Home - East Dean and Friston Parish Council

Next Parish Council Meetings

Parish Council - 6th January 2022.

Planning Committee - 21st December.

Recreation Ground

The Pavilion is now closed for bookings to allow extensive renovation of the exterior to take place over the winter. The open area of the Rec. remains fully accessible for exercise and the tennis court and play area are also open, but you are urged to comply with Government restrictions regarding keeping a safe distance from others.

Community Services within the Village

Charity of the year 2021/22

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Cuckmere Community Bus route 41
Community Watch / Neighbourhood Watch
Emergency Plan
Residents' Association
Tree Warden
Village Directory (at Aug 2021)
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Welcome

Welcome to the East Dean and Friston Parish Council website. We hope that you enjoy browsing it and finding out more about our village and its council. We always welcome feedback from our site visitors, so if you have any comments or suggestions for improvements then please let us know via the "Contact Us" link.

What's new?

Latest Update - 6th December 2021

Council Vacancy: The Returning Officer at Wealden District Council has announced the result of the By-election held on 2nd December. Of two candidates for the single vacancy, Michael Bustard received the most votes and has been elected as a Parish Councillor. The official announcement can be seen on the Parish Council noticeboard or by clicking here.

The most recent meeting of the Parish Council took place on Wednesday 1st December at the Village Small Hall. The minutes of this meeting have now been published and can be found on our "Council Meetings" page or by clicking here.

Water Service Consultation: South East Water are about to launch a consultation on the water industry’s first 25 Year Environment Plan, and would like to hear from local residents and council members about their feedback on our plan. The consultation will run from 29 November to 7 January inclusive and everything customers/members/staff need to take part in the consultation will be on the website corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/25YP

The most recent meeting of the Planning Committee took place in the Village Small Hall on Tuesday 16th November. The minutes have now been published and can be found on our "Council Meetings" page or by clicking here.

Platinum Jubilee: The Parish Council, together with other village organisations are making plans to celebrate HM the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next June. Information on this can be found on our "News and Information" page or by clicking here.

Christmas Bin Collections: Wealden Council have informed us of the schedule of bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period. This can be found on the WDC website or by clicking here. As in previous years, this schedule will not be posted on each household bin but will be advertised locally. If you know of anyone who may not be aware of this information, please be a good neighbour and let them know.

More gas works underway: The gas infrastructure company SGN and their contractors DJ Utilities have been working in the village since September to continue the renewal of gas supply pipes on the Downlands Estate. This time the work is taking place in The Ridgeway, Summerdown Lane and The Link and the contractors have established their base on the grass triangle between Micheldene Road and The Link. Residents affected should already have been contacted but everyone needs to be aware of potential disruption along these roads. The work is likely to continue for at least three months, dependent on weather and other factors. Further information can be obtained by calling 01273 497400 or emailing info@djutilitiesltd.co.uk

We have also been made aware of further gas pipe renewal work taking place in Old Willingdon Road between 24th January and 1st April 2022, which will involve the total closure of the road. More information on this when we get it.

The Parish and its Council

The Parish of East Dean and Friston is located between the south coast towns of Seaford and Eastbourne, situated on the southern edge of Wealden District in the County of East Sussex and within the South Downs National Park. It is a relatively large rural area, comprising the village of East Dean and Friston, together with the smaller hamlets of Birling Gap and Crowlink. The A259 main coast road passes through the Parish with the old village to the south and the newer parts of the village (known as the "Downlands Estate") to the north. The Parish is primarily residential, covers an area of 3.3sq miles and consists of some 760 households with a population of around 2,200.

East Dean Village is centred around the Village Green with its war memorial, medieval church and long-established inn, “The Tiger”. To the North-West of the village, as the A259 ascends Friston Hill, is the area known as Friston, which was originally a separate village with its own church at the top of the hill.

Birling Gap is a coastal hamlet with a long shingle beach, backed by the famous Seven Sisters cliffs and not far from Beachy Head. The Birling Gap visitor centre and cafe, and some of the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

Crowlink is a small hamlet grouped around a manor house; in the 18th century it was a haven for smugglers of Gin that became known as "Genuine Crowlink". It was also once the home of the Edwardian author, Edith Nesbit, whose best-known work is “The Railway Children”.

Parish Councils were formed in England under the Local Government Act 1894 to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural towns and villages. Before this date a variety of groups based around ecclesiastical (church) parishes had responsibility for these matters, in a system of local government that originated in the feudal system of the 8th century. The establishment of Parish Councils effectively separated church from state and today's councils are totally secular in nature and independent from the Parochial Church Councils that deal with the administration of the local Church of England places of worship.

Following the 1894 Act, both East Dean and Friston began Parish Meetings (not council meetings) and East Dean then formed a Parish Council in 1924. The Friston Parish Meeting merged with East Dean to form the East Dean and Friston Parish Council in 1948.

Parish Councils are the first tier of local government and have limited variable tax raising powers. The component part of the Council Tax, which comes to the Parish Council, is known as the Precept.
Parish Councils are responsible for areas known as civil parishes, and there are approximately 9,000 Parish Councils in England. East Dean and Friston is one of those civil Parishes. Although there is nothing to prevent Parish Councils being political in nature, the current East Dean and Friston PC members are all independent of any party political sponsorship. The current Parish Council was elected in 2019 and is due for re-election in May 2023.