KING’S SOMBORNE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Epworth Hall commencing at 7.00pm on Monday 5 February 2018
Present: Cllr R Lane (Chairman)
Cllr A Brock
Cllr R Curtis
Cllr H Griffith
Cllr R Harwood
Cllr K Hughes
Cllr A Townsend
Cllr R Webb
In Attendance: Mr P J Storey (Clerk to King’s Somborne Parish Council)
Public Session
Mr Dyke (Open Spaces Warden) and three members of the public were present for part of the meeting. A request was made for scalpings to be laid along the path adjacent to the Church wall and for repair work to be undertaken to a drain in Nutchers Drove.
Action: Clerk
Cllr Griffith arrived at his point
17. Apologies for Absence
17.1 Cllr Whitehead; C/Cllr Gibson and B/Cllr Ward.
18. Chairman’s announcements and Councillors’ questions
18.1 The Chairman asked all councillors to review their personal details and photos on the Parish Council website and submit updates to the Clerk, as necessary.
Action: All
19. To accept the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 8 January 2018
19.1 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Griffith, RESOLVED with Cllr Hughes abstaining (absent) that the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2018 be accepted as a true record.
20. To consider any Matters Arising from those Minutes
20.1 Para 15.1 Litter. Litter remained a serious problem around the Parish, especially beer cans along the bridle path adjacent to Scott Close and Lancaster Green. Thanks were offered to the unknown volunteer(s) who had litter picked along this path in recent weeks. The Clerk had published a short article in The Gauntlet about the anti-social nature of littering and confirmed the Lengthsman would clear what he could in the limited hours available. Councillors hoped volunteers would be willing to come forward to litter pick on a regular basis. The Clerk would contact the Football Club to encourage them to clear those pieces of litter left along the touch line after a match.
Action: Clerk
21. Declarations of Interest and Requests for Dispensations
21.1 Cllr Harwood declared an interest in the grant application from the Working Men’s Club being on their committee and would abstain from voting on this matter.
22. To consider Correspondence Received and determine any action required
22.1 A member of the public had submitted a Freedom of Information request for sight of all papers leading to the current position vis-à-vis drafting the Neighbourhood Development Plan. Following legal advice, this request was considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, given it related primarily to environmental issues and specifically landscape issues. Given most of the information requested was already available in the public domain i.e. meeting minutes, Parish Council website and leaflet drops, that it would take 18 hours or more to seek and retrieve this information resulting in diversion of staff resources and cost, and that there was at this time no draft Plan in being to be considered, the request was refused and the applicant informed accordingly.
22.2 A request had also been received to renew the two kissing gates at either end of the footpath across the field owned by Mr & Mrs Pye adjacent to Horsebridge Road which the Clerk would progress with HCC Rights of Way.
Action: Clerk
22.3 Numerous e-mails and contacts had been made about the increasing amount of litter around the Parish which the Clerk had acknowledged.
22.4 Thanks had been received from PollyAnn Monk at Rookley Farm for the grant made towards the cost of installing a defibrillator in the farm yard but which was also available to the public, as necessary.
23. To receive minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 8 and 22 January 2018
23.1 The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 8 and 22 January 2018 had been circulated with the agenda.
23.2 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Curtis, RESOLVED unanimously that the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 8 and 22 January 2018 be received and accepted.
24. Councillors’ Reports
24.1 Cllr Brock reported he was still in discussion with Hampshire Highways about the outstanding roads and stream issues in the Parish. He and the Clerk would be meeting with C/Cllr Gibson next week in an attempt to expedite.
24.2 Cllr Hughes supported the request for scalpings along the path adjacent to the Church wall and commented on some unfortunate postings on Facebook which had since been taken down.
24.3 Cllr Hughes also briefed councillors on the planning to date for this year’s Fun Day to be held with the Horticultural Show on Saturday 28 July 2018. She requested a grant of £350 towards the tent hire costs and other expenses to go with B/Cllr Ward’s anticipated grant.
24.4 Proposed Cllr Hughes, Seconded Cllr Townsend, RESOLVED unanimously that £350 be granted towards the costs of the Parish Fun Day expenses.
24.5 Cllr Harwood reported on the five planning applications considered at the planning meeting earlier in the evening all of which had been approved. He also confirmed repair work on the water stopcock adjacent to the cricket square had now been completed.
24.6 Cllr Curtis queried why no mention had been made of the Palace Close theft in the recent Police crime report despite the Police having attended the scene. It was understood that not all crimes were recorded by the Police. However, the Clerk would follow up with our PCSO.
Action: Clerk
25. To receive the RFO’s Report and Budget Monitoring
25.1 A budget monitoring report had been circulated with the agenda papers. This was noted.
25.2 B/Cllr Ward had approved £780 towards the costs of running the Steady and Sure training sessions for the next 26 weeks.
26. Payment of Accounts
26.1 Proposed Cllr Harwood, Seconded Cllr Webb, RESOLVED unanimously that the following accounts for January 2018 be approved for payment:
To For Net VAT Gross Chq/Internet
Mr P Storey Salary/expenses 722.88 722.88 Int HMRC Tax/NIC 446.88 446.88 Int
Legal & General Staff pension 80.42 80.42 DD
Conservatives NDP leaflet printing 36.00 36.00 Int
Mr R Jackson Valve box 44.95 8.99 53.94 Int
Totals 1331.13 8.99 1340.12
27. To receive and adopt the Financial Risk Assessment for 2017-18
27.1 Current audit and accounting regulations required an annual financial risk assessment to be adopted by the Parish Council before the yearend to which the assessment related. A risk assessment signed off by the Clerk and Internal Auditor had been circulated with the agenda papers.
27.2 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Townsend, RESOLVED that the Annual Financial Risk Assessment, as tabled, be received and adopted.
28. To determine the Working Men’s Club grant application
28.1 Cllr Harwood had submitted a grant aid application for £5,000 on behalf of the Working Men’s Club as a contribution towards the essential replacement of the boiler and windows in the Club building. In a covering note, he recounted the history of the Club and the part it played in Parish life giving rise to its recognition as a community asset. He realised that the amount requested was considerably higher than grants previously awarded elsewhere but pointed out that the Club only broke even financially and if it could not raise the necessary funds to effect repairs closure was a real possibility.
28.2 Proposed Cllr Curtis, Seconded Cllr Brock, RESOLVED with Cllr Harwood abstaining that £5,000 be granted to the Working Men’s Club to enable it to effect repairs and that information be provided to the Clerk to consider if capital items purchased could be gifted by the Parish Council to the Club to minimise exposure to VAT.
29. To elect a councillor to the Planning Committee and other appointments as appropriate
29.1 Following Cllr Sutton’s resignation, Cllr Townsend volunteered to join the Planning Committee.
29.2 Other appointments now unfilled included highways, transport and road safety, communications co-ordination and Eldon Road liaison. In discussion, it was decided to share the Eldon Road responsibility between those three councillors living in the area, namely Cllrs Hughes, Webb and
Whitehead, leave the communications co-ordinator role unfilled for the time being and have the Clerk pick up highways, transport and road safety.
30. To adopt the revised policy on the use of e-mail and the Internet
30.1 A revised policy on the use of e-mail and the internet had been tabled. However, some more work proved necessary so no further action was taken at this time.
31. To determine the location for and ownership of a new community building/preschool
31.1 The Clerk had tabled for decision an options paper relating to location and ownership of a new community building/preschool. Given the initially preferred site for location was on part of the land currently leased to the Scouts and their willingness to surrender their current lease was proving difficult to obtain, the preference by the Village Hall and the PreSchool now centred on part of the MUGA field which was land owned by the Parish Council. This site benefited from proximity to the Village Hall, the MUGA and toddler play equipment, in particular. The land in question had been purchased by the Parish Council in 1930 with the covenant that it be used for recreational purposes. The implication of this particular covenant would be further investigated but, in the meantime, the Village Hall would produce a plan showing location and dimensions in time for the next Parish Council meeting so the matter could be considered further. The Clerk would monitor.
Action: Clerk
32. To consider the provision of new outdoor fitness and play equipment
32.1 The councillor working party set up to consider the provision and possible location of outdoor fitness and new play equipment had tabled their ideas for consideration. Suitable equipment and associated costs included three additions to toddler play equipment at a cost of £5,426, facilities for the over 8s and families costing £18,445 and four pieces of adult fitness equipment at £5,370, half of the latter going to Up Somborne. A local company had quoted the total cost to supply and install the recommended items, excluding an outdoor table tennis table which would come from another supplier, of £22,128.
32.2 After discussion, it was decided to purchase some moveable play panels, a farm shop play panel and a Gaberoun Playhouse totalling £5,426 for installation in the King’s Somborne toddlers’ play area for the under 8s from VitaPlay Ltd with the Clerk seeking a contribution from TVBC developers’ contributions to offset against the total cost. A bid would be submitted to Awards for All for a grant towards four pieces of adult fitness equipment to be shared between the King’s Somborne and Up Somborne recreation grounds totalling £5,370. Of the recommended remaining equipment, a chamber stack for the over 8s at £6,167, a large rope swing for families at £9,594, and an outside table tennis table at £2,675, the actual locations and sources of funding for these pieces had yet to be determined.
Action: Clerk
32.3 Proposed Cllr Brock, Seconded Cllr Harwood, RESOLVED unanimously that £5,426 be spent on acquiring play equipment suitable for the under 8s to be offset against TVBC developers’ contributions and an application be made to Awards for All for £5,370 for adult fitness equipment.
33. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) progress
33.1 Cllr Brock reported continuing progress on producing the NDP. The first draft of the NDP was currently being edited before circulation to councillors and informally to TVBC for comment, following which it would form the basis of a further public consultation before formal submission to TVBC, an external examiner and a public referendum.
34. Clerk’s monthly report
34.1 The new notice board for Winchester Road was in the final throes of manufacture.
34.2 A notice entitling parishioners to call for a poll to fill the current vacancy on the Council had been posted following which, if no poll was sought, the vacancy would be filled by co-option.
34.3 Hampshire Highways had been requested to resurface the slip road in front of the Church.
35. Date, time and place of next meeting
35.1 The next meeting would be held on Monday 5 March 2018 at 7.00pm in the Epworth Hall, Winchester Road, King’s Somborne.
There being no further business, the Chairman and closed the meeting at 9.10pm