Cooksbridge, Offham & Hamsey

HAMSEY: Sunday June 3 will be Evensong in Hamsey Church at 6pm. The Reverend Judith Egar will conduct the service.

HAMSEY CHURCH: Friday, June 8, Judge Michael Kennedy’s group will be singing Compline. The group will be in the church from 7pm for a rehearsal to which anyone is invited and then the Office of Compline will commence at 8pm and last for about 30 minutes. After that do join the group for strawberries and a glass of wine. Compline was traditionally the final service of the day and takes the form of beautiful chants sung in Latin.

On Saturday, June 9, in Hamsey Church will be World War 1 remembered in Music, Poetry and Prose. Exhibition in church at 5pm, performance at 6pm. Tickets at the door £10, 13 years and under £5. Wine and soft drinks available. All proceeds to the Hamsey Church Restoration Fund. Join the Friends of Hamsey Church and help save it for another 1000 years.

REMINDER: Sunday, June 3, is Open Garden at Offham House, Offham from 1pm to 5pm.

CONCERT: Sunday, June 10, in Hamsey Church will be the first of two summer concerts my Musicians of all Saints, Lewes commencing at 6pm. For further details go to www.mas-lewes.co.uk. The second concert will be on Sunday June 17 at 6pm. Reminder later.

PARISH COUNCIL: East Chiltington PC met at the beginning of May for the annual PC meeting. Cll Symes proposed Cllr Harrison as chairman for 2018/19, seconded by Cllr Tingle and agreed by all. Cllr Harrison took the chair and proposed Cllr Funnell as vice chairman, seconded by Cllr Farmelo and agreed by all. Council agreed to declare that East Chiltington PC is an exempt authority within the definition contained in the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulation 2015.

PLANNING MATTERS: SDNP/18/02175/HOUS Novington Oak, Novington Lane. Proposed two storey and single storey side extensions. Three members of the planning committee made a site visit on Saturday April 28 and met with Mrs Symonds. Council unanimously expressed its objection on the grounds that the proposed extension constitutes an excessive increase in floor space from the original cottage and also from the replacement dwelling granted by committee on May 18, 2009 under LW/09/0182. The house as it now stands, post appeal granted in 2011, has an increase of 88 percent on the original cottage. In addition, the proposed rear flat roof to the north elevation is out of keeping with the gables above and extending this by approx two thirds would result in it jutting incongruously. Decisions by Lewes District Council. SDNP/17/06243 Stantons Farm, Chapel Lane, East Chiltington. Variation of conditions 2, 3 and 4 relating to application SDNP/15/05709/HOUS for an extension to the letting period to 12 months. Granted. SDNP/17/06306 Chapel Grange, Chapel Lane. Proposed singe storey extension, external cladding, new windows and doors and PV solar panels. Granted. SDNP/17/06486/FUL Unit 3 Wootton Farm, Novington Lane. Change of use and conversion of commercial food preparation unit to one bedroom holiday let unit. Granted. LW/18/0016 Hurst barns Farm, Chiltington Lane. Creation of a new farm access to A275. Withdrawn.

OTHER MATTERS: The parish party is now planned for Saturday July 7. The clerk will apply to LDC for permission to use the green and for a bar licence. There were problems with the rescheduled bus service 168 which cut 15 minutes off the already short time residents had in Burgess Hill before the return journey. Clerk to ask LDC Cllr Osborne to support a return to the old timetable. ESCC was to replace the faded No Through Route sign in Chapel/Novington Lane. The response from ESCC re Quiet Lanes was passed to an interested resident. ESCC will only cut verges twice a year. ESCC will contact the clerk when they are ready to removed the Boundary Sign and the PC will erect it on the actual boundary. Council considered the role of a parish tree warden and were happy for it to remain with Mr R Symes, with Cllr Tingle acting as council liaison. Council will use the website to ask residents who know they have trees covered b TPO’s or trees they think are of special merit, to contact the PC.

The next meeting of East Chiltington PC is on Wednesday July 11 in the smaller meeting room in Plumpton Village Hall.

FLY-TIPPING: The UK Government is consulting on how to deal with waste cime and fly-tipping and the NFU has teamed up with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to develop clear advice when disposing of any fly-tipping found on private land. The following are 10 tops on how to deal with it. 1: Exercise caution. Some fly-tipped waste can be hazardous Do not open bags or drums and be aware that piles of soil may be contaminated or hide dangerous material. 2: Record as many details as possible about the waste and when you found it. If possible take a photograph of the waste. 3: Report the incident, do not move the waste or remove any evidence from it until the authorities have been notified. 4: Secure the waste so that it cannot be interfered with or added to. 5; Remember that fly-tippers are doing something illegal, they are unlikely to welcome people observing them. Do not put yourself at risk, if fly-tipping is in progress call 999. 6: When arranging for disposal, use a registered waste carrier, as if it is dumped elsewhere you could be held responsible and face an unlimited fine. 7: Ensure that you get documentation which includes the details of the waste and who is taking it away. 8: If you take the waste to a licensed waste site yourself, make sure you are a registered waste carrier. 9: If the waste is hazardous then make sure that it is being carried and disposed of by those licensed to deal with hazardous waste. 10: Keep full details of your clearance and disposal costs. Successful prosecution could mean the cost of removal of the waste can also be recovered.

The NFU Vice President says that if this issue is to be properly solved, we need to see targeted measures that will directly address fly-tipping on farmland. Farmers are the ones left to foot expensive bills to report, clean up and dispose properly of waste illegally left on their land. Ensuring there is a dedicated rural police team in each force and a cross-department, Government roundtable on rural crime can go a long way to tackling this issue.

DELIGHTED: I watched the wonderful wedding on Saturday of Prince Harry and Maghan, which I am sure must have lifted everyone’s spirits from the doom and gloom of every day news. With all that wonderful sunshine I thought the whole event was a joyful occasion and everyone seemed to be happy and smiling. The reason I am so pleased is that the title of Duke an Duchess of Sussex has been bestowed upon them which I think very fitting as Prince Harry’s great, great, great grandmother, Queen Mary, was a regular visitor to Buxted Park during my childhood at Buxted School when she came to visit Mr and Mrs Ionides who at that stage owned Buxted Park. On a couple of occasions she also had a very young Prince Charles and the then Princess Anne with her in her big chauffeur driven black car. Mrs Ionides was our school governor and one year came with Queen Mary to our school sports day. I was presented with a book for being top of the class in literature and still treasure the book called Mr Meddles Mischief. I do wish the lovely couple all the happiness in the world and hope that one day they will visit Buxted Park.

CHESTNUT TREES: I mentioned the lovely red chestnut trees saying how beautiful they looked this year. I have had people calling at my door asking if they could park to take photographs and asking where they could buy some. They do take a few years to mature, but I suggest you go to a garden centre and take advice.