KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 6 March 2017
Present: Cllr R Harwood (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
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, the Open Spaces Warden, and C/Cllr Gibson were present for part of the meeting. C/Cllr Gibson’s had circulated his report before the meeting highlighting a new roads maintenance contract having been awarded to Skanska with effect from August following a comprehensive tendering process and the purchase of new vehicles with advanced technology for road repairs. He also confirmed the Lengthsman scheme had been funded for a further two years and that two grants had been awarded from his devolved budget for recreational facilities in the Parish during the year.
35. Apologies for Absence
35.1 Cllr Curtis; B/Cllr Ward.
36. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
36.1 None.
37. To accept the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13 February 2017
37.1 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Brock, RESOLVED with Cllrs Fahy and Lane abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2017 be accepted as a true record.
38. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
38.1 Para 21.1 No reply had yet been received from TVBC to the suggestion that bollards be erected at the entrances to Old Vicarage Lane to slow down vehicles using the Lane as a ‘rat run’.
38.2 Para 21.3 A critical reply had been submitted to the Hampshire Police and Crime Scrutiny Panel as part of their review of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s progress on reducing rural crime.
38.3 Para 33.6 Unfortunately, no interest had been expressed in the voluntary post of TVBC community bus co-ordinator for the Parish.
39. Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
39.1 None declared or sought.
40. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
40.1 None tabled.
41. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 13 February 2017
41.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 13 February 2017 had been circulated with the agenda.
41.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Lane, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 13 February 2017 be received and accepted.
42. Councillors’ Reports
42.1 Cllr Sutton reported that confirmation on the extent of help to be provided from the Parish Council Websites company had been received and in line with the resolution to proceed agreed at last month’s meeting he would now confirm our interest with the company.
Action: Cllr Sutton
42.2 Cllr Hughes tabled proposals to broaden out the attraction of the Horticultural Show to include fun activities for all the family together with the associated costs. Some discussion ensued and whilst there was general support for the concept, Cllr Hughes was asked to liaise with the Village Hall management committee to establish who would have over-arching responsibility for undertaking the necessary event organisation and that the necessary checks were undertaken, for example that public liability insurance was held. If possible, a costed plan should be tabled at the next meeting to enable the Council to determine what costs, if any, it would meet to enable a successful event to be held.
Action: Cllr Hughes
42.3 Cllr Brock updated Councillors on progress to date by SSEN in upgrading our electricity supply and the transfer of land from Fields in Trust to the Council. Both activities were nearing completion. He also questioned the statistics published by the Police which often excluded incidents known locally but seemingly excluded from the statistics and undertook to take this up with the Police when appropriate.
Action: Cllr Brock
42.4 Cllr Fahy had attended a public seminar sponsored by the Police and Crime Commissioner held at Sparsholt College last month at which the adverse views of many parish councils were made clear to the Commissioner. These tended to reflect the critical response to the Scrutiny Panel minuted above (para 38.2).
42.5 Cllr Lane reported on the planning applications commented upon at the planning meeting held earlier in the evening.
42.6 Cllr Harwood wished his view to be recorded that it would be beneficial if the Police were to make more of an effort to attend parish council meetings. (The Clerk reported he had received confirmation that our new PCSO would be present at the April PC meeting)
43. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
43.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers. This was noted.
44. Payment of Accounts
44.1 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Lane, RESOLVED unanimously that the following accounts for February 2017 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 711.24 9.76 721.00 Int
HMRC Tax/NIC 419.97 419.97 Int
Legal & General Staff pension 57.24 57.24 DD
Cllr K Hughes Bird boxes 58.68 58.68 1815
Eduzone Ltd Play equipment 268.40 53.68 322.08 Int
HALC Course fee 40.00 8.00 48.00 Int
Toolsonline Ltd Generator deposit 1167.60 1167.60 Int
Totals 2723.13 71.44 2794.57
45. Anti-dog fouling measures
45.1 The frequency of irresponsible dog owners failing to pick up after their dogs was on the increase despite warning notices and articles in The Gauntlet highlighting that this was an offence carrying significant fines. Notices were on display around the popular dog walks and on lamp posts. In particular, the incidence of fouling was on the increase in the Scott Close area to the annoyance of responsible residents. The Clerk had sought advice and help from both the TVBC Dog Warden and Aster Housing in the hope the latter would leaflet drop its tenants and maybe sponsor more signs in the area. In the meantime, residents should to take appropriate action to encourage others to act responsibly. Cllr Whitehead would add a link to the Parish Council website drawing attention to the law and the need for more positive action and add the means for third parties to report what they find for monitoring by the Council with a copy to the TVBC dog warden for his information/action, as appropriate.
Action: Clerk/Cllr Whitehead
46. Electoral review of Test Valley Borough Council
46.1 Councillors noted that the Boundary Commission was minded to recommend a reduction in the number of borough councillors from 48 to 43 and was seeking comments on this proposal. There was general agreement that this reduction would likely have an adverse effect on our relationship with any new borough councillor if s/he was living away from the Parish and had a wider area to represent. Cllr Sutton would draft a suitable response for the Clerk to submit formally.
Action: Cllr Sutton
47. Fields in Trust land title transfer
47.1 Final papers for the transfer of ownership of the King’s Somborne recreation ground from Fields in Trust to the Parish Council were near to hand with just a query yet to be settled on the terms of the Scouts’ lease which was also being transferred. It was appropriate therefore to authorise the necessary signatures on the transfer documents.
47.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Sutton, RESOLVED unanimously that the Chairman and others as necessary be authorised to sign the documentation for the transfer of title for the King’s Somborne recreation ground and the Scouts’ lease from Fields in Trust to King’s Somborne Parish Council.
48. Licence to HCC enabling the School to use the recreation ground facilities
48.1 Following notification to HCC of the increase in charge for the School to continue to use the recreation ground facilities, HCC had entered into protracted correspondence on the need for a licence to protect the interests of both parties and also spelling out their preferred manner of determining future increases. Councillors were unhappy at their proposal to increase the charge in line with the Retail Price Index using the RPI figures from the last review date six years previously
with six yearly reviews thereafter. It was thought more appropriate to agree to a licence but with annual review dates as at present but linked to the RPI; the Clerk would reply accordingly.
Action: Clerk
49. Speed indicator device loan
49.1 Deferred from the previous meeting was the request from C/Cllr Gibson on behalf of Chilbolton Parish Council that consideration be given to lending them our speed indicator device on an open ended agreement. However, Councillors did not support this request because of the adverse effect it would have on our on-going ability to have the benefit of the device ourselves, given we had six locations around which the device was rotated fortnightly. The Clerk would inform both C/Cllr Gibson and Chilbolton PC accordingly.
Action: Clerk
50. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) progress
50.1 Cllr Brock reported that Steering Group members continued with drafting the NDP. However, some progress had stalled for want of the statistical analysis by Action Hampshire of the results of the Housing Needs Survey. A review was in progress of those open spaces in the Parish with potential for development and a tree survey had been completed along with those other aspects which define the nature of the Parish. A public consultation was planned in the near future on progress to date.
Action: Cllr Brock
51. Clerk’s monthly report
51.1 The Clerk and Cllr Brock, as the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, had met with the Police and Crime Commissioner and our local MP for a question and answer session on rural crime and other related matters of general interest and were given a copy of the PCC’s plan to make us all safer.
51.2 At least 10 people had supported the first session of the Computer Café held in the Village Hall planned for the first and third Thursdays in the month at 10.00am which was an encouraging start.
51.3 The Clerk had attended a briefing on the implications of the General Data Protection Regulations which will come into force by 25 May 2018. These included a new principle of accountability with the introduction of Data Protection Officers and Data Protection Impact assessments, both of these likely to fall to the Clerk for implementation. Data protection would also now include biometric and facial recognition data. Additionally, the regulations called for a clear link to exist in the way the data is used and the context in which it was provided with heavy penalties for offences. Consent for the use of data would in future include some form of affirmative action with silence, tick boxes or inactivity, no longer constituting consent. More detailed information would become available in due course.
52. Date, time and place of next meeting
52.1 The next meeting would be on Monday 3 April 2017 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