Salehurst & Robertsbridge Parish Council Nmwffi&ffi%-rymR Volume5 lssue3 December20l0 canvouherpprease? we wish ell residentsa Happy christmes and e weneedavorunteertoffi deliver the Newsletter Pgaegf,ul Ngw *gan to Oakland Drive. W j Ifyou can help please I contacttheclerkor I wE NEED yoaR qIEWSI Clf r. David Aflen - i The ParishCouncil is facing somedifficult decisionson streetlighting. Datesfor vour diarv I An EU directiveis expectedto requirethe withdrarvalof'all mercul) basedlamps ztilt I by 2012. lv{anufacturersare aheacl,"-anticipating this changeancl are stoppingthe manufactureof thesebulbs and this will meanthat eventuallyit'ovill be impossible Cu*eutly rve still have63 m€rcury larnpsand to'eplace t'*' all PtanningMeeting 6th . ::"::ll1t:,:1"'"'(this involves changing the lamphr:usiiig as rvell) rvould cost arouiid f 12,000! youthCen*e Loi.|io.' , Faceclu'ith this the Council hasreluctantly agreed to raisea loan over 5 )."eal'sto parishCouncit l Tth i cover the cost of replacernent- rryehave beett ahle to make sotle savingsin our Meeting January budgetto cover the cost of repaynrentof the loan lvhiclt meanstherc rvill be tto in- RobertsbridgeHall , creaseirr the preceptto cover tliis. 3rd ' Planning Meering ,, money trut u'e rvould like youthCentre Fr;;;"ry However,there are other &reaswhere we could save I your viervson these.Some of ;-on rna,"-alread,v- be alvaretlrat East SussexCC in line PlanningMeeting 3rd r with a numberof other authoritiesis considerilg turrringofl'street iights to save March 'fhis'fhiq l'outhCentre , *otl"y.rrr,rne\., lvillr,villnof not ir,rmecliatelyir,rnredi:rtelv affectaffer:t ourorrr parishnarich becausehecarrse ouroirr street ligh:sli lother : paid parishcouncit 2Ist than thoseon the bypasslvhich arethe respc;nsihilityof Highrva,vsAgency) are Meeting March I tbr by the parish.I{orvever. tlre potentialsavings that could be tnadein electriciW RobertsbridgeHall costs lnean that the Parish may need to consider this as an option. , Cunentlyrne have 76 lightson all night ancll4 part-night(an at dusk, off at Meeting - ;Planning lrh.. midnight, on Sam off at daylight note this is a {ixed scheduleand cannot be ),Youthcentre April 'I'he : artjustlerlon an individual lamp basis). Councilis consicleringleaving the - Annuatparish lightsin Stationltoad andthe lligh Street,Clapper, George Ilillar"ea the main 'arleries' i Meeting I ith , of the village- on all night but changingALL otlier lightsto part-ttightas I aroundf1000 perYear. Note: Meetings of the fuil Council now take place on thel What do vou think of this idea? ,3rd Mondayof alternatemonths. I nltAll meetings"'cc""Er startolu' L atu' '2.30 '':,:",:;":":"1pm andl c^^^.^rr-. ...^ ^..*-.-,.+r,.-^^,,:-^ ^, )a Secondly',rrye currently require our nraintenance compan-vto provide white latnps ', period of up to 15 nrr,r^r.o,' . ,, ,i , , , r rr --... --.---,^- allowedci thestart of themeeting in all our lights but these cost approximately' f20 extra pef bulb cornpared to l,forpublic comment or questionsif, 'g<llden'lamps (less brash tlian the oneson the b5,"pass).Alsr:. tlre rvhite bulbs last required. 'golden' ,] approxiltrately2 -vearswhereas the onesapproximatell,' 3 years.Tlris obvi- :Asendas meetings"::."::t::11 for ously has"*",-':,on i*pu"t on our costs.Ariexample of a'goltlen' lamp ca:rbe seerrat the )on the parish notice boards andl ;'".,'' bottom ol'Kemps Way' iweb siti at least3 days before thel meeting - planning applications 'golden' : are availablefor inspectionat the,] What do you think of the idea of changing our lights to bulkrs? tparish'opening ffice during normal'i I'i'mesor on the -'"Rotherl " r, ., .-..tr L.. ltrL rvouldvvvurv beu!' rnostrrr'ot costsvJL efl'ectivevrrvvlr to change the timing o{'the lights lv}ien tlre lanterns District^;.,_;.t Councilweb/-^,,_nit,noh site<ito: - I] rvill needto makea decisionat our January meeting but x'e l;;;.;;i;;.;;;.;i': ;";,; ,ou ,on\ are changedand rl,e commenton planning applicationsl would like to hear ,v-ourvieq,s ou these matters; pleasewrite to or etnaii the Clerk ',on-line VOLUME5 rssuE3 Grit Bins - The grit bins which the Parishhas paid for shouldhopefully be in placeby the time this Newsletter getsto you. Pleaseremember that the grit is providedfor useon roadsand pavementsand NOT for useon pri- vate properly - residentsshould make their own provision for that. Bags of grit can be boughtat Culverwell's or Builder Centerand it is worth buying early and not waiting until the snow and ice arrive! - if they haven't got it in stockthen they will order it for you. Local Action Plan - update Gateways to calm traffic and create a ssenseof place' - One of the main projectsfrom the localaction plan was to slow down traffic as it entersthe village. Thosewho respondedto the surveywere not keento see "sleeping policemen" and "traffic islands". "village A solution we are pursuingis gateways".You will seethese now for many villages acrossthe coun- try. They usually involve somekind of woodenfencing - often includingthe speedlimit sign. The theory of these is that it attracts attention to the fact that the driver is entering a residential area,with a speedlimit. These fencesalso give the illusion of narrowingthe road, which againcan influencespeed. The plan is for these gatewaysto enhancethe entranceto the village, and generally upgrade the appearance of the village. Sadlythe existingsigns are discolouredand crackedin places. "sense "Gateway Somevillages have also usedtheir gatewaysto developa of place", suchas to the Downs" ooHome "Bronte or of motoring" or Country" etc. We are hoping that Gray Nicholls will be happy to incorporate cricket bats into the designfor Robertsbridge.There is also a possibilitythat we may be able to incorporatethe old style metal village signs,with the Sussexcoat of arms into the design. We are only in the conceptstage and all ideasand commentsare welcome.Please send to [email protected] arehoping to have quotesand designsby February. Seealso item on Speedcontrol on oppositepage Robertsbridge l'reecycle? 'Ihere is a r,vorldr.videFreecl,'cle Netr.vork. It is a grassrootsmovenrent of peopler.vho are givirrg {and getting) stuif i'or free in their orvntow'ns and viilages.Freecycle groups rnatch people r.vho have things tiiei,, lvtrntto get rid of with peoplervho catr use them. The goal is to keepusatrle itenis out of landlills.lly using r.vlratrve alreadyhave on this ea$h, lve reduceconsumerism. nranufacture ferver goods, and lessenthe impact on the earth.Atrother beneflt of using Freecycleis that it encouragesus to get rid of.iulrk that rveuno longer needand promotecommunity involvementin tlie process. 'l'here are alreadyFreecycle websites lbr'l'unbridge Wells, Hastingsand Hurst Creen.Fufther infirr- nratior-rwu,rv.uk.f'reecycle.org or http://groups.freecvcle.orgy'hastings-freecycle/description If anyonewould like to setup a group for Robertsbridgewe would be delighted! Bishop's Meadow - The land bridge connectingthe two partsof the meadowhas now beenconstructed and sur- 'green facedwith road chippingswhich will up' over time. The new areahas received its first mowing. The treesoffered by WoodlandTrust arrivedat the beginningof Novemberand PeterMassini will organizea volunteerwork day to plant them aroundthe meadowbut especiallyon the new bund along Bishop's Lane.The 'greened grasson the bund has now grown and it has up' nicely. The Darvell communityhave offered to help with the planting and any other volunteerswill be welcome- watch for announcementof datesIf sufficientvolun- teersare availablethen the fencebetween the new areaand the Licensedpath to Glottenhamwill be removedat the sametime. The incorporation of the area has taken longer than anticipated due partly to the dry summer but also to short- age of funds now alleviatedto someextent by a grant from the RotherDC Community Grant Scheme.By next seasonthe areashould be fully accessibleand will becomea valuableextension to the amenity of the main Meadow. A numberof residentshave questionedwhy the picnic benchnear the children'splay equipmenthas been re- moved.This was done at the requestof nearbyresidents who complainedthat the benchwas being usedby young (and not so young!) peopleas a gatheringplace, some times into the early hoursand creatinga nuisance.Very reluctantly,the ParishCouncil agreedto the removalof the benchwhich hasnow beenre-located into the play areaat the recreation sround. VOLUME5 ISSUE3 CycleRobertsbridge in full Swing! '"rf Sincethe joint CycleRobertsbridgeand CycleBattle'ssuccessful launch in Januarywhen24 turnedikeento pedal off their over indulgenceat Christmas,more and more localshave been dusting down their bikdsto come out and enjoy the tracks and lanesof our local countryside. Between6-10 peopleturned up for the Summerevening rides from the Ostrich on a Monday night. Then a good crowd joined our rides to Bodiam in Juneto celebrateNational Bike Week - a hilly circular ride for the enthusiastsand a flatter ride along bridlewaysand tracksfor thosewho preferredto take things more leisurely. To get children pedalling,a family off-road ride from Rye was organisedin July. Severalfamilies enjoyedan open bridleway past CamberCastle through to WinchelseaBeach for an ice creamand paddlethen along the nature reservetrack to Rye Harbour for lunch. With the arrival of Hannesa keenmountainbiker from SouthAfrica, the club now has a thriving mountain bike group, (Mounties) with up to 14 adultsand youngstersbraving the mud and sloshon a Saturdaymorning! Next year......well an evenbigger