Local items on the agenda include: -

* a progress report on matters considered at the last meeting in December such as the Clays Hill speed limit petition and the Bramber Road bus stop relocation,

* a report by Sgt Boyes on local policing issues (with hopefully feedback on action being taken to enforce no parking on the zig zag lines next to the zebra crossing in Steyning High Street),

* a report by Local Highway Manager, Neil Smith, on highway action re the recent bad weather,

* consideration of bids for community grants (inc. Steyning tourist info point funding, Steyning First Responders and Steyning area Youth Clubs), and

* Public ‘Talk with Us’ open forum when the public can raise any local concerns such as parking in narrow roads, speed limits, 20 mph zones, community safety, street scene etc.

The meeting starts at 7pm and everybody is welcome.

A great inspiring speech from Lib Dem Leader, Nick Clegg today at our Spring Conference in Birmingham. He has emailed me to say: -

“I’m not the kingmaker.

45 million voters are the kingmakers.

Today I’ve used my keynote speech to our Spring Conference in Birmingham to make that one very simple, very important point. Some days the papers say our party is doing a deal with Labour. Some days the Conservatives. But they can’t predict the future. I can’t predict the future.

Voters should give politicians their marching orders - not the other way around.

We’ve made it clear how our Party will change Britain.

Under the Liberal Democrats, no-one will pay tax on the first £10,000 they earn. That’s the most fundamental change to the tax system for decades.

We will give every child the fair start they deserve, by reducing class sizes and increasing one to one tuition in our schools.

We’ll rebalance the economy so that Britain is no longer just betting on things, but Britain starts building things again.

And we will build a clean, open, fair politics.

Things don’t have to be the way they are. The coming election is a chance to get fairness and to get change.

Almost 1 in 4 voters chose the Liberal Democrats at the last election. If that increased to 1 in 3, we could lead the next government.

That is what we can achieve together. Thank you for all you are doing to bring it about.

With all best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats”

Click on the link to read Nick’s speech in full.

In West Sussex in 2009, only 20% of children receiving free school meals achieved 5+ A*-C GCSEs, including Maths and English, compared with 54% of children who do not have free school meals.

This shows an urgent need for the Lib Dem policy of a pupil premium of £2500 pa based on all children receiving free school meals, not just those in deprived areas, to boost funds going to our schools. Currently West Sussex schools receive about £4400 per pupil in Government Grant compared with schools in deprived areas such as Lambeth, which receive some £6800 per pupil. The use of this extra money has enabled Lambeth children receiving free school meals to achieve a 50% success rate in achieving 5+ A* - C GCSEs.

The Lib Dem pupil premium, which would be extra money for schools funded by savings elsewhere, would enable smaller school classes and support the learning needs of disadvantaged children.

Following a request made to me at the Steyning Showcase event I asked the Local Highway Manager if a traffic sign could be provided to indicate the Village Hall in the High Street.

I have been informed that although village halls are signed where they are remote from the main road, this is not the case in Upper Beeding. So in line with the County Council’s stated objectives of reducing sign clutter it is considered that such a sign would not be appropriate in this instance.

The newsletter is now available on the Parish Council  website; please click the link below to view.  There are also a limited number of hardcopies (black and white only) available from Small Dole post office, Beeding post office, and Beeding newsagent.

http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/parish/upperbeeding/Mar-10.pdf

In view of the serious concerns of local people and the background of waste disposal in Small Dole, I asked for this planning application to be considered by the Planning Committee rather than being delegated to officer decision as had been proposed. This has now been agreed and the Planning Committee will now make the decision.

I have also formally objected to this application, as although I fully support more facilities for recycling, these facilities should be based near where the waste arises - in this case probably along the coast. It is entirely wrong that such waste should be brought up from the coast or from urban areas elsewhere, in heavy lorries, through the countryside and/or the new National Park, to be dumped on Small Dole. This village has suffered more than enough from the traffic related to current and previous waste disposal facilities.

In addition, as I understand the position, although the proposal is to handle 10 - 15 thousand tons of waste this year, it is so worded that, if granted permission, the applicant would be permitted to handle 75 thousand tons a year. This would mean an additional 30 lorries a day going through Upper Beeding and Small Dole (and the National Park if coming from the south) seven days a week. So this facility could well be bigger in the end than the Waste Sussex County Council MRF at Ford!  

Finally, it should be noted that this site has not been included on the long list of possible sites as suitable for waste management in the West Sussex draft Minerals & Waste Planning Framework. This should be included in the report to the Planning Committee and will hopefully influence the decision against the application.

Provided by Compass Travel and funded by Tesco, this free bus service operates six different services throughout the week from Pulborough, Burgess Hill, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and Telscombe Cliffs to the Holmbush Centre in Shoreham.

The service for Steyning and Upper Beeding runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at Burgess Hill and going through Upper Beeding at 11.37am, Bramber at 11.39am and Steyning at 11.43am, reaching Holmbush at 12.05pm. The return journey starts at 1.55pm, leaving nearly two hours for shopping in Tesco’s, M&S and or lunch at McDonalds or M&S.

The re-launched bus service includes new and slightly bigger buses, all of which have low floor access.

It is great that Tesco have shown their commitment to continuing this free bus service in partnership with Compass Travel, and hopefully this will encourage more people out of their cars to visit this excellent shopping centre in Shoreham.

For more details about the bus times of the Holmbush Express go to the link to Compass Bus on this website.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm at the Steyning Centre, and one of the major debates could well be on whether the Steyning should become a Town or remain a Parish. No doubt there will be many good arguments for both points of view, but, at the end of the day it will not involve any additional powers nor costs for the council should it decide to formally become a town council.  

I have always considered Steyning to be a Town and would support the suggestion this should be recognised in the name of its Council. Apart from the name, the only difference from a parish council is that the council chairman could become the Town Mayor. I understand that it has been suggested that this would not happen in Steyning if the Council decides to go for town council status; but even if it did it should not involve any extra costs – the role of Town Mayor would be the same as parish council chairman. The outcome of the public consultation in the next newsletter and the discussion at the Annual Parish Meeting on 29 March will be very interesting!

There is also an excellent report from the Traffic Calming Sub-Committee, under the Minutes of the Highways & Lighting Committee of 23 February, covering a possible 20mph zone for the Town. I certainly agree with the feeling of the Sub-Committee that with only six access roads, a high proportion of pedestrians and cyclists, together with the school sites, a 20 mph zone covering the whole Town would be appropriate. Certainly much better than having a few 20 mph limits on specific roads with physical measures to help enforce the limit in those places. Locally in the south the Liberal Democrats running Portsmouth have implemented a successful 20 mph limit on all the residential roads in the City, and whilst Steyning is much smaller there is no reason why such a scheme should not be equally successful here.

Of the six possible entry points to the 20 mph zone: -

Bostal Road junction with Bramber Road,

Bramber Road south of the Bostal Road junction,

Newham Lane junction with Bostal Road,

Horsham Road at Bayards,

Canons Way junction with Steyning Bypass, and

Roman Road/Castle Lane junction,

the first I would move to the Bostal Road access to Mount Park, and the last to the Bramber Roundabout junction with Castle Lane (although I accept that this is in Bramber).

With both Upper Beeding and Steyning considering 20mph zones (and with Bramber soon to get a 20 mph limit in The Street), the approval of new criteria for reduced speed limits, which will be considered by the County Council at the end of March, will be a necessary step forward if such zones are to be progressed.  

Go to the link to ‘Parish Plans’ to look up the Parish Plans for Ashurst, Bramber, Steyning, Upper Beeding and Woodmancote

This is great news, as it was possible that the service would end in April after twelve month’s operation. Speaking to the Managing Director of Compass Travel yesterday he confirmed that with a few minor route changes the bus service had been secured to continue over the summer months.

These minor amendments to the route at the end of March will be to try to gain more passengers to help the bus service become commercially viable. The Wantley Hill area of Henfield will now served, and after going through North Lancing the bus will go to Worthing via Lancing Town Centre. The last journey from Worthing will also now leave 30 minutes earlier. These changes are all in response to public requests.

A new timetable booklet will shortly be available and supplies will be delivered to local libraries, council offices etc 

Hopefully this continuing commitment to this two hourly bus service throughout the day between Henfield and Worthing will be rewarded by a continuing increase in passengers to enable it to be maintained after the summer is over. 

At the request of residents of Oreham Common off Horn Lane, near Small Dole, I have asked the Local Highway Manager to arrange a traffic investigation into extending the 40 mph limit from near Woods Mill to beyond the Oreham Common junction.

As a fairly regular user of Horn Lane, I fully understand local concerns about the lack of signs indicating the junction with Oreham Common, which is between two bends in Horn Lane. Vehicles emerging from Oreham Common are often passed at speed by Horn Lane traffic coming round one of the bends, unaware that they are approaching a road junction.

In addition, as all the properties in Horn Lane, including Oreham Common, have the same post code, delivery vans and horse boxes often have to reverse out of the Oreham Common junction having been mistakenly directed to incorrect destinations by satellite navigation.

If anybody has a view on this matter they could attend the next Chanctonbury County Local Committee meeting on 17 March at the Steyning Centre, Steyning to contribute to the debate under the public forum section of the agenda.

I was in attendance all day from the opening at 10am to the close at 4pm and was able to visit nearly all the displays. The Centre was packed with people nearly all day with only a slight lull over lunchtime. By the end of the day it was thought that well over 1000 people had visited the event.

It was a long day speaking to many of the people on the displays and also the visitors, being updated on local activities and campaigns which I am supporting and passing on information on progress being achieved at County Hall.

The new ‘green’ Steyning Centre solar panels (part funded by Viridor Credits West Sussex Committee that I chair) were switch on by the local MP. On speaking to the Parish Council Committee Chairman responsible for the work on achieving the installation of the solar panels I learned that he is now looking towards cavity wall and loft insulation at the Centre. I suggested that the Parish Council should also be encouraging other local businesses and individual residents to investigate similar work in their premises and homes to help reduce our energy and carbon use in the Town.

The Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) display included a number of leaflets from County Services, with leaflets on how to apply for a CLC community grant towards small projects. I also ensured there was a plentiful supply of Viridor Credit leaflets on information on how to apply for larger community grants. In addition the 3-in-1 team was present to sign up young people between 5 and 19 in full time education for the free discount, ID and reduced fare card.

All in all it was a great day, everybody I spoke to thought that it had been a tremendous success, with a considerable amount of networking between the people on the various displays and much interest shown and people signing up to the voluntary groups.

Well done to Steyning Parish Council for organising the event!

Representative[s] from the Public Transport 3-in-1 team will also be present and they will be able to take photos on the spot for young people’s 3-in-1 cards in the stage area. So if you are or have children between 5 and 19 in full time education, and use the bus services at any time but have not got a 3-in-1 card (For ID, reduced fares and discounts on a range of good/activities in the County), make sure you obtain a card this Saturday!    

CLC officers will be promoting the Community Initiative Fund, from which grants are available for community projects, and advertising the next CLC meeting that takes place on 17 March at 7pm in the Steyning Centre. 

Promotional literature for other County Council services will also be available. 

Finally I hope to be present for most of the day and will also have some Viridor Community Grant literature available for larger community projects.

I also understand that the Parish Council is planning some additional improvements to Newmans Gardens car park and are likely to include some more cycle racks there.

Hopefully more local people will now use their bikes to go to the High Street rather than attempt to park in one of the few legal on-street parking spaces.

Finally works are due to start next week on Monday 1st March to improve the highway drainage outside No.3 & 4 St.Michaels Cottages, Tanyard Lane. The scheme is expected to take up to 7 working days to complete, weather permitting. The work involves excavation and installation of a new soakaway chamber. Work will generally take place Monday to Friday from 07.30hrs – 16.30hrs and may continue into the following week. There will be no working over the weekend.

Due to the narrow road width and location of underground services, it will be necessary for Tanyard Lane to be closed to through traffic for the period of the works. The temporary closure will be at the western end of Tanyard Lane. The alternative route for vehicles, including buses, will be via High Street, Church Street and Church Lane. Residents who live along Tanyard Lane will have vehicular and pedestrian access to their properties from either end.

The work will be supervised by Mr Tim Smith, so should residents/visitors be concerned about any aspect of the work being likely to cause a problem that could be helped by special arrangements; e.g. for wheelchair users, less mobile or visually impaired please contact him on 01243 642105.

The Local Highway Manager has now had the pipe cleared and apparently there was long sucking noise and the water disappeared down the gullies!

Hopefully this action will resolve the problem, but local residents living near the area will undoubtedly keep a close eye on the situation.

I was informed that the council was responsible for 66,489 tonnes of CO2 last year. The target for the year is to reduce emissions from the County Council estate by 798 tonnes per quarter, and to influence the county’s schools to reduce their emissions by 845 tonnes per quarter.

The current position is that work has been identified to reduce emissions accounting for 75% of this quarter’s emissions from the council’s estate, whilst a school carbon budgeting steering group is being piloted in three areas using a self help guide for schools wishing to undertake minor building work.

I will ask for regular updates on progress being made.

The Tories preferred to keep the existing publicity budget, the provision for members spending projects, the number of Cabinet Members and the inflation provision of 1.5% for staff pay increases during the year (despite local government employers pay freeze proposal to the Unions). Many Lib Dem speakers made such a strong case for the Youth Service that the Council Leader did agree that if the pay award was less than 1.5% the saving would be ploughed back into the Youth Service.

Council also voted to give a better chance for reductions in speed limits in future

As reported previously, the Council also considered a proposal to revise the speed limit criteria in the County. This was agree overwhelmingly, despite concerns from the Cabinet Member about the success of 30 mph limits being introduced with few if any enforcement measures. He agreed to accept the will of most councillors to revise the current speed limit policy and will report back to the next Council meeting in March on the revised criteria, which will give County Local Committees more scope and opportunities to recommend speed limits that respond to local aspirations.

This is great news, and as I said at the Council meeting, will give a much greater chance of the speed limit on Clays Hill in Bramber being reduced from 40 to 30 mph as called for in the recent petition, which is supported by the three local parish councils.

The Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) has some £12,000 left available to meet any grant bids at it’s meeting on 17 March in Steyning. Although a few applications for grants have been received for consideration at that meeting, any more bids received soon could also be considered.

The budget for these grants in 2010/11 could be much less than has been available in the current financial year. This is not to encourage spurious grant bids on the off-chance, but if there are any voluntary groups in the Chanctonbury area that have nearly completed work on preparing community projects, they should get their bids in now!

Go to the Chanctonbury CLC link on this website to check the eligibility of the project and fill in the application form online.

Although the efficiency savings can generally be supported, my colleagues and I are concerned at the late decision to save £2m from the Youth Services Budget before carrying out a thorough investigation of the way efficiencies can be achieved without reducing the service. In addition it is a concern that the repairs to road damage and potholes in 2010/2011 will be funded by re-allocating £2m from the footway programme. The extensive review showing the need for more footway work seems to have been a waste of time. Finally at a time when local businesses need support, can it be right that the provision for keeping West Sussex Working and support for the economic downturn is being reduced by over £700,000?  

The other agenda item of interest is a Notice of Motion from a Conservative member attempting to amend the Council’s speed limit policy in line with revised Government Guidance that 30mph should be the norm in villages. And that the relationship between average speed and speed limits is removed from the County’s policy.  If approved the revised policy would give County Local Committees more scope and opportunities to recommend speed limits that respond to local aspirations. This would also assist them to recommend a programme to deliver a change in driver behaviour.

The mover of the Motion wants the County to set a target in the 2010/2011 Corporate Plan of revising downwards speed limits in at least 30 villages with priority given to those communities with existing 40 mph limits. Not surprisingly the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning & Transport is opposed to the Motion with the usual reasons for opposing reduced speed limits. He is, however, considering setting up a special commission to consider the challenges posed to communities by inappropriate speeds, to look at speed reduction best practice elsewhere and to recommend any changes in County criteria for speed limits by the end of 2010. An attempt to kick the matter into the long grass?

There is likely to be a cross-party debate on this Motion. Many members from all parties want to see reduced speed limits in their areas but are usually blocked by the current County speed limit criteria. In this area many residents want to see a 30 mph on both Clays Hill and the Horsham Road entrances to Steyning, and in both Steyning and Upper Beeding 20 mph on some roads is being demanded - all of which I support. I have no doubt that if the Motion is passed it would help achieve speed limit reductions in Steyning and Upper Beeding (Bramber has already won the case for a 20mph limit in the Street).

Minerals

a) Ham Farm - opposite Wiston Park on the A283, next to Horsebrook Cottage/Ham Farm (14 hectares with potential reserves of 850,000 tonnes of soft sand). Was previously considered in 2005 Minerals DPD but area now reduced. Main concern would be the environmental eyesore in this rural area designated as adjacent to ancient woodland, and not exactly enhancing the view from Wiston Park. In addition the extra lorry traffic on the A283 would make the pedestrian crossings in Steyning, Bramber and Upper Beeding more dangerous. Provision of traffic light controls at the most used of these crossings should be a requirement of any planning approval.

b) Shoreham Cement Works at Upper Beeding - extraction of chalk for the manufacture of cement by expanding the existing quarry southwards. (21 hectares with reserves of 12-14 million tonnes.) I am sure that local people with longer memories than me will recall the traffic conditions when this was an operational quarry in the past, but re-opening such a site in the new South Downs National Park must be questionable and should be opposed. Although a new roundabout access on the A283 is suggested, again the increase in lorry traffic must be of considerable concern. Provision of traffic light controls at the most used of the pedestrian crossings in our area should be a requirement of any planning approval.

Waste

a) Shoreham Cement Works at Upper Beeding - refers to built waste facility. This could be anything from an incinerator to a household waste facility for the Chanctonbury area. (And of course could be in addition to the new chalk extraction mentioned above.) Again I am opposed to such a use in the middle of the South Downs National Park. The increased traffic would be a major concern. The suggested possibility of restoring the rail link to Shoreham and/or use of the river for transport of material is interesting, although probably unlikely; and what would happen to the Downs Link? In this case no new roundabout is suggested but the increase in lorry traffic must be of considerable concern. Provision of traffic light controls at the most used of the pedestrian crossings in our area should be a requirement of any planning approval. If this site was approved alongside a new chalk extraction quarry the impact on our local environment would surely be horrendous.

b) Star Road Trading Estate, Partridge Green - could be a household waste site for the Chanctonbury area or an industrial recycling facility. Most concern would be extra traffic on the Horsham Road through Ashurst and on the A283.

c) Golding Barn, Henfield Road, Upper Beeding - this would be for construction and demolition waste. This is an existing quarry of 2.31 hectares. Some of this type of waste has already been taken into this site under licence from County Planners.

I am sure many people will be able to add comments to these proposals. Please contact me with your views.

As the ground conditions are not suitable for heavy machines there will be a small digger and a chipper, chain saw, small tools

The small trees will be chipped on site and the chips will be left on site to mulch. This is a sustainable way of managing of green waste. The roots will be stockpiled at the side of the road and removed when the cutting work is complete. Any thing that is too big for the one gang involved to handle will be referred to tree surgeons to be felled at a later date.

The work is likely to take 2 to 3 days, and the Local Highway Manager will be on site on the Tuesday about mid- morning.

Once the work is completed the visibility splay will accord with the original plans for this junction with the Steyning By pass, and hopefully improve visibility of traffic from the Washington direction for vehicles turning right out of Canons Way.

Many people will be aware of the continuing flooding of the Horsham Road outside the Leisure Centre whenever we have periods of heavy rain.

I organised a site meeting on Monday to discuss the matter with the Local Highway Engineer, and am pleased to say that in the short term he has added the drainage points concerned to the jetting list to be cleared. 

For the longer term he has added a full survey of the drainage provision in the area to this jetting work with a view to developing a scheme that might resolve the flooding problem. 

We also discussed the flooding which takes place on footpath 2600 outside St Andrew’s Primary School. This is a continuing problem that often leads, when it has been raining, to children attending school with wet feet or using the road, which is dangerous. Recent photographs have revealed that it is more of a ponding problem rather than a ditch related flooding issue and so the Local Highway Manager has arranged to carry out maintenance work to raise the level of the footway where this ponding takes place. Hopefully this will be done soon, but priority is currently being given to repairing winter damage and potholes in the carriageways.  

There is some concern about the ditch next to the footway, and since this is the responsibility of Horsham District Council appropriate District Council officers on behalf of District Councillor George Cockman are investigating any necessary works.

What he did not say was how; if the Conservatives became the next government, what he and his colleagues would do to help reduce the continuing commercial demands for such landfill provision.

What I would have said was the Secretary of State for the Environment should: -

1. Immediately introduce a government policy of zero waste to landfill,
2. Direct that no provision should be made by County Councils (such as West Sussex) to take waste from London Councils,
3. Require that County Councils, in preparing their Minerals and Waste Planning Frameworks, should make no provision for landfill sites. (West Sussex is currently preparing its Planning Framework.), and
4. Require commercial and industrial businesses (which produce 30% of the waste in the County) to meet the same targets for recycling with the same financial penalties for non-compliance and use of landfill sites as local government. (This would dramatically reduce landfill requirements in the county and make the business case for Laybrook Quarry much less viable.)

Government action is required to make landfill sites unviable and Liberal Democrats will continue to press for such action.

A full review of the library service has taken place using customer feedback to help build a service which makes the best use of modern technology whilst doing everything possible to shape its services to what individuals and communities most want from their local library.

The County Council is therefore proposing to implement a new design framework for the library service, which will provide consistent Longer opening hours for Steyning Library and affordable levels of service for communities of similar size and demographics, with some details left for implementation following local consultation. 

The great news is that the opening hours for Steyning Library are to increase from 34.5 to 39 hours per week. The Library would be open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and for 4hours on Saturday.

Senior library managers will be available for residents to talk to about the opening hours and to express their views in Steyning Library from 10am to 12pm on Tuesday 16 February.

From 1 to 20 February forms will be available in the Library for residents to record their views on the proposals. In addition there will be a chart showing the pattern of library use over the last year.

There is to be a further review of the mobile library service, for implementation by May 2010 if feasible.

 In particular we raised the proposed £1m+ cut in the provision for highway maintenance- this appears to fly in the face of the substantial spending now needed to address the vast number of potholes following the recent ice and snow. 

I also expressed considerable concern at the budgeted cut of some £400,000 in public transport support – unless this will be offset by income to that budget from the rise in on-street car parking charges (allowed for under the Act of Parliament concerned). The reduction of bus services which would follow from a £400,000t cut is hardly the right way to go to address the need to reduce the use of carbon from car use required by the County’s support of the 10/10 campaign.  

The £2m cut in the youth budget would be dreadful if it is allowed to take place. The possible impact on the most vulnerable youngsters and so subsequent increase in anti-social behaviour seems to matter little.  

In addition question marks continue over the achievability of the £22m efficiency savings provided for in the Budget, and this was highlighted by the provision of a special reserve of some £7m in the Budget in case these efficiencies are not made. 

And all of this without even seeing the Corporate Plan for the year on which this Budget is supposedly based. It could not be finished in time because of the snow!! Well whilst some staff time had to quite rightly be diverted to dealing with the problems caused by the snow to the most vulnerable people in the County, it does seem amazing that since the preparation of the Budget taking into account that Plan started months ago, not even a draft Plan was made available to the Committee to see.    

Finally the Budget provides for a 2.5% Council Tax increase. Yes it is the lowest increase proposed since council tax was introduced in 1993, but this % increase is likely to be much higher than those in work, whether private or public sector, will receive. And this ignores the many who are on low fixed incomes. There is much more work to do to keep Council Tax increases down and still protect the most needed services.

The current position is that I forwarded the petition on this with about 300 signatures to the Local Highway Manager, at the end of November. I have subsequently been informed that, when prepared, an Information Report on this will be made to the Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC).   

Assessments of existing speeds have been made in the past, but the new puffin crossing on Bramber Road may well alter traffic conditions and this will need to be taken into account in the Report.  

Hopefully the Report will be made to the next Chanctonbury CLC meeting, due to take place in Steyning on 17 March. I will let people know in due if the matter is on the agenda so that they and the representatives of the three parish councils can attend to support the proposed 30 mph limit, and make their views known to the other members of the Committee.

Do you live near the Small Dole Landfill Site and suffer from the regular smells from the site?

I have been informed by the Small Dole Action Group that a meeting about this will take place in the Small Dole Village Hall on 27 January. At the meeting, which will start at 7pm, Gwen Evans of the Environmental Law firm Hugh James will explain how they can, on behalf of Small Dole residents, serve an injunction on Viridor, the operator of the landfill site, to prevent the continuation of the odour nuisance and also to compensate residents for loss of enjoyment of their homes caused by the nuisance.

Gwen Evans has explained to Small Dole representatives that the legal action will be undertaken on a No Win No Fee basis, with insurance covering any financial exposure to the community. In the event that the case is a success, compensation to each household concerned could substantial.

I understand that all local people will be welcome. It is very important, however, that everyone interested in being included in the group action attend the meeting on 27 January, as it is not possible to be included after the action is commenced.

After considering submissions from the South Downs Society, the Countryside Access Forum for West Sussex and me which highlighted the complete lack of proper public consultation on the proposal, the Committee felt, after also hearing from the Cabinet Member, that there should have been greater consultation with interested parties prior to the proposed decision. On a majority view (three Liberal Democrats and two Conservatives to three Conservatives) the Committee resolved:

(1)        To request the Cabinet Member

(a)        to defer her final decision to allow for proper consultation with the Countryside Access Forum, the South Downs Society, representatives of the local authorities (boroughs/districts and parishes) in the National Park Area within West Sussex, and the two other highways authorities East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Councils; and

(b)        to report back on the outcome of the consultations in due course.

(2)            Irrespective of the decision the Cabinet Member takes on the Committee’s request above, the Committee also asks the Cabinet Member to ensure that there is full consultation with all interested parties during the development of the Fundamental Service Review of the Rights of Way service and that this Committee receives timely updates on that process.

 The Cabinet Member has been reminded that under Select Committee Protocol, if she decides not to accept the Select Committee’s recommendations, she will need to provide a reasoned written justification for her decision, which has to be provided before, and reported to, the next meeting of Strategic Environmental Services Select Committee. The next meeting of the Committee is on 3 February with the agenda papers for that meeting being dispatched by 26 January, so a decision should soon be known.  

Hopefully the Cabinet Member will agree to the Committee’s request and also consults with the Shadow South Downs National Park, as apart from the potential loss of a saving of up to £275,000pa from her present decision, the report to the Committee made it clear that a new all-county Rights of Way Service would involve a reduction in the current inspection/maintenance service outside of the South Downs area from every nine months to every twelve months. 

Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition on West Sussex County Council, Morwen Millson says, “We support the review of the Highways response already announced, but the effects of the recent bad weather were much wider than that. The Liberal Democrats want to look at the response not just of all parts of the County Council but of all public bodies, including parish and district councils, the NHS, the Highways Agency and transport operators and the ways in which they worked together.”

Transport lead member Dr. Nigel Dennis says, “Whilst the response of the Highways department was excellent within the current policies, the policies need to be tested. Is there too much emphasis on the use of gritting and not enough on snow ploughs? Should pavements be treated in addition to roads? Has the council investigated alternatives to gritting such as brine spraying in coastal areas? Is the priority list the best and most up to date? Are there enough grit bins or is there a better solution to supporting local residents to keep their areas safe?”

Brian Hall, Vice Chairman of the Council’s influential Policy and Resources Committee says, “The economy suffered not just from snow and ice and the effects on roads and pavements but also from the knock on effects of school closures. We think that the review should look at ways of avoiding such widespread closures and whether all schools need to close completely, or whether some could operate an emergency service so that parents who are key workers and carers could get to work, knowing their children are safe.

Morwen adds, “The NHS was affected badly, with many people attending A&E departments following falls. There will also be extra long-term costs for follow up appointments for fractures and other injuries. In spite of enormous efforts by care workers, some older people did not receive a normal service from the care system, with meals on wheels and domiciliary care particularly affected.

“Finally, the review should cover the ways in which the different authorities worked together. Although, most districts were unable to operate a normal refuse collection service, some immediately sent refuse collectors out to clear snow, whilst others waited several days. Some large parish councils were able to co-ordinate the response in their areas; should this model be used more widely?

“Weather emergencies are relatively rare in West Sussex, though many believe that changing weather patterns may make them more frequent. It is clear that modern society is dependent on being able to travel significant distances to work. We need our public bodies to take the full costs of their policies into account, not just their own costs. This is something the Government should look at on a national level.”

Derek Deedman, County Councillor for Bramber Castle concluded, “There is a considerable amount of work to do over the coming weeks and months to ensure that all parishes have an emergency plan in place covering all contingencies for the future – not just snow and ice. In my own area I have instigated the preparation of such planning with the first meeting of the Bramber, Steyning and Upper Beeding Parish Councils taking place earlier this month. The plan must involve all the agencies mentioned above, together with the many voluntary groups that do so much good work for local people all year round, and I will be working with the Parish and District Councillors to achieve just that.    

As part of the legal process West Sussex County Council is required under the Road Traffic Regulation Act to undertake a further formal consultation with local people. 

Please see the weblink below. This will enable viewing of the: - 

•         Plan showing extent of proposed 20mph speed limit

•         Statement of Reasons for proposing to make the Order

•         Public Notice that will be advertised in the West Sussex County Times on 22 January 2010

•         Draft Order 

http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/content/roads-and-transport/motor-vehicles-and-parking/traffic-regulation-orders/traffic-regulation-order-consultations/chanctonbury-county-local-committee.en 

If you have any problems accessing the consultation documents via the link or wish to express support or raise an objection about any part of the proposal please either use the response form on the website, e-mail tro.team@westsussex.gov.uk, or write to TRO Team, West Sussex County Council, The Grange, Tower Street, Chichester, PO19 1RH quoting reference TRO/170 

In addition to supporting the proposed scheme I have made it clear that the re-shaping of some of the road humps to reduce/remove the impact on surrounding property of traffic going over the humps must be seen as an essential part of the scheme.

 Please note the statutory consultation period ends on 15 February 2010 and any comments you wish to have taken into consideration should be received before this date.

There will information about the Neighbourhood Wardens and the PCSO service, together with information available from a number of partner agencies / services, and some of these will be represented in the shop during the week. These include – Sussex Safer roads, Community Link, Crimestoppers, Handy van, Saxon Weald, Pension advisors, young and old peoples services from County and District Councils and the Connexions service. The shop may also be noisy on Monday afternoon as the junior wardens will be there! In addition cost price personal and home security items will be available to buy.

 Free refreshments, tea and coffee and cakes (kindly donated by Kates Cakes) will be provided to visitors, but people will be asked to make donations to the Steyning Area first responders which cover all three Parishes in their work.  

The shop will be open from 10am till 4.30pm Monday to Friday, and it is hoped that local residents from the three parishes will pop in to talk to the Wardens and PCSO for them to explain more about the services they provide. They may also be able to help people with any particular issues or problems or just have a chat and a cuppa!  I hope that as many people as possible will visit the shop during the week as it should be very rewarding and beneficial for all concerned, and I congratulate the Neighbourhood Wardens and our PCSO for this excellent initiative to improve the safety of local people. 

For more information about the event, contact Steyning, Bramber and Upper Beeding Neighbourhood Warden, Paul Sweeney, on 07734387888.

I understand that the County Council has found some extra funding resources to tackle the horde of new potholes caused by the recent cold weather and snow across the county. Work started last week as soon as the thaw started on a “Find and Fix” programme of pothole repairs. 

Highway Inspectors are also out looking at the road network. If anyone has noticed particularly dangerous local potholes please let the Southern Highways Office on 01243 642105 know where they are.

It should be stresses no promises have been made to “fix” all these new potholes immediately, but hopefully this approach will speed up the necessary priority assessment and log for the repair process.

In addition the County Traffic Calming Team have commented that the current list of such requests throughout the County exceeds 1000, so the resources have to be prioritized to align with Government targets of reducing the numbers of those killed and seriously injured on the roads. With the budget only allowing 2 urban road safety schemes (including traffic calming projects such as 20 mph zones) each year, the Team concentrates it’s efforts at locations where the injury collision rate is poor.   

I have also requested direct that such a zone be investigated, and have been told that due to budget restrictions only essential works are currently being carried out and so this investigation will be done during the next financial year. 

As posted by Stephen Tall  on the Liberal Democrat Voice website today.

Nick Clegg will have enjoyed reading this morning’s Guardian editorial (Nick Clegg: Liberal parenting) over his breakfast porridge today. The paper commends Nick for yesterday’s launch of the principles which will underpin the Lib Dems’ election manifesto.

At the same time it betrays the Guardian’s usual unawareness of the party’s democratic decision-making principles. According to the Guardian, Nick “ordered his party to drop some of its favourite policies”, issuing “instructions” in order to transform the Lib Dem manifesto from “a third-party wishlist” into “a credible agenda for directing a government”.

In fact, all that Nick talked about yesterday – the Lib Dems’ new ‘fairness agenda’ – has been seen by, debated by, and approved by the Lib Dems’ Federal Policy Committee (FPC) whose members are elected.

How the FPC made the Lib Dem manifesto

The party’s pledge on tuition fees is a notable case in point. Though the Guardian inaccurately claims the Lib Dems “no longer promise to scrap tuition fees”, that is not the case – the party has re-stated its pledge to scrap them, albeit over an affordable six years. This position was reached only after some tough wrangling at FPC.

Or take the so-called mansion tax – the launch of which by Vince Cable the Guardian notes was a “fiasco” – when, again, it was the FPC which amended Vince’s version, and determined the actual policy which will be in the manifesto: a 1% annual levy on householders with homes worth more than £2m.

Perhaps it’s too much to expect the Guardian to be able to follow the Lib Dems’ democratic policy-making. The media appears to make the assumption that all parties act like Labour and the Tories in particular, with the leadership making pronouncements which party members must dutifully accept.

This is how a democratic party works

In fact, what the last few months’ debate have shown is the party’s structures working at their best, with a constructive dialectic between the leadership and party members (as represented through FPC).

Nick and Vince have been continually pushing their point of view: that the party’s election manifesto has to be more rigorous in this economic climate than was necessary in the previous three elections.

At the same time, the FPC has been pushing back, making clear there are certain principles which party members will not tolerate being ignored (abolishing tuition fees), and certain policies which need to be more carefully though through before they’re announced if they’re not to cost the party votes (introducing a mansion tax).

The outcome is that the party has arrived at a set of manifesto principles around which all members can unite. As the Guardian – rightly – notes:

“In some respects the party’s manifesto at the next election promises to be bolder, if simpler, than anything that has come before. … By trimming his promises, Mr Clegg hopes to clarify his message. He is trying to overturn the old claim that no one knows what the Liberal Democrats stand for. He says his priorities are fair taxes, better-funded schools, a revamped economy and a new politics, which is a reasonable list to put to the electorate … With Labour’s cabinet at odds with its leader, and the party likely to be cut ideologically loose by defeat, Lib Dems know this is their chance.”

However, this is not the result of the leadership laying down the law to party members. It is the result of at times heated debate and lengthy discussion, and is all the better for it. Yes, Nick can be pleased with yesterday’s pre-manifesto launch. But so, too, can the wider party.

In the request for the decision to be reviewed by the Strategic Environmental Services Select Committee, the Lib Dems highlighted the original lack of consultation and scrutiny by the Committee and concerned parish councils, and that the objections of both the Countryside Access Forum for West Sussex and the South Downs Society were ignored. 

In addition, other National Park Authorities undertaking these functions have not recharged the costs to the County Councils concerned. So the claim that the County would have to pay the South Downs National Park Authority for the services is likely to be incorrect. It seems very foolish for the County Council to assume it would have to pay, without even discussing the matter with the Shadow South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA). This decision could mean losing the chance to save the current cost of £250,000 a year.  

Finally, the current arrangements, delegating maintenance to the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and then the South Downs Joint Committee, have worked well since 1992. Whilst there is an argument that managing the whole Rights of Way network makes it simpler for interested organisations and the public throughout West Sussex to know who to contact with a problem, there does not seem to have been such a problem in the last 18 years. It could also cause confusion since visitors to the National Park would expect all functions relating to access, walking and riding in the Park to be operated by the Park Authority.   

Derek Deedman, Lib Dem County Councillor for the Bramber Castle Division, that falls partly in the new National Park, said,  “It is scandalous that, having wasted £100,000s of Council Taxpayers’ money opposing the National Park, leading Conservatives now seem happy to reject the chance of saving up to £250,000 a year from continuing the current arrangements by delegating these functions to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA). The Council does not seem to have even discussed the matter with the shadow SDNPA.  

“In addition, the fact that this significant decision was made without adequate consultation with users and parish councils can only be deplored. Hopefully, the review by the Select Committee will allow bodies such as the South Downs Society and Rights of Way users to make their case. 

“I hope the Committee will request that, at the very least, the Cabinet Member defers her decision until she has taken into account the views of other interested bodies, has been able to discuss the matter fully with the Shadow SDNPA and the financing of the new Authority is made clear by the Government.”     

I am pleased to say that the response from residents has been an emphatic NO! 

The figures reported to the January meeting of the Parish Council were: - 

 The Parish Council has now agreed to drop the proposal.

I understand most of the responses were expressed in very strong terms, highlighting in particular the poor visibility there would be for traffic at the exit from Church Lane to High Street. I fully agree with these views.

Residents were also invited by the Parish Council to make other suggestions.  There was no consistency in these, and most were either too radical to consider (“create a new access road into the village”, “make the High Street one way”) or unenforceable (“make the children walk to school”, “stop people parking outside my house”). This does not mean that no new ideas to improve the traffic situation would ever be considered, so if anyone has a scheme which would be cheap to implement, please let me know. 

Following my site visit this earlier this week with the Local Highway Manager, the Operations Manager from Brighton & Hove Buses and an observer from Steyning Parish Council, it was agreed that the Local Highway Manager should recommend that public consultation should take place on making the permanent bus stop at a position between ‘Elinbrook’ and ‘Dunavon’ i.e. just beyond the zig zag lines from the new crossing. (I had previously suggested this position to the Local Highway Manager.)

Whilst the pavement is a bit narrower than normal at this location, very few people actually catch the bus at this stop. It is mostly used to alight from a bus, so it is not very likely that there would be a waiting queue of people along the pavement. In addition the proposed stop is right next to a tree and tall bushes in the front gardens, so there would be very little overlooking of the neighbouring properties. 

It could take up to eight weeks for this to be confirmed, subject to any further objections, in the meantime the present temporary bus stop will continue to operate. Steyning Parish Council Highways & Lighting Committee will also consider this matter on 19 January and its views will be considered by the County Council as part of the public consultation exercise.

This means that although West Sussex still has plenty of salt in hand, no more orders can be placed until that salt is nearly all used. The County therefore has to retain the existing stock for using on the strategic roads as before, and has stopped any salt bags being made available to parish councils. 

Although the deliveries mentioned in the previous article will now not take place (pending any further change in Government policy), local people should still let the parish council contacts know if they could help if salt bag deliveries do eventually take place, and also to let them know if the identified sites are in the right places.

Bramber

 The drop points are planned to be: -1 - Bottom of Coombe Drove, 2 - Bottom of Sopers Lane,  3 - Near the Maudlyn Lane Notice board, 4 - Bramber Car Park 

Steyning

 The drop points are planned to be: -1 - Health Centre, 2 - Penlands Vale at the peak of the hill, 3 – Goring Road by the junction of Holland Road (to also serve Kings Barn Lane Bridge and the footbridge from Goring Road to Roman Road over the by pass), 4 - Ingram Road by the junction of Hills road, 5 - High Street by the White Horse. In addition a request has been made to refill the bag already in place outside the bus shelter in the High Street. 

Upper Beeding

 The drop points are planned to be: - 1 - Hyde Square, 2 - High Street (by newsagent), 3 - Manor Road.

Bramber, Steyning & Upper Beeding

 I understand from Steyning Parish Council that there is a huge list of salt bags that have been requested by parish councils across the County, so that there is just not enough to go round as Highways need to keep the main roads as a priority.  Highways are, however, hopeful that the refill of the High Street bus shelter bag will take place today. 

It would be valuable, therefore, if residents living near the drop points listed above could contact their appropriate Parish Clerk if they are able to help distribute the salt on nearby pavements. This would help enable a priority order of drop points to be established for deliveries, and Highways advised accordingly.  Email contacts: -Bramber PC rogerpotter1@btinternet.com , Steyning PC steyningcentre@btconnect.com , Upper Beeding upper.beeding@btconnect.com or andrew@lenticular-europe.com

Many thanks.

Please check for later news via the link to those companies. 

This parking by both cars and vans in this narrow part of Godstalls Lane, where there are no houses, just a pavement and a grass verge, has caused refuse collection and other large vehicles having to drive up on to the verge creating a very deep and muddy trench.  This mud is also coming on to the road surface.  This originally happened in the very wet weather a few weeks ago and will no doubt continue as long as the width is restricted by the parked vehicles.

I spoke to the Local Traffic Engineer before Christmas about the situation, and understand that the matter is on the possible Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) list for the new financial year. An approved TRO could restrict parking in this part of Godstalls Lane.

I am not sure whether the consideration of the 2010/11 programme for Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s) will be on the agenda for the Chanctonbury County Local Committee (CLC) meeting on 17 March at 7pm at the Steyning Centre. However any local resident can raise the problem under the ‘public forum’ agenda item if there is no formal TRO report. The weight of local concern about this parking will clearly influence the eventual CLC decision on the priority order for any TRO scheme.

Regrettably Brighton & Hove Bus Services have been advised by the Police to withdraw all buses due to the worsening weather conditions.  They will continue to monitor the situation and will resume services as soon as possible.

As at 8.00am this also applied to Compass Travel bus services. Again the position is continually being reviewed.

Use the links from this website to Brighton & Hove Buses and Compass Travel for more up-to-date information.

I have again reminded him about the need to fill the one and half hour gap in 2A services in the late afternoon, but although he accepts the need for an additional bus to restore the hourly headway he is unable to do this at present (but is still on his list).

As mentioned in the front page article I consider that with the County Council resources limited to dealing with the strategic road network, local people and agencies should work together to prepare an emergency plan for the local community itself to deal with the residential roads and pavements most difficult to use, after such snow falls have turned the surfaces to ice and made them lethal to use.

I am pleased to report that Steyning Parish Council has agreed to host a preliminary emergency planning meeting which will also be attended by an officer from the County Council Emergency Planning Team, the Local Highway Manager, representatives from Bramber and Upper Beeding Parish Councils, an officer from the Fire & Rescue Service and hopefully local District Councillors.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday afternoon, 6 January and I will report on the outcome later in the week.

Cliff played a major role in West Sussex politics as a Liberal, then Liberal Democrat, between 1971 and 2001 when he and Mima retired to the Costa del Sol.     He was chairman of West Sussex County Council from 1993 to 1997 and chairman of Adur District Council and Lancing Parish Council on numerous occasions.     He served also as a Deputy Lieutenant.

He was born in 1923 near Manchester, educated at Oldham High School, served in the Royal Signals during the Second World War, and landed at the Normandy beaches (making life-long friends with two French families).     In 1954 he moved from Glasgow to Lancing.   He worked as an executive with Canadian National Railways and commuted to London from the family home in Orchard Avenue, Lancing.     

He was a player and secretary with Lancing Athletic Cricket Club for many years, a sidesman at the Lancing Parish Church of St. James-the-Less, and in retirement worked with Age Concern in Lancing.    He was chairman of governors at Boundstone School for many years.

I first met Cliff in 1973 and joined him and the majority Liberal Group on Adur Council in 1976. Cliff will be missed by many beyond his close family. He served the people of Lancing and West Sussex for many years, taking up the individual problems of local residents and contributing to the debates on major issues.    In local politics he worked immensely hard for the local community and led by example.