Brailes Parish Council.

Minutes of the May Meeting of the Parish Council.

MINUTES OF A PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY MAY 27TH 2008 AT 7.30pm. IN THE METHODIST ROOM

Present:-

Mrs. B. Foster, Mrs. G. Woods, Mr. N. Drury, Mr. A. Jervis and Mr. R. Cheney, Cllr. P. Seccombe, Cllr. C. Saint and 6 members of the public.

Apologies for Absence:-

Mrs. B. Manley and Mr. C. Righton.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:-

Flood committee:-

Mr. Hyland spoke on behalf of the Flood Committee and reiterated his concerns and the issues that it was felt would alleviate the situation. He said he had a meeting planned with Mr. A. Savage of the County and would be putting a case for work to be done. He had asked for an extra road gulley beside the one that is near the grid from Martin Cole's Field. The Clerk had spoken to the County about this but they felt that it would require considerable work as the present gulley is probably hampered by tree roots and as a result a further gully would do little to help.

MATTERS ARISING:-

Year end Accounts:-

All Councillors had had a copy to study and it was unanimously agreed to adopt these accounts. The Clerk asked the Chairman to sign the Report for the External Auditor.

Dragons Teeth:-

After discussion it was agreed to ask the County to install these at the entrance to the Village on Fant Hill, at the bottom of Holloway Hill as people were entering the village from the Banbury direction and also on Castle Hill Lane where it meets the B4035. We had been given an estimated price of around £2000 and the Clerk felt that this should be verified. Mrs. Woods proposed, 2nd Mrs. Foster, 4 in favour and one opposed.

Flood Relief:-

The Clerk had a form to apply for funding as the District Council had £100,000 to spend on the whole District. The Chairman spoke of a few Councillors who had met the previous week to discuss what projects they would put forward. Their decision was that the Betty Miller's Field project was the most important and as it was felt it could be some time before any funding was allocated and handed out, the Parish Council would put forward their promised money and they would ask the Flood Committee to put in at least £1,100 so that the work could go ahead as quickly as possible. All the Councillors voted and agreed to this. The meeting of the two brooks was considered the second most important project and a cattle grid with piping in Martins Cole's field was considered the third most important. Mr. Hyland said that the Flood Committee had already firm promises of £1,200 and had two more people to ask so felt there could be more money yet. He said they would put in whatever they got and the Parish Council could find the rest.

Web Site - The “blog”:-

Mrs. Woods spoke and said she was concerned by an entry from Mr. Doherty which she felt was offensive to the Parish Council and the Flood Committee. Other members however expressed the view that the “blog” was an open forum where anyone could express their views and everyone therefore had the right to reply if they felt upset by anything. It offered a change of ideas and an opportunity to put forward alternatives.

NEW ITEMS:-

Insurance - Lap Top:-

The Clerk said that the new lap top needed to be covered by some insurance. Mr. Cheney had brought it along and said he really felt he didn’t need it at his house as he already had enough equipment to deal with. The Clerk felt that it should not be left in the Parish Council’s office. There were occasions when the office had to be opened by the Methodists which could leave it vulnerable and suggested that for the time being she would take it home and it would be covered by the household contents insurance. Councillors asked that broadband should be loaded and the Clerk said she would do this but she had to get a mandate from the Bank as every transaction needs two signatures so that she could not on her own ask for a direct debit from the Bank.

Grass, Lower Brailes:-

Mrs. Clarke, Stone Cottage had spoken to Mr. Cheney as when the grass cutters were last in the village they did not cut the grass near her house. The Clerk had spoken to Mr. Dobson, SDC who having looked at his plans said it was not part of the grass cutting plan but that his map showed it belonged to the Parish Council. The Clerk said she would look in the file and ascertain if it was registered Village Green and would go back to Mr. Dobson and get him to amend his plan. Mrs. Woods pointed out that the village green near the church was never cut by the District and the Clerk will also point this out.

MAINTENANCE:-

Mr. Jervis said that in spite of closing the road to Winderton he could not see that they had done any work. The Clerk will ask for an explanation.

Pot Hole:-

On Sutton Lane about 100 yards back up from the golf club but on the opposite side of the road.

Loose kerb stones:-

by the George had not been attended to.

REPORTS OF OTHER MEETINGS/COMMITTEES:-

None this month

CORRESPONDENCE:-

Stratford District Public Realm Scheme:-

There is a small amount of money available for grants of up to £1,000 for one-off projects that will provide direct benefit to the local community and this includes new notice boards.
It was agreed that the Village Hall badly needed to replace the Notice Board and it was further agreed that the Parish Council would contribute 25%, the Village Hall 25% and ask for a grant of 50%.
The Clerk was left to set this up.

Charity Trustees:-

Brailes Charities had written advising the Council that the five year term for nominated trustees is due to end and, Mr. John Dudbridge, Mrs. Glenda Woods, Mrs. Brenda Foster and Mr. Martin Cole had agreed to stand again for another 5 years. There is also a vacancy and the Trustees would like to suggest Mr. Clive Jeffries. The Council gave this their unanimous approval.

Brailes United Charity:-

The Charity wrote to say that they would consider any scheme that was put forward to alleviate the risk of flooding in Upper Brailes.

Brailes Flower Show:-

Mr. Nerding had written to ask the Parish Council to fund the cost of the Marquee for Brailes Show which would mean that VAT could be reclaimed. Mr. Nerding had been told at the previous meeting that the Parish Council had set its budget for the coming financial year. The Clerk said that even if the Council did have money to cover such an expense it could not legally under Section 137 give money to an organisation that was fund raising.

MEMBER'S REPORTS:-

None this month.

Cllr. Saint reported:-

While the District Council had £100,000 to spend, the County had not received any money from the Government - he also pointed out that the County would not take on work that was beyond its remit which was to make sure the roads/highway were clear and in good condition.
Cllr. Saint also said that he had been upset when attending a meeting where large amounts of money were being proposed to alleviate flooding for a very small number of residents when the money being put forward would do considerably more good for more people in other places, for example Brailes or Long Compton. The matter is to be discussed again.

Cllr. Seccombe reported:-

The few old telephone boxes around the District are the subject of a proposal that they are not profitable and should be removed. Mr. Jervis spoke of the one in Winderton and said it had been threatened before and the residents had opposed it and it was reprieved. He felt it could be listed and wanted the Council to write and oppose its removal.

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. 100935 Ink for Printer £ 35.98

No. 100936 W A L C Assoc Fee £ 310.00

No. 100937 Allianz Insurance £ 521.27

No. 100938 Petty Cash £ 54.81

No. 100939 Play Equipment £ 834.25

Meeting Closed at 9.20pm. Next Meeting June 30th.