Iden

Iden and District Natural History Society will hold the next Winter Lecture on Friday 22nd March at 7.30 pm in the village hall.This will be the AGM followed by a Slide Talk given by Mr. Melvin Smith. There will be refreshments and a raffle.

The Iden and Playden Garden Society will be holding the Spring Flower and Produce Show in Iden Village Hall on Saturday 23rd March from 2.30 pm. IF the flowers have recovered from this icy onslaught.

On Sunday 24th March from 11.30 to 4 pm, at the Orchard Cattery in Readers’ Lane, there will be an Open Day organised by the Cats’ Protection League. You are invited to come and visit, and meet some young cats who are seeking for-ever homes with a garden.

For more details please contact 280 378.

Iden Parish Council met on Tuesday 5 March at which 4 Councillors were present together with County Councillor Keith Glazier and District Councillors Paul Osborne and Nick Ramus. There were also 5 members of the public

The Chairman announced that he had received with regret the resignation because of business commitments of Mrs Chrissy Rodger. He recognised that it was difficult for Councillors to maintain a balance between a career, personal life and voluntary work, particularly as increasingly more responsibilities are being placed onto Parish Councillors

The notice of the vacancy has been placed in the Village Notice Board

There were no questions from the public

Under planning support was given with one abstention to the proposed plans submitted for the Granary, Wittersham Road

The application for Corkwood Farmhouse was supported

The application for Grove Farm was supported conditionally and subject to it being considered by the full Planning Committee

A report was given on the flooding problem outside Iden Kennels. It was agreed that Highways would be advised when this recurs.

The Clerk gave an update on the Emergency Planning arrangements and that there is general support for this in the Village. There will another meeting of the ICE Committee at the Bell on Tuesday 28 May

It has been arranged that as a trial, there will be a village clear up on Wednesday 27 March in the morning. This will involve getting together a working party to pick up litter which is a continuing problem for Iden, particularly on the lanes. A lot of work is already done by volunteers when walking and the Chairman again expressed his gratitude to everyone concerned, A note of the arrangements for the 27 March are on the Village Notice Board.

There is also a notice appealing for volunteers to undertake minor jobs around the village. Please contact the Clerk on 270790 if interested and you think you can help

County Councillor Glazier gave an update on the pot hole situation which has been of considerable concern. The Highways team are working as best they can to fill in those being reported but there remains many to do. The public are invited to report pot holes to Highways on the East Sussex web site.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday 2 April in the Village Hall. Please note this will commence at 7pm as the Police will be in attendance to answer questions and present an update

Since the Council meeting, it has been announced that the new Parish Councillor can be co-opted. In this regard a notice is being placed in the Village Notice Board inviting residents to inform the Clerk on 270790 if they are interested. The Clerk will also be happy to answers any questions concerning what is expected of Parish Councillors.

Applications must be received by 3pm Tuesday 26 March

Rehearsals for Robin Hood are now in full swing. The Panto will be performed in the Village Hall on Saturday 20 April at 2.30 and 800pm

Tickets are now on sale in Iden Stores or by telephoning 280143- I believe they are £5 and early booking is advised. All proceeds are to go to local charities. I understand that there is a reduced ticket price for under 16s for the afternoon performance only

The Iden Players are also looking for donations for the Raffle and if anyone has anything they wish to give, please let either Teresa on 280143 or Ian on 280010 know

On Saturday 6 April at 7pm a Memorial Concert is being held at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings for the late Mark Tancock with proceeds being in aid of St Michael’s Hospice. Mark lived in Iden for many years and is greatly missed by his many friends. The concert will be given by his brother in law, Crispian Steele Perkins the internationally acclaimed trumpeter and will feature many well known songs and tunes.

Please telephone Perdita at the hospice for tickets which are £10 each. O1424 456377

The last Lent Lunch will be on Tuesday 19 March at the Old Hall, Church Lane at 12.30pm These have proved to be extremely popular with donations going to Charities. All are welcome.The weekday services continue as usual on Wednesday at 9.30 am for Morning Prayer and 3.30 pm for Evening Prayer in church.

The 9.30 am service for the 5th Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday, will be Parish Communion led by the Vicar.