Author: Irene - Parish Clerk

Agenda for Mountfield Parish Council Meeting on 10.12.24

Parish Council Members are summoned to a meeting of Mountfield Parish Council, to be held on 10th December 2024, at 7.30pm in Mountfield Village Hall

Members of the press and public are welcome and encouraged to attend

Irene Marchant (Parish Clerk/RFO)

St. Giles, Woods Corner, Dallington, East Sussex TN21 9LA

01424 838414 – [email protected]

5th December 2024

AGENDA

1. Disclosure of interests

To receive any disclosures by Members of personal interests in matters on this agenda, the nature of any such interest and whether the Member regards the interest as a disclosable pecuniary interest under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

2. Dispensations

3. Apologies for absence

4. Accuracy of the minutes of the previous meeting(s)

5. Open Forum

Public Question Time – to receive any questions or concerns from members of the public on matters on this agenda.

6. Planning

6.1 Planning application for consideration

RR/2024/1779/P – Valentine Ridge, London Road (A2100)

Change of use of the land for the stationing of four static caravans for Gypsy and Traveller occupation and four touring caravans, with associated amenity buildings and hard and soft landscaping.

Click on this link to see full details on the RDC planning website

6.2. Any other planning matters for discussion.

7. Enforcement

7.1 No Mountfield items on RDC’s most recent enforcement list.

7.2 Any other enforcement matters for discussion.

8. Finance

8.1 Bank balances at 30.11.24

  • MPC deposit account – £21,200.19
  • MPC current account – £3,524.15
  • KGF current account – £4,150.67

8.2 To approve the following payments:

  • S. Sutton, playground/New Cut maintenance – £1,105.00
  • * Wel Medical, defibb pads x 3 – £224.16
  • * Amazon, desk tidy – £37.96
  • * Ticehurst PC, pledge towards JR fees – £1,500.00

* already paid

9. Dates of next meetings

  • 21.01.25 – council meeting
  • 11.02.25 – council meeting

Brown Garden Bins – New Subscribers

From the Parish Clerk

For new subscribers only:

Rother District Council is offering its Brown Bin service for green waste at half price (£40.50) for the first bin for a period of 6 months until the next annual renewal date of 15th July 2025.  The campaign will run until the end of December, with new subscribers receiving their containers in January/February 2025, depending on when they subscribe and pay. Any second bins will be at the usual price of £66 each.

The campaign started on the 22nd November, see it on MyAlerts and on social media messaging to promote the start date of the 25th November 2024.

Can’t wait? Go to the following:

https://www.rother.gov.uk/GWOffer2024?utm_source=councillors&utm_medium=digital&utm_campaign=GWOffer2024

Don’t forget, the start date is 25th November 2024 and expires on 31st December.

New planning application for Mountfield

RR/2024/1779/P – Valentine Ridge, London Road (A2100), Mountfield
Change of use of the land for the stationing of four static caravans for Gypsy and Traveller occupation and four touring caravans, with associated amenity buildings and hard and soft landscaping.
Deadline for comments – 03.12.24
Mountfield PC have received an extension of time to comment on this application and it will be on the agenda at the MPC meeting on 10.12.24.
Click on this link to see full details on the RDC planning website

Extended Deadline for Dark Skies Children’s Writing Competition

In view of the interest generated by the recent High Weald Wild about Dark Skies Festival (28 Oct-10 Nov), the editorial board of The Messenger Magazine have decided to extend the deadline for our  Children’s Creative Writing competition (previously announced in the September issue of the Messenger) to 15th November, 2024

The Festival aims to celebrate the High Weald’s dark skies and raise awareness about the negative impacts of light pollution – on wildlife, climate change and our own wellbeing – and how we can help reduce it.

Our writing competition  is designed to inspire and celebrate children’s responses to this topic. It is open to all children aged 5-11 living or attending school in the area served by the Messenger. We  invite entries of poems, or short stories or articles (maximum 250 words) on any aspect of the theme of Dark Skies. Here are some questions to get them thinking:

    • What’s special about dark skies and why do they matter?
    • What are your own experiences of the dark?
    • What  can you see in the night sky?
    • What do you like about the moon and stars?
    • What are the stories behind constellation names?
    • Why is darkness important to wildlife?
    • What would happen to animals, birds and insects if it stayed light all the time?

The new deadline for entries is  15th November, 2024 and results will be announced in the new year. Prizes will be awarded in the two age categories:
– Young 5-7 years
– Junior 8-11 years.

The winners in each age category will each receive a £20 book token from Rother Books and their entries will be published in The Messenger. Runners up from each of the four villages will receive a £10 token.  All entrants will receive a special Dark Skies bookmark.  Your school may be taking part in the competition but individual entries are also very welcome.

Competition Rules

  • Subject: “Dark Skies”
  • Word count: Up to 250 words (excluding title)
  • Judging criteria: Originality, engagement with theme, language (entries will not be judged on spelling and grammar)
  • Only one entry per child
  • Entries must be the original work of the child and should be submitted by a responsible adult (parent/guardian or teacher with parental consent).
  • By submitting, the responsible adult grants permission for winning entries to be published in The Messenger. Copyright remains with the author
  • Child’s name & age on 15th November 2024 should be included with their entry, along with address and contact details (which will not be published) for notification of results.
  • Entries may be handwritten or typed and submitted by email to [email protected] or by post to
    The Messenger Children’s Writing Competition,
    Hunters Farm, Kent Lane, Brightling TN32 5HU
  • Entries must arrive by midnight  15th November 2024; late entries cannot be considered
  • The judges’ decisions are final

Repair Cafe, Robertsbridge Village Hall 09.11.24

Repair Café this Saturday 9 November – Robertsbridge Village Hall

By Chris Wing on 7th November 2024

The Repair Cafe will be open again this Saturday from 9am until midday – last items accepted 11.45am but please arrive early to allow volunteers enough time to fix your item.

We will have all our usual volunteers this month – sewing, electrical, sharpening, woodworking, but our clock man has a backlog so may not be able to help you this month, and we don’t have anyone to look at bikes.

We are trialling an upcycling workshop for teenagers where they can learn a few sewing techniques to transform an old t-shirt. They will also be shown around the Repair Café so that they can get an idea of what we do, and what can be repaired rather than just thrown away.

We are still collecting specs for Peep and tools for Tools With a Mission. For more information about what we can collect pop into the Repair Cafe to pick up a leaflet or click on this link to our Facebook page which will give you all the details:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=406735548692851&set=a.163275739705501

DATES FOR 2025

This is our last Repair Café of 2024, but the dates for 2025 are:

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY
SATURDAY 26 APRIL
SATURDAY 19 JULY
SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER

We hope to see you this Saturday. If you haven’t been before, feel free to just drop in to see what we do.