19 Aug 2017

Minutes: 17th July 2017


DRAFT MINUTES

CHEARSLEY PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 17TH JULY 2017 IN THE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30PM

PRESENT

Councillors:                                         Nic Brown (NB), John Lewis (JL), Martin Hearmon (MH), Paul Bown (PAB), Julia Witcher (JW), Michael Edmonds (ME), John Howard (JH), Michael Hawkett

Parish Clerk:                                       Helen Spurgeon

Responsible Finance Officer:      Robert Parkes (RP)

Parishioners:                                      There were 3 Parishioners

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

PAB declared an interest in the planning application for River View. 

PARISHIONERS QUESTION TIME

A parishioner expressed concerns over the hedge by the Cricket Club. This is the responsibility of the Cricket Club. ACTION: JH to chase the Cricket Club.

A parishioner expressed concerns that the public bus service may be reduced as it is not very well used. There have been staff on the buses checking their usage. NB raised the idea of a community bus with volunteer drivers for which grants are available. ME suggested diverting a main line bus such as the 280 via the villages once every couple of hours.

1.       APOLOGIES

There were no apologies.



2.       APPROVAL OF JUNE 2017 MINUTES

Minutes were agreed as a true record and signed by Chairman, Nic Brown.



3.       MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES

        Trees in Village. ACTION: ME to identify on a map trees the Parish Council are responsible for by September meeting.

        Insurance policy review & asset register. ACTION: NB & Clerk to review the asset register.

        War Memorial repair and conservation. ACTION: Clerk and JL to arrange to meet in September to complete War Memorials Trust Grant Application form.

        Communication. Chearsley PC Facebook page has now been set up.

        Defibrillator. An electricity supply to the bus shelter is needed. ACTION: JL to follow up with Paul Oliver or appropriate electrical contractor.

        Creation of a new bank account to manage Village Hall funds. A sub-account has been opened specifically to receive stage payment from AVDC.

        Street furniture for village green. It was decided to press on with the provision of new litter bins and railings despite not having the results of the feasibility study. ACTION: JH to chase the feasibility study report.

        BCC grass cuts. It was agreed that the top half of the village is well looked after with regards to grass cutting but the bottom half is not. It appears that BCC only cut half of what they were supposed to during the first cut. There is an issue of visibility for vehicles due to the overgrown verges. The PC need to get BCC to cut the areas they are supposed to cut and may need to organise an additional cut in between the BCC cuts. ACTION: PAB to speak to Graham King in detail and to draft a letter to BCC expressing our concerns.

        Emergency reception and rest centres. ACTION: JH to liaise with Cricket Club regarding the possibility of CCC being added to the register while the Village Hall is being rebuilt.

        Mike Heybrook’s footpath report. ACTION: JH to email Mike Heybrook to see if it is possible to get the work done by September.

        Chearsley flag and PC logo. To be completed by September. ACTION: NB to organise an informal meeting for Councillors to discuss the options.

        New dog bin at Stoney Furlong. This has been ordered.

        Increase for village mowing. A 10% increase has been agreed.

        Village event road signs. These have been ordered.

        Hedge on Hicks Path. Ian agreed to prune the hedge. ACTION: NB to confirm it has been done.



4.       PLANNING

        17/02210/APP – River View, Church Lane, Chearsley HP18 0DF

Proposed boundary wall. A site meeting will take place at 11am on Friday 21st July. ACTION: NB to respond to AVDC by 21st July.



5.       CORRESPONDENCE

There was no correspondence outside the Agenda items.



6.       CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AVDC AND BCC COUNCILLORS

Mike Hawkett confirmed that he had no objections to the construction of the cattle yard at Grove Farm.



7.       FINANCE

·         The auditors have raised a number of queries with the Annual Return which are being dealt with.

·         The VAT refund has been received from HMRC and is now in the bank.

·         Expenditure to date is well within budget but there are a number of projects which need progressing. The PC need to press on with the bus shelter works. ACTION: MH to speak to Jon Parry. The invoice from the feasibility study is yet to be received. No work has been done so far on the parking bays on Church Lane. ACTION: NB to speak to contractor for specification/quote.

·         The only item for payment this month is the Clerk’s salary. It was agreed to fix the Clerk’s salary at a regular level of 20 hours per month. Any expenses that the Clerk incurs below £50 per month can be sent directly to the RFO to be reimbursed.



8.       REPORTS FROM COUNCILLORS ATTENDING MEETINGS AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS

There were none.



9.       LITTER BINS AND RAILINGS FOR THE VILLAGE GREEN

This was covered under point 3 above.



10.   CHEARSLEY FLAG AND PC LOGO

This was covered under point 3 above.



11.   GRASS CUTTING

This was covered under point 3 above.



12.   PARISHIONERS QUESTION TIME

A Parishioner asked what had happened to the Chearsley signs at the village entrances. They were removed for the white gates to be repainted. They will be replaced by new signs but the PC are waiting for the results of the feasibility study which is likely to recommend more ‘olde worlde’ signs to encourage traffic to slow down as it enters the village.



13.   ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

·         Report on dangerous driving by Ultraframe/Bibby Distribution HGV BP15 OWY. A branch was snapped off the horse chestnut tree during a dangerous manoeuvre by this lorry. Photographic evidence was captured. Initially, a poor response was received from Bibby to the complaint. Later, Bibby agreed to amend the driver’s route to avoid the village roads. JH has sent a report of the incident to the police and BCC. JH is still in correspondence with Bibby and is considering asking for recompense for the damage to the tree. Any further developments will be reported.

·         Report from potholes taskforce (PAB/MH/JH). An audit of potholes in the village is being carried out. Aylesbury and Winchendon Roads have been done with 15 potholes to report. Other areas are to be audited. The PC is reporting these potholes via the BCC website.

·         Feasibility study report. If this arrives before the next PC meeting, Councillors will meet to review the report.

·         Grove Farm. Complaints have been received regarding a strong smell and a large number of red kites circling around the farm looking for dead meat. ACTION: Clerk to contact AVDC environmental officer to investigate.

·         Final PC meeting in the Village Hall. From September PC meetings will be held in the Cricket Club. We look forward to enjoying the new Village Hall in the spring.

·         Unregistered land. There are a number of areas of unregistered land in the village which the PC are looking at registering for the use of the community. Councillors agreed for NB to start work on this with Honiballs legal team.



14.   DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING in Chearsley Cricket Club

·         Monday 18th September 2017 at 7.30pm