BISHAMPTON AND THROCKMORTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on Monday 5th November 2007 at the Parish Room, Throckmorton

Members and Officers present: Mr Don Cheetham, Mr M Argyle, Mr C Tucker, Mr J Morrison, Mr J Mills, Mr D Burtoft , Mr E Beever and Mrs C Morris (Clerk).

Also present from 7.45pm was County and District Councillor Liz Tucker.

The meeting opened at 7.30pm.

Members of the public attended the open session to raise three issues, all of which were on the agenda for discussion. See attached note.

The meeting re-opened at 8.00pm.

07.11.01 To receive apologies and approve the reason for absence
Cllr Baldwin was on holiday and his apologies were noted and approved.

07.11.02 To record: a) Declarations of Interest (Personal & Prejudicial) and b) Any changes to be notified to the Register of Interest and Gifts & Hospitability
Cllrs Argyle declared his personal and prejudicial interests in item 10. Cllr Burtoft declared a personal interest in Item 14.

07.11.03 To elect a new Vice Chairman and consider the co-option of a new councillor
Cllr Argyle was unanimously elected as vice chairman.
There were no candidates who called for a by-election so the council is to fill the remaining seats by co-option. Clerk to advertise. Action Clerk

07.11.04 To approve the minutes of the PC Meeting held on October 1st 2007
The minutes were approved and signed by the chairman as a true record.

07.11.05 To consider a request for a local poll regarding a referendum on the EU Treaty
The council had taken advice from NALC and CALC and carefully considered PC procedure and the law. The chairman pointed out to the meeting that NALC viewed Parish Polls on national/party political issues as outside the jurisdiction of a parish council and therefore unlawful, because they dealt with issues not related directly to the parish. Members unanimously agreed that the parish council should not call a parish meeting for this issue.

07.11.06 To consider the issue of speeding traffic in the parish and consider an idea for a new community scheme
The PC had received a letter from Mr Derrick Barker about his concerns on speeding in Bishampton and his ideas for a Speed Watch Scheme. Councillors shared his views about the problems with speeding in both villages and agreed to send a copy of Mr Barker’ letter to the Chief Constable to gain the opinion of the police and to research similar schemes running in other parts of the country. Action Clerk
Cllr Tucker asked for a police speed check along the stretch of road through Throckmorton from Hill to the airfield. Action Clerk

07.11.07 To consider a request for financial assistance to fund a Remembrance Wreath
The council agreed to pay £25 for a Remembrance Day wreath. The chairman will attend the service. Action Clerk

07.11.08 Finance

07.11.08.01 To note any receipts
None

07.11.08.02 To approve the statement of cash reconciliation for October
The reconciliation sheet for October shows that in the current account, there was £9,000.00 income and £897.91expenditure. This left a total in the bank of £11,464.6. The 30-day account gained £90.61in interest, which brought its total to £33,701.25. Allowing for an unpresented cheque of £5.88, this meant the council’s total cash assets (as of the bank statement date of October 24th) stood at £45,165.86.
Clerk to transfer £6,000 to the savings account. Action Clerk

07.11.08.03 To approve outstanding invoices for payment
The following invoices were approved for payment:

07.11.08.04 To approve claims for expenses/overtime
Clerk’s expenses of £37.57 were approved (paper £2.82, flowers agreed October £30.75, mileage £4.00). The council also approved two hours’ overtime for the clerk (£18.04) who attended extra meetings about planning in October.

07.11.08.05 To alter the list of cheque signatories
The form was completed ready to add Cllr Baldwin to the list and remove Cllr Lammas.

07.11.09 Planning

07.11.09.01 Council’s response to applications between meetings
None

07.11.09.02 Current Planning Applications
None

07.11.09.03 Reports on planning decisions

07.11.10 Play Areas
(Cllr Argyle had declared his interest as a member of the play area committee)

07.11.10.01 To hear any update from the BATVH Junior Play Area Committee
A grant for £9,000.00 has been awarded from Severn Waste. The council heard that this meant there was about £5,000 still to find for the project and asked the play area committee to see if there were any more grants it could apply for or other areas of funding to investigate before the PC made any decision on making up the shortfall.

07.11.10.02 To consider any action necessary to continue work on the Junior Play Area project
None

07.11.10.03 To consider any other matters relating to the play areas
None

07.11.11 To consider any issues relating to flooding in the parish
Cllr Tucker was able to report, as a member of the Wychavon DC flooding action group, that the group was busy looking in detail at each parish to see what happened in the floods and what could be done to stop it happening again. He said a report was expected to come back to parish councils in March and then the group would consider what action needed to be taken from March to September.
The PC heard that a grant of £2,000 was being offered as part of a flood recovery scheme. Councillors were grateful but disappointed there was just a month to inform Wychavon how it should be spent. The council agreed to write and say it hoped to try to spend the money on repairing a drain which runs from the shop to Stanton Fields in Bishampton and on a survey of Bishampton land levels in an effort to find the best way of diverting water away from the village centre. Action Clerk

07.11.12 Footpaths – To consider any footpath issues
Cllr Morrison & clerk to liaise on calling for footpath volunteers Action Clerk/Cllr Morrison

07.11.13 To consider adding the churchyard in Bishampton to the PC mowing schedule
There would be a small saving in overall cost by adding the churchyard on to the PC mowing schedule. The council agreed to ask the church representatives if they would like the PC to organise that for the coming year. If so, the council would ask for the church to contribute costs above the same £750 grant given this year, otherwise the council would consider the same contribution towards costs next year. Action Clerk
Councillors also considered the request from Throckmorton church for financial assistance with buying a new mower. They agreed in principal to offer a one-off £700 grant. Clerk to check with the church and report on budget implications for next meeting. Action Clerk

07.11.14 To consider the latest situation regarding the mobile phone mast
(Cllr Burtoft had declared a personal interest as a member of BAM and neighbour of the site)
The chairman had spoken to MP Peter Luff about the situation regarding the laws which govern phone companies’ planning rights and his reply had been posted on the PC website. Cllr Burtoft reported that BAM members had been in touch with Wychavon DC in order to keep watch for any further applications for antennae to be added to the mast.

07.11.15 To consider progress on the Affordable Housing Survey and PC Newsletter
No news yet back from the survey. Almost no feedback had been received by the council following the newsletter.

07.11.16 To consider any Parish Lengthsman issues
The PC heard that the lengthsman had now received his safety equipment from the county council.

07.11.17 To consider plans to close rural Post Office branches
The PC newsletter had invited comments about the shop in the event that the post office did close but there had been little response. Cllr Burtoft agreed to draft a survey which the PC could distribute by letter or take door-to-door in the new year.

07.11.18 To consider maintenance of the playground in Throckmorton
Following a letter calling for maintenance of the trees, Cllr Argyle had inspected the play area and a quote had been obtained from the PC footpath maintenance contractor for work to trim the leylandii hedge and the trees around the site. Cllrs Argyle and Tucker agreed to inspect the site again, to establish the details of the quote and the council agreed to accept it subject to there being no further issues raised. Action Cllrs Argyle/Tucker/Clerk

07.11.19 To consider issues relating to the changes in the refuse collection
The council heard that the district council had decided upon the wheelie bin recycling scheme with a weekly collection for food.

07.11.20 To consider adopting a complaints procedure
Deferred.

07.11.21 PACT meeting in Bishampton
There was a meeting of PACT (Partners and Community Together) on October 10th in Bishampton when representatives from the police, Wychavon and the County Council were be on hand to answer questions and hear people’s points of view. Some villagers attended.

07.11.22 CALC/training matters
The chairman had attended part two of his CALC ‘chairmanship’ training session and the clerk was set to attend a ‘Minuting for Clerks’ session. All were made aware of another Code of Conduct meeting being staged on Wednesday, Nov 7th, 6pm, Civic Centre, Pershore.

07.11.23 To receive reports from councillors and items for future agendas
County and district councillor Liz Tucker gave her report. She spoke about:

Cllr Burtoft reported that training was under way for the volunteers who had come forward to join the local defibrillator scheme. Councillors heard the volunteers had to undertake a gruelling training schedule amounting to six full days, plus extra sessions, and the council expressed its gratitude on behalf of the parish to all who were taking part. Members also heard that the parish had 7-8 volunteers, which was one of largest groups to ever have come forward in a parish.

07.11.24 To consider any further items of correspondence

Circulation
Xmas waste dates/ Partnership Matters/ Local Council Review

07.11.25 To affirm the date of the next meeting of the Parish Council
The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Monday, November 5th, Throckmorton.

The meting closed at 9.44pm

………………………………………………… …………………………..

Chairman Date

Clerk to the Council Mrs C. Morris

Notes from the public session:-

Mr Barker from Bishampton attended the meeting. He had written to the parish council to suggest the formation of some kind of Speed Watch scheme. He said that where he lives, on the outskirts of the village, people drive too fast and cause a danger. He said a community scheme could send a message that the whole community wanted to make it a safe place to live and for their children to walk and play. He said many ideas for reducing speed, like speed bumps, had to be ruled out on the grounds of cost or practicalities so came up with the idea which would work on similar lines to Neighbourhood Watch.

Mr Johns from Bishampton spoke about his concerns that the Government should call a referendum on the UK’s involvement in the EU Treaty. He said he was concerned about the erosion of democracy and asked the parish council to call a parish meeting with a view to organising a Parish Poll, as some other parishes had done in other parts of the country. This could give the Government a clear indication of people’s feelings on the issue in the parish. He said he felt the opportunity to demonstrate parish opinion in a democratic way was worth any cost it might incur.

Residents of Broad Lane attended to ask about updates on the flooding/drainage situation in Bishampton. Cllr Charles Tucker, a member of the Wychavon flooding action group, was able to let them know the latest news. They asked about the responsibilities on landowners to clear ditches and were keen to be kept abreast of developments.