Following Parish Elections in May we have a new Council for the next 4 years. Councillors are all residents of the Parish who wish to ‘give something back’ to their community. The Parish Council will be working on the following projects over the coming years: neighbourhood plan, memorial garden, play area improvements, youth and warden provision as well as ongoing activities such as highways, parking, litter, dog fouling, community (including elderly and vulnerable) support, rights of way and lots of others.

Speeding keeps getting reported to us as an issue in the village. The advice from Sussex Police is that we should look to set up our own Speedwatch group (like they do in Storrington). The scheme would allow us to monitor speeds, report offenders but also act as a deterrent. The Police do not have the resources to do this for us. If you are concerned about speeding then look at communityspeedwatch.org for more details. This issue will not be tackled unless we do it ourselves. It doesn’t require much time commitment if we get a good number of volunteers. Full training and equipment will be provided.

We’re still waiting to hear from HDC regarding our draft Neighbourhood Plan, once we have feedback then we’ll make necessary amendments and then go out to full public consultation. We’re also expecting re-surfacing of the skatepark ramps to take place any time now (weather permitting). The Council is also looking to recruit a Litter Warden for a few hours work each week keeping communal areas tidy – contact the Clerk for more details.

Please visit our Facebook page ‘Ashington Parish Council’ and website ashingtonpc.org.uk for up to date news on village issues. Karen Dare is back as Parish Clerk – clerk@ashingtonpc.org.uk 07851 009655. www.ashingtonpc.org.uk