Minutes of the July Meeting of the Parish Council.

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY JULY 28TH 2008 AT 7.30PM. IN THE METHODIST ROOM

Present:-

Mrs. G. Woods, Mrs. B. Foster, Mrs. B. Manley, Mr. N. Drury, Mr. R. Cheney, Mr. A. Jervis, Mr. C. Righton, C. Cllr. C. Saint, Dist. Cllr. P. Seccombe and 11 members of the public.

Apologies for Absence:-

None.

Disclosure of Interest:-

Mr. C. Righton expressed an interest in Item 5(f).

Minutes of the last Meeting:-

were approved and signed.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:-

Water on road - Upper Brailes:-

Mr. Critchlow said that although the County had cured the problem with the drain outside his property there was still water running across the road, probably from a spring and he wondered why this had not been attended to at the time they did work to the drainage.

Flood Committee Report:-

Mr. Hyland reported that the CCTV survey had started that very day and would probably take all week to complete. £20k had been put aside for problems in the Village. There will be no decision on funding until the end of September. Having looked again at the problem in Upper Brailes it could be that the drainage by Little Owl Cottage is causing the problem.

Leaf Collection:-

Mr. Sutcliffe said that as the Green Recycling Bins would not be in use after the end of October what would everyone do with all the leaves?

MATTERS ARISING:-

Flood Relief - Plan for Allotment Land:-

Mr. Righton reported he had personally taken his plan for drainage work to Mr. D. Tiley at the District Council and felt that Riparian Owners should be contacted asking for their help in clearing the ditches. The Clerk was asked to write.

Dragons Teeth and Sutton Lane Markings:-

Mr. Graham Stanley had sent information regarding the total cost of the work needed and a plan showing the two signs he intended to put up. Cllr. Saint said he understood that Mr. Stanley was not happy with red anti skid surfacing in spite of the Council's request. The one sign showing the exits onto Sutton Lane was not correct and the Clerk will write and ask for this to be changed

Social Housing:-

Mr. Cheney said he had spoken to Charles Barlow who felt that there was still the prospect of the selected site being accepted and that it would be wise to wait awhile before looking elsewhere.
Councillors felt that this was probably good advice although it had been almost a year since negotiations started the previous development had taken considerably longer to come to fruition.
Mrs. Woods said that an article in the "Review" that was sent to everyone in the District was misleading and suggested that anyone could register and get housing.

St Peter & St Paul Parking Area:-

The Clerk wondered what if anything should be done further. Mrs. Woods said she had taken the advice of Rev. N. Morgan and was not pursuing this too vigorously. Cllrs. felt that we must have a legal right of access to our burial ground and Village Green and felt there was a need to write again before the next Meeting.

Post Office Closure:-

Mrs. Woods reported and handed out copies of the Parish Council's response for approval before posting this off. It was agreed that this was a well considered and well presented document and the Committee was congratulated and thanked for their efforts. Mrs. Woods said she hoped the District and the County and Mr. J. Maples MP. would also give us their support. Cllr. Saint said they were formulating their response later in the week and said he knew that Mr. Maples was also writing to give his support.
Mr. Righton spoke of BT's resolve to remove the red phone boxes and Mr. Jervis spoke of the one in Winderton that was on the removal list. Residents had signed a petition and written and the Clerk said she too had written to support the retention of the box. There had been an item in the press that suggested BT could be having a change of mind and it was noted that the District Council could veto the proposition.

Action on Ms. Miller's & Mr. Righton's fields:-

The Clerk was instructed to go ahead and get a legal Easement in place.

Grant for Camera for Feldon News:-

The Clerk spoke of monies available for grants to help with "communication" and asked that the Council apply for £170 (£169.99) for a digital camera that would help in the work of putting the Feldon News together. The amount suggested it was felt would provide an adequate camera (10m pixels)giving clarity. It was agreed that the Clerk should apply.

Awards for All:-

The Clerk said that the application for £10k for the skateboard ramp had not been successful as Awards for All had less monies to distribute and more people applying, however they suggested that we apply again which the Clerk said she would do. The application to the District and County Council had been more successful and they had granted £10K - Mr. Righton had attended the Meeting when money was distributed and spoke briefly. The Free School Foundation had also offered £2,500.

NEW ITEMS:-

Village Hall Car Park:-

The Clerk had been asked by the Village Hall Treasurer if the Council would spend some of the money allotment to the Hall to help to pay for the resurfacing of the Car Park as it was to cost about £4,000, however the cost had now been reduced to half that amount and as there was over that left in the grant to Village Hall the Council would be able to pay for this and recover the VAT. Comments were made about the vast improvement that had been made to the parking area

MAINTENANCE:-

Village Pump:-

The Clerk said she thought this matter had been set aside but needed resolving. If this meant paying someone to install the pump perhaps this should be considered.

REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES:-

None this month.

CORRESPONDENCE:-

Speed Limit Review:-

Comments were called for regarding the proposal to change the speed limit to 50 mph from Shipston to Brailes and beyond to the County border with Oxfordshire. Councillors felt this would be a good measure.

Misleading sign:-

A resident had written to ask for the sign "The Bungalows" that was put below the road sign "New Park Cottages", to be removed. This matter had been raised before and the Council did decide to take action but nothing had been done.

Lighting Pole:-

The old wooden pole has not been removed from Saltway Lane and a resident has asked for its removal as it is in front of her property and has wires hanging down from it. The Clerk has asked Mr. Yarwood to press E.On to remove this as they have been asked on two previous occasions.

The Parish Plan:-

Mr. C. Cox had written to remind the Council that it was now 4 years since the Steering Committee was formed. Since publication the Parish Council has implemented Actions the plan contains. Interim reports on progress have also been produced for the village, for villages wanting to produce their own Action Plans and various organisations interested in our progress.
The guidance supplied to the Steering committee mentions that Action Plans are on going and should be re-drawn from time to time - they suggest every five years.
Mr. Cox felt that as the anniversary approached he would wish to stand down as Chairman of the Steering Committee and resign from the Committee leaving the way for the parish to bring in new people who will revive local needs with fresh eyes.
Mr. Drury, Chairman, thanked Mr. Cox and his Committee for the work they had done and said the Council would take the matter up again in the New Year.

Grass Cutting:-

The Clerk had written to a Mr. M. Austin regarding the rather unsatisfactory grass cutting this year but had not received a reply. Cllr. Saint said that it was better if a letter was sent to a Mr. Weeks, Mr. Austin's boss. Mrs. Manley spoke of the work done in Castle Hill. The Clerk produced the cutting plan and found that the contractor did not have the same plan. The Clerk will follow this up.

MEMBERS REPORTS:-

The Clerk said that she was running out of space in the Office and wondered what she could throw away. Mr. Cheney said there was little need to save planning applications as these were now available on the District Council's Web Site. The disposal of such documents was discussed but as Mr. Cheney pointed out as they were available to anyone it would not prompt someone to try and steal someone's identity from them. The Clerk said she would thin them down.

PLANNING:-

Mr. Cheney said he felt rather than circulate the plans the Clerk could e-mail people with the details and they could look it up on the Council's web site. This was agreed but Mrs. Woods said she would like to see the plans and Mr. Righton and Mr. Jervis would also have sight of them. Mr. Cheney asked why the Office Computer did not have Broadband and the Clerk said that it seemed rather an expense when it would get so little use. Mr. Doherty said he would look into a cheaper broadband.

FINANCE:-

Cheques:-

No. 100945 WALC £ 10.50

No. 100946 Awards for All £ 2,055.00

No. 100947 Petty Cash £ 56.40

The Clerk explained that Awards for All had asked for the remaining money back.

Meeting closed at 9.30.p.m. Next Meeting Tuesday August 27th.