BISHAMPTON AND THROCKMORTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday, 4th June, 2007, at the Parish Room, Throckmorton

Members and Officers present: Mr D Cheetham (chairman), Mrs B Lammas, Mr M Argyle, Mr J Morrison, Mr C Tucker, Mr E Beever (from 8.30pm) Mr J Mills, Mr D Baldwin, Mr D Burtoft and Mrs C Morris (Clerk).

Also present from 8.45pm was County and District Councillor Liz Tucker.

The meeting opened at 7.31pm.

07.06.01 To receive apologies and approve the reason for absence:
There were no apologies

07.06.02 To record: a) Declarations of Interest (Personal & Prejudicial) and b) Any changes to be notified to the Register of Interest and Gifts & Hospitability:
Cllr Argyle and Cllr Lammas declared a prejudicial interest in Item 7.

07.06.03 To approve the minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on May 14th 2007:
The minutes were approved and signed by the chairman as a true record.

07.06.04 To consider applications for co-option to the parish council to fill the two vacant seats:
Mr David Baldwin of The Thatch, Main St, and Mr Duncan Burtoft of Nightingale Lodge, Main St, applied for co-option to the vacant seats in the Bishampton Ward.
Mr Baldwin stated on his application: “After living in the village for 15 years and appreciating all village life has to offer, now having reached semi retirement I feel that I have the necessary abilities and time to contribute to the continued development and progress within the village.”
Mr Burtoft stated: “Bishampton has been my family home for 11 years, giving me a good perspective on issues in the parish. My wife has been an active member of Barnstormers and the Village Hall Committee in the past and I have enjoyed supporting these ‘in the background’. My work has recently changed, giving me time to get more involved in village activities. I have supported the Bishampton Against the Mast activities and have found this fulfilling. I wish to extend my support to wider village issues, which I feel this role will allow. I am an experienced business manager and have worked extensively as a management consultant with large corporate business.”
The council unanimously agreed to elect Mr Balwin and unanimously agreed to elect Mr Burtoft. Both signed their Acceptance of Office forms and received a Register of Interests form to complete. Clerk to notify Wychavon of their co-option. Action Cllrs Baldwin/Burtoft and Clerk

 

07.06.05 Finance:

07.06.05.01 To note any receipts:
The council noted that in May it had received a cheque for £585.76 for VAT reclaimed and had received £77.72 interest in its 30-day savings account.

07.06.05.02 To approve the statement of cash reconciliation for May:
The cash reconciliation for May showed that following spending of £1,605.65 and income of £585.76 (plus £9,000 from April 30, which wasn’t on the last bank statement) the council had a total of £10,701.52 in its current account. It gained £77.72 interest, which brought its savings account to £33,260.26. Its total funds in the bank at May 24th stood at £43,961.78 and allowing for an unpresented cheque of £116.55, its total cash assets stood at £43,845.23.

07.06.05.03 To approve outstanding invoices for payment:
The council approved the following invoices for payment:

The council asked if the mowing of the parish verges could go around the village signs so the planters would be more visible. Action Clerk

07.06.05.04 To approve claims for expenses/overtime:
The clerk’s expenses of £110.92 were reported and approved (regular ink claim £44.50/ extra ink for newsletter £15.97/ stamps £4.08/ general paper £5/ paper for newsletter £4.50/ stationery items £4.78/ mileage £14.80/ monthly allowance for computer and phone £14.50).

07.06.05.05 To consider any action necessary regarding the forthcoming Internal and External audits:
The internal auditor had reported no problems with the accounts and the chairman and clerk signed the annual return.

07.06.06 Planning:

07.06.06.01 Council’s response to planning applications received between meetings:
None

07.06.06.02 Current planning applications:

The parish council objects on the following grounds:

  1. The plans propose an unjustifiable development in the open countryside.
  2. The buildings proposed would lead to an overdevelopment of the site.
  3. The development would be unsuitable for its rural position.
  4. The development would be unsustainable in the open countryside. It would create a 'ghetto' of development for a single purpose without any supporting facilities or effective public transport system and would not provide any benefits to the existing community - leading to an unbalanced community in Tilesford.

There are concerns about the Tilesford sewage plant which remains in the centre of the plan - with very few details about overcoming its looks or smells - and there are concerns about the development's position in relation to the flood plain of the nearby brook.

07.06.06.03 Reports on planning decisions:

07.06.07 Play Areas:

07.06.07.01 To hear any update from the BATVH play area committee:

Cllr Baldwin declared an interest as chairman of the Play Area Committee and the BATVH Committee.

Play Area Committee minutes had been circulated and they were noted. Cllr Baldwin informed the council of the committee’s latest position. The council noted that the committee plans to review the financial situation in the autumn so would approach the PC then to increase its donation if it was thought that funds were not available, with a view to installing new equipment in early spring 2008.
Cllr Baldwin asked if the council could find out the exact ownership situation of the play area/village hall land. Action Clerk

07.06.07.02 To consider any action necessary to continue work on the Junior Play Area project:
None at present.

07.06.07.03 To consider any other matters relating to the village play areas:
Cllr Cheetham and Cllr Argyle are to report next meeting on progress regarding points raised for improvement in the RoSPA playground inspection document. Action Cllrs Cheetham/Argyle

07.06.08 Footpaths – To consider any footpath issues:

07.06.08.01 To consider any action to be taken regarding bulls in fields along footpath routes:
Following a letter received in May, the clerk researched the rules regarding bulls on footpaths. The council agreed to send Mr Robertson (the owner of the bulls concerned) a letter to inform him of the villager’s concern and a copy of the Ramblers’ Association rules. Action Clerk

07.06.08.02 To consider the clearance of the Badger’s Walk Path:
Badgers Walk is virtually impassable because of a lot of overgrowth from trees. Cllr Morrison and Argyle agreed to investigate the situation and liaise with clerk on the best way to deal with it. Clerk is to try to gather quotes for next meeting. The work could be funded by the parish footpaths grant budget with the county council but the clerk was asked to write to the county to ask if it would consider funding the cost of the work as it is a green lane and owned by the county. Action Cllrs Argyle/Morrison/Clerk

07.06.09 To consider making a grant of £2,000 towards a Community First Response scheme (locally manned defibrillator):

Cllr Baldwin declared his interest as the co-ordinator of the scheme.

The meeting was suspended for approx 15 minutes at 8.25pm when Mr Mike Belcher attended and spoke to the council about the scheme which provides a network of volunteers with the aim of reaching a patient and administering emergency first aid before an ambulance can arrive. The councillors noted it was a one-off payment as there was no need to provide storage of the equipment and it would be maintained by the ambulance service. Members unanimously agreed to foot the cost of the £2,000 defibrillator equipment and expressed a willingness to help publicise the scheme if necessary.

07.06.10 To consider the latest situation regarding the proposed mobile phone mast and hear progress regarding a visit from the MP:

Cllr Burtoft declared a non-prejudicial interest in the item as a leading member of BAM and as a direct neighbour to the mast site.

The council heard that MP Peter Luff could not meet with the parish council until August. Members decided, however, to take him up on his offer of passing the council’s questions to the relevant Government office for answers. The council agreed that the clerk would draw up a list of questions and circulate them before sending them off to Mr Luff. Members also agreed to ask BAM if they had any further ideas on the questions to ask. Action Clerk
It was noted that signs had been defaced in the village – both BAM signs and road signs. The clerk has reported road signs to WCC and Cllr Lammas has reported the matter to the local beat officer. Clerk to chase. Action Clerk
Clerk has forwarded Mr Dyke’s letter about the ‘centre of the village’ issue to T-Mobile and replied to Mr McGinity’s letter. Clerk to reply to Mr Dyke to inform him of progress on his letter and the matter he raised about bulls in fields (above). Action Clerk

07.06.11 To consider any issues arising from the PC newsletter:
A copy of a PC newsletter was written and printed by the clerk and distributed to homes in the parish. All those who helped in its production and delivery were thanked and councillors said they were pleased with the publication. They agreed it would be good for the council to produce a quarterly newsletter for distribution with the NewsSheet if possible (as well as still including their monthly news items in NewsSheet). Members agreed it would be fair to consider an increase in their donation to the production of NewsSheet if its deliverers would be willing to distribute the PC’s newsletter.
The council also noted that after receiving the newsletter, Smart Cut had offered practical help for the playground project. Clerk to write and thank Smart Cut. Action Clerk

07.06.12 To hear any issues regarding the sewer/roadworks in Bishampton:
Cllr Liz Tucker had met with Mr Roger Ockenden and county council officers to inspect the state of the roads after the sewer works. She reported that the officers agreed with Mr Ockenden’s points about areas which were not up to standard and would be pursuing them with the contractors.

07.06.13 To hear a report from the PACT (Partners and Community Together) meeting:
Cllr Morrison reported on the recent PACT meeting:
“As we have a new PC, Julie De-Paris, the meeting was really about how we go forward with PACT as Julie has been dropped in at the deep end with a very large patch to cover. The plan is:-

  1. To include a survey, and PACT write up, in the Parish mag / newsletter in the near future July/August. 
  2. Arrange a post box in the shop for completed surveys, must speak to Steve.
  3. Julie will hold an open PACT meeting for the public to come along and discuss any issues that they feel need to be addressed. This should be around October time.

In the meantime I have a few surveys to give out to try to gain some information.” He added that the next meeting was to be held in October.

07.06.14 To hear about CALC training opportunities:
Cllr Mills is due to attend training sessions. Cllr Cheetham and Lammas have expressed an interest in Chairman and Vice Chairman training. Clerk to apply for training bursary to cut costs and to give training details to new councillors. Action Clerk

07.06.15 To consider any action necessary to continue with the parish Lengthsman scheme:
Dean Gibson is booked in for his training session and the clerk is to attend a lengthsman course. The council agreed to offer Mr Gibson an hourly rate for his regular work as lengthsman. Clerk to continue to liaise with Mr Gibson. Action Clerk

07.06.16 To consider plans to close rural Post Office branches:
The council noted that the Government has announced it plans to go ahead with closures - but there is no news yet as to which branches are earmarked.

07.06.17 To hear progress on the review and adoption of: risk management schedule/scheme of delegation/standing orders/financial regulations/complaints procedure:
Standing orders/financial regulations were circulated for members to look at.
The council decided to defer the reviews until next month to give councillors and the clerk more time to consider revisions. (Councillors are also due to attend a Code of Conduct training session before the next meeting). The chairman, Cllr Tucker and the clerk agreed to meet to look at the risk assessment, the standing orders and financial regulations and report at the next meeting. Action Clerk/Cllr Cheetham/Cllr Tucker

07.06.18 To hear a report regarding progress on the Parish Plan:
Deferred.

07.06.19 To consider a small gift of appreciation for outgoing councillors:
The council decided against adopting any policy to spend money on a gift for outgoing councillors, despite their gratitude for the work done by past members. Clerk to write letter of appreciation on behalf of the parish. Action Clerk

07.06.20 To receive reports from councillors and items for future agendas:

07.06.21 To consider any further items of correspondence:

Circulation pack:
Training Opportunities for volunteers/ Parish Plan Newsletter /CPRE Annual Report /West Mids Regional Assembly ‘Speaking Out’ / CPRE Magazine

07.06.22 To affirm the date of the next meeting of the Parish Council:
Monday July 2nd Bishampton.

The meting closed at 10.40pm

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Chairman Date

Clerk to the Council Mrs C. Morris