Fairlight Focus

Our local PCSO’s will be attending DISH tomorrow.

Come along and have a chat with them.

We’ll be serving Hot Dogs and Bacon Butties

When you get your survey, can we urge you to take 5-10 minutes to fill them in and return them either to the boxes provided in the village hall, Hairbase and St Andrews church; or email them  to fairlightparishcouncil@gmail.com .  The survey is also available on the Parish council website 

If you are unable to return your survey, email  cllrihorsley@fairlightparishcouncil.org.uk or phone 07803 939771 and leave a message with your address and I will pick them up.

The survey is to inform the planning of the Parish Council 5 Year Plan and Action Plan. 

Many thanks

Issy Horsley

Chair Fairlight Parish Council

The Archive Resource Centre is coming to Fairlight Village Hall on the 14^th September at 7pm. 
The talk will be on why East and West Sussex are so different, and how it happened over the centuries, and even now. 
The speaker is Christopher Whittick who spent 42 years as an Archivist in the East Sussex Records Office, or as we know it, The Keep. 
We hope you can join us for what will be a very interesting evening, including a glass of wine!

The Fairlight Pantomime Group invite you to come and Audition for their next production of Jack and the Beanstalk 7pm 22nd SEPTEMBER Fairlight Village Hall. 

If you’re interested in acting or helping backstage come along meet us.

Jennifer Annetts 
jenniferannetts@gmail.com

Did you know The Club – Fairlight offer the Duke of Edinburgh Award?
We are holding an information evening at 7pm on Monday 18th September at the Village Hall. 

If you have a child going into year 9 or above come along and find out more.

Complete this short form to RSVP https://forms.office.com/r/Wmn7DevwA8

Monday 11th September from 10am- 4pm

Tuesday 12th September from 9am – 3pm

The company supplying the concrete is Brett Concrete and this will be getting poured into dumpers at the junction of Rockmead and LWL. This is where the lorries can turn and get out ok. There may be times when you may have to wait a few minutes and residents of Rockmead may have to go out the other end (Bramble Way).

We will do our best to keep disruption to a minimum, and thank you again for your understanding.

Operatives in Hi Vis tops will be on hand to assist.

Regards

Lee smart

Dear resident

Please click here for the Parish Council’s monthly newsletter

Thanks
Pauline

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

Wendy, Maxine & Pandy would like to invite you again this year to their Macmillan Coffee Morning at Tamarisk Cottage, Shepherds Way on Saturday October 7th from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Hopefully we will be out in the garden as normal but if wet we will meet inside Tamarisk Cottage.

Please see the poster attached and if you can print it off to display we would very much appreciate it!

There will be Games for ages, an art competition for the younger children, a Bring & Buy Stall and of course TEA, COFFEE & CAKES! 
Any donations of cakes or sausage rolls would be appreciated and items especially books for the Bring & Buy stall!

The Art competition is for children aged 5 and under & 6-8years of age. 

Children you are invited to:

Design & Draw a cosy home for Colin the Caterpillar. Make sure that you show Colin in his favourite part of his home. Put your name on the back of your design and bring along to the coffee morning. If you can get it to Wendy before the day it would help. 

A picture of Colin can be found on the Macmillan website if needed.

We are aware that a coffee morning is also planned at St Peter’s in September so please don’t feel that you must support both but if you can’t make one perhaps you can get to the other one.

Let’s make a difference for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Wendy, Max & Pandy

Oh No! its Keith Jellicoe. Yes its me, who used to run the East Field Fairlight Action Group (EFAG) for some ten years with quarterly articles in the Fairlight News, stopping when my health meant I couldn’t continue. We fought off 4 Public Enquiries that seemed impossible.

Always aware of East Field this caught my eye: firstly the possible de-allocation of plans to build on areas in the Rother Local Plan, thinking this could be East Field (sometimes called Pond Field) and second the idea of Water Butts to solve the drainage problem, which initially I thought was far fetched but now thinking about it, any port in a storm! Just remember the Water Butts, simple plastic things will require proper maintenance! The last thing was I thought Fairlight relied on Soakaways for roof water drainage. Let’s hope I’m wrong! This was time for me to re-enter the storm and unfortunately I can only do it now to spread the word!

Firstly, I must congratulate the few villagers who led a comprehensive win at the Planning Hearing in Bexhill last year, which I and many villagers attended, with the Inspector rejecting 43 houses on Wakeham’s Pond Field. (an historic name to emphasise the serious problem that it would exacerbate the sewage pollution and flooding in Fairlight and downstream). I have a video showing ducks enjoying the flood on Pond Field! Let us hope the Planners agree with the points against building clearly stated in the inquiry report and others will be upheld!

Housing on Pond Field is a separate issue from, though intimately linked to Fairlight’s sewer system which as we all know, is vastly under capacity for the number of houses in Fairlight.

As Lorne Smith has already publicly explained, the issue of de-allocating Pond Field housing from the local plan is under consideration at Rother District Council and we can expect our Rother councillors Tim Grohne and Andrew Mier to pursue our interests. Rother have put back the public consultation on the local plan until Jan 2024 at the earliest, when residents can express their view. PLEASE BE READY TO DO SO! We Don’t believe the Water Butts should alter the reasoning for abandonment of building on Pond Field, they are not a cure all!

I thank Lorne for explaining below what is happening with Southern Water:

” Southern Water has set-up a Pathfinder Project working group with our MP Sally Ann Hart as the chairman to keep Southern Water on course and help them decide how best to spend their money on reducing sewage pollution overflows from the four Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in Fairlight, and which includes the CSO at the Fairlight Waste Water Treatment Works.

The CSO’s greatly pollute Fairlight, Pett Level and the world heritage RAMSAR waterways downstream, as demonstrated by Simon Young’s recently updated Environmental Impact Study (recently sent round by Issy Horsley Chair of the Parish Council) that measures water pollution using the internationally recognised method of a biotic index of freshwater invertibrates.

Following heavy fines from OFWAT and the Environment Agency, Southern Water have an initial target of reducing the overall sewage spills in Fairlight down to 40 from over 100 per annum.

The question therefore for Southern Water is how to reduce these sewage spills into the water courses which happen when the sewer capacity is overwhelmed?

Five possible solutions are being considered

The working Group are researching and building data to look at five possible answers which they need to test over a period of time.

Does the lack of sewer capacity come from surges created from run-off surface water from 1) houses and 2) Highways, which perhaps can be attenuated?

Or 3) Fairlight, with extensive geological and groundwater issues, is at risk of flooding in places, and the ongoing survey within the Pathfinder Report documents this. Is it therefore a lack of maintenance, repair or replacement of damaged sewer pipes over the years that is a reason why there is ground and surface water infiltration into the combined sewer system, which then builds the surcharges?

(To stop the surcharges backing up into houses, the pressure is released with raw sewage overspilling from the CSOs and treatment works into the watercourses.)

Point 4) is to what extent does dry period sedimentation in the sewer pipes, when self-cleansing velocity is low, exacerbate the sewage surcharges? This could be a particularly difficult issue for Southern Water as dry-period oversplills, as mentioned in recent media reports, that I interpret are illegal.

Point 5) is the possibility that the capacity of Southern Water’s Waste Water Treatment works is insufficient for the catchment of over some 2000 residents and when there has been an increase in the number of people per house, than when built for 1500.

Southern Water have offered to install house water butts, suggest highways drainage needs diverting and are considering increasing the size of the attenuation tank on Lower Waites Lane.

Nevertheless, most houses within Fairlight are already on soakaways apart from those along the cliff and research and parish records suggests highways water within Fairlight primarily runs into the watercourses, though there was agreement between ESCC Highways and Southern Water years ago for one to go into the combined sewer.

Though a larger tank and water butts may help slow some of the initial overspill from the CSO’s when it rains and this needs to be measured over time, is there a fundamental under-capacity problem at the sewer works where most of the overspills occur?

Southern Water wants the residents to help them by installing water butts. This should be encouraged even though they realistically admit that this attenuation may pale into insignificance in the face of large rainfall when the volumes are overwhelming.

For the Pathfinder project to be more than a Southern Water PR exercise, Southern Water (as the new area manager has said) needs to change their culture to an open one. They need to fully divulge historical data.

This includes full data on 1) CSO overspills, 2) CCTV pipe damage footage, 3) sewer monitoring Data and 4) listing of the strucural integrity status of all sewer assets.

This will help, within the working group, a detailed, transparent analysis of the problems to be developed. The residents are well able to contribute, and can call upon their knowledge of over twenty years of sewage pollution and its effects not just on Fairlight but downstream.” End quote.

So, it seems to me, (Keith Jellicoe), that currently Southern Water’s proposals are a band-aid to fix a broken arm!

It is easier for Southern Water to blame residents and East Sussex Highways than their own poor practises and lack of maintenance, repair or replacement of damaged sewer pipes over the years.

Of course the real problem for Fairlight and downstream is, I suspect, that Southern Water does not see it as a priority to spend big money extensively surveying, upgrading and repairing our current system or make major improvements to the Fairlight, Waste Water Treatment Works in the short or medium term.

Jellicoe’s summary

In the interim, it would not be in Rother’s, Fairlight’s, Pett Level’s  nor in the environment’s interest to have any extra pressure put on the system’s capacity from housing on Wakeham’s Pond Field. The main aim of EFAG! 

(I apologise for the length of this letter, let us hope it gets results!)

Yours sincerely Keith Jellicoe

There has been work done on the Market garden site today which has involved removing vegetation and soil from the sides of the badgers sett.
The contractors have a licence to do this from Natural England and Rother planners are aware of this. The contractors are using a specialist firm to do the work and it is being overseen by their ecologist. We may not like it but it appears to be legitimate. Andrew Mier is also aware of this and in touch with the planners.
If you have any further questions you can contact me or Geoff Smith. A copy of the licence is attached below.
All the best

Issy Horsley

The Archive Resource Centre is coming to Fairlight Village Hall on the 14^th September at 7pm.
The talk will be on why East and West Sussex are so different, and how it happened over the centuries, and even now.
The speaker is Christopher Whittick who spent 42 years as an Archivist in the East Sussex Records Office, or as we know it, The Keep.
Click the poster for all the details.  We hope you can join us for what will be a very interesting evening, including a glass of wine!

Thankfully the better weather has arrived at last.

Plots 1 to 6 have had their first coat of paint internally. The brick/blockwork is 90% complete with the vertical tile hanging due to start shortly.

Plots 14, 15 and 16 have all been 1st fixed and the plaster boarding nearing completion.

Plots 9,10 and 11 timber frames are progressing well with a view to getting the trusses in w/c 18th september once the scaffold has been completed.

Plots 12 and 13 are now out of the ground with block and beam complete except for the garage on 13 which we are leaving down temporarily for access to the back of the plots.

Regards

Piers Cowley (formermarketgarden@gmail.com)

Dear resident

Please click here for the agenda for the Parish Council – Finance and Administration Committee meeting to be held on Tuesday 12th September at 7pm in the Village Hall

All members of the Public are welcome to attend.

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 

This is just a reminder that Hearing Aid Maintenance sessions are held on the first Wednesday of every month at Pett Village Hall and the first Friday of every month at Fairlight Village Hall. Therefore for September, local sessions are as below:

Fairlight Village Hall between 10am and 12noon on Friday 1st September (this week)

Pett Village Hall between 10am and 11.30am on Wednesday 6th September (next week)

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

Robert Pasterfield

Dear resident

Planning Committee – 7th September 2023
Please click here for the agenda for the Planning Committee meeting

Community Hub Committee (Faircomm) – 7th September 2023
Please click here for the agenda for the Community Hub Committee meeting

Finance and Administration Committee – 12th September 2023
Please note that the date of this meeting has changed from 5th September to 12th September. The agenda will be sent out shortly.

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

Thanks

Pauline

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

Dear Members and Residents,

Your Committee held a meeting with Rother District Council and East Kent Engineering Partnership on Tuesday 22^nd August.

The meeting was to discuss issues relating to the maintenance of the wells and pumps in Rockmead Road, and the continuation of regular monitoring, and of cliff erosion to the village.

It was a successful meeting in respect to all agreeing that there was a need for a full-service overhaul of the system. Which would increase the level of maintenance required to reduce the high-water table,  which would cause slippage – leading in the end, to loss of properties!   

Please come along to the Preservation Trust AGM at 2.30pm on Sunday, 19^th November in the village hall to find out more.

If you are a member, we thank you for your continued support. If you are not a member, then I would urge you to join.  I have attached an application form, please complete and send to me.

The more members we have, the bigger the voice in discussions with RDC and other organisations!

It is only £10 pp for 3 years, – not much really, equivalent to a couple of bottles of cheap plonk. J

Jill Lewing

Membership Sec.

Dear Resident,

HealthWatch East Sussex is conducting a local Listening Tour in September to hear residents’ experiences of our health services.

An opportunity to be heard. Go to –

Rye Listening Tour 2023 – Healthwatch East Sussex

Best wishes,

Andrew

Dear Resident,

In reply to a resident’s question I have received some advice from Rother officers about what to do after you have reported a broken brown garden waste bin.

The good news is you can continue to use the bin while you await a replacement. If you have not already done so officers recommend duct taping over the split. If the bin does break during emptying the crew will either take it away if it falls in the back of the dustcart or leave it behind and it will be removed when you get your replacement bin. The wait for your new bin and sticker is currently only 2 weeks.

Best wishes,

Andrew

Cllr Andrew Mier
Chair Planning, Rother District Council
Southern Rother Ward
(The villages of Fairlight, Guestling, Icklesham and Pett)
Mistral, Shepherds Way, Fairlight TN35 4BB
Tel 07941-693737
Email cllr.andrew.mier@rother.gov.uk

Dear resident

Please note the Parish Council Planning Committee meeting on 22nd August 2023 has been cancelled due to no business to discuss

Thanks
Pauline

Dear resident

Please note the Parish Councillors at the full Parish Council meeting held on 25th July 2023 resolved not to hold a Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 22nd August 2023.

The date of the next meeting is Tuesday 26th September 2023

Thanks
Pauline

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

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Afternoon Tea at Fairlight Lodge for members of TLC has had to be postponed from August 15th  to August 22nd.

The Committee sincerely apologises and hope that you can attend on the 22nd.      

Thank you.         

Shirley Gilbert

Several FAIRLIGHT artists are displaying their work in this great show on all this week

EXHIBITION & SALE of ART
SATURDAY 12th – FRIDAY 18th AUGUST 2023
ST. MARY’S CENTRE, LION STREET, RYE
FREE ENTRY – 10.30am to 5pm daily including Sunday

Dear resident

Please find attached the Parish Council newsletter for August 2023

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me

Thanks

Pauline

Mrs P Collins

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

Advance warning of closure of parts of Rockmead Road starting Monday 14th August

Drain jetting of the carrier drain for the pumps along Rockmead Road is going to be carried out 

This may well take all week and the truck will completely block the road for pedestrians as well as vehicles. It will be moving along as they work through the wells and will mean that residents will need to access their properties from whichever end of the road that it is clear to do so.
This will affect Rockmead Road from Smugglers way to number 22/ 17

Sorry for the inconvenience  but this is essential maintenance work on the pumping system that is preventing more properties going over the cliff.

Issy Horsley 
Fairlight Preservation Trust

Fairlight History Group and Fairlight Residents’ Association are jointly organising an important exhibition for Saturday 19^th August, at the Village Hall.

We have put together an interesting and expansive collection of material, including photographs, postcards, documents, maps, etc. As part of the exhibition, we will be using the new interactive screen to show some videos and play some music from artists who previously performed in the Hayloft at The Cove public house.

We wonder if any of you have any aerial photography of Fairlight Cove or the surroundings, preferably photographs, but video would also be of great interest. If you have any material you would be willing to share, can you kindly let us know.

Finally, if any of you have an hour or two to spare on the Saturday, we could always use the extra help.

Paul Draper (paulwdraper@gmail.com)

Dear Resident,

I recently found two emails in my spam folder. They were about Rother business but has been sent to my personal address. I marked them as “not spam” since when they have disappeared and I am unable to reply.

It is much better to use official Rother email addresses for council business –

Cllr Andrew Mier email Cllr.Andrew.Mier@rother.gov.uk

Cllr Tim Grohne email  Cllr.Tim.Grohne@rother.gov.uk

And our County Councillor –

Carl Maynard email Cllr.Carl.Maynard@eastsussex.gov.uk

If you have sent me an email to which I have not replied please get in touch again.

Best wishes,

Andrew

Cllr Andrew Mier

Rother District Council 
Southern Rother Ward
(The villages of Fairlight, Guestling, Icklesham and Pett)
07941-693737

Time for a site update.

Works are progressing well on site despite the weather and next week we are looking to commence the timber frame to plots 9, 10 and 11 with the crane on site on the 10th.

Plots 1 to 6 have had the plaster board fixed and the plasterers have started to plaster.

The roofs to plots 14 15 and 16 are nearly complete, the windows are in and the plumbing, electrical and carpentry 1st fix nearing completion.

Plots 12 and 13 foundations will be competed next week, followed by sub structure blockwork and the block and beam floor.

Lets hope for summer to return soon.

Regards

Piers

Piers Cowley (formermarketgarden@gmail.com)