Cooksbridge, Offham & Hamsey

PLANNING APPLICATION: LW/17/0249 East Chiltington, Mount Pleasant, Highbridge Lane. New welling with associated parking and landscaping for East Sussex Property Ltd. Members of the planning and environment committee of East Chiltington Parish Council met on April 12 to discuss the above application and to consider the parish council response. Up to 15 minutes were available for members of the public to express a view or ask a question regarding the application.

FLY TIPPING: In the April edition of British Farmer and Grower the NFU are asking local authorities and the police to assist landowners in the clean-up and reporting of fly-tipped waste. The NFU wants all parties (local authorities, police, landowners and the Environment Agency) to work together on the issue which means prevention, clean up and prosecution. It should not be the sole responsibility of the landowner to deal with this crime and landowners are currently saddled with the cost of removing fly-tipped material. Bearing in mind that fly-tipping cases have topped 936,000 during 2015/16.

HARE COURSING: Another big problem for some farmers. One NFU member from Wiltshire who farms 500 hectares of arable ground on his farm, describes the impact tat hare coursing not only has on his land, but also on his life. He says, ‘We barricade buildings with logs, dig ditches and lock up gates to keep the coursers off our land, but they can break the locks. They can come at any time during the morning, day or night.’ They cause damage to property, unleashing their dogs and tearing around the farm in 4x4 cars leaving muddy tyre tracks all over the fields. There are usually three of four of them and most of the time he works alone. The coursers are nasty, intimidating individuals and have total disregard in what they do. He says they did have a rural crime team but it has since been disbanded. The police don’t seem to have the resources to always respond. The offenders know the chances of getting caught are minimal. On the rare occasions that they do get caught, the go to court and get a very small fine then go back and re-offend. Commenting on the action the NFU could take, the farmer said, ‘I want to see the NFU talk to ministers and inform them about the impact of hare coursing. I want to see fines increased in court to act as a deterrent. Like in Cambridgeshire, I want the police to have a zero tolerance to hare coursing. I want to see dogs and vehicles seized.’ I know that there will be many farmers in the South East, including myself, who would fully support ll that the farmer in Wiltshire has said. A few years back we had an incident here where some unsavoury characters came overnight with their vehicles and dogs and went into one of our fields where there were ewes with young lambs. They drove round terrifying the sheep and then drove out into the lane straight through our fences and hedge, causing a lot of damage. They left the gate open onto the main road, also leaving behind some sheep that had been bitten by the dogs and some very stressed out young lambs. Thankfully we have always had a very good Lewes police team who do respond very quickly in times of trouble, even though their resources have also been cut considerably.

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING: East Chiltington will hold their APM on Thursday May 11 in the village hall, Beechwood Lane at 7pm. It will be followed no earlier than 7.30pm by the Annual Parish Council Meeting. The Annual Parish Meeting is the one where residents can go along and hear reports, usually about the year’s activities, and other reports from the East Chiltington Trust (TECT) etc.

HAMSEY PARISH COUNCIL: Hamsey PC hold their Annual Parish Meeting the following week, on Thursday May 18 at 7pm in the village hall, Beechwood Lane. This will also be followed no earlier than 7.30pm by the Annual Parish Council Meeting. Usually there are reports from Hamsey School, Offham Church and other local bodies.

DIARY DATE: Judith has arranged the annual coach trip to Chichester Theatre for Thursday August 3, to see Fiddler On The Roof. If you want to join them it is work asking Judith if there are any tickets left. Tickets £21. It is always a great day out.

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