Icklesham Parish Council meeting of 13 August 2012

Grant application for Winchelsea film

This was the main item of interest to Winchelsea. The community group Winchelsea Moving Pictures, who run Winchelsea Film Night, are producing a film (The Red Slipper) about an episode in the town’s relatively recent past. A grant of £1,000 has been made by Rother District Council from a grant it received under the Heritage Lottery Fund’s All Our Stories project . The remainder of the budget of about £2,500 is coming from funds raised by WMP itself. The parish council was asked for £200.

The proposal came under immediate attack from Cllr Bronsdon of Rye Harbour, who asserted, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that not many locals were involved. He was also unhappy that the money was “only for Winchelsea”.

Cllr Bronsdon tried to attack the grant on the grounds that Rother District Council was not putting any of its own money into the project, only part of a grant from HLF, presumably in order to argue that the parish council should only match-fund money from Rother’s own revenue. Cllr Comotto, on behalf of WMP, explained that the money from HLF was still part of Rother’s budgetary resources. But in fact, virtually all Rother’s revenues come from grants, not least, their central government grant.

Cllr Stanford of Rye Harbour was not happy with the copy of the bank statement showing all the WMP’s transactions since it was set up and demanded to see the accounts of the WMP. Cllr S Turner pointed out that these would not be available until the end of the WMP’s first year of operation. Cllr Stanford also confused the WMP’s film with the Diamond Jubilee film, and felt it was “rude” that the council had yet to see that film, despite providing a grant. Someone had to explain that the other film was about the Diamond Jubilee year in Winchelsea, so would not be available until after the end of the Diamond Jubilee year!

To be fair to the council, there was some confusion over the source of some of the funding, although this was hardly important. Unless money-laundering is suspected, money is money wherever it comes from. But Cllr Merricks felt that the council could not believe the application form.

Cllr P Turner questioned the historical accuracy of the memoirs on which the film is being based but the Chairman pointed out that this was not relevant.

In the end, it was probably the presence of a number of Winchelsea residents that forced a positive result. Proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Cllr P Turner, the application was approved unanimously.

New playground equipment for Icklesham Recreation Ground

Tenders for the proposed new playground facilities have come in and range from about £56,400 to some £71,700. Tenders for a permanent skatepark range from some £13,900 to just over £46,500. The wide range for the skatepark is apparently due to the fact that Cllr Warren, the principal architect of the project, allowed one quoting company to diverge from the specification agreed by the council.

The proposal before the council was that the tenders should go to the Sports and Recreation Working Group to recommend which was best value for money. However, despite months of previous discussion and in the absence of Cllr Warren, the proposal rapidly went back to square one, as some councillors, led by Cllr Bronsdon, questioned the whole idea of spending so much on one playground. The permanent skatepark was particularly unpopular with some councillors and was quickly deferred. Cllr Merricks revived her call for a multi-user games area, which she felt would encourage participation in sports in the spirit of the Olympics.

In the end, an amendment was proposed to the effect that the council review its strategy. There was some considerable procedural confusion about how an amendment is handled. Cllr P Turner argued that the amendment should be voted on and then the original resolution with the amendment added. No-one really knew what they were voting on. In the end, the motion was that the strategy go back to the Working Group (not the council), who will also assess the tenders for the playground equipment. It is clear that there is no consensus on the most fundamental issue of what (if anything) is required. The project is largely driven by the Working Group and not the council as a whole.

The Chairman expressed hopes that a grant of £30,000 may be available from the Weald and Rother Rural (WARR) Partnership but the deferral of the proposal could mean the council misses WARR’s deadline. Somebody also mentioned the landfill grants scheme but Icklesham falls outside the eligible area.

Parish Council-financed bus service

The second report from Rye Community Transport showed that, over the period from 1^st June to 3^rd August, there had been 110 users (counting each child as half an adult). Given that the council is paying RCT £7,500 per annum and assuming each adult user made a £1 donation, each journey has so far cost the council £11.88. Some 113 of the 165 journeys (68%) had no passengers. Only two Winchelsea residents have used the service, which translates into a tax contribution by the town of almost £170 per resident.