Felbridge Parish Council
Latest News
Detailed information on all discussions and decisions made by FPC, including planning applications, can be found under the Minutes tab.
Last Updated 8th May 2019
CRAWLEY DOWN ROAD CLOSURE - 28th-31st May 2019
Please note that the Crawley Down Road will be closed during half term from Tuesday 28th May through to Friday 31st May between 9.30am-3.30pm for essential resurfacing works. For more information please scroll down to find a leaflet. This leaflet will be distributed to all properties in the immediate area.
COUNCILLOR VACANCY
Felbridge Parish Council welcome applications from residents who would like to join the other six members of Felbridge Parish Council.
Parish Councillors attend the monthly full Parish Council meetings which take place on the first Thursday of each month (excluding January and August) and shorter planning meetings which take place on the third Thursday of each month.
If you feel you would like to get involved in making decisions about your local community, local issues and make a significant contribution to the area in which you live then please contact the Parish Clerk on clerkfpc@aol.com for an informal discussion. Councillors have a particular interest in our local environment, amenities, maintenance, planning and development.
Councillors must be aged 18 or over, eligible to vote and have lived within Felbridge Parish or within three miles of the parish boundary for twelve months or more.
Unless ten electors of the Parish give written notice to the Proper Officer of Tandridge District Council by 2nd June 2019 (www.tandridge.gov.uk) requesting an election to fill this vacancy, the Parish Council will fill the vacancy by co-option at its meeting on 4th July. The closing date for applications is 4th June 2019. Applications from previous applicants are welcome.
To apply please write to the Parish Clerk either by email to clerkfpc@aol.com or in writing to Parish Clerk, Felbridge Parish Council, Felbridge Village Hall, Crawley Down Road, Felbridge, RH19 2NT.
For more information on Felbridge Parish Council and to view an archive of Minutes, please visit www.felbridge-pc.org.uk
NHS Survey
The public are being asked for their views about how NHS health and care services could be improved. They will also be asked to share their ideas on how people can live healthier lives and what improvements they think could be made to help people access services quickly.
For more information and to complete the survey visit: www.healthwatch.co.uk/what-would-you-do The deadline for completion of the survey is 30th April 2019.
Village Hall Quiz Night
The Village Hall Committee are holding a fundraising Quiz on Saturday 11th May 7.00pm.for a 7.30pm start. Tickets are £10 per person to include a Fish and Chip Supper. Bring your own drinks and nibbles. Tables of up to six people with a prize for the winning table. To book your tickets call 01342 322205 or email bookings@felbridgevillagehall.co.uk
New wheelie bins for rubbish on their way
Later this year the Council will be delivering a new, free, 180 litre wheelie bin to all households for their rubbish. This bin should be big enough for most households, as it holds around three full bags of rubbish. Smaller or larger bins or council bin bags for residents with access issues can be ordered by completing a form at www.tandridge.gov.uk/newbins by 30 April 2019.
Once the new bins have been delivered, they can be used straight away. Residents should put their new wheelie rubbish bin at the edge of their property, where they normally leave their recycling wheelie bin, by 6am on their scheduled waste collection day.
If residents already have a rubbish bin this can be reused in many ways, for example as a water butt or as storage for the garden. The Council will alternatively arrange to collect old bins and recycle them into new products such as picnic benches and residents can request this by completing a form at www.tandridge.gov.uk/newsbins.
The changes are being implemented following a formal direction from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that the current back door service and lack of rubbish bin provision has put the waste collectors at increased risk of injury. Having a bin for rubbish will reduce issues with sacks being ripped open and waste being spread by rodents and other pests. Councillor Pat Cannon, Chair of the Community Services Committee, said: “These new wheelie bins and changes to our collection service will help keep our streets clean as rubbish will be securely stored. We will also be following the HSE’s recommendations, to make our waste collections easier and safer. If residents need a smaller or larger bin and please visit www.tandridge.gov.uk/newbins.”
For more information visit www.tandridge.gov.uk/newbins.
Update from Tandridge District Council regarding Council Tax.
Last night’s Council meeting agreed an increase of £6.27 (£2.99%) for a Band D property in Tandridge District Council’s share of the council tax for 2019/2020. This means the Council’s share of Band D council tax will increase to £215.98, which is just over £4.15 a week to help pay for a wide range of services including recycling and waste collections, planning, street sweeping, housing, housing benefits and children’s play areas.
Surrey County Council, which provides services including schools, adult social care, children services, roads, fire and rescue and libraries, together with the office of the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, have both increased their Band D level for 2019/2020. Surrey County Council has agreed an overall council tax rise, including social care, of 2.99% in 2019/2020, while the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner agreed an increase of 10.15%. This year’s total band D Council Tax will be £1930.05 this is an increase of 3.9%, which is divided among the different organisations as follows:
Authority 2018/2019 2019/2020 Increase
Tandridge District Council £209.71 £215.98 2.99%
Surrey County Council £1,411.29 £1,453.50 2.99% including adult social care
Surrey Police & Crime £236.57 £260.57 10.15%
This Band D figure does not include parish precepts, which will vary across the district. An average increase across the district including parish precepts is 3.95%. Felbridge Parish Council's precept will increase by a total of £200 for the whole village. The actual cost per property will be calculated when the number of properties in the village has been confirmed by TDC. The cost per property will be considerably less than the 3.95% average.
SERVICE OF COMMEMORATION ON THE VILLAGE GREEN, Friday 9th November, 2.45pm.
100 people attended a service of commemoration on Friday 9th November at 2.45pm on Felbridge Village Green to dedicate the new memorial bench. The Parish Council would like to thank all those who helped make the event such a success.
FELBRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS
The annual audit of Felbridge Parish Council's financial records has now been approved and uploaded to the Finance section of this website. Any questions relating to the audit should be addressed to the Parish Clerk on clerkfpc@aol.com
FELBRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL RESPONSE TO TANDRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL LOCAL PLAN
Felbridge Parish Council response to the Regulation 19 consultation on the Local Plan.
Housing
Felbridge Parish Council is supportive of the fact that the Local Plan does not allocate any housing sites within Felbridge. We are aware that sites FEL001, FEL004, FEL005, FEL008 were assessed in the HEELA and were considered not to be in accordance with the preferred strategy. Felbridge Parish Council would oppose any future development of these Green Belt sites. Any future development in Felbridge would be better met through infill development within the village.
Infrastructure
The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) identifies nine Transport schemes for the Parish of Felbridge. Four of these are considered to be High Priority and we welcome the proposed improvements.
The proposal is made by the IDP that improvements to Copthorne Road/Crawley Down Road Junction are funded through contributions from SES02 (Hobbs Industrial Estate). Whilst we would support improvements to the junction, we are unclear as to why the industrial site would be required to make contributions to this residential road scheme.
The IDP refers to the potential delivery of a relief road by the new Garden Village but with no detail at present as to the exact route this would take. Felbridge Parish Councils feels that further information is required before further comments can be made on this point.
The impact of the A22/A264 junction remains one of the biggest issues faced by Felbridge village and its residents now and in the future. The Local Plan proposes that as part of the mitigation for the proposed new Garden Village at Godstone that the A264 right turn onto the A22 heading South is made into two lanes.
However this mitigation is already proposed for the consented development at Hill Place Farm and therefore the extra capacity that this will generate will already be absorbed by traffic from the Hill Place Farm development. Therefore, this mechanism cannot be used to mitigate the impact from the proposed new Garden Village on the A264/A22 junction.
Examination in Public
Felbridge Parish Council would also like to actively participate in the Examination in Public process in due course.
Additional Notes
FPC consider the source of funding of a residential road improvement being the Hobbs Industrial Estate is Unsound (not justified) as the industrial site has no impact upon this road. The funding should be via CIL derived from local in-fill housing.
FPC consider the Plan is Unsound (Not Effective & Not in Compliance with the NPPF) in relation to the mitigation of the Garden Village traffic being proposed as the two right turn lanes southbound onto the A22 at Felbridge. This mitigation is already going to be delivered as a result of Planning Appeal APP/D3830/W/16/3142487 and the works would only provide mitigation of the 200 dwellings associated with that development, thus proposing the same mitigation (that is already being implemented) will not be effective in relation to providing any mitigation for the Garden Village.
FPC are concerned with the failure to provide any material mitigation within the Plan for the recognised traffic impact resulting from the Garden Village upon the already “severe congestion” (quoted from Surrey Highways) at the A264/A22 junction is not in compliance with Paragraph 32 of the NPPF (2012) or Paragraph 109 of the NPPF (2018).
CRAWLEY DOWN ROAD RESURFACING
Surrey County Council recently announced additional funding for B roads in Surrey which were in most need of repair. The Parish Council could only select one road so chose Crawley Down Road and submitted a detailed bid for funding. The bid has been successful and Crawley Down Road will be included in the first batch of roads to be resurfaced. The bid was supported by County Councillor Lesley Steeds. Dates and details are to be confirmed. UPDATE: Works have been postponed indefinitely due to lack of funds.
Tandridge District Council Additional Recycling - Door Step Collection
You can recycle textiles, paired shoes, small electrical items and batteries every week in your own plastic bags, by leaving them out with your food waste caddy.
All you need to do is:
- Place each type of item in a separate supermarket carrier bag (no larger than 35 x 40cm and not in black bin bags).
- Put batteries in a separate, sealable/tied up small bag eg a sandwich bag.
- Tie each bag.
- Leave the bags at the front of your property boundary next to your food waste caddy on your usual recycling/waste collection day by 6am.
For further information visit https://www.tandridge.gov.uk/Recycling-and-rubbish/Recycling/Textiles-electricals-and-battery-collections
SPEEDWATCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Parish Council are looking at options for operating Speedwatch within the village and would like anyone interested in volunteering to get in touch. Please email clerkfpc@aol.com .
BUS SERVICE TO GATWICK FOR FELBRIDGE RESIDENTS
APH, now based near Wyevale Garden Centre, are offering Felbridge residents and their family and friends return coach travel to and from Gatwick airport from their terminal on the Copthorne Road. The return fare costs £5 per person. There's no restriction on when the return journey is made and it can also be used for day trips, for example if travelling by train to London.
Coaches run every 10-15 minutes, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
This service may be used by commuters travelling by train, plane, etc
There is no parking available with this product, it is a transfer service only
Customers must book in advance and phone 01342 710071 and quote the code FELBR.
FOOD RECYCLING BINS
Residents can now line their food waste caddy with plastic bags or liners, which makes it easier, cleaner and cheaper to recycle food waste. You can use anything from old shopping bags to bread or salad bags, but not black bin bags or plastic food packaging.
To find out more visit www.recycleforsurrey.org.uk.
COVERED SEATING AREA
The new shelter has now been installed in the Village Hall grounds.
DEFIBRILLATOR
A defibrillator has now been installed next to the entrance to the Village Hall. To access the equipment you first need to dial 999 and the emergency services will provide a code to open the cabinet. The equipment works automatically with audible instructions on use. It will not work if not correctly positioned so is safe to use. The equipment and location were selected with advice from our local First Responder and SECAmb.