ARLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL Easter Greetings
APRIL 2009
There will soon be a casual vacancy on Arlington Parish council. Our Chairman, Councillor John Turton has announced that he intends to stand down immediately before the Parish Council meeting on 14th May. John embodies the traditional saying that if you want a job done you had better ask a busy man. Far from retiring, he is still contemplating increased business commitments. Patient and kind, even-handed and precise, he will be much missed on the Parish Council. He will, however, still be there to chair the Annual
Parish Meeting on 23rd April, and that will be the occasion for formal goodbyes.
After the meeting on 14th
May the Wealden District Council will
formally advertise the vacancy, offering voters the opportunity to
request an election. If at least ten people ask for an election, there will be
one; otherwise the vacancy can be filled by cooption. Either way, it is time to
be thinking who else might be willing to serve. Could it be YOU?
Still on the subject of volunteering, SID is coming back. Frank Coward writes: ‘The Speed Indicator Device will be operated by members of th Safety and Environment Group (SEG) and other volunteers from the village throughout the week beginning Monday 27th April. The deployment depends upon the availability of trained operatives. The results will be summarised and forwarded to ESCC Highways Department and will be featured in a forthcoming APC Newsletter. This will provide the residents with early feedback on the efficacy of the newly introduced 30 mph in the village. ‘
We have several items of Police Liaison news this month. Commander Neil Honnor reports that he has now achieved a full ‘uplift’ in Neighbourhood Policing staff, which means that there is now a single PCSO and and shared PC and Sergeant representative for each and every district ward in Wealden. Moreover, the intention is that those officers will have a direct line of communication with the Parish Council and indeed with the public. Feedback of any kind, whether it be about locally raised community safety issues, or the performance of the local policing team will all be welcomed. Each PCSO and PC has a web page identifying their area of responsibility and what the locally agreed priorities are, along with many other relevant details. You can access the pages at www.sussex.police.uk/index.asp.
As the warmer weather approaches,
Wealden police are advising people to review what security measures they
have in place to protect sheds and outbuildings. This is the time of year
when people are buying new gardening equipment ready for the new season, and
such items make tempting targets for thieves. Bearing in mind the size of the Wealden District, thefts
from sheds are fairly rare. When they do occur, they tend to happen in spates,
where a number are all targeted in the same area. Please consider your
security. The advice is that shed and garage alarms are relatively inexpensive and can
act as a good deterrent for thieves. The Wealden Crime Prevention Officer is
happy to offer advice on the best products that are currently available.
If you
are storing quad bikes, motorcycles or larger machinery, consider installing a
ground anchor with a substantial lock and chain. Have all of your property
marked. If you own saddles or other tack, Sussex Police offer a tack marking
service, whereby a unique reference number is embossed into the leather. If you
would like further details of this service, contact your local Police Community
Support Officer, who will be happy to facilitate this. Free security stickers
which are very hard to remove are also available from Hailsham Police Station. If
members of the public see anyone acting suspiciously they should obtain as many
details about the people as possible, including vehicle registration numbers,
and contact the Police.
Would
you let your children climb trees? Possibly. Would you still let them if they were climbing
to look in other people’s windows? We guess not – but it has happened, and
children may not realise how disquieting it can be. With the longer evenings
approaching (hurrah!) please do think one step ahead of your children for the
sake of your neighbours. This applies particularly on an area like the
village green which is surrounded by houses. Equally, for their own safety,
children would be better playing on the green than on the nearby roadway. The
Parish Council is contemplating a new sign advising motorists to beware of
pedestrians in this busy spot.
Dicker
Cricket Club is seeking new players for this season. The second game of cricket ever
recorded was played at Upper Dicker more than 300 years ago, and the great
tradition still continues. If you are interested, please contact the Captain,
Matthew Hitchin, tel: 01323 442704.
On a
rather different subject, the Parish Council has been asked to canvass opinion
on the possibility of bringing a mains gas supply into Upper Dicker.
This would be an expensive project, but at the moment grants are available
towards the cost. So that we can gauge support, please can anyone who would
like to see this happen contact the Parish Clerk (see contact details below).
Affordable Housing is an emotive issue. The average house price in Wealden is now
£300,000, but the average income is £32,000, which does not bode well for the
rising generation. In Arlington there is currently reckoned to be a need for
eight affordable homes, which would be available only to people who are
parishioners or have demonstrable links with the parish but have had to move
out within a three mile radius. Hence the need for Wealden’s Strategic Housing
Land Availability Assessment which is currently in progress across the
district. This aims to identify the maximum number of possible sites, so
as to ensure a steady supply of land which is actually available and approved
by the planning authority for this special kind of development. Not all of it,
however, would actually be used. It could not be used for purely commercial
development, although a commercial element is sometimes permitted in
conjunction with affordable housing to attract developers from the private sector. The standard of
design and building for affordable housing is now high – often better than in
the private sector. Please do consider offering any suitable site that you may
own.
Distribution of the Newsletter: there is a need for an extra person to help distribute the Newsletter from Bourne Farm (Upper Dicker) northwards to Old Pottery Farm. Offers of help will be gratefully received. Please contact the Clerk.
COPY FOR THE NEXT NEWSLETTER TO BE WITH THE CLERK BY WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY, PLEASE
DATES
FOR YOUR DIARY:
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
THURSDAY 23RD APRIL IN ARLINGTON VILLAGE HALL
ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING:
THURSDAY
14TH MAY IN UPPER DICKER VILLAGE HALL