News
The St. Mary’s Church Choir, Funtington, have been filmed and will be appearing on
BBC South Today in “Finn’s Country”
between 6.30 and 7.00pm on Tuesday 17th September 2009
VILLAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
The 'Village of the Year' competition, managed by Action in Rural Sussex, sponsored by Calor Gas, for villages/communities of 5000 people in East and West Sussex, was held on Friday 10 July at Scaynes Hill Millennium Village Centre. It is pleasing to announce that Funtington (parish) were winners in West Sussex, and advance to the Regional and National stages. The Chairman of Funtington Parish Council was presented with a plaque and certificate, as well as a cheque for £800, by Mrs. Susan Pyper, Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex. The competition is based on "Not what the Village(s) has – but what the Community does", for example the website, traffic calming, affordable housing, and the Welcome Pack. The Parish Council looks forward to the next challenges.
POT HOLES IN THE ROAD
At the Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday 1st July Concern was expressed about the number of pot holes remaining in local roads. The WSCC highways Department number to report Pot Holes is 01243 642105. Holes over 4” deep will be dealt with urgently.
Report Pot Holes and highway obstructions to your local Parish Councillor
LOUISE WINS CHICHESTER WEST!
The Conservative party has kept control of West Sussex County Council, winning 48 of the 71 seats. The Liberal Democrats took 21 and Labour two.
The turnout, however, was very low compared to previous years. Only 38.72 per cent voted compared with 64.84 per cent in 2005, when the county elections coincided with a General Election. In 2001 the turnout was 60.79 per cent.
These are the Chichester West results:-
CONSERVATIVE HOLD
John Charles Bennett, Labour 199
Andrew Emerson, British National Party 142
Mary Louise (Louise) Goldsmith, Conservatives 2,190 – ELECTED
Alix Barbara (Barbara) Henry, Liberal Democrat 692
Richard Andrew Lanchester, Green 378
James McCulloch, UK Independence Party 380
The number of registered voters for Chichester West is 9,255. The total votes cast was 3,981 and the turnout was 43.01 per cent.
DEATH OF A CYCLIST
On Monday 7 April, at around 10.35, Mr Laurie Pither was killed while riding his bicycle. A car coming from West Stoke turned right from Downs Road into West Stoke road crossing Mr Pither’s path and knocked him from his bike.
Mr Pither, 73, was secretary of the Hampshire Road Cyclist Club and well known to many club riders across Hampshire and West Sussex. He was for many years the author of what is known as ‘Laurie’s List’, a comprehensive bicycling events list that seemed to grow as each year went by.
The accident occurred on the road that links Lavant, in the east to East Ashling to the west. It is a country lane to be used by horses and their riders, walkers and bicyclists, farm vehicles and now, of course, by cars.
It was the event of Chichester’s flooding that put this route on the map. Cars were detoured around the city via West Stoke turning this narrow, winding country lane into Chichester’s de facto northern by pass. And so it has remained.
The County Council cannot provide the kind of traffic calming needed, as the cost is too prohibitive. We, however, can do something and that something is really very simple. Whenever we drive through the local villages we should think of our cars as M.S.L.s (Moveable Steel Lumps), and treat them as such. We should drive at a maximum of 25 mph, which will hold up and slow down traffic behind us. Then the leisurely pace of our motors might encourage other, speedier folk into taking a different route.
This is how we can each help to keep death of the road.
TARMAC LOSE THE PLOT
There was joy in Lavant – and points west – on 19 March when Chichester County Council voted against plans to extract in excess of two million tonnes of sand and gravel from 500 acres of farmland in the area to the west of the village.
The process, likely to take up to 15 years, would have caused environmental damage, noise and light pollution, and created dust and mud. The heavy trucks used to move the gravel would have created problems with traffic flow and inflicted wear and tear on the infrastructure.
Originally the County council officers had recommended approval of the application by Tarmac. However the plan ran into all-out opposition. At a meeting of the country planning committee – including strong criticism from councillors - the committee voted 8-0, with two abstentions, to refuse planning permission for the controversial project. Grounds for refusal agreed by the committee included the 'unacceptably adverse' effect the development would have on the locality.
One county councillor, Cllr Louise Goldsmith, said it would be a 'rape of the countryside.' Another compared it to the 'ravaging and pillaging' of the Vikings.
Others who spoke that day were Cllr Andrew Barrett-Miles who said, "Who wants 84 more trucks a day trundling past their front doors? This will have a major effect on a residential part of Chichester," and Chichester Society chairman Tony Dignum. "The processing plant would be ugly, and very large – 9m high, taller than a three-storey house, and much higher than proposed bunds (earth mounds). Noise from the plant would be considerable, and it would ruin any enjoyment of the area for at least 14 years," he said.
However Tarmac, could still appeal.
For more news on this go to :- http://www.chichester.co.uk/chichester/Campaigners39-delight-as-Lavant-gravel.5084872.jp
See the new traffic traffic signs in action
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
On 10th December Chichester District Council (CDC) approved an application by HydeMartlet Homes to build 12 affordable dwellings on land South of Heather Close in West Ashling. Having considered concerns expressed by local residents, the Council imposed conditions related to materials, highways, landscaping and energy efficiency.
The construction will be energy efficient and high quality materials in harmony with the character of the village will be used. Low level lighting will avoid extending the existing light pollution from the tall street lamps in neighbouring Heather Close. Sussex Police commend the layout and the County Road Safety criteria are met and exceeded
The existing trees, hedgerows and banks are protected and very significant additional landscaping will be planted. The South Downs Joint Committee, whose role is to protect the natural beauty of our area, raise no objection to this application.
We are fortunate still to have a Post Office, farm shops, pubs and restaurants and several large employers in our parish. Churches, Sunday School, Scout & Guide Units, adult clubs and societies all flourish. Our village school would welcome more local children which will secure the future of the school for the community. The new development will improve sustainability by enabling young families and local workers to remain within our parish.
In these increasingly difficult times, we all have a duty to ensure the provision of homes for all the parishioners within our community. The homes will be designated for local people in perpetuity and applications on the CDC Housing Register have already increased to fifteen.
The Parish Council and their working group of Dick Hammond, Jonathan Barker, Joe Hepworth and Peter Hall, will work with HydeMartlet and CDC to ensure the next stages of development and occupation are a success for our community.
SPEED AND TRAFFIC CONTROL
The Parish Council is determined to slow the traffic down that passes through these villages.
The metal pillars to hold the electric ‘reduce your speed’ reactive signs have recently been put in place at either end of Funtington and the signs themselves should be installed before the end of January. It is hoped that with these in place, crossing the road from the Fox and Hound car park, to the pub or visa versa, to the Post Office, will be a little less dangerous. Provision of a pedestrian crossing is not an alternative. The cost involved is too large. We have also extended the pavement to the farm shop but again costs are hugely prohibitive.
We now have enough volunteers to man the Police mobile SIDs (Speed Indicator Device) and training begins very shortly. Although those involved are members of the public, and therefore are not empowered to charge those who may be speeding it is felt that the very visible presence of a reactive device will be sufficient to slow the traffic in other areas of the parish.
Please be vigilant about the state of the roads. Some of them contain very deep potholes. Hitting these could result in you either breaking a wheel or a, heaven forbid, your neck.
FUNTINGTON FIRST - A CALL TO ALL
The following letter recently appeared in The Daily Telegraph.
SIR, - Shame on you Charles Moore for the much-travelled contents of your fridge. (Comment, January 3) Currently in mine are potatoes from Chidham and broccoli, apples, pears and eggs from Funtington.Instead of bemoaning the passing of an Elizabethan Age, let us look forward to a regeneration of our own local food. In these uncertain times, and those that may come, we should do all we can to foster and use our local goods, services and trades. By so doing the businesses in our community will remain viable, will grow, will need more employees (and will pay more taxes!) so making the parish a better, richer and more vibrant place.
We all benefit.
- Shirley Rogerson
- West Ashling
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