Henfield's Annual Parish Meeting: Report

The Henfield Annual Parish Meeting on 7^th March was a great success, with Councillors and guest speakers addressing a packed hall with pre-pandemic numbers of attendees, as well as live-streaming to an online audience. Those joining online encountered some technical problems with the audio, which will be addressed for the next APM, Henfield Parish Council apologised to those who were affected. 

There were several exhibitions in the Hall and local people were invited to meet and chat with a representative of Sainsbury's to ask questions about the new store, due to open in Henfield in May.

Parish Council Chairman Malcolm Eastwood chaired his final APM, as he will be standing down in April after six years as Chairman. Under his chairmanship Council has achieved some very important individual improvements to Henfield including a new link road and car park, the opposition of a market town next to Henfield, improvements to the environment, as well as the usual day-to-day objectives. He also undertook a major council restructure, increasing the organisation’s efficiency. He’s overseen some dramatic changes to the village during the pandemic and also took on the role of Chairman of the Horsham District Association of Local Councils, which represents the collective interests of 32 local parish councils. 

Malcolm expressed the thanks of all Henfield Councillors and residents for the incredible service given by Cllr Mike Morgan, who stands down from his role as a Henfield representative at Horsham District Council this year. Mike has enormous experience and has represented Henfield as an Independent with enormous success. In addition, he has been a Henfield Parish Councillor for 35 years. Malcolm ended his address with his thanks to the local people who have welcomed Ukrainian families to their homes and businesses over the last year, and his hopes for their futures and that by next year the horrific war will have ended.

The Horsham District Council Henfield Parish precept for 2023/24 has now been set and will rise by approximately £10 per annum, which is up 10% for a band D property. 

Presentations came from three guest organisations; firstly Parish Councillors Elaine Goodyear and Nita Farrell spoke about the Council’s Year of Young People initiative. The village has 900 residents below 18 years old and this sector of our community has been overlooked in the past. Appalling transport links in and out of the village leave young people in danger of isolation and exclusion. Henfield Parish Council have access to UK Prosperity Fund to improve the outlook for local young people, focussing on ideas are led by the young people themselves. 

There are several initiatives, some have already been launched (see page 31 of March BN5 for further details) including safe spaces for socialising, gym sessions, careers fairs, a Skate Jam and cinema nights. Many involve local businesses and existing resources, but developed with the specific 11-18 year age group in mind. Anyone interested in being involved please contact the Parish Office, your input (whether as a parent, grandparent or young person yourself) would be welcomed.

A presentation by Community Transport Sussex (CTS) CEO Matt Roberts launched the “Electric Community Car Club” in Henfield, which should be active by June. The Club will have two electric cars, parked & recharged at one of the village car parks, which will be available for use by local people, with membership costing in the region of £5 per month and hire rates around £4 per hour. The vehicles are semi-accessible with swing-out seats and it’s hoped that they can be used by local volunteers to transport people who are unable to drive themselves, if you can spare some time please contact CTS by emailing enquiry@ctsussex.org.uk. Henfield is set to be the first village in Sussex to have the Community EV Club, with an 18-month trial which will then be rolled-out further if successful. Please look out for the article in April BN5 magazine which will explain more. 

The final speaker was Chief Constable Jo Shiner from Sussex Police. Jo is the first female Chief Constable in the history of this large Police Force and has 30 years’ service in policing. She is also National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Roads Policing and her presentation focussed on how crime on roads needs to be prioritised, especially as 1,558 people were killed on UK roads last year. She spoke about her priorities for policing Sussex; to protect communities, catch criminals and deliver an outstanding service to Sussex, with the service receiving an average 791 emergency 999 calls each day.  

Open to the floor, there were questions and comments from various residents including the policing of yellow lines and zig-zags outside One Stop, speeding in the Upper Station Road, Church Street, Deer Park and Henfield Common area, as well as the lack of a visible police presence in the village, which was addressed by Henfield’s PCSO Graeme Foster, who is increasing his surgeries and visible presence in the village as much as he is able, we will publicise these on our website henfieldbn5.co.uk. 

Emma Cole