Brailes Parish Council.

Minutes of the March meeting of the Parish Council.

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY March 31st 2008 at 7.30pm in the Methodist Room.

Apologies for Absence:-

None.

Present:-

Mrs. B. Foster, Mrs. G. Woods, Mrs. B. Manley, Mr. R. Cheney, Mr. N. Drury, Mr. A. Jervis, Mr. C. Righton, Cllr. P. Seccombe, Cllr. C. Saint and 9 Members of the public.

Minutes:-

of the last meeting were adjusted, approved and signed.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:-

Light in the Park:-

Mrs. Goren spoke regarding the light that she felt left a dangerous situation in The Park and pointed out that she had submitted a Petition with the name of almost every resident who wanted this light. Mrs. Goren also said she felt that there should have been consultation before erecting the new lamp which was not in a satisfactory position. Was the Parish Council going to reconsider - had they set aside funds to cover the expense of a new lamp? Mr. Cheney said that the Council had given the matter serious consideration but it was their unanimous opinion that they would not put up another light in the area. No provision had been made for the extra expense when the 2008/9 budget had been discussed. If feelings were still running high then the time to start lobbying was in November/December 2008 for inclusion in the 2009/2010 budget.

Blocked drains/gullies:-

Mr. Taylor spoke regarding the blocked gully that he had pointed out in his previous letter to the Council. In the recent rain straw etc had again been washed down to cover the drain and he had again gone out and cleared this, however it was evident that this gully was blocked and the water carrying the straw simply went down towards the next drain which then became blocked etc. The Clerk read out a part of a report from Mr. Jeff Morris, County Council, that stated there were blocked drains that jetting did not open up but that needed excavation. The Clerk had written to ask for a list of these but had not so far received a reply.

Flooding report - Mr Hyland Reported:-

Recent heavy rain had put residents on the alert yet again but the work done to widen the stream had helped to get the water away faster. Mr. D. Tiley had promised that he would do work promised in this new financial year. This and Mr. Righton’s plan for the ditch and flood plain should bring relief. Mr. Cole had been approached to tackle the water coming off his land and attention to a blocked gully by Bleu Gates should all help. Mr. Hyland also said that if there was a shortage of funding for the ditching scheme then the residents would meet the shortfall.
Cllr. Seccombe said that the decision regarding the allocation of funds was that any village with over 12 houses flooded would receive £2,000.
Mr. Righton reported that he had been in touch with Mr. Tiley and as a result he now had a new quote of £3,000 for the work and he was now waiting for the Clerk to receive a promised letter from Mr. Walsh so that he could submit his claim.

Web Site and Blog:-

Mr. Hyland spoke of the Blog and the item regarding the flooding etc. and pointed out the inaccuracies. Some Councillors had also seen the Blog and felt it was an unnecessary comment. Mr. C. Cox pointed out that a Blog was an open forum and if you disagreed with anything there you could of course reply with your own views.

Cllr C Saint reported:-

He had attended a seminar on flooding with a number of speakers. The Chair of the Environment Agency said “that we need to reduce our vulnerability to the current risks”
Mr. Jervis asked what was happening about the gypsy encampment as it was rumoured that it could take years to get them off the land. Cllr Saint said that they had been served a Notice when he had gone along with the Chief Enforcement Officer but since then the Notices had been removed and an attempt to replace them did involve the police.

MATTERS ARISING:-

Speeding restrictions:-

The Clerk now had the quote for the Dragon’s Teeth.

Holloway Hill approx. £950.00
Fant Hill approx. £1,000.00
Sutton Lane and Castle Hill are unfortunately both too narrow - need to be 5m.
Castle Hill Lane approx. £850.00.

The Clerk pointed out that no money was budgeted for the work - the extra money in the maintenance fund was for the flood relief. After discussion the Clerk suggested that a decision could be made after she had presented the figures for the year ending March 31st to see if there was any money that could be used. Cllr. Saint said that possibly when the new speed limit came into being it could involve some measure to slow the traffic as it entered the 30mph limit. Mrs. Woods said it would probably mean a long wait before anything was done in that respect in which case if we wanted them sooner we would have to pay.
Mr. Drury pointed out that this did not resolve the problem with Sutton Lane. Mrs. Woods again repeated the fact that signs were in evidence elsewhere and felt the sign in Wellesbourne would be satisfactory. Mr. Cheney said he would endeavour to take a picture and bring it to the next meeting.

Neighbourhood Watch:-

The Clerk said that she had just been handed a list of the people who attended the meeting and assumed she was to mark a plan showing where these people lived and the area they would cover? The Clerk did point out that she thought that Mr. Packer had taken the job on and wondered what his plans were.

Flood Relief:-

The Clerk had written to Mrs. Jordan, Chair of the Brailes Charities , who said she would raise the matter at the next meeting. Members of the Charity who were present agreed it had been discussed and that the Clerk should have received a reply. This would be sent.

Waste Collection and Disposal:-

The Clerk had not been able to definitely establish that someone would come to the Parish Meeting on April 21st and give a talk and answer questions. Cllr Seccombe said he would have a word with Mr. Dobson and let the Clerk know. It was also agreed that the usual people should be asked to report on the activities of their club/meetings.

Trees on Fant Hill:-

Cllr. Saint had spoken to the Forestry people for the County and a Mr. Simms felt that 3 trees leaning badly needed removing. The owner was still unwilling it seemed to pay for any work.

MAINTENANCE:-

Willow Trees:-

on Sutton Lane needed attention - write to Mr Warmington.

Water on the road:-

by Mr Taylors Farm needed attention.

Fence on Sutton Lane head wall:-

This was still unresolved - The Clerk was asked to write to the County for advice.

Water in Upper Brailes:-

There is now a hole in the road - the Clerk will again speak to Mr Morris about this.

Willow Trees:-

on Sutton Lane needed attention - write to Mr Warmington.

Bus, Lower Green.:-

The bus turns and erodes the edges of the Green.

Mint Row:-

The grass has been ploughed up by the parking of cars. The Clerk will write to SWHA.

REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES:-

None this month

CORRESPONDENCE:-

Warwickshire View Magazine:-

Would we like to advertise any events that will take place between June and September? The Clerk suggested the Church Fete and Brailes Show.

Severn Trent and unadopted water or sewage systems:-

Mr. Pearce wrote regarding the problem he had had recently and found that a Mr. Desai, Severn Trent, said that even though the system had not been adopted by the company they would attend in such situations. Government legislation due to come into force in 2010 would compel relevant authorities to adopt water and sewage systems. This was useful information as there are many places in Brailes where systems were not adopted.

PLANNING:-

FINANCE:-

Receipts:-

BT wayleave £18.37

Cheques:-

No. 100924. Churchyard Fund £ 150.00

No. 100925. Winderton Churchyard Fund £ 50.00

No. 100926. Petty Cash 3 months £ 61.78

No. 100927. Computer Repair £ 20.00

No. 100928. E-On Lighting £ 192.83.

Meeting closed at 9.30pm. Next meeting – Annual Parish Meeting 21st April, Annual Parish Council Meeting April 28th.