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Parish Council 6th of October meeting At their October meeting Parish Councillors agreed the following
- That the Parish Council would provide a contribution of up to £70,000 towards the £260,624 cost of the proposed High Street upgrade project. The remainder of the costs would be met by a £70,000 contribution from BHCC and the £120,000 available from the section 106 developer infrastructure contribution.
- To write to BHCC seeking an assurance that the Parish Council response to the Libraries Sustainability Plan consultation, in full, would be drawn specifically to the attention of the Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet members as part of the review of the consultation process and in the papers prepared for the relevant meetings.
- That Councillors will await more information on the current revenue and liabilities of the Grange, outstanding repairs and current building maintenance costs in order to consider a proposal by BHCC of a potential offer to transfer the head lease of the Grange to the Parish Council.
The meeting minutes are available at here
Parish Council Response to the Library Sustainability Plan Consultation
The Parish Council has today responded to the BHCC’s Library Sustainability Plan Consultation. The response reflects the views and concerns expressed by Rottingdean residents and library users. It poses questions about the process that has led to the development of the Library Sustainability Plan and points out weaknesses in the financial and policy case for closing Rottingdean library - one of the most well used libraries in Brighton and Hove. The response also highlights the incompleteness of the Equality Impact Assessment and inadequacy of the mitigation proposed in negating the ‘serious and negative’ impact on protected groups that BHCC’s own assessment indicates will be the result of closure. The Parish Council asks BHCC Councillors to consider carefully the views expressed in responses to the consultation and to reconsider the library closures. Rottingdean library is a community hub at the heart of the Village, where young people can be encouraged to spark their imagination by reading and where older people meet to enjoy reading clubs and interact with others. The full response can be found here
Parish Councillor Steps Down. Cllr Sandra Hickin has now stepped down from the Parish Council. At the September meeting of the Council Cllr Nixon expressed his thanks on behalf of all Councillors for Sandra's contribution and in particular for her enthusiasm in quickly getting to grips with the work of the Council and for her work on improving Parish Council communication with residents where she had started to make real improvements.
Notice of Conclusion of Audit 2024/25 The external audit of the Parish Council Annual Governance and Accountability Statement has now been published and is available for inspection - see here for details
Village Survey 2025 Results. A summary of the results of the Village Survey carried out earlier this year is available here. Over 300 people completed the survey which asked a range of questions about knowledge of Parish Council business, communications and what we should focus on. You can see the full results here. We would like to thank all those who took part. The information gathered will be invaluable in shaping future priorities.
Rottingdean Parish Council wishes to provide the following statement regarding the proposed closure of Rottingdean Library.
Following a period of analysis BHCC officers have published proposals to close 3 libraries in the city including Rottingdean library.
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2025/proposals-consult-future-our-libraries
These proposals will be considered at a BHCC Cabinet meeting on the 17th of July. If Brighton and Hove City Councillors agree these proposals, then a 12-week consultation period will take place.
The Parish Council is very concerned that these proposals include the recommendation to close the Rottingdean Library and understands its importance to the community for all residents, not only as a place to borrow books but also as a community hub sited within walking distance of two schools and two churches.
The Parish Council is committed to ensuring that residents’ views are clearly and effectively communicated to BHCC officers and Councillors throughout the consultation process.
We strongly encourage all residents to participate by submitting responses to the consultation and attending public meetings, where they can share their views directly with BHCC officers and Councillors
The Parish Council will continue to be actively involved during the consultation process and will help facilitate public meetings with Ward Councillors about the future of Rottingdean library service.
RPC has communicated the importance of retaining the village library at every opportunity and will take a formal position regarding the proposal after community consultation.
St Aubyns Transferred to the Parish Council. We are delighted to confirm that the former St Aubyns Field, Chapel and Pavilion have been acquired by Rottingdean Parish Council (RPC) from Fairfax Properties after exercising an option granted under Developer Contributions for Planning Consent (Section 106 provision). In accordance with these obligations Fairfax Properties have renovated the Chapel and Pavilion back to good condition and landscaped the Field for public use with the addition of a Local Area of Play for under 6 year olds and an artistic feature “The Sweeps”. With the support of BHCC and a Forestry Commission grant, and supported by Brighton Permaculture Trust 36, trees of various hardy species have been planted to enhance the Field providing blossom, fruit, shelter and future habitat for wildlife.This acquisition provides a 3.5 acre open space right in the centre of the village for formal and informal recreation. The future use of the two historic buildings has yet to be decided but will bring additional community facilities for generations to come.
Parish Council Accounts 2024/25. Each year a smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review. Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. More information on how to access the accounts is here The Parish Council financal information can be found here
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Rottingdean Parish Council
Rottingdean is the only Parish Council in the Brighton and Hove area funded by a small addition to the Council Tax (the precept). There are 9 Councillors elected every four years. Rottingdean Council’s aim is to:
- To preserve and protect the natural environment, seafront, green spaces and character of our village
- To promote and enhance the quality of village community life, services and amenities
- To monitor and influence priorities for the development of the built environment, highways, traffic, and pathways by working closely with relevant BHCC departments
In all our work and indeed in deciding how best to use our delegated powers the Parish Councillors, who remain unremunerated, always have the best interests of residents in mind. Having a Parish Council is a vital part of local democracy ensuring the Rottingdean residents have much more say in the future of the village and that the interests of residents are directly represented in wider decisions on infrastructure and planning. The Parish Council’s delegated powers mean we can contribute to a range of local services and amenities which may otherwise be given a much lower priority given the pressures on Brighton and Hove City Council.
Supporting Activity
To preserve and protect the natural environment, seafront, green spaces and character of our village
- By maintaining the Village Pond
- Through the Beacon Hill Nature Reserve Stewardship Group
- The installation of a new Pond Path
To promote and enhance the quality of village community life, services and amenities
- Making the Lower High Street a pedestrian priority area
- Refurbishing Park Road Toilets
- Providing Grant funding to local community groups and charities
- Providing a new green space at the centre of the Village – St Aubyns Field
- Supporting artistic and cultural events
- Promoting tourism and economic activity
- Working with BHCC to improve the Air Quality in the High Street
To monitor and influence priorities for the development of the built environment, highways, traffic, and pathways by working closely with relevant BHCC departments
- Scrutinising all planning applications
- Working with BHCC to manage Air Quality
- Co-funding pavement repair on the High Street
- Working with BHCC on a solution for lighting of the Twitten
Rottingdean Council is funded by a small amount added to the Council tax (the Council tax precept) that is agreed in April each year. Funds are used to improve to the Village environment and make grants and donations to initiatives and activities which benefit the Community. Our grant application form and guidance can be found here
The Parish Council has a number of Advisory Groups that consider the detail of proposals and make recommendations to the full Parish Council to consider. See more here
First created in November 2010, this website is regularly updated and new ideas for content are often added. As well as providing public information, the Parish Council wishes to hear your feedback, ideas and comments, so please e-mail your views direct to us at parish.clerk@rottingdean-pc.gov.uk
The current Rottingdean Parish Councillors are:
Clerk to the Parish Council: Chris Hayes
