DRAFT MINUTES
CHEARSLEY PARISH
COUNCIL
DRAFT MINUTES OF THE
MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 20th FEBRUARY 2017 IN THE VILLAGE
HALL AT 7.30PM
PRESENT
Councillors: Nic
Brown (NB), John Lewis (JL), Paul Bown (PAB), Michael Edmonds (ME),
John Howard (JH), Michael Hawkett
Parish Clerk: Helen
Spurgeon
Responsible
Finance Officer: Robert Parkes (RP)
Parishioners: There
were 6 Parishioners
DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST
There were no interests declared.
PARISHIONERS
QUESTION TIME
There were no questions.
1. APOLOGIES
Julia Witcher (JW), Margaret Aston.
2. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 2017 MINUTES
Minutes were agreed as a true record and signed by Chairman, Nic Brown.
3. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
·
Provision
of Welcome to Chearsley signs. NB has given the details to Dave Smith at
Transport for Bucks and is waiting to hear back.
·
Bank
Mandate forms. These have now been submitted to the bank.
·
Kerbing
and Verges. JL has produced a single specification for the contractors to
quote against. Four quotes have been received from the approved contractors
list but there are considerable differences in pricing. ACTION: JL to arrange to meet with a
couple of the contractors.
·
Feasibility
study for traffic calming measures. Indicative cost £3,700, final figure
should be available by the end of the week. This cost is eligible for LAF
funding on a matched contribution basis. ACTION: JH to obtain final quote.
·
Trees in
Village. There is no list of public owned trees in Chearsley. ACTION: ME
to identify on a map trees the Parish Council are responsible for. ACTION: JL
to send village map to ME.
·
War
Memorial repair and conservation. The war memorial is eligible for funding
through The War Memorials Trust to cover up to 75% of costs. ACTION: Clerk and JL to complete Grant
Application form.
·
Defibrillator.
ACTION: NB to keep chasing BT to remove
the old phone box. NB is
working with a contractor on the provision of electricity to the bus shelter
and Village Green. There appears to be no progress with the grant for the defibrillator. ACTION: PB to investigate what has
happened with our grant application.
·
Signage for
Village Green. There has been a request to move one of the ‘No Parking’
signs nearer to the bus shelter. ACTION: NB to ask if we can reposition
this sign on Mr Slatter’s wall.
·
Village Noticeboard.
This is now in full working order.
·
Bus
Shelters. The bus shelter roofs have now been replaced and look good. Further investigation is to be
done into the options for replacement railings. ACTION: PB. Further improvements may be needed e.g. benches,
bus stop signs. ACTION: NB to look into options for bus
stop signs for the bus shelters. Litter bins at the bus stops are to be
replaced. ACTION: JH to look into the purchase of 2 new freestanding bins in
keeping with the village. The bin outside the shop also needs replacing.
ACTION: NB to contact Jay in the shop to see if he is able to
replace this bin. ACTION: Clerk to
determine emptying schedule of village bins from AVDC.
·
Bollards
around the Village Green. NB is having a meeting tomorrow with Broxap who
supply bollards, litter bins and railings. One option is to have wooden
bollards. ACTION: NB to report back at next meeting.
4. PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCY
The vacancy will be advertised from
21/02/17 once AVDC have confirmed that it is not necessary to hold a
by-election.
5. PLANNING
·
17/00265/APP
– The Old Plough, Aylesbury Rd, Chearsley HP18 0BS
Site visit on 24/02/17 at 2pm. NB, JL, JH to attend.
·
17/00462/APP – Merrydowne, 2 Crendon Rd, Chearsley HP18 0DL
Demolition of existing dwelling and garage and
erection of replacement single storey dwelling and garage.
Site visit on 9/03/17 at 10am. JL, PB, JH to attend.
6. CORRESPONDENCE
·
Correspondence from Margaret Morbey requesting a
village hall committee representative from the Parish Council following the
resignation of Cllr Michael Heybrook. ME
volunteered. ACTION: Clerk to inform Margaret Morbey.
·
A parishioner
reported dangerous potholes on Chilton Road. ACTION: JH to photograph and report via
the BCC website, Report a pothole. PB
commented how the pot hole reporting system on the BCC website works very well
and encourages residents to use it.
7. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AVDC AND BCC
COUNCILLORS
The Councillors were pleased to have our
AVDC Councillor, Michael Hawkett, attend the meeting. NB requested his support with our highways projects to improve the
condition of the roads and traffic calming. This is, however, more of a BCC
issue.
8. FINANCE
Orders for Payment – cheques were issued
for the bus shelter works and the Clerk’s salary.
9. REPORTS FROM COUNCILLORS ATTENDING
MEETINGS AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS
·
Buckinghamshire
Freight Strategy – Initial Workshop (13/02/17) attended by JH and NB. They were given the opportunity to raise concerns on behalf of
Chearsley, including the heavy use of the Crendon and Winchendon roads by HGVs,
speeding and kerb damage. It appears that no code of conduct on driving
behaviour in the road haulage industry exists. We urge the public to photograph
any incidents that they witness so they can be reported.
·
Haddenham & Long Crendon Local
Community Area Forum (16/02/17) attended by JH and NB. They raised
the poor state of the approach roads into Chearsley. NB has since met with Dave Smith from Transport for Bucks. The
persistent flooding on the Cuddington Road was raised. The defective pipework
really needs to be replaced by Thames Water. ACTION: NB to contact Thames Water.
The high number of HGVs travelling through the village was raised. A formal
application is to be made for LAF funding for our ‘Feasibility Study’. The LAF
have invested in Speed Sentinel equipment to measure speeding cars. We can send
2 people on a Sentinel training course and the equipment is available for us to
borrow. Chearsley to attend future LAF meetings.
10. ANNUAL VILLAGE MEETING
The date was confirmed as 24th
April. ACTION: NB to organise drinks and nibbles. ACTION: Clerk to invite Cllr Aston and if she is unable to attend
to request a written report.
AGM confirmed for 15th May.
11. COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY
JH
presented some ideas on how we might engage more positively with the village.
He suggested:
·
An ‘Annual Report’ presentation at the annual
village meeting. ACTION: JH to produce draft.
·
Production of ‘Annual Report’ leaflet to be
distributed to all homes in village.
·
Establish village email database for
distribution of regular mailings/updates on the work of the PC.
·
Set up a Chearsley PC Facebook page. ACTION: JH
to enlist the help of JW.
·
Consider production of quarterly magazine, in
co-operation with Chearsley Blogspot.
12. PC GOVERNANCE
13. PARISHIONERS QUESTION TIME
A Parishioner raised the difficulty of
parking outside the shop at weekends. There is nothing that can be done about
this as it is a public highway.
14. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
Modernising Local Government – meeting at AVDC
on 23rd February 2017. This meeting is to provide an update on the
District Councils’ proposal for two Unitary Councils. No Councillors to attend.
15. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING in
Chearsley Village Hall
·
Monday 20th March 2017 at 7.30pm
