reported on 12 April 2023) after being informed on13 July that it would be done within 28 days. Please be assured that this has been chased on numerous occasions and after requesting intervention from the Assistant Director of Transport & Operations they have informed it will be repaired on the 14^th August so fingers crossed it has been when this article is published.

Graffitti

We have a problem in Mayfield of a graffiti tag being sprayed on street furniture belonging to Highways, Openreach and the Parish Council. It is very disappointing as it makes the village look scruffy and it uses valuable Council Tax money to clean. If anyone recognises the tag and knows who the culprit is, please inform the office. 

Gatwick’s proposed second runway

CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions) is accepting donations as they seek to have the best team of experts at the hearings, and with written evidence, to oppose Gatwick’s plans for a second runway. They seek to influence and counter the Gatwick experts in presenting sound details to why this expansion is bad news for the local environment and the planet. Funds they have received so far clearly illustrates the local opposition but they need more.

With nearly 100,000 extra flights a year (on top of 285,000 pre-COVID) and the government’s Modernisation of Airspace, communities that are currently overflown now can expect to hear a significant increase in noise over their homes. They say this could cost you, affecting both your wellbeing and your house value, for which no compensation is offered and all to allow Gatwick’s owners to profit from growth. To donate visit: https://cagne.org or the Just Giving website page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sally-pavey

Removing Barriers to Access in the High Weald AONB

There is a great opportunity to help make rights of way in our Parish more accessible for people who find stiles difficult to use and enhance people’s ability to access and enjoy the beautiful, farmed landscape of the High Weald.

This opportunity is aimed at landowners who have public rights of way and stiles on their land and would be interested in improving accessibility. With support from the Government’s Access for All programme the High Weald Partnership is working with the public rights of way team of East Sussex County Council to supply and deliver FREE, galvanized metal pedestrian gates to landowners to replace existing stiles. For further information about this opportunity please visit: https://highweald.org/news/funding-to-improve-access-to-aonb/or email:  rightsofway@eastsussex.gov.uk or telephone: 0345 6080193

Temporary road closure

Coggins Mill Lane is scheduled to be closed for one day on 01 September 2023 from the junction with Pennybridge Lane to Lake Street to allow UKPN to carry out apparatus repair works.

Scotsford Hill is scheduled to be closed from the junction with Witherendon Road to Piccadilly Lane from 06 September to 08 September to allow BT Openreach to carry out further works at this location.

Pennybridge Lane is scheduled to be closed from 11 September to 15 September to allow BT Openreach to carry out apparatus repair works.

Temporary hosepipe ban lifted

Since the 16 June South East Water has had a Temporary Use Ban (TUB), more commonly known as a hosepipe ban, in place within their Kent and Sussex supply area. This was lifted on 04 August 2023. It was put in place during the hottest June on record, where record-breaking demands for water saw customers experiencing supply issues. They would like to say thank you to their customers for adhering to the restrictions and finding ways to cut down on their water use, reducing the level of demand.

Watch out for this WhatsApp scam

Large community and religious WhatsApp groups are being targeted by scammers who infiltrate them to try and deceive their members into sending them money. Since January of this year, 268 people have reported falling victim to this scam.

The fraud often begins when a member of the group receives a WhatsApp audio call from the fraudster, pretending, or claiming, to be a member of the group. This is done to gain the individual’s trust, and often the scammer will use a false profile picture and / or display name, so at first glance it would appear to be a genuine member of the group. The fraudster will then call the victim and say they are sending a one-time passcode which will allow them to join an upcoming video call for group members. The scammer then asks the victim to share this passcode with them so they can be “registered” for the video call. What’s really happening is that the scammer is asking for a registration code to register the victim’s WhatsApp account to a new device where they then “port” their WhatsApp profile over.

Once the fraudster has access to the victim’s WhatsApp account, they will enable two-step verification which makes it impossible for the victim to access their account. The scammer will then message other members of the group, or friends and family in the victim’s contacts, asking them to transfer money urgently as they are in desperate need of help.

What can you do to avoid being a victim?

• Never share your account’s two-factor authentication (2FA) code (that’s the six digit code you receive via SMS).
• Set up two-step verification to give an extra layer of protection to your account. Tap Settings > Account >Two-step verification > Enable.
• THINK. CALL. If a family member or friend makes an unusual request on WhatsApp, always call the person to confirm their identity.
• You can report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp. Press and hold on the message bubble, select ‘Report’ and then follow the instructions.

Instagram – mayfieldvillagelife 

Available to for Mayfield and Five Ashes, this site can be messaged with details of a local event or alternatively, contact Cllr Sally Ann Tibbles: sally-ann.tibbles@mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk

and she will put it information up for you. The site ‘mayfieldvillagelife’ is a picture book of activities in this Parish. (Press ‘follow’ at the top of the page and you will be notified of posts as they appear.)

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