Nash Parish Council
Present:
Cllr C G Tomkins
(Chairman), Cllr G F Culverhouse, Cllr Sir John Southby Bt, Cllr A
Apologies:
Cllr D Gillow
(i)
Chairman: Cllr
Tomkins left the meeting. Cllr
Taylor took the Chair. It was
proposed by Cllr Taylor, seconded by Cllr Shadbolt, that Cllr Tomkins be
re-elected as Chairman. This was
agreed unanimously. Cllr Tomkins
then re-joined the meeting and signed the Declaration
of Acceptance of Office Form.
(ii)
Vice Chairman: It was proposed by Cllr Tomkins, seconded by Cllr Southby, that Cllr
Taylor be re-elected as Vice-Chairman. This was agreed unanimously. Cllr Taylor
signed the Declaration of Acceptance of
Office Form.
(iii)
Responsible Financial Officer: It was proposed by Cllr Tomkins, seconded by Cllr
Southby, that Cllr Taylor be re-elected to the position of Responsible Financial
Officer. This was agreed
unanimously. Cllr Taylor signed the Declaration
of Acceptance of Office Form.
(iv)
Internal Auditor: Cllr
(v)
Emergency
Planning Officer:
Cllr Southby proposed and Cllr Watts seconded that Cllr Gillow continue as
Acting Emergency Planning Officer for the moment.
Members
were advised to check with the providers of their car insurance that their cover
defined as “use for social domestic and pleasure purposes” included cover
when travelling on Nash Parish Council business including driving other members
of the Council to meetings.
3
3.
Internal arrangements for considering
planning applications
The
Council agreed to continue the existing arrangements whereby the Chairman plus
two other Councillors approve the comments made to AVDC on planning
applications.
Subject to the following changes:
Minute 75(i):
Replace AVFC with AVDC in second sentence,
Minute 83(iv): Add response
after the word Council’s in line 3,
the
Minutes of the meeting on 13 March 2008 were approved as a correct record and
signed by the Chairman.
(i)
Motocross
activities at Barnhill Farm
(Minute 75(i)): Cllr
Southby reported that there had been nine 4x4 events and six motocross events so
far in 2008. Mrs Hedges reported that she had spoken to Mr Dales of AVDC that
afternoon. He had nothing
substantive to report as he was waiting for advice from AVDC’s legal
department. The issue continued to
be the question of whether, under the General Development Order, the number of
4x4 events could be counted separately. The
Council agreed to write to Mr Dales to say that they were disappointed not to
have a substantive reply for this meeting.
In response to a question from Cllr Taylor,
Mrs Hedges said that she would investigate whether there was anything relevant
in the Noisy Sports Regulations 2005
(ii)
(iii)
Village
Hall Improvement Plan (Minute 91): Cllr
Southby reported that planning permission had now been obtained from AVDC –
there had been a compromise on the position of the front of the new wooden
building and a requirement to make the roof look like slate.
The Village Hall was now obtaining quotes from contractors and was
hopeful of receiving funding under the WREN scheme.
If the grant was received it was hoped to start the work in July.
The Hall would then be out of commission until 8 September.
(i)
Parish
Council Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2008: These had been circulated. Cllr Taylor explained that
the main variations from the previous year resulted from the lack of a Street
Party and the installation of the new Play Equipment in the Recreation Ground.
The balance on the general fund at the end of the financial year had been £3,191,
a small decrease on the balance of £3,313 the previous year.
After noting these points, on a proposal by Cllr Taylor, seconded by Cllr
Southby, the Council agreed unanimously to approve the accounts for 2007/08.
(ii)
Audit
2007/2008: The
Council noted the different format of the forms that had to be submitted to the
external Auditor, and the need to make the accounts available to residents. The
Council approved unanimously the submission that had been signed by Mr Kelsey.
(iii)
Payments
authorised/approved: The following payments were
authorised/approved:
a)
ABB
public lighting maintenance (quarter to 31/03/08)
£37.77
b)
I T
c)
BALC
Annual subscription
£56.30
d)
Cllr
Gillow: hinges for fence in Recreation Ground
£40.76
e)
NJ
f)
NJ
g)
Cllr
Southby: locks for gates in Recreation Ground
£27.98
h)
Cllr
Southby: latches for new gates in Recreation Ground
£5.41
i)
I.T.
Watts, sundry repairs to Recreation Ground Equipment
£415.00
j)
E-on
(electricity supply March 08)
£25.56
k)
Acme
(iv)
Financial
position: The Council had received
the first part of the precept (£4,500) and the total funds in the Parish
Council accounts were
Current
Account
£591.79
General
Reserve
£4,601.79
Recreation
Ground Reserve
£3,491.07
Total
£8,684.65
(v)
Insurance
renewal: Cllr
(vi)
Annual Accounts for village
societies (Minute
76(iv)): Cllr Taylor reported that he had now received a copy of the
financial statements of the Village Hall Committee for 2006/07 and they were in
order. Accordingly, the Council
agreed to make its normal 2007/08 grant of £250 to the Village Hall.
As no bill had been paid in 2007/8 for hosting the village web-site there
would be no deduction in respect of the Village Hall’s share of the web-site
costs.
(vii)
Requests
for donations: After noting that the Parish Council had regularly
given grants of £25 to Vitalise, who provided breaks for disabled people to
enable their carers to have a break, the Council agreed to make a further grant
of £25.
(viii)
Sources
of grant funding: Cllr
Taylor reported that he had received information about possible providers of
small grants that would contribute to the cost of some of the projects that the
Parish Council was considering (e.g. clearing the reeds at the Pond; exercise
equipment for the elderly). Cllr
Taylor also reported a source of funding for repairs to war memorials but the
Council agreed that no work was required on the Nash memorial at the present
time.
(i)
New Applications: The Council noted the following new applications and confirmed the
comments made by the Council:
a)
08/00689/APP &
08/00693/ALB Village
Hall, Stratford Road Alterations to lobby
for new entrance, alterations to toilets and erection of side timber shed to
replace existing sheds. NPC
Comment: No objection
b)
08/00848/APP
(ii)
Applications
approved: The
Council noted that AVDC had approved the following applications:
a)
07/03104/APP
b)
08/00235/APP
Land adjacent to Thornborough Road Erection
of two stables
c)
08/00689/APP &
08/00693/ALB Village
Hall, Stratford Road Alterations to lobby
for new entrance, alterations to toilets and erection of side timber shed to
replace existing sheds.
d)
08/00848/APP
(iii)
Application withdrawn: The
Council noted that the following application had been withdrawn:
a)
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.
Mrs Hedges reported that an
application with amended proposals for the same objectives had been received
that morning.
(iv)
Other planning matters:
The Council noted that a new set of planning forms had been in use since
1 April 2008.
Cllr
Culverhouse reported that the Government was not expected to publish its revised
proposals for the SE Plan until July. The
Greenway proposal for an Eco-Town had not been short-listed by the Government
but the developers intended to continue to pursue the proposal.
Cllr
Culverhouse reported that CPRE was concerned about the proposals to increase the
population of Aylesbury from 65,000 to 100,000.
In the current financial climate developers would be reluctant to commit
to building so many new houses.
10
Development of
Mrs Hedges reported that AVDC had not so far
communicated its views on the development of
Copies
of the unconfirmed Minutes of this meeting had been circulated.
Minute 5: Planting of trees
on the path to the Pond: The
Council noted the safety concerns that had been raised about the proposal to
plant trees beside the path to the Pond. Notwithstanding
these concerns, several councillors believed that the proposal would enhance the
appearance of that part of the village. Several
specific points were made:
·
The trees could planted on the hedge side of the path
·
It would be possible to install an additional street light to light the
path at night
·
The trees could be cut down before they became too large to
significantly obscure the view and then replanted.
After
discussion the Council agreed to ask John Hamilton to give the matter further
thought and bring specific proposals to a later meeting.
If the Council approved these then residents could be asked whether they
would wish this scheme to be implemented, recognising, of course, that BCC would
need to give permission.
Minute 7(i): Grass Cutting:
Mrs Hedges was asked to raise with AVDC the fact that
the Village Green was being cut by the AVDC’s contractors as well as the
Parish Council’s contractors.
Minute 7(ii): Conservation
Area: Mrs Hedges had obtained and circulated a copy
of the map of the conservation area. A
copy had been given to Mr Unwin. Copies
could be made available to residents in due course.
She expected to be given an electronic copy of the full document in due
course.
12
Recreation
Ground and other maintenance
(i)
Annual
Fete: The
Council noted that the Chairman had given permission for the Annual Village Fete
to be held in the Recreation Ground on Saturday 14 June 2008.
The Recreation Ground would be closed for normal use from 8am to 6pm.
(ii)
Seats in Recreation Ground (Minute 82(iv)): (Cllr
(iii) Moles: Mrs Hedges reported that Acme Pest Control had been called back twice to deal with two further instances of molehills appearing in the Recreation Ground; the outbreak at the bottom of the Ground had been done free of charge but the Council had to pay for the second outbreak, which had occurred in the Play Area.
(iv)
Trees in the Recreation Ground and
at the Pond:
The Council considered a further report from the Tree Warden.
The Council agreed to accept a quotation of £200 from Gary Broderick to
take down the third tree from the top on the west side of the Recreation Ground.
This quote had been provided on the basis that the branches would be
chipped and the chippings left at the base of the hedge.
The remaining wood would be left on site.
(v)
Reeds at the Pond (Minute 75(iv)): Mrs
Hedges reported that she had written to Mr Madkins as instructed.
She had spoken to both Mr Tuckwell and Mr Chisholm, the alternative
contractors suggested by Cllr Watts. Both
had promised to provide quotes but had not yet done so.
Mr Chisholm had indicated that the best time to do the work would be late
August/early September after the bird’s nesting season.
The Council accepted this view on the understanding that the work was
carried out this year.
(vi)
(vii) Damaged Street Light outside 3 Holywell Bungalows: Mrs Hedges reported that the pole had been concreted in, but the bill had not yet been received.
(viii) Replacement Street Lights (Minute 82(xi)): Cllr Southby reported he had obtained quotes from ABB, which indicated that replacing the four old brackets would cost about £2,000. However, he had had discussions with an alternative street lighting company, Aylesbury Mains Ltd, and had invited them to provide a quote as well. In discussions with Aylesbury Mains, it had been suggested that the replacement lights should have photocells that switched the lights on at dusk and off at 1am. Although the bulbs would be more expensive, the resultant running costs would be reduced. This matter was thus deferred to the next meeting when Cllr Southby expected to have more information.
(ix)
Access to the Recreation Ground, and to the land between Weir
Cottage and 1, the Green: Cllr Southby reported that an additional lock had
appeared on the entrance gate to the Recreation Ground.
It was believed that this had been supplied by Mr Johnson, agents for the
members of the Waterhouse family that owned the land between Weir Cottage and 1,
The Green. While the Waterhouse
family had right of access to their land, there were concerns that, under the
current arrangements, it was possible for the owners of some of the four
padlocks on the gate to lock another authorised user out of the Recreation
Ground. Indeed Anglia Water had been
locked out when they were investigating a sewerage leak.
Cllr Watts raised concerns about the apparent use of the Anglia Water
Gate at the bottom of the Recreation Ground by Mr Johnson.
The decision on the action required was delegated to Cllrs Southby,
In the course of this discussion it was noticed that
some clearance work had been done on the Waterhouse’s land and their part of
the stream. It was understood that
they had caused damage to a sewer in the course of this work, as Anglia Water
had recently been called out twice to deal with overflowing sewers in that area.
(x) Pump at the Green: Cllr Southby said that the pump at the Village Green was not working and he planned to repair it in due course.
(xi)
Notice-Board at the allotments: Mrs Hedges reported that there
had been complaints that the perspex on one side of this Notice-Board was too
opaque for Notices to be read. Cllr
Southby agreed to replace the Perspex in due course.
13 Parking at the Pond (Minute 88 (i))
Cllr
Culverhouse and the Clerk reported that up to four cars were fairly regularly
parked outside with Corner View Cottage, two on the property and two outside.
The precise positions varied, but sometimes they blocked the pavement at
this dangerous bend and junction. The
Council recognised that there was no easy solution to the problem of parking at
the Pond. Cllr Shadbolt agreed to
discuss the matter with the local police community support officer.
14
Buckinghamshire
County Council
(i)
Local Area Committee Meeting 17
April 2008:
Cllr Culverhouse reported on this meeting.
The two main items were:
·
The proposal to replace the
Aylesbury Vale Local Committee with 19 Local Area Forum meetings.
The consultation period had been extended until the end of May with BCC
taking a final decision in July. It
is hoped that decisions would be taken more quickly in the Local Area Forums who
would have their own budgets.
·
The money being allocated for minor
highways repairs (see also Minute (iv)). The
“parish gangs” were starting work at the south of the county.
(ii)
New Local Area Forum 15 May 2008:
Cllr Culverhouse reported that he had attended the beginning of this meeting
before coming to the Parish Council meeting.
(iii)
Mobile Library Review
(Minute 83(viii)): Mrs Hedges reported
that, after speaking to Mrs Morgan, she had written to BCC supporting the
continuation of the Mobile Library service to Nash at the current level.
(iv)
Highways Defects: The Council noted that BCC
had allocated an extra £3.25m for work on the Highways etc. and parish councils
had been invited to submit a list of works.
In consultation with Cllrs Gillow and Southby, the Clerk had submitted a
list of 45 items. This had been
acknowledged as follows:
“minor
works will be allocated to the new ‘Parish Gangs’ – the more major works
will be recorded for possible future implementation should funds and resources
become available.”
Mrs
Hedges reported that the two potholes near the Cross on the
(v)
Rights of way Improvement Plan,
2008-18:
Mrs Hedges reported that this had been received and would be circulated.
She had also received the definitive map of the footpaths and bridleways.
15
Aylesbury
Vale District Council
(i)
Grass cutting:
Mrs Hedges reported that she had twice complained to AVDC about the ruts
left by AVDC’s contractors. AVDC
had asked them to repair the damage and to be more careful in future.
Cllr
Shadbolt said that she wished that, when the cow parsley was in bloom and was so
pretty, BCC, who cut the verges up to the signs at the entrance to the village,
would not make such a wide cut.
(ii)
Village Freighter Service:
The Council noted that the next visit of the Freighter Service would be
on Thursday 3 July from 7.30am to 11am. (The
subsequent visit would be on 22 January 2009.)
(iii)
Children’s Entertainment:
Mrs Hedges reported that, because of the expected works on the Village
Hall during August, the offer of the Children’s entertainment in August had
been declined for 2008 but that it had been suggested to AVDC that it be offered
to Whaddon, who had been consulted informally and would accept it.
(iv)
Stray Dogs:
The Council noted the new arrangements in respect of stray dogs as set
out in the letter dated 2 April from AVDC.
16 Neighbourhood Action Group
Cllr
Shadbolt reported that there had been a number of burglaries in
17
Event
Planning
The Council noted the letter from Thames Valley Police about the responsibility for Event Planning.
18
Dates of
meetings
(i) Dates of meetings 2008/09: The Council noted that the dates of its remaining meetings in 2008/09 were: 17 July 2008; 18 September 2008; 20 November 2008; 15 January 2009; 19 March 2009. The Council further agreed to start future meetings at 7.30pm.
(ii) Dates of the Annual Parish Meeting and Annual Meeting of the Council in 2009: The Council agreed that the Annual Parish Meeting should be on Thursdays 14 May 2009 and the annual meeting of the Council should be on Thursday 21 May 2009. Cllr Southby indicated that he would have to send apologies for the 14 May meeting.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.55 p.m.
MH
23.05.07