Angmering Village Life
News Archive
September 2007
Honey Lane - The Senior Assistant Clerk circulated an email that had been received from the Rights of Way Department at WSCC, this stated that any improvement to the surface would have to be ‘black top’ i.e. tarmac. The Committee requested that the office write to all residents in Honey Lane to get their views
20 MPH Speed Limit - WSCC still had not made a decision regarding the villages that would take part in the mobile speed indicating devices scheme; they hoped it would be agreed in the next couple of weeks.
The Library - The committee noted the work had now commenced on the Library. WSCC have agreed to fencing to channel the children by the safest route.
Litter Bins - The Committee agreed the siting of the new litter bin would be by the bus stop in Station Road at the Mill Road junction.
Road Closures - ADC had heard from the Police and they had no objection to the complete road closure for the Traders Evening (5 December). They were still awaiting a decision from WSCC
Post Box in High Street - Council had now received revised drawings from Mr Terence Kay and he was now in the process of getting quotes.
Cycle Racks - Councillor Paul Bicknell said he had looked around the village and suggested that four outside of Londis would be useful.
Twitten Barriers - There were concerns from the Committee that children were still cycling in the Twittens causing a hazard. The Committee agreed that all members would review all the Twittens and move the item it forward to the next agenda.
A/136/07/A - 1 No. Double sided internally illuminated monolith sign, 1 No. Single sided internally illuminated ali panel, 1 No. Internally illuminated poster case, 1 No. Internally illuminated flexface sign, 1 No. Single sided freestanding sign non-illuminated at Premier Travel Inn, Roundstone Lane, East Preston. For Whitbread Operations.
A/137/07 - Residential development comprising 10 no 3 bedroom houses and 4 no 4 bedroom houses at Harley Nursery, Ashmead Way (Bramley Green). For Mr L Bilotti.
Observations on this/these Application(s) must be received by The Head of Planning Services, Arun District Council, The Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5LF by 18 October 2007.
Over 500 people came to Fletcher’s Field last Saturday to enjoy the Bishop’s BBQ hosted by the Parishes of Angmering, Rustington, East Preston, Burpham and Poling, and part of a 4 day visit to the area by Lindsay Urwin, the Bishop of Horsham.
The day started at 11am with the children enjoying 4 inflatables supplied by our local firm, Amazingly Bouncy Castles. They seemed to enjoy the free use of the 2 bouncy castles, assault course and mega slide. Their parents enjoyed the refreshments, and seeing the children having fun. At 12.15, there were some tug of war competitions organised by Neil Coleman, Angmering’s Youth Worker. The team led by the Rector, Mark Standen beat the team led by the Bishop 2-1, so Mark has blown his chances of promotion! At 12.30, the Bishop gave a short and amusing and thought-provoking talk about why he had decided to follow Jesus Christ, and encouraged people to explore the Christian faith themselves. Then, the BBQ began, and people enjoyed a burger and hot dog followed by a choc ice, courtesy of the Churches in the area. The bouncy castles started up again, and people stayed enjoying the atmosphere and the lovely weather till just after 3pm.
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Photos courtesy of Ray Whitehouse and Richard Standing |
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Most people seemed to enjoy the day, and hopefully went home with happy memories of another village event on the Field. For people who thought ‘Church’ happens only inside an ancient building, it perhaps made them think again! All are welcome to St Margaret's Church next Sunday (30 September) for their special Harvest services at 9.30 and 11am as part of a national ‘Back to Church’ Sunday, in which 2000 churches in the UK are encouraging people to give Church a try. Also, a warm encouragement was given to people to join the next 6 week course Christianity Explored starting on Tuesday 9 October - further details from Mark Standen (784979)
Following the recent resignations of Councillors Neil Austine and Tim Mayhead, there are now four vacancies on Angmering Parish Council. If you are interested in becoming a councillor and working for the good of the community, you can contact the Parish Council for more information by calling in at their office in The Square, phoning them on 850756, or you can email them at angmering.pc@lineone.net
Community Centre - Councillor Sue Smith believed that a Project Manager, for the Community Centre project, needs to be appointed sooner rather than later. This will be an agenda item for the next Parish Council meeting. The Clerk has spoken to WSCC and lists of recommended Contractors, Project Management Companies and Building Surveyors have been received. The report issued by Councillor Sue Smith, Chair of Finance, relating to the tendering process was considered and agreed. The Clerk will make contacts from the WSCC lists and also speak to Arun District Council as there may be an experienced person who is just retiring and is suitable. It is anticipated that the Project Manager will look at and advise on the tendering process.
Staff/Staffing Issues - (i) Assistant Clerk will be offered a reduced working week when the Job share or replacement post holder is in place. It was recommended to advertise post immediately – interviews will be conducted by Councillor Sue Smith and the Clerk. (ii) Mr. John Smith was introduced to the Council. Mr. Smith is a retired HR Consultant and had offered to help with Staff Contracts and other employment issues.
Grants - Additional S137 grants were approved for: Angmering Scouts - £200.00; ASRA - £250.00 towards car park improvements
ASRA - Councillor Pat Turner presented a report from her meeting at ASRA on 13th August 2007. One of the main concerns from ASRA was the extension of their lease from ADC, they must have a minimum of 21 years to allow the to apply for sports orientated grants.
Noticeboards / Maps - All the new notice boards were now in position which now gives a coverage of four within the Parish. It would cost £320 to replace the two maps that had two errors. The committee discussed the issue and decided that we should ask for a quote for 4 new maps as it had been the intention to place maps in other parts of the Parish and this perhaps would make it more cost effective. Councillor Pat Turner said she would also investigate other companies to see if a more competitive quote could be obtained.
Xmas Traders' Evening - Traders' Evening will be on 5th December this year, it is hoped a full road closure will take place.
Youth Facilities - Councillor Pat Turner reported the best option for the Graffiti board on the Palmer Road Recreation Ground, would be 8’ x 4’ boards attached to the basketball posts. Councillor Turner will talk to ASRA at their meeting on the 7th to agree if this is possible. The committee proposed that the Parish Council fund the £120 needed.
Water Lane - The current contract with Bell Gardens runs out in September 2007. Mr Derek Whiting who currently looks after St Nicholas Garden for us has also offered his services for the Water Lane site. The committee discussed this issue and proposed that the Parish Council offer the next years contract to Mr Whiting.
The LIVE! Project - Councillor Paul Bicknell reported that he had had a meeting with Southern Water at their site in Station Road, regarding the possible placement of a bottle bank to assist with re-cycling. Southern Water agreed in theory but a hard base would need to be constructed. Councillor Paul Bicknell said he would create a specification and ask the office to get quotes. District Councillor Julie Hazlehurst asked the Chairman if she may speak as she said it was the intention of ADC to arrange doorstop collections for glass and she would check the timescales for this.
War Memorial - On two occasions flowers from funerals had been placed on the War Memorial; these had received mixed responses from Parishioners. The Committee discussed and believed these were isolated instances and agreed to monitor the situation and review on an ongoing basis.
Downs Way Pocket Park - Councillor Paul Bicknell expressed concern over the state of the Downsway pocket park and requested that a quote is obtained for a once a month litter pick and hedgerow maintenance.
A/124/07 - Construction of a single storey rear extension and part conversion of detached garage into bathroom facilities at 41 Roman Avenue. For Mr David King.
A/132/07 - Alterations and extensions to loft to form new rooms at 8 Chantryfield Road. For C & D Gibb.
Observations on this/these Application(s) must be received by The Head of Planning Services, Arun District Council, The Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5LF by 11 October 2007.
For something a bit lighter this weekend, try our new Angmering Photo Quiz. There's no prizes - just a bit of fun and hopefully informative but some of the photos are not easy. Some objects around the village shown in the quiz are ancient but some are fairly new. Many of them you may walk past every day and not have noticed them. However, all of them are in the village centre or just a few hundred yards away. You can access the quiz through the "Articles" link on the left-hand side navigation bar, or directly by clicking on the following link:
If you have not already attemped it, there is also an interactive Angmering crossword accessible through the "Articles" page. This has been there many months but - a warning - many people who have attempted it have found it quite difficult.
The following is an invitation to the whole village from the Rector, Mark Standen, to an event (including BBQ) on Fletcher's Field next Saturday, 22 September, from 11am to 2pm:
"The Bishop of Horsham is going to be in Angmering village on Saturday 22 September as a guest of Angmering, East Preston, Rustington, Burpham and Poling parishes. This is part of a 4 day visit to our area called ‘Walking the Way’ - a chance for him to be available to meet people from our patch, and people to meet him!
The event will start at 11am and there will be 4 inflatables on the Field – an assault course, slide and 2 bouncy castles and refreshments. At approx 12.15pm, the Bishop will give a short talk explaining what it means to be a Christian in today’s world. Then the BBQs will start serving food and the inflatables will be available again for the children. Obviously, people can come and go as they please.
The whole event (inflatables, refreshements and BBQ) is free - a present to the area from the Anglican churches. Do come if you're free. All we ask is your best wishes regarding the weather!
Mark Standen (Rector)"
St Margaret's Church Hall was filled to its 100 persons capacity for last night's Public Meeting to discuss the proposed Community Centre and unfortunately seven people had to be turned away. Attendees came from throughout the village and just not Bramley Green which provided a good balance of residents. Perhaps more people in favour of the Centre attended than had been expected by the Parish Council.
On behalf of Angmering Parish Council, Cllr Steven Mountain, Chairman of its Planning Committee, outlined the background to the land at Bramley Green earmarked for a Community Centre in an S106 agreement drawn up in the early 1990s, of which the developers, West Sussex County Council, Arun District Council and Angmering Parish Council (APC) were all signatories. APC believed they could be in breach of contract, with legal ramifications, if the building of the Centre did not go ahead. Cllr Mountain said that it was anticipated that the cost of the building would not exceed £700,000. In a discussion that followed, it emerged that the S106 agreement might have been deficient in not containing any time limit for the completion of the Bramley Green development which an attending member of the public thought could be challenging to APC's proposals if proved correct.
Also on behalf of APC, Cllr Mark Edwards, Chairman of its Environment & Leisure Committee put forward a strong case for the need for a Community Centre and was open about the financial support APC would give to the Community Centre Management Committee in its first three years. APC would own the building but lease it to the Management Committee. He stressed that the current principal facility for community use, i.e. the Village Hall, has 30 letting sessions between Monday and Friday and, of these, only 6 sessions are not fully booked but some are still let on an ad-hoc basis. In the last few months, four organisations who wanted to make regular bookings had to be turned away. Cllr Edwards highlighted the consultation process that had embraced villagers in the last few years which asked for feedback on the project. When the plans were put on public display in May this year, only 19 residents commented and, of these, 14 were interpreted as being in favour of the Centre. It was also pointed out that the proposed site, from an aerial view, was the geographical centre on the village.
In a speech on behalf of the Community Centre Management Committee, that was later warmly applauded by the meeting, Ms Val Jerram implored everybody to be open-minded and have "vision" about the Centre and believed Angmering was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity for a much needed additional resource. She outlined the principal uses of the Centre for community and social purposes and, when not booked, for private events. There had been consultation with Community Centres elsewhere which had proved useful in establishing how they operated, and some preliminary work had been done in establishing what grants and other sources of funding the running of the Centre might be possible. Finally, Ms Jerram called for residents to join the Management Committee, and particularly those with business expertise.
There then followed five speeches from five people in favour of the Centre and five against it or aspects of it. These proved to be evenly balanced.
For those in favour, there were strong calls for people to think of the village as a whole, to be community minded, and to make Bramley Green very much part of the village, embracing all age groups. One resident pointed out that Bramley Green needed to be much more than a place where people slept and from where they commuted to work, and the Centre would be an ideal place for educational facilities and within walking distance for most people in the village.
For those against, it was thought that the uses and need were exaggerated and that, instead, the facilities at the schools in particular, or even the Church Hall, could be used more. There was no evidence that in proposing the Centre, APC had prepared either a business plan or done a risk assessment. Some speakers did not object to having a Community Centre but felt strongly that it was in the wrong location and should not be built in the middle of a housing development and cited cases where centres had failed where they had been constructed in residential areas. The potential parking problems were a major issue for people on Bramley Green and noise, smoking and possible flooding caused by the tarmacing of the car park area were also put forward.
The Parish Council concluded the meeting by saying that a number of questions had been raised which required investigation. A newsletter would be circulated to every household in the parish to reiterate what had been covered at the meeting. Decisions on the Centre would be made at the next full Parish Council Meeting on Monday 8 October 2007 in the Church Hall. Chairman of the Council, Cllr Nigel Nunn pointed out that the first lettings in any case would not be for another 15 - 18 months. The meeting was well ordered and although passion expressed itself at times, it did not threaten to get out of control.
Just as a reminder that the Public Meeting to discuss the proposed Community Centre for Angmering takes place in St Margaret's Church Hall - that's the hall behind the church and NOT the Village Hall in Station Road - at approx 7.30pm TONIGHT (Monday 10 September). There will be presentations by both Angmering Parish Council and the Community Centre Managment Committee.
This is an opportunity for villagers to learn facts about the Centre and hear the views of those both for and against its construction.
PCSO Andrea Oakley has today issued the following Notice:
"With schools returning this week, please can I remind parents about their parking outside of schools. We have several complaints each week about cars blocking roads, pavements and bad parking. I will be actively patrolling each school in my area ( St Margaret's, St Wilfrid's and The Angmering School) and will be issuing tickets to offenders. Please be aware of speed outside of schools; we have had several incidents where our lollipop ladies have had near misses of cars driving through them. We could not do with out them."
A crash at Hammerpot early this morning caused severe disruption to westbound traffic on the A27. A young East Preston man's car went out of control and ploughed though the wall at the bottom of the hill having knocked down two lamp posts on the way, and ended up hitting the side of the house. The car caught fire and the driver was rescued from the burning vehicle by passing motorists. The car was burnt out but the fire did not spread to the building. The driver was later treated for minor injuries.
A young very shy black cat has been in the Ham Manor area for about a month. The cat seems to like the West Drive/South Drive location. It is being fed by a resident, who has put a notice up on the tree at the West Drive/South Drive crossroads. If you think this cat is yours, contact Angmering Village Life.