KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 7 December 2015

Present: Cllr R Harwood (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr J Evans
Cllr F Fahy
Cllr K Hughes
Cllr R Lane
Cllr R Sutton

In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)

Public Session

Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden), C/Cllr Gibson, B/Cllr Ward and 5 members of the public were present for part of the meeting.

C/Cllr Gibson outlined the pressure being placed upon Hampshire Highways as a result of budget cuts, the reductions in the grass cutting programme and the County’s lighting consultation, the results of which indicated that some areas supported dimming street lights after a certain hour to conserve energy and others did not. There was also a consultation on the future of the library service in the public domain and all were urged to respond. The run out of superfast broadband would be accelerated this month for the King’s Somborne area and C/Cllr Gibson undertook to hasten the relocation of local road signs and speed limit reminder posts in the interests of road safety. He also hoped the all-weather path could be brought forward from the Summer to the Spring of next year.

B/Cllr Ward briefed on progress made towards adoption of the TVBC Local Plan which was encouraging and the visit by TVBC officers with himself and the Clerk to Freshford PC and Bath and East Somerset District Council to review their approach to developing a neighbourhood plan and learn from their experiences.

Mr Pidgeon asked if action could be taken to prevent vehicles from parking on grass verges around the Eldon Road estate; the Clerk would refer the matter to the Police for them to monitor in case of obstruction and to Aster Housing for their information.
Action: Clerk

Mr Vanderpump, on behalf of the Nutcher’s Conservation Group, asked that Aster Housing be hastened for a response to the points raised previously about their not complying with their own mission statement and also if financial help was available from the Parish Council to offset the costs of transferring ownership of the Tarrant Villas ransome strip from Heron Homes to the Group. The Clerk thought this unlikely but would investigate further.
Action: Clerk

Mr Wolstenholme, on behalf of the Save Our King’s Somborne group, informed the Council that the Group was applying under Rule 6 to be allowed representation at the forthcoming appeal by Gladman Developments against TVBC’s refusal to grant planning permission for 60+ homes at the top end of Eldon Road. The Group was fundraising to meet their anticipated costs for professional assistance and would welcome any help possible.

174. Apologies for Absence

174.1 Cllr Whitehead.

175. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions

175.1 None made.

176. To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 2 November 2015

176.1 Proposed Cllr Curtis, Seconded Cllr Brock, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2015 be accepted as a true record.

177. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes

177.1 Public session. The Post Office in Cross Stores had at last been recognised as a community facility which meant the current full range of services would remain.

177.2 Para 168.1 Highways would undertake a review of all street name signs on the Eldon estate and replace where necessary.

178. Declarations of Interest and requests for Dispensations

178.1 None made or requested.

179. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required

179.1 The Clerk drew Members’ attention to the publications received from CPRE and the acknowledgement from Test Valley School for the grant made to sponsor prizes.

180. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 2 and 16 November 2015

180.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 2 and 16 November 2015 had been circulated with the agenda.

180.2 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Curtis, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 2 and 16 November 2015 be received and accepted.

181. Councillors’ Reports

181.1 Cllr Evans reported on an emergency planning event sponsored by the County which she had attended with the Clerk at which preparations for adverse Winter weather were outlined with a plea not to use salt from the roadside salt bins on private driveways or paths. The responsibility of riparian owners to keep waterways on or adjacent to their land clear of vegetation and detritus was emphasised. An explanation behind the County Council’s submission to Central Government for more devolved responsibility was presented and the importance of elderly and vulnerable people in the community being registered with Scottish and Southern Electricity’s Priority Service Register was emphasised as this would direct resources to those most in need in times of loss of electricity.

181.2 Cllr Curtis confirmed the annual awards presentation at Test Valley School, at which he had represented the Parish Council, had been successful and our sponsorship much appreciated.

181.3 Cllr Fahy commented on the hedge growth obscuring the light at the top of the Village Hall slip road. The Clerk would contact the landowner and briefed that the proposed redesign of the Village Hall entrance would incorporate dedicated lighting for that area.
Action: Clerk

181.4 Cllr Brock would hasten the haunching of the Winchester Road edge adjacent to the stream and had reported the defective light timer on the bend. There were still delays in getting the legal paperwork at Fields in Trust completed which was preventing SSE from burying the electricity
supply cables under the 3 Fields site to reduce the risk of supply loss; he would hasten again.
Action: Cllr Brock

181.5 Cllr Lane had attended the recent Test Valley Association of Local Councils meeting at which matters of general interest had been discussed. He also reported on the planning applications considered by the Planning Committee at its meeting earlier in the evening.

181.6 Cllr Harwood asked Cllrs Evans and Sutton to attend the ‘Save Our King’s Somborne’ (SOKS) meeting in his absence and to draft a submission against the appeal submitted by Gladman Developments.
Action: Cllrs Evans and Sutton

182. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring

182.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers.

182.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Brock, RESOLVED unanimously that the Budget Report be accepted as tabled.

183. Payment of Accounts

183.1 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Fahy, RESOLVED unanimously that the following accounts for November 2015 be approved for payment:

To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 627.10 0.79 627.89 Int
HMRC Tax/NIC 391.54 391.54 Int
Sub Arb Up Somborne trees 620.00 124.00 744.00 Int
SLCC Subscription 149.00 149.00 Int
Cllr Brock Slide projector 308.33 61.66 369.99 Int
KSVH Hall hire 13.50 13.50 Int
Totals 2109.47 186.45 2295.92

184. To adopt the Precept and Expenditure Budget proposals for 2016-17

184.1 A draft Expenditure Budget and Precept had been circulated with the agenda. It was thought appropriate to consider a small increase of 1.75% in the Precept which on current rates would produce an extra £636 next year.

184.2 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Harwood, RESOLVED unanimously that the Council adopted an Expenditure Budget of £34,755 and a Precept of £33,040 for 2016-17 with the difference being met from reserves.

184.3 A copy of the adopted Expenditure Budget and Precept is attached to these minutes.

185. Recreation Ground hire charges for 2016-17

185.1 It was thought appropriate to retain the current charges for next year apart from the hire charge for dog training as this was a commercial operation.

185.2 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Lane RESOLVED unanimously that the recreation ground hire charges for 2016 – 17 remain at their current levels, apart from the dog training hire charge, as follows – KS Football Club £115, JSC Football Club (new hirer) £115, KS Cricket Club £100, dog training £100 (ie plus £20), Pre-School £55 and the King’s Somborne Primary School £185 per annum, with no charge for casual hirers.

186. Burial Board fees and charges for 2016-17

186.1 Councillors were content that the Burial Board could continue to be self-financing at the current fee level for the time being and saw no reason to impose an increase next year.

186.2 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Brock, RESOLVED unanimously that the Burial Board fees for 2016 – 17 remain as follows:

Interments
Child under 12 years of age No charge
Body of person 12 years or over £200
Cremated remains £130
Exclusive Right of Burial
Grave/plot £200
Transfer rights charge £25
Headstones, tablets and memorial inscriptions
Headstone or flat stone inset in the ground £125
Vase/Flat cremation tablet £75
Inscription after the first £60

All fees being doubled for non-Parish residents

187. Meeting dates for 2016

187.1 The proposed meeting dates for 2016 were tabled and noted.

188. Neighbourhood Plan progress

188.1 Cllr Brock, as lead councillor, briefed on the planned community meeting to be held on 16 December in the Village Hall from which he anticipated getting sufficient volunteers to allocate to working groups and start investigating and drafting inputs to the Plan. Leaflets had been distributed to all Parish dwellings inviting attendance, e-mail contact had been made and word of mouth had been employed to maximise attendance and enthuse everyone to attend.

188.2 Test Valley BC had confirmed their approval of the Parish boundary as the designated Neighbourhood Area for the purposes of the Plan.

188.3 It was agreed that the Parish Council would co-ordinate all activity through the Plan Steering Group and sign off the finished Plan on behalf of the community of King’s Somborne.

189. Clerk’s monthly report

189.1 Two nominations had been received for co-option to the Parish Council. This would be determined at the January meeting.
Action: Clerk

189.2 No new footpath Warden had come forward to replace Mr David Haydon but he had confirmed he was prepared to continue with the monthly walks.

189.3 The Working Men’s Club had agreed to host Bello Catering and their mobile pizza van on a trial basis. Details would be published by the Club.

190. Date, time and place of next meeting

190.1 The next meeting would be on Monday 4 January 2016 at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.50pm

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