Sidlesham PC discusses the relevance of community forum at its May meeting

By HILARY GAVIN

THE first video footage of the Sidlesham Parish Council meeting held in the Parish Rooms in the West Sussex village on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026.

THIS full meeting of Sidlesham Parish Council primarily dealt with electing the Chairman and Vice Chairman, SPC Representatives and working groups. Cllr Adrian Harland mentioned the newly-elected WSCC Cllr Izabela Mayne who sent a letter of apology for missing yesterday’s meeting but said she will try to attend future ones. Cllrs Nick Wade and David Guest sent their apologies for absence.

Parish Councillor Tracy Parsons proposed Cllr Mike Mellodey’s re-election as Chairman and Cllr Harland seconded the proposal. Cllr Nick Wade was re-elected as Vice Chairman.

Cllr Adrian Harland, Cllr Tricia Tull and newly co-opted Cllr Jane Tilley were elected to the Planning Working Group when councillors spent time discussing local planning issues. Cllr Adrian Harland, Vice Chairman Nick Wade and Chairman Martin Mellodey were elected to Finance Working Group. Cllrs Lewis Ramm and Mary Monnington were elected on to the Assets and Amenities Working Group and Business Forum Working Group. Cllrs Tracy Parsons, Jane Tilley, David Guest, Nick Wade and Martin Mellodey were elected to sit on the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group. Cllr Mary Monnington asked to join Chair Martin Mellodey to meet the “new boss” at the Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve Community Meeting and Cllr David Guest was re-elected to be SPC’s representative at the West Sussex councils’ group (see minutes at the SPC website for full details).

THE SECOND video footage of the Sidlesham Parish Council meeting held in the Parish Rooms in the village on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026.

THIS video continues with SPC elections before councillors discussed the Peninsula Community Forum, which caused some confusion. (At this point I should say I’ve not heard of the Peninsula Community Forum but I am aware of the Manhood Peninsula Partnership (MPP)). Chairman Martin Mellody told yesterday’s meeting that the forum mainly dealt “with technical issues” that arose on the Manhood Peninsula, and Cllr Tricia Tull asked: “When did they put COMMUNITY into the title of the Peninsula Forum?” Cllr Tull went on to give yesterday’s meeting a potted history of the Peninsula Forum explaining that two people started it to discuss specific problems, before adding: “Frankly, I think it has outgrown itself as a lot of the issues have been solved…It’s non sense, it is.”

Yesterday’s meeting heard that SPC is asked to pay £200 annual donation to the forum but Chairman Mellodey pointed out that some issues discussed are not relevant to Sidlesham. Councillors then spent time talking about the Manhood Peninsula Partnership (MPP), and its subsidiary groups SWISH and GLAM.

Cllr Parsons, who earlier told yesterday’s meeting that she had a heavy workload dealing with SPC planning matters, complained that MPP meetings made it hard for her “to manage the volume of work”. She suggested that she should join Cllr Tilley for the first up-coming MPP and GLAM meetings before asking if a villager from Sidlesham could “be co-opted as a volunteer” to attend future meetings to report back to the parish council.

(The Chichester District Council (CDC) website link below describes the Manhood Peninsula Partnership as “a Standing Conference for the Manhood Peninsula” and explains that “the partnership was formed in 2001″… “to promote, develop and support initiatives that deliver economic, social and environmental benefits”.)

https://www.chichester.gov.uk/Partnerships#mppsc

If you fast forward 13minutes and 22secs into this second video, you can see Sidlesham Community Association (SCA) Chairman and Treasurer Norman Robson giving his update on the Sidlesham Memorial Hall and Recreation Grounds and SCA’s draft annual accounts for the year ended April 2026. Mr Robson told the meeting that the SCA’s total income was just short of £30,000 and that income had been rising for the last four years. He told councillors that SCA had a loss just under £12,000 in 2023, and it had a surplus of £700 in 2024, £6,500 in 2025 and £10,500 surplus this year which included the Ferry Farm grant of £3,000 which SCA hasn’t spent on electrical fittings and which it hopes to spend on heating the main hall. Sidlesham Parish Council has gone back to Ferry Farm because it was not happy with the distribution of grants and you can hear Chairman Mellodey telling the meeting that the SCA grant had “been peanuts”. Cllr Nick Wade represents SPC at Ferry Farm meetings and the Chairman Martin Mellodey told councillors that the parish clerk Alison Colban had written an email to Mike Nichols who has said the email will be discussed by the Ferry Farm board at the next meeting. Chairman Mellodey told yesterday’s meeting will be attending the next Ferry Farm meeting with Cllr Wade.

THE THIRD video footage of the Sidlesham Parish Council held in Parish Rooms in the village in West Sussex on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026

SCA CHAIRMAN and Treasurer Norman Robson continues his report on SCA’s draft accounts for the year ending April 2026 by revealing that SCA now has a bank account just under £41,000 which is the greatest it it had ever been. He went on to explain that the this bank balance was there not “just because it was useful” but that “the long-term plan was to move into new premises” adding that “this project would not fly without SCA’s own contribution”. Mr Robson explained that SCA was just building up a case now, after four years, “to go and knock on the door to ask for largesse”.

The meeting heard about Sidlesham Memorial Hall’s exorbitant electricity usage in the winter months and Mr Robson told the meeting that “the heat loss in that building is enormous”. Chairman Mellodey and Ms Colban updated councillors on the quotes for roof repairs.

Councillors went on to discuss whether they had receive the flyer for next Wednesday’s Annual Parish Meeting (APM) (20th May) to be held at the Memorial Hall at 7pm. Other matters discussed included updates on Sidlesham’s proposed TRO the Gypsy and Travellers’ legislation and the parish council’s insurance policy when Ms Colban said she had received a quote in excess of £6,000. The meeting heard that this was a problem for parish councils – especially smaller ones such as Sidlesham – as “fewer and fewer insurers” are prepared to provide cover for them.

Please note that the memory card on my camera runs out after an hour which is why my fourth video – when Cllr Harland mentions an article in The Telegraph addressing the problems facing parish councils in terms of insurance nationwide – is so short before I resumed filming my fifth and final video (see below). Chairman Martin Mellodey closed yesterday’s Sidlesham Parish Council meeting at 8.45pm.

By HILARY GAVIN

Copyright Thursday, May 14th, 2026

A freelance journalist who wants to see a return to public accountability in the local press

Hilary Gavin

Freelance Journalist & Writer

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Tel: 07940 444664

Email: grumpywoman@hilarygavin.blog

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