Brian Holdstock PC

East Sussex Astronomical Society are booking the pavilion and grounds for observation sessions whenever there is some celestial event of note such as a comet sighting.  They would welcome any visitors who care to stop by and events are typically from 7 pm until midnight.  The first session is planned for Saturday 18th March but if the weather is inclement then it will be the following Saturday 25th.  The evening plans to find as many Messier objects as possible.

The Sedlescombe planning application remains undecided.  Prior to Rother District Council considering it at their meeting on 21st September, the Secretary of State directed that they must not grant permission without specific authorisation so that he has time to consider whether or not to call it in for his decision.  Another round to the opposition to the application but it’s not over yet.

The parish council plans to hold an extraordinary meeting to formally authorise a letter to the Secretary of State requesting that he stop Rother District Council from approving a planning application for a new dwelling in a field in Sedlescombe parish.  The applicant is Chairman of Sedlescombe Parish Council, a Rother councillor and Chairman of Rother’s Planning Committee.   Officers have yet to formally sign off the approval which therefore remains technically in limbo.
The meeting is to be on Tuesday 13th September and the agenda can be found here.

Estimates vary but we can reliably state that there were well over 1,000 people on the cricket ground on the last Saturday of July.  From gate money we know that 877 adults paid their £2.50 entrance fee and the number of children under 12, for whom admittance is free, plus all the volunteers and stall holders will have comfortably brought the numbers at the event up into four figures.

£4,900 was raised with 25% going to those affected by the war in Ukraine.  We could have done even better had we had more volunteers – will you help next year??  Our grateful thanks go to the very small team of hard working individuals producing all the food and beverages, planning the layout of the stalls, manning car parking, organising the Flower Show, managing the cash and a myriad

£4,775 was added to the new village hall fund as a result if this summer’s fund raising activities.  The bar at the Barn Dance during the Platinum Jubilee weekend plus the catering our volunteers provided for the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Concours made £1,100.

The Country Fair and Flower Show raised £4,900 of which 25% was pledged to help those affected by the war in Ukraine leaving £3,675 for the village.

The Parish Council joins with the whole community in mourning the loss of Nick Wheeler, Master of the Coakham Bloodhounds, who died on Sunday 3rd April.  It was fitting that he died while doing what he loved – hunting with his wonderful hounds and riding a horse he bred himself.

We are just under one week into you pledging your vouchers to fund the Ultrafast Broadband project. Whilst lots of pledges are coming in we still have some way to go to reach our target. So, please get involved and encourage your friends and neighbours in the community to do the same.  See how we’re doing at the Broadband page.

The sorry state of the verges and triangles in Penhurst is the result of extraction of spruce which is infested with Isis beetle, a non-native invader.  Natural England decreed that the felling must take place before the end of February as it is the only way of controlling the beetle.  The land owner has promised that the damage will be repaired.

If you are ready to pledge your voucher go to www.openreach.com/connectmycommunity.  However, if you have some questions first, having received a mail shot telling you that you are eligible for an upgrade to your internet connection, then take a look at the most Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t find the answer there you can email HighWealdSuperfastbroadband@gmail.com

The Parish Council is increasing the hire fees for the pavilion from 1st April 2022 by 5.6% in line with inflation between April 2019, which is when fees were last increased, and October last year.  The new rates (with the old rate in brackets) are £64 (£60) per session, £32 (£30) for villagers and £19 (£18) for village organisations.  There are three sessions per day, i.e. morning, afternoon and evening.