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Parish Council Meeting MinutesSeptember 2008 MinutesMinutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday September 9th 2008 In the Village Centre at 7:30 p.m. The Chairman, Cllr. Bridget Culley, opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Those Councillors present were: Ray Randall, Sandra Grunsell, Michael Widén, Alan Marsden, Colin Henderson, Fiona Foote and Margaret Corbett. The Clerk, Lorraine Cousins was also in attendance. Members of the Public in attendance. 1 person was in attendance 1. Apologies were received from – Cllr. Daniel Culley. After note; Borough Councillor James Lewin’s apologies were received too late to be conveyed to the meeting.2. Declaration of Interests – none reported. 3. Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday August 12th 2008 having already been circulated, Cllr. Grunsell proposed that they were a true record and should be signed; the proposal was seconded by Cllr. Randall and unanimously agreed by the council. 4. Borough & Ms. Eve Lind-Smith addressed Council on the problems the planned closure of the Bourne Meadow Road would have for the ‘Lunch’, the Woman’s Fellowship and for the less able to access the Village Shop. Following discussion with the Council Ms. Lind-Smith agreed that it would be better to cancel the October lunch and re-arrange the venue for the Woman’s Fellowship. Ms. Lind-Smith also suggested that the ‘Neighbour-Care’ volunteers would be willing to assist the less able residents with their shopping during the road closure, Ms. Lind-Smith agreed to liaise with the Village Shop committee to organise this service, the Parish Council agreed to publish the offer in the Hill & Valley Magazine. The Chairman thanked Ms. Lind-Smith for attending the meeting and her helpful suggestions. 5. Matters Discussed: a. New Clerk’s Employment. The Chairman informed Council that she had with the Clerk held a meeting with Mr. Steven Lugg, Director of HALC, to discuss the procedures for employing a new Clerk to replace Lorraine Cousins when she retired in 2009. Following the advice given, Council agreed that advertisements for the post of Parish Clerk would be placed in early January with interviews to be held in February. It was agreed that representatives from the Council and the Clerk would hold further meetings to produce all the necessary documents and a contract of employment. These documents would then be sent to Mr. Lugg for checking by the HALC solicitor. b. Payphones. The Clerk informed the meeting that B.T. were proposing to remove the ‘Payphones’ from Stoke & St. Mary Bourne. In line with the Council’s previous decision the Clerk had registered with B&DBC and B.T. an objection to this proposal. In turn B&DBC had written to B.T. confirming the Parish Council’s decision and adding the Conservation Officer’s comments that the phone boxes were ‘Iconic items of c. Maintenance Contracts. Council was informed that AA Wolfenden’s maintenance contract was due to end in March 2009. Council agreed to advertise the contract for the April 2009 – March 2013 period on the Parish Council notice boards and in the Hill & Valley Magazine. The Clerk confirmed that all quotes for the contract should be sent to her by October 8th at the latest. d. Training Strategy. After carefully considering the document, which had been previously circulated to all Councillors, Cllr. Foote proposed that Council adopt the Training Strategy in line with Quality Parish Council status requirements, the proposal was seconded by Cllr. Marsden and agreed by all present. (Copy of strategy attached to Master copy of Minutes). 6. Finance: 6.1 Finance Matters. a. Football Club Account. The Clerk informed Council that the Football Club’s account for electricity/water & tenancy for the 2007/8 season was still unpaid. Cllr. Henderson informed the meeting that he had spoken to Mr. David Ashe, the club’s representative, who had agreed to discuss the matter with the club’s officials. The Chairman informed the meeting that she had spoken to Football Club member Mr. John Horsham, Mr. Horsham informed the Chairman that he was endeavouring to collect outstanding ‘subs’ from club members in order to pay the overdue account. Council expressed their disappointment at the situation, it was agreed that the Football Club would not be given permission to use the Sports Pavilion for the 2008/9 winter season. (Council may reconsider this decision once the bill was settled). b. The Clerk reminded Council that all budget requests for 2009/10 would be required in readiness for discussion at the Tuesday October 14th Full Council meeting. 6.2 The Monthly Accounts
Payments made since the last meeting
Payments Due at Meeting:
It was agreed to transfer £2,500.00 from the Business Investment Account to the Treasurers Account. The acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Cllr. Grunsell and seconded by Cllr. Henderson and agreed by the council. 7. Planning: 7.1 Report from Planning Committee Meeting held on Tuesday August 26th 2008. The Chairman summarised the report, which had been previously circulated to all Councillors, posted on the Parish Council’s notice Boards and Web Site and attached to the master copy of the Minutes. 7.2 Matters arising from the report. No matters reported. 7.3 Planning Matters Discussed: a. BDB/69451 – Beech Hill, b. Hedgerow Removal. An application for the removal of hedges by 4D/Southern Water in connection with sewer work in St. Mary Bourne was noted. Details of all planning applications for the Parish can be viewed on – www.basingstoke.gov.uk/planning/dc/applications 8. Recreation Ground & a. Tennis Net & CCTV System. Cllrs. Henderson & Randall informed the meeting that they had, following recent acts of vandalism, successfully repaired the tennis net and returned it to the games area. As a result of the damage caused by vandalism and ‘wear and tear’ in constantly moving the net, Council reluctantly agreed that the tennis net would remain in situ but minus the ‘winding handle’ until the weekend of October 25th/26th, the net would then be removed and stored for the winter season. The net would be made available to individuals during the winter season upon application to a member of the Recreation Ground Committee. It was planned to return the net to the games area for the summer season. Councillor Henderson agreed to obtain a quotation for a replacement CCTV system in readiness for the October council meeting. b. New Seat. The Clerk informed the meeting that the order for the seat had be processed and she was awaiting the invoice and delivery confirmation. c. Whitchurch Junior Football Club. Council were informed that Cllr. Daniel Culley had met with Mr. John Mathias, organiser of the Whitchurch Junior Football Club to agree pitch marking and storage for the club’s equipment. The Clerk circulated ‘fixture dates’ to the Recreation Ground Committee. d. Games Area Lighting Project. Cllr. Corbett informed Council that following a meeting with residents and Mr. Nick Anderton, the ‘St. Mary Bourne Junior Football Club’ organiser, a suitable lighting scheme had been agreed that would fulfil the group’s need without being intrusive to local residents, the scheme was to include a Council regulated time switch. As a result Cllr. Corbett had contacted B&DBC Planning Officers for advice and had submitted to the planning department a site plan for consideration. Cllr. Corbett agreed to report back to the October meeting. It was agreed that the Clerk should erect a new notice at the Games Area asking users not to trespass onto neighbouring properties in order to retrieve lost balls. Lights for Bowling Club. Council agreed to a request from the Bowling Club to install temporary, mobile lighting at the Bowling Club for use on the ‘green’ from mid-August to mid-September each year. e. Cricket Club Pavilion Handover. It was agreed that the Chairman and Cllrs Daniel Culley & Colin Henderson would meet with the Cricket Club to complete the handover procedures on Sunday September 28th at 9.30 am. The Clerk agreed to supply the necessary documents in advance of the meeting. 9. Correspondence/Web Site: Correspondence received was circulated for Councillor’s inspection. 10. HALC/BDAPTC/SLCC/Training/Conferences: a. Quality Parish Scheme Meeting. Council was informed that the Clerk and Cllr. Corbett had attended the meeting to launch the revised scheme. The Clerk informed Council that she had started compiling the ‘Portfolio’ in readiness for the Council’s re-submission at the end of 2008. The Clerk requested that Councillors send her details of all training events they had attended during 2008 and asked individual Councillors to produce reports on projects they had worked on during the 4 year period since Council had become a ‘Quality Parish’. A copy of the revised QPS guide was made available for circulation to all Councillors. b. HALC AGM. Councillors Widén & Corbett would be representing the Parish Council at this event. It was agreed that the Parish Council would support a motion to review ‘banking methods’ that would allow Councils to use ‘electronic banking’ in the future. c. Vitacress Chalk Stream Forum. The Chairman informed Council that she had attended the Forum on the 2nd September. In her report the Chairman said that it had been an interesting event concentrating on the condition of the river downstream from the Vitacress Farm. 11. Footpaths: a. Test Way sign. Cllr. Foote commented that the ‘ b. Rights Of Way (ROW) Conference. Council was reminded that Cllr. Henderson and the Clerk would be attending the ROW Conference in 12. Highways/Transport & Services: a. b. Village Name sign. Following a request from a Parish resident, Cllr. Widén had discussed with Mr. Jamie Daly, B&DBC Neighbourhood Development Engineer, the possibilities of erecting a SMB village name sign on the c. 40 MPH Zones. It was agreed to ask the Highways Department to introduce a ‘40 mph Buffer Zone’ along the Egbury Road from a point NW of Jamaica Farm to the 30 mph sign in Egbury Road. d. Road Closures. Council was informed that B&DBC proposed to make the following Order for various road closures in the Parish:- Effect of Order: All vehicles will be prohibited from proceeding along those roads listed below, as indicated by traffic signs. Duration of Order and
Cllr. Randall addressed the meeting on the closure of the Village Blacksmith’s workshop. Councillors spoke of their sadness that the long established family business had, due to changes in agriculture and the ever increasing costs of running a small business, finally ceased trading. Council agreed that the Chairman would write to Mrs. Mew thanking her family for the excellent service it had given the Parish over many years. There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.45 pm These Minutes are subject to approval at the Parish Council Meeting on – Tuesday October 14th 2008.
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Minutes - 26 Aug 03