KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 2 October 2017
Present: Cllr R Lane (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
Cllr H Griffith
Cllr K Hughes
Cllr A Townsend
Cllr R Webb
Cllr S Whitehead
In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Public Session
Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden), C/Cllr Gibson; B/Cllr Ward and three members of the public were present for part of the meeting.
C/Cllr Gibson confirmed the County Council was inclined to grant £10k to Cross Stores to enable internal building modifications to be completed provided the Parish Council supported the concept. The Clerk would confirm the Council’s support and stress the importance of having a post office facility cum grocery store in the community.
Action: Clerk
C/Cllr Gibson also highlighted the on-going difficult decisions being made by the County Council to meet the requirement to reduce its expenditure by a further £140m. Examples of cuts agreed included limiting grass verge cuts to one per year per year where necessary, cessation of funding for community transport in 2019, and the establishment of a parish fund of £250k to be administered by HALC for villages to access, provided there was matched funding within the Precept. There could be no doubt that difficult times lay ahead with serious changes necessary.
B/Cllr Ward outlined progress made on identifying a suitable building for the Pre-School from amongst the various refurbished prefabricated designs available on the market and the layout options if the building was to be located within the perimeter of the land currently leased to the Scouts. Various grant streams had been identified to help offset the likely cost of around £125k. If all agreed, the building would be owned and administered by the Village Hall management committee and could cater for up to 30 children.
Also, as part of the strategic review into community assets, B/Cllr Ward confirmed that agreement had been reached between the Football Club and the Village Hall management committee to relocate the football pitch up to 5m away from the Village Hall to reduce the risk of injury caused by flying balls. This would place the far goal line on the border between the recreation ground and Top Field and would necessitate liaison with TVBC who owned the field, the removal of three saplings and relocation of a couple of the Trim Trail exercise locations. This would not be completed until after the end of the current season.
Other matters mentioned included a Local Plan workshop later in the month which Cllrs Brock and Webb would attend; the continuing growth of the garden waste collection scheme, the waste collected then being converted into a high quality organic soil conditioner; the Andover and Romsey retail study which would inform on the future of Andover and Romsey towns; the forthcoming parish boundary review and the Emergency Resilience Workshop on 21 October which the Clerk would attend to discuss emergency planning.
The Clerk had circulated a written report submitted by our PCSO which outlined incidents occurring in the community during September. These included one assault, a poaching incident, two reports of suspicious vehicles and advice on how to minimise householders’ exposure to risk. This was noted.
Mr Heffernan, the Community Speedwatch co-ordinator, outlined his group’s activities during the last quarter identifying locations selected and times of day monitored, the priority being morning and afternoon rush hours. A total of 62 vehicles had been recorded being driven in excess of the 30mph limit with details forwarded to the Police. Some hooded clipboards would be purchased to enable the necessary recording of information to be undertaken in inclement weather and they are now trialling voice recording the necessary information in an attempt to take down the information more accurately. More volunteers would be welcome and an advert for volunteers would go into The Gauntlet, on the notice boards and on Facebook. Mr Heffernan would also design a suitable insert for the Council’s website.
Action: Mr Heffernan
A resident reported a recent incident when the nearside wing mirror of a vehicle travelling along the A3057 from Romsey clipped her shoulder whilst walking along the north side of the roadway where the kerbing is almost at road level. The risk of an accident here is made worse by parked cars on the other side of the road narrowing the road width. The Clerk would request Hampshire Highways take action to raise the kerb.
Action: Clerk
156. Apologies for Absence
156.1 Cllrs Curtis, Harwood and Sutton.
157. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
157.1 None.
158. To accept the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 4 September 2017
158.1 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Webb, RESOLVED with Cllr Whitehead abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2017 be accepted as a true record.
159. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
159.1 Para 147.2 The Environment Agency had yet to advise the date for the Autumn stream clearance.
159.2 Para 147.7 Cllr Brock and the Clerk had had a very constructive meeting with Hampshire Highways on various matters outstanding during which it was confirmed that rural verges were only cut once a year, repairs to the damaged railings along the Borne would be completed, the HCC bridges team would soon complete their annual bridge inspection, discussion would take place with the Environment Agency about using dredged materiel to replenish the Borne banks in future years, the gully cleaning cycle was once every three years except along the Borne which was annually in October, and further consideration would be given to village volunteers repainting the streamside railings.
160. Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
160.1 None declared nor sought.
161. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
161.1 None tabled.
162. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4 and 18 September 2017
162.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4 and 18 September 2017 had been circulated with the agenda.
162.2 Proposed Cllr Webb, Seconded Cllr Townsend, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4 and 18 September 2017 be received and accepted.
163. Councillors’ Reports
163.1 Cllr Griffith reported that some private funding was available if the Environment Agency would allow volunteers to clear the Borne. The Clerk would check with the EA.
Action: Clerk
163.2 Cllr Brock reminded councillors of the changes made in the Stockbridge Surgery relating to emergency appointments with the duty doctor and nurse. Details were available in the surgery and on their website. The effectiveness of the new traffic regulation order relating to access through Up Somborne was still being contested and help with repainting the railings alongside the Borne was being considered by HCC.
163.3 Cllr Hughes would plant some donated daffodil bulbs on and around the open spaces and as the council’s representative on the Village Hall management committee accepted that any further thoughts or grants from the Parish Council towards the costs of upgrading the Village Hall CCTV system were now on hold pending a decision on the final location of the Pre-School.
164. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
164.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers. This was noted.
164.2 The B/Cllr’s grant of £180 towards the costs of the Fun Day held earlier in the year had been approved. A likely overspend of £770 was forecast on the NDP budget as a result of deciding to obtain an external landscape assessment to evidence the Plan’s findings. A repeat application for a grant would be made for part funding the continuance of the community IT training course in the Village Hall.
Action: Clerk
164.3 Two successive safety inspector’s reports on the deterioration in the state of the children’s slide in Up Somborne had now been received and the risk factor had been increased to medium. As a result, it was thought appropriate to fund a replacement.
164.4 Proposed Cllr Lane, Seconded Cllr Whitehead, RESOLVED unanimously that a replacement slide be purchased for the Up Somborne recreation ground at an estimate cost of £4192 although it was noted this would be reduced by grants likely to be available from TVBC.
Action: Clerk
165. Payment of Accounts
165.1 Proposed Cllr Townsend, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED with Cllr Hughes abstaining (absent) that the following accounts for September 2017 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 708.89 3.90 712.79 Int HMRC Tax/NIC 429.66 429.66 Int
Legal & General Staff pension 58.39 58.39 DD
HALC Cllr training 90.00 18.00 108.00 Int
Cllr Hughes Fun Day expenses 44.07 44.07 1820 Totals 1331.01 21.90 1352.91
166. To adopt the new website design
166.1 Councillors noted the progress made on the redesign of the Council website and that a domain name was still required which Cllr Sutton would obtain following which Cllr Whitehead would update the new e-mail addresses.
Action: Cllrs Sutton and Whitehead, Clerk
167. To approve expenditure on refacing the Parish clock
167.1 A recent inspection of the Church fabric by the Diocese had recommended that the Parish clock face be refurbished; the first time probably in at least 40 years. The estimate of cost, to include the periodic service of the clock, was £2100 which included the hire of the necessary scaffolding to access and remove the face on two separate occasions.
167.2 Proposed Cllr Hughes, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED unanimously that the Parish clock be serviced and the face refurbished at an estimated cost of £2100.
168. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) progress
168.1 Cllr Brock reported that work continued on drafting and editing the NDP and a loose leaf update had been included in the October Gauntlet. Following completion of the landscape appraisal, arrangements would be made for a further public consultation before submission to TVBC.
Action: Cllr Brock
169. Clerk’s monthly report
169.1 The Clerk had attended various on-site meetings to determine the best layout and location for the proposed new Pre-School building and briefed that if it was to be located on land currently leased from the Parish Council by the Scouts a further lease would be necessary to give this a legal footing. The Clerk would investigate and liaise with the Scout’s District Commissioner.
169.2 As part of the on-going strategic review of our community assets, it was noted the relocation of the football pitch would necessitate removal of some saplings and parts of the Trim Trail equipment which would be relocated.
169.3 A short list of Zipwire providers and quotes had been obtained and discussions initiated with TVBC about grants for this and the relocation of some surplus TVBC skate board ramps.
169.4 The Up Somborne community had requested a grant towards the installation of a defibrillator estimated to cost £1385 ex VAT. Unlike when the Council purchased the machine for King’s Somborne, there were no longer any funds available from the British Heart Foundation for these machines so the balance would have to be found from the community.
169.5 Proposed Cllr Hughes, Seconded Cllr Webb, RESOLVED with Cllrs Brock and Townsend abstaining that a grant of £346, which was 25% of the total cost, be made to Mrs P Monk who would co-ordinate the acquisition of a defibrillator for the Up Somborne community.
169.6 The Clerk had attended a presentation by Test Valley Community Services to explain their need to rebrand to avoid confusion with TVBC. ‘Unity’ would be the new name.
170. Date, time and place of next meeting
170.1 The next meeting would be held on Monday 6 November 2017 at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.15pm