Minutes 4th October 2017
Minutes of the of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 4th October 2017 at 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
Present: Cllr S Luxton(Chairman), Cllr A Birmingham, Cllr E Hollingsworth and Cllr M Merrett
Apologies: Cllr R Tillett (Away), Cllr G Carden (Away), Cllr R Bloxham (DCC) and Cllr S Grundy (EDDC)
In Attendance: Carole Oliphant (Clerk), Cllr S Randall – Johnson (DCC) and two members of the public
114/17 Apologies
Cllr R Tillett (Away), Cllr G Carden (Away). Resolved to accept these apologies
115/17 Declarations of interest
None at this stage of the meeting
116/17 Minutes of meeting held on 6th September 2017
The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of 6th September 2017 were adopted as a true record and duly signed by Chair
117/17 Democratic period
Tim Holdway asked about access problems in getting a lawnmower up the new ramp at the Village Hall and suggested that one be kept permanently in the shed which he would donate.
Cllr Merrett said he would explore the possibility with the space available and would liaise with Tim to come up with a solution.
There was a general discussion about whether there was a need for a community transport link in the village and if a group could be formed to look into using a local mini bus operator to service the village.
118/17 Ongoing topics
1: Village Hall –
Cllr Merrett explained that the extension was now finished and there would be an official opening in early 2018. There were a few concerns about future income streams.
Cllr Merrett had looked into the installation of Wi-Fi into the Hall and explained that ongoing costs would be about £200 PA which the Village Hall Trust would be unwilling to pay for.
Cllr Birmingham said that the PC currently had healthy reserves and that a Locality Grant could be applied for to cover the initial set up costs.
Cllr Merrett would speak to neighbouring villages to see if the installation of Wi-Fi had any effect on income and would report back at the next meeting.
2: Footpaths & Verges -
Cllr Luxton said he would chase contractor Mr Butt as the last cut of the verges should have been completed by the end of September but had yet to be completed.
3: Trees –
Cllr Hollingsworth reported that Four Seasons had completed the last cut around the WW1 trees and that the trees were doing very well.
Cllr Hollingsworth had met with Stuart Baker (EDDC) and local residents to inspect the badly leaning tree in the village. After some discussion he agreed that the tree could be felled.
Cllr Hollingsworth said that the villagers present at the meeting were keen to see the tree replaced where it was but that the current protection was not adequate. There was a general
discussion about replacing the posts with a solid wall but it was felt that this too would be damaged in the end.
General consensus was that the PC should fund the removal of the existing tree and roots and make the ground secure. If villagers wanted to replace the tree then Cllr Hollingsworth was willing to lead a group to arrange this and fund themselves.
It was decided to make a final decision at the next PC meeting when all Councillors would be available to vote.
4: Highways –
No update as Cllr Tillett away
5: Traffic Management -
Cllr G Carden provided details that the traffic survey officer was off sick so an update was not possible
6: Communications -
Details provided under (1) Village Hall.
119/17 DCC Matters
Cllr S Randall Johnson said that the 20MPH survey work was ongoing but there was no County money available to put signs up. It was suggested that the PC fund these themselves. She supported the removal of the tree on health and safety grounds. Cllr Randall Johnson explained that DCC had given and extra £7.5m towards schools. She reminded the PC about the upcoming Highways Conferences and reiterated Locality Funding was available to install Wi-Fi in the village hall.
120/17 EDDC
No Updat
121/17 Planning
None
122/17 Financial matters
The Clerk’s financial reports were all noted with thanks (appendix 1)
Cheques were approved for:
The Clerk
HMRC
Four Seasons
Accounting Statements September 2017
123/17 Community Grant Fund
There had been no recent applications to report. The clerk was asked to use the email list to communicate the availability of the fund and the deadline of 1st November.
124/17 Speke Up
There had been no response to the on the Tree in the village to gauge opinion. The PC wanted to include a piece to gauge public appetite forming a transport group to service the village.
125/17 Councillor Vacancy & Co-Option
Jane Gibson applied for the position of councillor. She was nominated by Cllr Hollingsworth and seconded by Cllr Merrett. Jane was voted onto the council with a unanimous vote. The clerk would send Cllr Gibson the required register of interest forms.
126/17 Other information
Cllr Birmingham asked the clerk to investigate whether the PC could apply for standalone PTF funding for verges and ditches.
Cllr Luxton asked the clerk to investigate how much S106 agreement monies had been collected by EDDC for developments within the village and what this money had been spent on.
Cllr Luxton requested a letter be sent to EDDC waste management that although the new 3 week collections were working well that operatives were rushing through the village and
leaving lots of debris around
Cllr Birmingham reminded councillors that the Budget preparation from 2018/2019 would soon be underway and that ideas for funding should be sent to himself and the clerk before
the next meeting.
127/17 Next meeting
The meeting closed at 8.35pm.
The next meeting would be Wednesday 1st November 2017 - 7.30pm, Village Hall