Plumpton Parish Council

Our Parish Council has the responsibility to ensure that all parishioners have a voice on issues great and small that affect them individually, and the parish as a whole.

NPPF 2024 Consultation Response

The new government very quickly proposed some changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which is the document  that sets out the government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. The consultation period ended yesterday and the Parish Councils response can be found here:-

1. Cover Letter to the Dept of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 
2. NPPF 2024 consultation online response form – with apologies for the formatting but it is what the consultation web site delivered to us. It is a long form and the letter is easier to read and a good summary

Notice of Vacancy in Office of Councillor

Notice of vacancy in office of councillor

Plumpton Pavilion Project

See more about the sports pavilion project. 

Pavilion Consultation

Residents Consultation 15.8.2024

Users Consultation 5.8.2024

Please note that these meetings will take place in the Pavilion

Housing Needs Survey

Thank you to all who took part and returned the survey.

Please find a summary here:- Plumpton Housing Needs Survey 2024 – Summary

Please find the full report here:-  HNS Report – Plumpton Parish 2024 – FINAL

New Pavilion

Plumpton’s playing fields are located on Station Road, Plumpton (opposite the railway station) formally known as King George V Playing Field. KGVPF is a designated Fields in Trust field.  The playing field is owned by Plumpton Parish Council… Read more

Neighbours Survey

Users Survey

Residents Survey

Lewes District Planning Authority and Special Measures

Residents will have seen the news that Lewes District Council Planning Department has been put into “Special Measures” by the Government. This is because LDC has been trying to protect residents from over development and refusing some major planning applications. The developers have appealed to the government inspectors and the refusal decisions have been reversed. Plumpton suffered this directly with the Nolands development being allowed on appeal. Barcombe and Wivelefield have similarly suffered and have unwanted development forced upon them. Clearly the idea of local democracy when it comes to planning is proving too inconvenient for the government.

We thank our District Councillor, Daniel Stewart-Roberts for providing us with a briefing note which gives some detail on what ‘Special Measures’ means in practice .

Briefing note from District Councillor Daniel Stewart-Roberts

There’s an easy way to cut your energy bills!

If you privately rent or own your own home, it isn’t heated by gas, it’s difficult or expensive to heat, and you’re on a low income then you could get a grant to upgrade your home. This could include insulation, solar panels or a new heating system.

Freephone 0800 464 7307 and just quote HUG2
– this is managed on behalf of your local Council
Or text WARM to 80011 or visit
Warm East Sussex – keep warm and well in East Sussex

2024-2025 Grant Applications

Applications for Grant or Donation Funding for local charities/groups and societies from Plumpton Parish Council 2024/25 are now open.

Application form 

Alternatively, send an email to the clerk on anita.emery@plumptonpc.co.uk

Please send applications to the Parish Clerk, by email or in writing to, Parish Office, Village Hall, 1 Westgate, Plumpton Green, East Sussex BN7 3BQ no later than 6th May 2024.

Applications will be reviewed by the Finance Committee at the 14th May 2024 meeting.

Notice Of Vacancy in Office of Councillor

Parish of Plumpton

Notice Is Hereby Given

Pursuant to section 87(2) of the Local Government Act 1972, that due to the resignation of Ron Jury, a vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for the Parish Council.

If by 31 January 2024 (14* days after the date of this notice) a request for an election to fill said vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer , Ian Fitzpatrick, Lewes District Council, Town Hall, Grove Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4UG,  by TEN electors for the said Plumpton Parish, an election will be held to fill the said vacancy, otherwise the vacancy will be filled by co-option.

If an election is called, it will take place not later than 5 April 2024

Dated: 11 January 2024
Anita Emery
Clerk to Plumpton Parish Council

* In computing any period of time for this purpose, a Saturday, Sunday,  day of the Christmas Eve and ending the with the first week day after Christmas Day which is not a bank holiday, the “Easter Break” means the period beginning with the Thursday before and ending with the Tuesday after Easter Day, and “a bank holiday break” means any bank holiday not included in the Christmas break or the Easter break and the period beginning with the last week day before that bank holiday and ending with next week day which is not a bank holiday are excluded.

Statement from The Parish Council: The Sports Pavilion

The Sports Pavilion at the Playing Field has served us well for the last 80+ years but now the fabric of the building is failing and the Parish Council is spending a lot of your money keeping it operational. The Parish Council have decided to work towards replacing the building. We would need funding of course and in order to put a coherent bid in front of the various funding bodies we need to decide what we want. How do we want the new Pavilion to look? How can we build a more sustainable, environmentally friendly building whilst providing the facilities we need – what are those facilities?

We will form a working group which will comprise of representatives of the Parish Council and Pavilion users. In addition we are looking for input from residents who would like to help. Perhaps you have particular skills in designing a community space or know someone with expertise in architecture, fund raising, green energy, temporary building solutions or interior design…….

Please contact Anita Emery (Clerk) anita.emery@plumptonpc.co.uk in the first instance, we are aiming to get this working group up and running early in the new year.

Community Grants 2023-2024

The awarding of community grants has now changed since the parish council achieved general power of competence in May 2023. Therefore for 2023-2024 the parish council has allocated £2000 (which shall be reviewed at budget setting in October 2023) and welcomes applications from organisations with a local connection to Plumpton parish or those that are directly involved in helping residents of the village. An application for a grant or donation from the Parish Council should be submitted on the approved form which is available from the Clerk or by visiting the parish coundil website. All applications for grant or donation funding must be approved at a full Parish Council meeting. Expenditure should be targeted at improving or maintaining the quality of life for the majority of residents of Plumpton parish, or at least a significant minority of the residents such as young people or the elderly. Grants or donations will not be considered for financing the aims of political or religious organisations, nor of individuals. Checks are to be made to ensure that all expenditure is used for the purpose for which it was agreed. If any variation to the agreed expenditure is required, it must be approved by the Council, or the funding will be cancelled, and the grant repaid. Applications for donations from national organisations and charities will be considered on a case-by-case basis but in general will not be met unless there is a proven link with the parish.

The usual deadline for the grant applications would be 31st May, however, due to the elections, this year the deadline for submission will be 30th September. Community grants will only be considered once a year.

Pavilion Refurbishment

We’ve just completed the Pavilion refurbishment, which has given us a substantial upgrade of the facilities.

The refurbishment was part-funded by a LEADER grant from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (£49k), and the remainder from our New Pavilion Fund (£28k) and the Parish Council (£7.5k).

With many thanks to Des Lambert, who helped us navigate the grant application process, and to parish councillor Emma Elford, who led renovation programme, got the grants, liaised with everyone involved.

The refurbishment has included:

• removal of the old kitchen to open up the space
• re-positioning of a new  kitchen and utility room into the old committee room
• recovering of the floor throughout
• reconfiguring of the changing rooms
• increased storage facilities
• substantial replacing of rotten timbers throughout the infrastructure
• replacement of multiple doors
• replacement of window glass
• part installation of new composite cladding and sofits
• substantial re-plastering work throughout
• roof repair.

Steve Bodsworth was the contractor. We owe him many thanks for doing a fantastic job to a very high standard and completing on time.

As with all building jobs, we found some unexpected problems along the way that Steve responded to quickly, which allowed us to keep on schedule.

Now the work is complete, it has highlighted other parts of the facility that are looking a bit tired. Plumpton Parish Council will be costing further work to maintain this valued facility within a long-term preventative maintenance programme.  We’ll provide further details in due course, later this year.