Author: FCA Admin

Bank Holiday Monday August 28 2023

from 1 PM to 4 PM

Firle Village Fete is back !

Come on down to Firle Village Playing Fields and Cricket Ground!

Entry is £1 per adult with free entry to Raffle 1st Prize draw

Our programme includes

• DOG SHOW
• SHEEP RACING
• UKELELE BAND
• ARCHERY
• BBQ
• Bar
• Tombola
• Raffle (Lots of good prizes)
• Wellie-throwing
• Coconut Shy
• Bowling
• Whack the Rat
• Bric-a-brac
• Clothing Stall
• Produce stalls
• CD’s for sale
• Tea and Cake stand

Programme Times (Approximate

1:00pm ~ Firle Fete opened by Lord Gage

2:00pm ~ Firle Dog Show starts

3:00pm ~ Sheep Racing start

4:00pm ~ Raffle Prize Draw and close

Firle Fete Official Programme

Download the full programme here

HOW TO GET TO FIRLE FETE:

On the A27 between Lewes and Alfriston. There are new pedestrian crossing lights at the junction to Firle. Take the Firle exit off the A27 and look for the park gates on your left

PARKING AT FIRLE FETE:

Enter the Park gates and the parking area will be on your right, next to the playground

We had 42 responses to our survey on Cost of Living and Road Safety. That’s about one in three households in the parish

Here’s a quick summary of the findings:

• Many people were willing to support a Warm Space event in Firle, but very few would use it
• There was a lot of interest in better information regarding financial help and money-saving tips
• Most households would support community purchases of firewood, fuel oil, and a local energy generation scheme
• People were keen to lift-share, with preference for a Lift-sharing Whatsapp group
• Most people (68% ) were concerned that the local roads were on the ‘dangerous’ side of the scale
• Most people (68%) felt the areas between the A27 and the School/Bostal was the biggest concern, with a footpath being the preferred option

Here are the full findings and unedited comments

The FCA committee will be meeting in early March to decide what action to take on the findings

Many thanks to all who participated

Tuesday 20th December at 6pm

Friday May 27th @ 6pm

We’re please to announce a LOCALS ONLY event at the RAM. Its been arranged by the FCA and Hayley (our pub landlady) to get everyone together and open the newly refurbished RAM garden.

Hayley is offering welcome drinks and Pizza. If you’ve recently moved to Firle, it will be a great opportunity to meet your community neighbours. We’ll take the opportunity to make a few community announcements (Maximum 5 minutes!) about the upcoming Jubilee weekend celebrations, the launch of Firle Community Land Trust, and other local stuff

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Join us in the RAM garden…… 7pm This Wednesday (21st July)

Many of us will recall the presentation made in the School before the pandemic, and the follow-up open day held in the Riding Stables last September by Ringmer Area Community Land Trust (RACLT).  The proposal was to build affordable-rent homes for local people in the village, and some preliminary work was done to look at suitable sites. 

Firle Community Association agreed to send 4 representatives to join RACLT, and at our first project meeting, Henry Gage asked us what the community thought about the project.  We explained that whilst generally people were in favour of the scheme, nobody could understand why a “Community-Led” project in Firle was being driven by a team from Ringmer.  

We’re delighted to say that the Firle Estate and RACLT have taken your concerns seriously, and agreed that the project should indeed be led by Firle.  To make this happen the community will need to set up ‘Firle Community Land Trust’ that will take over from RACLT.   This new organisation will be formed exclusively from people who live within Firle Parish, and YOU will be able to decide on who you want to represent the community.   

You may have noticed that some of the play equipment in the playing fields have been removed recently, and it’s looking a little sad . Some of the older gear did not pass a safety inspection and had to be removed. The Playing Fields are run by the Village Hall and Playing Fields Committee (find out who runs the VHPFC here) and we (FCA) are running a survey on what can be done to refresh and make better use of the area for grown-ups and children.

The survey takes less than a minute to complete, and will be used to help us to obtain grant funding for new facilities, so its really important that we get a positive response from everyone. The closing date is Monday 28th June so do it now!

We’ll publish the results and comments on the website next week.

All our supporters and friends can switch to cheap, 100% renewable energy from Octopus, and get £50 off their bills.

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£50 on your account, and £50 for us. Octopus are so confident that once you’ve made the switch, you won’t want to switch again that they’re offering £50 credit to you for making the switch, and £50 for our Firle Community

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Thank you to all who attended our online meeting on Wednesday 5th May to discuss the parking issues in the village.  It’s very evident from all the commentary, viewpoints, and social media chats that this is close to everyone’s hearts, and there are no ‘easy’ solutions.  This is a brief summary of 90 minutes of our online discussion:

Residents Parking

Problem: Villagers who live between The Ram and the Shop are often unable to park near their homes, and limits their freedom to come and go at busy times.  Parking pressure comes from:

• The lack of space available.  There are 19 homes on this stretch, with car space only on one side of the road, limited by the Village Hall passing point, and access to Black Tile house.
• Some homes owning 2 cars, and also have visitors/AirBnB guests at weekends.
• Businesses in the village (Shop, Pub, etc) needing parking space
• Walkers heading for the Downs
• Recent widening of Ram Beach where some residents used to park

Possible solutions: There was little enthusiasm for implementing an official Residents Only parking zone, as this would involve painting the road, additional signage, administrative hassles for residents, and annual costs for each permit and each additional car. 

Residents in this area could choose to use unofficial methods to discourage visitors, such as cones, signs etc.  The risks of this approach were that they had no legal weight, could make the street untidy, and could frustrate residents who were ok with not parking near their front doors. There were potential liability issues if for example someone tripped on a cone.  Wording of signs would need to be carefully chosen (eg Resident Parking vs Residents Only Parking). 

Access to the village

Problem: The stretch between the School and the RAM can become blocked once parked cars prevent two-way flow on this stretch.  The blind bend is a particular bottleneck.   Emergency vehicle access on a weekend is a concern for everyone who lives beyond the Village Car Park.  Nobody wants to see yellow lines or road widening.

Possible solutions:

Bollards to prevent roadside parking and protect passing-places.  Requires volunteers to place and remove cones, and cost of replacing damaged cones etc

Expansion of parking capacity in the Village Car Park will be available next weekend and is limited to 28 days of use.   Approximately 30 to 40 spaces would be needed, and if visitors number grow, even this would be insufficient.  Planning permission would be needed for a permanent expansion.

Improved layout in the Village car park would provide a few more permanent spaces.

Wardens to help visitors parking was discussed.  It would need volunteers, and actual parking places to direct vehicles.  There was a risk of volunteers being abused by frustrated queuing visitors. 

next steps

There is no escape from the reality that Firle is now ‘on the map’ as a tourist destination, and visitor numbers will inevitably rise over the coming years.  The popularity of National Parks, with improved access, cycle paths and walking routes will attract more visitors, and costs and restrictions on overseas travel may further add pressure, so we need to be proactive rather than reactive.   We agreed to set up 2 groups:

short term improvements

To relieve the worst effects of increased visitor numbers this summer, such as

• Unofficial residents parking help
• Help with bollards and signs for access
• Anything else that would help the community cope

Chris Antram agreed to chair this group.

long term visitor management

To work with South Downs National Park, Firle Estate, and neighbouring parishes to reduce car journeys and provide alternative solutions such as:

• Shuttle buses
• Public Transport
• Additional car parks outside the downland villages
• Walking and cycling routes ,

This group would research existing solutions, agree a Neighbourhood Plan and needs joint working between the FCA and the Parish Council.  The FCA will formally write to the Parish Council with this recommendation, and raise the Community concerns over parking with the Firle Estate. 

Thanks again to everyone who attended and grappled with the technology challenges.  Hopefully next time we can meet in the Village Hall.

Firle Community Association asked members:

“Do you support the proposal to offer an overflow car park (accessed from the main car park) at weekends and bank holidays for a trial period?”

• The survey was conducted online from 25^th March to 28^th March.
• The FCA now has 100 members.  93 questionaires were sent out.  7 members (who chose not provide email addresses to the FCA) were not surveyed.
• We received 50 responses or 54%.  Effective surveys have responses above 25%

Results

Commentary

• 37 respondents added supporting commentary
• 28 respondents submitted other suggestions

Common Commentary themes

In favour of a Trial, but with reservations:

• Trial has clear criteria/rules/time length/review process/clear boundaries
• More Bins needed– both litter and dog waste
• Car Park – better surface, height barrier, clear boundaries
• Signage – to encourage visitors not to park in street/residents only/take litter home/double yellows/environment-sensitive

Other solutions/options for consideration after the Trial:

• Parking payment /donation/ticket requisite for pub users
• Residents Parking Zone/Badges/Bollards
• Keeping status quo or reducing spaces –Ditchling Beacon Vs Birling Gap
• Resident only car parking– visitors to use car park only
• Access for emergency vehicles
• Alternative location for Car Park (near Crossways)
• National Park signage and rules
• Ram– needs a parking steward /own car park/reduced car parking and extended outdoor capacity/pub needs to take more responsibility for managing visitors