Nash Parish Council
Present:
Cllr A Taylor (Chairman), Cllr G F Culverhouse, Cllr Dewhurst, ,Cllr D
Gillow, Cllr C G Tomkins, Cllr
Apologies:
Cllr Sir John Southby Bt
19.
Presentation to Cllr Christopher Tomkins
Cllr
Janet Blake, Chairman of Aylesbury Vale District Council, attended the meeting
to make a presentation to Cllr Christopher Tomkins in recognition of his
outstanding service to the community through his chairmanship of Nash Parish
Council for thirty-nine years.
20.
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting on 21 May 2009
The
Minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2009 were approved and signed.
21.
Matters arising from the Minutes
(i)
Bollards
in
22.
Finance
(i)
Payments
authorised/approved:
The following payments were authorised/ approved:
a)
NJ
b) EON: Street Lighting Maintenance £41.25
c)
Playsafety
Ltd: Annual
Inspection Report
£78.00
d)
EON:
Electrity Supply May 09
£29.12
e)
Mrs
Hedges: Refund of CGT present
£103.98
f)
EON
Energy Services Ltd:
replace faulty street light
£27.00
g)
NJ
h)
Jean
Driver: duck
food
£8.29
i)EON: Electrity Supply June 09
£29.12
(ii)
Financial position: Mrs
Hedges reported that the funds in the Parish Council accounts were:
Current
Account
£429.42
General Reserve
£3,057.58
Recreation Ground Reserve
£2,651.20
Total
£6,138.20
(iii)
Requests
for donations: Mrs
Hedges reported requests from the Winslow Community Bus and Vitalise.
After noting that NPC had given £50 annually to the Community Bus since
2004, the Council agreed to make a further donation of £50.
After noting that Vitalise provided respite breaks for disabled people
and that, for a number of years, NPC had made a donation of £25, the Council
agreed to make a further donation of £25.
(iv)
Annual
accounts of village societies:
Mrs Hedges reported that she had inspected copies of the accounts of the
Elmer’s charity, the Allotment Committee, and the Village Hall and they
appeared to be in order. As Mrs Hedges was Treasurer of the Church, the Chairman
had inspected the church accounts and they were in order. The accounts of the
Youth Club for the year ending 31 July 2008 were still awaited.
(v)
Audit:
Mrs Hedges reported that the Audit papers had been submitted
by the due date of 30 June, and that the period when residents could inspect the
accounts was now in progress.
23.
Planning
a)
09/00647/AGD
Land west of
b)
09/00812/ALB
Church Farm
c)
09/00744/APP
3 Wood End: Erection
of summerhouse: No objection
d)
09/00983/APP& 09/00985/ACD Land
at 1 Wood End : Demolition
of existing building and erection of detached two storey dwelling.
Nash Parish
Council regrets that an old building will be replaced by a new building but will
offer no objection on the understanding that:
· As many of the old bricks as possible are re-used
· Where new bricks are used they should be as similar as possible.
· Window frames and door frames should be of wood (not UPVC)
·
The development of the site will be sympathetic to the environs of the
Pond and Wood End as this is part of the Nash Conservation Area and
·
On a practical level of parking, the site should be landscaped to contain
space for at least four cars to prevent any blocking of Wood End for farm and
emergency vehicles. Because of the very limited bus service most Nash households
have a car for each adult member of the family so four cars for a household
(parents and two adult children) is not uncommon. Three adults with cars plus
visitors’ cars (possibly overnight) are very common.
·
During building work, care is taken to avoid damaging the Pond environs
and the Village Green and to leave the Green as a safe children’s play area.
NPC would expect all vehicles and materials to be on site during the
construction work, with no parking on the verge or blocking of Wood End.
If any damage is caused NPC would expect it to be made good.
e)
09/01128/AHR
Land adjacent
The
Council noted further that the removal of the hedgerows would facilitate
“prairie farming” and that NPC would regret changes to the Whaddon Chase
landscape, which had been largely unaltered for many hundreds of years.
The Council would have preferred the “gappy” hedges to be replanted.
In future, the Chairman agreed that Cllr Watts should be one of the
councillors consulted on “agricultural” applications in which he did not
have an interest. Mrs Hedges said that she had reported NPC’s comments to the
Chairman of Whaddon Parish Council.
f)
09/01156/ATC:
Church Farm 4 Stratford Road: Works
to maple tree: No objection
a)
09/00206/AOP
Yew Tree Farm Whaddon Road Erection
of two storey farm dwelling and access
b)
09/00647/AGD
Land west of
c)
09/00622/APP
Little Acre,
d)
09/00812/ALB Church
Farm
a)
Winslow Green (Minute 7(i)(a)):
The Council noted that the developers had decided not to appeal against AVDC’s
decision to refuse this application.
b)
AVDC: Proposed Submission Core Strategy: Local Development
Framework June 2009:
The Council noted that it had been invited to comment on this document, the
closing date for which was 22 July 2009. Cllr
Culverhouse reported on the huge amount of work involved for Aylesbury Vale in
preparing this document. At this
stage, Nash was not directly affected as the proposals concentrated on the main
growth areas although “other rural settlements”, while being protected,
would be expected to absorb a small number of additional houses.
The North Bucks Parishes Planning Consortium (NBPPC) had met and would be
submitting a detailed response – the main issues being the location of the
expansion of Aylesbury, technical issues relation to the Salden Chase
development at Newton Longville, and the housing development in Buckingham and
Winslow. The Council agreed that its
contribution to the consultation came through its participation in the
preparation of the NBPPC response. Mrs
Hedges would submit a short response as advised by Cllr Culverhouse who was
thanked for his work.
c)
Milton Keynes Partnership:
Eastern and Western Stakeholders Groups Questionnaire:
Cllr Gillow reported that this group enabled all those involved to make a
contribution to the various developments in
d)
Partial Review of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South
East: Provision for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople:
Recommendations for new Policy H7: The Council noted that this document had been circulated with
a closing date for comments of 1 September 2009.
The Council noted the problems of reconciling the need for there to be
provision for gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople, with the reluctance
of many people to live close to such sites.
Cllr Watts suggested that the Council needed a plan to protect the
village when land came up for sale. Cllr
Culverhouse and the Clerk were asked to consider what response NPC should make,
both in connection with this consultation
and the response to the AVDC Local Development Framework.
24.
Cllr Culverhouse reported that the NBPPC had discussed the SE
Plan and written to BCC to say that the next review of growth tests and studies
(as required by the SE Plan) should not be time-constrained and should cover a
twenty-five year period to 2050 and beyond. Underlying this belief was the fact
that short time-frames would rule out development east of the M1, in a way that
longer time-frames would not.
25.
CPRE
26.
Recreation Ground and other maintenance
(i)
Play area safety inspection report: Mrs
Hedges tabled a summary of the ROSPA inspection report.
There was one item that required prompt attention, namely the replacement
of the chains on the junior swings. The
Council approved the purchase of replacement chains and shackles from Wicksteed
at a cost of £236.10 (ex VAT). Cllr
Southby had offered to fit them.
(ii)
Notices, Safety Surfaces, Ivy:
Mrs Hedges reported that Cllr Southby was satisfied that
there were sufficient notices in the Play Area.
She had removed the ivy from the Churchyard Wall and had gained Mrs
Chapman’s approval for the removal of the ivy from the Recreation Ground side
of the Old Schoolhouse wall. Blackwell’s
had been asked for a quote to remove the moss and were being chased for it.
(iii)
Hedge on the west side of the Recreation Ground. The Council
agreed that this hedge should be cut – it was thick enough and so did not
require to be laid. The Council agreed to ask Mr Ian Watts to cut the hedge –
Cllr Watts declared an interest.
(iv)
Moving and refurbishing the Notice Board by the Village hall:
Cllr Gillow reported that, as part of the summer works at the
Village Hall, NVHC wished to move the Notice Board so that it no longer blocked
the vision of cars turning right out of the car park.
The Council agreed that the Notice Board should be moved at the Village
Hall’s expense. The Council further agreed to accept a quotation for £75 for
the repainting of the Notice Board by Mr Quainton, who would be undertaking
other painting work in the Village Hall during August.
(v)
·
The Village Hall
Insurance would cover the event
·
NPC would ask
Blackwell’s to cut the grass cut a week before the event but leave the
cuttings on the field
·
NVHC would carry
out a risk assessment
·
The Recreation
ground would not be closed to the public, and the gate would be opened only to
allow a small number of vehicles in and then would be locked again.
(vi)
Moles: Mrs
Hedges reported that there was evidence of mole activity in the Play Area. The
Council agreed to ask the “mole man” back to catch them.
27.
Replacement Street Light: Mrs Hedges reported that, following routine maintenance on
Nash street lights, an EON engineer enquired whether NPC wished to replace more
of the street lights with the energy efficient ones that switch off at
mid-night. Cllr Gillow reported that it appeared that Mr Meardon had put black
tape on light No 7 outside no 24B in the High Street to reduce the glare for his
astronomy. Mrs Hedges reported that Cllr Southby had suggested that NPC replace
this light now at a cost of £240 (ex
VAT) with an estimated payback period of 3 years. After
noting that this would mean that all the lights in the High Street went out at
mid-night, the Council agreed to approve this expenditure.
The
Council noted that, after this replacement, there would still be eight of the
“old” lights in the village and agreed to consider replacing two a year for
the next four years when NPC next prepared its budget.
28.
Buckinghamshire County Council
(i)
Buckingham Local Area Forum 25 June: Cllr Gillow spoke to his circulated note.
a)
Community First Responder: The Council agreed that it would be a good idea to have
“Community First Responder” in the village who might be able to administer
first aid (and save a life) before an ambulance was able to respond to a 999
call. It was hoped that an article would be included in the next Newsletter.
b)
North End of the High Street (Minute 10):
Cllr Gillow reported that, after the meeting and after
consultation, BCC had decided to withdraw the £19k allocated for a pavement at
the North end of the Nash High Street, but, as an alternative, would commit
revenue funding to carry out sett kerbing to protect the verges that had been
eroded. The work would be carried out in the current financial year.
c)
Area 14 Speed Review: Cllr
Gillow reported that the Area 14 Speed Review would now take place in Spring
2010. From the work on the Area 12 Speed Review, it appeared that there would be
a 30mph speed limit within each village as well as a 40mph speed limit on a
straight stretch of road just outside a village so that cars were already
travelling more slowly when they reached a village sign.
Although there was a case for having 20mph speed limits outside schools,
it was understood that BCC was not considering 20mph speed limits as part of
these reviews because they usually required traffic calming or other measures as
well.
(ii)
Signposts: Mrs
Hedges reported that the village sign on the
(iii)
Consultation exercise: Planning on Policy Obligations for Education
Provision: Cllr
Dewhurst summarised the policy that BCC was proposing to adopt in relation to
seeking developer contributions towards additional educational infrastructure.
After consultation with former colleagues she had suggested three
substantive points that should be made and these, which were set out in the
circulated paper, had been submitted.
(iv)
Whaddon Chase Green Infrastructure Plan: NPC
had been represented at all three workshops.
Councillors would have found it easier to contribute if there had been
more information in advance of the workshops.
The Council was generally supportive of what BCC was seeking to achieve
and noted that the next round of Workshops was on 17 and 19 September.
(v)
29.
Buckinghamshire Association of Local Councils: Matters Arising
The
Council received copies of the publication.
30.
Aylesbury Vale District Council
(i)
Village
Freighter Service:
NPC noted that the Freighter service had visited on 9 July.
(ii)
Visit of
“TUFFS” (Turn up for Free Sports), 23 July : Mrs Hedges reported that she had got a phone call out of
the blue to check arrangements for this event – it was the first she, or the
Village Hall, had heard of it but AVDC had advertised it in a leaflet given out
in schools. AVDC were conducting 45
games sessions for children of 11 or over and had put Nash down for 10-12 on 23
July. Mrs Hedges reported that Cllr
Southby would arrange for the Village Hall toilets to be open.
AVDC would provide two people to lead games – football/ cricket/
rounders etc. They would not require
vehicular access to the Recreation Ground. The event had been publicised at the
recent Barn Dance and Mrs Firth would be asked to circulate Youth Club parents.
NPC was grateful that activities were being provided for children in the
villages but expressed concern that the Council had not been consulted in
advance.
(iii)
Visit of Children’s entertainer
(Minute 13(ii)): The Council noted
that Cllr Gillow had prepared the risk
assessment and would publicise this event.
31.
Letter from Mr & Mrs Harwood (Cllr Tomkins declared an interest.)
The
Council discussed the letter from Mr and Mrs Harwood about the problems they
experienced if the gate on the bridal path next the
The
Council took the view:
·
that the gate
should only be open for the limited amount of time necessary to allow people,
cars and horses through the gate;
·
that the position
of the gate made it dangerous for cars to stop between the gate and the road
when going along the bridle path. If
the gate were to be set back from the road, then cars could park safely next the
road and reduce the time the gate needed to be open.
·
that the gate
should be fitted with a self closing mechanism so that, unless it was fixed open
(e.g. to let a car through) the gate would close of its own accord.
This would stop the problem if any walkers or riders using the gate
failed to close it properly.
After
discussion, the Council agreed to ask the Wyke family, as those living closest
to the gate if they would close the gate any time they noticed that it had been
left open. In addition, the Council
agreed to ask Mr and Mrs Harwood to consider moving the gate and fitting a
self-closing mechanism as the Council believed that this would considerably
reduce the problem. Mrs Hedges was
asked to write to the Wykes and the Harwoods on these lines, and to put a note
in the next Newsletter asking residents to be sure to close the gate.
32.
Dates of meetings: The Council noted that the
dates of the remaining meetings in 2009/10 were:
17 September; 19 November 2009; 21 January 2010; 18 March
2010; with the Annual Parish Meeting on 13 May 2010.
After noting that the next meeting of the Council on 17
September would clash with the meeting of Bucks Local Area Forum and with the
evening Workshop for the Whaddon Chase Green Infrastructure Plan, the Council
agreed to postpone the September meeting for a week to 24 September.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.15 p.m.
MH.20.07.2009