Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 01 April 2019
Present: Cllr K Hughes (Vice-Chair)
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr H Griffith
Cllr R Harwood
Cllr A Townsend
Cllr H Townsend
Cllr R Webb
Cllr S Whitehead
In Attendance: Mrs G Foster (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Mr P Storey (Retiring Clerk)
Public Session
B/Cllr Ward, C/Cllr Gibson, Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden) and 4 members of the public were present for part of the meeting.
Mr Dyke asked when the Grass at the Recreation ground would start to be cut. Mr Storey advised that the contract with TVBC had started that day and that it should be cut very soon. Cllr Hughes noted that April was the last month that Mr Dyke would be acting as open spaces warden and along with the full council thanked Mr Dyke for his contributions and efforts support over the years.
B/Cllr Ward had circulated a report earlier in the day, a copy of which is available on the website. Cllr Ward advised that Andover Leisure Centre had opened that day, on time and on budget. At least three thousand people were expected to be users of the facility. TVBC had raised the cost of the Dog Mess Collection bins to £200 per bin, but frequency of emptying had also increased to every week.
C/Cllr Gibson advised that on 7th May there would be an internal vote on the change of leadership of the Conservative Councillors in County Council. Cllr Gibson was not intending to stand for the leadership.
Cllr Gibson confirmed that he had authorised the Clerk to use the £500 grant given in financial year 2018-2019 towards the Village Gates project against a similar project that the Parish Council would be discussing later on in the meeting under item 13 on the agenda.
- Apologies for Absence
41.1 Cllrs A Brock and S Dack.
- Chair’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
42.1 No matters raised
- To approve the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 4th March 2019
43.1 Proposed: Cllr Curtis, Seconded: Cllr Harwood, RESOLVED: with Cllr H Townsend abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 4th March 12019 which had been circulated with the agenda be accepted as a true record. The chairman duly signed the minute book.
- To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
44.1 Public session Para 2. Cllr Brock has written to HCC.
44.2 Public session Para 3. Mr Rebbeck has cut down the hanging ivy and the decaying trees have been reported to HCC.
44.3 Public session Para 4. To be reported at the next meeting when Cllr Brock would be available.
44.4 Public session Para 5. The Pre-school planning meeting had gone well and the planning had been approved.
44.5 Public session Para 6. A FOI request had been sent to the police and a response time stated. Cllr Whitehead believed the response should be sooner and the Clerk would check and chase. Action: Clerk.
44.6 Minute ref: 38.5 The expiry date of the allotments purchase offer had been in November, however a formal rejection of the offer had only been received on 19th March. The Clerk would check with Rev’d Smith what the current situation was and liaise with Lisa Johnson. Action: Clerk.
44.7 Minute ref: 40.4 The cutting back of the hedges had been deferred until the Autumn.
44.8 Minute ref: 40.5 The Clerk was in correspondence with the tenant and would follow up to see if the tenant had undertaken the work himself. Action: Clerk.
44.9 Minute ref: 40.6 The Chairman of the Village Hall had confirmed that the cost of the all weather cover for the defibrillator at the Village Hall could be covered by two sources he was in discussion with.
44.10 Minute ref: 40.7 Chief Inspector Kory Thorne had been approached for an update on the delay in response answering 101 calls. The Clerk would continue to push for an answer: Action: Clerk.
44.11 Minute ref: 42.1 Cllr Griffiths had arranged with The Crown Inn to organise the Great British Tidy up and an advert has been put in the Gauntlet for volunteers. Further discussion would be taken under agenda item 12.
44.12 Minute ref: 44.3 The Village Fun Day has booked the recreation ground for 27th July.
44.13 Minute ref: 44.4 The Clerk had written to Aster regarding the provision of Dog Mess Bins for Scott Close and despite several follow ups had not received a reply. The Clerk would continue to chase Aster for comment and review the budget for the new financial year due to the cost of bin emptying being raised to £200 per bin as reported last month and by Cllr Ward in the public session.
44.14 Minute ref: 44.5 Cllr Hughes had been in touch with the organiser of the YMCA sessions and would have a meeting with him next week to investigate if a replacement youth club could be set up.
44.15 Minute ref: 47.1 The bank mandate was with Cllrs to take into Natwest for verification.
44.16 Minute ref: 48.1 The website had been updated by Cllr Whitehead to advertise for Community Wardens.
44.17 Minute ref: 48.2 Information relating to the Resilience Workshop had been distributed by the Clerk.
44.18 Minute ref: 49.2 Cllr Gibson had been approached regarding the grant as reported in the public session and Mr T Heffernan with in contact with Stockbridge police regarding having extra locations approved by Health and Safety team.
44.19 Minute ref: 49.3 Cllr Brock has written to the Highways dept. asking for their advice in tackling the speeding problem.
- Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
45.1 None declared or sought.
- To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
46.1 A member of the public had written to ask if there were missing finger signposts on Froghole Lane. The Clerk had checked, and signs were evident, however a request has been sent to HCC for them to check that the correct number of signs were present.
46.2 Correspondence had been received by the Clerk regarding a previous request to place a memorial bench for Mr Brian Orange at the top of Froghole Lane. The Clerk and Mr Storey had visited the site which appeared to have more than sufficient space for the bench. The Clerk would follow up with the landowner. Action: Clerk.
- To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4 and 18 February 2019
47.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4 March had been circulated with the agenda.
47.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Hughes, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4 March 2019 be received and accepted.
- Councillors’ Reports
48.1 Cllr Harwood reported there were no contentious applications considered by the Planning Committee earlier in the evening, and that all applications were supported by the Committee.
48.2 Cllr Harwood also expressed concern over the length of the grass at the Up Somborne and Kings Somborne recreation grounds as well as the amount of daisies growing there. Mr Storey re-iterated the contract had only just started and that TVBC would be contacted. The contractors to deal with the weeds would also be scheduled. Action: Clerk.
48.3 Cllr A Townsend noted that Virgin Media still had not made good road grips along Horsebridge road. Cllr Hughes advised that she had received a report from Cllr Brock stating that had been in contact with Virgin Media again who had claimed the repairs would be done in the next few weeks.
48.4 Cllr Curtis stated that he had filled in the Play area inspection sheets for the month and sent to the Clerk.
48.5 Cllr Curtis also noted that it was the last Parish Council meeting that Mr Storey would be assisting in his formal role as Clerk. Cllr Curtis thanked Mr Storey for all his hard work over the last 13 years as Clerk and additionally for all the voluntary jobs he had taken on and extra time he had put in. All councillors agreed with thanks.
48.6 Cllr Griffiths advised that due to extra work hours that she had taken on, she had decided not to re-stand for election and hence this would be her last meeting.
48.7 Cllr Hughes reported that some residents had approached her with the idea that they would like to build a youth shelter as a project with some of the local youngsters. The project was suggested to be adult led but involvement of the young people in the build had been mooted to ensure they had some interest in using the shelter after it had been constructed. It had been proposed that the build be of wood and Perspex. A rough estimate of an off the shelf package was £10,000. Councillors questioned where the shelter was to be placed. Several sites were considered, however it was noted that planning permission and building regulations would need to be complied with. Cllr Hughes would investigate further and look at a similar project in Lockerly. Action: Cllr Hughes
48.8 Cllr Harwood advised that he had received complaints of a person living in a caravan in the vicinity of Scotts Close. The Clerk would document the location and write to Aster to ask them investigate. Action: Clerk.
48.9 Cllr Hughes also advised that the YMCA have closed the youth group that was previously funded by the Church. There had been a call from residents to investigate other options for places for young people to go or groups to be set up in replacement. Action: Cllr Hughes
- To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
49.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers. This was noted.
49.2 The Clerk reported that Mr Storey had done an excellent job of keeping spending within the budget this year. As of the date of the agenda preparation the percentage of budget spend was 92% giving a saving of approx. £3,288.
49.3 There had been a slight overspend on Administration due to two clerk salaries in February and March, which had been offset against significant savings made against Open Spaces and Amenities.
49.4 The internal audit would take place on 10th April 2019 and councillors noted it may highlight a few amendments.
- Payment of Accounts
50.1 Proposed: Cllr A Townsend, Seconded: Cllr Webb, Resolved: Unanimously that the following accounts for March 2019 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 756.40 11.30 767.70 Bacs
Mrs G Foster Salary/expenses 507.79 507.79 Bacs
HMRC Tax/NIC 712.63 712.63 Bacs
Legal & General Staff pension 80.42 80.42 DD
Mr M Rebbeck Grounds maint 200.00 200.00 Bacs
HALC Clerk’s trg 75.00 15.00 90.00 Bacs
Hants Ecological Svcs Nesting bird survey 172.00 34.40 206.40 Bacs
Proline Fencing Community bld 1,998.33 399.67 2,398.00 Bacs
Fire Risk Assessment Community bld 338.00 338.00 Bacs
Cllr Whitehead Webhosting 36.00 36.00 Bacs
Barker & Geary Fencing 7.68 1.54 9.22 Bacs
Abor-Call Hedge removal 500.00 100.00 600.00 Bacs
Colin Avery Church Step repair 177.60 177.60 Bacs
Totals 5,561.85 561.91 6,123.76
- To receive an update on the Community Warden Scheme.
51.1 Cllr Griffiths reported that residents have volunteered for nearly all areas of the Parish. Only Lancaster Green and Hunters close needed someone to step up. Cllr Griffiths would circulate the list of volunteers names and email addresses as soon as possible. Mr Storey added that King’s Somborne had been held up as an example of Good Resilience planning at a recent TVBC Resilience Workshop and that the Flood Wardens and Community Warden Schemes were yet another display of King’s Somborne leading the way for other Parishes to follow. Action: Cllr Griffiths
- To receive an update on the Great British Tidy Up Arrangements.
52.1 Cllr Griffiths was pleased to advise that the 27th April had been chosen for the litter picking event. The Crown Inn had agreed to host refreshments. A reminder of the time and date would be placed on the Facebook page nearer the time. Areas needing attention would be compiled by Cllr Griffiths who would also distribute the Risk Assessment and ensure volunteers signed in as attending prior to starting. Action: Cllr Griffiths
52.2 The Clerk had contacted TVBC who would supply litter pickers, high vis jackets, bags and gloves. It was suggested that they be dropped off at The Crown Inn. Cllr Curtis would check this was acceptable. Action: Cllr Curtis
- To consider action plan for speeding project as outline by Cllr Townsend.
53.1 Cllr Townsend explained that his ideas were broader than had been tabled and that “SAFE TRAVEL” was a better description of the vision. A discussion ensued and it was noted that the project would extend to include pedestrians and cyclists as well as parking measures. Proposed: Cllr A Townsend, Seconded: Cllr R Harwood, Resolved: Unanimously that the subject be added to the agenda of the Parish Assembly in order to receive community feedback. The Clerk would advise residents via the communication tree in order to encourage attendance.
- To consider a contribution towards CCTV on King’s Somborne recreation ground.
54.1 Mr Storey explained that The Village Hall Committee were upgrading their surveillance equipment and that a request had been received for a contribution towards the cost of a new network video recorder (£300) and camera (£800). It was noted that this may deter further break-ins to the Cricket club shed, fly-tippers, residents that do not pick up after their dogs, or other criminal activities. The police had confirmed that the resulting images would be admissible in court if required. Proposed: Cllr Hughes, Seconded: Cllr Harwood, Resolved: By majority vote that a donation of £1,100 be given to The Village Hall Committee provided that they purchase, maintain and are responsible for all the equipment bought. Action: Clerk.
- Clerk’s monthly report
55.1 The Bi-annual Independent inspection of the play areas in Muss Lane, Up Somborne and King’s Somborne recreation ground had been undertaken with the Clerk shadowing the inspector. No serious issues were found by the inspector which was in line with Cllr Curtis’s inspection sheet. The Clerk would chase for the formal written report. Action: Clerk.
55.2 Nominations papers for councillors re-standing for election had been delivered to TVBC and no accepted without issues.
55.3 The hedge had been removed from along side the Okanagan property and the fence installed. A nice, tidy job has been done.
55.4 The Clerk thanked Mr Storey for the excellent and comprehensive hand over he had provided and the time he had spent showing her around the village. She hoped he enjoyed his retirement.
- Date, time and place of next meeting
56.1 The next meeting would be on Thursday 9 May at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.
There being no further business, the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 8.05pm