WEST TYTHERLEY & FRENCHMOOR PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Council Meeting held on Monday,10 January 2005, at 1930h in King Edward’s Hall

Present: A.Bowditch (AB)(Chairman); T.Mousley (TM)(Vice-Chairman); L.Bowditch (LB); S.Dowding (SD); J.Guy (JG); L.Marsden (LM)

Councillor Michael Woodhall (HCC); Councillor Neville Whiteley (TVBC); Insp.P. Funnell (Officer i/c Romsey Police Station) & PC D.Turpin; Capt. P.Collinson (Chair, Neighbourhood Watch) plus three members of the public.

Apologies: D.Rimmington

OPEN FORUM

1. Minutes of Council Meeting held on 13 December 2004

It was proposed by JG and seconded by LM that these be signed by the Chairman as a true record of the meeting.

2. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising

3. Police Report (additional agenda item)

3.1 PC David Turpin reported that the only recent incidents in the parish comprised three domestic incidents, details of which he could not reveal, and the theft from a caravan at Stony Batter. He now attends monthly cross-border meetings with police from neighbouring forces.

3.2 Insp. Peter Funnell gave an update on policing arrangements in the area. PC Chris Day, the former beat officer, was now stationed at County HQ, and his house in East Tytherley was closed as a functioning police house. The future of this house and one in Wellow had as yet to be decided. Under the EC Working Time Directive, Health & Safety legislation etc. officers who are off-duty cannot undertake any police work except in an extreme emergency. The area is covered 24 hours by an emergency vehicle and the new digital radios now give much improved communications.The large number of calls to the police necessitates the use of call-centres to filter calls, and where possible dealing with the problem without sending out an officer. There are currently 28 officers stationed at Romsey, with two vacancies. This allows for 11 officers on the beat at any one time, covering a population of 60 000 people. Insp. Funnell was aware of the public’s desire to see more police on the street; community support officers with limited powers were being trialled in Hampshire to address this desire, at least in part.

3.3 Capt. Peter Collinson (Chair, West Tytherley Neighbourhood Watch) expressed concern over the new policing arrangements, which did not address the need for a locally based beat officer who knew his area and its problems, and who could maintain close liaison with the Neighbourhood Watch. Without this close contact he questioned the purpose of the Watch, which should provide the police with intelligence and receive a corresponding feed-back of information from the police. It therefore followed that attendance by a police officer was a sine qua non of Watch meetings. However recently it had not always been possible to arrange a police presence at meetings.

3.4 Insp. Funnell recognised the value of the Neighbourhood Watch but said that it was no longer administered by the police and they did not have the resources of manpower to attend all the many Watch meetings. In answer to SD he said that following a report of an incident requiring police presence (Grade I call), the aim was to deploy within four minutes and the response time was this plus the time it took to drive to the site of the incident. For Grade II calls deployment would be within 30 minutes.

3.5 It was agreed that Capt. Collinson and PC Turpin would liaise in future and that the latter would attend Neighbourhood Watch meetings when possible. The commitment amounted to less than an hour of police time two or three times a year.

4.Report from HCC

4.1 Councillor Woodhall referred to the SE Development Plan (noting that proposals for regional government had failed their first test in the NE). Housing was a critical issue, and he expected that the county and district councils would be consulted over this. The pressure areas for new housing were Winchester, Basingstoke, Andover and Romsey, with little likely in rural areas.

4.2 JG raised the question of police performance in rural areas. MW said that policing areas were defined by risk and the rural areas in general and the parish in particular were low risk areas. The resources available to the police in the county were “abysmal”. JG pointed out that the police precept had double digit inflation for the past five years. MW said that the police authority came directly under the Home Office and HCC had no control over it.

5. Report from TVBC

5.1 Councillor Whiteley referred to the TVBC budget for the next financial year which was being prepared. A rigorous examination of administration requirements was being undertaken and there may be some redundancies to keep the council tax down.

5.2 NW was sceptical as to the likelihood of the police attending Neighbourhood Watch meetings in future and he questioned how the police organised their time. It was agreed that the issue of rural policing and liaison with the police at the local level needed further discussion. NW suggested that the Test Valley Association of Parish Councils would be an appropriate forum wherein to take the matter further. Mr Van der Hoven should be asked to include the subject on the agenda for the next meeting, possibly inviting the Chairman of the Police Authority to attend.

6. Correspondence

6.1 Correspondence received and requiring a response was as follows

Bawden Grounds & Estate Maintenance – agreed to obtain a quotation from them for maintenance of recreation ground from 2006-2007 Action Clerk

Test & Itchen Landcare Project Action SD to monitor local flooding and diffuse pollution of water

Calor Village of the Year Competition – agreed not to enter

Planning Service User Group – Action JG to attend next meeting on 24 January

7. Finance & Cheques

It was proposed by JG and seconded by SD that the following cheque be signed

Clerk (D.Lyon) Wages & Expenses CQ.No. 000336 £230.05

8. Budget for 2005-2006 and Precept

8.1 The budget (attached to these minutes) of £12665 was proposed by JG and seconded by TM. The budget includes £500 held in reserve for the First Responders and £800 held in reserve for elections.

8.2 The following resolution was proposed by TM and seconded by SD; that the Council, in accordance with its powers under sections 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972 should incur the expenditure of £1720 on items shown in the budget (attached) in the interests of the parish and its inhabitants.

8.3 It was proposed by AB and seconded by JG that the Precept for 2005-2006 be set at £9000, representing an increase of 5.88 per cent on the previous year.

9. Planning

9.1 TVS.LB.00552/4 Corn Store (Coach Road) Councillors raised no objections

TVS.04013/20 Summer Lodge Councillors raised no objections

TVS.04450/4 Smithy Cottage (Coach Road) Partly in East Tytherley; Councillors raised no objections

TVS.09800/4 Connemara Stud – circulated for comment

9.2 NW reported that, to meet Central Government targets for dealing with planning applications more would be delegated to TVBC officials

9.3 Local Plan Inquiry – it was agreed that JG, accompanied by Phil Turner (Planning Aid), would attend hearings of relevance to the Parish, starting on 11 January

9.4 JG agreed to attend a round table meeting on planning policy on 20 January.

10. Parish Plan – JG had nothing to report

11. Recreation Ground – play area

11.1 TM reported that he had obtained estimates from three companies for providing a rubber surface, either poured or tiles. The estimates ranged from £14000-£17000. He would discuss with Ray Lodge the latter’s recycled rubber surface material.

12. Highways & Footpaths

12.1 Action Clerk to inform Highways of problem of material washed down from Coopers Drove blocking gulleys by the village hall

12. AOB

12.1 SD reported that he had attended the November meeting of the TVAPC. Following a talk by a representative of the Standards Committee there was a lengthy and heated discussion which was not mentioned in the subsequent minutes. He did not get a satisfactory reply from the Minuting Secretary when he raised the matter. Mr Van der Hoven had promised to send a copy of the TVAPC Constitution to SD, this had not yet been received.

There then being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 2145h

Signed

A.Bowditch (Chairman) Date

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