Villager quizzes parish council on "poor speed calming" along Hunston's "dangerous" road

FIRST video footage of Hunston Parish Council meeting held in the parish council offices in the village hall in West Sussex on Monday, May 18th, 2026*.

By HILARY GAVIN

A VILLAGER yesterday asked parish councillors to explain why traffic calming in Hunston is “so poor” compared to “very effective” road safety measures elsewhere in West Sussex.

Former primary school headteacher Nick Sharp said he had lived in the county for nearly 40 years – previously in Bognor Regis and Chichester – before moving to Westlands Road in Hunston four years ago when his commute to Felpham had been “very short”.

But his situation changed in September when he switched work for the diocese and now drives around West Sussex where he said traffic calming in a lot of villages is very effective, “with signage screaming at them”, “happy and sad faces” and chicanes or whatever.

Mr Sharp, who says he regularly walks his dog in Hunston, brought up the “poor” traffic signage and calming around his home at Westlands Road, before adding: “I have a theory that, coming from Chichester, it’s okay because drivers feel it’s very villagey, but they get to Westlands and “subconsciously or consciously put their foot down”.

He said cars and tractors drive at 35mph/40mph/45mph, and “buses were horrendous”, adding that he thought motorists felt they were in the countryside although the rush-hours slowed traffic. Mr Sharp asked: “What is stopping more effective traffic calming? Are our young people, our teenagers and elderly people worth less than in other villages because I think it is an accident waiting to happen.”

Mentioning the car that recently crashed into the hedge at Wood Cottage on the B2145, Mr Sharp went on to ask “why is one end of the village safer” than the other where houses are more set back and “motorists think there are in the countryside..”.

He said speed signs, telling drivers how fast they are going, “really do work” and, failing that, speed humps or chicanes, adding that he thought the “bus companies and agricultural traffic would hate it, so let’s put them in…”.

The Parish Chair Wendy Gray told Mr Sharp that drivers put their foot down at the corner coming into Hunston before the traffic lights and village shop but Mr Sharp said he felt motorists would be doing early 30mph there, but were driving at 40mph around Westlands before asking councillors: “Where is the funding?”

At this point (6.30mins) I would invite you to watch my YouTube footage when Parish Cllr Martin Simms mentioned “a death down here a few years ago” – and the meeting later heard a pedestrian died when an overtaking van mounted the pavement and had struck him. Mr Sharp said he “loved living in Hunston” and intended to stay but “it is dangerous”. Chair Wendy Gray told Mr Sharp that, although parish councillors were all relatively new, the Hunston Parish Clerk Carol Smith knew the history of speed calming bids in the village.

Mrs Smith told yesterday’s meeting that the parish council had looked at the issue of speeding traffic in Hunston on many occasions over the years, as attendee CDC Cllr David Betts could attest to in his previous role as a parish councillor. She said the parish council had tried setting up a SpeedWatch group, which had not got enough volunteers, and both the bus company (Stagecoach) and Sussex Police would not support speed humps or chicanes on the B2145 because it is “a significant” vehicular route to Selsey.

At this point Mr Sharp mentioned his subsidiary question about the two very misleading” 50mph signs outside Hunston, pointing out that the southbound signs, going from 50mph, to the 30mph limit, to the roundabout, “sends out all the wrong messages”.

Cllr Simms mentioned proposals for a 40mph speed limit on the Manhood Peninsula and said he had heard the proposed village gates at Sidlesham had been approved. He felt gates were “a visible sign” for motorists to slow down but Mrs Smith pointed out Hunston hadn’t got any suitable locations in the village for them. Mrs Smith told Mr Sharp that the parish council could revisit the issue of putting in speed humps and chicanes but said “one of the best things to do” was to get volunteers for the SpeedWatch scheme citing two gentlemen who regularly volunteer for the scheme in Bosham.

At this point in my report (10mins 20secs into footage) I would invite you to listen to CDC Cllr David Betts explaining his past efforts as a Hunston parish councillor to curb speeding in the village. He invited Mr Sharp to join him as the parish’s CDC Cllr and the newly-elected WSCC Cllr (Nick Russell) in a bid to reduce the speed limit in Hunston to 20mph, adding that he did not want “to lose the opportunity to change speed limits to pursue physical barriers”.

In other matters, I asked whether parishioners could read the minutes of the Manhood Peninsula Partnership and SWiSH meetings (16.20mins) and Cllr Gray was re-elected as Chair and Cllr Becky Davis as Vice Chair at the beginning of yesterday’s meeting . HG

*Please note that this is the first of five videos of yesterday’s Hunston Parish Council meeting which I will be posting on my WordPress blog today.

SECOND video footage of the Hunston Parish Council meeting held in the council offices at the Annexe at the village hall on Monday, May 18th, 2026

THIS video continues with a discussion of road safety issues in Hunston and how the council could garner support from villagers for a proposed change from 30mph to 20mph speed limit plus a brief discussion of a previous petition – which attracted more than 300 signatures – for permission for a crossing in the village that WSCC refused.

CDC Cllr David Betts gave the parish council an update on the local government and a new complex proposal from Whitehall which will be going out to public consultation so I’d invite you to watch my YouTube footage. Cllr Betts praised CDC’s Investment and Finance Department as “exceptional” before turning to planning issues and the solar energy provision at Runcton. He said the CDC Planning Committee had refused the solar energy farm application on several grounds but this was taken to Appeal when the decision was found in favour of the applicants. He told the meeting that the Appeal decision was taken to a Judicial Review by a group in Runcton and was rescinded but the Appeal will now be reheard. Summarising, Cllr Betts said: “It isn’t over yet. The opera singer hasn’t sung yet.”

Cllr Betts went on to say he would be attending the MPP in June, working on active travel planning, and both he and the newly-appointed WSCC Cllr Nick Russell were meeting the new Head of the Chichester Free School tomorrow (May 19th, 2026) when they would would be raising traffic problems including drop-off and pick-up plus cycling and pedestrian paths along with other issues. Moving on, Cllr Betts mentioned the field opposite Farmfield Nursery which he said was “almost running as long as The Archers”. He told councillors he was in regular correspondence with CDC Enforcement and the long legal dispute continues but Council had been briefed. He said CDC had no control over the long court backlog but went on to say the good news was that a further Enforcement Officer is proposed. Cllr Betts touched on the WSCC council elections on May 7, 2026, and recorded his appreciation to the previous WSCC Cllr Sarah Sharp and mentioned Parish Cllr and Hunston resident Benedict Targett had stood in the elections and worked really hard during his campaign. He said he now looked forward to working with the newly-elected WSCC Cllr Nick Russell.

Cllr Betts left the parish council meeting after briefly discussing future elections with the Parish Clerk Carol Smith and the issue of the Free School’s Travel Plan with Cllr Targett. The parish council went on to discuss meeting to review planning applications “as and when they arose” before this video footage ended as they were discussing the appointment of three parish councillor to HPC’s staffing committee.

THIRD video footage of the Hunston Parish Council meeting held in village on Monday, May 18th, 2026

THIS video continues with the training and appointment of parish councillors to Hunston Parish Council’s Staffing Committee when Cllr Becky Davis, Cllr Benedict and newly-co-opted Cllr Forbes Coleman were duly appointed. The Chair Wendy Gray and Cllr Lucas are continuing in their roles on the council’s Events Committee and Chair Gray listed past events in the village. Newly-co-opted Cllr Amit Jani asked Chair Gray about the defunct Fireworks Night which Cllr Gray told him had been organised by the Hunston Club and was last held some years ago when some people avoided paying to enter the event by watching the fireworks from the pavement across the road from the playing fields in the village.The parish councillors continued with official business and the appointment of councillors on to West Sussex and other council groups, the MPP, Greenlinks and SWiSH, the council’s policy review and approval of minutes until the newly-elected WSCC Cllr Nick Russell arrived at 12.30 minutes into my footage. Parish Council Carol Smith gave her Actions Update on issues not on the evening’s agenda from their March meeting. Mrs Smith said she was still in negotiations with Jane Reeve about digging out the ditch at the back of the playing field, she was awaiting information from Whaleback architects and told councillors that the Outram Road environment project group volunteers had been put on hold while Cllr Targett was standing in the WSCC elections. Mrs Smith said the council had cancelled the Annual Parish meeting and there will be a lot of disruption for seven weeks in September when traffic, including Stagecoach bus 52 and 53 services, will be diverted through Hunston while works is carried out on old gas pipes in Stockbridge, Donnington. She said: “Pretty much everything will be coming through Hunston” because the only alternative route was through Apuldram.
She said the parish council had still to organise litter picks which was put on hold. Cllr Gray went on to discuss external meeting and said the minutes for MPP, SWiSH and GLaM were shared among parish councillors before touching on the council’s publicity.

THE FOURTH video footage of the Hunston Parish Council meeting held in the village on May 18th, 2026 which cut out after 31secs because my camera memory card cuts out after an hour’s video footage.

IN THIS SHORT video Parish Clerk Carol Smith said the council’s village hall planning consultant had sent her information on costings to draw up plans for a village hall and these were proving to be expensive at the moment…

FIFTH video footage of Hunston Parish Council meeting held in the village on Monday, May 18th, 2026

IN THIS video Chair Wendy Gray updates councillors on this month’s cancelled Annual Parish Meeting and the planned Q&A Meeting somewhen in June when parish councillors will be present to field any questions from residents for a couple of hours.

Cllr Targett asked if the new-build and revamp proposals for the village hall had proved too expensive and Parish Clerk Carol Smith told councillors that “in these early stages” the quotes received were between £5,000 and £12,000 and they all quoting for additional costs as a percentage of build cost but HPC didn’t yet know if it was going to go ahead and build.

Mrs Smith said “in the very first instance ” she felt the parish council should make villagers aware of why it thinks a new village hall is beneficial rather than a revamp. She said HPC wanted to create something “long-term that is acceptable for villagers” and warned that something would have to be done with the village hall if a new-build didn’t go ahead.

In this video Mrs Smith outlined the primary reasons for recommending a new village hall which are: 1. limited parking, 2. no outside space and 3. the dangers of crossing the B2145 road. She said the ultimate goal was to have an eco-friendly village hall that is cheap to run, a safer place, with more parking for business ventures – pointing out that the current village hall is only used 12 hours a week which she said “was nothing”.

Sadly, this video cuts out after Mrs Smith revealed that there are plans for bus shelters at the sub station and possible reroofing the existing village bus shelters and before the councillors went on to discuss and approve the council’s finances. The Chair Wendy Gray closed the meeting at 8.08pm after Cllr Simms revealed to the meeting that the Church had agreed the Greenway Cycle Route in principle behind Chichester Free School.
By HILARY GAVIN

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

Hilary Gavin

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