This month’s meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on 15 June, shortly after the PM’s unwelcome announcement that there would be no end to lockdown regulations and restrictions on 21 June. Many people are now wondering if it will ever end. Before the meeting started, the Chairman asked if everyone present was satisfied that the hall was covid-safe and all agreed. The tables and chairs were laid out in a horseshoe shape for this meeting, to enable councillors to speak to each other more efficiently. At the previous meeting, councillors had been seated in a line and could not see each other. However, some residents said they had difficulty hearing proceedings with this new layout, so it was agreed the sound system would be tweaked for the next meeting to overcome the difficulty.
After the usual formalities of agreeing minutes of previous meetings, the police report for the month was read out. There were 5 minor matters on the report plus a residential burglary in Partridge Lane. A councillor queried whether this was a separate matter or linked to a burglary in Mill Lane on 15 May, which was not included on the list provided by the police. The car used by the Mill Lane burglar had been identified from a resident’s camera footage and the miscreant was later arrested by the police. Details of the Partridge Lane burglary will be checked with the police and an update given at the July meeting.
There was a discussion about the work currently being carried out in Partridge Lane to install fibre broadband. A final costing on installation in the Parkgate Road area is coming shortly. A meeting of councillors with Surrey highways and the police, chaired by Surrey County Councillor Mrs Helyn Clack, had resulted in progress being made on traffic calming. The speed surveys will be carried out by SCC at locations suggested by parish councillors. The parish council will not have to pay for these extra surveys. It was agreed that the parish council should approach neighbouring councils with a view to purchasing and sharing an ANPR camera which takes pictures of speeding cars and records them, as opposed to the present speedwatch system involving volunteers standing at the side of the road with a speed gun.
There was a long list of planning applications to consider this month but nothing particularly contentious, although I have been asked to check some details on a couple of the applications. It is understood that the proposed diversion of a footpath in relation to the Swires Farm/Lodge Farm application will be discussed on 6 August by SCC. An update on Gatwick Airport’s plans was given. They are hoping to bring the emergency runway into full use as a second runway although this would not happen until 2029. They don’t expect to get back to pre-covid levels of business until 2024-2025. A lot of residents in the Crawley area rely on the airport for employment and are looking forward to being able to return to work. Not so many Newdigate residents are affected by this loss of employment currently. The majority of Newdigate residents are unaffected by noise from aircraft, but many do suffer from through traffic speeding to and from the airport. There is concern at the moment about night flights and the disruption they cause to people’s sleep patterns. If these flights can be rescheduled to the daytime hours it would greatly benefit people’s quality of life.
There were several questions from residents, including the idea of an all-weather path on the Brocus similar to the one at Capel recreation ground. It was agreed that this would be a good idea if a funding source could be found. Another question related to the proposed kissing gate installations on the Brocus and how these would fit in with the present paths. A resident asked that an autumn litter pick be arranged to extend beyond the centre of the village as the amount of litter now accumulating in verges and ditches is concerning.
Everyone is welcome to attend meetings of the Parish Council. The next meeting will be on Monday 12 July in the Village Hall.
[mks_col]
[mks_one_half]Lesley Bignell, Clerk to the Council[/mks_one_half]
[mks_one_half]
15th June 2021[/mks_one_half]
[/mks_col]
[mks_col]
[mks_one_half]clerk@newdigateparishcouncil.gov.uk[/mks_one_half]
[mks_one_half]
www.newdigateparishcouncil.gov.uk[/mks_one_half]
[/mks_col]