Minutes
Page last updated on Wednesday, June 16, 2010
AT THE CHURCH ROOMS COLBURY
Present:
Councillors S. Arnold (in the Chair), D. Bryant, M. Coaker, C. Hubbard, K. Kershaw,
A. Sturgess, P. Sopowski
In Attendance:
Parish Clerk L. Griggs, District Councillor L. Puttock, Mr B. Foley (Acting Chief Executive NPA) and 18 members of the public.
Apologies had been received from District Councillor Tipp
The Chairman said “Good Evening and welcome to the Annual General Meeting. I have the pleasure and privilege of introducing to you Barrie Foley the Acting Chief Executive of the New Forest National Park, I use the word privilege as I know by working with him how busy he is and how deeply he is involved with our Forest, so to fit us in is indeed a privilege”.
ELECTION OF A CHAIRMAN FOR THE ENSUING YEAR
The Clerk advised that he had not received any nominations for Chairman. Cllr Sopowski proposed and Cllr Coaker seconded that Cllr Arnold be re-elected Chairman which was passed unanimously.
Councillor Arnold replied Thank you all for allowing me to continue in this position as Chairman of the Council. I have been here for sometime, but each year brings its separate challenges and I must say at times disappointments.
2010 brings the strongest Council this Parish has ever had, with dedicated Councillors from all walks of life and interests wanting the best for our village and not forgetting our professional Clerk who keeps us all in order.
Thank you once again for your faith in me. We are known by the NFDC; NPA and other Government bodies to be a strong and hard working Council and it makes me very proud when I hear these comments and I am positive this will always be our aim.
ELECTION OF A VICE CHAIRMAN FOR THE ENSUING YEAR
The Clerk advised that he had not received any nominations. Cllr Kershaw proposed and Cllr Sturgess seconded that Cllr Sopowski be re-elected Vice Chairman which was passed unanimously.
Councillor Sopowski thanked the Councillors for their support.
CHAIRMAN’S ALLOWANCE
The Clerk advised that the Chairman’s Allowance had been £400 last year and it was agreed that it should continue at that level.
REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES AND COUNCIL COMMITTEES
The following appointments were confirmed:
Other Bodies
Age Concern Cllr Hubbard
NFALC Cllrs Arnold and Sturgess
HCC Transport Forum Cllrs Coaker and Kershaw
N F Consultative Forum Cllrs Bryant and Sopowski
Community Plan Group Cllrs Coaker and Kershaw
Committees
Planning Cllrs Sopowski (Chairman) Arnold, Coaker and Kershaw.
Newsletter Cllrs Arnold and Sturgess, D C Webb (Editor) and Parish Clerk.
Recreation Ground Cllrs Bryant (Chairman) Arnold and Sturgess
Flooding Cllrs Bryant and Coaker
Village Design Cllrs Hubbard (Chair), Frost, Sopowski and Arnold
DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST IN AN AGENDA ITEM
The Chairman asked if there was any item on the agenda which would warrant a Councillor submitting a Form C. There were none. The Chairman reminded Councillors that if any item arose during Public Participation which warranted a Form C they should declare it immediately.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
The Chairman said she had been asked to make the following statement by a resident who was unable to attend. Would the Council look into having more signage or more prominent white lines at the Colbury Memorial Hall roundabout coming into the village from Southampton.
Travelling from Ashurst to reach Colbury Memorial Hall I was almost in a terrible collision with a car coming from Southampton that never stopped at the A326/A35 junction to allow me to drive my car round the roundabout and back to Colbury Memorial Hall.
One suggestion is that the middle lane of the approach from the East to the roundabout becomes an island which would take traffic to the A326 on the right and the traffic coming to the A35 on the left. Additionally could Highways improve the white lines which are very faint.
The Council agreed this was a problem and the Clerk was instructed to write to Highways accordingly.
A resident sought clarification on responsibility for planning issues as some were handled by NPA and some by NFDC. Mr Foley advised that all applications within the NPA boundary were handled by NPA and outside of that boundary applications are handled by district councils, one of which is the NFDC.
A resident spoke at length on the new Timberline equipment and the Friends of the Park proposals for changes to the Recreation Ground. He had lived in 32 Lakewood Road for some 28 years and represented some dozen residents living round the ground. He objected to both projects and claimed there had been no consultation or advice to residents, especially those living around the ground.
The new equipment was unsightly and would attract more young people from outside the area making the park crowded and noisy. The path proposed around the park would become a rat race for children on cycles. The projects would bring more vehicles from outside the area and urbanise the park and create more noise for those residents living round the ground. The peaceful atmosphere would be lost.
He asked for the equipment to be removed or at least moved to the Whartons Lane side of the park and the Friends of the Park proposals to be stopped.
At the request of the Chairman the Clerk reported that he had received communications from Mr Williams and had replied to all his comments and questions.
The new equipment had been on the Council’s agenda since 2005 and had been discussed in detail with plans and layouts at most meetings last year. Details of that and other queries had been provided to Mr Williams which showed the matter had been in the public domain for well over a year.
As regards the path round the park, there had been a path around two sides of the park for many years which was in need of repair and the FoP project was to provide a firm path all round the park for the benefit of wheelchair users, the elderly, parents with buggies and others who would otherwise not be able to walk all round the park.
Cllr Sopowski sought to clarify the objections as
- do not level the park or have a path
- remove the new equipment or move it to the Whartons Lane side of the park
Cllr Kershaw said it was difficult for the Council to make decisions which pleased everyone but pointed out that of the 1450 responses in the Parish Plan about the recreation ground: 32% would like to see future investment in the play area; 28% ball games; 34% Creation of wildlife habitat; and 30% landscape enhancement. (see Action Plan – number 40). Every time the Council tries to proceed with anything someone objects.
Cllr Bryant said the park had evolved over time and had improved considerably. The Council had been asked time and time again to provide more challenging equipment . It had been under consideration long before the Fitness Trail was proposed and shelved while that was being considered. Since the equipment had been in place he had spoken to many residents and parents who all said they were supportive of what the Council was doing.
Another resident said she had looked at the new equipment and thought it was fantastic. The village cannot stand still; it is not a museum and must move on.
Mr Williams said he had raised a petition against both projects which, when complete would be forwarded to the Council.
MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting and the Council meeting both held on 20th April 2010, which had been previously circulated to all Councillors, were approved unanimously and signed by the Chairman.
PRESENTATION
Mr Barrie Foley gave an excellent presentation showing how the NPA had improved its communication with the public and stakeholders and moved forward in its desire to help all those involved in the park to work together to help conserve its beauty, its economic growth and availability to visitors. The presentation was very well received and a period of questions and answers showed the interest of all present in the NPA and its activities.
The Chairman thanked Mr Foley and said “Barrie has worked hard during his time with us at the Park and he will be extremely missed. We all, and by that I mean residents as well as Councils in the National Park, have a lot to thank him for; without his expertise and guidance I am sure the battle with various groups with the NPA would still be ongoing.
We all owe a great debt to Barrie for his hard work in calming the core strategy and management policies and we should never forget that. Thank you Barrie for your time, and if we don’t see you again wearing a national park hat, maybe your future will bring you back with us in some other capacity. Good luck in all you do in the future Barrie and from Ashurst and Colbury please accept our sincere appreciation”.
HIGHWAY MATTERS
It was noted that the Village Walk round with Highways had been postponed. A new date would be arranged and notified to all Councillors.
RECREATION GROUND
a) Cllr Bryant reported that a safety inspection had been carried out on old and new equipment and some remedial work was required on the old equipment. The new equipment had a few matters which needed attention and the installers would return to deal with those.
b) Cllr Coaker said the Friends of the Park had met with Rob Ainslie of NPA and would be submitting plans and surveys for approval..
PLANNING
Councillor Sopowski gave a report on planning issues since the last meeting.
The Chairman added that since St. Anthony’s on the Lyndhurst Road was mentioned in the previous minutes, and to keep you updated, the auction for this property is at 11am Friday 28th May at the Happy Cheese
ACCOUNTS
a) The list of cheques paid since the date of the last meeting was approved.
b) Insurance – the Council noted the premium for the next year was £1,221.
GRANTS
None
REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
Cllr Hubbard had attended the Fete Committee Meeting
Cllr Coaker had attended the following:
- Fete Committee Meeting
- Meeting with the representative of the Lottery Grant organisation
- Friends of the Park AGM
- Community Action Group
- Meeting with Southern Water following discussions on flooding problems
Cllr Bryant had attended the NF Consultative Committee. Louise Hubble of New Forest Watch had given an excellent presentation. There had also been discussions on a new logo but the designs put forward pictured non native species so the matter was dropped.
Councillor Sturgess attended the Village Fete meeting.
Councillor Arnold had attended the following:
Annual St. Georges day parade at Lyndhurst
Meeting of the Fete Committee in the Park
Meeting with Ringwood Town Council with concerns for NFALC
Meeting with Friends of the Park
Meeting with John Cockram. Update and new material for his book about Ashurst & Colbury WW1 and WW2
Meeting of the Fete Committee
Meeting with CAN at the New Forest
District Councillor Puttock said his term of office as Chairman of NFDC had now ended and it had been a very interesting and informative time.
CORRESPONDENCE
The list of correspondence had been circulated and copies were available at the meeting.
The Chairman read a letter from Cllr Bryant thanking the Council for its presentation to him at the last meeting.
The Clerk read a letter of thanks from Neighbourhood Watch for the grant they had received and said he had received a phone call from Mrs Cull thanking the Council for the grant the Colbury Indoor Bowling Club had received.
OTHER ITEMS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN DEEMS IMPORTANT
The Chairman referred to the email from the Clerk of Ringwood Town Council regarding the meeting on 20th May and his plans for a reformed NFALC.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AT THE NEXT MEETING
None
There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.14 pm
Signed
S R Arnold – Chairman
Dated 15th June 2010
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