The Minutes were accepted as a true record of the August meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.
The Chairman confirmed that the people who deliver Spectrum are happy to also deliver the Village Design Statement to the houses they visit. He will divide the Parish up into areas for ease of delivery and would welcome other volunteers to help with the distribution.
The Chairman will chase up repair of the broken finger post sign at Blindman's Gate. He has spoken to the lady whose builders are believed to be responsible for the spillage of gravel at Fullers Lane. She will speak to them with regard to clearing this up.
The goalposts have not yet been removed from the Recreation Ground.
The CCTV has now been registered with the Information Commission with regard to Data Protection.
A note has appeared in Spectrum, warning people not to leave belongings in unlocked cars.
The Chairman then invited John Angle to speak to the meeting about producing
a Parish Plan, the 'follow on' from the Village Design Statement. John explained
the importance of this document, and how is would be beneficial to the Parish in
the future, particularly with regard to planning issues. Much work would be
involved, e.g. data collection and consultation, probably over a 15-18 month
period. Funding has been made available, primarily via DEFRA.
Three thousand
Parishes have already begun producing a Parish Plan, with one thousand of these
already being completed. Borough Councillor Sanders is also fully behind the idea
of producing a Parish Plan. John therefore asked for the Council's agreement to
support development of a Parish Plan for East Woodhay, and also their
agreement to manage the funding provided.
All were happy to agree to this.
John has organised someone from Hampshire County Council to come and talk
about producing a Parish Plan. The date for this is 31st October, and as this is
the same date as the next Parish Council meeting, it was agreed to combine the
two, starting at the earlier time of 7.00 p.m. The first part of the meeting will
comprise the presentation by Hampshire CC.
Applications re Monmouth House and Old Blindman's Gate in Woolton Hill have been approved and Bances Yard has been refused. Application to extend 7 Falcon Coppice has been withdrawn and a new one submitted which addresses the objections raised in line with the Village Design Statement. Refusal of application at Woodgate in Tile Barn is being appealed.
There have not been many new applications this month, and none significant. Further to withdrawal of most recent application, discussion continues to take place re layout of development and design of dwellings at Clere House and Little Oxleas.
The developer of the former Hitchmans Yard site wishes to name the new development 'Wheelwrights Lane'. The Council has already expressed the opinion that 'Wheelwrights Close' would be more suitable as there is no through road here. The developer is still determined to stick to his original choice, but the Council have reiterated their view that this is not appropriate.*
ACTION: CLERK TO INFORM SHIRLEY BREWER AT BASINGSTOKE.Consultation documents have been received re review of provision of gypsy and traveller sites. Hampshire is second only to Kent in the number of caravans on unauthorised sites, with 136 against 113 which are authorised. The South East has seen a 21% increase in unauthorised sites between summer of 2004 and summer 2005.
Two cameras on the CCTV mast have had to be replaced due to poor picture quality. Handover will take place soon.*
ACTION: CLERK TO PUT NOTICE IN SPECTRUM AND ON NOTICEBOARDS ONCE SYSTEM IS OPERATIONAL.It was also suggested that the Newbury Weekly News do an article and photograph too. Training re operation and monitoring will take place, and a sign will be put up saying who to contact should there be any problems. A 'procedure document' is also being drawn up to be used in the event of an incident taking place. This will detail who should be contacted in relation to the incident, e.g.. whether the police should be called. Insurance will be activated once handover takes place.
More quotations are awaited this week in respect of necessary repair work to the tennis courts. Cooks will be asked for quotation to cut down the hedges around the car park at Woolton Hill and the recreation ground at Heath End. Once this has been completed and the leaves have stopped falling, a mega 'sweep' of the courts will take place.
The bylaws noticeboard at Woolton Hill is being refurbished and resited.
Play equipment for Woolton Hill is still being looked at and meetings taking place with Ian Harris at Basingstoke and others to progress design. A public meeting will take place mid November to present ideas and push the project forward. However, in the meantime work at Heath End will be commenced.
The Chairman has met with the Area Surveyor, Steve Goodall, to discuss Highways problems around the Parish. Cllr Johnson mentioned that there is a dip in the road where a drain has subsided at the 'red' 30 mph area near Fullers Lane. This is similar to the problem which has recently been rectified on the Ball Hill road near Gore End Road.*
Cllr Sanders mentioned a problem on the road to West Woodhay, where soil has been removed from the edge at one side of the road and the hedgerow has not been cut on the other site. He knows of someone who has had a tyre damaged there. He has also received many complaints about the situation outside Ball Hill garage, particularly where cars are being parked closer and closer to the junction there.*
Cllr Kyle-Lawrence is concerned about drain covers along the stretch from the C5 to Broad Layings which collapse when walked on. These are very dangerous.*
ACTION: CHAIRMAN TO LOOK INTO THESE ISSUES. CLERK TO ARRANGE NOTICE IN SPECTRUM, ASKING PARISHIONERS TO INFORM THE COUNCIL OF ANY HIGHWAYS ISSUES THEY COME ACROSS.A meeting re the Safer Routes to Schools scheme is talking place next week.
A list of income and expenditure was presented and cheques duly signed.
The Clerk reported that the Council photocopier has now given up and asked for permission to purchase a new one at a cost of around £200. The meeting agreed.
In the past the Council has given donations for the upkeep of both the village halls and both the graveyards in the Parish. The Council was happy to do this again this year, at the same amount of £100 each.*
ACTION: CLERK TO ENSURE THIS IS DONE.The school has requested a contribution from the Council towards the cost of repairing a damaged fence. The meeting agreed that first of all it should be ascertained whose fence it is, if it is covered by insurance and/or whether Hampshire County Council can do anything.*
ACTION: CLERK TO INFORM THE SCHOOL OF THIS DECISION.
He has noticed that some hedgerows are being allowed to become overgrown.*
ACTION: CLLR JOHNSON TO IDENTIFY PROBLEM AREAS SO THEY CAN BE DEALT WITH.He has received a letter from Brian Heather saying there is a small amount of money left in the VDS bank account. The Chairman felt some of this could be used to post brochures to outlying areas in the Parish and the rest could be given to Spectrum as a donation in return for them distributing brochures. All were happy with this.
The Clerk informed the meeting about the documents which she had received. Councillors were invited to look at these if they wished to do so.
Cllr Sanders mentioned the possibility of a Bottle Bank for recycling glass bottles. The Clerk confirmed the Council had been contacted recently about this and had provided ideas of possible sites. Cllr Johnson queried whether it would be possible to do a kerbside glass collection. Cllr Sanders said the Borough Council are looking into this possibility.
Cllr Sanders also mentioned the issue of Bus Passes. He is arguing that people who live in rural areas are more reliant on public transport than those who live in the towns, and should therefore receive more tokens.
The hedges around the field are due to be cut soon. The Chairman hopes the lease will be in place before the next meeting, and is liaising with Dreweatt Neate to this effect.
This will take place on 14th October. Numbers so far are disappointing, particularly in relation to the number invited. Councillors were asked to provide raffle prizes. Two of those wishing to come cannot get on the coach and would therefore need to go by car. They would also need to be pushed around in wheelchairs.
In the absence of PC Deery, there was no crime report. However, the Clerk did inform the meeting of a break in during the night at a home in Wash Common in Newbury while the family slept upstairs. Also, Park House school was broken into, vandalised and equipment stolen.