Nash Parish Council
In
Attendance: Mrs
M S Hedges (Clerk)
Subject to the following
changes:
Minute 62 last sentence:
Replace “planning” with
“planting”;
Minute 65 (i)(d):
Replace £26.84 with £25.56;
Minute 65 (iii): Replace
£!,374 with £1,347;
the Minutes of the meeting
on 17 January
2008 were approved as a correct record and
signed by the Chairman.
(i)
Motocross activities at Barnhill
Farm (Minute 64(i)): Cllr Southby
reported that an article had appeared in the MK Citizen about fortnightly 4x4
events. As this would appear to imply that the General Development limit of 28
events would be exceeded in 2008, the Clerk had reported this to AVDC.
Mrs Hedges reported the recent “holding” reply from Mr Dales of AVDC.
The Council agreed to continue to monitor the situation and to ask for a
substantive reply before the Annual Parish Meeting on 8 May 2008.
(ii)
(iii)
Emergency Plan (Minute 64(iii)): Mrs
Hedges reported that the current Emergency Planning Officer would be leaving
Nash during the summer. Cllr Gillow
agreed to act as Acting Emergency Planning Officer until a permanent appointment
could be made.
(iv)
Reeds at the Pond (Minute 64(vi)):
The Council agreed that, as
their acceptance of Mr Madkin’s quotation had stipulated that the work should
be done in Spring 2007, the Council should write to Mr Madkins to say that they
were withdrawing their acceptance of his quotation.
The Council agreed to obtain from fresh quotes from Mr Tuckwell and Mr
Cheshire for consideration at the next meeting.
The Council took the view that in any contract which quoted a daily rate
the Council should limit the work to work that could be completed in a single
day.
(v)
Internet
connection for the village (Minute 64(viii)):
Cllr Southby reported that broadband was now being
supplied to the Village by a new contractor, Village Networks.
All existing subscribers to ZoneBroadband who wished to transfer had been
transferred and new subscribers were being signed up.
Anybody who wished to arrange to make telephone calls over the internet
had to make their own private arrangements with a telephone company.
(i)
Payments authorised/approved:
The following payments were authorised/approved:
f)
Mrs M. S. Hedges, Clerk expenses,
7.03.07 to 9.03.08
£70.02
g)
Mrs M. S. Hedges Clerk’s salary
(net) 1.4.07 to 31.03.08
£1,195.75
h)
Inland Revenue: Tax on Clerk’s
salary (£337.26 less £150 rebate)
£187.26
i)
Nash Village Hall Committee: Rent
£240.00
A
payment of £56.30 to BALC on 1 April was also authorised.
Current
Account
£282.56
General
Reserve
£2,954.32
Recreation
Ground Reserve
£1,097.93
Total
£4,334.81
Cllr
Taylor reported that the Council had received a donation of £300 from Tom
Grievson to cover the cost of renovating the seat on the path to the Pond.
The AVDC grant of £1,347 had been received on 28 January.
He had applied for re-imbursement of VAT paid in the period 1/3/07 to
29/02/08 amounting to £1,302.06.
(iii)
Requests for donations:
None
(iv)
Annual Accounts of village
societies:
Cllr Taylor reported that he had still not received the accounts from the
Village Hall Committee. Cllrs
Southby and Gillow declared interests. The
Parish Council took the view that the Parish Council had established a
long-standing custom that it received copies of the audited/inspected accounts
of Village Societies that were run for the benefit of the village and that,
without sight of such accounts, the Council was not willing to make grants to
those village societies. The Clerk
was asked to write formally to the Secretary of the Village Hall Society to this
effect.
(v) Risk assessment procedures: The Council reviewed the current level of its insurance and agreed that it was adequate. The Council also confirmed that it was its policy to carry out risk assessments for any events that it organised. On the suggestion of Cllr Shadbolt, the Council agreed to seek alternative quotes for its insurance policy to get best value. Mrs Hedges was asked to consult BALC for advice about alternatives to Allianz Cornhill.
(i)
New Applications: The Council noted the new
applications and approved the comments made on them as follows.
a) 07/03241/ALB Wood End Farm, 2 Wood End: Partial demolition and reconstruction of corner of property. No objection
b)
07/03104/APP
c)
08/00235/APP
Land adjacent to
d)
08/00351/APP & 08/00350/ALB
3 Wood End: Single
storey link extension between main house and dairy.
Extension and new roof to dairy. Replacement
doors for windows to dairy and internal alterations to main house.
No objection
a)
07/03023/APP
The Barn at the Rectory,
b) 07/03241/ALB Wood End Farm, 2 Wood End: Partial demolition and reconstruction of corner of property.
Cllr Culverhouse urged
members of the Parish Council to email the Housing Minister to ask her to
justify the government’s position on the number of new houses required.
The Council considered the
consultative leaflet that had been circulated.
The Clerk reported that AVDC was considering its response and would
provide guidance before the deadline of 22 May.
The Council believed that the effect on Nash would be small.
In those circumstances the Council agreed to notify villagers of the
consultation in the next edition of the Newsletter and to consider the matter
further at its May meeting when the AVDC responses would be known.
The Council considered the
draft Report of the Council that had been circulated and made a number of
amendments. The Clerk would complete
the report when the final financial figures were known.
The Annual Meeting should be advertised in the next edition of the
Newsletter. The Council noted that
BCC had indicated that it would not be opposed in principle to the planting of
trees on the Road beside the Pond but that a planning licence would be required.
It was agreed to discuss this at the Annual Meeting on 8 May.
(i) Repairs following the Play Area Safety Inspection Report (Minute 69(i)): Cllrs Southby reported that it was intended to install metal gates to replace the part of the fence that was frequently removed to allow large equipment into the play area. The other gates would be modified to meet the new safety requirements. The Council agreed to make a donation of £25 to the Blue Cross in recognition of the help received by a colleague of David Weatherhead in restoring the metal gates that were donated by Cllr Southby.
It was noted that Mr Ian Watts had not completed a number of the repairs that had been commissioned following the ROSPCA inspection in May 2007. The Council agreed that it was highly desirable that as many works as possible be completed by the end of April as the next inspection was due in May.
(ii)
Seat on path to Pond (Minute
69(v)): The Council noted with
pleasure the donation from Mr Grievson and the insertion of the plaque
commemorating Val Grievson.
(iii) Grass Cutting arrangements for 2008: The Council noted that a quotation from Nigel Blackwell had been accepted at a total cost of £1,821.11 (ex Vat) for 16 cuts during the season.
(v) Litter Collection: The Council noted that there had been 11 helpers clearing litter on Saturday 8 March 2008 and a considerable amount of litter had been collected. AVDC had provided equipment and collected the litter the following Monday. An article would appear in the next Newsletter.
(vi)
(vii)
Verges on
(viii) Ivy on the Churchyard Wall: Mrs Hedges (who declared an interest as a member of the PCC) said that the church was concerned about using chemicals in the churchyard. She volunteered to remove the ivy from the part of the wall that belonged to the church.
(ix) Moles: The Council noted that Acme Pest Control had been contracted to catch the moles in the Recreation Ground. Cllr Southby said that, nevertheless, he thought there were some fresh molehills. The Clerk would investigate.
(x) Damaged Street Light outside 3 Holywell Bungalows: The Clerk reported that this street light had been knocked about 20 degrees off the vertical. ABB had pushed the pole vertical but had recommended that the pole be concreted in. Cllr Taylor advised that this quote had been accepted. The amount was too small to claim on the Council’s insurance and there was no way of identifying the car that had backed into the lamp-post.
(xi) Replacement Street Lamps: The Council authorised Cllr Southby to obtain a quotation to replace the three oldest street lamps with new energy efficient lamps.
(xii) Grass by the Village Sign: The Council noted that the grass by the Village Sign had been severely damaged by the grass cutters. The Clerk would contact AVDC. It was also noted the verges had been scalped in several places and marks had been left on other verges.
(xiii)
Bridge by the Pond: Cllr
Tomkins said that he had noticed a loose piece of wood with nails near the Pond.
Cllr Watts said that he would investigate.
(i)
High Street, Brickwork outside
(ii)
Mr Dudley’s letter of 25 February: The Council noted that
BCC would investigate whether the road outside Pond House etc could be repaired
in the 2008/09 financial year.
BCC would also investigate whether increasing the areas of the pipes
taking the water under the
(iii) Buckinghamshire Planning Application Consultation: The Clerk reported that Councillors had been consulted by circulation and a response sent.
(v) Buckinghamshire Locality Strategy: Consultation on a Partnership Approach: The Council noted these proposals involved, amongst other items, replacing the Local Committees with Local Area Forums. Cllrs Gillow and Culverhouse, who had attended the Local Committees on behalf of the Parish Council, said the proposals seemed sensible in principle. Cllr Gillow said that it appeared to be reverting to the old system of Local Forums. Cllrs Gillow and Culverhouse and the Clerk would prepare the Council’s response by the deadline of 7 April 2008.
(vi) Illegal Dumping: The Council noted that BCC and AVDC were having a campaign against illegal dumping. The Clerk would advertise this in the next Newsletter.
(vii)
(viii)
(i)
Draft Housing Strategy: Cllr
(ii) Volunteer of the Year 2007: The Council noted that a case had been made for Mrs Sandra Firth on the basis of her work with the Youth Club and for simultaneously chairing the Fete Committee three years running.
(iii) Play around the Parishes: The Council noted that this was an offer from AVDC to provide play facilities in the Recreation Ground for half days during school holidays. The facilities seemed to be similar to those currently provided by MK Play Association. The Council agreed that, if the MK Play Association continued to come to Nash then it would be better to let the AVDC facilities go to other villages.
(iv) Changes in Concessionary bus passes: Mrs Hedges reported briefly on the new arrangements for concessionary travel for those over 60. This would be mentioned in the next Newsletter.
(v) Booking of Village Halls under a pseudonym: Mrs Hedges reported that the BNP had booked a Village Hall in the district under a pseudonym. AVDC wished to be informed if any other village hall had similar experiences. Mrs Hedges would pass the information to Mr Grievson.
86 Community Police Awards 2008
On
the suggestion of Cllr Shadbolt the Council agreed that it would wish to
nominate PC Nicola Tipping for her willingness to be seen in the village and to
support village events such as the Fun Run in her time off.
The
Clerk reported that the Council had been invited to comment on
Buckinghamshire’s Fire and Rescue Plan. The
Council asked Mrs Hedges to prepare the Council’s response.
Cllr
Southby reported that a resident had suggested that the entrances to Nash should
be marked by “gates” on the verges or by flower tubs.
Cllr Shadbolt said that flower tubs were too suburban for a rural
village. The Council agreed that, in
view of the number of different roads into the village, it did not support
gates, but would consider planting daffodil bulbs at the various village signs,
together with other flowers that did not require regular maintenance but would
bloom at other times of year.
Cllr
Shadbolt said that she had found the training course for new Councillors very
interesting and worthwhile. She
thanked the Council for allowing her to attend.
Cllr
Shadbolt said that there would be a demonstration of a SID in Whaddon at 9am on
Friday 28 March. She understood that
Whaddon were thinking of buying one – in which case it would be available for
hire by other villagers.
Cllr
Gillow reported that the proposed developments of the Village Hall would cost
about £70k. There was a strong
possibility of WREN making a grant of £50k towards the cost.
However, the Village Hall Committee needed to show that the project had
the support of the village as well as the Village Hall Committee.
Excluding Cllrs Southby and Gillow
who declared interests as members of the Village Hall Committee, the Council
agreed to indicate its strong support for this development.
There
being no further business the meeting closed at 9.55 p.m.
MH 20.03.08