Minutes
Page last updated on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
ASHURST AND COLBURY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 17th MAY 2011
AT THE CHURCH ROOMS COLBURY
Present:
Councillors S. Arnold (in the Chair), D. Bryant, M. Coaker, P. Frost, C. Hubbard, K. Kershaw, A. Sturgess, P. Sopowski
In Attendance:
Parish Clerk L. Griggs, County Councillor K. Mans, District Councillor L. Puttock, and 17 members of the public.
Apologies had been received from District Councillor Tipp
The Chairman said “To night we welcome Gillie Hayball, Lead Ranger of the New Forest National Park. She will be giving us a talk after the procedures of the Annual General Meeting are in place.
Before we get into the meeting I would like to mention the work carried out on the Newsletter Survey by Councillor Sturgess, Coaker, Hubbard, Kershaw and Sopowski for their interest in our newsletter and their dedication with the survey.
A special thank goes to Ann who spent nearly all day outside the polling station with her papers. Well done to you all and thank you.
1. 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 Hubbard seconded that Cllr Arnold be re-elected Chairman which was passed unanimously.
Councillor Arnold thanked the Councillors for appointing her for another year.
2. ELECTION OF A VICE CHAIRMAN FOR THE ENSUING YEAR
The Clerk advised that he had not received any nominations. Cllr Bryant proposed and Cllr Coaker seconded that Cllr Sopowski be re-elected Vice Chairman which was passed unanimously.
Councillor Sopowski thanked the Councillors for their support.
3. CHAIRMAN’S ALLOWANCE
The Clerk advised that the Chairman’s Allowance had been £400 last year. The Chairman requested that it remain the same for the current year and that was agreed.
4. REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
The following appointments were confirmed:
NALC & ALC in the New Forest Cllrs Arnold and Sturgess
A& C Community Group Cllrs Coaker and Kershaw
HCC Transport Forum Cllrs Coaker and Kershaw
N F Consultative Forum Cllr Bryant
Friends of the Park Cllr Coaker
5. COUNCIL COMMITTEES
The following appointments were confirmed:
Planning Cllrs Sopowski (Chairman) Arnold, Coaker and Kershaw. Reserve Cllr Hubbard
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 and Arnold
Village Fete Cllrs Sturgess (Chair), Arnold, Coaker, Hubbard, Kershaw, Parish Clerk, Alan Ings.
6. 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.
7. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A resident said at the part of the railway site scheduled for development a six foot stretch of the fencing had been removed and a hole dug and enquired if any work was scheduled there.
He also mentioned that on the National Rail website car parking charges were shown for Ashurst Station. His concern was that if charges were introduced commuters from elsewhere would use nearby village roads to park free causing congestion for residents.
The Chairman asked Cllr Puttock if he knew anything of this proposal but he replied he had heard nothing and it would require NFDC approval. The Clerk was asked to write to NFDC on the issue.
Several residents mentioned overgrown paths and the Clerk was asked to write to Highways on this issue and also again on the cycle path between Holly Road and Ash Road.
A resident said a tree planted in the Recreation Ground in memory of his grand daughter had not survived and sought permission to replace it. That was agreed and he was asked to liaise with Cllr Bryant.
8. MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting and the Council meeting both held on 19th April 2011, which had been previously circulated to all Councillors, were approved unanimously and signed by the Chairman.
9. PRESENTATION
Gillie Hayball, Lead Ranger for the NFNPA, gave a very interesting presentation of the work of this new group which had been set up only last September. The presentation was well received by those present and a Q&A session followed.
The Chairman thanked Gillie for coming to the meeting and explaining what the Rangers were doing to help conserve the forest and also to help people enjoy its amenities responsibly.
10. HIGHWAY MATTERS
The Chairman referred to the issue of rats in the village raised by a resident at the last meeting and said NFDC had confirmed that the area from Boakes Place to the Welcome Store had been baited. While this was a good start there were more areas to be covered to eliminate this problem.
11. RECREATION GROUND
a) Cllr Bryant reported that the second stage tree work was underway but an aerial inspection had shown more decay which would need to be dealt with soon. He also said the new Fire Truck would be installed this week.
b) Cllr Coaker said the Friends of the Park project paperwork was now all complete and a decision on the grant was likely in a few weeks.
12. PLANNING
Councillor Sopowski gave a report on planning issues since the last meeting.
13. 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 £1,333 and agreed to accept the offer of a three year agreement by the insurers.
14. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
The Chairman said that this item should only be for reports relating to other bodies and not council committees which were separately dealt with in the agenda.
Cllr Coaker had attended the Community Group AGM
Cllr Bryant said the NF Consultative Panel meeting had been postponed as it was scheduled for May 5th, the day of the Council elections.
Cllr Mans said the Localism Bill was at its last stages in Parliament and it would be important to read the final document in view of the many amendments being debated. Royal Assent was expected in the autumn but many sections may not be enacted immediately.
The Chairman congratulated District Councillor Puttock on his re-election to the District Council. Cllr Puttock reported that while additional powers were likely to be given to local councils under the Localism Bill no additional money was proposed to carry out those powers.
15. COMMUNITY PLAN
Cllr Coaker said he had attended the AGM when all Officers had been re-elected except for Jeremy Hinks who had stood down as Vice Chairman.
16. VILLAGE FETE
Cllr Sturgess said all was going well and a donation of £500 had been received from the Barker-Mill Foundation. Volunteers were still needed to look after the small games being planned for children.
17. VILLAGE DESIGN AND CHARACTER APPRAISAL
Cllr Hubbard reported that the final draft was being proof read and copies would go to all councillors by end June and, if adopted, it would be submitted to the NPA.
18. ALLOTMENTS
The Clerk reported that the Environmental Officer at NFDC had given NPA a report on the Contamination Survey results which the NPA felt required further work. The EO was out of the office this week so the matter could not be pursued, but work was due to commence this coming weekend and further delay would not only cost more money but also mean access to the allotments for residents would be unlikely this growing season.
Cllr Bryant expressed deep concern over this latest issue. He pointed out that discussions with NPA over exactly what they required had taken place several times last year so that when the planning application was submitted and funding grants applied for everything would be covered.
Raising possible contamination issues so late in the day meant contractors having to be rescheduled, there had been price increases on many items, additional and unbudgeted costs incurred on soils surveys and considerable time wasted. He felt strongly that a claim should be made on NPA and NFDC for these additional costs.
Cllr Kershaw agreed and said the soil survey alone represented more than 10% of the precept for this year. After further discussion the Clerk was asked to write to NPA and NFDC accordingly.
19. STANDING ORDERS AND CODE OF CONDUCT
The Chairman said you will be aware under the localism bill there will be some changes in regard to the Code of Conduct and Standards issues. However I am sure we will all wish to indicate our willingness to abide by the Code of Conduct whatever changes may come during our tenure of office.
These documents have been circulated to all Councillors and the Clerk has had no request for any amendment so I formally propose that this Council adopts the Standing Orders and Code of Conduct. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Sturgess and passed unanimously.
20. ANY OTHER ITEMS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN DEEMS AS URGENT
The Chairman said Councillor Bryant and I were asked to attend a meeting on Community Speed Watch. Unfortunately the Leader had personal problems so the first meeting had to be cancelled. I am just mentioning this as volunteers will be required, but at this stage we both felt that more information is required, and we will report back at the July meeting.
21. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AT THE NEXT MEETING
The Chairman said an email was sent to you all on 8th May regarding the Government Consultation on Planning for Travellers’ sites. Please visit the web site and come prepared to make your comments.
There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.35pm.
Signed S. R. Arnold - Chairman Dated 21st June 2011
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