The next EO meeting of Poynings Parish Council is to be held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 13^th April 2022 at 7pm.

Agenda

• Apologies for absence
• Minutes
• FTTP Broadband Openreach Contract
  
  John Digby – Chairman
  Tel: 01273 857024
  10^th April 2022

I just thought I would keep you up to date about the Openreach Superfast Broadband.
Openreach say the missing vouchers have now been issued. If you registered and you still haven’t received your voucher by email (check your spam folder) can you let me know.
If you have received it, please sign up.
To confirm, you are committing to signing up to fast broadband for one year only, The only cost is whatever it costs over and above what you are paying now, for one year. The project costs include an allowance to get fibre to the door of all the properties. So there should be no further infrastructure cost. The service providers may levy a nominal connection or set-up fee, but Openreach are not in control of that. I thought that is would always be underground, but it is more likely they will use the route of existing telephone lines to avoid disruption to the property. Openreach will take it to the door once it’s ordered. They will complete the cable run to the property once the order is placed with the service provider. Initially it will go to the pole or underground chamber in the road. They will follow the same routes that are already there, so if a property is served via a pole, they follow that route, if it’s via underground duct they’ll follow that route. The fibre can run over or underground. For properties that are served underground, there should be ducting (plastic tubing), that they feed the new fibre through. If there is no ducting (just armoured cable buried in the ground), they’ll need to dig to remove the old cable and put in ducting for the new cable. They may also need to dig if there is ducting but it is blocked (this is less common). But they will re-instate any digging works on concrete / paved drives. If this happens at any properties that have a specialist surface such as resin, the re-instatement works will need to be made good and repaired by the owners of the properties.

This is a list of providers you can use, links

FTTP providers (openreach.com)

Broadband package search from UK broadband providers | thinkbroadband

The work that MSDC are doing through the village is complementary to this. They are putting in more junction boxes, wider trunking and cleaning existing ducts if re-used. Openreach will then be able to use these.  I’m sure I have forgotten something!

Those of your who signed up for the FTTP Gigabyte scheme should have received an email similar to the one below. This is not a scam!
The deadline for signing up is very short, this week, please sign up ASAP or we may lose the opportunity. This is better than just the ducting that is currently being carried out by MSDC, which connects ducting to the BT cabinets, but not to residential premises.
If everyone who pledged doesn’t respond we may not get it.

From 28 March Mid Sussex District Council will implement a new flexible season ticket offer and increase car parking charges in line with inflation.  

Changes to car park season tickets, which are mainly used by town centre workers and commuters will better match new customer behaviour. The pandemic has dramatically changed the way people work, with many more people working flexibly from home and office and this has had an impact on the demand for season tickets. A flexible 3-day season ticket is being introduced to fit in with these new working habits 

Public sector organisations across the UK are facing serious financial challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In local government, the financial cost of supporting communities through the pandemic has been huge. Even with additional funding from the Government, the cost to Mid Sussex District Council was £1.9 million during the 2020/21 financial year and Covid-19 will continue to have a significant impact on the Council’s finances over the coming years. 

 
Parking charges in Mid Sussex Pay and Display car parks have remained the same for the past ten years, which means they have not kept pace with inflation or rising management and maintenance costs. 
 
Mid Sussex District Council is increasing parking charges to help protect essential public services and to enable continued investment in the parking estate, including in new technologies to improve customer service. This will mean parking for one hour will increase from 80p to £1. This increase will generate around £350,000 each year. 
 
Mid Sussex is currently one of the cheapest places to park in the region when compared to neighbouring Council areas and this will continue to be the case with the new charges. For comparison Parking for 2 hours in a Mid Sussex District Council car park will cost a maximum of £1.50 compared with £1.80 in Lewes, £2 in Crawley and £2.80 in Horsham.  
 
 Councillor Stephen Hillier, MSDC Cabinet Member for Economic Growth said: 
 
“Our parking charges have remained frozen for the past decade and by bringing them back in line with inflation we will be able to support our key statutory services while also investing in the modernisation of our car parks.  
 
“The decision to increase parking charges is not one we take lightly, but we must make some tough choices over the next few years if we are to effectively manage our budget and recover from the effects of this awful pandemic.” 
 
“The financial pressures created on council finances by the coronavirus pandemic are here to stay for the foreseeable future. We must plan ahead if we are to protect our services and safeguard the long-term sustainability of the Council.”  

The next meeting of Poynings Parish Council is to be held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 2^nd March 2022 at 7pm.

Agenda

• Apologies for absence
• Minutes
• Matters Arising
• MSDC and WSCC
• Public Participation
• Expenditure for December 2021 and January 2022
• Planning applications
  Shepherds Hey The Street Poynings BN45 7AQ
  SDNP/21/05652/HOUS | Erection of single storey extension to east elevation, creation of new doorway to western elevation, and internal remodelling. (AMENDED DRAWINGS RECEIVED 02.02.2022)
  https://planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=R2BD5XTUFFR00&activeTab=summary
  b. . Aviation House. Poynings BN45 7AQ SDNP/21/06370/PRE | Retained employment floorspace (441sqm) divided into two units with flexible space and erection of 5 flats (4 x 2 bed and 1 x 1 bed) including a revised parking layout.
  Pre – application advice given.
  c. Wilton House The Street Poynings BN45 7AQ Commencement of underground drainage for approved extension planning ref: SDNP/20/00832/HOUS (Amended under: SDNP/20/03137/NMA) |
  Decision:
  Licencing Application.
  Poynings Grange Farm
• Dark skies
• Vice Chairman
• Standing Orders
• Queens Jubilee 2022 update
• Fibre Broadband update
• Items for next month’s Agenda
• Date of next month’s Meeting
  
  Colin Warburton – Clerk
  Tel: 01273 857024

There’s something irresistible about gazing up at a vast sky sparkling with stars. All you really need are warm clothes and a clear, dark sky which is why West Sussex is a particularly good choice. A good reason not to leave many lights on when it’s dark.

The area in and around Poynings is particularly beautiful and the Devils Dyke is even mentioned at https://www.experiencewestsussex.com/stargazing-at-devils-dyke/