Home - East Dean and Friston Parish Council

Next Parish Council Meetings

Parish Council Meeting - 4th January 2024

Planning Committee - 19th December 2023

Recreation Ground

The pavilion is now open for bookings, subject to availability. For further information contact the Parish Clerk by clicking here. The open area of the Rec. is fully accessible for exercise and the tennis court and play area are also open.

Community Services within the Village

Charity of the year 2023/24

Village Directory 2024

Churches
Cuckmere Community Bus route 41
Community Watch / Neighbourhood Watch
Emergency Plan
Residents' Association
Tree Warden

Village Hall

Village website

Who Looks after What?

Quick Links

Council Meetings:

Full Council
Planning Committee
Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

Your Councillors

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?

Wealden District Council 2023 Christmas Recycling & Rubbish Collection - Wealden District Council has published its 2023 Christmas Recycling and Rubbish collection times. This can be found here.

East Dean & Friston Neighbourhood Plan - Drop-in session at the Village Hall on Tuesday 12th September 2023 from 6.00pm – 8.00pm to consider Parish Priorities for the next 15 years. More details can be found here

Don’t lose your vote – residents in Wealden urged to check voter registration details or risk losing their chance to vote on decisions that affect them. More information is available at https://www.wealden.gov.uk/news/dont-lose-your-vote-residents-in-wealden-urged-to-check-voter-registration-details/

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner #TalkSussex Survey have launched a short survey to hear the views of Sussex residents on how safe they feel in the county. The survey consists of three short questions asking about what individuals have experienced, what causes the most concern and what would make them feel safer. Link to the survey can be found here.

The Returning Officer at Wealden District Council has now issued the official "Notice of Uncontested Election" for the Parish Council. The notice has been posted on the Parish Council noticeboard and can be seen by clicking here. The uncontested election is due to the number of nominations (seven) being less than the number of vacant councillor positions (nine). The seven elected councillors will sign the "Acceptance of Office" declaration at the Annual Parish Council Meeting on 18th May. The two vacant councillor positions can then be filled by co-option.

Government Emergency Phone Alarm Test: Because of the poor mobile phone coverage in our village, the Parish Council would be keen to hear from any residents who did NOT receive the test alert at 3:00 pm on 23rd April in the East Dean area, despite having their phones switched on. You can contact the council by clicking here.

The most recent meeting of the Planning Committee took place in the Village Small Hall on Tuesday 23rd May. The minutes can be found on our "Council Meetings" page or by clicking here.

The most recent Parish Council meeting was held in the Village Small Hall on Thursday 18th May. The minutes can be found on our "Council Meetings" page or by clicking here.

The most recent meeting of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group took place in the Village Small Hall on Monday 20th February. The minutes can be found on our "Council Meetings" page or by clicking here.

Bus fares cap extended: The bus fare cap that was due to end on 31st March has now been extended until 30th June. Under this scheme, operated jointly by the government and bus operators, local bus fares are capped at £2 per single journey. The £2 fares will be a maximum, so discounted or free travel passes will still apply. Both Brighton and Hove and Cuckmere Community buses are participating in the scheme, so this fare cap will apply to the number 12 and number 41 buses serving this village. For more information click here.

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 2023 and is due for re-election in May 2027.