Balcombe Parish Council
Chairman: Graham Gosney,
Twittens, Oldlands Avenue, Balcombe, West Sussex RH17 6LW. Telephone 01444
811420
Clerk: Richard Greig, 11
Foxwells, Balcombe, West Sussex RH17 6LZ Ansaphone & Fax 01444 811833
Mid Sussex Council Special Garden Party
This was hosted recently by the Chairman of the Council, Sue Seward to
celebrate the hard work and dedication shown by people across the
district. Each of the Mid Sussex Town
and Parish Councils were invited to nominate people they thought deserved
recognition for the unpaid contribution they had made to the life of their
community.
Balcombe’s nomination was Roger & Anthea Bell with the following
citation:
“Since moving to the village some 6 years
ago, both Roger & Anthea have been a great asset to the village. The shop is a great benefit to the local
community, especially to the elderly, and service is friendly and efficient. Roger Bell arranges deliveries to those who cannot
shop personally.
Thanks to Roger the Scouts
have had a new lease of life and Anthea has been managing the Beaver
Scouts. Of particular mention is the
Balcombe Summer Fete, which Roger has resurrected and now runs together with a
hard working committee. This year’s was
a particular success.
In spite of family tragedies
– their son was killed in a motor accident 2 years ago and their daughter died
unexpectedly only last month, Roger & Anthea have remained cheerful
throughout. We feel they should be recognised
in some small way for the contribution they have been making to the benefit of
the village community”.
We have received a
nice letter from them both saying that they thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon
and accompanying ceremony.
Meetings have taken place recently with two suppliers of playground
equipment, as well as the District Council, who is funding the project. As a result revised plans are being prepared
and these will be available for consultation in due course. We will advise details once they are
received. Several Balcombe “Mums” have
kindly helped the Playground Working Group in the preparatory work and
selection of potentially suitable equipment and we are most grateful for their
assistance.
Work on renewal of the lamps
is now scheduled to begin at the end of October according to the latest
estimate from SEEBOARD, who are currently awaiting delivery of the necessary
component parts from their outside supplier.
Traffic Calming
We are still waiting to hear
from West Sussex County Council following their local consultation – this
includes the police, fire and ambulance services – for Phase 1 of the
scheme. As soon as we receive their
feedback, together with detailed drawings and cost estimates, we will be in a
position to arrange the promised consultation meeting.
Several residents have commented on this and we are grateful for your assistance.
Policing
We hope that many of you
were able to attend the short address by Chief Inspector Coates, prior to
commencement of September’s main meeting and found it useful. The following is the Clerk’s notes on the
main points covered at the meeting:
“By invitation the meeting
was addressed, prior to commencement, by Chief Inspector Coates, the present
District Commander. She mentioned that
the area was split into 13 districts, each being headed by an officer of
similar rank. There had been recent
re-organisation of the community policing arrangements and a new system in
place since November. Basically there
would be a team of up to 5 constables, operating on a shift pattern, servicing
specified areas. The policy had been to
move away from a traditional “village bobby” concept.
CI Coates stated
that this was considered to be the best use of police resources. It evidenced “best practice” and the most
efficient use of resources. If an area
experienced more than 2 crimes, then it would be given “special”
attention. Currently the police were
recruiting Community Support Officers, not with the same powers as normal
officers, but nevertheless considered to be effective in presenting a visible
presence and re-assuring the public. She
said that in some cases it might be possible for villages to fund – and control
under police guidance – their own CSO.
It was the aim of
the police to ensure that there was a better understanding of crime patterns
within a local area. It was now
possible to access a programme giving a statistical breakdown of crimes. These on-line reports would be found on the
“CADIE” database and a letter to Parishes would follow. The Chief Constable was also interested to
support Local Action Teams and would arrange for them to receive practical
advice to try and solve the problems. A
Crime and Disorder Audit would follow.
There was a Home
Office Crime Reduction website, dealing in particular with anti-social
behaviour. Access via
“www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits.
Following on from
the earlier comments about community policing CI Coates mentioned that the new
lead officer for Balcombe would be a PC Geoff Bennett, an experienced officer,
formerly handling Cuckfield.
Question time was
short, but questions ranged from one on the policing of the roads locally from
the speed and traffic infringement angles (Mr Miners), Enforcement of speeding
tickets (Mr Infield) as well as the possibility of Balcombe being able to
follow the recent scheme in Ringmer, where villagers operated speed measuring
equipment themselves, after police training.
Other questions included Speed Management within the parish and delays
in handling calls to the police service”.
We have subsequently heard
that effective 3 November CI Coates will be moving to Police Headquarters,
Lewes, and that her successor will be CI Robin Smith. We have still not heard officially about new policing
arrangements for Balcombe and have been advised that until we do so Richard
Buckingham remains as our point of contact
Following continuing
incidents of theft and damage to vehicles parked at Balcombe Station Inspector
Garry Ancell, accompanied by a representative of South Central Trains,
addressed the Parish Council, prior to their meeting on 21 October, regarding
security problems.
Fly Tipping
The Environment Agency tells
us that they have now traced the registered owner of the white truck that
deposited a load of broken paving slabs in the church lay-by. We are to be kept informed of developments.
Transco
In spite of the earlier
optimistic report from Transco concerning completion of the re-laying of gas
mains along Oldlands Avenue, we are now advised that they now intend to cease
work until the spring and that the present excavations will be filled in. (They now appear to have more urgent
priorities). We will make sure that
this is done to a satisfactory standard, but if you are dissatisfied in any way
please advise the Clerk.
Taxi Vouchers
Mid Sussex District Council
advises us that this scheme has now been discontinued until further notice.
Rural Transport in Mid
Sussex
Thank you to all who
completed the questionnaires from Mid Sussex District Council in connection
with their bid, together with West Sussex County Council, for funding for
additional buses to serve rural mid Sussex.
Travellers
Both District & County
Councils were extremely responsive in arranging for the travellers camped in
the Church lay-by to be moved on within a short space of time. Please advise the Clerk of any future
problems.
Security Alert
An elderly lady resident
reported the loss of her purse recently, after collecting her pension
money. Please ensure that your
valuables are secure at all times and do not leave handbags or shopping out of
sight.
Retiring Village Postman
You may have noticed a
collection box in the post office for donations to Bob Cornell, who retired
after over 20 years of service, earlier in the year. The Parish Council will be making their contribution once the
collection is closed.
Public Participation
Our next meeting will be on
25 November and the agenda displayed prior to the meeting on the notice
board. Public participation at meetings
is always welcome.
Richard Greig
Clerk to the Parish Council
October 2003