Camber village voice

The Camber Parish Council met and elected Councillor Par Brazier to the position of Vice Chair.

In view of the casual vacancy and Rother District Council receiving a petition with sufficient signatures on it, an election has been declared to fill the position. If contested, the election will take place on 22 March. The council decided to ask Rother District Council to go ahead and produce Poll Cards to ensure that all villagers know about the election. The Defend Our Coast report was given by Brigitte Bass who said that there were concerns insurance running out and the need for a plan to be put into place that could be implemented within the next five years. The Parish Council has confirmed that it has requested the sum of £45,000 for the precept for the financial year 2012/13. It was agreed that there would be on Parish Council in August, and that the Annual Assembly will take place on 8 May at 7pm in the Memorial Hall. A working group will be convened to allocate duties for that event. There will be a safety inspection of play equipment on 6 March. Councillor Lea Robinson and Chris Avery the village caretaker will be in attendance for part of that inspection. There was discussion concerning what maintenance work could be carried out under the auspices of the Village Maintenance Scheme 2012/13. Any work carried out would be of a minor nature. The scheme provides for two people to work for two days annually.

Consideration was given to the information provided about new village notice boards to be funded by the RASP grant. There will be 3 small and 2 large aluminium ones. The aluminium will better be able to weather the seaside environment which can be demanding. The Art Development Project managed by the Rother District Council and Heritage Lottery Funded, is to provide two panels of cartoon style pictures depicting a German soldier shot down over Camber and painted by local artist Julian Henshaw. They will be erected in Camber but the sites have not been decided upon. Councillor Lea Robinson reported that the first edition of the Camber Community Newsletter has been well received. There is a need for volunteers to help distribute it.

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Please contact Lea if you can help, you don’t need to deliver a lot, any small contribution will be most welcome. March 20 is the deadline for the submission of items to be included, It was reported that the printing of them took around 6 or 7 hours, so professional printing is being considered as it doesn’t cost much. A grant will be needed to ensure its continuation. There will be another opportunity to learn about the proposed community transport scheme next month, the date to be announced. It has become clear that there is some confusion about the siting of the dog waste bins around the village. Councillor Alan Dodge from Rother District Council will be invited to visit Camber to walk around the village making a note of the number and precise locations. He will be escorted by concerned Parish Councillors. There were two planning applications, a retrospective one for Plot1, Draffin Lane - land off where a concrete base and wooden storage shed has been erected. The application was passed but with reservations as it is a very big shed. The second application was for a second floor extension at 21 Old Lydd Road. This is above the Dunes Bar. There were no objections. At the beginning of the meeting Councillor Nic Ramus pointed out how well the refuse collections had been carried out during the snow. The green rubbish had been collected in spite of the fact that much of it was frozen into the bins. He complemented the collectors for their efforts. Councillor Paul Osbourne said that he didn’t think that there was not to be a lot of change in the Council Tax this year. He also spoke about the car park review which had proposed the cost should stay the same although the idea of lowering it had been floated. He considered that there was merit in lowering it as at this time of year motorists simply refused to pay, driving off to find alternative parking. The next part of the meeting was closed to the public, the next meeting on March 20.

I witnessed a special moment at the Green Owl the other day. A woman was having a small celebration of her son’s birthday. He had died 22 years ago but she always remembered his birthday. There was a favourite desert of her son’s as part of the specials menu, only available in combination with the meals on the specials board. The mother explained why she would really like the peach meringue but not the other items on the board. Tina was approached and readily agreed to make the meringue available. This kindness was received with a big smile. It’s such small acts of kindness that make our world a special place. Thank you Tina, you made a mothers determination to celebrate in difficult circumstances that much easier.

There is a Lent study group at 6.30pm in Camber Church on Thursday.

It’s led by Rev Richard Orchard. Everyone is most welcome. There is a quiz night in the Tom Longley Hall at 7p on Saturday March 3. It costs

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£4 entry which includes cheese and biscuit’s. BYO drinks. Youth club members will have the special entrance fee of £1.

A good time was enjoyed by all the older folk who went along to the Camber Castle at 2pm last Friday and enjoyed tea provided by the Camber Residents Association. The sandwiches and cakes were in plentiful supply as always. A big thanks to Maggie for making the Camber Castle available for the event and also to those helping making the sandwiches and cakes.

Dan our Community Police Support Officer is available as always to hear about you concerns. He is available on 07796 19 56 39. Leave a message if necessary, he will get back to you. You can also email him.

Dan’s Diary. There was an accident on 23rd near Rye Golf Club and Point Farm, between two two vehicles when one pulled out of the farm and a vehicle travelling from Camber struck it from behind. Some dogs in the back of the farm vehicle had to be rescued with tools by me and Rob Cass the Coastal Officer, who was on his day off. A building site on Old Lydd Road has been targeted by youngsters, a portable loo on site was pushed over, but no other damage caused.PC Collins from Rye attended and some youngsters name obtained. They have been spoken with. Can you let me have any information about anti social behaviour or nuisance issues please. Operation Blitz is a dedicated operation focusing on these kinds of issues. You can call 101 and report them to Sussex police or contact me using the information following.

Remember that I love to hear any good news stories. You can pop a note through my door or email me. [email protected]

Larri Hayhurst 18b Denham Way