The Parish Council are looking for a new Parish Clerk and Responsibly Financial Officer. It’s a flexible part time role, working from home and with some evening meetings. The full job description is below. In the first instance, if you would like to find out more or register your interest, please email mike@easebourne.org 

Easebourne Parish Council Clerk and RFO

Job description

Closing Date:     17 June 2023               Hours: 52-65 hours per month  

Rate of Pay: £18.41 to £20.53 depending upon experience and qualifications, plus membership of Local Government Pension Scheme.

Easebourne Parish Council are seeking to appoint an individual as part time Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer to join their team of Councillors.

The Clerk is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Parish Council’s administration, the delivery of services and projects and ensuring that the Parish Council meets its statutory requirements and obligations.  As Responsible Financial Officer, the successful applicant will be responsible for the administration of the Parish Council’s financial affairs.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone wishing to work independently from home for between 52 to 65 hours per month, typically including at least two evening Council meetings per month and other meetings when necessary.

The successful person will have the drive, determination, organisational skills and attention to detail to manage a varied and interesting workload. Excellent administration, book keeping, IT and communication skills would be an advantage. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wishes to work from home yet become involved with the life of a small semi rural community.

In addition to managing the day-to-day work of the Parish Council, the post holder will work closely with Councillors on key projects and events within the Parish. As Responsible Financial Officer you will work together with the Council’s Head of Finance and Chairman to set annual budgets.

Experience in a similar role would be preferred, as would an appropriate qualification, however the Parish Council will support an applicant, following appointment, to study for the Certificate in Local Council Administration (CILCA) qualification. The ideal applicant would have financial and administrative experience, including knowledge of Rialtas Accounting Software, an understanding of local government and be able to demonstrate enthusiasm for working with residents of a rural community.

A reminder that the Annual Village Meeting will take place on Wednesday 24th May from 7pm until 8pm at the Primary School.

It’s your chance to come along and meet your Councillors, chat about what’s important to you, our recent and upcoming projects, and even find out about joining the Council.

We look forward to meeting you.

Following a collision, the bus shelter on the A286 just north of Kings Drive has been damaged beyond repair.  The structure is safe, so there is no danger of it falling into the carriageway, and Stagecoach have been made aware.  This matter is now with the Parish Council’s insurance provider and we will look to provide a new shelter as soon as possible.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), with the support of Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council, has stepped in to break the deadlock in progress around getting the listed buildings safely and legally secured. While the South Downs National Park Authority are leading on this aspect of the recovery, they continue to work closely with the other members of the multi-agency recovery group and other agencies will continue to lead on other aspects of the recovery.

We understand that the top priority for the community and businesses is to get the road through Midhurst open again and the frustration that this has not yet happened. We want to assure everyone that there is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to secure the buildings to enable this to happen. The Angel Hotel and other buildings damaged are listed buildings and are protected by law. The solution to making the buildings safe and to secure them is for them to be shored up. The SDNPA, with the support of Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council, has therefore stepped in to ensure this happens without further unnecessary delay.

We can report that we have appointed a structural engineer who is currently finalising a plan for shoring up the damaged buildings. This week we are liaising with and visiting on site with potential specialist contractors who could then carry out this very specialised work. Our aim is to appoint a contractor to begin work as soon as possible. Please be assured that progress is being made. Unfortunately, we cannot give a date on when work will commence until we have a contractor in place, but we will provide regular updates on this work as soon as it becomes available.

Once the buildings have been safely secured, West Sussex County Council, as the highways authority responsible for the road, will be able to reopen the road through Midhurst.

The multi-agency recovery group was quickly set up in response to the fire as this is a complex legal, financial and practical issue with multiple agencies holding legal responsibility for different aspects of the response and recovery. To help, the group has prepared a detailed FAQs prepared by Chichester District Council which is updated as new information becomes available. The FAQs can be found here: www.chichester.gov.uk/article/37648/Midhurst-fire-Frequently-asked-questions

As public sector bodies it is deeply regrettable that we have to step in and address what is a landowner responsibility. Such decisions are very rare for good reason and have to be carefully considered. While public money will be spent to shore up the building and therefore break the detrimental impasse, we will use all legal means to reclaim these costs. The priority now must be the shoring up of the buildings which will, in turn, enable the road to be opened to get Midhurst moving again.