A new face at the town hall
Congratulations to Amy Head who will be the next town clerk. Currently clerk for Peasmarsh Parish Council, she joins Rye Town Council on 20 April.
The post was readvertised earlier this year ahead of current Clerk Richard Farhall’s retirement after 28 years in the post.
He leaves the position in the spring, but is expected to stay on part-time at the town hall until July.
Town meeting 4 March
Rye’s annual town meeting is on Wednesday 4 March. This year it will be in the Rye Community Centre on Conduit Hill from 6.30pm.
The meeting is organised by Rye Town Council. For the first hour it’s a chance to meet councillors and representatives from local organisations, including Rye Heritage Centre and Rye Leisure Centre. From 7.30pm, Mayor Andy Stuart will give his overview, followed by a question and answer session.
From Rother to Rye
The continuing process of local government reorganisation has resulted in an opportunity for Rye Town Council (RTC) to acquire two green areas in Rye: Cadborough Marsh (the site of the Undercliff Pony Rescue) and the Mill Salts (the riverside area behind Tillingham Avenue).
While the sites have little financial value, the meeting of the council on Monday 23 February discussed possible opportunities which could result from owning these sites. Councillors unanimously agreed to recommend taking on the ownership from Rother District Council.
Monday also saw a meeting of RTC’s Planning and Townscape Committee, with councillors asked to consider infrastructure development priorities for the town.
This discussion took place in anticipation of the transfer to the council of significant community infrastructure funding resulting from the approval of future developments, most immediately the Aldi site.
Projects mentioned included the Station Approach public conveniences, better local signage and the development of cycle routes.
Councillors agreed a comprehensive, and prioritised, list needs to be developed. This should be finalised for the next full meeting of Rye Town Council, with councillors noting the risk these funds could get reallocated elsewhere.
Find out more
There’s a chance to find out more about Rother District Council’s Draft Local Plan next week. The document is being consulted on and details where development could take place in and around Rye.
This Rye News article gives you the background.
There’s an informal drop in session to talk to planning officers on Friday 6 March 3pm to 7pm at the Tilling Green Community Centre.
More details about the consultation – which runs until the end of March – here.
St Michael’s Hospice is taking part in a national campaign to highlight the importance of hospice care.
Hospices support around 300,000 people every year across the UK, alongside 60,000 family members, carers and friends.
A spokesperson for St Michael’s said, “The This is Hospice Care campaign aims to raise awareness of hospice services, shift public perceptions of hospice care, and highlight the vital role that gifts in Wills play in sustaining hospice charities for the future.”
Read more about the campaign here.
Image Credits: Stuart Harland , RTC , Peter Connock , Ordnance Survey Mapping , Nick Forman .