The Minutes were accepted as a true record of the September meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.
The broken goal posts at Woolton Hill Recreation Ground have now been removed and disposed of.
The Clerk will chase up what is happening with regard to the naming of the new development at the Hitchmans Yard site.
Donation cheques have been sent towards running costs of the two Halls and the two Churchyards in the Parish.
The Senior Citizens Outing was a great success. However, numbers were disappointing. It was decided that, in future, it will not be possible to transport those who need to be lifted in and out of cars.
Borough Councillor Clive Sanders was co-opted onto the Parish Council to fill one of the current vacancies. He will take over responsibility for Highways.
It has been a very quiet month in terms of Planning Applications. Application by Evergreen Farm to erect rabbit hutches has been approved. However, Mr Ward is still there, as he cannot be evicted due to the fact that he has a 16 year old son living there. The application to extend Evingar at North End has been modified as a result of concerns about the proposals being out of character.
Cllr Johnson was not sure how a building was identified as being 'of local interest' or 'listed'. Criteria for 'listing' are set down by English Heritage and Cllr Sanders is aware of a leaflet which the Borough Council produce detailing what constitutes a 'local interest' property. He will find out who to contact at Basingstoke with regard to this. Several properties were mentioned which may be of local interest, including Clapgate Cottage. The Chairman suggested that Councillors try to identify others by the next meeting.
There has been a request to reposition Unit 3 of the five industrial units which are to be built at Harwood Paddock. It would also appear that part of this land has been sold. It is understood that, in the decision to approve this application, an amount of money was allocated under Section 106 'developers contributions'.*
ACTION: CLLR SANDERS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THIS.A Code of Practice is now in place for those operating the CCTV equipment. This has been put together in line with recommendations by the Information Commission and includes setting up of an incident log. A notice informing Parishioners that the cark park area is covered by CCTV will be put by the entrance to the car park, by the by-laws sign. The cameras on the mast have been replaced due to poor picture quality. There have also been problems with the batteries losing charge too quickly. The Amenities Committee would also like to add an 'infra red' light to the cameras so that they can 'sleep' when there is no activity. This would cost around £1,700.
Cooks will soon be cutting back the hedges around both Recreation Grounds and Woolton Hill car park. They will also tidy up the area around the tennis courts.
A new schedule has been drawn up for development of the Recreation Grounds. This has been done on a 'phased' basis. Costings are awaited.
Julia Calvert has requested sharing the Litter Warden job with her sister Linda. The meeting had no objection to this in principle, but wondered where Linda lived.*
ACTION: CLERK TO FIND OUT AND TO SORT OUT RELEVANT PAPERWORK.Cllr Sanders and the Chairman met with the Area Surveyor and drove around the Parish identifying areas of concern. There are several potholes and broken edges at North End. However, the view was taken that there is little point in doing anything about this until work at Hayes is complete. Residents of North End area in favour of having an 'identification' sign there. Councillors were asked if they could think of anywhere else in the Parish which could also benefit from such a sign. They also looked at the dip in the road near the Sports Centre, which has not been fixed but does now have a white line painted around it. The Chairman is chasing up a new sign at Blindmans Gate. Hampshire County Council has said there is nothing they can do about the traffic problems outside the Ball Hill Garage. However, it is an offence to obstruct the highway.*
ACTION: CLLR SANDERS TO SPEAK TO PC MATT DEARY AND/OR TRAFFIC POLICE ABOUT THE SITUATION.The Chairman of the Twinning Association has asked if it would be possible to have a sign erected detailing the towns which the Association is twinned with. The Area Surveyor would be happy to fund such a sign, which would be erected at the Trade Street crossroads, near the Stud. There were mixed views about this, but after discussion and a vote it was agreed to support this request.
A gate has been put in in the fence at the back of 11 Falcon Coppice. While it is okay to have a gate in a fence in such a place, it is not okay to use it all the time. The situation will be monitored.
A list of income and expenditure was presented and cheques duly signed. The Clerk asked if the Council would like her to approach East Woodhay Charities to request a donation towards the Senior Citizens Outing. She has not asked them for anything over the last couple of years as the party was not as expensive. The Council felt that it would be appropriate to ask for a contribution from the Charities this year.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO ARRANGE.Prior to the meeting all Councillors were given copies of the full accounts for the year ending 05/06, accounts for year 06/07 to date and proposed budget for 07/08, as recommended by the Finance Committee. It was proposed to increase the Precept by £500, from £17,500 to £18,000. All were happy with the proposed budget and Precept increase.*
*ACTION: CLERK TO COMPLETE THE RELEVANT PAPERWORK AND FORWARD TO BASINGSTOKE.The hedge outside Abbey Wells needs cutting back, but it is not clear which house there is responsible for this. Any problems along the C5 in Woolton Hill will be covered by the Safer Routes to Schools scheme, as mentioned above. Leaf fall is also causing a problem around the Parish.
Lorries going to and from Malverleys are causing damage to the roads and edges as they are too big. They are also leaving mud on the road.
A decision is being made this evening on the future of the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke. The theatre may close in January, re-opening again in September under the ownership of the Anvil Theatre.
The Boundary Commission are considering reducing the number of wards in the Borough from 60 to 30. This may result in the East Woodhay ward being joined up with Highclere and Burghclere. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion on this, and Cllr Sanders urged Councillors to do so. He feels it is important to have a local person representing an area. Cllr Ross said he was fearful this area may be swallowed up by Whitchurch.
Cllr Sanders reported on the recent Safer Routes to Schools meeting. It was agreed that the recently implemented traffic calming measures on the C5 had failed to work, and the traffic was now worse than before. There is a problem with the width of the footpath alongside the road where soil etc has encroached over the edge, and Hampshire County Council have decided to clear this back to make the footpath the required minimum width of 1.4 metres. Landowners will then be required to cut back their hedges in line with this. Zig zag lines are to be extended and pinch points taken away. The Council is also looking at getting a Crossing Patrol person at the Infant School. The schools are to write to Hampshire to ask for flashing speed signs on the road. There will soon be 16 more parking spaces at the Junior School and this should help alleviate the traffic problem on the road, particularly in the afternoon.
She is concerned about the number of cars and taxis parking alongside the road in Tile Barn Row, particularly as there are off-street parking bays there.*
*ACTION: CLLR SANDERS TO LOOK INTO THIS.Norman Powers is having a problem getting Hampshire County Council to recognise him as the Parish Council's representative to look after Footpaths, despite the fact that he has done this job for several years now.*
ACTION: CLERK TO WRITE TO MATTHEW BEAL AT HCC CONFIRMING THE COUNCIL HAS RECOGNISED NORMAN TO LOOK AFTER FOOTPATHS ON ITS BEHALF.The Chairman reminded Councillors that he will be laying wreaths at both memorials in the Parish on Sunday 12th November. He would welcome support from Councillors, particularly at the 11.00 am wreath laying at East End.
The Clerk has received various documents and brochures. Councillors were welcome to peruse or take any they were interested in.
The new lease has now been drawn up and once some 'tweaking' has taken place this will be sent to those parties interested in leasing the field. They will then be asked to make their best offer, based on the terms of the lease. The hedge around the field will be cut any time now.
In the absence of PC Matt Deery, there was no Police Report.