The Chairman informed the meeting that Clive Sanders, who it was intended to co-opt onto the Council this evening, was unable to attend as his wife was ill. It is hoped he will be able to attend the September meeting and be co-opted then.
Apart from one or two small alterations the Minutes were accepted as a true record of the June meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.
The Clerk has booked Weavaway to provide the coach for the Senior Citizens Outing.
The grass in the Parish Field has now been cut.
The planning application to demolish Newbury Lodge and build two properties on the site was rejected by the Development Control Committee at Basingstoke. There had been many objections to this application.
New keys have been cut for the padlock at Heath End Tennis Court.
A letter has been sent to St. Thomas' Infant School regarding housing of the equipment for the CCTV and insurance has been sorted. This will become effective once the Parish Council formally takes ownership of the CCTV.
A notice has been made asking people not to park in front of the gate to Woolton Hill Recreation Ground. The school and the grass cutters have been informed of the combination number on the locks on both this gate and the height barrier.
With regard to the goalposts, the Chairman pointed out that only the crossbar has been cut up, and that the posts still need to be removed.*
ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO ARRANGE FOR REMOVAL OF THESE.The Chairman reported that a red-anti skid surface has been put on the road at Penwood Crossroads. Other highways issues raised at the June meeting have not yet been dealt with.
*ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO DEAL.Cllr Farmer has spoken with the owners of the property at the junction of the North End and Ball Hill roads, with regard to their concerns about their verge being taken over by the road. She has advised them that, should they wish to pursue the matter, they will need take legal action.
The Chairman has not yet been able to speak to Bob King to ask if the Spectrum distributors could help with delivering the Village Design Statement document to all the homes in the Parish. However, he has broken the Parish up into roads/areas for distribution, and asked if Councillors would be willing to help with this.
The Clerk confirmed that all the relevant paperwork has been sent to the District Auditor for the 2005/06 audit.
With regard to concerns about the area around Ball Hill Garage, PC Deery confirmed that the Road Policing Unit are looking into this. Also, he informed the meeting that a day has been booked for a mobile speed camera to be in place along that stretch of road. Unfortunately the argument can be used that the parked cars do slow traffic down there. However, he agreed that something does need to be done, but as yet he is not sure what.
An appeal has been lodged in respect of an application to build a pair of semi-detached properties in the garden of Roughdale in Woolton Hill, opposite the Rampant Cat Pub. This application was refused in December 2005, and the owners are now appealing against this decision.
Although it is good news that the application for Newbury Lodge has been refused, this does not as yet mean that the Lodge itself is protected from demolition as it is currently classed only as a building of local interest but is neither listed nor in a conservation area. The main reason for Basingstoke refusing this application was on the grounds of access.
A second application to build a detached house in the front garden of Woodgate in Tile Barn has been refused, as has the application the extend The Cottage at North End, which has been classed as a building of local interest and is in a conservation area. However, approval has been given to the installation of a two metre diameter wind turbine on the roof of a property in Knights Close in Ball Hill and to the application to increase in size 4 of the 5 business units and associated car parking n Harwood Paddock - this despite the Parish Council and local residents' objections. However, extensive conditions were imposed on this one and these will be monitored as the development progresses.
A new application has been received to build 5 properties on the site of Clere House and Little Oxleas. This follows refusal of an application earlier in the year to build 11 houses and much discussion and correspondence with the owners' representative. The Council still has concerns, and a response is being prepared.
Application has been received to build two semi-detached properties (a three bedroom and a two bedroom property) at 2 Heather Cottages in Broad Layings. The Council has objected to an application to erect a 4 bedroom house in the garden of Old Blindmans Gate on the basis of design and inadequate parking.
Objection has also been lodged to an application to build a two storey extension to 7 Falcon Coppice. Although initial proposal to erect a steel chimney has been changed to a brick one, the proposed design does not respect the distinct Mansard roof. If approved it would open the way for other unsuitable extensions to this type of house.
Application to build three 5 bedroom properties in the rear garden of The Willows at Blindmans Gate has been withdrawn.
Copies of the adopted Local Plan 1996-2011 are now available on Basingstoke's website.
A complaint was made by a member of the public that the Parish Council had responded to a planning application without it being discussed at a full Council meeting. It has always been the case that, due to time constraints, the Planning Committee can report on planning applications on the Council's behalf. For the record, the meeting was happy to endorse this arrangement.
The 4 members of the public who were present had come to express their unhappiness about the recent public meeting which took place to look at new play equipment and possible replacement of the Skateboard Ramp. The Chairman invited them to share their views with the meeting, after which a lively discussion took place. It was agreed to keep those living around the Recreation Ground informed of developments.
At the public meeting Cllr Kyle-Lawrence has asked children to complete a questionnaire to see what equipment and facilities they would like in the Recreation Grounds in the Parish. The most popular request was for football goals, but generally a bit of variety would be good, along with provision of some seating.
Most of the residents' concern appears to be about the skateboard ramp - they believe that it is noisy and that it attracts trouble and vandalism. As a general rule, any noise problems should be reported to Environmental Health, and any other issues should be referred to the Police. Cllr Johnson stated that is was virtually impossible to supervise the area and police the hours it is used. Despite there having been no ramp for a couple of years, vandalism is still a problem. The tennis court has been damaged several times recently, and quotations are being looked at to carry out further repairs. Also, the Bus Shelter at Masons Court was recently vandalised and has now been repaired.
A further public meeting will take place some time after the school holidays to discuss further.
The CCTV mast is up, along with the solar panel, the wind turbine and the cameras. However, the anti-vandal necklace is yet to be fitted. Work on the equipment being housed in the school has been carried out and is almost finished. Data will be held for 28 days then recorded over. Should an incident occur, a copy could be made onto CD and passed to the police to investigate. Cllr Johnson felt it was necessary to have a code of practice in place for those monitoring the CCTV with regard to confidentiality. It was also felt that Data Protection should be consulted.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO SPEAK TO DATA PROTECTION.Julia Calvert will be away on holiday during the last two weeks in August. Cllrs Farmer and Kernahan will be covering while she is away.
The finger post sign at Blindmans Gate has been demolished. It has been brought to the Council's attention that, whenever the emergency services are informed of an incident now, they need to know address and, in particular, postcode to enable them to respond quickly. A notice has been put in Spectrum to this effect.
Equipment for top dressing of the C5 has been left in Douglas Ride, making the road dangerous.
Cllr Kernahan reported a car which had caught fire near Scotsmans Bridge. Further car fires were also noted near the church in Woolton Hill and in The Chase.
A list of income and expenditure was produced, and cheques duly signed.
Subscription to Community Action Hampshire is now free. A request has been received from Basingstoke Play Council, asking for a donation towards the one week playscheme which is taking place in the Parish in the summer. A donation was given two years ago on the basis that feedback on the success of the playscheme was received. However, this never arrived. It was agreed therefore that, once this feedback was received, a donation of £50 could be made.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO INFORM BASINGSTOKE PLAY COUNCIL OF DECISION.Audit fees are being increased with effect from next year.
A family living in a property adjacent to the Parish Field held a party which spilled over into the field, resulting in glass and cans being left there. However, after Cllr Farmer had a word with them, this was quickly cleared up. It would appear that a bonfire has also been held in the field. People need to be made aware that they are trespassing.
There is lots of gravel on the road in Fullers Lane, possibly as a result of all the work being carried out at Malverleys.*
*ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO LOOK INTO THIS.There is concern about building traffic resulting from work at Moongrove. The Chairman has spoken to the owner of Moongrove who told him they chose contractors specifically on the basis that they would clean up after themselves.
A straw lorry has knocked over a telegraph pole and damaged trees at Ball Hill.
An appraisal is being carried out on the Safer Routes to Schools scheme. This will be scrutinised and any changes will be made in conjuction with travel plans with the intention of making it easier for children to walk to school.
He has been informed that a 20 mile per hour speed limit would require street lighting to be installed.
The developer who is building the properties on the old Hitchmans Yard site has applied to call the site Wheelwrights Lane and the Parish Council has been asked for its views on this. The meeting felt that as a lane leads somewhere and this development does not, then close would seem more appropriate.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO INFORM SHIRLEY BREWER AT BASINGSTOKE.James Dean Gardens have asked if it would be possible to have a link from the Parish Council website to theirs. The meeting felt that this would not be appropriate as the purpose of the Council's website is to provide information and not to advertise local businesses.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO INFORM JAMES DEAN GARDENS OF THIS DECISION AND SUGGEST THEY CONSIDER SPECTRUM.PC Deery informed the meeting that that, when comparing the same period this year with last year in Woolton Hill, crime figures show that on both cases one burglary took place. However, figures for criminal damage and theft show that this has doubled. A group of local teenagers were responsible for this. An education campaign concerning parking outside schools will be taking place at both Woolton Hill and East End in an attempt to ease congestion. Names of locals have been put forward as being responsible for broken windows at Woolton Hill Junior School. There have been several thefts from cars left unlocked on driveways.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO PUT NOTICE IN SPECTRUM WARNING PEOPLE OF THIS.A lease has now been drawn up in conjuction with Dreweatt Neate and once final tweaking has taken place copies will be sent to those who have expressed an interest in leasing the field. They will then be asked to make their best offer based on the terms of the lease.