Minutes of the June Meeting of the Parish Council.

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY JUNE 30TH 2008 AT 7.30PM. IN THE METHODIST ROOM

Present:-

Mrs. B. Foster, Mrs. G. Woods, Mrs. B. Manley, Mr. C. Righton, Mr. N. Drury, Cllr. P. Seccombe, Cllr. C. Saint and 12 members of the public.

Apologies for Absence:-

Mr. R. Cheney, Mr. A. Jervis

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:-

No comments.

MATTERS ARISING:-

Flood Relief - Security and Future of Flood Channel:-

A work party had done further clearance of the brook near the Coach House and the land adjacent to it had been tidied up. Mr. Hyland expressed his grateful thanks to Mr. Righton and Betty Miller for their help.
Mr. Hyland spoke of a meeting with Mr. A. Savage when he was able to walk around the village and pass comment on the work that Mr. Hyland felt was necessary to alleviate flooding in the future. Mr. Savage promised that there would be complete CCTV inspection of all the drains and on completion we would get a copy. The ditch by the Industrial Estate needed cleaning out again. It had been done before but the debris left on the bank had now fallen back into the ditch causing an obstruction. Work was being considered in Upper Brailes - a ditch across allotment land.
A decision on any monies available would be at the end of July.
Mr. Righton spoke of the need to have some legal arrangement regarding the use of Betty Miller's land. He had asked his solicitor who felt that it would be best to purchase the land rather than lease it. Cllr. Seccombe said he could not see why the Council could not have an Easement. It would be simple to set up. No firm decision was made although it was clear that an arrangement must be made. Cllr. Seccombe was to give further advice.

Web Site and Awards for All:-

The Clerk reported that Awards for All had written and asked for Invoices and receipts for the money spent and would doubtless want the remainder returned. They would not accept the spending of monies on such as Broadband. The clerk had therefore asked Mr. Doherty to submit his Invoice for the Domain name etc.

Dragon's Teeth and Sutton Lane:-

Mr. Graham Stanley had sent information regarding an on site Meeting with Cllr. Saint and Mr. N. Drury. He needed the Council's decision regarding the erection of signs for "Pedestrians in road ahead" and "Staggered junction ahead" sign and what colour did we want on the Anti-Skid surface - buff or red? The decision was to have red surfacing and that the two signs were approved.
A further meeting is to be held on Friday July 4th and Cllr. Saint said he had confirmed that this was a suitable time for him.
Cllr. Saint spoke and said that he was seeking money for or towards the cost of the “dragons teeth” and confirmed the costs.

Social Housing:-

The Clerk said that no progress had been made and she was in contact with Zoe Ciani at Orbit Housing who were negotiating with the Estate for the land but things seemed to have reached a deadlock. The Clerk had also been in touch with Charles Barlow who said he would also speak to Orbit and try and find what the position was. Mr. Drury felt that the Council should start looking for alternative land.

St. Peter and St. Paul - Parking Area:-

Mrs. Woods said she had spoken to the Vicar and they had agreed that seeking legal advice was not necessary and perhaps would be a step too far. Better to try and negotiate with the Catholic Church.

Child Protection Policy:-

The Clerk reported that when filling in the Awards form to obtain a grant for the Skate board facility the question of a Child Protection Policy arose. It clearly stated that you must tick the box to say you have such a policy in place.
The Clerk had asked around and Mr. C. Cox kindly put together such a Policy for Brailes Parish Council. The Clerk said that this would circulate for approval. A copy will be given to the Village Hall as they might find it useful.

Skateboard Ramp Funding:-

Mr. Righton had attended a meeting when it was hoped that a grant would be considered. However, as the County had now amalgamated with the District for the issuing of grants there was some confusion and no decision would now be made until July 24th. This could mean that more money would be available. Cllr. Seccombe said there was a meeting scheduled to sort matters out.

NEW ITEMS:-

Post Office Closure:-

Mrs. Woods spoke and said that if the Post Office closed would the shop follow? She personally would find it most inconvenient as she posted a number of items,some packets or parcels and she would not want to have to go into Shipston to do this.
The Meeting was opened to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinion. Mrs. Goren spoke and said that she would like to see the figures that showed that sending out a bus four times week and employing staff would be a saving over leaving the P.O where it was. Cllr. Saint said such figures were available on the Web Site. The Post Office had 190 customers a week which was low - could these figures be checked?
Some people said they went into Shipston anyway to the Bank and did their postal business while in the town.
It was generally agreed by those present that there should be concerted effort to object and a small committee was formed who would meet within days to put forward a case for keeping the Post Office in Brailes. A Public Meeting was to be held on Thursday July 10th at 8.15pm. to enable anyone concerned to have their say.
Cllr. Seccombe had spoken with the Postmaster - Mr. R. Blake - who had said that he was not too concerned that he was on the list for closure and a lady asked if this would mean that no matter what others said the Post Office would take the Postmasters view.
It was left for further discussion at the Public Meeting.

MAINTENANCE:-

Water on Sutton Lane:-

The Clerk would write to Mr. T. Taylor to ask him to take some action.

Grass Cutting:-

The Clerk felt that this has been most unsatisfactory this year and the village looked untidy.

Broken Tree:-

On the Upper Green on the very edge of the garden of Rose Cottage.

Water Upper Brailes:-

near Mr James’ is once again in evidence.

Lay by Upper Brailes:-

The ground has been badly damaged by a huge lorry and it has left very deep ruts so that a car was stuck in it. It needed some kind of fill.

Allotment Wall:-

Mr. Dudbridge had kindly removed all the weeds from the outside of the wall. The Clerk will write and thank him.

REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES:-

None this month.

CORRESPONDENCE:-

W A L C Newsletter:-

The Clerk said that a Practitioners Guide 2008 was now available and could be purchased for £10.50. As this contained up to date information on proper internal auditing practices the Clerk asked permission to purchase this, as Mr Tansley, who had always performed the internal audit was no longer in the village so someone new would have to be found, and this could provide information. It was agreed to purchase this book.

Public Realm Grant Scheme:-

Our application had been acknowledged and is receiving careful consideration.

Flooding and Roadside Ditches:-

Information from Mr. D. Tiley had been sent and the Clerk had printed this out. Members felt they would like a copy and these would be e-mailed on.

PLANNING:-

Permission granted to:-

SS Peter and Paul Church:-

A letter had been received in which Father Brian Doolan said that they were hoping to pave the parking area. He had noted that there were a number of cars parked there on a regular basis and he felt that many were simply using the area for free parking and he said he was not prepared to go to considerable expense of resurfacing for it to be churned up again. He had an agreement with St. Georges that those attending church or the Free School and the Institute could use the parking area. The Trustees of the Archdiocese have granted the Free School Trustees right of access to their parking bay.
After some discussion the Parish Council felt they should seek legal advice as this would mean there was no access to the Village Green or the Burial Ground. Mrs. Woods said she would take the matter in hand and the Clerk offered to give her information from the files.

FINANCE:-

Cheques:-

No. 100940 Greyhound Leisure (duplicate cheque) £834.25

No. 100941 D W Clark for drainage work £2,350.00

No. 100942 W A L C for timer on light £129.61

No. 100943 Mr. W. Doherty - Web Site £170.00

Meeting Closed at 9.26pm. Next Meeting July 28th 2008.