Iden village voice

RESIDENTS will have seen that they now have new landlords at the Bell Inn. John and Lindsey have now taken over and will be pleased to see as many of you there during the coming weeks. They have come from the Lewes area and have a wide experience in the catering business and are planning some exciting things for the months ahead. Please give them your fullest support as it is vital that Iden’s only pub is successful - like the shop and Post Office- either you use it or lose it!

Welcome John and Lindsey to Iden- we are sure you will both be very happy here and meet some very good friends on the way.

Iden Parish Council met on the 3 July at which County Councillor Keith Glazier, District Councillors Nick Ramus and Paul Osborne were present along with 4 Parish Councillors and 12 members of the public. Apologies were received from Parish Councillor Rodger.

The condition of the Iden Road outside the Peace and Plenty was again raised by a member of the public. Apparently Highways have again looked at it and do not see a problem which frankly was a surprise to everyone present. In the circumstances the Parish Council will write to Highways in an attempt to get them to look again!

Planning permissions have been received for Bosney Farmhouse and Iden Park.. The current application regarding Cartref in Main Street was supported

The Parish Council is now embarking upon the site identification exercise for new housing in the village up to 2028. Under the Core Strategy, Iden has agreed to take 15 new dwellings in this period and the current proposal is that landowners are being asked to place their sites into the consultation process but of course without any commitment on behalf of the District Council that these will be accepted. Full details have been posted in Iden Stores and the main village notice board and any submissions have to be received by the Parish Council by the 14 August. After that the Council will have meetings with the Planning Department at Rother to agree a policy when it will then be put out to public consultation.

Iden is regarded by the District Council as being an area outstanding natural beauty and this important factor has and will continue to determine their policy as far as new developments are concerned for the village.

An increase in the Clerk’s hours to 8 per week was agreed.

The Council agreed to explore ways the Sports Pavilion facilities could be improved, particularly as grants may now be available for this purpose from Fields in Trust. The entrance gates to the playing field were also discussed and the Council will investigate to see what can be done to make them more user friendly and practical

A sign has been designed and made commemorating the gift of the playing field to the village by the last Eric Mason in 1934. This will be placed at the entrance to serve as a permanent reminder of the generosity of this Iden resident and the gratitude of its residents for the invaluable and irreplaceable facility it has in the playing field and its facilities. The village has been extremely fortunate over the years to have had residents with the vision and ability to donate assets that have made Iden such an attractive place to live.

The public consultation regarding the new speed limit of 30mph is now underway with the County Council and comments can be made to them- details are on the notice board and have been circulated around the village.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 4 September at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Please note that there will not be an August meeting unless circumstance so dictate.

The recent Tea Party and sale held in the Village Hall to raise funds for the Gambian charity BACE raised almost £800. The organisers, Sue White and Christine Tree would like to thank everyone who helped and supported the event.

Miss Winnie Coleman has also asked me to thank everyone who sent cards and best wishes for her 100th birthday last month. Although she is now a resident in St Leonard’s, she will be keeping in touch with all her many friends in Iden.

Were you able to meet with friends for coffee the day that the library came to the village hall? This innovation will continue for a couple of months from 11 am to 1.30 pm each time the mobile library van comes around. If it proves to be popular, then it will continue.

*The next big event will be the Iden Fete on 28th July in the Playing Field. Research is on-going as to how long this Fete has been in existence, but the latest is that it probably started in quite a small way in 1954 in the old Village Hall, before growing, like Topsy to the magnificent event it currently is. It really deserves all the support you can give, as it raises such a lot of money for village causes.

The mid-week services are 9.30 am for Morning Prayer and 3.30 pm for Evening Prayer on Wednesday.

The 9.30 am service for the 6th Sunday after Trinity will be Parish Communion led by the Vicar.