KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall
commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 6 July 2015
Present: Cllr R Harwood (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr J Evans
Cllr F Fahy
Cllr A Reeves (Para 109 to 120.1)
Cllr R Sutton
Cllr S Whitehead
In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Public Session
Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden), two candidates for co-option and Mr Jeffrey were present for part of the meeting.
106. Apologies for Absence
106.1 Cllr Lane and B/Cllr Ward.
107. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
107.1 None.
108. To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 1 June 2015
108.1 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED with Cllr Whitehead abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 1 June 2015 be accepted as a true record.
Cllr Reeves arrived at this point
109. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
109.1 Para 96.4 MUGA key. A key to the tennis store had been given to the School.
110. Declarations of Interest and requests for Dispensations
110.1 None made or requested.
111. Co-option to fill the casual vacancy
111.1 Notices calling for nominations to fill the casual vacancy on the Parish Council had been on display around the Parish for four weeks and expressions of interest had been received from Mrs K Hughes and Mr P Pidgeon. The Chairman invited each to say a few words about themselves and Councillors to ask questions before inviting them to leave the room whilst a ballot was held.
111.2 As a result of the ballot, Mrs K Hughes was duly elected a member of King’s Somborne Parish Council and subsequently signed the Acceptance of Office form.
112. To receive the minutes of the Planning Committee
112.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 1 and 15 June 2015 had been circulated with the agenda papers.
112.2 Proposed Cllr Evans, Seconded Cllr Sutton, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 1 and 15 June 2015 be received and accepted.
113. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
113.1 The Clerk drew Councillors’ attention to correspondence relating to the HALC AGM to be held on Saturday 10 October which Cllr Fahy volunteered to attend; the newly introduced bookable taxishare on Thursdays between Winchester and Stockbridge via King’s Somborne and elsewhere at a cost of £2 per journey (more details from Hampshire County Council on 01962 846786); and the litter problem in Ashley adjacent to the vineyards. The Clerk had written in support of the complaint by Ashley residents to Nyetimber Ltd but would also write to Forest Extra in similar vein as there was evidence that the litter was of Polish origin.
Action: Clerk
113.2 The Clerk also commented on the distress being caused to local residents in Nutchers Drove, Tarrant Villas and Diamond Cottages as a result of the removal of a hedge and fence and the application to install a dropped kerb allowing access to the rear of a Muss Lane property for the purposes of carrying on a business. Previous investigation had established that no laws or regulations had been broken by the hedge and fence removal but it was thought appropriate for the Clerk to write to Aster Housing expressing concern at these actions and also the noise and unpleasant language that could be heard.
Action: Clerk
114. To receive Councillors’ Reports
114.1 Cllr Harwood reported on the planning meeting held earlier in the evening when two applications had been tabled and briefed that the appeal against the decision not to allow development behind 2 Redhill Cottage, Winchester Road, had been rejected. He also stated that the overhanging branch at the entrance to the King’s Somborne recreation ground had been removed and that he was receiving complaints from residents being disturbed by the unprotected and probably unlicensed quad bike riders charging round the Parish in the small hours. The Clerk would formally notify the Police and also urged all residents to report this nuisance on 101 to build up a profile of the disturbance.
Action: Clerk
114.2 Cllr Fahy reported that he had reluctantly given up responsibility for the biodiversity area on 3 Fields but Mr Roger Jackson had taken this on. Cllr Fahy also reported that people were still contacting him with road problems when this responsibility had been transferred to Cllrs Brock and Lane. The Clerk would include mention of this in the Parish Council notes for The Gauntlet.
Action: Clerk
114.3 Cllr Evans was pleased to announce that over £1000 had been raised by pub quizzers in support of Myeloma UK and that training was still available for the defibrillator affixed to the outside wall of The Crown.
115. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
115.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers.
115.2 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED unanimously that the Budget Report be accepted as tabled.
116. Payment of Accounts
116.1 Proposed Cllr Sutton, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED with Cllr Brock abstaining (personal expense claim) that the following accounts for June 2015 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 692.76 692.76 Int
HMRC Tax/NIC 391.54 391.54 Int
Autoguide Ltd Cricket Club roller 8500.00 1800.00 10300.00 Int
BPC Shared costs 25.00 25.00 Int
TVBC Election costs 24.10 24.10 Int
Earth Anchors Two seats 568.00 113.60 681.60 Int
Complete Weed Rec spraying 263.68 52.74 316.42 Int
Mr M Rebbeck Grounds maint 679.00 679.00 Int
Cllr A Brock PC reimbursement 327.66 65.53 393.19 Int
TVBC Grazing rights 2015 1.00 1.00 Int
Totals 11472.74 2031.87 13504.61
117. Communications Strategy
117.1 Cllr Brock reviewed progress to date on the communications strategy emphasising that all channels of communications should be utilised as appropriate for the information being disseminated. In particular, the dedicated Parish Council website would be brought up to date and linked to the Village website at the.sombornes.org.uk A move would be made towards a monthly e-mail newsletter with a paper version in the first instance going in The Gauntlet to obtain e-mail addresses from interested parties; Cllr Sutton would lead on this. Cllr Sutton would also lead on the Council page on Twitter, although with minimal interaction, and he would also set up a Facebook page. Cllr Whitehead would ensure regular feeds from the new website to update both Twitter and Facebook. Cllr Sutton would also produce press releases as appropriate.
Action: Cllrs Sutton and Whitehead
117.2 In conjunction with the above, each Councillor was to produce an up to date biographical note of about 100 words suitable for publication and be prepared for a photograph to be taken at the August meeting to support this. The notes should submitted directly to Cllr Whitehead for publication. The Clerk would also acquire name badges suitable for public events.
Action: All
117.3 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Reeves, RESOLVED unanimously that the above recommendations of the Communications sub-committee be adopted.
118. Neighbourhood Plan progress
118.1 Cllr Brock and the Clerk had taken advice from B/Cllr Ward on the production of a Neighbourhood Plan and were meeting with the TVBC planners to discuss those aspects of the Local Plan which impacted on King’s Somborne. A public questionnaire had been drafted and Councillors had a week to comment on this before it was made be available at the Horticultural Show to encourage community interest as a first step in community engagement. Following this, the questionnaire would be distribute to every household in the Parish to ascertain local views on housing in general and personal needs in particular as well as views on where the likely additional houses could be built. It was emphasised that since it was the Government’s intention to build more houses, it was in the local community’s interest to accept this fact and review where additional dwellings could be absorbed. Eventually, the Plan would be reviewed by an Inspector and if adopted become part of TVBC’s planning strategy. However, the process was lengthy and the outcome should not be expected for many months.
118.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Evans, RESOLVED unanimously that for the purposes of the Plan, the Parish boundary should also be the limit of the area under consideration.
119. Clerk’s monthly report
119.1 Additional posts for the second speed indicator device (SID) would be installed in the near future and, as a result, Cllr Fahy would now confirm purchase costs of the second device. The Clerk had established that to change the SID’s location, the operative had to be trained to work on the public highway, the course costs being £695 plus VAT. We currently paid TVBC £750pa to undertake this task and to maintain the current SID, and it was for review at some later stage as to whether it would be more cost effective to train our own operative eg the lengthsman. This was noted for the time being.
119.2 S&C Slatter Ltd who installed the MUGA would on-site again on 7 August to relevel the seeded area to the far side of the MUGA and reinstate the tennis net. They would also like to produce a portfolio of the MUGA installation for their own commercial use but which would also form a useful historical record for the Parish Council to retain.
119.3 The Clerk drew new councillors’ attention to the training available from HALC and to which the Chairman said they should make every effort to attend.
Action: Cllrs Hughes and Sutton
119.4 So far as the Electoral Review of Hampshire consultation was concerned, following previous discussion at last month’s meeting it was confirmed that no further action was necessary.
119.5 Councillors noted the reporting action taken by the Clerk to the trim trail installers regarding the weathered timber on the number 7 activity and the need for its replacement.
120. Date, time and place of next meeting
120.1 The next meeting would be on Monday 3 August 2015 at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.15pm