Category: Notices/Information

Mountfield Village Hall AGM – 26.07.22 at 7.00pm

Mountfield Village Hall – Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 26th July 2022 at 7.00pm

This is an appeal to all residents of Mountfield – your Village Hall needs you.

The Hall is arguably the most important building in the village. Through the diligent efforts of its Trustees and with some government lockdown support, it has survived the pandemic in very good shape but, as things have come back to life, the hike in energy prices are now giving great cause for concern. Few organisations could absorb the rise of 77% in electricity costs which we suffered in January 2022 and the Hall is no exception.

Having invested in a state-of-the-art, fully wireless AV system with electronic screen, integrated high-speed broadband, an automated online booking system, and with a self-contained committee/meeting room, fully equipped kitchen, well-appointed toilets (including baby-changing and disabled facilities) and ample car parking, the Hall has kept up with changing expectations BUT, and it’s a big but, the Committee of Trustees (which manages the Hall on behalf of the Mountfield community) needs your help, if the Hall is to survive and function in coming years.

The Founding Charter for the Hall, created in 1965 when the building was gifted to the community by the Mountfield Estate, expects a Committee of Trustees numbering well into double figures. With two retirements expected at the AGM, the Trustees will number just four– which is well below the “critical mass” required to maintain and manage the Hall on your behalf.

We have lots of ideas for the future, but the Hall needs more Trustees to join the Management Committee. It needs more helpers and volunteers, and it needs the moral support and backing of its villagers.

Please come along to the AGM on 26th July, beginning at 7 pm, and support the Hall.

 

Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Annual Governance and Accountability Return (Exempt Authority)

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN (EXEMPT AUTHORITY)

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2022

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 25, 26 and 27

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

NOTICE

1. Date of announcement – 12th June 2022

2. Each year the smaller authority prepares an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). The AGAR has been published with this notice. It will not be reviewed by the appointed auditor, since the smaller authority has certified itself as exempt from the appointed auditor’s review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the AGAR, the accounting records for the financial year to which it relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested.

For the year ended 31st March 2022, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

  • Irene Marchant – Parish Clerk/RFO

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

01424 838414/07711 224150

clerk@mountfield.org.uk

  • Commencing on Monday 13th June 2022 and ending on Friday 22nd July 2022

3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:

  • The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records, and
  • The right to make an objection which concerns a matters of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4. below for this purpose between the above dates only.

4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is only subject to review by the appointed auditor if questions or objections raised under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 lead to the involvement of the auditor. The appointed auditor is:

  • PKF Littlejohn LLP (ref: SBA Team)

1 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HD

sba@pkf-littlejohn.com

5. This announcement is made by:

  • Irene Marchant – Parish Clerk/RFO

Council Tax Rebate Scheme

Please see below details of the Council Tax Rebate Scheme, these have been sent by our District Councillor – Eleanor Kirby-Green.

The 20,000 households in bands A-D who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit will receive the £150 into their bank account in around 2 weeks.  This follows the April Council Tax payment which verifies the bank details used to pay the April instalment as current and genuine.

The 9,000 households in bands A-D who pay their Council Tax by other means will be contacted to encourage them to give their bank details so we can pay direct.  Otherwise a post office payment scheme may be available, or at last resort, a credit onto their Council Tax bill.  This credit is not desirable as the scheme is meant to be a cash back scheme.

The 15,000 households in bands E-H who do not automatically qualify, will be able to apply for a discretionary scheme, if they reach certain criteria.  A cross-authority scheme is being agreed across East Sussex and will be subject of a Cabinet report in June.  There will be enough money in this scheme to support about 1,900 further households with £150. 

Ultrafast broadband – Dallington and Mountfield

This is an update to my post (yesterday) about Ultrafast broadband in Dallington and Mountfield.

I jumped the gun somewhat after getting the flyer yesterday when the parishes of Netherfield, Ninfield, Brightling, Ashburnham, Penhurst, Catsfield, Dallington and Mountfield were mentioned.  However, Openreach work on telephone exchanges and not parish boundaries, all these parishes were noted on the flyer (only delivered to certain post codes) as some residents of the parishes are connected to the Brightling and Ashburnham telephone exchanges.

I have spoken to Andrew Wedmore (Chair of Brightling PC) today – who has worked tirelessly over the past few years on this project – please click on the link below to see an email from Andrew which shows the post codes that can be connected, through the voucher scheme, at the present time.

  • Brightling telephone exchange – Brightling + Netherfield Village + Dallington Woods Corner area.
  • Ashburnham telephone exchange – Ashburnham + Penhurst + Ninfield.

There is also a link from Andrew’s email showing FAQs.

1 Broadband in Netherfield and Brightling and Dallington Woods Corner

Ultrafast broadband voucher scheme FAQs

I believe that we cannot have a two tier system for broadband and every resident of Dallington and Mountfield must have the opportunity to apply for this voucher scheme.  I intend to pursue this matter with Openreach – “the next hill that I die on.”

Just as an aside, you can find out which telephone exchange you are connected to by going to the following site – just put your post code in.

Find out which telephone exchange you are connected to

Irene – Parish Clerk