Councillor M. Woodhall (HCC)
Plus ten members of the public
Apologies:.McKenzie, D.Rimmington, Jayne Edwards (footpath officer)
Open Forum (1930h-1950h)
1. Minutes of Council Meeting held on 5 April 2004
It was proposed by L.Bowditch and seconded by J.Guy that these be signed by the Chairman as a true record of the meeting
2. Matters Arising
7.4 "Millennium Fund" It was agreed that this fund was now the responsibility of the Parish Council. It was further agreed that a sum of around £250 could be released to WT 150 against a specific and agreed project proposal .
10.2 It was agreed that signs should be obtained for the recreation ground stating that “This recreation ground is the property of West Tytherley & Frenchmoor Parish Council” Action Clerk
3. Police Report Nil
4. Report from HCC
4.1 Councillor Michael Woodhall noted the good attendance at the meeting and expressed his thanks to the Council for its work over the year. He also thanked Councillor Neville Whiteley and congratulated him on his recent election as Mayor of Test Valley.
4.2 Central Government continued to move resources from the south to the north of the country, but some extra money had been given to Hampshire and the County Council's charge to tax payers was slightly less than last year. The Fire & Rescue Service was now a separately funded authority, required to achieve a target response time to an incident of twenty minutes. The work of the First Responders was to be commended. The Police had difficult decisions to make in resource allocation. Rural villages were low crime areas compared with urban areas so the latter had to be given priority.
4.3 Hampshire was predominantly rural – 90 per cent of the area being countryside, of which 17 per cent was woodland. The county had 1000 abandoned or orphaned children to look after and a similar number of elderly people who could no longer manage on their own. There was a shortage of carers and nursing homes were closing. In response the county was funding 500 new beds.
4.4. The county recycled one million tonnes per year, one of the highest rates in the country, and new waste disposal plants were being commissioned. The county was addressing the challenges presented by climate change, especially to sea defences. The good relations established by the PC with the Highways department were noted.
4.5 Money was now committed to permit the new building work at the primary school to start in the next financial year.
4.6 HCC had prepared a structure plan to the year 2011 – concentrating mainly on Andover, Winchester, Waterlooville and the other main towns – the villages were little affected. However this plan had been “dumped” by the Deputy Prime Minister and there was now intense pressure on “fringe” counties to take population from the London area, so the long-term future was not good for Hampshire. Mr Woodhall stressed the importance of preparing Parish Plans.
5. Report from TVBC
5.1 Councillor Neville Whiteley noted that only one person in the whole Borough had refused to pay his Council Tax in the past year. TVBC's budget for the current financial year was £54 million, most of which came from central government grants and rental income (especially from Andover), with only £9 million coming from Council Tax payers.
5.2 A major cost to the council would be the public enquiries into the Local Plan, which will start in Crosfield Hall Romsey in September for four weeks before moving to Andover. The plan cannot now be changed but the public can make representations to the inspector. The plan should be finalised by early 2005 and will cover the next decade. Although the effects on rural villages will be limited, some affordable housing will be permitted. Some councillors had seen the Dean Hill site as a possible location for 400 new houses but this had now been rejected and TVBC and SDC had agreed policy guidance for the site.
5.3 TVBC would be in compliance with e-government requirements by 2005, when all papers will be on the internet and available to the public.
5.4 Mr Whiteley agreed that the green-bag waste system had been badly thought out and presented.
5.5 In June a “Healthy Living Centre” was to be established in Lockerley Village Hall, similar to those already established in Bell Street in Romsey, and Andover, which were available to pensioners and housewives during the day. Transport would be laid on to take youngsters from surrounding villages to Lockerley.
6. Correspondence
6.1 HCC had given notice of changes in Service No.36 which serves the village. NW reported that the flexible Cango bus service had proved very successful in the northern Test Valley and would soon be introduced in the south. Stagecoach had won the tender.
6.2 The next meeting of the Test Valley Association of Parish and Town Councils at King's Somborne on 13 May was noted. AB and JG indicated that they might attend.
7. Finance & Cheques
7.1 It was proposed by Mr Guy and seconded by Mr Dowding that the following cheques be signed:
Signs & Designs of Perth Ltd.(McCreadie & Whitlock plaques) – CQ.No. 000313 £78.00
7.2 It was agreed that the Council would pay £580 towards the cost of King Edward's Hall insurance, as shown in the budget. In future the hall should provide an estimate of its premium before the budget is set in January
7.3 It was agreed to give £50 to St.Peter's Church towards the cost of grounds maintenance.
8. Planning
8.1 TVS 07471/2 The PC registered an objection. NW said the case highlighted the need for Planning Services to provide Parishes with more background information to applications (in this instance permission had already been given for commercial use) and he had discussed this with Maddie Winter. If Councillors did wish to object it was important that comments were objective, not subjective and that sustainable reasons were given.
8.2 Old Nails – TVBC were still awaiting their Consultant's report.
9. Parish Plan
9.1 Mr Guy reported that he had held the first meeting of his working group
10. Recreation Ground
10.1 Mr Mousley's draft Operational Policy had been circulated and it was agreed that this should be adopted. The Policy involved weekly inspections and the long-term retention of inspection reports
10.2 Paint for the play area equipment had now been received. Other matters requiring attention included the need for more hardwood chippings, staining the picnic table, attention to the perimeter boarding of the play area, and the need to enclose the groundsman's shed and provide a padlocked door to exclude children . TM reported that he had enquired about a grant for the chippings but none was available for routine maintenance.
10.3 Concern was expressed over the increasing burden that playgrounds imposed on parish councils, including the need for regular inspections and the retention of records far into the future in case of subsequent claims for injury. Mr Dowding agreed to draft a letter to HAPTC about this Action SD
11. Highways and Footpaths
11.1 Jayne Edwards provided a brief written report on footpaths, noting that there were currently few problems, although she had not yet managed to inspect all the paths. Some stiles were in need of attention but she had the impression that landowners dealt with these fairly quickly.
12. AOB
12.1 A local resident had complained about the height of the new Frenchmoor House (Bloor Homes) and queried whether it complied with planning conditions. Mr Whiteley said that he had obtained copies of all the papers concerning the site and had passed these to the complainant. It was noted that there was no requirement to include datum levels on planning applications.
12.2 There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 2130h.
Present: A.Bowditch (Chairman); T.Mousley (Vice Chairman); L.Bowditch; S.Dowding; J.Guy; D.Lyon (Clerk)
Councillor N.Whiteley (TVBC)
Playground Management Ltd (aka RoSPA) – CQ.No. 000314 £26.00
Universal Play Ltd.,(paint) – CQ.No. 000315 £54.05
Matthew Rowe (Dean Hill Site Nwslttr) – CQ.No. 000316 £23.55
Allianz Cornhill Ins.plc (PC Ins.Premium) – CQ.No. 000317 £645.29
D.Lyon (Clerk) Wages & Expenses – CQ.No. 000318 £372.99