Home
Home
OgImage:

Buxted Parish Council

Buxted Parish Council came into being in 1894 when the present system of Parish Councils was instituted to give rural communities a voice. Buxted Parish covers some 7,000 acres with an electorate of about 2,500 out of a population of 3,200. It encompasses the villages of Buxted, High Hurstwood and Five Ash Down.

The parish is divided into two wards – Buxted/Five Ash Down (10 councillors) and High Hurstwood (5 councillors). Councils are elected for a term of 4 years. Council meetings are held on the second Tuesday in every month (except August), alternating between Buxted Reading Room, High Hurstwood Village Hall and Five Ash Down Village Hall, at 19.30. Meetings agendas are displayed one week in advance on the Parish notice boards in Buxted (on the Ionides Trust site), High Hurstwood (near The Hurstwood pub) and in Five Ash Down (outside the Village Hall) and on the website. The agenda includes a list of any planning applications received from Wealden District Council for consultation. All meetings of the Council and its committees are open to the public, who are welcome to ask questions or raise issues with the Council before the meetings formally begin.

An early requirement was to provide allotments, which we do. Councils can also support arts and crafts; contribute to maintenance of churchyards; protect commons, provide buildings for public meetings, functions and entertainment, maintain public footpaths and bridleways (jointly with ESCC), provide footway lighting (we don’t), provide and maintain public open spaces, and comment on planning applications.

We also take an active interest in highways matters, policy and our environment (e.g. trees and hedgerows). More and more we have to comment on government policies for local government and voice our electors’ concerns.

Parish assets include Buxted Reading Room, two recreation grounds (Buxted and High Hurstwood), two allotment areas in Buxted (recently re-generated) and High Hurstwood, children’s play areas in Buxted and High Hurstwood, and two bus shelters. The budget is set annually over the period October to December. Planned expenditure less income forms the ‘Parish Precept’ which is levied as part of annual Council Tax. Apart from meeting general running expenses of the council – specifically employing our Parish Clerk – the council makes grants to local organisations and contributes to local projects e.g. Buxted Traffic calming.

The Parish Council recognises the burden of Council Tax but is also conscious of local needs for improvements in the Parish that increasingly are not being covered by either County or District as they seek to keep within national government budgets. Before increasing Precept to cover costs of local improvements such as the recent traffic calming, the Parish Council ensures that such improvements are what our electorate want and are prepared to pay for.

Councillors sit on various committees (e.g. Finance, Planning, Communications) and outside bodies (e.g. Ionides Trust, Buxted Community Hall Trust). Each keeps an eye on different parts of the Parish, e.g. for planning purposes and trees.

Our Parish Clerks, Beccy Macklen & Claudine Feltham (01435 515219) clerk@buxted-pc.gov.uk, who act as the Council’s ‘proper officers’ on the Council’s behalf and under its direction. 

Latest Parish News

ESCC Cllr Galley Monthly News October 2025

06

October 2025
ESCC Cllr Galley Monthly News October 2025


Local Government Reorganisation.

Yet more on this topic this month. I worry that this subject may be of minority interest, but people do often ask me about it and it will affect the provision of local services.

Councils were required to tell the government their preference for the shape of the new unitary authorities by September 26th.

The County Council met on September 24th and there was a wide-ranging debate on the proposal for the current East Sussex to be the footprint for the new body- The One East Sussex proposal. This was passed nem.con ( nemo contradicente- no-one opposing the proposal). A few abstained but across the political spectrum there was strong support. The proposal meets all the criteria set out by the government in their White paper. They wanted a population of about half a million, they didn’t want to cut across the boundaries of current councils and they didn’t want unnecessary disaggregation of services particularly care services,

Brighton and Hove had put together their own plan for 5 new authorities across the whole of Sussex. Each would have a population of just over 300.000 people, current District boundaries would be torn up, and all the services would have to be reconfigured.

Brighton have, of course, put their plan to the Government. West Sussex have suggested one new Unitary covering all of West Sussex. The Government will decide what will happen, but it will cover all of Sussex. The ball is now in the government’s court.

The One East Sussex option was strongly supported by Lewes District Council and generally preferred by Eastbourne, Rother and Hastings. Wealden District Council led by the Wealden Alliance apparently could not agree to accept either One East Sussex or the 3 new ones suggested by Brighton.

Waste Services.

Just an early warning that waste services nationally will be changing from next year.

All Councils will have to implement a food waste collection and disposal service. This will mean a separate food waste container. This already happens in some Council areas including Lewes.

More detail will be available shortly and I hope to do a fuller report next month.

Roy Galley

2nd October 2025

Roy Galley.cllr.roy.galley@eastsussex.gov.uk

01825 713018

Five Ash Down Post Office Improvements/Temporary Closure

02

October 2025
Five Ash Down Post Office Improvements/Temporary Closure

A message from the Post Office:

"We're writing to let you know about some changes to the above Post Office.

For further information please visit our Consultation Hub via the link below:

Consultation Hub – Five Ash Down TN22 3AH"


My Parish
°C
Weather Humidity percentage %
mph
Weather Description
FRI Weather Day One ° °
SAT Weather Day two ° °
SUN Weather Day three ° °
MON Weather Day four ° °
TUE Weather Day five ° °