Nash Parish Council
Present:
Cllr
C G Tomkins (Chairman), Cllr G F Culverhouse, Cllr D Gillow, Cllr T Shadbolt
(from Minute 22 onwards); Cllr Sir John Southby Bt, Cllr A Taylor, Cllr E Watts.
Cllr Tomkins reported that Mrs Shadbolt had volunteered to serve as a Parish Councillor. On a proposal by Cllr Tomkins, seconded by Cllr Southby, Nash Parish Council agreed unanimously to co-opt Mrs Shadbolt as a member of the Parish Council. Cllr Shadbolt then signed the declaration of office and joined the meeting.
After making the following amendments
Minute 7(iv):
Replace “cartilage” with “curtilage”;
Minute 9(v): Add “The Council confirmed that, as a matter of policy, risk assessments were carried out for individual events for which it was responsible”;
the
minutes of the meeting on 17 May 2007 were approved as a correct record and
signed by the Chairman.
23
Matters
arising from the Minutes
(i)
Motocross
activities at Barnhill Farm (Minute 7(i)): Cllr Southby reported that on 10 June the racing had
started at 7.22am and continued until after 7pm in the evening.
He had rung Environmental Health and encouraged other residents to do
likewise. Environmental Health had
responded and agreed with Mr Lowe that, between April and October, racing could
only take place between 10.30am and 5.30pm and should not take place more than
once a month in future years – events already booked for 2007 could continue.
In the winter months, racing could take place between 9am and 4pm.
Nash Parish Council welcomed the positive
action that Environmental Health had taken.
Cllr Taylor reported that, on the most recent occasion, one bike had been
particularly noisy and asked that Barnhill Farm should be asked to check the
noise levels of individual bikes before allowing them to compete.
Cllr Southby reported that his log showed that
10 motor-cycles events and 5 4x4 events had taken place in 2007.
His log would be checked by Cllr Taylor.
(ii)
(iii) Emergency Plan (Minute 7(iv)): Cllr Gillow reported that the Emergency Planning Officer had collected all the information was expected. A further meeting with Cllrs Southby and Gillow and the Clerk would be arranged in the near future.
(iv)
Parking at the Pond (Minute 7(iv)):
Cllr Culverhouse reported that the owner of Corner
View Cottage was now parking his van within the curtilage of his property.
Although his car was still parked in the road outside, he intended to
keep it in his garage when that had been cleared out.
In addition, Cllr Culverhouse said that the work on Little Acre would
continue for some time. When the
major work was finished, the Clerk would remind the owners of Little Acre about
the need for re-instatement at the Green.
(v)
Reeds at
the Pond (Minute 7(v)): Cllr
Watts reported that Mr Madkins would do the work shortly.
(vi)
Drainage
of water from the Pond
(Minute 19):
Cllr Watts reported that Mr Madkins had also got the contract from
the land agent for the Waterhouse family to dig out the part of the stream that
flowed through their land.
Cllr Watts would lend him his key for the main Recreation Ground gate.
It was suggested that the Wykes might wish to use Mr Madkins to remove
the silt from their ditch at the same time and Cllr Culverhouse agreed to
contact Mr Wyke and give him Mr Madkins number.
In view of the problems with the ditch, Nash
Parish Council agreed to write again to BCC to ask if they would consider adding
additional pipes to improve the flow of water from the Pond.
Cllr Watts said that AVDC’s Emergency Planning Officer who had
delivered sandbags to the
(i)
Payments
authorised/approved:
The following payments were authorised/approved:
a)
Playsafety
Ltd: Playground Inspection
£69.00
b)
Allianz
Cornhill: Annual Insurance premium
£1,062.70
c)
NJ
d)
NJ
e)
North
Bucks Parishes Planning Consortium Subscription
£20.00
f)
ABB
Ltd Public Lighting maintenance to 30/6/07
£37.83
g)
Playdale
Playgrounds: Deposit on new playground equipment
£1,910.21
h)
Ian
Watts: Cleaning ditch near Pond
£126.00
i)
Stocksigns:
Signs for Recreation Ground
£93.21
j)
Powergen
Retail Ltd (electricity supply to 29/06/07)
£85.09
k)
AVDC:
Uncontested election expenses
£95.00
(ii)
Financial position: Cllr
Current
Account
£80.25
General
Reserve
£3,387.61
Recreation
Ground Reserve
£3,364.95
Total
£6,832.81
(iii)
Donations:
After noting that the Council had regularly given
donations to Vitalise (formerly Winged Fellowship), the Council agreed to give
another donation of £25.
The Council also considered a request from
Relate, the marriage guidance counselling agency, but agreed that it was not
appropriate to make a donation from Parish Council Funds.
(iv)
Annual
accounts of village societies:
Cllr Taylor reported that he had inspected copies of the accounts of the
Elmer’s charity and the Allotment Committee and they appeared to be in order.
The accounts of the Church, the Youth Club and the Village Hall were awaited.
a)
07/01413/APP
b)
07/01417/APP
c)
07/01474/APP
Orchard House,
Nash Parish Council had ticked the “no objection”
box for all three applications.
a)
07/01413/APP
(iii)
AVDC Planning Reference file:
The Council noted that this had first been produced in 2005.
A revised version had been issued. It was being kept by the chairman and
was available for reference to councillors.
(iv)
Other planning matters:
a)
The Council noted that the MK
Adopted Statement of Community involvement had been received.
b)
Causter
Farm,
(i) New Equipment in the Playground (Minute 14(ii)): Cllr Southby reported that he had consulted all the Councillors orally about the quotation from Playdale Playgrounds to install the new equipment and associated safety surfaces. All councillors had approved the proposal and so an order had been placed and a deposit for 50% of the cost paid. He expected that the work would be done before the Village Picnic on 9 September so that it could be officially opened on that occasion. Cllr Taylor outlined the financial position taking account of both the cash flow – given that the VAT had to be paid initially and would not be refunded until February/March 2008. Cllr Taylor also said that he hoped it would be possible to receive a grant from AVDC for 30% of the cost of the equipment but the closing date for applications was 31 August and any grant awarded would not be received until October at the earliest. The Council could afford the new equipment (even without the grant) but the new equipment would deplete the reserves and the Council would need to think carefully about any further major expenditure in the current financial year. On a proposal by Cllr Southby, seconded by Cllr Taylor, the Council agreed to confirm the expenditure of £4,489 on the new equipment for the playground.
The
Council agreed to invite Mr and Mrs Driver to declare the new equipment open at
the picnic. The Clerk would contact
them.
(ii) Report on Play Area Safety Inspection Report: The Council received Cllr Southby’s summary of the actions required following the report of the annual play inspection together with a quotation from Mr Ian Watts (Cllr Watts declared an interest) to undertake the specified items. The work required was discussed. It was noted that some items could be postponed but only for a limited period. Cllr Taylor confirmed that the Council could meet the cost. It was agreed that the wooden picnic bench (item 2) should be repaired and relocated rather than disposed of. It was noted that there was an additional cost in purchasing the links for the chains for the swings (item 4). On a proposal by Cllr Taylor seconded by Cllr Southby the Council agreed unanimously to accept Mr Watts’s quote of £495 (ex VAT) in respect of the Play Area and to authorise Cllrs Watts and Southby to purchase the links required.
(iii) Seat in Recreation Ground: Cllr Culverhouse pointed out that there were no seats in the Recreation Ground that were not in the fenced off Play Area. The Council agreed that it was unable to commit to any more substantial expenditure at this time but agreed that a notice should be put in the forthcoming Newsletter inviting residents to donate a bench (of a type to be approved by the Parish Council), possibly in memory of a Nash resident.
(iv)
Seat on path to Pond (Minute
20): The Council noted that Mr Ian Watts (Cllr
(v) Dog forbid notices (Minute 14(iii)): These had been purchased, together with two “please shut the gate” signs and a “No parking” sign for the main Recreation Ground Gate. Cllr Southby had installed them. The Council agreed that there was no need for further signs at the present time.
(vi)
Use of Recreation Ground by
After
discussion, the Parish Council agreed that it would wish to support the visits
of MK Play Association as they provided a useful service for Nash children.
However, there needed to be formal confirmation of their insurance, the
CRB checks and the various practical arrangements. Mrs
Hedges was asked to contact MK Play Association to put this in hand and to give
Cllr Shadbolt’s number as the contact for access to the Recreation Ground.
(vii) Request from Village Hall for Use of Recreation Ground on 9 September: Nash Parish Council considered the letter from Mrs Horne requesting the use of the Recreation Ground for the Village Picnic organised by the Village Hall’s Social Sub-Committee. As this was a village event the Council agreed to approve the request on the understanding that the only vehicle access would be for organisers’ cars and that, nominally at least, the Recreation Ground remained open for normal use. The Council noted that Mrs Horne had requested that the grass be cut shortly before this event and that the grass be removed. Mrs Hedges agreed to let Mrs Horne know the cost of removing the grass and, subject to her confirming that the Village Hall would meet the cost, arranging the cutting with Blackwells.
Cllr
Southby reported that a formal quote of £200 had now been received for the
replacement of Light No 8 with a more energy efficient light with lower
maintenance charges. In addition, it would not spread light into adjoining
gardens. The Council noted that the
problem of the light shining into neighbouring houses affected several
residents. After discussion on a
proposal by Cllr Southby, seconded by Cllr Taylor, the Council agreed
unanimously to accept this quote.
The
Council noted that many of the lights were becoming expensive to maintain and so
the Council should plan for a phased programme of replacement over the next few
years.
(i) Aylesbury Vale Local Committee, 5 July 2007: The Council noted that no councillor had been able to attend this meeting
(ii)
Water Leak outside
(iii) Chapel Lane Pole: Highways on Call ref 177914: The work was outstanding.
(iv) Buckinghamshire Minerals and Waste Local Development Framework (Minute 16(iv)): The Council noted that Nash made no comment on this document.
(v) Transport Matters Events Update: Details of the ‘roadshows’ were circulated to each Councillor (letter dated 30 May 2007).
(vi) Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs in Buckinghamshire: Stakeholder Consultation: The Council noted that the consultation period lasted until 6 August. Several Councillors had provided comments to the Chairman. The Clerk was asked to collate these into a response.
(i) Nash Conservation Area (Minute 17(i)): The Council noted that the final document has now been approved by AVDC and the Council had been given one free copy. It was available on the AVDC website and copies could be purchased on disc or on hard copy. Letter dated 8 June 2007 about AVDC’s Conservation Area Management Plans and the establishment of a Steering Group had been circulated to all Councillors.
(ii)
Village Freighter
Service: The Council noted that
the Freighter service had visited on 5 July.
The driver had not noticed that the gate had been unlocked and was simply
tied shut with rope and so stayed in
(iii) Core Strategy and Aylesbury Allocated Sites Documents: Preferred Options (Regulation 26) Consultation Stage: Mrs Hedges reported that these documents had been received that morning. The consultation period lasted until 30 August 2007. The Council agreed to delegate responsibility for preparing Nash Parish Council’s reply to the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman.
(iv) Children’s entertainment, 16 August 2007: Cllr Gillow agreed to prepare a risk assessment for this event as Nash Parish Council had hired the Village Hall for AVDC to use for the event.
(v) Review of Polling Districts and Places: Nash Parish Council noted that AVDC was reviewing all Polling Districts and Polling Places. Nash Parish Council agreed that it should reply saying that it regarded it as essential that there was a polling place within Nash for Nash residents and there were no practical alternatives to the Village Hall. Therefore Nash was happy to continue with the current arrangements.
The Council noted that the remaining meetings in 2007/08 were:
20 September 2007; 15 November 2007; 17 January 2008; and 20 March 2008.
(Minute 18). Cllr
Culverhouse gave his apologies for the meeting on 20 September.
Cllr
Southby reported that the hedges next to
The
ditches on the
Cllr
Tomkins tabled copies of an article in the Daily Mail headed “voters to get a
say in spending council tax”
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.55 p.m.
MH
20.07.07