On Saturday morning of the 13th July I sat in the village hall with a cup of coffee and a very nice piece of lemon drizzle cake, very well done whoever made it. The purpose of my ‘sit in’ was not to judge cakes but rather to allow the good folks of the parish to see the proposed development of Barlavington farmyard. If you are not sure where that is, it is where the great old barn is behind the church in Barlavington. Many people took the opportunity to view the drawings and express their thoughts and opinions. I am most grateful as there were some useful comments and observations.…

Last month’s annual parish meeting was attended by 20 or so residents, who came along for drinks and sandwiches, thanks Nick, and primarily to listen to our guest speaker. Dr Ian Wightman, senior advisor for historic buildings for WSCC, gave an interesting and thought-provoking talk on the issues and problems that confront him and his colleagues. It was an enlightening presentation that illustrated the complexity and often seemingly contradictory approval or refusal of planning applications. I think all of us laymen went away with a greater understanding of his team’s role and purpose. Reports were also received from the Village Hall Committee, the Horticultural Society and from me regarding the…

Beating the Bounds, Gangdays prior to the Norman conquest, I don’t think is part of our local churches calendar, do correct me if I am wrong. Should this ancient ritual still be undertaken then Ascension day, May 25th this year, will be the day to gather with our clergyman and beat the boundary stones of the parish with sticks of birch and willow and pray for good fortune of the parish. Now we have our two boundary stones restored between Sutton and Bignor once again we can follow the parish boundaries in order to avoid disputes over ownership and maintenance. Apparently such disputes were regular occurrences in times gone by,…

As of the first of April the parish council has a new Clerk, Louise O’Callaghan, Rachel will hand over the finances at the end of the May and Louise we then be in charge. The parish council thank Rachel Orr for all her stirling work over nearly two years. Communication by email with Louise is exactly the same, so anything that arises that you feel should be bought to the parish council’s attention do please contact any of the parish councillors or Louise on the same email address. Something that the parish council, in particular Cllr Wendy Brown, has been focusing on recently is clearing drains and ditches. This spring…

In last month’s parish matters I had a short rant about the parish council being asked its opinion on everything and generally being ignored on the important things that concern us.  One of my more attentive readers wrote to say I was factually incorrect.  Wishing to be a paragon of virtue and model of the free press we all love and respect, I am happy to self regulate and correct my error.  Planning, which is what I was complaining about, does not fall to WSCC but rather is controlled by SDNP and is run locally by its agent CDC.  As I am discussing local authority powers, the parish council has received no volunteers…

A couple of months ago in this column I mentioned and illustrated the Bignor and Sutton boundary stone.  This stone had been upturned, and now we hope will be corrected and made stable.  The stone is marked on the ordinance survey maps that layout Lords Piece, so this was easy to identify and locate correctly.  However, someone mentioned there was another boundary stone!  This has confounded everyone, even those who have lived in and around the parish for many years had no knowledge of this other stone.  Well I am pleased to say this isn’t a figment of some persons imagination, it is true.  There is another boundary stone.  This new information is thanks to Brenda Phillips,…

Should you decide to meander down the hill from the White Horse you will be amazed at the state of our ditches, culverts and drains.  Not for a long-time has the excess rain water flowed so freely into these. For a number of years this, and the previous Parish Council, have been trying to reverse the neglect of these hidden and forgotten features of our village.  Finally, after a large grant from ‘operation watershed’ and some determination, from first myself, and then with much greater success Cllr Wendy Brown we have stopped the water flowing down the road rather than into the drains, culverts and ditches.  We are aware of one last culvert…

Despite the mild weather of late councillor Parkes has been doing a lot of work organising a winter maintenance plan.  The grit bins are full and additional boxes of salt have been left with numerous residents, but we have been aware that WSCC do not extend gritting to the small B and C roads about the parish, so in previous years we have relied on the good will of local farmers even during their busy times,and will continue to do so when we have significant snowfall.  However, the Parish Council has been for sometime looking at how we can afford and undertake gritting the roads when we have very cold nights within…

At the parish council meeting, held on the 9th November, numerous issues were discussed that we will be acting upon in the coming months.  Every meeting the district and county councillors for our area also endeavour to come along and bring us up to date with various issues and grants that are available to the parish.  This month Cllr Michael Brown, discussed the substantial grants for the maintenance of paved footpaths.  Alas the only paved footpaths we have in the parish are in Greenfield, and they are in good order.  Cllr Brown also asked us to remind everyone that the county councillor do not come out and unblock roadside drains and at this time…

In last week’s Village News Jo Wellman highlighted the on-going problem of fly tipping in and around the vicinity. WSCC decision a few months ago to charge businesses and households for even the smallest amount of rubble at recycling centres will only make the situation worse. Despite many parishes warning of the consequences of introducing such a charge the short term necessity of saving and making money seems to have trumped logic. We can all expect the dumping of waste building materials to become a constant and regular feature of country life. Should you see or be suspicious of vans, or come across any material that has been dumped please…