Shipley Parish Council Chairman: Mr Jamie Coad, Vine Cottage, Thakeham Road, Coolham, West Sussex, RH13 8QD. Tel: 01403 741891 Email: [email protected] Clerk: Mrs Fiona McNeille, 17 Barrow Close, Billingshurst, West Sussex, RH14 9SW. Tel: 07481 803124 Email: [email protected] The Minutes Of The Annual Parish Meeting Held On Thursday 23rd March 2017 at 7:30pm in Coolham Village Hall Present Cllr King-Tours Shipley Parish Council Vice-Chairman, Cllr, Baxter, Cllr Emrich, Cllr Roggendorff, Cllr de Zoete, In Attendance Cllr Rowbottom, Parish Clerk P. Richards and four Members of the Public. Apologies Cllr Coad, Cllr Sinton, Cllr A Jupp. 1. Guest Speakers: Derek Larcombe Shipley History Society Derek reported that the aims of the Society are talks, walks and research. The Society was founded in 2010 and the founding committee is still in place. To date they have enjoyed 30 talks, 10 walks, 10 visits and 7 Christmas parties. Recent events included:- A visit to Itchingfield to see and hear about the collection of antique armour held by John Prince; A showing of the original Imperial War Museum film produced during the Battle of the Somme in 1916; A talk from Jeremey Quinn MP about the History of the Horsham Constituency; The Annual General Meeting followed by a Victorian Magic Lantern Show; and A talk from Pippa and Gordon Reay on the George and Dragon at Dragons Green and the history of the English Pub. Future events include:- A talk about the chalk industry in the Arun Valley entitled Limeburners, Lords and Labourers by Richard Howell; A local walk in June; A talk about Sussex Agricultural History by Geoff Mead; and The Annual General Meeting followed by a Sussex Christmas. Derek reported on the research work of the Society and highlighted the work with Shipley Primary School using school log books. Interviews with local residents are also adding to the knowledge of the village over the last 50 years. Bob Philips Shipley 1st Scouts Group Bob has been on the Executive for over 30 years and a member of the Troop for over 60 years. He gave a brief overview and history of the Troop which was founded in 1934 by Sandy Lees who farmed Jendens Farm. He was originally a maths teacher who lived in Cork, Ireland. He came to England where he met Miss Burrell, a young graduate from Kew Gardens. Together, they set up farming at Jendens Farm. Sandy was a Parish Councillor and Miss Burrell was a member of the Shipley School Governors. The 1st Shipley Scout Group have been running since 1934 and is still going strong today. Today, they are 75-80 strong with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts covering a wide catchment area. This year they are organising the St. Georges Day Parade in Horsham on 23rd April 2017. There will be over 1,000 Boy and Girl Scouts parading from throughout the Horsham District area. The other big event this year will be to re-thatch the HQ in Dragons Green at a cost of £27,000. Jason Emrich Knepp Estate Jason gave a report on the past year and forthcoming events for 2017. In 2016, the new tourism business had 1,600 visitors staying at their campsites and over 2,000 people going on safari. The Estate had several successful conferences and visits from Brownies and Scouts. Jason reported on the wildlife statistics with 18 barn owl chicks raised and the discovery of 16 nightingale and 12 turtle dove territories. It is important to note that turtle doves are likely to be the next British species of bird to be declared extinct so the discovery of 12 territories was good news. A rare beetle, not seen in Sussex for over 50 years, was also reported. The farming results showed that 111 beef cattle (32 tonnes) were fattened and then sold mainly through Sainsbury’s organics, local butchers and the farm shop. 385 deer were also killed together with 10 pigs with the produce being wholesaled through local sources and the farm shop. For the first time in in 15 years, the Estate employed their own Forester. The Forester will focus on conservation and delivering a new management plan. In addition, 10 acres of new trees were planted under a ‘Trees for Trout’ project. This project encourages tree shading by the river to enhance the spawning opportunities for migratory fish. A new eucalyptus planation has also started to provide fuel for the Estate’s biomass boilers. The PV field produced 920MWh, the best for three years, offsetting all the electrical consumption across the Estate. £60,000 was invested in providing a private broadband service delivered for the 49 businesses and residences in the Parish. 9 weddings occurred in the year. Over 7000 visitors enjoyed the Floral Fringe Fair which will happen gain in 2017. The St Catherine’s charity event for the new Hospice appeal raised £12,000. In 2017, the Estate will employ 23 employees with an additional 200 people employed in the local businesses at Knepp. New initiatives to address poaching and burglary will be implemented to counter break-ins, thefts and poaching. A new Yoga studio has started business at New Barn Farm. The Wood yard will be available for re-rent with new proposals, including an al fresco restaurant, to be suggested. New buildings at the Floodgates and Pondtail Farm should provide more employment opportunities. The Knepp Estate continues to maintain 16 miles of footpath, 9 miles of bridleways, 7 miles of trot routes and 5 miles of extra footpaths. 2. Report from the Chairman of the Parish Council Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for attending this year’s Annual Parish Meeting. It is always a pleasure to be able to be part of this Parish event and be able to share information and Parish Council activities over the past year with so many of you. I will begin by thanking my fellow Councillors for their efforts and participation in the many decisions that have been made in the Council year. Parish Councillors fill a difficult role in working together and trying to decide on the best outcome or course of action within the community. Their time is voluntary and goes beyond simply attending monthly meetings. There is a lot of background reading and research required in their spare time as well as attending site meetings, reporting on parish maintenance issues and liaising with outside organisations. This year, Nigel King-Tours has again worked as our Vice Chairman and I would like to thank him for his assistance in meetings and his continued advice and support. Philip Baxter has continued with his important role in forging links with the Horsham Association Of Local Councils and Coolham Village Hall Management Committee, my thanks to him for his detailed reports and attendance at these external meetings. Many of you will be aware that Fiona left her position as Parish Clerk at the end of January. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Fiona for her hard work and enthusiasm in undertaking the role, which was crucial to the various projects undertaken, including her assistance in constructing the pavilion. Most of you will have met or spoken to our new Parish Clerk, Paul Richards. Paul took over the role in February this year. Paul is effectively the first port of call within the Parish Council and is key in ensuring Council activities are widely publicised. I would like to wish Paul well within his new role and thank him for all the work that he carries out on behalf of the Council. This has been a busy year for the Parish Council. The Council provided children attending the local schools with commemorative coins to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. The pavilion, having been dismantled, was declared unsalvageable and so a complete rebuild was undertaken on a voluntary basis by Jamie Coad (Parish Council Chairman), Fiona McNeile (the Parish Clerk) with Darren Rolfe and the WSCC Volunteer Group. The pavilion was funded by grants obtained through Friends of Shipley Parish, County Local Communities grant and also fundraising events. My thanks go out to all involved. The pavilion was finished at the beginning of July, in time for the William Penn School Year 6 Leavers party and officially opened on 25 August. Following the completion of the Spearhill Solar farm project, we received a community donation of £25,000 which has been earmarked towards various projects within the community. We have also undertaken a traffic and speed survey. The full report is available on our website, which shows the alarming speed that vehicles are travelling within the 30mph zones especially during school drop-off/collection times. Other maintenance projects facing the Parish Council are the restoration of Coolham War Memorial, for which funding has now been sourced, and the installation of new play equipment at Coolham Playing Fields, which is due to be installed shortly. The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee have undertaken 2 community involvement events and are in the process of sending out a questionnaire to every dwelling within the parish. The Neighbourhood Plan is a lengthy process and undertaken on a voluntary basis. The group has been chaired by Sarah Bulmer and our thanks go out to Sarah and all those that have been involved to date. Additional volunteers from within the Parish are always welcome to join the Steering Group. Thank you to everyone involved. Jamie Coad Shipley Parish Council Chairman 3. Report from the Trustees of the Sarah Andrew Charity OPERATING REPORT Andrew Cottage We are pleased to report that the Cottage was let and income producing throughout 2016.