Fairlight Focus

Open letter to the residents of Fairlight and surrounding villages.

Fairlight Post Office and Stores is closing.

Leonie and Graeme have agonised long and hard over this very difficult decision, one which has not been taken lightly. From our beginning in July 2016, Leonie and Graeme have worked tirelessly to ensure that Fairlight continued to benefit from the continuation of the Post Office and Village Store. Sadly however the business is no longer viable and sustainable.

Over the last few years and in particular since the end of the Covid lockdown period, we have seen newspaper sales fall by approximately 50% with margins being reduced. Constant late newspaper deliveries especially on Saturdays, has seen customers go into Hastings where newspapers arrive considerably earlier.

We have seen the enormous rise in online shopping keeping customers away from our shop and we have seen the large rise in the cost of energy bills required to keep the business running.

Latterly, we have seen weekly pensions paid directly into bank accounts. The Royal Mail given the opportunity to work in opposition to the Post Office, charging far cheaper rates online than on offer at the Post Office counter and the Royal Mail are collecting from customers houses directly. Our parcel post has reduced by approximately 45%.

All of the above grouped together have seen Fairlight Post Office and Stores start making significant losses which are no longer sustainable. The business has gone from 6 staff members to only Leonie and Graeme to save significant amounts on wages. The family has invested a significant amount of money over the years trying to keep the business afloat. Sadly this cannot continue.

The shop closure date is yet to be confirmed however we will start running down our stock immediately.

Fresh bread, fresh milk and daily newspapers along with Leonie’s home baking will continue to be on sale in the short term and until the final closure date is confirmed.

The Post Office counter and lottery counters have closed with immediate effect.

Leonie and Graeme would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers who have supported us over the last 7 years. It has been wonderful journey meeting you all, speaking with you all and a pleasure to serve everyone. Both of us hope that we can continue to live locally and continue to join and mix at the large array of events that the wonderful village of Fairlight has to offer.

Leonie and Graeme

Fairlight Post Office and Stores.
Graeme Gambrell
Director
Southern Stores (2015) Ltd T/As Fairlight Post Office and Stores

Dear Residents,

I am writing to make your aware that Open Reach will be upgrading the system from the BT pole at the junction of waites lane and lower waites lane to the BT box opposite the Fairlight Gardening club on Tuesday 9th May for approximately 3 days

We will keep the access free for pedestrians however there will only be access for vehicles from 1 direction at any given time and also disruption to access homeowners driveways whilst the trench is being dug until the road plates are put down. We will liaise with affected properties on a daily basis.

Any queries, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks
Piers Cowley

(formermarketgarden@gmail.com)

07541200509

REMINDER: Fairlight Friday Lunch Club are holding a Coronation lunch on Friday 5th May at the Village Hall.  Anyone is welcome.  Please see the attached poster.

Tickets are available from the Post Office or Annette – either at MOPP on Friday 28th April or email mopps.fairlight@gmail.com
We look forward to celebrating with you.

Kind regards

Annette Holmes
Co-ordinator of Fairlight Friday Lunch Club
Marsham Older Peoples Project Charity
Mobile: 07703585329
email:mopps.fairlight@gmail.com

From: Paul Wilson-Patterson (paul.electricpencil@gmail.com)

Our efforts to reduce the daily nuisance/disruption from the former Market Garden building site in March/April 2023

Dear Residents – we are a network of villagers (The Village People) who object to the developer’s, GemSelect/Future South Homes, continuing breaches of planning permission.

On Wednesday 12 April we asked Rother District Council Planning Officers to provide updates to the high number of villagers who took the time to read the Construction Management Plan and completed a Breach of Planning Condition Complaints Form.

Anti-social behaviour (Actions)On Tuesday 28 March we had a positive response from Mr Cowley, the Site Manager, about the 3 workers loudly swearing on Saturday mornings. Since then the site has been closed for the last three Saturdays, a welcome respite.

Two Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) were due to visit the Former Market Garden Site week ending April 14th.

We’ve requested leaflets from them about reporting Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) for residents who don’t have a computer/mobile phone. PCSO Becky Unicombe has offered to drop off ASB leaflets at the Village Hall.

We’ve also written to Carol Studley, the Community Safety Co-ordinator at Rother, who may be able to help us. We await a response.

Badgers (Response)Jane Howard, the Office Manager of MP Sally-Ann Hart, has written to Rother Planning Enforcement who confirmed that they, and a Sussex Police PC, inspected the boundary and state it is in the correct place, although they acknowledge, “There have been problems with the fencing blowing down/falling.”

Mr Cowley also answered our badger query confirming, “I can assure you that we are working to the latest approved drawings which have been set out by a professional surveying company.”

Blocking of junctions, driveways and roads (What to do if it happens again)The correct approach is to ask politely for them to move. If they refuse, make a note of their vehicle registration number and ring the Police on 101.

Cement spillage (ongoing)The lumps of dried cement spillage are still on Pett Level Road from the first two incidents. A further spillage on Friday 14 April dribbled a line of cement from the roundabout on Shepherds Way along Bramble Way and down Smugglers Way. Site workers were sent to shovel it up. The cement mixer incidents are all from the same contractor, but with different drivers.

Damage to road surfaces particularly bottom of Smugglers Way and top of Rockmead Road (ongoing)Rother have told us that East Sussex Highways are aware of the issues. We’d be happier if Highways were able to clarify in writing how the ‘making good’ process works.

Damage to property (ongoing)Resident complaints about damage to Fairlight Garden’s garages by site workers should be made in writing to Mr Cowley. If you have photos of the damage that would help. His contact is 07541200509 or email formermarketgarden@gmail.com
You can also email futuresouthhomes.ltd@gmail.com

Debris in the stream (ongoing)Concerns about waste management have been raised with Waste Water and Environmental Health. Large amounts of mud falling into the stream is considered a contaminant, as it may cause a blockage. We spoke with The Environment Agency. Residents need to report to their Call Centre on 03708 506 506. Issues with heavy rain and large amounts of mud falling into the stream can be reported on their 24 hour confidential Incident Line 0800 807060.

Failure to provide a Schedule of Works (ongoing)Mr Cowley, at our request, now sends a weekly update via the Fairlight Residents Association email scheme.Aside from a brief flyer early in 2022, there has been no letter-drop or newsletter/leaflets/posters for residents who don’t use email.There has been no response to our request for the names of key staff from ‘Future South Homes’ and their building credentials.

Levels on-site queried by residents following their Site Visit (ongoing)Do the constructed roofs’ height for Plots 1 – 6 match the planning permission?Clarification about the bin stores for Plots 1 – 6?A concern about the height level of the turning circle, as it looks level with the top of a resident’s garden fence?

Mud on roads (ongoing)For several days at the end of March there was wet slippery mud outside the site entrance on Lower Waites Lane for pedestrians wearing normal outdoor shoes and not wellies. Plus lumps of mud from the waste lorries up Smugglers Way on Wednesday 19 April.

Parking of sub-contractor vehicles (ongoing)The rules are: ‘All contractors, workers and visitors will be informed that absolutely no parking is permitted on any adjoining road or public highway or verge.’ The on-site car park is now being used for materials storage, so some site vehicles are parking on the south and north ends of Shepherds Way. 

Vehicles not driving directly onto site but reversing/manoeuvring/turning off-site in Rockmead/Smugglers Way (ongoing)Vehicles ignoring the ‘no reversing/manoeuvring/turning off-site’ rule have been reported to Rother Planning Enforcement Team as a weekly occurrence during 2023. There were a few weeks of improvement following our open letter to the Chief Executive of Rother on Friday 10 March about health and safety concerns. However on Tuesday 11 April two planned timber frame delivery vehicles arrived at the same time; one reversed up Smugglers Way, sat blocking Rockmead Road and then reversed down Smugglers Way onto the site. There are ongoing issues with delivery vehicles travelling at speed, driving on the pavements and general impatient/inconsiderate driving with pedestrians and others.

Thank you for reading; hopefully our May update will include more improvements.

If you need any help to report any issues about the site you can contact Cllr Andrew Mier or go to the Drop In Social Hub run by the Parish Council on Monday’s at the Village Hall. All contact details are on www.fairlightparishcouncil.org.uk

Fairlight Wine & Social club is holding a party on Saturday 6^th May in the Village Hall to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.

Admission is by ticket only and costs only £22.00 per person.

If you fancy joining in, I suggest you contact me as soon as possible as there are only a few tickets left.

Included in the price of your admission you will enjoy an excellent buffet, great music and entertainment from “Melodie” who are making their Fairlight debut plus other treats.  There is no bar so please bring your own drinks (and glasses).

It starts at 7.00pm, so please get in touch on 812340 or trevor.lewing@btinternet.com

Due to unforeseen operational issues, the Post Office counter will be temporarily closed until further notice.

The shop will remain open however closing at 2pm each day.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Graeme

Dear resident

Please click here for the agenda for the next meeting of the Parish Council meeting

All are welcome to attend and ask questions.

Could you also note that there will not be a Planning Committee meeting on 25th April 2023 due to no applications being received for discussion.

Thanks
Pauline

Mrs P Collins
Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer
Fairlight Parish CouncilKerri, 35 Waites Lane, Fairlight, Hastings. TN35 4AX
Tel: 07487 822729  Email: fairlightparishcouncil@gmail.com
Working days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Further details have been released about the alert that will be sent to smartphones across the UK next week, to test a new public warning system.

A message with a siren at 15:00 BST on 23 April will say “in a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe”.

It will give a sound and vibration for 10 seconds even for phones on silent.

Phone users will have to acknowledge the alert before they can continue using their devices.

The alert system will be used to warn of extreme weather events, such as flash floods or wildfires. It could also be used during terror incidents or civil defence emergencies if the UK was under attack.

It is being sent to 4G and 5G mobile phones.

The full message will read: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby”.

“In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.”

“Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

“This is a test. You do not need to take any action.”

You can disable the alert if you do not wish to receive it by:

• turning off your phone
• put your phone into airplane mode
• using your phone only through wifi
• the alert will also not work if you use 2G or 3G

Ann Hohenkerk

Fairlight Parish Council

FOR ALL THE FAMILY
THIS SATURDAY
22ND APRIL, 3PM-5PM
ST PETER’S CHURCH.
FAIRLIGHT
LOTS OF CRAFT, FUN, STORYTELLING, AFTERNOON TEA

From: Sandi Wickens (revsandiwickens@gmail.com)

Please find attached information about the Activate Youth Club party open for all.
More info about the competitions will be available shortly!
Wendy

Activate Youth Club is 25 years old!!!

Celebration Party For All! 

Woodfield, Commanders Walk, Fairlight, Saturday May 20^th , 4pm 

Celebrating the history, the present and looking to the future! 

Activate would like to invite everybody who has ever attended the youth club or has been part of leading or supporting in any way to come and celebrate with us. 

From our beginnings in a caravan to our present clubhouse we have enjoyed some amazing, some tricky, some exciting times, but always with incredible youngsters. We are now looking forward to the future and our new Faircomm building. Come and see the plans. Browse over many photos and catch up with old friends and introduce us to any new family members! We know of several babies born over the past few years, one just as we went into April. 

At 4pm: Fancy dress competition, games and fun for little ones.

6pm – 7.30pm: Disco and games for older kids with Bobby Vee

8pm -10pm: Dancing with The Kytes

Raffle, BBQ, Ice cream, Bouncy Castle, Kite flying, Bowling.

Cake making competition for all to enter: Make a celebration cake to be judged and then shared as we celebrate! 

Prizes for Under 11’s, 12 – 16 years and 17 years & over.

Food, teas & soft drinks available to purchase. Bring your own drinks.

The Archive Resource Centre is hosting a talk by Haydon Luke, new acquisitions are on show, plus two computer screens will be available to browse all our photos; and tea and cake (the icing on the cake so to speak!)  See the full details on our attached poster.

Our website is:  www.thearc.uk  Contact us at archiveresourcecentre@outlook.com
Frances Rogers

From: Annette Holmes (holmes.annettel@gmail.com)

Firelight Friday Lunch Club invite you to come and celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

Please see the attached poster for details

Dear Residents,

Please could I politely ask you to refrain from entering our site unannounced and especially without any PPE. If you need to speak to me please wait by the gate and get someones attention or contact me by phone or email.

In response to the two who came onto site blaming me for contaminating the stream with fluorescent dye, this is most likely from the two southern water operatives who were tracing the drainage yesterday. I know it was them because they politely asked if they could come onto site to monitor the outlets and I too witnessed the fluorescent dye entering the stream. 

Regards

Piers Cowley (formermarketgarden@gmail.com)

Hello everyone

Just a quick reminder that Improbable Fiction opens just two weeks from today.
If you haven’t yet purchased your ticket, you can do so in the normal ways, either by visiting Fairlight Post Office, or online at Box office – Fairlight Players
(note – some people have had trouble finding the online box office, particularly when using a mobile phone, but the above link should take you straight to the page that you need)
If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate  to contact Sue on 07377 915741 and she will sort you out.
As always, we will welcome volunteers to help with hospitality and other jobs throughout the performance run, and Sue will be happy to hear from you if you would like to help.
For those who know which way around to hold a screwdriver, feel free to drop into the village hall at any time this Saturday, when the task of building the set commences. Our set-building supremo, Trevor, will almost certainly be able to find something for you to do.

Finally, we are in need of a motorcycle crash helmet to complete our wardrobe collection. Size relatively unimportant, as it will be carried, not worn.
If you happen to have such an item that you don’t need to use for a week or two, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please just respond to this e-mail.
This one is going to be a lot of fun. Don’t miss it.

We look forward to seeing you.

With best wishes

Keith

Keith Miller (Chair)
The Fairlight Players
www.fairlightplayers.org.uk

Activate Youth Club AGM

Activate Youth Club’s AGM will be held next Thursday (20th April), at the Clubhouse on Wood Field (the recreation ground), from 7pm for a 7:30 start. All welcome – come along to find out more about what the club offers for young people in the village, and we always welcome volunteers to help run sessions! 

Please see attached agenda below.  For more details get in touch with youthclubactivate@gmail.com.

Copied from Stagecoach twitter account

“Hastings #Fairlight#PettLevel#WinchelseaBeach#Rye Unfortunately due to emergency @SGNgas works our service 101 will be diverting via the 100 route until 14th April inclusive. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

Councillor Geoff Smith is currently chasing information on the bus service, but due to the Easter Holidays he does not think he will get very far before next Tuesday.

We will try to keep you posted

From Councillor Andrew Mier

Dear resident

Please find attached the list of nominations for the local election for Fairlight Parish Council.  As there were only eight nominations this year the election is uncontested and a poll by residents is not required.  A vacant seat remains and will be advertised as a co-option position from Thursday 4th May.  

As the number of persons does not exceed the number of councillors to be elected, these persons shall be declared to be elected and formally take up their posts as Parish Councillors on Wednesday 10th May.

Thanks
Pauline

From: Graeme Gambrell

Fairlight Post Office and Stores Easter closing hours.

Thursday close 1pm

Good Friday close 1pm

Easter Monday close 1pm

Saturday / Sunday normal opening hours

Post office closed on Bank Holiday’s and Sunday.

From: Lorne Smith
I respect and thank those people who put themselves forward as councillors and give their time for the community.
With local elections happening in May we hope candidates will represent the feelings of the voters and publicly come out in support of the de-allocation of housing on Pond Field.
The summary paper below outlines the argument for the deallocation.and I invite you to read this. 

Dear resident

Please click here for the agenda for the Planning and Finance and Administration Committee meetings to be held on Tuesday 11th April 2023

All meetings are open to the public.  Please feel free to attend
Pauline

Mrs P Collins
Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer
Fairlight Parish CouncilKerri, 35 Waites Lane, Fairlight, Hastings. TN35 4AX
Tel: 07487 822729  Email: fairlightparishcouncil@gmail.com
Working days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 

DON’T FORGET TO SIGN UP TO ROTHER COMMUNITY LOTTERY AND NOMINATE FAIRLIGHT PARISH COUNCIL AS YOUR GOOD CAUSE   

www.RotherCommunityLottery.co.uk

Local NHS Hearing Aid Maintenance sessions are being held this week at:

Pett Village Hall between 10am and 11.30am on Wednesday 5th April

Fairlight Village Hall between 10am and 12noon on Good Friday, 7th April

If you have an NHS Hearing Aid come along to collect your free batteries and have your aids checked over, cleaned and retubed

This week, Monday 3rd April, at the Fairlight Drop In Social Hub ( DISH ), Trevor will be having a Jigsaw Sale. Enjoy a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere with free lunch and refreshments, helpful information and support during these difficult times.
We are open at the Village Hall between 10am and 4pm every Monday,
All ages are welcome to come along – Just for a cup of tea and biscuits, or to stay for lunch and a friendly chat.

We have a wonderful band of elves making cakes, casseroles, scones, Fairlight Puddings and all sorts of deliciousness.

All free, although any donation is gratefully accepted.

Everyone is welcome to drop in.

Meet up with friends at the social hub of Fairlight.

St Andrew’s Church will be opened daily from Sunday 2nd April between about 10am and 4pm.

For anyone who would like a Tower Tour, there will be an opportunity on Easter Monday from 2 to 4pm. There is a suggested donation of £5 for adults, children free. Children get a certificate for climbing to the top.

All our Easter services are listed on the notice boards at St Andrew’s and St Peter’s. 

Early birds might like to join us for a Sunrise Service on Easter Day on the Firehills. It will take place on the mound opposite the Coastguard Cottages, starting at 5.40am. We will be joined by the Salvation Army and members of Ore churches. Breakfast will be served afterwards at St Andrew’s. It is a very special experience to watch the sun rise over the sea (clouds permitting) and to celebrate Resurrection Day. All welcome.

Valerie Hornsby