Brailes Parish Council
Minutes of the March meeting of the Parish Council
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY MARCH 26th 2007 at 7pm in the Methodist Chapel.
Mr Charles Barlow and Mr Jeremy Page attended and updated the Council on the progress made towards further Social Housing:-
Mr Barlow spoke of the possible 7 or 8 sites that had been investigated and said that in the end it had come down to just two that were on offer. Both were on Sutton Lane. One behind the present development (Blakes Close) and the other was beyond the other older development. Both were seen as suitable but in the end the Blakes Close was given the go ahead as the other was considered too far out, extending the envelope of the village. County highways favoured Blakes Close.
The Quaker development was seen as ongoing and not a short term option.It could be a possibility in the future but it would only mean a possible two houses on the site where as a further development behind Blakes Close would be for 8 houses.
Cllr Seccombe asked what provision there would be for single accommodation. Single units were requested in the Housing Survey, also 5 people requested rented accommodation and 3 wanted shared ownership. It was now the policy of the Council to let 2 bedroom units to single people and the Parish Council felt that this should be built into the 106 Agreement. Affordable Housing for Local People was what the Parish Council understood was the intent, but some of the tenants were not local and this had caused some anger among local residents.
Mr Page then spoke and said that funding would have to be applied for and the deadline was September 2007. This meant progress must be made and a plan put forward with sketches of the possible development. Funding -50%- would be allocated in April 2008, which meant that work could be started quite quickly after this. The problem of the water had been looked into and a camera had discovered a blockage which he felt would soon be resolved. The water had eroded the tarmac on the road Mr Drury reported and the County will be advised.
Mr Barlow and Mr Page were thanked for attending and the main Meeting then started.
| Apologies: | |
| None. | |
| Present: | |
| Mrs Foster, Mrs Manley and Mrs Woods, Mr Righton, Jervis, Drury and Cheney. Cllr Seccombe, Cllr Saint and 6 members of the public. | |
| Minutes: | |
| of the last Meeting were approved and signed. | |
| MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: | |
| Plans: | |
| Mr Westcar and Mr Haynes had looked at the proposal for extending No 34 Jeffs Close and building a garage. Mr Westcar said there were no measurements on the plan. He could not tell how high the garage roof would be. He felt it was unnecessarily high. Mr Righton offered to work out the scale for him. Mr Haynes said that the garage would obscure much of the light from his garden. The extension would mean he would be looking at a brick wall where he used to see an open space. It was agreed the Council would have a site meeting on Tuesday April 3rd at 6.30pm. | |
| Maintenance: | |
| Mr J Critchlow spoke about the water that ran across the road by the Upper Green.The Clerk said that she had reported the blocked grid that was in the verge more than once but so far nothing seemed to have been done. She would pursue the matter. A grid cover in Henbrook Lane was missing. The Clerk wondered if the County had cleared the culvert and forgotten to replace the cover? It would be reported. Mr Critchlow then spoke of a dispute between him and his neighbour and although sympathetic it was not within the jurisdiction of the Council. Cllr Seccombe offered to help. |
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| Council Tax: | |
| Mr Chris Cox spoke of the rise in the Council Tax for Brailes and said it constituted a 48% rise. Mr Cheney explained that the Council had been using some of its reserves over the past two years and this year extra money had been set aside for work to the street lighting. The spending for the year has always been in the region of £12K. It was agreed that perhaps we should have put something in the Feldon News to explain why the Council Tax had risen so sharply. | |
| Cllr Saint reported: | |
| Cllr Saint handed out his monthly News Letter and spoke of PHILLIS - a move to help people stay in there own homes. It was less costly to help in this way than to take people into care. The Divisional Panel will be on June 13th arranged so that elections etc would all be out of the way. Statistics show that crime in our area is reducing and there are two new Support Officers. Cllr Saint was not sure if they were in addition to the present ones or replacements. There is a new budget for maintenance so that matters should now be dealt with. | |
| Cllr Seccombe: | |
| said there would be no elections in Brailes this year. | |
| MATTERS ARISING: | |
| Lighting: | |
| The Clerk said that the new pole on Winderton Road should be installed this week. The light in Upper Brailes is causing problems. The new owner/purchaser of the land would not give a WayLeave unless Central Networks removed the pole. The pole is on the land to be or purchased and the owners responsibility. At the moment there appears to be a stalemate. The Clerk had sent the plan of Friars Lane with potential sites for lights marked and Mr Yarwood said he would happily meet someone on site. Mr Cheney said he would make this arrangement. |
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| Safety Mats by School: | |
| Mr Righton said the placing of these had been looked at and a site agreed.There was to be “footprints” by the Sutton lane T junction. | |
| Computer: | |
| The Clerk said she had not connected to an ISP as she waiting for a disk from BT. Mr Drury said the Web site was about 50% complete but the Parish Council’s part of the site needed an opening statement. Mr Cheney said the web site committee would look into this. | |
| Parish Plan: | |
| The small committee had met and discussed the possibility of instigating sports facilities. People who had expressed an interest in the Parish Plan Questionnaire would be approached and it was hoped that people would come together and carry it forward. | |
| Water on road in Upper Brailes: | |
| The Clerk had spoken to Severn Trent who were to look into the prior report and phone back-but didn't’t. The Clerk then spoke to the resident who lived nearby who said that Severn Trent had established it was not a leak but possibly a spring. As it was dry in the summer this was probably the answer. | |
| NEW ITEMS: | |
| The Pump-Rectory Lane: | |
| Mr Drury and Mrs Foster said they would endeavour to get this matter resolved. | |
| Burial Ground - Rules: | |
| Mr Cheney spoke of a meeting with someone who was compiling data on cemeteries and he felt that Brailes should have some laid down rules. He said that people were not made aware of the years on the “lease” and what they could do regarding putting up headstones. After discussion it was agreed that two Councillors would read the information that the Clerk had. | |
| MAINTENANCE: | |
| Castle Hill Lane: | |
| The edges of the road were frayed with the tarmac patchy. The Clerk said the same was evident on Sutton Lane particularly in the area of the opposite side of the road to the Golf Club and she had reported this. | |
| The Fountain: | |
| The kerbs at the Fountain were particularly high and it was agreed the Clerk would ask the County for dropped kerbs. | |
| Sutton Lane: | |
| Mr Drury felt that there should be some indication when entering the village via Sutton Lane that there was a turn into Jeffs Close and also there were entrances to housing. People felt that if vehicles were only doing 30mph it should not present a problem but the discussion turned to the erection of “White Gates” as a means of slowing traffic down and indicating that housing etc was imminent. The Clerk will ask the County what the procedure is to get gates erected and at what cost. | |
| REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES: | |
| WALC - Myton School: | |
| Mr Cheney reported. He and Mrs Manley had attended and found it very informative. The Preliminary programme was The Revised Parish Council Code of Conduct by Simon Best Monitoring Officer for Warwick District Council and Partnership working with Community and Voluntary Bodies by Clare Steel Rural policy Officer, National Council for Voluntary Organisations. After lunch there was a choice of workshops. Mrs Manley attended the Financial Risk Assessment and Mr Cheney went to the workshop on Update on Employment Legislation. |
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| Best Kept Village Competition: | |
| It was agreed we would enter again this year and the Clerk would provide the necessary map.The following aspects will be judged. Verges, Absence of Litter, Environment , Overall impression. | |
| Tree Warden: | |
| Stratford is to re-launch the Tree Warden Scheme and it was agreed that if Mr Russell-Carter was still willing to volunteer the Clerk would put his name forward. | |
| MEMBERS REPORTS: | |
| Grass Cutting in the Burial Ground. Mrs Woods wondered what arrangement had been made for the grass cutting for the coming season. Mr Righton was asked if he was willing to do the job again this year. Mr Righton agreed to do the work at a cost of £265.00 | |
| PLANNING: | |
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| FINANCE: | |
| Payments: | |
| Cheque No 100881 Trees £ 25.00 | |
| Cheque No 100882 Petty Cash £ 37.83 | |
| Cheque No 100883 Best Kept Village Competition £ 20.00 | |
| Meeting closed at 9.20pm. Next Meeting April 30th 2007. | |