Cross in Hand Village News

FULL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING, 10 SEPTEMBER 2024: I attended a full parish council meeting on 10 September 2024 at the Community Centre Cross in Hand. There was a lengthy comprehensive presentation given by Tom Warder, Community Led Housing Manager and Interim CEO Sussex Community Hub, Astion in Rural Sussex. This was followed by questions from councillors on points raised in the presentation. Unfortunately, the sound system was poor and one had to strain to hear what the presenter and councillors were saying. The presentation certainly gave food for thought regarding the organisation’s activities. I hope Mr Warder had a safe journey home to Polegate on his bicycle in the rain! FIRE CONSULTATION: Mayfield Fire Consultation. A discussion was held amongst councillors in response to the four options offered by the consultation document as follows. The options on offer as part of the consultation are: Option 1 – Maintain Mayfield as a single appliance on-call fire station and uplift the availability to the service’s minimum standard of 50%. Option 2 – Closure and sale of the fire station, keep the fire appliance and reinvest the revenue staff costs. Option 3 – Closure and sale of the fire station and appliance, and reinvest staff costs. Option 4 – Closure and sale of the fire station and appliance, and removal of the on-call section as an additional saving to meet budget shortfall if required. A vote was conducted and it was agreed that Option 3 should be communicated as to the preferential option of the parish council. LINK hub. Members voted as to whether further investigations should take place regarding the installation of a LINK banking hub in Heathfield. A councillor said that his wife ran a shop in Heathfield and since trading there she has been a significant downturn in footfall in the town. PUNNETTS TOWN PETITIONto approve and respond: A discussion was heldregarding a petition for a pedestrian crossing to be installed near the school. It was reported that the costs of such a scheme would be approximately £124k and ESCC would seek 50% contribution from the parish council towards the cost. The motion to support the concept of the crossing was carried unanimously and a councillor was designated to take the issue forward. I was very surprised that approximately. several councillors who attended the meeting live in and around or are designated councillors to Cross in Hand. My view is that road dangers at Isenhurst, Cross in Hand, are more significant and there has already been a death at the site. I was surprised that no progress was made regarding a former petition to improve safety at this junction. Since I became a community correspondent in 2006, the Isenhurst Junction has been a deadly black spot for motorists. There are daily near misses and regular crashes at this junction. Although not in the parish, the junction of the A272 and A267 has now come under the spotlight since regular vehicle incidents. In March 2022 an elderly gentleman was killed by a speeding motorist. In January 2024 a female motorist was charged with a motoring offence which was subsequently dropped by the police. I attended the inquest. The offending vehicle was travelling at 51mph and 49 mph on impact with the deceased. The speed limit at the junction is 40mph. After the fatal accident a petition was set up by a local resident where approximately 2,000 signatures were recorded. Photographs appeared on social media of a presentation being made to the resident. The parish council wrote to ESCC with the following response. ‘Junction of A267 and B2102: East Sussex County Council Highways department’s response to the public petition which asked for improved safety measures in the area of the junction of the A267 and B2102 at Cross in Hand acknowledged that work was needed. However, based on scoring criteria the location was ranked 53rd in priority by comparison to other sites in East Sussex. The Highways department informed the Parish Council that there are insufficient funds available to do anything at this location. In response the Parish Council submitted a request for a speed reduction in the vicinity of the junction to 30 mph and the introduction of vehicle activated signage. The Highways department subsequently concluded that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a change to the existing speed limit or such signage. The Parish Council has asked for that decision to be revisited for reasons set out in its letter sent to the Highways department and awaits a reply.’ Two letters have been sent to ESCC to date; only one response letter has been received from ESCC. So please will the parish council now designate a councillor to communicate and liaise with Cross in Hand residents in a similar vein to the Punnetts Town petition.

H&WRFC CROWDFUNDING:The Cross in Hand based Heathfield & Waldron Rugby Club Clubhouse Crowdfunding Campaign is launched. Following on from the Board's announcement, crowdfunder goes live H&WRFC are delighted to announce that our crowdfunding page for the Clubhouse project is now open. This is where we will be posting updates and will be the easiest place to donate. The whole Crowdfunding page can be accessed from the club’s website. All support is greatly appreciated. The clubhouse is of immense importance to everyone who interacts with H&WRFC and these necessary upgrades will ensure that we can keep growing as a local powerhouse and location. If you or your business could provide the club with larger grants or loans please get in touch with Tim using [email protected]. Ladies Team Heathfield and Waldron Rugby Club: The ladies team formed in August 2016, and began playing friendlies, entering the league in the 17/18 season. After topping the league table they were promoted to National Challenge 2 in 18/19 season. Once again the ladies came out on top winning the league, back to back promotion resulting in stepping up again. This season we play in National Challenge 1. We are always looking for new players! if you are 17+ and want to have fun, make some friends, and play some good rugby, then come along to one of our training sessions and see what you think! Minis Season Start Date Confirmed Season has begun. I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer and are now looking forward to returning to HWRFC. The minis season will start on the 8th of September at 9:30am this year. The Club have been hard at work making some changes that you might notice, not least with our hoarding going up and works beginning on our clubhouse extension - expect some announcements about this very shortly. Please be mindful with your little ones that this might mean some disruption to the car parking, with visibility also being altered by the temporary kit container. This season we will also be taking a more active role within schools, so hopefully we will continue to grow our offering. I look forward to seeing you all on the 8th and running another successful season of inclusive, fun rugby for all. Charlotte Minis Chair contact: [email protected] or: 07710459535 A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY: The club started in 1979 when some teachers recognised that there was a group of boys at Heathfield Community College who had both the talent and desire to play rugby. Some of those individuals are still involved in the club and their sons and even grandsons are now playing. Initially the club lacked a proper home and migrated around various establishments until finally settling in the barn at the Blackboys Inn. We’ve come a long way since then. In the 1980’s, after initially using the school facilities, the club gained use of the Waldron pitches. Socially the club wandered around various establishments including the Jack Cade before the Star at Waldron became the main watering hole. There was a brief disastrous period of using the village hall in Waldron in which we were not allowed to sell beer but had to ask for donations so this was short-lived. Showering facilities at Waldron were primitive, ineffective and potentially lethal involving a battery and some iffy wiring. In 1983 the landlord of the Blackboys Inn, Patrick Russell, offered the club the use of the barn next to his pub. This became the club’s home for the next decade and saw the gradual growth of membership and development of the distinctive atmosphere in the club. Pat sadly died a few years ago but he was a huge supporter of the club and is warmly remembered. We continued to use the pitches at Waldron and the car journeys between Blackboys and Waldron caused muddy havoc to many car interiors, as well as making visiting teams feel that they were playing a bunch of country hicks. But results continued to improve and the first team became well established in Sussex League 1. Members normally moved from the barn into the pub’s public bar as the afternoon and evening progressed, with many happy evenings being spent around the open fireplace on cold wintry evening.. Next Week - the 1990’s and onwards.

BLESSING OF PETS St BARTHOLOMEW’S, CROSS in HAND: Sunday September 22 at 3pm. Bring your dogs, cats, horses, ferrets, guinea pigs, tortoises and any creatures you like along for a short service and blessing for our pets.

NET ZERO 360TOURIST WORKSHOP: Save money, win customers, and protect our beautiful environment. This FREE sustainability workshop, exclusively for tourism and/or hospitality businesses in Wealden, will show you how to get to grips with sustainability in your business and how it can boost your marketing and attract customers. 9th October, Ashdown Park Hotel - 9.30am-4.00pm https://ow.ly/BaG550Tfmgi

SINGING FOR FUN: The Cross in Hand Singers singing group begins its autumn term on 16 October at the Methodist Hall in Cross in Hand, at the top of Firgrove Road starting at 2pm. Everyone is welcome and encouragement is given to bring along any music you may have and would like to share with the group. There’s time for refreshment too and charges are £5, just to cover expenses. There is ample parking on the left-hand side just beyond the church in Firgrove Road.