HELD ON TUESDAY 20th JULY 2004
IN EAST WOODHAY VILLAGE HALL
AT 7.30 P.M.
APOLOGIES: Councillors Mr. R. Preston, Mr. M. Ross.
ALSO PRESENT: Ms. J. Meredith, Newbury Weekly News,
Mrs. J. Twallin.
CLERK: Mrs. A. Davidson.
ITEM 1: MINUTES OF LAST MEETING.
Three small amendments to
the minutes were requested, following which they were accepted as a true record
of the June meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.
ITEM 2: MATTERS ARISING.
It is
believed that Cllr Preston has spoken with PC King concerning the gang of
youths hanging around Woolton Hill Car Park. Unfortunately she is desk bound at the moment due to
illness, but one of her colleagues has come along a couple of times. There are still problems, and
Cllr Elsden wondered if these youths were the same ones who were
‘joyriding’ behind Stargrove in East End.
Proposed
removal of the hedge in front of the Car Park will be dealt with under Item 4.
The
Litter Warden has still not purchased a broom and shovel.
The Risk
Assessment has now been produced in a uniform format and will be dealt with
under Item 8 below.
The
Clerk has spoken to Chris Boreham at Dreweatt Neate concerning the issue of
householders putting gates at the bottom of their gardens adjoining the Parish
Field. Chris confirmed that
there is nothing that can be done about anyone putting a gate there, on their
own land. This only becomes a
problem if they then use the gate as access to the field, which they are not
entitled to do. He suggested that,
to start off with, the Council drop a letter to householders informing them
that they should not use the gates for access or the field as a right of way.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO DO THIS.
ITEM 3: PLANNING.
The recent planning
application to erect a Telecoms Mast at North End has been approved.
Seventeen people attended a
meeting on Sunday at New Hay House to discuss the proposed plans to build six
properties on the site of Redwood House in Tile Barn, along with Cllr Elsden,
Cllr Ross and the Chairman.
This application is due to be considered at Development Control Meeting
next week, where Cllr Elsden and neighbours have requested to speak. The issue is not that no
development should take place, but that any development should be
sensible. As such, Cllr Elsden
will request that a site visit should take place, as this often proves
invaluable in assessing the situation fully, something which cannot often be
done from a two dimensional drawing. Cllr Elsden feels that, the more people
who turn up to Development Control, the better the case and asked Councillors
to come if they can.
The recent retrospective
application at Rabbit Pit Farm has been refused, and the applicant is now
appealing against this decision.
An application to build a
garage and new access at 2 Harwood Rise has also been refused.
ITEM 4: AMENITIES.
The Amenities Committee continue to follow up actions
identified in the recent Play Area Report.
It was decided not to
purchase a vacuum for the Litter Warden as this would have been too
expensive.
The form which needs to be
filled in to apply for CCTV funding appears particularly onerous. It will take a considerable amount of
time to complete, and will not come without financial cost either. Cllr Heather will ask if it would be
possible to only provide part of the
information requested
before we could be informed if funding would be granted with the latter part
being completed after a decision was made, as we would not wish to incur costs
only to find our application had been unsuccessful.
Cllr Farmer has had a look
at the Parish Noticeboards. The
one at North End is in the worst state of repair, and the Chairman reminded
Cllr Heather that he has a spare one donated by Norman Powers. Others require a tidy up,
which can be done easily with a coat of paint.
Quotation to replace some
or all of the boards on the Skateboard Ramp has been received. Cost could be anywhere from £600
to just over £2,000 depending on how many boards are replaced and what
quality of plywood is used.
Cllr Johnson felt that it would be good to be able to look at the
underlying structure of the ramp, as to date only the top layer of boards has
been replaced or repaired.
Cllr Heather agreed, saying that if all the boards were being replaced
it would give a good opportunity to inspect the structure and replace any
showing signs of deterioration.
Cllr Elsden wondered what the purpose of this repair would be, asking if
it was necessary in order to make the ramp safe. Cllr Heather said it was, and that by replacing all
the boards and carrying out any necessary repairs to the structure the ramp may
then last until funding can be raised for a new one. Some of the damage to the surface of the ramp is being
caused by bikes, which this ramp is not designed to accommodate. Cllr Holdcroft raised the issue of
getting other quotes. The Clerk
pointed out that this is not always easy, but will contact Martin Hawkins who
has done work on the ramp in the past to see if he is interested.*
*ACTION: CLERK
TO OBTAIN A LIKE FOR LIKE QUOTE FROM MARTIN HAWKINS TO COMPARE WITH DAVE
REED’S.
Cllr Heather asked for the
meeting’s agreement in principle to go ahead with replacing all of the
boards in 9mm marine ply.
Cost, based on Mr.
Reed’s quote, would be around £2,000. All agreed.*
*ACTION: ONCE QUOTE FROM MARTIN HAWKINS IS RECEIVED, CLLR HEATHER TO GET REPAIR DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Cllr Heather and the Chairman met with Tony Futrell
at Woolton Hill Recreation Ground as Tony is concerned about the state of the
Tennis Court. They all
agreed that it needs to be kept tidy, and several areas were identified to help
do so. Cllr Heather will
arrange to get the shrubs around and outside the court cut back, and a new
notice will be put up telling people where the key and the net winder can be
collected from. The
surface of the court is rather mossy in places, and this will need to be
cleaned off. The majority of this
work is not difficult, and Cllr Heather intends to arrange a work party to get
it done quickly. Cllr Elsden
suggested that, if the work party take place to coincide with a time when
youngsters are using the ramp, this would be a good opportunity to get feedback
from them. All felt this
would be a good idea. Cllr
Kyle-Lawrence asked if the gap beside the entrance to the court could be sealed
up, as some people are getting in this way. Cllr Heather felt that, if this was done, they would
just find another way in, possibly causing damage. However, users will be asked to wind the net
down a bit when they leave to discourage others sneaking in and playing without
paying.
ITEM 5: HIGHWAYS.
Cllr Johnson has been impressed by the amount of
work which has been done recently around the Parish roads, particularly on
smaller roads which do not get much usage. All Councillors were provided with a
list detailing areas where patching work is either now complete or currently in
progress. He did not know
why the pavement from Blindmans Gate junction going round to Broad Layings had
been replaced, but Cllr Kyle-Lawrence suggested this may have been done under
the Safer Routes to Schools Scheme. Cllr Johnson will continue to do his rounds
around the Parish, identifying and reporting any areas requiring attention.
ITEM 6: FINANCE.
A list of income and expenditure for the month was
presented and cheques were duly signed.
Julia Calvert has requested the Council review the
amount of travel expenses she is currently being paid, as she feels
£10.00 is not enough.
Also, her car gets very dirty and smelly. Cllr Heather suggested a boot liner would help, and
this will be purchased. The Clerk
has contacted other Parishes who have Litter Wardens to see what they are paid
by way of travel expenses, but this did not help, as amounts were different for
each one. After some discussion
and based on the number of miles she is currently covering, it was agreed to
offer Julia a flat amount of £30.00 per month.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO SPEAK TO JULIA AND INFORM HER OF DECISION.
All Councillors have now had several weeks to study
the details which the Clerk has provided in relation to adoption of the
2003/2004 Accounts. All
Councillors were given a copy of the Bank Reconciliation, Balance Sheet and
Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Return.
There were no queries or questions, and all were happy to agree adoption
of the above.
The Chairman has received a query from Cllr Heather
as to what is being done with the £1,500 easement monies received from
Mr. Winchcombe several months ago.
Cllr Heather felt it would be a good idea if these monies were used for
something specific rather than just disappearing into the pot. All felt this would be a good
idea and will consider it over the summer.
Two requests have been received for donations. The first is from Basingstoke Play
Council, who will be running a Playscheme in East Woodhay Village Hall during
the last week. This is an
event which the Parish Council have supported in the past, and as local
children will benefit, it was agreed that a donation of £50.00 should be
made. It was also requested
that the Council should be given feedback after then event as to how many
children attended and how many of them were from this Parish.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO ENSURE DONATION IS MADE AND REQUEST FEEDBACK.
The second request has been received from East
Woodhay Silver Band, asking for a donation towards the cost of expenses
incurred in putting on a concert at the Corn Exchange on 25th
September. All were
happy to agree to a donation of £50.00, recognising all the Silver Band
do within the Parish, as well as their promotion of the Parish further afield.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO ARRANGE FOR DONATION TO BE MADE.
ITEM 7: VILLAGE
DESIGN STATEMENT.
The team are currently working their way through the
61 items identified for revision by Basingstoke and Deane, and a second draft
of the text is being put together.
Once this has been done and verified, the add-maps etc., to which there
are no changes to be made, will be added in.
ITEM 8: RISK
ASSESSMENT.
Cllr Farmer has now produced the Risk Assessment in a
uniform format, and distributed copies to each Councillor. One comment with regard to
change was made, and this has been done.
Other than that, everyone was happy with the Risk Assessment, and were
happy to agree its adoption.
The Chairman stressed that the Risk Assessment in its current form was
only the beginning, and would be subject to review and change constantly as was
deemed necessary.
ITEM 9: MEMBERS
REPORTS.
Cllr Elsden.
As mentioned earlier, Cllr Elsden is concerned about
joyriders using the track behind Stargrove as a race track. She wondered if anyone else was aware
of this, but no-one was. She
also felt it would be a good idea at some time to ‘walk’ the Parish
Boundary, so that everyone is aware just where the Parish begins and ends. All felt this was a great idea,
and it was suggested this could be made a charity event.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO BEAR IN MIND FOR THE FUTURE.
Cllr Kyle-Lawrence.
There have still been problems with youngsters
hanging around when the Youth Club is on.
Also, the Church Hall was broken into one Friday night/Saturday morning,
and there was concern that this was done by the same people. Also with regard to the Youth
Club, the Chairman mentioned that Basingstoke have informed them that Planning
Permission would be required to site an old bunker provided free by Vodafone
behind the Church Hall to store Youth Club equipment, replacing an old hut
currently there. As applying
for Planning Permission would incur costs, a plea was made to waive this, but
to no avail.
Cllr Powell.
Unfortunately the lock to the Cark Park Barrier at
Woolton Hill had to be broken a couple of weeks ago to gain access for the
Village Fete, as a key-holder could not be found. The Clerk and the Chairman have spoken about
this, and have agreed that keys
for both the gate and the barrier will be held by set people local to the
Recreation Ground, with all Councillors being informed of who has them.*
*ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO ARRANGE PURCHASE OF PADLOCKS AND KEYS AS NECESSARY.
Cllr Johnson.
Most Councillors will now be aware that there was a
fire last week at Basingstoke, resulting in many of their refuse collection
lorries being burned out.
They are currently hiring replacement lorries, but unfortunately these
do not have the facility to pick up recycling items. Cllr Powell said that she was told today by
Basingstoke that recycling will now be picked up the same day as normal refuse,
but by a different lorry.
The general feeling of the meeting was that communication by Basingstoke
could have been better, as many people were unaware of the situation until
after their recycling materials had not be lifted.
Chairman.
The Chairman raised the issue of providing a
Mapboard for the Parish.
Whilst initially it was felt the cost of this would be too high for the
Council to bear, Hampshire County Council have now said they are prepared to
cover the majority of this cost, with the Council contributing only
£50.00. Cllr Elsden felt
that, due to the high cost of producing the Mapboard, it would need to be
absolutely correct. The Chairman
felt this was not an issue as the map had been drawn up in liaison with Norman
Powers. Cllr Ross has
expressed to the Chairman the view that one Board would not be enough, and the
issue of where to site them was also something which would need careful
consideration. Also, if more
than one Board was requested, the meeting wondered if the Council would be
expected to pay the full cost of the second one. Cllr Johnson did not see the point in having a
board at all, as he felt the Parish was too big, the issue of where to site it
and the problem of possible vandalism.
Cllr Elsden agreed.
It was then suggested that Hampshire could be asked if instead it would
be possible to use the money to have a load of paper copies of the map made for
distribution, which would be a much better option.*
*ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO SPEAK TO MR. JOHNN AT HAMPSHIRE RE THIS SUGGESTION.
A letter has been received from Angela Maxwell
asking if the Parish Council have any plans to commemorate the 60th
anniversary of the end of World War 2 next year. All Councillors felt this was an excellent idea. This will be discussed in
greater detail at the September meeting, and Councillors were asked to think of
ideas as to how this could be done over the summer break.
As Mrs. Twallin had only arrived a few minutes
earlier, the Chairman then asked the reason for her attendance. She stated she wished to ask for
the Council’s support for the re-opening of Bridleways formerly used by
horse riders, but now closed to them. The Chairman agreed to let her put forward her case
for a few minutes, after which time the Council agreed to support her request.
NOTE: NEXT MEETING - 21ST SEPTEMBER
SENIOR CITIZENS PARTY - 9TH OCTOBER