KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Annual General Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 9 May 2016
Present: Cllr R Harwood (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr J Evans
Cllr F Fahy
Cllr H Griffith
Cllr K Hughes
Cllr R Lane
Cllr R Sutton
In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Public Session
C/Cllr A Gibson, PCSO J Cole and Mr R Pidgeon were present for part of the meeting.
Cllr Gibson had previously submitted a written report which had been circulated to all councillors. He also confirmed the withdrawal of the mobile library service from June this year but given we were one of the higher users of the service a smaller replacement service would be made available to users in one of the meeting venues in the Parish. The Clerk would forward contact details for the Epworth Hall and Working Men’s Club to enable negotiations to take place on suitable times.
Action: Clerk
PCSO Cole updated councillors on crime and police matters. Generally, there was a reduction in crime figures quarter on quarter but we in the Parish continued to suffer from break ins and other low level crime perpetrated by a known group of individuals whom she asked everyone to keep an eye on for any suspicious activity. Conjoined with this was an increase in door to door scams by rogue traders on the vulnerable in the community and again she asked that any suspicious activity be reported to the Police and Trading Standards for possible investigation. A series of successful prosecutions had been made against users of illegal diesel following road side checks on vehicles and she welcomed members of the public being able to access the gov.uk website to check on alleged unlicensed vehicles on the road which could then be reported for removal.
64. Apologies for Absence
64.1 Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden); Cllr Whitehead not present.
65. Election of Chairman
65.1 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Harwood be elected Chairman of the Parish Council for 2016 -17.
66. Election of Vice-Chairman
66.1 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Brock be elected Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council for 2016 -17.
67. Election of Chairman of the Planning Committee
67.1 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr Harwood be elected Chairman of the Planning Committee for 2016 -17.
68. Appointments 2016 -17
68.1 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED unanimously that the following appointments be made for 2016 – 17:
Committees/Working Groups
Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group – Cllrs Brock (lead), Evans, Hughes, Lane and Sutton
Planning Committee
Chairman – Cllr Harwood
Members – Cllrs Curtis, Evans, Fahy, Lane and Sutton
Other appointments – Lead Councillor
a. Village Hall Management Committee Cllr Fahy
b. Council for the Protection of Rural England Cllr Fahy
c. Neighbourhood Watch Cllr Brock
d. Flood Action Group Cllr Griffith
e. Schools and Scouts liaison Cllr Curtis
f. Test Valley Assn of Local Councils Cllr Lane
g. Farming community liaison Cllr Brock
h. Sports and recreational facilities Cllr Harwood and
Cllr Fahy
i. Transport and road safety Cllr Curtis
j. Up Somborne liaison Cllr Lane
k. Biodiversity Cllr Hughes
l. Horsebridge liaison Cllr Curtis
m. Utilities liaison Cllr Brock
n. Communications co-ordination Cllr Sutton
Volunteers
o. Footpath Warden Mr Duncan Gould
p. Tree Warden Mr Colin Matthews
q. Open Space Wardens Mr Richard Dyke and
Mr Roy Pidgeon
Clerk Mr Peter Storey
Cemetery interments, records and maintenance
Play equipment maintenance
Parish notice boards
Highways maintenance
69. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
69.1 None.
70. To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 4 April 2016
70.1 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Curtis, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2016 be accepted as a true record.
71. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
71.1 Para 53.3 Winchester Road bank slippage. Hampshire Highways had again been approached over repair/preventative action and a reply was awaited.
71.2 Para 53.4 The required Heads of Term and other documentation had again been submitted to Fields in Trust in an attempt to expedite the transfer of land from them to the Parish Council to enable the Council to subsequently come to an arrangement with the Village Hall management committee regarding building their proposed extension. The application would now go to the Fields in Trust Board of Trustees for decision. Our local MP would also be requested to follow up on her previous enquiry on progress made on this transfer and also the agreement to bury the overhead electricity supply cables across Fields in Trust land.
Action: Clerk
71.3 Para 53.5 Portable generator. Cllr Curtis tabled details of a portable generator costing approx £2500 to supply and fit which could meet our community resilience needs in the event of an evacuation becoming necessary. Further investigation would be undertaken into grants available and potential help from SSE.
Action: Clerk
71.4 Para 60.1 Adult exercise equipment. Only three responses had been received to the article in The Gauntlet calling for comment on the provision of adult exercise equipment. As a result, no further action would be taken on this for the time being.
72. Declarations of Interest and requests for Dispensations
72.1 None declared or sought.
73. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
73.1 None tabled.
74. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4 and 18 April 2016
74.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4 and 18 April 2016 had been circulated with the agenda.
74.2 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Lane, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4 and 18 April 2016 be received and accepted.
75. Councillors’ Reports
75.1 Cllr Sutton reported he was meeting with representatives from alternative broadband providers to see if their companies could provide a better broadband facility than BT for the local community.
75.2 Cllr Hughes reported that the planned preparation of the biodiversity was in hand as was the provision of a bug house on-site.
75.3 Cllr Fahy reported the steps at the bottom of the Clarendon Way footpath needed attention. The Clerk would contact HCC Countryside Access team for action.
Action: Clerk
75.4 Cllr Griffith highlighted the need for repairs to the kissing gate on the 3 Fields site adjacent to the toddlers’ play area.
Action: Clerk
75.5 Cllr Harwood questioned the need for extra grass cutting along the trim trail route given the lack of usage and raised the issue of dog waste on the recreation ground and pitches. The Clerk would place both matters on the June meeting agenda for further discussion and investigate what powers the Council had regarding dog waste and what external help could be given.
Action: Clerk
76. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
76.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers.
76.2 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Hughes, RESOLVED unanimously that the Budget Report be accepted as tabled.
77. To approve the Annual Governance Statement 2015 – 16
77.1. The Clerk drew councillors’ attention to the Annual Governance Statement 2015 – 16 contained within the Annual Return and the need for them to agree a response.
77.2 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Curtis, RESOLVED unanimously that the responses in the Annual Governance Statement all be in the affirmative apart from the statement relating to trust funds which was not applicable.
78. To approve the Accounting Statements for 2015 -16
78.1 The Clerk tabled the Accounting Statements 2015 -16 as entered into the Annual Return.
78.2 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED unanimously that the Accounting Statements for 2015 – 16 be approved.
79. To adopt the Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016
79.1 The Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016 had been circulated with the agenda papers.
79.2 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Harwood, RESOLVED unanimously that the Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2016 be adopted.
80. Payment of Accounts
80.1 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Fahy, RESOLVED unanimously that the following accounts for April 2016 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 901.81 10.80 912.61 Int
HMRC Tax/NIC 219.82 219.82 Int
Legal & General Staff pension 37.08 37.08 DD
Lighter Touch Internal audit 135.00 135.00 Int
HPFA Subscription 40.00 40.00 Int
HALC Subscription 415.00 415.00 Int
TVBC Dog bins emptying 859.56 171.91 1031.47 Int
HCC Street light 22.77 4.56 27.33 Int
J Bruno Slip road potholes 245.00 49.00 294.00 Int
TVBC SLR posts 336.00 67.20 403.20 Int
Complete Weed Control 3 Fields 270.00 54.00 324.00 Int
Village Hall Hire charge 40.00 40.00 Int
Mr M Rebbeck Grounds maint 621.00 621.00 Int
Totals 4143.04 357.47 4500.51
81. Annual Assembly 2016
81.1 The Annual Assembly was held on 5 May 2016 with 21 members of the public attending. A presentation was given on the help available from SSE in the event of a power cut and emphasis made on the importance of vulnerable members of the community signing up to the Priority Service Register so that the emergency teams could prioritise where their assistance was most needed. The register would be publicised further in the community. Other matters arising would be considered at the next meeting together with determining ways of attracting more persons to attend.
Action: Clerk
82. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) progress
82.1 Cllr Brock briefed on the progress to date regarding preparation of the NDP. The public consultation questionnaires had been returned and were being analysed with a view to holding further community engagement meetings towards the end of the month to discuss the results. A successful application had been made to TVBC for a £1000 grant to help offset the Plan’s production costs.
83. Clerk’s monthly report
83.1 The Clerk reported he had initiated renewal discussions with Test Valley Borough Council. on the 3 Fields lease which had now expired.
83.2 A meeting on-site with English Heritage had been arranged in the near future to discuss the route options for the proposed all-weather path across the 3 Fields site.
83.3 The white road markings on Furzedown Road/Church Road will be renewed with a slight change in position at the Eldon Road junction to allow an improved line of sight. Other road markings and speed restrictions near the Strawberry Lane junction were with HCC for advice/decision.
83.4 The Clerk had thanked Caroline Nokes MP for her support in the representations being made by NALC to Parliament on the future and importance of parish councils.
84. Date, time and place of next meeting
84.1 The next meeting would be on Monday 6 June 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