Angmering Village Life
News Archive
March 2012
Angmering Community Choir is a new choir established in partnership with West Sussex Music Service. It meets between 5.45pm and 6.45pm each Thursday at Angmering Community Centre, Foxwood Avenue. They are just looking for people who enjoy singing for pleasure. Singers may not have wonderful voices; there is no audition. They don't even have to be able to read music. A teacher from West Sussex Music Service leads the choir.
To find out more or register your interest, contact the Community Centre
Office on 01903 773982 or email
office@angmeringcommunitycentre.org.uk
The next film to be shown at Angmering Community Centre is the acclaimed "WAR HORSE" [PG13] at 7.45pm on Saturday 14 April. Albert (Jeremy Irvine) enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
Tickets priced at £5 are available from the Community Centre Office, Woodies News, and Angmering Framing & Stitches. Association Members can obtain a 10% Discount – in advance at Centre Office only.
The following film to be shown on Saturday 12 May is "TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY".
Due to a couple of minor problems last week, the opening date of The Lamb has been moved to Tuesday April 3rd. Issues with gas supply and the new kitchen have pushed the opening date back 5 days, but only a few days beyond the target date set six months ago. Thre pub's slightly revised programme is as follows:-
Week starting Sunday March 25th - Staff training, kitchen testing, clearing site of skips and debris. Following that, it will be necessary to test working practices, so on the Friday evening March 30th they will have their first trial dinner with the staff serving dinner to 14 people - the owners' extended family.
Week starting Sunday April 1st - Final check of services. Monday April 2nd will be the 'Launch Evening'. This is an invited guest list of 58. The purpose is to test the till systems, servers movement, kitchen performance under a full restaurant, beer pumps and general services. Says Lee Newbon "We have so many people to thank who have helped us restore the old Inn to its former glories, so the invitees for the Launch Evening will be made up of suppliers, various contractors, our solicitors, accountants, architects, surveyors, business advisors, press, family and a few friends who have helped us so much in filling skips, scrubbing walls and doing all the tough jobs that were needed to do after the state Punch left the building in. Just to illustrate how much junk we have moved out of the building, we have now spent over £2,000 on skips alone; this does not include the main contractors' skips".
The Lamb's facilities will continue to be improved after opening, especially to the back of the building. Further improvements will be made to the structure in the summer; the timber cladding to the north wall and the back of the building will be replaced and extra insulation added. That will complete the total renovation to the outside walls.
Lee adds "So all being well, we will open the doors on Tuesday April 3rd at 11 am. We hope you like what we have done. Our task was to restore The Lamb to its former glories and produce a business model that would ensure The Lamb could pull a pint and provide a meal for the residents of Angmering for many years to come".
West Sussex County Council has given an order to their contractors for the new double yellow lines in Greenwood Drive. They anticipate that the works will be completed and the traffic regulation order brought into operation by the end of April.
A/15/12/TC - Fell 1no. Ornamental Cherry & 1no. Hankerchief tree within the Angmering Conservation Area in St Nicholas Gardens, The Square For: Angmering Parish Council.
A/16/12 - Demolition of existing bungalow and construction of detached house & double garage at Hillview Farm, Roundstone Lane. For: Ms C Young.
A/19/12 - Proposed extension / alteration at Maraval, Ham Manor Way. For: Mr & Mrs R Mowat.
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 19 April 2012.
To see applications, plans, design statements, etc, type the Application Reference Number (such as those above) into Arun District Council's "Application Search Facility " , click on the Search button, and click on the hyperlink reference when selected application is returned - then select "Documents".
Barratt Homes' Presentation to
Council
(See link to Parish Council's minutes (below) for full
report)
County Councillor's Report
County
Councillor Urquhart reported that West Sussex had not increased its precept for
the coming year, having achieved the required £80m of savings without
further cuts in service levels. On the points coming out of the discussion with
Barratt Homes it should be clear that the County had no budget for Highway
Improvements without developer contributions and new schools would be the gift
of the government, only if the need was proven.
Co-option of new councillor and resignation of
Stephen Winn
No applications had been received from people
wishing to become councillors and further attempts would be made to ensure that
both positions would be filled at the next Parish Council meeting.
Angmering Library
a) The building
survey had been carried out by Rackhams Surveyors and this had thrown up a
number of issues regarding outstanding maintenance matters. The service level
agreements and lease were being worked on and legal advice would be sought
before anything was signed and sealed.
b) On a proposal by Councillor
Graham, seconded by Councillor Francis it was RESOLVED with one abstention
(Councillor Biss) that the Clerk undertake the protocol to obtain Borrowing
Approval for a loan of up to £300,000, that amount possibly being
necessary to cover the cost of acquisition plus the expenses resulting from the
purchase. It was made clear that this was not approval to take up the loan, but
just to enable that to happen when the final decision to make the purchase was
made.
Angmering Sports & Recreation Association
(ASRA) Joint Working Party
Councillor Shire had circulated a
report (see attachments to minutes) on the progress of the working
group’s work to date and expressed a need for the whole project to go back
to square one, since there was no record of what had been done and said in the
past. The Clerk was instructed that the invoice raised by Saville Jones should
not be paid, on the basis that there is no contract between them and the Parish
Council. On a proposal by Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Turner it
was RESOLVED that the working group commence negotiations with Arun District
Council for the transfer of the Palmer Road Recreation Ground to the Parish
Council.
To read the full minutes of this meeting,
click here (PDF
file)
To see the attachments to minutes of this
meeting,
click here (PDF
file)
A/14/12 - Removal of existing roof and four flat roof dormers, replace with new roof, consolidate mixed exterior wall finishes with single type cladding all round at Quiet Waters, Roundstone Lane. For: Mr L Fewkes.
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 5 April 2012.
To see applications, plans, design statements, etc, type the Application Reference Number (such as those above) into Arun District Council's "Application Search Facility " , click on the Search button, and click on the hyperlink reference when selected application is returned - then select "Documents".
Our Member of Parliament, Nick Herbert, officially opened the new
Haskins Garden Centre in Angmering last Friday (9 March), following a £12
million investment in the site which has seen the Centre become one of the
largest in the country. Over 50 people have been recruited for the additional
full and part time jobs for the new garden centre, which has been constructed
over the last twelve months on fifteen acres of land where commercial
greenhouses were located aside the original Roundstone Garden Centre.
The new Centre has a 500 space car park with environmentally friendly lighting and its own bus stop. The indoor and outdoor plant areas are twice the size of the old garden centre and include extensive indoor departments including houseplants, gifts, books, pets, clothing and furniture. A 460 seat restaurant provides visitors with a wide range of food and drink, with features including a coffee lounge, a traditional stone hearth pizza oven, a daily carvery and a cake counter. There is free Wi-Fi for internet users and a large patio area for alfresco dining. An extendable function room, named the Roundstone room, is available to organisations and private parties.
Warren Haskins, Chairman of the garden centre group founded by his great grandfather in Dorset in 1882, said that he was grateful to Nick Herbert for taking time out of his busy schedule to perform the opening and tour one of the largest new build centre's in the UK. Mr Haskins said: "Based on the success of our garden centres in Dorset and Hampshire, we are confident that our Roundstone centre will become a favourite destination for anyone with a love of horticulture". Mr Herbert was given a tour of the new Centre by group Chairman Warren Haskins and then cut a large cake to mark the official opening.
Speaking after the opening ceremony, Mr Herbert commented: "I was delighted to be asked to open the Garden Centre officially and it's great that Haskins' largest outlet is here in Angmering. The large number of people who are already visiting the Centre shows what a popular place it will be for local people. It is very encouraging indeed that the company should be making such a significant investment, despite the economic climate, creating a large number of new jobs for local people."
Properties Sub-Committee
It was
AGREED to recommend to full Parish Council that a new committee be formed
consisting of five councillors to manage all Council Assets and buildings. It
was suggested that the new group be named the Building and Asset Management
Committee and would ensure that all major assets and buildings were properly
looked after, including the Community Centre, the Parish Office and, once
agreement on the details is reached, the Library.
Grass Cutting Contracts
The Clerk
explained that the detail of new arrangements were being discussed at the
Environment Committee, but Policy & Finance Committee would need to
consider the change of principle required to enable the continuation on a
permanent basis of the employment of the Groundsman, should that be part of the
future arrangements. A contract to carry out work would be for a set number of
years, whereas an employee’s contract would become permanent
automatically. It was AGREED in principle that Environment Committee would be
free to consider the retention of an employed Groundsman as part of the final
solution for the new contract arrangements. Consideration may also be given to
the purchase of some grass-cutting machinery to enable the Groundsman to carry
out some additional duties to enhance the work being expected of contractors
for the future.
Angmering Library
The Clerk
outlined progress on the project since the last meeting. The building survey
would be undertaken by Rackhams the following day after which the resulting
report would be circulated to all councillors for observations. The Clerk had
received first drafts of Service Level agreements and the proposed content of
the lease and had responded with his first observations on these. New versions
would be available shortly and, at this time, these would be circulated also.
Once these matters were in place a meeting of councillors would take place to
thrash out the Parish Council options and suggest a response to West Sussex
County Council. After that meeting the matter would be considered by full
Council and some final decisions made.
To read the full minutes of this meeting,
click here (PDF
file)
Barratt/David Wilson Homes faced the first real opposition to their plans to develop land to the east of Roundstone Lane when they made a presentation of initial feedback from their proposals last night to Angmering Parish Council in the King Suite of the Village Hall. With about 60 members of the public also attending, the venue was clearly inadequate for all parties. It seemed that neither the developers nor the Parish Council had enquired of one another on the facilities and equipment that would be required for the presentation.
The developers did not know that the public were able to attend Parish Council meetings and it did not help that some of their team failed to arrive on time due to the amount of traffic on the roads. They provided statistics and feedback from their Public Exhibition on 4 February and identified areas where concerns had been shown such as roads, education and health. However, they offered no real solution to those issues.
Challenged by councillors, it became clear that some of the data in the developers' possession was either out of date or was being interpreted to their advantage. It transpired, for example, that there were only 21 cases where urgent housing was currently required by Angmering residents (i.e. Arun Categories A & B).
Rather bizarrely against the tone of the meeting and outwith a protocol set by previous Angmering Parish Councils, the Parish Clerk invited the developers to assist in the drawing up of Angmering's Neighbourhood Plan. It was unclear whether all or any of the parish councillors were in agreement with this invitation. Neither could it be determined by villagers as there was insufficient time for any public questions.
The Lamb continues to be on schedule to open on the 29th of March. There have been a number of issues in the past weeks that have been resolved. The only issues now faced are the fitting out of the kitchen (scheduled for 19th and 20th) and the enlarged gas meter which has been promised for the 22nd) - The Lamb cannot open without it, so all all fingers are being crossed at the moment. The 5 letting bedrooms have all been named after past landlords, Joseph Collick, John Smith, Henry Ragless, Zebedee Peskett and of course Old Wilkie (Thomas Wilkinson).
Owner Lee Newbon tells Angmering Village Life "It will be busy at the pub this coming week - the pub signage is due to go up, the furniture is being delivered, curtains, soft furnishings, beds carpets etc all going in, and painting on the outside will continue. We have now completed our team to run the pub - just a couple of part-time waiting staff still to be employed and patr- time bar relief. We are continuing to interview this week having had around 40 applicants. We shall be turning our attention to the back of the building in the next two weeks; it needs improving for the summer, so still much to do, but getting there".
At Angmering Parish Council meeting next Monday (12 March) both the Parish Council and residents will have the opportunity to ask questions of Barratt/David Wilson Homes on their plans to build 301 homes on land east of Roundstone Lane including the site of Manor Nurseries. The developers will be giving a presentation of their proposals which will include the feedback from their public exhibition in the village which was held on 4 February.
Barratt/David Wilson Homes have been given a one-hour slot at the start of the Monday's meeting (see agenda), which will be held at Angmering Village Hall, Station Road at 7.30pm. Parish councillors will be able to question them and, if time permits, villagers will also be allowed to quiz the developers.
( See more on this issue in today's Littlehampton Gazette website article -click here )
| Sat 10 Mar |
Angmering Community Centre Bramley Green 7.45pm (doors open 7.30pm) |
Angmering Community Centre Association | Film Show "Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows" PG13 Staring Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Stephen Fry & Jarad Harris. Tickets priced at £5 are available from the Community Centre Office, Woodies News, & Angmering Framing and Stitches. Association Members can obtain a 10% Discount – in advance at Centre Office |
A/11/12/A - 1 No non-illuminated fascia sign and 3 No non-illuminated box signs (lottery sign, pay point sign and post office sign), all box signs to be illuminated by projecting spotlights at the Co-Op Store, The Square. For: The Southern Co-Operative.
A/12/12 - Extension/alteration at 6 Ham Manor Farm Cottages, West Drive. For: Mr Parker & Miss Martin.
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 29 March 2012.
To see applications, plans, design statements, etc, type the Application Reference Number (such as those above) into Arun District Council's "Application Search Facility " , click on the Search button, and click on the hyperlink reference when selected application is returned - then select "Documents".
More than 80 people crammed themselves into the King Suite in the Village Hall last night (Friday) during the Open Evening held by our Member of Parliament, Nick Herbert. While Mr Herbert was willing to talk about any local or national issues, it soon became quite clear that the principal concern of the vast majority attending was the proposed Barratt/David Wilson Homes development on the east of Roundstone Lane. Virtually the whole session was given up to residents voicing their concerns over the development. There was not a single comment in favour of the project although, in general, residents felt that there was a need to provide a limited number of affordable homes in the parish over the next 17 years.
All three of our District Councillors and the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Parish Clerk of Angmering Parish Council were on hand to answer queries of attending parishioners. A number of questions concerned Angmering's emerging Neighbourhood Plan and its completion, and the process procedures of Arun District Council (ADC) relating to planning applications. District Councillor Julie Hazlehurst made it quite clear that the Council did not accept pressure from developers and were quite prepared to take High Court action following an adverse Planning Inspectorate's decision if a planning application was significant enough to compromise Arun's planning policies.
Mr Herbert talked of the Coalition's new approach to planning and expressed personal concern over increasing rural development and building projects that were unsustainable. He intends to contact Barratt/David Wilson Homes himself to discuss their proposed development.
Apart from the east of Roundstone Lane development, there were questions asked of ADC regarding the ASDA supermarket and its impact on the A259. Additionally, representatives of both the Community Centre and the Village Hall expressed concern to Mr Herbert over the financial impact and interpretation of new legislation relating to Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) licences.