Brailes Parish Council

Minutes of the February meeting of the Parish Council.

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY February 25th 2008 at 7.30pm in the Methodist Room.

Apologies for Absence:-

None.

Present:-

Mr. A. Jervis, Mrs. B. Foster, Mrs. G. Woods, Mrs. B. Manley, Mr. R. Cheney, Mr. N. Drury, Mr. C. Righton, Cllr. P. Seccombe, Cllr. C. Saint and 12 Members of the public.

Minutes:-

of the last meeting were adjusted, approved and signed.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:-

Gully near Chendawan:-

Mr. Critchlow wondered if anything would be done regarding the gully outside his property. The Clerk said she had reported this at least 6 times over the past year and had spoken to the County who said that when the contractor was nearby again the matter would be attended to. It was blocked.

Flooding:-

Mrs. Westerman wondered if there was anything to report? Mr. Righton said he felt that nothing had changed since the last meeting. Cllr. Seccombe said that there had been a meeting when the distribution of the remaining funds had been discussed.

MATTERS ARISING:-

Dragons Teeth:-

The Clerk had been in touch to see what progress had been made. It would seem the engineer dealing with the matter was on leave so that a report would not be available for the February Meeting.

Speeding Signs:-

Mr. Maples had replied having sent the query to the House of Commons Library and had sent a copy of their report. The Government's view on street clutter was set out in a response to a PQ in March 2007. The Dept of Transport recognises that over provision or poor design of signs and street furniture can lead to clutter. We therefore advise local authorities to avoid unnecessary street clutter through our Local Transport Plan guidance and through the design guidance we provide. Guidance on minimising clutter is given in the Traffic Signs Manual and in the “Streets for All” guides produced with English heritage. We are strengthening our guidance in new publications such as Manual for Streets, which will encourage a fresh approach to residential street design; good practice on the use of pedestrian guardrails and guidance on how to reduce the impact of traffic management measures on the street scene.
Mrs. Woods felt that this was unsatisfactory as other villages still had the signs. The Clerk said these had probably been put up before the new advice/law had come into being in March 2007.
The Councillors felt that a further letter should be sent to Mr Maples.

Neighbourhood Watch:-

The Clerk had booked the Hall for March 12th 7pm and said she had agreed to put up posters, had put an item in the Feldon News and would mention it in the column in the local papers.

Fence:-

Parkland fencing had sent information and prices - £40 a metre installed. Mr Cheney said that about 24 metres would be needed making it too costly to consider. Mr. Drury spoke of the fence needed in Sutton Lane and said he felt that there should be a proper plan/design before anything further was done. Cllr. Saint said that this could need a Road Safety Assessment.

Flood Relief:-

Mr. Cole was to create a drain to stop the water running down the road and the question of a culvert across the allotments was also raised. These matters may be attended to with any extra monies that were forthcoming from the District and County.
Cllr. Saint spoke of the money that was to be available in the new financial year: 500K had been set aside for 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. It had been recognised that the gully situation in many areas was completely unsatisfactory and this money would provide for extra work. There was a new person at the helm at the County and this could mean new thinking.

Speed Review:-

Cllr. Saint asked if the Council had any comments regarding the proposal to change the speed limited from Shipston to Upper Brailes, and Holloway Hill to Banbury (B4035) from 60mph to 50mph. Mr. Righton proposed in favour, 2nd Mrs. Manley, all in favour.

Web Site:-

The Clerk had asked Mr. Doherty to re-iterate what he had said to the last Meeting. In his reply, Mr. Doherty said that the £500 he had received was for the initial set up of 10 pages and this would take us up to the end of March 2008. He asked for the money for the Host and Domain name. Mr. Doherty was present and spoke and said that he would continue on but would not charge the Council for his updating of the site but merely for any other expense. Mrs. Woods said we should encourage people to feed the diary and Mr. Cox was asked if the Diary in the Feldon News could be added and he agreed.

Youth and Community Service:-

The Clerk had spoken to Carla Lane who had written asking for information about youth services in Brailes, but when told that there was a Youth Club she said she was basically looking for villages with no facilities but asked for the name of the person in charge and the name of the person responsible for the Pavilion. There is a van that goes round to the Clubs.

Waste Collection Scheme:-

The Clerk had approached the District Council asking for someone to come out and speak at the Parish Meeting on April 21st. There are a number of meetings planned around the district and they would like people to attend these, but they said they would consider our request and get back to us.

NEW ITEMS:-

Skateboard Ramp for the Village Hall:-

Mr. Cheney spoke and said he felt that some years ago the Council had said they would contribute £1,000 towards a skateboard ramp. People were now asking for a project to go ahead in the name of the Parish Council so that VAT could be recovered. The Clerk was seeking grant money. (Mr. Cheney, Mr. Righton, Mrs. Manley and Mrs. Foster left the room). A discussion followed when Mr. Drury took the Chair and said that this was something that had been ongoing and it seemed that this was a good time to go ahead. Mrs. Woods also expressed those feelings and felt that the Parish Council could give £5k towards this project, either from funds or by fundraising events. Those wanting the skateboard facility should also be asked to help raise money. 3 in favour.

MAINTENANCE:-

Trees on Fant Hill:-

These are now so very overgrown and are a hazard. The Clerk was asked to write to Mr. Manning, the owner and also to the County asking for work to be done.

Windscreen on Verge:-

Mrs. Woods said she had called Mr. Dobson to get this moved and although she understood that it was supposed to be cleared the following day it did take 2 phone calls and 4 days before it was done.

REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES:-

None this month

CORRESPONDENCE:-

Burial Ground:-

(Mr. Righton left the room). Mr. Righton had submitted a quote for grass cutting in the Burial Ground for the coming season.
For Cutting part of the ground approx every 14-21 days as required, also strimming as required. Topping £40 per cut. Strimming £25.00 per time.
It was proposed acceptance by Mrs. Manley, 2nd Mrs. Foster, all in favour.

Planning Application Validation Checklist:-

The Clerk reported that as of April 6th all planning applications nationally will have the same new form. All applications will be tested for validity against published standard checklists that are divided into National and Local Requirements. By using the checklists, both applicants and Local Authorities can avoid delays in the decision making process.
The checklist is in draft form at the present time and could be viewed on the web site and printed out. The Clerk said that as it was an 84 page document she had asked the SDC to send a hard copy.

Light Winderton Road:-

A letter from Mr. Taylor had been received. Mr. Taylor felt that the light should have gone ahead.

PLANNING:-

Meeting closed at 9.15pm. Next Meeting March 31st 2008.