Heathfield & Waldron Parish Council

The Parish Council Offices are open Monday to Friday 9.30 am - 1.00 pm and 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm

Our Telephone Number is 01435 865700 or email info@hwpc.org.uk

The Clerk is Helen Johnson and her email is: clerk@hwpc.org.uk

Any Planning enquiries should be addressed to the Assistant Clerk - Fiona Hensher - email: asstclerk@hwpc.org.uk

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YOUR CHANCE TO INFLUENCE HOW WE SPEND YOUR COUNCIL TAX

The Parish Council want your ideas for their strategic plan covering 2026-29 and welcome your feedback and any suggestions you may have. 

Please click here to follow the link to our survey which should only take a few minutes to complete.

Clerical Officer Job - Click here for more information 

The Parish Council area covers Heathfield, Old Heathfield, Waldron, Broad Oak, Cross in Hand, some of Punnetts Town and some of Little London. We are responsible for; sports pitches, seven playgrounds, two burials grounds, two allotments, Jubilee Park, the High Street Christmas lights, the community centre, benches, some bins, some street lights, the skatepark, wild flower verges, some flower displays, finger posts, the town clock, CCTV, trees within our land and bus shelters. In addition to all this we also give grants to local clubs, and charities. We are working with ESCC to provide equipment and support to the new youth hub. We organise some local events, and are working towards net zero footprint.

All of this costs serious money, our costs are rising too. For the last few years we have increased our share between 2-2.5%. We have subsidised this by taking money from our reserves in order to keep the increase as low as possible. I’m sure you can all appreciate that this is unsustainable. We don’t want to be in a position that other Town and county councils are in whereby we have no money in the years to come. We have increased our share by 10.5% which works out at £8.83 per year for a band D property which is 74p per month.
With devolution looming it is generally expected that we will have to take on more responsibility, for this to happen we need more resources.
I hope this helps. You are welcome to come to our annual parish assembly on Monday 7th April, where you will have your opportunity to speak. In addition we will shortly be releasing a survey, so you can voice your options, concerns or suggestions for the next three years.

Chairman

Wealden District Council has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner, as part of Wealden’s climate emergency declaration.

Working with Connected Kerb, Wealden District Council are rolling out electric vehicle charging points across Wealden District Council Public Car Parks.

The installations are part of the council's ongoing efforts to support the transition to low carbon transport and to improve local air quality. The aspiration is that all residents who drive electric vehicles (EVs), or are considering making the switch, have convenient access to EV charging.

Phase 2 of the Scheme (50 kWh Chargers) includes the following car park in your district, with partial closure for groundworks and  installation/commissioning.

Mill Road Car Park - Ground Works 24/03/25 to 28/03/25

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Draft Transport Strategy Consultation

Last week we published our new draft Transport Strategy for consultation.

The strategy sets out our vision for the South East, detailing our plans to improve the transport system to grow the economy, better connect our communities and reach net zero in the decades to come.

We are asking residents, businesses and interest groups in the region to take part in the public consultation to give us their views on our proposals:

https://transportforthesoutheast.org.uk/.../transport.../

Find out more about the vision, goals and missions outlined in the draft strategy and complete the consultation survey, which is open until 7th March 2025

Heathfield Youth Hub Newsletter - Click here

Water main replacement reaches milestone with more than 1.5km laid

South East Water wanted to provide an update on our £5.6 million investment to replace 6.5 kilometres of ageing water main between Heathfield and Rushlake Green.

To date, we’ve laid a total of just over 1.5 kilometres of new pipeline, with approximately 1300 metres in Middle Lane, and around 260 metres in Battle Road. We’re pleased to say that we’ve been able to use the directional drilling method on these sections of work, which is a more efficient way to install the new pipeline.

In Middle Lane, we have installed the remaining section of pipework. This is currently being tested before we can connect customer services to the new main. We will also continue transferring customer services on sections of new main which have already passed testing.

In Cade Street/Battle Road, the latest section of installed main is currently being tested and once it has passed, we’ll be connecting the customer services on this section. Our working area here is currently just west of Chapel Lane.

We would also like to inform you that Liz Faulkner is no longer our Customer Liaison Officer, having had to leave suddenly and unexpectedly. We are, however, pleased to introduce Helen Tucker, who will be taking on the role. Helen has previously filled this position and so is experienced in providing support to customers during our engineering schemes.

Should any customers in your community require any support or have any questions about the works, Helen can be reached on 07866 126589.

Wealden Volunteering at the Parish Council offices

Pop in to see Wealden Volunteering at the Parish Council office the last Thursday of the month from 9.45 to 12.45

Wealden Local Plan Response

Click here to view Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council's response 

Barclays Banking Hub

Barclays Bank will be in the Parish Council offices on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 930-1300 and 1330-1445 and the facility will be available by appointment only. Banking facilities will however not be available.   The contact details for arranging an appointment are 03457 345 345.  

Priority Services Register - free support service to help people in vulnerable situations   

Please click here for more information.

Junction of A267 and B2102

East Sussex County Council Highways department’s response to the public petition which asked for improved safety measures in the area of the junction of the A267 and B2102 at Cross in Hand acknowledged that work was needed. However, based on scoring criteria the location was ranked 53rd in priority by comparison to other sites in East Sussex. The Highways department informed the Parish Council that there are insufficient funds available to do anything at this location. In response the Parish Council submitted a request for a speed reduction in the vicinity of the junction to 30 mph and the introduction of vehicle activated signage.

The Highways department subsequently concluded that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a change to the existing speed limit or such signage. The Parish Council has asked for that decision to be revisited for reasons set out in its letter sent to the Highways department and awaits a reply.