Message from Jenny Yeo:

to remind you that it was decided that the Church, including the organ loft,  needed a thorough Spring clean before Easter.  The date decided was Wednesday 17th April at 6.30pm.  She hopes you can come, even for a short time – many hands make light work.  Bring your marigolds and any polish you think may be useful and she is very much hoping that the gentlemen might provide some refreshments!

I wonder which gentlemen they might be!

Thank you.

 

The annual litter-pick, organized by David Gasson, will take place on Saturday, 13th April 2019.

If you would like to take part, please meet up outside the Village Hall (TN32 5HH) at 9:00 am and bring black bags and gloves.

If you cannot make that day but would still like to take part, please ring David on 01424 838481 and he will allocate you an area to clear.

Then on Monday 8th April, at 7:30 pm in the Village Hall we have the annual parish meeting. Do put this date in your diary now, if it is not already there.

We will be continuing the practice of the last few years of making this a social (or sociable) occasion by providing refreshments (hard and soft drinks) and snacks, and running the meeting in a fairly informal way. Basically it is our annual “state of the Village” review. I’ll give a brief (really brief, I promise) report on what the parish council has been up to, and there is an opportunity to put questions to parish councillors, make suggestions, and give feedback about things that we might do to improve and develop the life of the village. There will be reports from various village organizations but we don’t force people to read these out loud: copies will be available to be perused during the meeting, and published on the website afterwards. If nothing else, it is an opportunity to have a drink and a chat with your neighbours. I look forward to seeing you there.

Andrew Wedmore

People often ask me: “What is Brightling’s position on Brexit?”, and I am happy to make this clear.

In fact Brightling’s policy on Brexit has always been very clear.  We are opposed to both a “hard” and a “soft” Brexit, preferring a position that gets the best of both.

A simple analogy should make this clear.  If you imagine that Brexit was a boiled egg, we would want the white to be nice and hard ( no disgusting watery bits) but the yolk to be soft and runny.

A major advantage of our policy is that it would only take about 4 minutes to implement.  And, unlike the present lot, we wouldn’t make a meal of it – more of a light snack in fact.

We can only hope that the whole country now rallies behind Brightling’s leadership on this matter.  Meanwhile, in the wise words of Siobhan Sharpe of W1A “We are where we are with this guys. And that’s never a good place to be”

Wishing all our readers a happy April 1st.

Following intervention by the Parish Council, much of Brightling is going to be getting a new water main.

The new pipe will run all the way between Darwell Hole and the top of Rectory Hill, along Rectory Hill through Oxley’s Green and along Brightling Road, and also along Hollingrove Hill and Hollingrove Lane. Work to install the new pipe will start in May 2019.

It will be a 100 mm (4 inches in old money) pipe, which is a good size. I expect it to greatly reduce the occurence of incidents such as leaks, brown water, and problems with pressure being too low or too high, for properties along these routes – not to mention the recent outage (on Sunday 17 March 2019 parts of Brightling were without water for 19 hours).

The bad news is that there will be some serious road closures along these routes, lasting many months, possibly until Christmas. I will post more details of the timing of these a bit nearer the time..

Thursday 2nd May 2019 is the date.  There will be an election for Rother District council on this day.  On the same day, Brightling Parish Council is up for election.

I have discussed the parish council election with the existing parish councillors, and we would be keen to see new people standing for the parish council.  Please do give it some serious consideration.  If you are thinking about it but are not sure, you can, if you want to, contact me or any parish councillor to find out a bit more about what is involved.

Announcement from Sussex Police

A major recruitment drive to recruit PCSOs begins on Monday 11 March closing on Monday 25 March, thanks to increased funding to the precept from the Police and Crime Commissioner. Over the next year our local policing will be strengthened with 100 new PCSOs being recruited.

Our PCSOs play a vital part in keeping Sussex safe. The PCSO role is unique. Our PCSOs are able to spend time in communities where they are needed most providing that reassurance and developing relationships to keep people safe and feeling safe.

Working alongside our local policing Prevention teams, our PCSOs help tackle local issues and, where possible, prevent them happening in the first place. They are tasked with activities which are proven to reduce crime and protect the public.

It’s a role that takes courage to tackle anti-social behaviour, compassion to be there for there for the vulnerable and professionalism to help with investigations.

By joining as a PCSO, recruits can expect a career with variety, challenges, rewards a good starting salary, and a qualification in community policing.
For more details visit: https://www.sussex.police.uk/police-forces/sussex-police/areas/careers/jobs/pcsos/

New PCSOs being recruited this month will be among the first to gain a new qualification. As well as joining the force, the recruits will undertake a new learning and development programme- the PCSO Apprenticeship – that will result in a Level 4 Diploma in Community Policing Practice.

Sussex Police is among the first forces in the country to introduce this apprenticeship programme.

Chief Constable Giles York said: “With the precept increase we are able to recruit an additional 100 PSCOs over the next year. By recruiting more PCSOs and putting them where they are most needed we will be in the best position to achieve our aim of keeping our communities safe and feeling safe.”

“I am delighted we are offering this new qualification to all of our new PSCO recruits. This fantastic opportunity means that we are professionalising policing and with it, continue to demonstrate the value of the work all of our teams do on a daily basis. We believe that by offering an apprenticeship we can ensure policing remains an attractive and competitive career option. We expect that it will appeal to those who may not have considered policing as a career choice for them in the past.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne said: “Sussex residents have been telling me they want a more visible and accessible policing presence in their communities to listen to their concerns and deter crime and anti-social behaviour.

“The Chief Constable and I have promised that any extra money raised locally through the precept increase will be spent locally, so I am delighted that a large part of the this year’s investment will be in frontline PCSOs who will be supporting their local policing teams and providing extra reassurance for local communities.

“The apprenticeship offers appropriate accreditation and recognition for the unique skills required in 21st century policing and I am pleased to see that Sussex Police are one of the first forces to offer an apprenticeship route for PCSOs.”

If our local abattoir was forced to close, there would be two immediate effects: animals would be transported much further distances; and farmers would suffer increased costs.  There is a consultation about this that closes at the end of tomorrow, Tuesday 12th March, 2019.  Here is the full message as received.

Dear High Weald supporter,

The Parliamentary All Party Group on Animal Welfare (APGAW) is conducting a consultation on the animal welfare benefits of smaller local abattoirs. The results will feed into Defra and strengthen the case for government support for these smaller abattoirs in recognition of their contribution to society.

The small abattoir at Tottingworth is critical to the High Weald’s livestock economy which maintains our beautiful landscape but small abbatoirs are facing a crisis.

If you wish to highlight the value of the abattoir to Government please complete the survey by 12^th March at: apgaw.org/2019/02/27/abattoir-provision-inquiry-2019

The consultation survey is a downloadable form with 10 fairly straightforward questions, not all of which may apply to you. You will need to complete, save and send the form to:
admin@apgaw.org or Office of Lord Trees, House of Lords, London, SW1A 0AA. Thank you in advance.

Small-scale, high-welfare farming and local butchers, farmers markets and farm shops, rely on small, local abattoirs. To find out more about their importance, see:
sustainablefoodtrust.org/key-issues/campaign-for-local-abattoirs
www.localabattoirs.com

Best wishes

The High Weald AONB team

Samantha Nicholas
Clerk to JAC, Grants & Team Support Officer
T:01424 723011

www.twitter.com/highweald
www.facebook.com/highwealdaonb

High Weald AONB Unit www.highweald.org
Advising on the management of one of England’s Finest Landscapes
Woodland Enterprise Centre, Hastings Road, Flimwell, East Sussex, TN5 7PR

Our next regular parish council meeting will be on Monday 11th March at 7:30 pm, in the Village Hall.

It was very gratifying to see some members of the public at the January meeting, some of whom took the opportunity to speak and raise points for the Parish Council to consider.

As well as Parish councillors, we usually have one or more our local Rother District Councillors and East Sussex County Councillor on hand, so this is an opportunity to hold their feet to the fire on any matters of concern. Do come along. The public participation is near the start of the meeting, and there is no embarrassment about leaving before the end – that’s what visitors normally do.

I’m sure everyone remembers what DaSA stands for, but just in case you fell asleep while reading the previous article on this subect, I will remind you that it is the official abbreviation for Rother District Council’s “Development and Site Allocations” plan.

The new news is that Rother submitted the DaSA to the Government for independent inspection on 18th January 2019.  A Planning Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, will now conduct an examination into the Plan’s soundness and legal compliance. Representations made during the public consultation will be considered as part of the examination.  Full details on Rother’s web site.

I reiterate that as far as I can tell, none of this affects Brightling very much, although it certainly has important wider implications.