ANNUAL REPORT

OF

MARESFIELD PARISH

YEAR 2019-20

AS WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO HOLD THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY THIS YEAR THE PARISH COUNCIL CONSIDERED IT APPROPRIATE TO CIRCULATE THE PARISH ANNUAL REPORT TO ALL PARISHIONERS AS A MEANS OF KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THE PARISH OVER THE LAST YEAR. WE HOPE THAT YOU FIND THE REPORT INTERESTING. INDEX PAGE

Parish Council Reports:-

Councillors 3

Chairman’s Review 4-7

District Councillor’s Report 8-9

Unaudited Accounts y/e 31 March 2020 10

Marjory Pegg Community Awards 11

Reports from Parish Groups:

Age Concern 12

Ashdown Evergreens 12

Fairwarp QE11 Field 13

Fairwarp Sunday Juniors Training Group 13

Fairwarp Football Club Under 8s 14

Fairwarp Stoolball Club 14

Fairwarp Village Hall 15

Maresfield Conservation Group 16

Maresfield and Nutley Churches 17-18

Maresfield Stoolball Club 19

Maresfield Village Football Club 19

Maresfield Village Hall 20

Maresfield Village Lunch 21

Maresfield Village Meadows Trust 21-22

Nutley Bowling Club 23

Nutley Pre-School 24

Nutley War Memorial Hall Trust 25

St Peter & St James’ Hospice 26

Wealden Citizens Advice 26

Fairwarp Community Society 27 Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 2 of 27

COUNCILLORS 2020

FAIRWARP

COUNCILLORS 2017 Penelope Handley 01825 733342 Lolita Reeves 01825 713630

MARESFIELD

Sheila Cumming 01825 767484 Alan Strevens 01825 508702 Laura Stevens-Smith 07443 857254

NUTLEY

Martin Craddock 01825 713879 Trevor Lewin 01825 713346 Birgit Smith 01825 714555 David Watson 01825 509028

Les Wilcox 01825 714519

COUNTY COUNCIL

Roy Galley 01825 713018

DISTRICT COUNCIL

Peter Roundell 01825 722030

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 3 of 27 Maresfield Parish Council – 2019/20 Annual Report Chairman’s Review

Throughout 2019/20 we have been short of our quota of fourteen Councillors. Sadly, Cllr Ken Ogden died in June and is greatly missed for his wise and experienced contributions to our affairs but also for his knowledge of Maresfield and its people. Regretfully Cllr Robert Taylor resigned in June and Cllr Guido Pellizzaro resigned in October both due to changed work commitments. We were pleased to be able to co-opt to the Council Mrs Birgit Smith in June and Mrs Sheila Cummings in July. We would like to fill our current four vacancies so if you are community minded and wish to contribute please volunteer for co-option.

Our monthly Parish Council meetings have also been attended by Cllr Peter Roundell of Council, who is the sole District Councillor representing our Parish, and Cllr Roy Galley who is our East County Councillor (and also a District Councillor).

We are very fortunate to have Claire Goossens as our Parish Clerk and she was joined in the Parish Office by Nancy O’Hanlon who was appointed Assistant Parish Clerk in September and is proving to be a valuable part of our team. The efforts of Claire and Nancy continue to ensure that the Council’s records and affairs are in excellent order.

The Parish Office (adjacent to the Nutley Social Club) will welcome visitors during its morning opening hours (when the crisis is over) but can still be contacted on 714555 or [email protected]

Communications The main means of communication by the Parish Council remains the monthly Newsletter contained in the three villages’ monthly magazines which go to all households in the Parish. Please read it. We want to hear your views on all and any local issues; please phone, e-mail or visit the Parish Office. As I write this the Country remains in partial lockdown with restrictions on face to face contact and meetings necessitating electronic communications and the use of “Zoom” meetings software. As all Parish Council meetings and its Committee meetings are open to the public, attendance by members of the public using Zoom can be facilitated by the Parish Clerk. Dates and times of our meetings are in the magazines, are displayed on our notice boards around the Parish and are on the Parish Web site.

The MPC website is constantly being updated to improve the user experience and engagement and contains useful and relevant information for its audience - the parishioners of our three villages. Please do access the site regularly and let us have feedback. We will be re-launching the web site later this year with the intention of making it more attractive, more informative and conforming to the new accessibility regulations. We persevere with trying to engage parishioners through our use of social media channels by improving our profile pages on Twitter and Facebook, increasing the frequency of posting and the quality of posts (what do we want to tell our readers?) and by following other users and forwarding other users relevant content.

Please engage with us by “following” or “be-friending” Maresfield Parish Council online.

Planning The Planning Committee, under Councillor David Watson’s chairmanship, continues to meet every three weeks on a Monday evening and makes recommendations to Wealden District Council on each of the seventy or so planning applications submitted each year involving a property in the Parish. This time consuming but interesting work involves a diligent and critical examination of plans submitted and in some cases site visits.

Parishioners will be aware that Wealden District Council’s draft Local Plan was withdrawn earlier this year following substantial criticism by the Planning Inspector appointed to review Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 4 of 27 it. Consequently, Wealden’s existing planning policies, including those restricting development in order to protect the , are somewhat out of date. With less than a five-year land supply, no up to date Local Plan and Government policy favouring sustainable development Wealden will find it difficult to repel some developers’ ambitions.

The situation in Maresfield is that the current (2013) Wealden Local Plan allocated fifty new greenfield homes to Maresfield village and to date applications have been approved for at least this number though fewer than half have been completed or are currently under construction. Recent applications, recommended for refusal by the Parish Council, for a further thirty or so have not yet been decided by Wealden.

Good progress continues at the Ashdown Business Park in Maresfield where only two sites remain uncommitted. Notably, the Costa Coffee drive through café on the north of the site adjacent to the A272 has been open for some months and the Premier Inn is expecting to open in the Autumn. The hotel, at least, is a useful additional amenity for our neighbourhood.

We have a list of persons interested in being allotment holders and we expect there to be the opportunity for the Parish Council to provide some new allotments in Maresfield in due course on land to be gifted to the Parish Council north east of Wellington Gate. If you would like to be added to our list, please notify the Parish Office.

There have not been any particularly controversial planning issues over the past year but the period ahead until Wealden can get a new Local Plan in place (eighteen months?) looks less straightforward. We, and the whole community, also need to be vigilant and promptly report any situation which could be a breach of planning regulations to Wealden and to the Parish Office.

Due to Wealden having to withdraw its draft Local Plan our Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group was advised to revise its latest draft Neighbourhood Development Plan to reflect the new situation. We have been in discussions with Wealden about this but the lockdown restrictions have delayed matters further. The delays in finalising this Plan and submitting it to the community for consultation have been frustrating but a new final draft is virtually complete. The work put into this exercise has been very considerable over a number of years and our thanks are due to all those involved with the NDP project.

Environment and Road Safety We rationalised our Committees by merging Road Safety into the Environment Committee chaired by Councillor Penny Handley which meets quarterly and continues to be busy particularly with the upkeep of play areas in Maresfield, Nutley and Fairwarp. Following last year’s Parklands Play Area refurbishment, this year the swings at Fairwarp were replaced and the ground surface of the play area at Fords Green Nutley was replaced. We have a programme of regular inspection of the play areas and the equipment at Fords Green is next in line for refurbishing so a reserve of £5,000 has been created to be put towards this future expenditure.

Grass cutting continues as last year with the Parish Council part funding jointly with ESCC. Additional servicing of public areas in the Parish is now being carried out for us by the maintenance team of Parish Council and this additional resource promises to be very useful and we are grateful to Forest Row for their cooperation.

As in previous years teams in the Parish took part in another “Great British Spring Clean” and collected large amounts of litter from road verges and other public spaces; we are grateful to all who took part. However fly tipping is still a problem particularly since (or because) ESCC started to charge for the disposal of some categories of household waste at their Disposal Sites. Should you witness illegal fly tipping or come across such waste please advise Wealden District Council (who will clear it from public land) or notify the Parish Office.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 5 of 27 On behalf of the Council, Councillor Lolita Reeves attends a quarterly liaison panel with the Ashdown Forest Conservators to discuss matters of mutual interest. The Parish Council has made a second-year grant of £1,500 to cover the period whilst they reorganise themselves and gear up to a new fund-raising role. However, they too are suffering from the fly tipping issue which is stretching their resources. The Ashdown Forest is a priceless local amenity which we do need to cherish, and the Parish Council has budgeted further support for this current year.

The Committee noted that Wealden District Council has declared a Climate Emergency. After discussing whether the Parish Council should also declare a Climate Emergency, it was considered an empty gesture if there are no concrete proposals as to what action could be taken in this regard. The Committee therefore deferred a decision until further research has been carried out to ascertain what the Parish Council can do in terms of mitigating emissions. It was noted that it is not the case that the Committee doesn’t think there is a Climate Emergency issue.

Within the Environment Committee Road Safety is championed by Councillor Alan Strevens; speeding continues to be the issue most frequently brought up by parishioners and the Parish Council strives to lobby and influence both ESCC Highways and the Sussex Police where it can. With three main “A“ roads in our Parish we suffer from noise, speeding vehicles and pollution from cars and goods vehicles disproportionately. The statistics on road accidents do not categorise our roads as high risk though we and representatives from neighbouring Parishes do consider the A22 Maresfield by-pass particularly dangerous. We also continue to press our County Councillor and ESCC regarding the cleaning of road signs, the huge pothole problem and the removal of overgrowing vegetation - but often to little avail. These and other relevant matters are raised at quarterly meetings with ESSC Highways.

It is very pleasing that with our increased staff resource and with volunteers coming forward that Community Speed Watch did restart (only to be suspended whilst the lockdown restrictions apply). The Parish Council has also installed two mobile speed activated signs which are placed in four locations in rotation around the Parish. Please volunteer to help with Community Speed Watch; full training is given and the commitment, given sufficient volunteers, would be two or three hours every other month.

Maresfield Recreation Ground The management of the Maresfield Recreation Ground, which the Parish Council owns as Trustee, is carried out very effectively by the Maresfield Recreation Ground Committee which is mainly made up of non-councillor representatives from its user organisations. and is under the chairmanship of Councillor Laura Stevens-Smith. The other recreation grounds in the Parish are not the responsibility of the Parish Council but we do make grants and respond to specific requests where necessary (but we are responsible for the children’s play areas).

The Council has embarked on a project to refurbish the pavilion at the MRG with exterior repairs and maintenance underway. This and the interior renovations to follow will be funded from Community Infrastructure monies received. We hope to embark on a scheme to recondition and enhance the playing surfaces at the MRG later this year so that an appropriate standard of facility is provided to the cricket, football and stoolball clubs who are our regular users. Parking at the MRG and in the access road, Park Farm Lane, remains a problem when the MRG is in use by sports clubs and also during school drop off and pick up times, and the Parish Council is anxious to have the issues sorted out to the satisfaction of the land owner of the Lane and all the other lawful users.

Finance The Finance and Administration Committee, under my chairmanship, monitors the finances of the Council and continues to review the effectiveness of its administration. It is very pleasing that our Internal Audit Reports, despite out staff changes, continue to score the Council very highly for its financial record keeping and financial controls. Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 6 of 27

Last year’s excess of expenditure over income was mainly due to spending on new Fairwarp play area equipment, Maresfield Recreation Ground maintenance and a total upgrade of our IT. The timing of our IT upgrade was fortuitous as it has enabled our staff to work remotely during the current crisis. We have had to request a precept increase of 4.6% for 2020/21 which reflects current staffing levels. However, the total cash precept and the “Band D” precept are still both lower in 2020/21 than the equivalent amounts for 2014/15. During the year we received Community Infrastructure Levy monies of £47,661 which we have to spend within five years on appropriate infrastructure projects within the Parish. We have used previous years CIL monies for the Parklands Play Area refurbishment and are currently using CIL monies to pay for the MRG pavilion refurbishment.

Many organisations in the Parish receive a grant from the Parish Council, often to assist with a particular project, and these totalled £13,077. We continue to support Wealdlink our local community transport operator and in particular make a grant to support, jointly with two neighbouring Councils, the Saturday 262 bus service. Our other local bus services are subsidised by County Council and I would ask you to use these whenever you can; we must realise that if our local bus services are not used we will lose them.

Nutley War Memorial Trust - proposed new Pre-School Building This Project seeks to increase community facilities within Nutley through the Trust reorganising and redeveloping its estate. In particular this would enable the Village (War Memorial) Hall to meet the current demand for its accommodation from local groups and other organisations by relocating the Pre-School in a new building which could also provide for after-school and holiday club activities. To this end, during 2019 the NWMT obtained planning permission to build a new pre-school on a site between the Memorial Hall and the Nutley Social Club. The Parish Council supports this initiative but before committing any financial support would need to be satisfied with the financial viability of the Project and would have to be in agreement with the Project’s funding strategy.

Coronavirus – Covid 19 As I write this our Nation is still in lockdown though some easing of the restrictions is now happening. It is very pleasing that our Communities seem to have coped very well and tremendous voluntary efforts at street and neighbourhood levels were evident early on across the Parish. An initiative was underway in mid-March in Nutley working with the Neighbourhood Watch Group, whereby a leaflet was circulated to every household in the village offering to provide volunteer assistance for those in need. A similar initiative was rolled out in Maresfield where residents in Parklands had already set up a small volunteer group, and Fairwarp Community Society already had an effective network of volunteers keeping in touch via email.

As always, I wish to thank my fellow councillors for their very considerable contributions to the work of the Council over the last year when they have contributed many hundreds of voluntary hours. Huge thanks are also due to our Parish Clerk who together with the Assistant Clerk work tirelessly for us. And last, but by no means least, thanks are also warmly extended to all those non-councillors who serve on our Committees, carry out specific Parish wide functions or contribute in other ways to assisting with Council activities and Parish life.

Martin Craddock Chairman

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 7 of 27 Maresfield Parish Council – 2019/20 County Councillor’s Report

East Sussex County Council 2019/20.

Financially, this was a challenging year for the County Council.

There were overall budget savings in 2018/19 and these were put into reserves. In 2019/20, there was an overspend so these reserves needed to be used to stay within the £380million budget. However, as a result of extra Government grant of £14.6million, the position for 2020/21 is better and we can reinvest £6million mainly into Childrens’ Services while also adding £1million into Highways spend.

As a result of Covid-19, the budget position in 2020/2021 will be dire as it will be across the public sector.

Despite all of this, the County Council has spent nearly £100million on infrastructure projects including new schools, school maintenance, new facilities for very troubled children, Highways repairs, new road schemes in Eastbourne , the Newhaven Port Access Road and the Queensway Gateway Road in Hastings.

School results have improved a little but we are still behind the national average.

On Adult Social Care, a lot of emphasis is placed on keeping people out of hospital and cared for at home. About 2000 people across East Sussex have been able to live well at home as a result of County initiatives. A lot of effort is also put into reducing the numbers whose discharge from hospital is delayed by lack of care at home or in the community. Before Covid-19 struck, the numbers were coming down well.

In Maresfield Parish, we have had a lot of small schemes with pothole repairs, hedge cutting, dangerous trees being removed. Major works were carried out on Daleham Lane between Nutley and Fletching where the road had virtually collapsed into the stream.

We still have problems with broadband and mobile reception in some pockets. There is a new contract under negotiation for broadband but progress is slow and I keep pressing for results.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 8 of 27

Wealden District Council.

Whilst I am not the District Councillor for Maresfield, I do want to comment on two issues which come within my remit.

Firstly, I am pleased that the new Waste contract with Biffa has gone very well with good levels of performance. We have introduced a charged service for Garden waste which has proved popular.

In 2019, Wealden Council declared a Climate Emergency and we are working on a programme of practical measures which will deliver results locally.

Roy Galley - May 14th 2020

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 9 of 27

MARESFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020

2018-19 Income 2019-20 NOTES

92,831 Precept 81,456 143 Interest 133 422 Other 4,016 WDC - Park Fund Grant

617 WDC C Tax Support Grant 245

12,295 CIL Monies 47,661 106,308 TOTAL 133,511

2018-19 Expenditure 2019-20

18,027 Administration 24,732 Increased IT Costs/NDP Consult. 22,570 Staff Costs 28,116 Increased Staffing 28,187 Services 41,986 Increased Play Area Exp. 1,405 Subscriptions 1,408 3,500 Grants – Section 137 3,900 14,769 Grants - Specific Powers 13,077 553 Projects 9,989 Road Safety MVAS 89,011 TOTAL 123,208

2018-19 General Fund 2019-20

110,435 Balance as at 1 April 127,732 106,308 Plus Income 133,511 216,743 261,243 89,011 Less Expenditure 123,208

127,732 CLOSING BALANCE 138,035

Made up of………

61,010 Earmarked Reserves* 89,280 66,722 General Reserves 43,755

*Earmarked Reserves:

Road Safety Projects £29,520

NDP Funding £10,059

CIL Fund 2018/19 £48,701

Nutley Primary School Grant £1,000 Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 10 of 27

THE MARJORY PEGG 2020 AWARDS FOR SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY

When Marjory Pegg left Maresfield in September 2003 for her new home in France, the Parish said goodbye to someone who had been enthusiastically involved in community life for over 30 years, including a number as Chairman of the Parish Council. It was decided that each year a salver would be presented in her honour to someone nominated by the residents of Maresfield Village, and in 2012 this was extended to the whole Parish as the ‘Marjory Pegg Awards for Services to the Community’. Sadly, Marjory passed away in April 2014.

Many people help to build the fabric of village life in many different ways: by running local businesses, organising social clubs, serving on committees, giving their time to support local events and being a good neighbour and friend.

This year Mr John Mason from Maresfield is the recipient of the Marjory Pegg Salver. John Mason is a very longstanding and well-respected resident of Maresfield and has been involved working tirelessly with the management of MRG for very many years, and was a key member of the Maresfield Recreation Ground Committee. MRG is an extremely important local amenity for the residents of Maresfield and the surrounding area, young and old alike. Without people like John who are prepared to give their time to ensure that the various issues that arise are sorted out, these local amities wouldn’t survive. Because John has been involved for so long he is the fount of historical facts concerning the MRG and his on- going support despite no longer being on the MRG Committee is invaluable and hugely appreciated.

A very worthy recipient of the Marjory Pegg award.

The recipients of the 2020 Marjory Pegg Special Recognition Awards are Mr Roger Lloyd from Nutley and Mr John Lazenby from Fairwarp, both of whom have worked voluntarily for the benefit of their respective villages for many years.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 11 of 27 Age Concern and District

Our charity has been running for over twenty-five years. The free transport service we operate takes the elderly to hospital and doctor appointments in the TN22 postal areas. We have fourteen volunteer drivers who get paid up to 50 pence per mile. During our last financial year ending 30th September 2019 our drivers did over three hundred trips and did over fourteen thousand miles taking over one hundred service users to doctor and hospital appointments.

The hospitals include Uckfield, Haywards Heath, Eastbourne, Brighton, East Grinstead, Hastings, , Pembury, Bexhill, and Guildford. We offer a personalised service; drivers wait for service users taking them back safely to their home address. We advertise our free transport service regularly in local monthly magazines and deliver our promotional brochures to strategic outlets such as the Volunteer Centre Uckfield, Civic Centre, Churches, Hospitals and Doctors Surgeries.

To keep up with the ever-increasing demand on our service we are constantly advertising for volunteer drivers and requesting donations and grants. Should you wish to make a donation or would like to be a volunteer driver please phone 01825 371146 or 278325.

Ian Jaffray - Chair

Ashdown Evergreens

The Club has been going for over 50 years and endeavours to reach out to those in the village and surrounding area the opportunity to meet. For those who have difficulty in getting to us we are fortunate in having one or two people willing to collect and return thus making this possible.

Firstly, I would like to take the opportunity of thanking the Parish Council for their very generous donation.

2019 was a year hopefully fulfilling the needs of our members by way of talks, outings, etc. On the subject of speakers we were entertained by Simon Mott who gave a most interesting talk accompanied by slides about his grandfather, Mantovani together with the Dog Trust and Folly Wildlife Rescue relating to the safety of our diminishing number of hedgehogs.

We arranged two outings, the first in June to the Wey & Arun Canal which unfortunately was a rather damp and wet day. This was made up by our visit to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton but before doing so we stopped at the Marina for lunch and enjoyed the sunshine and comings and goings there. These were all subsidised fractionally, thanks to generous donations, thereby enabling us to cover the costs of coach hire, afternoon tea. Our membership really enjoy these occasions as for some it is the only way that they get the chance to visit somewhere different.

The year culminates in a Lunch which was held at Wealden Bowls Club and where we enjoyed a delicious Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings …... crackers, mints, etc. Here again we endeavour to make a small subsidised charge.

Due to the COID-19 virus the year has been interrupted but thankfully all our speakers for this year have agreed to come back in 2021 so we now keep our fingers crossed that all will keep safe and well and we are back on track for the start of 2021 in February.

Liz Lloyd - Secretary

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 12 of 27 Fairwarp QE2 Field

The QE2 Field Trustees had a busy summer last year, what with stoolball during the week and everything from personal parties to an enthusiastic new U8 football team pre-season training filling the gaps. The pitch was kept in pristine condition by John Lazenby who seemed to work constantly keeping the Field mowed and then moving up the village to keep the Green looking fresh and lovely.

At the height of summer, the Green was being mowed every week resulting in over 20 cuts during the year as was the Field, the requirement being for short grass for the stoolballers and footballers.

Despite his wonderful work to make the QE2 Field wonderful, John was unable to control the weather which caused the annual village Cricket and Croquet Day to be cancelled in 2019 for the first time since its institution in 2009. The day itself was beautiful but the week beforehand had seen torrential rain for days and despite draining fast and well, the Field just couldn’t do it fast enough to be ready for the Saturday.

Towards the end of the year the pitch again became waterlogged and the tractor was unable to operate on the wet ground – not that it needed to as most of the hires after October were cancelled because of the weather. Is this global warming?

This year the coronavirus has hit the hiring element of the Field but John Lazenby is still maintaining it ready for the day we can advise our hirers that it is once again available to them.

To hire the field please contact Russell Davison on 01825 713531.

Fairwarp Sunday Morning Juniors (Football)

It has been a disappointing year for the Juniors. They were able to get a number of sessions in before October half term but from there on the weather was a very wet problem, as it has been for so many local groups.

Until ‘rain stopped play’ the sessions had been as well attended as ever with up to 40 children, from Reception age to 11+, enjoying the sessions which combine fun skill and technique training with friendly, age-appropriate matches and penalty shoot outs. The emphasis is very much on enjoying the game and learning respect for one another and the trainers.

The trainers, who are all volunteers, are more than ably led by Andy Wilson, who has been a fantastic source of enthusiasm for the game and the development of the children.

Sadly, just as the weather was starting to improve, Coronavirus stepped in and all play was stopped. Everyone was very disappointed, and we are all crossing fingers that it will be possible to play again safely - sooner rather than later. The training sessions are open to any child from Reception age and work on a pay-per-play basis, the charge being £1 per child per session. Parents are required to stay during the session which runs every Sunday during term time from 10-11. Parents are actively encouraged to get involved with the training, making half time snacks and helping with the equipment at the beginning and end of the sessions. Obviously, training is not taking place at the moment but for more information or to go onto the circulation list to find out when Juniors restarts please email:

[email protected].

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 13 of 27 Fairwarp Football Club U8s

Fairwarp Football Club U8s had an impressive start to their first season playing competitive, but friendly, league football. Playing in the Crowborough and District League, the U8s are not placed in a position in the League but that doesn’t stop their haul of wins being eye opening with score lines of 8-0 to Fairwarp being not uncommon.

FFC U8s is led by a small and dedicated team of dads who train with the children once a week and were playing either League or friendly matches virtually every week. The pitch at Fairwarp was again a problem for the U8s but they weren’t deterred and many ‘home’ matches were swapped to the home ground of the team they were playing. This meant the team lost out on ‘home advantage’ but did not seem to affect their ability to win.

The Coronavirus has unfortunately meant they have been unable to play since February but the U8s parents have confirmed that training is still definitely going on in the back gardens of all the team so it is hoped that once the Coronavirus ceases to stop play, the team will run back on to the pitch full of energy and finely honed football skills, ready to once more be ‘giant-killers’.

Next season the U8s will become U9s and the squad would be very happy to welcome parents of a new U8 age group to join the Club to establish a new U8 squad to follow on the path that the current U8s have been blazing. It would be expected, in the light of the impact of the Coronavirus on the football season, that this wouldn’t now be practical to start until the 21-22 season to enable the established team to reform effectively. The trainers would therefore be keen to support someone looking to come into the Club in 2021, which would involve training beginning (Coronavirus permitting) towards the end of the preceding 2020-21 season.

If you would like more information on Fairwarp Football Club U8s, or are interested in the idea of starting another year group team contact, in the first instance:

[email protected]

Fairwarp Stoolball Club

Fairwarp Stoolball Club was sufficiently manned and skilled to join the local league last season. They were very much embryonic but absolutely dedicated to improving their skills. The team put on some impressive performances with their fielding being complemented by all the teams they played against.

Although their win rate in the League was a little low, the team enjoyed a number of friendly matches against Maresfield and this enabled the team to develop their match skills and claim a victory or two!

The Club would very much like to appeal to mature ladies who would like to become part of this growing team. Men are also welcome, but we seem to have a shortage of ladies at the moment and there are League restrictions on the number of men who can play in a match. So, ladies, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t played since school or even haven’t played before – it’s good fun and as a small, friendly team it’s an opportunity to be part of the development of this village Club. Training is held weekly (unless it clashes with matches) with everyone encouraged to develop their skills in a positive way.

The season has not yet been able to start in 2020 due to the Coronavirus but everyone hopes that some form of play will be possible before the season ends!

If you would like more information on playing/training with Fairwarp Stoolball Club, please contact: [email protected].

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 14 of 27 Fairwarp Village Hall

This year has been unique, for so many different reasons.

After the AGM in 2019, members of our Committee met to assess the potential for improvement and the continued care of the Hall and developed a plan to maintain, reinforce and update the fabric and facilities. Supported by local Councils, the lighting systems have been upgraded and a new sound system has been purchased and installed. The toilets have been refreshed and plans to refloor these facilities and re-lay the patio and outside spaces are in hand for completion when the current restrictions are relaxed.

In July, the Fairwarp Village Fete enjoyed its usual support and welcomed villagers and visitors to the Green to enjoy the stalls, entertainment and hospitality on a beautiful summer’s day.

As summer passed into the second half of the year, we enjoyed continued and valued support from those hiring the Hall, we hosted the regular Village Market, various village events, barn dances and at the end of the year, the Fairwarp Community Society Christmas Party for the children who enchanted us all in making lanterns and singing carols around the tree on the Green.

Then the new year and with that, the extraordinary medical emergency that we’re still living with now. The last event in the Hall was the 2020 AGM when the decision was made to close the Hall until current restrictions are relaxed. We’ve also taken the decision to cancel the Fete this year, for the first time since the event was founded almost 50 years ago.

Unprecedented times and unprecedented decisions but we’re keeping an eye on ‘the old girl’ and as soon as circumstances permit, we’ll be back!!

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 15 of 27 Maresfield Conservation Group

The Maresfield Conservation Group was formed back in 1991 and in that time has gone from strength to strength. The Group’s aim is to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in Maresfield and the surrounding area.

In the past twelve months we have been involved with many various projects including, refurbishing and repairing wooden picnic benches and donating funds for three new multi coloured plastic benches at Bonner’s School, repairing and restoring the church notice board and our own notice board at the Parade to name just a few.

Back in the autumn we planted (with the help of the Royal Signals) numerous spring flowering bulbs throughout the village. However, the project that we are most proud of is the restoration and repair of the three Victorian Lamps which were donated to the village back in late 1890 early 1900. This project is now almost complete with two of the lamps back to full working order leaving the one in the churchyard still to be connected to the electricity supply, or failing that, a solar system. We are currently awaiting permission from the church authorities before we can proceed further.

Our next major project is to restore and repair the wrought iron gate situated at the entrance to the church (opposite the church car park). This gate is of historical interest being linked to the military presence in Maresfield Park during both World Wars. We have received a quote being approximately £2,000 but we will need permission from the church prior to any work being undertaken.

Prior to the lockdown we were looking to facilitate the formation of a Good Neighbour Scheme in Maresfield. The idea is that it could possibly come under the umbrella of the MCG but that it would need its own committee and volunteers. We are ready to circulate these ideas when the current situation improves.

The Annual Accounts (to 31st March 2020) have been completed and are ready for audit and presentation to members when the present restrictions are relaxed enough to permit us to hold our Annual General Meeting.

Our footpaths Group has, over the last twelve months, been subject to a number of changes having lost three old (in terms of working service) members although the numbers keep up and we now have our first lady member.

Fallen trees have been cleared from a number of paths and, for the first time, we have been unblocking and shoring up the banks of streams that were burst by the heavy rain during the winter. Way-markers have been replaced and the normal annual growth clearance cut back. A number of days were missed due to the very heavy rain but we did manage to make a start on the re-painting of the three mile-markers within the Parish – the metal plates are now white rather than rust coloured. However painting of the black numbers and ‘Bowbells’ will have to wait until we are free of lockdown as will the impressive list of ‘to-do’s’ that has accumulated and is increasing rapidly.

Pat Palmer Chairman Maresfield Conservation Group Email: [email protected] Website: maresfieldconservationgroup.org Registered Charity No: 1104136

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 16 of 27 MARESFIELD AND NUTLEY CHURCHES Maresfield and Nutley welcomed a new Vicar,Revd.Ben Sear and his family, Claudia, Phoebe and Robyn in May with a service presided over by Bishop Richard of Lewes and attended by clergy, dignitaries and parishioners from Nutley and Maresfield numbering over 200. Ben enthusiastically entered into village life, becoming a Governor at Bonners and Nutley Church of Primary Schools plus regular visits at the schools to lead assemblies, talks and special services, forging strong links with the schools and their families. Volunteers in both villages continue to distribute the important Parish Magazines to all households, which keeps people connected and informed. The children of Nutley enjoyed a summer fun weekend at Tyes once again courtesy of Nigel and Dan Pullan. Ben and Pauline (Associate Vicar) organised some creative games and crafts with a jungle theme and the children enjoyed the freedom of the space that Tyes offers. The Nutley church family continue to organise the monthly village lunches, weekly Coffee Pop-In, Sunrise Café, exercise class and Teas on the Green in the summer. Funds received have enabled organisers to increase the number of attendees. The lunches and coffees are a very enjoyable way for villagers to keep in touch and be aware when someone needs support. Volunteers from St.Bartholomew’s run the very popular village Baby & Toddler Group and Toddler Praise with more than 100 children registered. Sunday schools at both churches continue to be well attended and popular. Nutley and Maresfield churches play a big part in the hugely popular and successful village fetes, Maresfield in May and Nutley in June, baking cakes, organising games and offering practical support to the fete committees.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 17 of 27 Nutley church invited villagers and visitors to an evening of Songs of Praise and refreshments in October, masterminded by our choir mistress Pam, and the wonderful choristers. Remembrance services were held in Nutley and Maresfield. Officers from the Signals Regiment visited Maresfield again, carrying out jobs around the village and attending a moving service of Remembrance. Jane Brown laid the first wreath on behalf of Royal British Legion followed by Wealden MP, Nus Ghani and local dignitaries.

St.Bartholomew’s and Maresfield Conservation Group again welcomed villagers and visitors to the annual Christmas tree lighting evening, all enjoyed with mulled wine or hot chocolate and mince pies. This is an important event bringing villagers and visitors together and has grown year on year and spreads goodwill. Singers from Nutley and Maresfield churches joined together for a special Christmas celebration of carols with staff, residents and their families at Wisteria Lodge on 21 December – all enjoyed with a delicious festive tea. The year came to an end with Christmas services including school services, candle light carol services, Christingle in Nutley and midnight communion in Maresfield on Christmas Eve and celebrations on Christmas Day in both villages. Maresfield and Nutley churches embrace our special position within village life and aim to bring people together and to be aware of the support needs of fellow villagers. The Parish Magazines, lunches, quizzes, musical events, village walks and Christmas celebrations etc. organised by the Churches all help us to reach out to our neighbours and stay connected.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 18 of 27 Maresfield Stoolball Club

Maresfield Stoolball Club has been running for over 100 years, with a thriving membership. We are a very friendly and reasonably competitive Club with a Mixed and Ladies team with young adults from 14 years of age also playing. Our principle is to encourage players of all abilities and will provide hands-on training. Obviously we enjoy winning but won’t shout if anyone mis-fields or drops a catch!

The Mixed team play in two leagues – Mid Sussex and Lewes, and, the Ladies play in the North Division for Sussex. Games are home and away, with home being Maresfield Recreational Ground. They are played during the season; May to August, on weekdays. Both teams play friendlies whenever they can.

For more information about the game and Maresfield, please do look at the Stoolball England Website (www.stoolball.org.uk) or specifically for Maresfield (www.stoolball.org.uk/maresfieldladies or www.stoolball.org.uk/maresfieldmixed). The Club holds a Ladies Tournament each year where there is the opportunity to play teams not in your league. There are plans to extend this to a Mixed Tournament too. Both teams try to go to as many tournaments, on Sundays, as they can and do sometimes win a cup for their achievement.

The games and tournaments are great fun, with lots of fresh air, friendly atmosphere and great exercise. We are always looking for new players to compliment our teams so please contact the Club Secretary on [email protected]. Both teams usually end up mid table in their leagues so do join us to help us to do better.

There are also a number of social events during the year like the Annual Awards Meal, North Division End of Season Event, Christmas Celebration, Hindleap Activity Session, as well as some visits to local establishments for a drink and some cheesy chips......

Lesley Skibinska (Secretary)

Maresfield Village Football Club

SEASON 2019-20 The club have continued this season with one men’s team playing in the Mid-Sussex Football League, Division 4 South. We have 40 players signed on and, when the season was aborted due to the coronavirus in March, we were lying 4th in the table. We have managed to fulfil all our fixtures this season with some fixtures being reversed due to the wet conditions during the winter with the excellent drainage of the Maresfield pitch allowing us to play when all games, apart from those on 3G /4G pitches, were called off. In addition to the Saturday team we also ran a Vets team that played on Sundays in the Mid Sussex Vets competition. We had 22 players signed on but again, unfortunately, the season was cut short. We also tried to field an over 50ties team but due to the weather, unavailability and shortage of opposition we only managed to play once. We hope we will be able to continue with the same number of teams next season.

Chris Sherwood

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 19 of 27 MARESFIELD VILLAGE HALL - Annual Report for 2019 - 2020

Committee Membership The Committee is comprised of Patricia Langridge, Nicky Poole, Jean Sallows, Lionel Sandalls, Laura Stevens-Smith, Gillian Bullock and Pat Bowler. The Committee also thank Ann Thompson, Dick Thompson and Sheila Cumming for their on-going valuable support and encouragement.

The Committee is very grateful to all those in the village who use their skills and professional expertise to assist with the various projects.

Maintenance and Repairs. The past year, though busy, naturally has not been as hectic as the previous year. Prior to the lockdown due to the Covid-19 some general maintenance had been carried out on the kitchen window, though there is still some double-glazing work to be done. Missing rubber feet have been replaced on the tables to protect the wooden floor and, following the removal of a mature holly tree, the path leading up to the main entrance has been repaired. Toilet seats were replaced in both the ladies’ and gentlemen’s lavatories and special child friendly seats have also been provided for the toddler group. Having installed the defibrillator, earlier in the year, a training course was held in October 2019 to which interested parties were invited. As the course was oversubscribed, Marita Edwards, out trainer, arranged another session in January 2020 at The Belmont Centre in Uckfield for those unable to attend the course in the village hall. The lighting in the corridor has been improved upon by using LED lights, so much so that the Committee is in the process of researching the benefits of installing LED lights in the hall and kitchen.

Risk Assessment and Policies. The Safeguarding, Health & Safety and Fire Safety policies are reviewed annually in time for the Maresfield Village Hall Annual General Meeting.

Finances. Although costs continue to rise for everyone, and activities have had to be halted, due to careful financial planning by the Treasurer, Nicky Poole, the Committee is pleased to report a reasonably healthy balance.

Funding. The Committee is delighted to report that at, the time of lockdown, activities carried out in the Hall continued to be extremely wide ranging. Village lunches, the Women’s Institute, a Mother & Toddler group, a Badminton group, Fitness classes and many types of Dance groups, a Historical Society and worshippers from the local Church met regularly to enjoy the facilities. The hall was also used for parties and other social events.

Successful fund raising by Committee members at a Bridge afternoon raised additional funds for the hall. Other groups have used the hall for Charity Fundraising events and quiz nights. The Maresfield Millennium Players presented their Pantomime in February and a play in October.

Long-term plans. The future of the village hall. It may seem strange to include this item at this time of uncertainty; however, the Committee will continue to explore how to accommodate the needs of a growing community.

Currently, we are privileged to have a great community facility that in normal circumstance would be buzzing with activity. Thank you to all those who are committed to providing such interesting activities and opportunities for social interaction. The Committee hopes “normal service” will be resumed in the very near future and we will all be able to celebrate together.

Maxine Canning has been enjoying teaching Paradise classes twice a week at Maresfield Village Hall since January 2019. The classes have been extremely successful as they are for all ages and particularly suited for those with joint issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, new knees, hips and bad backs. The class is set to great music that will be familiar to everyone. They are fun and encourage a wonderful community spirit. Maresfield Village Hall Committee. - May 2020 Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 20 of 27 Maresfield Village Lunch

My name is Carole Wheeler and I am the co-ordinator of the Maresfield Village lunch, which takes place once a month on the first Thursday of the month.

We provide a two-course lunch with sherry to start and coffee or tea to finish. All our food is freshly cooked on the premises, we were all looking forward to our Easter lunch which would have been Roast lamb! We have a raffle with numerous prizes.

At Christmas we have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and the children from Bonners Primary School come and entertain us with carols.

We are a very varied bunch of people, all different ages and circumstances, and the noise of talking is lovely to hear!

We have a very able cook called Laura, and many helpers to serve etc, though we are always pleased to welcome new ones!

We are always happy to welcome new people.

With thanks Carole Wheeler

Maresfield Village Meadows Trust

The past year has seen uncertainty and significant change within the membership structure. The group has struggled with recruiting volunteers for both the practical aspects of working on the woodland working party, and for members of the committee. In July 2019 a Special General Meeting was held by the then Chairperson Michael Clifton. Afrer many years of service he was stepping down from his Chairpersons role and at the Special General Meeting a selection of options for the charity’s future were presented to the members. The membership voted for the site to continue and remain open, however there were no volunteers forthcoming for the chairpersons position which could lead to closing the charity and site. Following the meeting two local residents, Janice Somner and Kay Wainwright, volunteered to cover the chairperson’s position to prevent closure. Though willing to take on this role however, they were clear they did not have capacity to provide the same commitments as the previous Chair.

Another Special General Meeting was held in November to vote an amendment to the constitution and Janice and Kay were voted as Joint Chair. This has helped share some of the workload. Members also raised the issue of changing the name of the charity as the charity has become more focused on the Normans Pond woodland rather than the wider Maresfield area. This will be discussed with the full membership at the next AGM with a view to consider a more relevant name.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 21 of 27 Michael Clifton (Committee member) and Alan Sallows (Treasurer) have now both resigned from the Trust and we would like to thank them for all their hard work and contribution over the past few years. We are very grateful to have recruited a new treasurer who will take over from Alan once COVID19 lockdown measures have been eased.

Volunteers needed - Volunteers for practical work on the site are desperately needed. Whilst the aim now is to keep the site open and safe, there is some work that needs to be done to keep the area manageable. A working management plan will be available to members at the AGM. We are aware there are many ideas for work that can be undertaken, however unless volunteers are found this will not be an option. We really do need support to help run this charity, it cannot survive without willing volunteers to help.

We were fortunate to have 12 soldiers volunteer the from Royal Corps of Signals Regiment on the 9th November 2019 as part of the Remembrance weekend commemorations. The work was carried out in non- stop rain and working in these conditions proved a challenge! Their efforts were greatly appreciated. The Soldiers worked on the grass embankment on the eastern edge of the main pond .This is a steeply inclined slope and the task was to cut back the overgrown shrubs and bushes at the edge of the pond and prepare it for future strimming and also stack the cuttings at the end of the main pond for future burning. Further work was completed on the Grover Farmer’s field adjacent to the broken Willow tree by the Feeder pond.

We saw a very wet winter for 2019 which led to flooding of certain areas of footpaths. A temporary closure of part of the wood was instigated. This was for health and safety reasons. We are happy to report the driest April on record has remedied the issue!

COVID19

Bluebells were in full bloom this spring and despite the world pandemic people have been continuing to enjoy the walk around the woodland, managing to keep up social distancing restrictions. Sadly, as a result of the pandemic no work has been undertaken during this time. The area is monitored most days to ensure safety around the site.

Meanwhile nature is oblivious.... ducklings, moorhen chicks, and heron seen enjoying the relative serenity of the main pond.

AGM 22 May 2020 7pm. Postponed new date TBC Once restrictions are lifted, we will arrange dates for future meetings and plans. Please feel free to contact us with any comments Janice 01825763986 Kay 01825 749690 Joint Chairs

[email protected] Maresfieldvillagemeadowstrust.org Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 22 of 27 Nutley Bowling Club

5th May 2020. Annual Report.

We have once again enjoyed a good season’s bowling, visiting many other clubs in the course of the year and welcomed other bowlers to our green. We always receive very favourable comments on the condition of our green and the surrounds which abound with flowering schrubs, begonias and geraniums. It’s quite frightening what it costs other clubs to have their green looked after by professional Green Keepers, but we are extremely lucky to have a dedicated band of members who meet on Tuesday mornings throughout the year to do whatever work is necessary. The 2019 season was one of very mixed weather, starting off vey wet and then going into drought conditions, neither particularly conductive to bowling but we managed to get through the year enjoying our bowling despite the weather.

We are once again very grateful for the Grant from Maresfield Parish Council and continued sponsorship by Cannadines Bathrooms. We have managed to secure another Sponsor this year LDB Wealth Management, who are in partnership with St James Place. We have to thank them for a very generous boost to our funds which will go a long way to paying for the electrical work needing to be done at the Club. Other gifts and help have been in the form of a Drop Spreader that was donated to us and is used for spreading Top Dressing Loam on the green. We were loaned a mechanised Tracked Wheel Barrow that was invaluable in moving 2 tons of Top-Dressing Loam from the bottom of the path up to the green.

We welcomed four new players halfway through this season and despite not being with us long enough to play in many games this year we hope that they have enjoyed being members sufficiently enough to join us again next year. This brings our membership up to 26, we would of course like a few more, but on the bright side we are nevertheless a friendly, caring club who enjoy each other’s company.

Over the course of the year we have over 50 fixtures, a mixture of friendly games and Mid Sussex League competition games. In the league we play 5 other teams in our division on a home and away basis from the beginning of June to early August.

We also have had our own Internal Competitions games which take the form of novices, singles, plus combinations of pairs and triples teams which are made up of players names being drawn out of a hat. These run from the middle of May to the end of August when we hold our Finals Day.

As well as bowling we have had a very full calendar of Social Events, starting the season off with the very successful Pre-Season get together and Ploughman’s Supper. This was followed in July by one of our major fund-raising events of the year, the Alf Sayers Day. We have 16 visiting teams and provide lunch and tea for about 65 people including other non- playing visitors and our own members servicing the event. The Captain’s Day with BBQ, was once again a great success and has now become a much-looked forward date in our diaries. In October we held our second successful fund-raising event of the year, a quiz in the Nutley War Memorial Hall with a packed room of 90 plus quizzers. The year ended with the Presentation Dinner, this year we went to Crockstead Barn Hotel, which provided us with a very varied menu and extremely pleasant setting with good parking. It proved to be a very good evening much enjoyed by all and a very good way to bring the season to a close.

We have also attended Sussex County Bowls Meetings as well as Mid Sussex League meetings throughout the year.

We have enjoyed a very busy and enjoyable season and as always look forward to what the next bowling year will bring.

June Lambert (Chairman) www.nutleybowling.org Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 23 of 27 Nutley Preschool Annual Report October 2019

We started the last academic year with good numbers and have increased to 30 children on our register (August 2019). We have 20 children on the register as of March 2020. This increase in numbers is a credit to the hard work of the staff and committee to ensure we provide the best Early Years’ experience we can and we have increased our promotion of preschool with social media and are continuing to reach out to all neighbouring communities. In February 2017, we had a routine Ofsted inspection, from which we retained our grade of Good. We are all very pleased with the report, which was incredibly complimentary. The report is available on the Ofsted website. We now employ 5 staff and the team is extremely strong in their knowledge, experience and ability to work as a team. We have added 2 bank staff to our team. We continue to keep the garden space maintained well. Financially, we are in the same situation as most rural preschools. The funding we receive from the government does not cover all the outgoing costs, and we still have to actively pursue other sources of income. We have been very grateful to receive a grant from Maresfield Parish Council to go towards new preschool equipment, donations from the Waitrose Community Matters Scheme (Crowborough and Uckfield), and also our local Nutley Sunrise Café, run by St James the Less Church. We still run many fundraising events throughout the year to top up the accounts. We repeated the Nutley Christmas Market in 2018 and the Nutley Charity Clay Pigeon Shoot in 2019 and both were record breakers in terms of the amount of funds raised and also the effort put in by preschool and Nutley Church of England Primary School, parents. Many donations and sponsors helped make the Nutley Charity Clay Pigeon Shoot event happen and special thanks to Northall C.P.C and Atheralls Farm in Fletching. The preschool and school have been working together well. Overall the preschool is financially sound but we are pushing hard on advertising to secure some more numbers for the start of the autumn term in September 2020, since a lot of children are ‘Rising Fives’ and moving onto Nutley Church of England Primary School and indeed other schools in the area. We would like to thank the community for their ongoing support of Nutley preschool, to secure the future of Little Deers, for our youngest and future residents of Nutley and the surrounding areas. An update since March 2020 has put an unprecedented strain on Nutley Preschool, with regards to Coronavirus (COVID-19). We of course now cannot fundraise, missing the Nutley Charity Clay Pigeon Shoot planned in May 2020 and also the Nutley Village Fete planned in June 2020. We expect the Nutley Christmas Market in 2020 is unlikely. We are greeted to East Sussex County Council’s EYEE funding still available in this summer term 2020 and the government furlough scheme and we have made financial and staffing plans, based on parent demand (12 children out of 20 returning), to reopen on 2nd June 2020, having put our new policy and risk assessment in place. We are not expecting to receive any private fees at least until September 2020 so will have missed one term of private income (furlough scheme has helped to receive 80% back from the government). These are uncertain times for everyone, and Nutley Preschool is working hard to remain operational. We will look at online fundraising potential and hope that demonstrating our new version of normal way of working this summer term from 2nd June until 22nd July will allow parents to feel encouraged.

Philippa O’Donovan Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 24 of 27 Nutley War Memorial Trust

The Trust was set up in 1948 when things were a lot different. Since then the Trust has operated to this deed. At the last AGM the Trustees agreed that it was time to bring the Trust up to date by converting to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). There will be no changes in how the Trust operates and what it is expected to do, and the boundary of the organisation will be the same.

There are three big advantages of doing this. Firstly, residents within the Nutley boundary will choose to become members of the Trust.

There will continue to be an AGM at which Nutley residents may vote, subject to having signed up as members beforehand. This will be provided through an online system and the Trust will write out separately how this will be achieved at a later date.

The second major advantage is that the CIO will not require holding trustees as it will hold property in the name of the CIO and it will limit the liabilities that the current Trustees have. It is hoped that this will attract more people from the village to take an interest in the Trust and become future Trustees, so ensuring the future viability of the charity.

The third reason is that this will bring the constitution of the charity fully up-to-date with all of the latest charity law provisions recommended by the Charity Commission. This will mean that the charity will continue to be fit for purpose well into the future.

More information can be found on the Charity Commission website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission or if you do have any questions about the incorporation into a CIO, please feel free to contact the NWMT. Contact details can be found on the website https://www.nutley-war-memorial-hall.co.uk/. Any comments and queries will be considered by NWMT as long as they are received before 31st July 2020.

Maresfield Parish Council provided grants toward new tables and also towards the launch event for the Nutley Community Project. We also received £1000 from Tesco Bags for Help scheme which helped the Trust purchase new stage curtains. Our thanks go out to these organisations.

The storms over the winter required various repairs to the roof and guttering, purchased a new boiler for the kitchen, updated the heating system, replaced lighting in the hall and replaced some hinges on some windows. We have also stripped and resealed the floor as well as had audio engineers in to assess the acoustics which will require a new audio loop.

Planning permission was sought and granted for a state-of-the-art preschool which will relieve the pressure on the demands for the hall and provide a space for the children to enjoy a safe environment in which to develop.

The Trust would like to thank the following people who have been active members of the Trust and are retiring this year. The first is Sarah Wilson who has been an active supporter of the NTSC as well as a holding Trustee and also Barrie Sidwell who has been chair for many years of the Trust and also a holding Trustee. They have both contributed so much to the community and the Trusts sincere thanks go out to both of them.

Finally, we will be holding an AGM when the COVID crisis is over. I would ask that if you are interested in becoming a Trustee for the new year please could you let the Trust know via the web address https://www.nutley-war-memorial-hall.co.uk/. You will need to be 18 or over and live in Nutley village.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 25 of 27 St Peter & St James’ Hospice

Thank you very much for Maresfield Parish Council for their continued support of St Peter & St James’ Hospice Beaconview Wellbeing Centre last year. As you can imagine there has been a lot of change going on at the Hospice. In March 2020 we had to cancel the class and groups we would normally hold in Beaconview but we have maintained our excellent relations with our patients, their families and our 440 volunteers, most of whom we have asked to stay home but we try and stay in touch, calling them and sending them our newsletters with our latest updates. Our community nursing team continue to support our many patients who are choosing to stay at home and are making visits wherever possible and use video conferencing where appropriate. Our bereavement counselling services have moved to a ‘tele-befriending’ service. Our inpatient ward have taken a few non Covid-19 patients from the local hospitals to free up bed space. A few of our patients have decided to stay home rather than come onto the Inpatient Unit as sadly we have had to place restrictions on visiting hours and the number of visitors that patients can have. Having had to shut all our retail shops and cancel many events and community activities, we have been touched and are so grateful for the support that we have received from our local community including Maresfield. Our emergency appeal for the Covid-19 crisis has already raised nearly £70,000 for St Peter & St James’ Hospice. Wivelsfield residents have been raiding their cupboards to keep our kitchens stocked and we are successfully selling vintage items on our eBay page. The Hospice has adapted successfully to the changes that have been forced on us all and our healthcare staff have managed to care for and support all our patients both on the Inpatient unit and out in the community. We anticipate that we will be extending our bereavement services once the current crisis has reached its conclusion and expect that some of the changes we have made will offer us improvements on how we can deliver better care and services for our community in the future.

Wealden Citizens Advice

Annual Report Extract – Maresfield Parish

At Wealden Citizens Advice, we provide free, confidential, independent and impartial advice and campaign on big issues affecting people's lives. Our goal is to help everyone find a way forward, whatever problem they face. We are an independent charity and are part of the Citizens Advice network across England and Wales.

Overall last year, Wealden Citizens Advice helped 4,907 Wealden residents with 18,995 issues. Our team achieved some truly impressive outcomes for our clients helping them secure £2,755,948 in improved financial outcomes over the year. Our Money Advice team handled 3,923 issues related to debt which is a 22% increased on last year. We repeated our Warm in Wealden campaign last winter and helped 369 people with 857 energy related & fuel debt issues helping them save/secure additional benefits worth an estimated £25,000

Research & Campaigning is one of the twin aims of Citizens Advice and we want to address the policies and procedures that impact on our local community, especially where people are in need. We have maintained our status as a dementia friendly organisation and Friends against Scams participating in events across the District. We expect demand for our service to rise in the next year, particularly as we continue to play our part in the Universal Credit help to claim scheme and the increased demand in this in relation to Covid-19.

We are very grateful to our volunteers who make it possible for us to do what we do and the commitment and flexibility that they have shown in adapting to working from home to ensure we can continue to deliver our service in the Wealden area.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 26 of 27 Fairwarp Community Society

Annual Parish Report 2019 –2020

In these very difficult times of lockdown we are proud that the FCS has been at the forefront of communication with the village.

Our Membership stands at 177 with an additional 42 complimentary concessionary members, however, we send the Newsletter to 290 households and hope to encourage all those who receive it to sign up/renew for 2020/2021. In addition we have 142 followers on the FCS Facebook page. We have 21 businesses offering concessions to our members.

At the start of the lockdown a call for volunteers met with a great response from over 50 households in the community and was liaised by the FCS with help and guidance from Wealden and Parish councils. Our Good Neighbours Scheme is now registered as a Community Hub.

Our brilliant Newsletter written and co-ordinate by Tracy Atchison, has been a terrific mechanism for keeping the village in touch and informed during the present crisis. Normally, a fortnightly event, the Newsletter was produced daily at the outbreak of lockdown to keep villagers informed of the correct precautions and a wealth of information about delivery services, take away options and tips for streaming services and much, much more. Still produced every few days, the Newsletter has information about sewing teams producing scrubs and face masks, a virtual quiz, the third so far, recipes, gardening tips and exhibitions to visit online. This Newsletter has been a great way of keeping the villagers connected and not feeling too isolated.

Prior to the present crisis, FCS continued its usual business. The Church yard clean up was carried out in October but sadly the Spring clean up had to be postponed.

FCS held a very successful Quiz Night, this annual event is our only source of fund raising apart from membership subscriptions and this year we raised £761. 29. The FCS Christmas Quiz at the Foresters Arms raised over £300 for local charity The Chestnut Tree Hospice for Children.

FCS is now paying and organizing for the Back Lane Green to be mowed.

The Children’s Christmas Party was introduced again this year and the Christmas Tree provided by FCS was erected on the Green with the annual lighting and Carol singing.

FCS sponsors the Pub Quiz and maintains the telephone box library.

FCS continues its commitment to identify any needs of the village and villagers that can be met with either funds or labour, keep the community informed and entertained through the Newsletter, the website, FCS Facebook page and Instagram.

Maresfield Parish Annual Report 2019/20 Page 27 of 27