Apologies for absence will be notified at this point.
The Chairman will make any specific announcements.
Minutes:
The Chairman said that the following apologies for absence had been received:
Mr J W Elliott (Selsey South), Mr L Hixson (Chichester East), Mr A Moss (Fishbourne), Dr K O’Kelly (Rogate), Mr R Plowman (Chichester West), Mr H Potter (Bury), Mr J Ransley (Wisborough Green) and Mrs J Tassell (Funtington).
The Chairman made the following specific announcements:
(1) After this meeting there would be a CDC member visit to the Pallant House Gallery to hear of its community work and future plans and view the Virginia Woolf exhibition.
(2) Mrs Hamilton had received a letter dated 4 July 2018 from Kensington Palace in which the Private Secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex thanked on their behalf the members and staff of CDC for the kind congratulations for their wedding, which they much appreciated. They in turn expressed their good wishes. The royal couple hoped to visit Chichester at some time in the future. Mrs Hamilton trusted that there would be a suitable event to which the Duke and Duchess could be invited in due course.
(3) On Friday 20 July 2018 members and officers had been the guests of Southern Water for a guided tour of the Tangmere Wastewater Treatment Works, where they were updated on the progress being made with upgrading the facility to connect it to new developments such as the West of Chichester strategic development site. She expressed her gratitude to Southern Water for hosting the event.
(4) The MADhurst 2018 Music, Arts and Drama Festival would take place from 18 to 27 August 2018. This annual festival, now in its ninth year, was even more packed with activities than ever before and offered ten days of musical entertainment including classical, swing, folk and rock, dance shows, comedy acts and an art trail. The grand finale day coincided this year with the late summer public holiday.
(5) On Monday 16 July 2018 Mrs Hamilton had officially opened the new affordable housing development in North Mundham. Built by Stonewater, Stoney Meadow was an exclusively affordable housing development of 25 properties, located near to the local primary school. She commended it as being the finest example of social housing which she had yet seen and encouraged members to visit it.
The Chairman said that she had acceded to a request by Mr J Ridd (Donnington) to comment in his capacity as CDC’s Military Champion on parish events commemorating the centenary of the end of World War 1, otherwise known as ‘Battle’s Over’.
Mr Ridd first of all summarised the nature and purpose of the important Armed Forces Covenant (AFC), which CDC had signed in 2014 with the Ministry of Defence (represented by the Royal Artillery from Thorney Island). Its aim was to recognise the contribution made by the armed forces past and present and to ensure that neither present nor past serving soldiers or their families were discriminated against on account of their status when applying to CDC for assistance from one of its services or appropriate support. CDC had improved working relationships with Thorney Island staff and collaborated closely with other organisations including West Sussex County Council so that all relevant services could be offered in a complementary way to those who needed them. The AFC was not limited to Thorney Island personnel and extended for example to army and air force cadets. He was hopeful that CDC’s incoming Rough Sleepers Outreach Worker would be able to assist any ex-service person who was facing homelessness. He gave examples of those who had been assisted. CDC played its full part in this important work and he acknowledged and paid tribute to the commitment and support shown by staff, notably Mrs Shepherd (Chief Executive) and Mr D Hyland (Community and Partnerships Support Manager). The AFC had had a very beneficial impact within Chichester District and he hoped that this would long be the case.
The AFC also encouraged civic appreciation for the role of the armed forces, both current and historic. As to the forthcoming country-wide centenary celebrations to mark the end of World War I, parishes were being strongly encouraged to observe this momentous occasion through a scheme known as ‘Battle’s Over’, with beacons and bonfires being set across the country on 11 November 2018. CDC was making £250 available to each parish for suitable local activity, to be listed on CDC’s website. He asked members to encourage their parishes to participate in this scheme, although he was aware that many had already committed themselves to do so.