Nash Parish Council
Present: Cllr C G Tomkins (Chairman), Cllr G F Culverhouse, Cllr D Gillow, Cllr T Shadbolt; Cllr Sir John Southby Bt, Cllr A Taylor (for part of the meeting), Cllr E Watts (for part of the meeting).
After noting that Cllr Shadbolt should have been included among the list of members present, and that, under Minute 6(iii)(b), the payment to Mr Ian Watts was £290.00, not £290.77, the Minutes of the meeting on 15 May 2008 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
20 Matters arising from the Minutes
(i)
Planting of Trees on the path to
the Pond (Minute 11): The Council
discussed the proposal with Mr John Hamilton, Tree Warden, in the light of the
safety concerns expressed at the Annual Parish Meeting and Mr Hamilton’s
response to those points as set out in his email that had been circulated. Cllr
Southby said that he knew the position of the cables relating to the various
services and it would be possible to avoid them in any tree planting.
It was difficult to assess the level of support within the village for
the proposal to plant trees but some members of the Council expressed the view
that they would be reluctant to proceed with the tree planting proposal when
there was substantial opposition from some residents.
Others took the view that it would improve the village and that, as the
area concerned was within the conservation area, in the longer term such
planting might help to preserve that part of the village from development.
After discussion, the Council agreed – four members voting in favour
with one abstention – to have further discussion with residents, particularly
those concerned about the proposal, to see whether their concerns about safety
and the open vista were met by the points made by Mr Hamilton.
(ii)
Motocross
activities at Barnhill Farm (Minute 5(i)): The Council discussed the letter dated 8 July from Mr
Dales (AVDC) together with the attached log.
Cllr Southby tabled an updated log of events, which the Clerk was asked
to send to Mr Dales. With regard to
the substance of Mr Dales’ letter, the Council took the view that unless there
was a legal ruling that the separate ownership of parts of the land by Mr and
Mrs Lowe meant that the two circuits could be regarded as separate units for the
purposes of the GPDO, AVDC should enforce the limit of 28 events. Mrs Hedges was
asked to convey this view to Mr Dales.
The Council then discussed the email exchange
with Mrs Heywood, District Environmental Health Officer of AVDC, concerning the
early start to events on 21 June when Nash residents had been woken at 7am.
Mrs Heywood had apologised that, the previous year, when she said that
she had forbidden such early starts she had omitted to say that she had agreed
that the National Competition could be an exception to this rule.
Nash Parish Council accepted, reluctantly, that it was not possible to
make a case for the noise to be regarded as a “statutory nuisance”.
Although the Council would wish there to be no exceptions, at the very
least they should receive advance notice of such an event.
(iii)
(iv)
Village Hall Improvement Plan
(Minute 5(iii): Cllrs Southby and
Gillow reported that the Village Hall Committee expected to receive the contract
from WREN, who were providing a grant to meet most of the cost, shortly and that
the builder would begin work the following week.
(v)
Emergency
Planning Officer: Cllr Gillow reminded
the Council that he was only Acting Emergency Planning Officer.
The Council agreed to seek volunteers in the next edition of the
newsletter and to consider the matter further at the next meeting.
The Council noted that Cllr Southby was now Treasurer of the Village Hall Committee and that Mrs Hedges was Treasurer of All Saints’ Church PCC.
(i) Payments authorised/approved: The following payments were authorised/approved:
a)
Came
& Co: Insurance premium for 1/6/08 to 31/05/09
£909.00
b)
Eon,
Electricity supply April 08
£25.56
c)
Eon,
Electricity supply May 08
£25.56
d)
Eon,
Electricity supply June 08
£25.56
e)
NJ
f)
NJ
g)
ABB Ltd
Public Lighting maintenance to 30/6/08
£39.75
h)
ABB Ltd:
Repair to Street
i)
Playsafety
Ltd: Playground Inspection
£95.00
(ii)
Financial position: Cllr
Current
Account
£59.88
General
Reserve
£3,516.37
Recreation
Ground Reserve
£3,117.30
Total
£6,693.55
(iii)
Audit:
Cllr
(iv)
Annual
accounts of village societies:
Cllr Taylor reported that he had inspected copies of the accounts of the
Elmer’s charity, the Allotment Committee, the Church and the Village Hall and
they appeared to be in order. The accounts of the Youth Club were awaited as
their financial year ended on 31 July.
a)
08/01227/APP
& 08/01228/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 with
subsequent minor amendments.
NPC Comment: No objection. This view is taken on the basis that the works are effectively ‘invisible’ from view when looking at the front of the house in Wood End. There is separate (and very attractive) building situated slightly to the rear and to the left of the main house when viewed from the road. Strangely this does not show on the plan map submitted.
b) 08/01137/APP Towns End Fields,Land off Whaddon Road: Erection of manege
NPC Comment: No objection. Whilst NPC has no objections to the actual proposals, i.e. a 20 x 40m manege, we do feel that approval should only be given on the basis that there is no increase in the current level of activities or any commercial venture which would be detrimental to nearby houses. This would certainly include any future request for floodlighting the manege or any other part of the field.
c) 08/01398/APP Land at 1 Wood End : Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of detached dwelling in enlarged residential curtilage.
NPC Comment:
Nash
Parish Council is divided on the question of whether the current building has
architectural merit. Some members
would prefer that the existing building be retained and extended – along the
lines of the recent development of Wood End Cottage further up Wood End. Others
accept the view that the current building has no particular architectural merit
and would be content with a sympathetic replacement dwelling in keeping with the
Nash Conservation Area.
Nash Parish Council is united in its
wish that any development of the site should be sympathetic to the environs of
the Pond and Wood End as this is part of the Nash Conservation Area and the Pond
is a key asset of the village.
The bricks of the existing property
are local and so would wish that as many as possible to be re-used and the new
bricks should match the re-used bricks.
On a practical level, because the
entrance to the site is close to the Pond, the new dwelling should contain
adequate parking for cars – both residents and overnight visitors - to prevent
any blocking of the lane for farm and emergency vehicles.
Another practical point concerns the
need to avoid damaging the Pond environs and the Village Green during the
construction work.
a)
08/01227/APP
& 08/01228/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 with
subsequent minor amendments.
b)
08/01137/APP
Towns
End Fields, Land off Whaddon Road: Erection
of manege
(iii)
Other planning matters
a)
MK
Partnership: Planning Applications: Local Validation Requirements:
Cllrs Taylor and Gillow had agreed that no reply was necessary to this
document.
Papers
relating to the AGM of NBPPC had been circulated previously.
Cllr Culverhouse reported that the Government’s latest announcement
about future housing plans for the South-East was imminent, but had not, so far
as he was aware, been made. The
Consortium would meet after the Government’s proposals had been announced.
(i)
Play Area
Safety Inspection Report: (Dated 6
May 2008 and received 28 June 2008): Cllr
Southby reported that there were four items to which our attention was drawn:
a)
Safety
surface of the Pineapple Whirl Roundabout: the
join between the red and black parts was an ongoing problem.
It was agreed to repair the join but to investigate replacing the surface
with a surface without joins. Mrs
Hedges reported that she had asked Mr John Hamilton whether he was willing to
quote for this task – if not, Cllr Gillow would do it.
b)
Toddler
Swing: Cllr Southby had applied
weed-killer and suggested that, for future years, this should be added to the
grass-cutting contract.
c)
Junior
Swings: Cllr Southby reported that
he did not believe that the repair suggested was required at the present time.
The Council approved this.
d)
Concrete
Tubes: The Council re-interated its
view that these tubes should be retained with the edges painted in red.
The Council noted that, this year, they had
paid an extra £20 to obtain a checklist of items that should be checked on the
various items of equipment. This was
one-off item as the list would remain valid for future years.
(ii)
Seats in
the Recreation Ground (Minute 12 (i)): Mrs Hedges reported that Mr
White had paid his contribution to the cost of installing the seat he was
donating and that Mr Ian Watts had prepared the concrete base.
The Youth Club was still collecting in respect of the seat it planned to
donate.
(iii)
Access to
the Recreation Ground and to the land between Weir Cottage and 1, The Green: Mrs
Hedges reported that she and Cllr Southby had met with Mr Johnson, the agent for
the Waterhouse family who owned the land between Weir Cottage and 1 The Green,
because Mr Johnson had recently added an additional lock to the gate at the
entrance to the Recreation Ground. The
outcome of that conversation was that Nash Parish Council would provide two keys
to the Council’s lock – one for Mr Johnson and one for the Waterhouse
family. Mr Johnson would then move
his lock to the field gate in the southern boundary of the Recreation Ground
which was the gate that the Council was required to maintain under the terms of
its purchase of the Recreation Ground from Lady Waterhouse’s mother, Mrs
Ingram. The Council recognised that,
for practical purposes, the Waterhouse’s agents would use the AnglianWater
gate but it was important for the Parish Council to preserve the formal position
which only allowed the Waterhouses “agricultural” access, as there was
always a possibility of a planning application for houses on that land at some
future date.
(iv)
Reeds at
the Pond (Minute 12(v)): Mrs
Hedges reported that she had consulted the AVDC Green Spaces Team, who had
suggested the same two contractors that the Council had already approached.
When neither appeared to be responding, Rev King had suggested a third
contractor whom she had invited to provide a quote.
She had subsequently received two quotes.
A S Agri Services, recommended by Rev King, had quoted £500 (ex VAT) and
Robert Tuckwell had estimated £900 (ex VAT).
The Council agreed to accept the quote from A S Agri Services, on the
understanding that the work would be done in September.
Mrs Hedges also reported that, after consulting Cllr Taylor, she had
submitted an application to the Micro Community Grants Scheme for £500, the
deadline for which had been 15 July, and she was hopeful of a positive response.
(v)
Nash
Village Green (Minute 12(vi)): Cllr
Culverhouse reported that the Stratfords now visited their house much less
regularly. Mrs Hedges had written to
them about completing the remedial work on the verges of the Green but there had
been no response. The Council agreed
to ask Mr Hamilton to quote for the work required, as the work should be done.
The Stratfords would be asked to meet the cost of the work.
The Chairman pointed out that the post and rail fence outside the
Franklins also needed replacing and Mr Hamilton should be asked to quote for
that as well.
(vi)
Pump on
the Village Green (Minute 12(x)): Cllr
Southby reported Mr David Weatherhead was taking an active interest in
maintaining the two wells and he was investigating what repair was necessary to
make the pump at the Green functional again.
(vii)
Parking
at the Pond (Minute 13): Cllr
Shadbolt reported that she had spoken to PCSO Bruce who had spoken to the
residents of the relevant properties. As
the problem had continued, PCSO had raised the matter with the Traffic Officer.
He had taken the view that it was not that serious.
It was not clear how many cars had been parked on the pavement when he
had visited and whether one car was wholly on the pavement as sometimes
happened. The Council took the view
that, because of the bend on the Winslow Road and because of the cars turning
into Wood-End at that point, that it was important that the pavement was not
blocked. The Council recalled that
PC Tipping had said that parking on the pavement was illegal when she had met
the Council. Cllr Culverhouse agreed
to talk to the residents of Wayside Cottage and Corner View Cottage so that they
were aware of the Council’s position.
(viii)
Nash
Village Picnic: Mrs Hedges reported Nash Village Hall Committee
wished to hold a picnic to which all residents would be invited on Sunday
September 7. The event would be
covered by Nash Village Hall Insurance and the Recreation Ground would remain
open for normal activities. The
Council agreed to approve this request.
(ix)
Waste
from Church Farm: Cllr Southby said that several residents had
complained about the waste that started in Church Farm and then ran across the
pavement on the north side of the Stratford Road.
Mrs Hedges was asked to write to Church Farm.
(i) Review of Speed Limits in Nash: The Council discussed the letter dated 5 July from Mr S Whittaker. The Council had every sympathy with Mr Whittaker’s views but knew that, given their programme of speed limit reviews throughout the county, BCC would not agree to consider individual requests ahead of an area’s main review. The Council agreed, however, to ask BCC to install a dangerous bend sign on the approach to the corner by the Cross as that could be at least as effective in slowing traffic down as extending the 30mph speed limit. The Clerk would find out whether Whaddon had bought a Speed Detecting Device that Nash could borrow (Minute 90 of 13 March 2008).
(ii) Aylesbury Vale Local Committee: To note that as this Committee’s meeting at 6pm on 17 July, Nash’s apologies have been sent. This was the final meeting in the current format.
(iii) Buckinghamshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework: Adopted Statement of Community Involvement: The Council noted that a copy of the final version of this document had been received.
(iv) Household Waste Permit Scheme: The Council noted that changes have been made to this scheme – the details were available at www.buckscc.gov.uk/wastepermit and had been included in the latest edition of District Link
(v) Buckinghamshire Joint Commissioning Strategies for Older People and for Physical and Sensory Disability. The invitation to comment was passed to members on email but no comment had been made through the Clerk by the deadline of 4 July.
(vi) Footpaths Numbers 2 and 6: The Chairman raised the matter of the extent to which footpath No 2 had become overgrown. Cllr Southby raised a similar matter with regard to Chapel Lane (Footpath No 6). Mrs Hedges would pursue. Cllr Watts said that farmers were not allowed to cut hedges before July 17.
(vii) Village Freighter Service: The Council noted that the Freighter service had visited on 3 July.
(viii) AVDC Volunteer of the Year 2008: Mrs Hedges reported that Mrs Firth had obtained a Certificate of Merit. The voluntary work of both the winners had lasted for thirty years. Cllr Gillow reported that Mrs Firth had appreciated having her name put forward by the Council.
(ix) AVDC Standards Committee: The Council noted that copies of these papers were received for information and that recent papers had included the minutes of a hearing panel and the procedure for the Local Assessment of Complaints
The Council noted that the five existing members (Mr T E Watts, Rev J F King, Mr T H Eggleston, Mrs S J Denne, and Mr D J Weatherhead) were due to retire but had indicated their willingness to be re-appointed. The Parish Council agreed to re-appoint these five trustees for a further period of three years to 2011.
Cllr Shadbolt said that she had obtained information
about some pieces of equipment that would be suitable for adults.
It was agreed to have a site meeting during the summer to see what would
be suitable and where it could be located in the Recreation Ground.
Cllr
Culverhouse tabled a paper outlining the formation of a heating oil consortium
between residents of Whaddon and Nash to negotiate a discount on bulk purchases
of oil. The Council agreed that the
idea was worth pursuing and should be advertised in the next Newsletter. The
consortium would be a private venture – the Council would not manage it nor
have any liability for it.
The Council noted that the remaining meetings in 2008/09 were:
18 September 2008; 20 November 2008; 15 January 2009;
19 March 2009
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.20 p.m.
MH
23.07.08