There was grumbling from Cllr Bronsdon about the number of documents being issued by the Clerk, who is providing briefings on most agenda items. Some councillors find these documents helpful.
After the meeting, a member of the public commented on the fact that both the Clerk and Deputy Clerk attended the meeting and appeared to take notes. They asked why it was necessary to pay for two clerks.
Diamond Jubilee road closures in Winchelsea
The Council did not, in the end, object to the proposed closures following the withdrawal of the objections made by Winchelsea Farm Foods.Emergency contact signs
The Council was asked by the Winchelsea Emergency Group to purchase, for the grand sum of £54, three weather-proof signs giving details of key-holders for the Church, Court Hall and New Hall, to be fixed to these buildings for use by emergency services. These buildings are designated under the District Emergency Plan to act as reception or co-ordination centres for emergency services in a local civil contingency. The idea was suggested at a recent forum of village emergency groups because of concern that, if the emergency services arrived at an unsociable hour, they would not know who to contact to open up the buildings. Cllr Merricks refused to believe that the bodies responsible for these buildings had been asked for permission, despite being told they had. But the Council anyway refused the request on the grounds that “Parish Emergency Plans have nothing to do with the Parish”.
Playgrounds
The Council continues its work on its £110,000 plan for additional playground facilities in the Parish. Of the £110,000, some £80,000 is for two new play areas in Icklesham Recreation Ground. The Council hopes to get grants for 25-50% of this sum. Also in Icklesham, the School is planning to ask the Council for a grant for a games area. A figure of £5,000 was mentioned, although no application has yet been made.Risk assessment
The Council is required to assess the risks on its property. In most parish councils, regular inspections are done by parish councilors. In Icklesham Parish, most councilors have refused to do this or have claimed not to know how to. Consequently, the Parish Council has paid a professional company £900 to do an inspection and make recommendations. Regular inspections will now be carried out by the Clerk and Deputy Clerk.Bus shelter at The Strand
It has been agreed to repair this shelter, which has recently been the target of repeated vandalism, by lining the interior with ply. In order to deter vandals, the interior will be opened up to public view by removing the glass panels at the front and some boards.The Council wishes to put a pitched and tiled roof on top of a bus shelter in Main Road, Icklesham.
It has been promised that bus shelters and benches will be cleaned before Easter. This will be the first time the Council has ever done this (at least in Winchelsea), despite having budgeted for the work every year.
Cllr Glazier
Reports from District and County Councillors brought another complaint from Cllr Glazier about this blog, which he claimed was inaccurate in saying that he was reluctant to do anything for Winchelsea. Cllr Glazier stated that his “delivery” in Winchelsea has been as good as in any other parish. He reported that he had recently been involved in trying to get something done about flooding in Tanyard Lane, something which Winchelsea ward councillors have been working to get done since 2008. Cllr Glazier has also promised to get something done about the rapid deterioration in the state of Winchelsea’s roads and pavements.
Cllr Glazier raised the issue of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road and rehearsed the benefits for local jobs and housing claimed by the County and District Councils. His statement may be in response to the recent relevation through a Freedom of Information request, that the County has so far spent some £11 million on the road, largely on consultancy fees.
This blog
This blog also continued to exercise the Parish Council. The Council still dispute the statement in the report of the meeting of 9 January that, “The council now has an Asset Register. It should have had one years ago but only the current clerk has managed to produce one.” The Council claims that the Register was created in 2007. But the Council should always have had an Asset Register and was required to have one by law well before 2007. Moreover, the 2007 document was never finalized and signed off by the Council. In other words, it was still a draft until 2011. It was also still inaccurate (the Council claims it was not but had changed to reflect changes in assets: however, the inaccuracies were not about assets that had been acquired or disposed of since 2007).It was decided that the Council would not respond to this blog. It will instead record its view in its minutes. Cllr Stanford was particularly forthright on this point, but then she believes that “responses in the public domain would lead to bringing the council further into disrepute”.
Noticeboards
The Council has received complaints --- one from an anonymous resident of Winchelsea, another from an anonymous ward councillor --- that non-community notices have been posted in the Parish noticeboard. The complaints were in fact manufactured. Surprisingly, the Council was not interested.
Cllr P Turner (Winchelsea Beach) proposed that the Town Map be removed, on the grounds that everyone has SatNav. It was pointed out however that the map is also for the use of tourists and the proposal rejected.
Pear Tree Marsh allotments
The Council decided that this area should, once again, be made secure by being locked. Cllr Comotto stressed the need to regularise the residents’ parking on this land, which breached the covenant on the Council’s deed of purchase, as no other secure parking was available to residents of Tanyard Lane. Welcome pack for new parishioners
The Council is to provide a page for inclusion in the welcome pack to be provided by Rother to all new residents. Cllr Sutton (Winchelsea Beach) felt it was vital that Winchelsea should be referred to as a town. 
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