HELD ON TUESDAY 27th
JANUARY 2004
IN EAST WOODHAY VILLAGE HALL
AT 7.30 P.M.
APOLOGIES: Councillors Mrs. N. Farmer.
CLERK: Mrs. A. Davidson.
The Chairman began by
asking the meeting to note that, as a result of her recent marriage, Cllr
Sutton now wishes to be known as Cllr Farmer.
ITEM 1: MINUTES OF LAST MEETING.
All Councillors were
provided with a schedule of amendments to the November minutes. One further typing error was pointed
out and will be corrected. The
minutes were then accepted as a true record of the meeting and were duly signed
by the Chairman.
ITEM 2: MATTERS ARISING.
The Clerk is still liaising
with Basingstoke and Deane concerning the appointment of a Litter Warden. Funding from Basingstoke has been
requested, but as yet, despite chasing several times, no response has been
received. Cllr Ross offered to
take up the case.*
Page
1
*ACTION: CLERK AND CLLR ROSS TO
CONTINUE TO CHASE.
The Chairman confirmed that
no-one seems to know whose responsibility the hedge between the Infant School
and the Recreation Ground is.
Butlers have been
instructed with regard to the removal of the dangerous tree in Church
Road. Cllr Johnson confirmed there
are no restrictions on its removal.
The Clerk has put Mr. Butler and Mr. Winchcombe in contact with each
other so that access to the field can be arranged to enable the tree to be
removed.
Replacement of Wooden Posts
at East End will be dealt with under Item 4 below.
A public meeting to discuss
Harwood Paddock took place on 13th December and a report will be in
February Spectrum.
The old Lock and Chain for
the gate at the Recreation Ground has now been located and passed to Cllr
Preston.
Mr. Vockins has been
instructed his quotation for 2004/05 has been successful on the basis of grass
cutting only.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO CHECK WITH OAKFERN THAT AREAS TO BE CUT HAVE NOT CHANGED.
Installation of CCTV will
be dealt with under Item 4 below.
Donations have been made as
agreed in November. Thank you
letters have been received in response.
The Chairman and the Clerk
have looked at the requirements of a Risk Assessment document. They will get together with Cllr
Farmer during February to go over these requirements and start to put a
document together for approval.
No request has as yet been
received for funding for the Youth Club.
The issue of putting
Minutes of meetings on the Website was discussed. There were mixed views about whether this should continue,
either in the abridged format or in full.
Cllr Preston proposed the minutes should appear in full, and that this
should be monitored with a ‘hit’ counter. This was seconded by Cllr Heather, and all agreed.*
Page
2
*ACTION: CLERK TO ARRANGE THIS WITH
SIMON CARTER.
ID cards have not yet been
produced. All Councillors who have
not as yet provided the Clerk with a passport sized photograph were asked to do
so.
The Chairman also drew all
Councillors’ attention to the date for the Senior Citizens Party and
asked them to ensure it was in their diary. Cllr Preston confirmed he will be unable to attend, and Cllr
Holdcroft said he may not be around.
The Chairman requested all to attend if at all possible, and suggestions
for entertainment would be welcome.
ITEM 3: PLANNING.
A public meeting to discuss
the Local Plan took place on 13th December in Woolton Hill Church
Hall. All those who attended
the meeting said they would respond with their comments, and Cllr Elsden has
responded on behalf of the Parish Council.
Two application have
recently gone before the Development Control Committee. The first, a request by Vodafone to
erect a Mast at North End, was given a deferral. Cllrs Ross and Elsden both spoke against this application. The Committee agreed that more work had
to be done by Vodafone before this application would be approved.
With the second
application, at Hayes – again in North End – there are problems
with the proximity of the proposed development to one neighbour. A site visit is to take place before a
decision can be made. Cllr
Holdcroft asked if it would not be possible for the development to be moved to
remove this problem. Cllr Elsden
confirmed that this is something the Parish Council are asking for. There is also concern about
a request to cut down trees which would remove screening of the property.
Basingstoke and Deane are
to look into the increasing number of sculptures appearing at Burley House, as
well as the partially developed site at Broad Layings near Longmead. No work has taken place on this
site for some time now, and as well as being unsightly, it is felt there is
also a safety issue here. The
Molyneux’s have appealed against the refusal of their applications to
create a Car Park in their Beer Garden and build a house on the existing car
park site.
Cllr Ross mentioned that
the Yew Tree Garden Centre have appealed against the ruling to turn down their
application for a Minature Railway, but the appeal has been rejected. Also, an application
has just been received for the six houses to be built at Gore End Road, some of
which are 3-storey.
Page
3
ITEM 4: AMENITIES.
Work is now complete on
Woolton Hill Recreation Ground Car Park, and handover has taken place, with a
report and photograph of the occasion in the Newbury Weekly News. Cllr Kyle-Lawrence has been
approached by some parents who have said they are struggling to see the marker
stones which mark out the parking spaces, and she asked if they could be
painted white to make them more visible.*
*ACTION: CLLR PRESTON TO SPEAK TO
STEVE RAW ABOUT THIS.
The new Dog Bin is in place
at Knights Lane, and both it and the Eurobin at the Recreation Ground have been
added to Basingstoke’s schedule for emptying. Quotes have been received for hedge cutting for
2004/05.
Replacement of the posts at
East End triangle will cost around £500, some of which has been raised by
the ‘Adopt a Post’ scheme. Cllr Preston wondered if some of the money due from
Mr. Winchcombe for granting of his easement could also be used for this. The Clerk confirmed this money has now
been received. Cllr Elsden
expressed her unease about the fact that the posts could again easily be
knocked over, and asked if there was any way this could be prevented. Putting reflectors on them
appears to be a good option.*
*ACTION: CLLR JOHNSON TO LOOK INTO
THIS POSSIBILITY.
Cllr Preston has spoken to
Peter Eade at Highways with regard to the Parish Council’s application to
carry out work opposite Mason’s Court. It is still unclear whether this will be successful
or not.
Telephone calls have been
received from people living near the Recreation Ground with regard to a recent
note in Spectrum detailing the Council’s proposals to replace the
Skateboard Ramp with a new one.
Alternative locations for the Ramp have been considered. Harwood Paddock would not be suitable,
but another alternative is the Parish Field. However, much work would need to be done and many
people consulted before this could happen. Cllr Ross felt that the Parish Field would not be the
right place for the Ramp, as it would be totally out of character with the
area. The Chairman asked for
comments ‘round the table’. The general consensus was that the Ramp alone should
not be moved to the Parish Field, but that it may be okay for part of the
Parish Field to be turned into a Recreation Ground which would incorporate the
Ramp. This will be kept in mind
for the future.
Page
4
Prices for equipment and
toys for the Recreation Ground have been received from Wicksteed, and are very
expensive.*
*ACTION: CLLR PRESTON TO CONTACT ROSPA FOR ALTERNATIVE SUPPLIERS.
Cllr Heather produced a
schedule of potential costs and funding.
Cllr Ross said that the Borough Council has a pot of money for
replacement of play equipment which has been ‘condemned’. Cllr Elsden asked whether Section
106 Developers Contributions which will be due for Harwood Paddock could be
used for items such as this. Cllr
Ross confirmed this would be the case, but development at Harwood Paddock will
not be fore some time yet. He has
asked the Borough Council for details of any 106 contributions which are due to
this Parish Council and which have not yet been given. He is awaiting their response.
Cllr Ross also informed the
meeting that the issue of CCTV has been discussed by the Scrutiny Committee at
Basingstoke. They are looking at
how rural areas are affected, and will report back in a few weeks.
A survey of the trees
around the Infant School has taken place and a schedule of suggested necessary
work has been sent to the Parish Council.
It is not clear from the schedule which trees are actually the
responsibility of the Parish Council.*
*ACTION: CLLR JOHNSON TO SPEAK WITH MRS. ROBERTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
Cllr Johnson confirmed that
many of the trees around there were cut back a while ago, and this is something
that will need to be done regularly. Cllr Holdcroft asked whether Butlers could be asked to
give advice on this, and this was thought to be a good idea.
ITEM 5: HIGHWAYS.
Cllr Johnson reported that
repair work to the C113 Ball Hill road is beginning this week. Various other small repair work has
also been done.
Cllr Johnson has expressed
concern to the Area Surveyor about safety at the single track white humpbacked
bridge on the C113 at the Berkshire/ Hampshire county boundary following a
recent serious accident there.
The
Page
5
Area Surveyor, in
conjunction with West Berkshire, has agreed that current signage around there
is inadequate, and will look into how safety there can be improved.
The road between Hollington
and East End is again breaking up, despite recent repairs. It has been noted that the road
surface outside Hollington House gets very slippery in bad weather, and Cllr
Ross has also noted that there are problems at the dip between The Holt in
Woolton Hill and East End. Cllr
Elsden confirmed this, adding that the edges here are broken away resulting in
narrowing of the road there. Cllr
Ross asked if Cllr Johnson meets with the Area Surveyor on a regular basis to
‘walk’ the Parish and look at issues raised, as he felt it was
generally more helpful to see a problem than merely to be told about it. Cllr Johnson said that he tends
to communicate by telephone and email, but he appreciated Cllr Ross’s
comments and will arrange meetings on a more regular basis.
ITEM 6: FINANCE.
A list of income and
expenditure paid and due to be paid over the past month was presented to the
meeting, and duly signed by the Chairman. Cheques were signed for payment.
The Clerk reported that Kit
Cahill has decided that, due to ill health, he does not wish to continue as
Internal Auditor. It will
therefore be necessary to find a new Internal Auditor for the 2003/04 audit.
ITEM 8: VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT.
Cllr Heather reported that
the VDS Document is now in publication format, and is currently being reviewed
for consistency. Two exhibitions
will take place in February, on 14th and 21st, and fliers
advertising these are being distributed with Spectrum. These will provide parishioners with
their last opportunity to comment before the document is submitted to
Basingstoke for approval in March.
ITEM 9: YOUTH CLUB.
Cllr Kyle-Lawrence reported
that unfortunately the Youth Club is not yet up and running, as they are still
waiting for the leader approval to come through. She, along with Anna Perrins and Jo Wilson, will be meeting
with officers at
Page
6
Basingstoke and Deane soon
to discuss Child Protection Policy.
If all goes according to plan, she is hopeful that the Club will begin
around the end of February, after half term. The County and the Borough Councils are both supporting the
project to the tune of £1,000 each.
ITEM 7: MEMBERS REPORTS.
Cllr Johnson.
A Survey and Review of the
Cango Bus Scheme has taken place and report produced. Although uptake of the service is low, it is not out of line
with what is normal for rural areas.
A new Bus Stop has been erected to link the service with the one which
runs along the main A343.
Cllr Powell.
Cllr Powell has been
approached by a resident of Copnor Close who wanted to know if Mr. Vockins will
be continuing to carry out the grass cutting there. The Clerk confirmed this was the case.
Cllr Preston.
Cllr Preston asked whether
the meeting was happy that, if finance was available, items scheduled and
budgeted for in the next financial year be brought forward. All were happy with this suggestion.
Cllr Ross.
Cllr Ross has been
approached by a group of young people who live around the Copnor area, asking
if a ‘teen shelter’ could be provided for them to meet in. He met with them to look at the site
they had identified as suitable, and felt it would be ideal. However, one parent has expressed
concern that the site is rather isolated.
Cllr Ross has spoken to Basingstoke about the possibility of funding,
and has received a positive response. He stressed that this project would need the support
of the Parish Council, as well as those living around the Copnor area, who
would of course need to be consulted.
Cllr Holdcroft the Parish Council should be supportive of the residents
if they want it.
Chairman.
The Chairman reminded
Councillors about the Inter-Parish Quiz which will take place in East Woodhay
Village Hall on 19th April. An advert will be put in the March edition of Spectrum
asking for East Woodhay team members, and help will be required with catering.
Norman Powers has queried
whether or not he is insured when carrying out Footpaths work on behalf of the
Parish Council. The Clerk
has contacted the
Page
7
Council’s insurers for
advice, and will speak to Norman on his return from holiday.
Suggestions were invited
for a guest speaker for the Annual Parish Meeting at the end of April. Cllr Elsden recalled hearing
Marjorie Goldsmith speak on Highclere Castle, and suggested she be
approached. If not, the Clerk will
contact Diana Mitchell to speak on the same subject.*
*ACTION: CLLR POWELL AND CLERK TO LIAISE ON THIS.
The Chairman asked if Cllr Elsden would again be
happy to produce posters, and she confirmed she would do this. The Clerk has put an
‘advance’ notice in February Spectrum and will put a full advert in
the April edition.
A Map of the Parish has been put together by Peter
Johnn at Hampshire and Norman Powers.
The intention is to put the Map in a ‘Map Board’ to be
erected somewhere in the Parish, probably around Masons Court. The Chairman showed the
meeting the Map, which he felt was very well produced.
All Councillors were given copies of a letter from
DEFRA regarding equine issues, as well as one from Highclere Parish inviting
East Woodhay to contribute to a Village Plan which they will be developing in
the future. Further details on the
latter to follow.
NOTES: NEXT
MEETING: TUE
24TH FEBRUARY
MARCH
MEETING: TUE 23RD
MARCH
QUIZ: MON
19TH APRIL
APM: TUE
27TH APRIL