Chairman's Report and Details of Activities by the Committee during 2014/15

This has been a very busy year for the Committee and during the year we have found ourselves becoming involved in some activities that are new to us as an Association. I am also pleased to be able to report that we continue to have a good membership and last year we again achieved 91% of homes in membership. In May, I was contacted by a group of residents from a park also owned by the Berkeley Leisure Group in Lancing. They were endeavouring to start a Residents Association on their park and had heard about us. We were both very proud and pleased to meet with them to offer advice and assistance with regard to getting an Association off the ground. We have been in contact since and, whilst not able to be 'Qualified', they are certainly moving forward with their Association

We continued with our 'Evening Surgeries' until the Summer when, sadly, we felt it necessary to discontinue because of the lack of residents coming to them. On March 3rd, we carried out our second traffic survey at the top of the park when we counted 776 vehicles coming on to the park, slightly less than the previous count.

We also carried out a 'computer survey' whilst collecting our annual subscriptions. There were two reasons for this. Firstly to allow us to distribute information quickly on Neighbourhood watch and other urgent information and, secondly, to see whether it would be worthwhile considering emailing Newsletters instead of delivering them by hand. As only 38 out of the 249 occupied homes (15%) registered their interest, for the present, we will continue to deliver by hand. We have now added a request for this information in our 'Joining' Forms for new residents. It would be useful to know just how you all prefer to receive our Newsletters.

We took delivery of our Neighbourhood Watch sign, which is now installed at the park entrance. Those 38 residents, who agreed, now receive regular e-mail information from the local Neighbourhood Watch group and Police Panel. We also distributed Neighbourhood Watch stickers to be displayed on front doors. In May, we were asked to nominate someone to represent the park at the Police Neighbourhood Panel and Geoff Gant volunteered to do this. From these Meetings came vital information on No Cold Calling Zones - more on this later.

At the 2014 AGM, some residents agreed to volunteer as drivers to help residents get to the Doctor or other venues and this has proved to be successful. If you feel you are able to help residents in this way, please contact Linda Furzer or Alan Reed. However, in June, we also re-activated our campaign to get the 84 bus re-routed and circulated a petition to all homes. We continued to circulate the Petition Forms until we had approx 85% signatures in support. We have now written to Metro Bus and have received a fairly typical response. We have also recently made a Freedom of Information request to West Sussex Council for information regarding funding. We also have the support of our local District Councillors who are providing advice. More recently, we contacted the trade's people in Crawley Down to ask whether they are able to say whether their trade has been affected (particularly the Pharmacy) and also for their support in getting the bus re-routed. We will report in our Newsletters as matters progress.

Speed Watch has continued apace and our volunteers continued to do sterling work.

The Summer also brought with it the new Park Rules Consultation and what a busy time that was. Berkeley Parks agreed to notify us when they were starting consultation and, because of this, we were able to arrange a meeting with all homes on the park at the Country Club to discuss any queries or worries that residents may have had. This turned out to be a very well attended meeting and far more residents turned out than we had anticipated. That it was also one of the hottest evenings of the Summer did not help! After the proper consultation period, the rules were adopted and became effective in November and were lodged with MSDC.

In September, we were approached by St Leonards Church and asked whether we would join other village organisations in providing a display in the Church for the Flower Festival. Always anxious for the park to be counted as part of the village, we were pleased to do so and I have to say our display looked stunning. We have since also been asked to join in with the Christmas Tree Festival and to provide a display of flowers for the church at Christmas. It is very gratifying for the park to be included in this way with village activities.

During the Autumn, we met with Police Representatives regarding the possibility of the park becoming a No Cold Calling Zone and were pleased to be told that Trading Standards and the Police had agreed that we could be part of a trial for a Zone. These Zones are very formal affairs and can only be agreed by the Police and Trading Standards after a referendum of all residents has been undertaken. The Committee agreed Survey Forms and the referendum was held just before Christmas, with those who responded agreeing to a zone being declared. Berkeley Parks and our Park Manager are very much in agreement with this initiative and have agreed that we may have signs on the park. The signs are now agreed, ordered and delivered and we have also agreed with park management where they are to be displayed. The park manager has very kindly agreed to install the signs as soon as he can.

We have also been keeping a close eye on the new Licensing Regime for parks and Mid Sussex District Council's proposals with regard to fees. Your local District Councillor reported that the fee policy was in hand and due to be heard at Council in December. He went along to the relevant Committee Meeting to speak on our behalf. The fee has now been agreed. Berkeley Parks have been advised and the fee is to take effect from March. As you have all been advised, this fee may be passed on to residents and more information will be included in the formal part of the meeting. However, we are fortunate, the fee is very reasonable compared to other parts of the country and if Berkeley Parks do decide to pass it on, the effect will be only £1 per home.

We continued with our Coffee Mornings during the year, and very successful they are. In June, Canon David Tickner visited with his wife and Alison Denley gave a short talk on the whys and wherefores of producing the Parish News. In December, we had a representative from Trading Standards and also a Fire Officer taking requests for Fire Safety checks and Fire Alarms. Our local District Councillors were also in attendance answering any queries from residents. Our March Coffee Morning had the very popular Mid Sussex Old Peoples Council visiting us with details of their activities for 2015. When it was decided to discontinue the 'evening surgeries', it was agreed that Committee Members would be available at the end of the Coffee Mornings to deal with any queries and this venture has proved very popular. We have been able to advise many residents in this way.

The web site is continually updated and for this we thank Geoff Gant our 'webmaster'. The site is viewed about 100 times per week, and we hope that those residents who visit it have found the information it contains useful. Any suggestions for additional information will be welcomed and, if possible, incorporated.

Our Secretary has continued to write very entertaining 'Park Pages' in the Parish News, keeping the village up to date on park matters, she also edits and produces our quarterly Newsletter, chasing us all for articles as well as providing some herself. It is not very easy finding new and fresh information every quarter, so any ideas or articles from residents are welcome.

We also continue to welcome new residents to the park with a 'Welcome Pack' and have recently updated it. We also now include copies of the new Park Rules and latest Consolidated Implied Terms to ensure that new residents are fully up to date with information. We have also, recently, been presented with Turners Hill Village hessian bags, which we are pleased to pass on to new residents with the Welcome Pack.