HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Welcome to the Hassocks Parish Council Website

The Council Office is located at:


Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 8QH.


Telephone. 01273 842714    

Fax. 01273 843836

Email - CLICK HERE


 

The Clerk to the Council is Miss Linda Baker.


Opening Hours of the Council Office are:

Tuesdays and Thursdays  10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

Mondays and Wednesdays  10.00 a.m. to 12 noon. 

 

Hassocks Parish Council


Hassocks Parish Council was formed in 2000 by the amalgamation of Clayton and Keymer Parish Councils. It has fifteen Councilors, who represent the four wards in the village. The next elections will be held in 2011, but by-elections may be held to fill any casual vacancies occurring before then. Each year the Council raises a "precept" to cover its running expenses. The precept for 2009/10 was set at £175,830. (see "Precept" for historic details)

The Parish Council:

  • Owns and manages the Adastra Park in Hassocks, which includes football pitches, a cricket pitch, a croquet pitch, tennis courts, a skate park, children’s play area, a Bowls Club, and the Memorial Gardens
  • Owns and manages the Parklands allotments
  • Has recently acquired a site opposite St Cosmos and St Damian’s church in Hassocks which is being landscaped to provide a burial ground and Garden of Remembrance
  • Provides and maintains bus shelters, seats and litter bins in the village
  • Comments on all planning applications in the Parish to Mid Sussex District Council, who are the local planning authority
  • Provides hanging baskets, undertakes planting around the village to improve the visual amenity, and runs an annual Hassocks in Bloom competition
  • Maintains some of the street lights (most on main roads are the responsibility of West Sussex County Council)
  • Administers travel passes on behalf of Mid Sussex District Council
  • Liaises with West Sussex County Council on local highways matters, including road marking, maintenance and speeding
  • Has developed a Village Design Statement which it is hoped will be adopted as supplementary planning guidance to help shape future development
  • Organises regular "surgeries" at the Parish Centre with District and County Councilors,  Mid Sussex District Council - Council Tax and Benefits department, for the benefit of residents.

 

QUALITY STATUS

Hassocks Parish Council has been awarded Quality Status under the government’s Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme. To achieve Quality Status a council has to demonstrate to an independent accreditation panel that it is effectively and properly managed, is representative of and actively engages with its community, and has the ability and capacity to take on a wider range of activities and responsibilities. There are approximately 12,000 town and parish councils and so far 393 have achieved Quality Status. Quality Status councils can apply for special government grants and take over responsibility for some activities from District and County councils, so they can provide a better level of service for local residents. Hassocks is already part of a cluster with Hurstpierpoint, Cuckfield and Burgess Hill, carrying out some highway functions on behalf of West Sussex County Council, and it is hoped to extend this to some activities currently done by Mid Sussex District Council.

The Right Hon Earl of Lytton, President of the National Association of Local Councils, presented Hassocks Parish Council, represented by the then Chair of the Council, Noel Thomas, with the Quality Status certificate at a reception in the Parish Centre on 19 March 2007. He paid tribute to the councilors, Clerk and staff of the Parish Council for all their hard work in achieving Quality Status, and said that Hassocks was a very vital community, with a number of organisations in the village pursuing new initiatives to make the quality of life better for local people.