KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 4 July 2016
Present: Cllr A Brock (Acting Chairman)
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr J Evans
Cllr F Fahy
Cllr H Griffith
Cllr K Hughes
Cllr R Lane
Cllr R Sutton
Cllr S Whitehead
In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Public Session
Mr R Dyke and Mr R Pidgeon (Open Spaces Wardens) and Mr D Gould (Footpath Warden) were present for part of the meeting.
102. Apologies for Absence
102.1 Cllr Harwood; C/Cllr Gibson and B/Cllr Ward.
103. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
103.1 Cllr Fahy queried why ‘No HGV’ graphic signs were installed elsewhere in the county when we had ‘No HGV’ text signs at Old Vicarage Lane and Horsebridge Road which were not understood by foreign truck drivers. The Clerk would follow up with Highways.
Action: Clerk
103.2 Cllr Curtis raised the poor state of the kissing gate entrance at the A3057 end of Horsebridge Road where surface erosion now extended under the road. The Clerk would report this to Highways for action.
Action: Clerk
104. To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 6 June 2016
104.1 Proposed Cllr Hughes, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED with Cllrs Curtis, Fahy and Lane abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2016 be accepted as a true record.
105. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
105.1 Para 88.1 Land transfer. Cllr Brock had progressed action with Fields in Trust on the land transfer paperwork and also the approvals necessary to enable SSE to bury their electricity supply cables across the 3 Fields site. Further action remained with Fields in Trust. The Parish Council had engaged Wellers Law Group to act on its behalf in these matters.
105.2 Para 88.2 Portable generator. As part of our community resilience planning, the Village Hall had accepted being the most suitable place for a generator although had yet to determine its siting. Discussion then ensued on the type and associated costs and also the need for a smaller portable generator in case the Hall was not suitable in an emergency as a place of refuge, and also the provision of portable pumps. The Clerk would take further advice on these from SSE.
Action: Clerk
105.3 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED with Cllr Curtis abstaining that following seeking views from SSE on the adequacy of this equipment the model P12000 generator be purchased from Pramac Ltd at a cost including installation £3250 ex VAT noting that reimbursement would be sought from the SSE Resilient Communities Fund.
105.4 Para 97.2 Recreation ground car parking. It was estimated that the current tarmac surface in the recreation ground could safely accommodate 50 marked car parking slots plus one/two disabled slots adjacent to the Hall entrance now the clothing banks had been relocated. However, it was agreed to defer any further action until the land transfer was completed. The Scouts had raised concern at the new location of the clothing banks citing road safety and access and the Clerk would respond although all noted that the banks’ position remained on Parish Council managed land.
Action: Clerk
106.5 Para 98.1 Dog fouling. The Clerk had met with the Test Valley Dog Warden to discuss possible action in dealing with irresponsible dog owners. The Warden would provide some ‘clean up after your dog’ notices and would arrange to talk to the school children in the hope they would take the message home to spread the word. He also confirmed that TVBC had adopted Article 3 of the Fouling of Land by Dogs Order 2006 which gave blanket coverage to all land in the open air to which the public had access and which made it an offence for a person in charge of a dog to not clean up after their dog. However, he stressed that in order to prosecute successfully under the legislation there had to be evidence of the offence acceptable to a court which meant the public taking photographic evidence of the offence at the time it took place. Councillors urged the public in general to be on the watch for offenders and dog owners in particular to be more public spirited, where necessary.
Action: All
106.6 Para 100.1 All-weather path. Installation was planned to start on 5 September 2016.
106.7 Para 100.4 Skate ramp graffiti. No-one had yet come forward to volunteer to tag the skate ramp.
106.8. Para 100.5 Humbers View dog bin. The provision of a dog bin in the area of Humbers View had been passed to Aster Housing for their consideration.
107. Declarations of Interest and requests for Dispensations
107.1 None declared or sought.
108. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
108.1 HCC Library Service had written confirming their intention to expand their home library service by recruiting more volunteers and also their wish to encourage volunteers to take people to the existing libraries to increase their footfall. There were no plans to increase the number of new libraries. The Clerk would submit an article to The Gauntlet for general information and copy HCC’s Letter to the Village Agents.
Action: Clerk
108.2 Hampshire Air Ambulance had decided not to collect used garments as part of their fund raising efforts because of the global decline in their value. BagItUp who operated the scheme on their behalf had offered a choice of other charities to which unwanted clothes etc could be donated and Councillors thought the Hampshire Search and Rescue charity to be the most appropriate. The collection bin would be rebadged accordingly.
109. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 6 and 20 June 2016
109.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 6 and 20 June 2016 had been circulated with the agenda.
109.2 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Fahy, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 6 and 20 June 2016 be received and accepted.
110. Councillors’ Reports
110.1 Cllr Fahy outlined the stream clearance he had undertaken and encouraged all to de-head the water parsnip to prevent the flowers from seeding elsewhere. He also considered that the Flood Action Group should liaise with the Environment Agency over stream clearance before the Winter rains came. He had reported the faulty manhole covers on the A3057 at the junction with Cow Drove Hill in the hope that repairs would be undertaken before the covers collapsed under the weight of a passing vehicle causing an accident. He had also volunteered to become the minute secretary for the Village Hall. These and other Highways matters had also been referred to C/Cllr Gibson for his follow up action.
110.2 Cllr Lane reported on the two planning applications considered earlier in the evening both of which had been supported. He also briefed on the successful Up Somborne annual hog roast attended by 70 people and asked that an update be sought on the requests to reduce the speed limit at the Strawberry Lane junction with Winchester Road and to relocate of the speed limit signs on Eldon Road.
Action: Clerk
110.3 Cllr Griffith confirmed she had attended the HALC training for new councillors and that it had proven very informative.
110.4 Cllr Hughes requested a key to access the 3 Fields site to develop the biodiversity area which the Clerk would provide.
Action: Clerk
110.5 Cllr Sutton commented on the number of maintenance signs left on-site after completion of repair work citing, in particular, those left on a Scott Close verge after drain repairs and which the contract grass cutter had mown around instead of moving them. The Clerk would follow up with both C/Cllr Gibson and Highways.
Action: Clerk
111. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
111.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers.
111.2 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED unanimously that the Budget Report be accepted as tabled.
112. Payment of Accounts
112.1 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Curtis, RESOLVED unanimously that the following accounts for June 2016 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 888.60 888.60 Int
HMRC Tax/NIC 233.68 233.68 Int
Legal & General Staff pension 37.08 37.08 DD
TestValley School Grant 75.00 75.00 Chq
KS Village Hall Hire charge 25.00 25.00 Int
Wellers Law Group Legal fees (advance) 1800.00 1800.00 Int
Wright Hassall Legal fees 1500.00 300.00 1800.00 Int
Mr M Rebbeck Grounds maint 811.00 811.00 Int
Bruno Construction Flint wall repairs 438.60 87.72 526.32 Int
TVBC 3 Fields grazing rights 1.00 1.00 Int
Totals 5809.96 387.72 6197.68
113. Community Speedwatch
113.1 As a result of the article in the recent issue of The Gauntlet, 5 people had volunteered to join a Community Speedwatch group. However, a minimum of six persons was required before the Police would initiate the necessary training. All were encouraged to spread the word.
Action: All
114. Speed limit Reminder purchase
114.1 Following the earlier decision to purchase a second speed limit reminder once the additional posts were installed, the Clerk would now make enquiries of HCC on suitable types and what funds might be available to help meet the cost.
Action: Clerk
115. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) progress
115.1 Cllr Brock briefed on the progress to date regarding preparation of the NDP. Brownfield sites with development potential were now being identified and a tent at the Horticultural Show on 31 July would be organised at which available councillors were invited to be in attendance. A workshop was planned for 24 July to which representatives from youth based community organisations would be invited to discuss the possibility of developing a multi-purpose community activities centre in the Parish at some time in the future
116. Clerk’s monthly report
116.1 HALC AGM. This would be held on 22 October 2016 in Hartley Wintney; interested councillors should inform the Clerk.
Action: All
116.2 Borne water level monitoring. The Environment Agency would be installing a river level gauge on the bridge in front of Riverside Green in the near future to monitor water levels through King’s Somborne. The Clerk would advise adjacent residents.
Action: Clerk
116.3 Footpath signage. The broken finger post at the top end of the Froghole footpath had been reported.
116.4 Scott Close parking. Cllrs Sutton and Whitehead were identifying potential grassed areas in Scott Close suitable for conversion to parking and their results would be forwarded to Aster Housing for consideration.
Action: Cllr Sutton and Whitehead
117. Date, time and place of next meeting
117.1 The next meeting would be on Monday 1 August 2016 at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.40pm