Minutes of the meeting of Bramley Parish Council
held in the Village Hall on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7.30 p.m. |
Parish Councillors present were: Richard Wood, Jane Payne, Claire Penfold, Philip McCorry, John Ferguson, Hugh Tottenham, Rhydian Vaughan, Allan Douglas and Chris Tomblin Also present were: The Clerk, WPC Mandy Jewell, Borough Councillor Ranil Jayawardena and 9 members of the public. |
ITEM | COMMENT | ACTION |
1.0 | Apologies | |
| Apologies were received from County Councillor Keith Chapman | |
2.0 | Minutes of the last meeting | |
| The minutes of the meeting held on 19th October 2009, having been circulated, were agreed and signed as a true record. Proposed by Cllr. Tottenham and seconded by Cllr. Ferguson | |
3.0 | Matters arising and not appearing elsewhere on the agenda | |
| Cllr. Wood reported that the representative from CRUSE had sent their apologies for not arriving at the last meeting. They had asked to attend at a future meeting. Clerk to arrange | Clerk |
4.0 | Finance | |
4.1 | Approved Annual return | |
| The approved Annual return had been received from the Audit Commission. | |
4.2 | HALC Auditor Service | |
| Details had been circulated regarding the new HALC internal audit service. Cllr. Ferguson proposed this be adopted, seconded by Cllr. McCorry and agreed by all. | Clerk |
4.3 | Monthly Income & Expenditure | |
| Reconciled Balance of Accounts as of 31st October 2009 | |
| Lloyds Bank Current Account | £3,290.19 |
| Lloyds Bank Business Account | £24,519.52 |
| National Savings Account | £15,986.49 |
| Total | £43,796.20 |
| Plus receipts not banked | £0.00 |
| Less Cheques Outstanding | £0.00 |
| True balance as of 31st October 2009 | £43,796.20 |
| Income Received since last meeting | |
| Interest October - Business Account | £0.83 |
| 500300 – Burial ground | £40.00 |
| Total | £40.83 |
5.0 | Accounts for payment | |
| Cheques approved for payment – Proposed by Cllr Douglas, seconded by Cllr. Penfold | |
| 001284 J Snow - Litter Warden | £236.10 | 001285 G Fowler - Clerk | £737.76 | 001286 CPRE - Annual Subscription | £29.00 | 001287 Mr M Duncombe – Allotment Deposit refund | £50.00 | 001288 Bramley PCC - Paper | £10.00 | 001289 Bob Gregory - Burial Ground (October) | £160.00 | | £1,222.86 |
| |
6.0 | Planning | |
6.1 | German Road | |
| Copy of latest site meeting notes circulated to Councillors. | |
6.2 | Planning Applications – See Appendix 2 attached | |
| Cllr. Wood advised that the application at 11 North Row had gone to appeal. | |
| Cllr. McCorry asked what the situation was with the travellers in Cufaude Lane. Cllr. Vaughan advised they had moved out as the land is currently flooded. Also BDBC Enforcement team are reviewing the situation should they return. | |
7.0 | Public Comments | |
| Open Forum for Public comments – recorded in attached Appendix 1 | |
8.0 | Transport Highways & Parking | |
8.1 | SLR Speed Devices | |
| The SID machine has now been taken into ownership by BDBC and removed from The Street. | |
| A discussion took place regarding the various options that had been circulated for the SLR machines and the Chairman asked for a vote. Option A 3 votes, Option B 3 votes, Option C 1 vote and Option D 1 vote. The Chairman’s casting vote was for Option B. Therefore the SLR’s would continue for a further period of 6 months on the proviso that during that time other options would be investigated. | Clerk |
8.2 | Cufaude Lane | |
| Cllr. Wood advised that a letter of apology had been received from Peter Eade of Hampshire Highways relating to the quality of the pothole works carried out earlier in the summer. The letter was placed in the monthly correspondence folder for information. Further work would be undertaken next year. | |
9.0 | Environmental Matters Cllr. Payne declared a personal interest in the Friends of Farriers and Little Apples Group discussions. | |
9.1 | Friends of Farriers | |
| Resident Phil McCabe attended the meeting and read a statement on behalf of the residents group. | |
9.2 | Little Apples Playgroup Building | |
| Sarah Naylor & Anna Keir attended. They advised there was no further news regarding the planning application which they anticipated being submitted by the end of November. They were unaware of any land being purchased by the school for an extension. Cllr. Payne asked if the grant application was relevant to this specific location only and they confirmed it was. They also confirmed there would be security fencing, not chain linked, around the building and it would be alarmed. Mrs Naylor would be a key holder and lived close by, should the alarm be activated. | |
9.3 | Bramley Commemorative Stones | |
| The Clerk had obtained some quotations for refreshing the paintwork in these stones. It was proposed to accept the Spencer & Peyton quote. Proposed by Cllr. McCorry and seconded by Cllr. Ferguson. | Clerk |
9.4 | Heritage Trail Information Boards | |
| Cllr. Payne confirmed that the cost of any repairs and maintenance would be covered by Hampshire Museums and Galleries Trust in the short term ( 1 year). | |
9.5 | Bramley Green – Grass Cutting | |
| Details of three quotations obtained by the Clerk had been circulated. It was agreed to accept the quotation from the Bulpitt Brothers for a period of three years (2010/2011/2012). Clerk to advise. Proposed by Cllr. Ferguson, seconded by Cllr. Douglas, agreed by all. | Clerk |
9.6 | Bramley Pond | |
| Cllr. Payne reported that permission had been requested from BDBC regarding tree work around the pond. Stratfield Estates would be carrying out the works as soon as weather permitted. She was still looking into the Volunteer Scheme and risk assessments required. | JCP |
10.0 | Grant Applications 2010-2011 | |
10.1 | Clift Meadow Trust - Cllrs. Tottenham and Ferguson declared personal and prejudicial interests in this matter and left the room. They wished the minutes to record their objections and frustration to this statutory requirement. | |
| Details of the request for £5,000 had been circulated. Mrs Jenny Foot attended the meeting to answer questions. It was proposed to offer a grant of £5,000 by Cllr. Vaughan, seconded by Cllr. McCorry and was carried by a majority, with 5 votes for and 2 abstentions. Cllrs. Tottenham and Ferguson returned to the meeting. | Clerk |
10.2 | Village Hall Trust – Chairman Cllr. Wood declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this matter. He handed over the Chair to Cllr. Payne for this item and left the room. | |
| Details of the request for £6,000 had been circulated. Sarah Naylor and Anna Keir were present to answer any questions. After discussion it was proposed by Cllr. Ferguson to offer a grant of £3,000 and seconded by Cllr. Penfold. This was carried by majority with 7 votes for and 1 abstention. Chairman Cllr. Wood returned to the room and Cllr. Payne handed the Chair back to Cllr Wood. Cllr. Douglas apologised and left the meeting. | |
11.0 | Budget 2010/2011 Details of the budget had been circulated by the Clerk. It was agreed to amend various items and the Clerk would update the budget for agreement at the next meeting. A discussion on the amount of precept took place and it was agreed that it should be increased by 5% (£1,300) to £27,300. This was proposed by Cllr. Vaughan, seconded by Cllr. Penfold and agreed by a majority with 7 votes for and 1 objection (Cllr. Tomblin). The precept documents would be presented to the December meeting for signature by the Chairman. | Clerk Clerk |
12.0 | Parish Plan | |
| Cllr. Payne advised that the Toolkit had now been received and distributed to the Parish Plan team. The next meeting was on Wednesday 18th November when a committee would be elected. A section would also be added to the website for the Parish Plan. | |
13.0 | Website Review | |
| The Clerk and Cllr. Payne had met with Trish Banks at BDBC who had agreed to assist with refreshing the website. Cllr. Payne said that other Councillors should be allocated certain pages of the website to review and suggest changes. | JCP |
14.0 | County & Borough Councillors and Police reports | |
| WPC Jewell had left the meeting but her monthly report was in the correspondence folder. | |
| County Cllr. Chapman was absent but had reported the children’s visit to the Royal Albert Hall was excellent. | |
| Borough Cllr Vaughan reported that he had met with Highways to look at ways to slow traffic down on the C32 between the allotments and Bramley Corner and was waiting to hear. | |
| Borough Cllr. Jayawardena reported that he had also been involved with Highways looking into the removal of unnecessary road signage. He confirmed he had previously discussed a Community Speed team with Hampshire Constabulary who were not supportive of the idea for the reasons of safety for the residents. He encouraged the Parish Council to write to the Police Authority via him, if appropriate. He also advised that there would be no increase in car parking charges in Basingstoke in the most used car parks but there would be small increases in other areas. At this point Cllr. McCorry apologised and left the meeting. | |
15.0 | Representatives Reports | |
| Cllr. Penfold gave details of a CPRE workshop she had attended. She would provide some notes for the next monthly correspondence folder. | CP |
| 16.0 | Correspondence/Consultations | |
| | Mayors Reception/Parish Conference 30th November – There was one place still available if anyone was interested in attending with Cllrs. Wood and Ferguson | |
| | Hackney Carriage Consultation – Cllr. Wood agreed to complete | RW |
| | Draft Council Plan 2010/13 – Cllr.Payne agreed to investigate and report back | JCP |
| | The monthly correspondence folder was issued | |
17.0 | Items for next meeting | |
| Finalise budget and sign precept and grant papers | |
| Clift Meadow Trust – Play Area Funding | |
| British Legion Land | |
| Community Building Feasibility Study/Terms of Reference | |
18.0 | Personnel Items of a Confidential Nature | |
| Resolution - to exclude press and public from items that may require discussion of possible legal and financial proceedings i.a.w. Public meetings. Exclusion was required. | |
| Proposed by Cllr. Ferguson and seconded by Cllr. Tottenham | |
| Admissions to public meeting Act 1960. The public were asked to leave. | |
19.0 | Items of a confidential nature | |
19.1 | Review of Clerks Pay & Conditions | |
| The Clerk left the room. | |
| Details of the current salary and conditions had been circulated. The annual increment to National Salary SCP 20 with effect from April 2010 was agreed. Proposed by Cllr. Ferguson, seconded by Cllr. Tottenham. | |
| It was agreed to continue other expenses at the current levels. Proposed by Cllr. Ferguson, seconded by Cllr. Payne. | |
| Dedicated telephone number – The Clerk had asked that consideration be given for a specific Parish Council telephone number. The cost of BT Call Sign would be £2.50 per month. This was agreed, proposed by Cllr. Penfold, seconded by Cllr. Tottenham. | Clerk |
| PO Box – The Clerk had asked that the Council consider the use of a PO Box as the formal Parish Council address. The cost was currently £126.75 per year. This action is recommended by HALC for security reasons and is used by other local Councils. Request agreed. Proposed by Cllr. Ferguson, seconded by Cllr. Vaughan. | Clerk |
| Holiday entitlement – 21 working days per year with effect from 1st April 2009 plus public/bank holidays and extra statutory days. Agreed, proposed by Cllr. Wood, seconded by Cllr. Tottenham. | |
19.2 | Review of Grounds man hourly rates and tool allowance | |
| Current rate of £8.00 per hour + £120 tool allowance per annum. It was agreed to increase the hourly rate to £8.25. The tool allowance remains at £120 per annum. | |
| The Clerk returned to the meeting. | |
| There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.45 p.m. | |