Baydon Parish Council

MONDAY 28th November 2016

AT 8.00PM IN THE BYPA HALL, MANOR LANE

In Attendance:- Councillors: Tamsin Witt (Chairman), John Cockcroft, Kevin Howell, Amy Bryan, James Sheppard, Clerk Charlotte Booth and 9 residents.

Minutes

1.  APOLOGIES

None received.

 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None declared.

3. MINUTES OF LAST PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Approval minutes of the meetings held on 17th October 2016.

Cllr Witt wanted the phrasing changed in section 9B to ‘at risk’ not ‘unlikely’.

The minutes were agreed to be a true record of the meeting.

4. MEETING PROTOCOL

Cllr Witt outlined that as a consequence of the previous meeting, the role of the public in PC meetings needed to be clarified. The public are invited to observe the council meeting but have no right to intervene except in Public Question Time. The Council has the right to adjourn the meeting until disruptive residents leave the meeting.

The Standing Orders will be amended to include this protocol. All Cllrs agreed this should be updated immediately. 

5. POLICE REPORT

No report has been received from the police.

6. COUNCILLOR VACANCIES/FUTURE OF THE COUNCIL

The full council requires seven councillors and three to be quorate. Ten candidates are required to hold an election.

15 November Cllr Cockcroft and Cllr Howell gave indication that they will be resigning as soon as there is an election or new councillors can be co-opted. This will leave the council inquorate. Cllr Cockcroft updated the situation which could result in his full resignation in as little as two weeks due to changing work commitments.

The Clerk explained that if the council is left with less than three councillors then the council is unable to function: no decisions or payments can be made. Wiltshire Council would then assess the situation, and could recommend sending some temporary councillors until vacancies are filled. However, considering we have a lack of candidates for councillors, this is unlikely to be the process followed. It is more likely that Baydon Parish Council will merge with Aldbourne.

It was reiterated by the Clerk and supported by the Chair that any resident willing to take on the role of Councillor should come forward as a matter of urgency.

 7. SUSPENSION OF MEETING FOR PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

The meeting will be suspended to allow members of the public to speak to the Council. No decisions can be made by the Council during PQT. After this period the meeting will be resumed. 

Mrs. Debbie Moxon commented that she did not feel the letter from her husband was addressed in the previous meeting or minuted, regarding the proposed traffic calming measures. The Clerk pointed out that his letter had been discussed in the October meeting and appears on the minutes which were posted on the website and the noticeboard at the shop.

Mrs. Ronnie Norman wanted to know what the updates were on these proposed traffic calming measures. Cllr Witt reminded her that in the October meeting it had been decided not to go ahead with the Western buildouts, but if funding was still available then the Eastern buildouts would still go ahead. She explained Traffic Calming was not an agenda item as the item had been closed and had been minuted accordingly. 

Mrs. Jane Archer was concerned about badly parked cars on Ermin Close and brought photographs to show the council. Cllr Witt explained this was being addressed later in the meeting.

Jim Grove on behalf of the Fireworks Committee wanted to thank the Parish Council, Jonathan Smith, Baydon Brownies and the Stewards for helping to make the Fireworks Display successful. The event was attended by 948 people and they raised £711.56.

Mr Grove also wanted to raise awareness for blocked drains in Aldbourne Road, Ermin Street and Shepherds Lane. Cllr Cockcroft has already reported Aldbourne Road and Ermin Street and will report Shepherds Lane in the following week. Wiltshire Council had fed back to Cllr Cockcroft that they will not be clearing the previously reported blockages as it is a slow piece of road.

Cllr Sheppard comments that people should report such details directly to Wiltshire Council via the app as the quickest way of getting things actioned. He recommended putting a link on the website. He then suggested once they have been reported to Wiltshire Council, if nothing is carried out then it should be reported to the Parish Council. Mrs Norman asked how to report problems if you don’t have the app, and Cllr Sheppard said to phone, email or write to Highways instead as a first port of call.

8. CORRESPONDENCE

All correspondence was circulated to the councillors.

17 October 2016 – Note received from Robin and Barbara Garnett, Ermin Close expressing opposition to the buildouts to be located near Ermin Close but are in support of buildouts near the cricket field. This note was received after the Ermin Close buildouts had been approved (12th September meeting).

7 November 2016 – message received via the website from Jane Archer concerning inconsiderate parking in Ermin Close. A response was sent.

15 November 2016 – Email from Cllr Cockcroft giving notice of his intention to resign.

15 November 2016 – Email from Cllr Howell giving notice of his intention to resign.

22 November 2016 – an additional letter was received after the agenda had been set, by Cllr Cockcroft from Swindon Borough Council regarding their revised Planning Policy which was accepted in October. It is a plan to develop between Stratton and Wanborough. Further information can be found here http://swindon.gov.uk/spd

9. PLANNING

a)           Application:                       E/2012/1575/FUL

                                      Location:                             Next to the Red Lion Pub, Ermin Street

Cllr Cockcroft has had no response to his queries yet. Cllr Witt emphasised that it would probably be too late to do anything effective but at least the point would have been made.  

10. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION

10.1 Clerk’s Report 

1) A new Parish Council bin has been ordered following the theft of the previous one. This has been received at the BYPA.

2) Cllr Bryan asked when Pittams were coming to replace the tree and box hedges in the Green. The Clerk will contact David Pittams and enquire.

3) Clerk contacted SSE regarding their Priority Services Scheme where priority is given to vulnerable residents in the case of a power-cut. They will provide printed booklets which will also be available on the Baydon website.

            10.2 Playground Maintenance

Cllr Howell will co-ordinate the maintenance requirements raised in the RoSPA Report before the next meeting.

a)      Seating – a projecting bolt thread needs cutting and filing down. Cllr Cockcroft will check the seating on Thursday/Friday of this week.

b)      All chains - Remove chain covers to allow inspection beneath. Cllr Howell raised some concern that removing the covers could create another hazard in respect of trapped fingers.

c)      Roundabout – the clearance under the roundabout and the floor surface is incorrect. Re-install or adjust surface. Cllr Witt has emailed Miracle regarding the roundabout as they only installed it recently. She is awaiting a response.

10.3 School Parking/Road Safety

Cllr Witt met with the Trustees of the School and the Headmistress regarding traffic concerns at drop off and pick up time. A few suggestions were made to solve the problem.

a)      ‘Host a Teacher’ Scheme. Volunteers are requested from the residents to allow teachers or parents at the school to park in their drive during school hours. There are twelve members of staff at the school.

b)      It is possible to put in a request for the PCSO to visit the school during pick up and drop off time.

c)      Parish Council could develop a plan showing ‘No Parking’ zones in the village (for example zigzag lines). Cllr Witt will follow up with Highways.

d)      Polite notices from Baydon Parish Council. The Clerk had circulated some drafts which were agreed by all Councillors to be acceptable.

e)      Encourage flexibility and understanding from the local residents. In a village with a successful school the issue of parents and teachers needing to park is inevitable.

All councillors agree to put these suggestions into action.

Cllr Witt will put the school in touch with ‘Taking Action with School Journeys’ which provides grants to schools to help with widening streets or tightening bends for example. A few years ago the school received funding from this organisation for widening the pavement and squaring the Aldbourne Rd/ Ermin St junction.

Additionally Cllr Witt will help the school to develop a parking charter to be included in the Welcome Pack for parents to sign regarding considerate parking, car-sharing, parking at friends’ accommodation or the Host a Teacher/Parent scheme.

10.4 Christmas arrangements

The Christmas tree will be delivered and erected on 3rd December at 10am. All Councillors can attend to help erect it as well as Ali and Rob who are arriving with stakes and ropes.

Cllr Cockcroft suggested costing up stakes and ropes for the council to purchase their own set for next year.

Julie Wyatt from the Red Lion is happy to provide mince-pies and mulled wine on The Green following the Christmas Carols on 17th December.  Cllr Witt will contact the Brownies regarding borrowing the urn.

10.5 Event Shelters

Cllr Cockcroft used the event shelters on 29th and 30th October and in lieu of payment replaced missing pegs (purchased 50 for £28).

The event shelter will be required for the Christmas Carols on the Green on 17th December and for Operation Vixen on 4th December.

 10.6 Pedestrians in Road Sign

Cllr Witt received a reply from Steve Hind who suggested having an informal pavement leading to the Cricket Field. Cllr Bryan commented that they have a similar pavement in Ramsbury which Cllr Sheppard confirmed was effective in the 20 MPH zone and suggested it may encourage people to slow down prior to entering the village but he shared concerns with Cllr Witt that it may be not be safe or effective near the cricket field. Cllr Witt will speak to Steve Hind further at the next CATG for the further information and possibilities.

Cllr Witt has also requested information regarding how to purchase the Pedestrians in Road Sign but is waiting for a reply.  

10.7 BYPA signs

Ordering such signs has to go through Mark Stansby at CATG, and the Parish Council will be required to pay 25% of the final cost. The BYPA would need to come through BPC if trying to order them independently so easier for the BPC to take control and raise the request through the online application form.

Cllr Howell raised the issue of location of the signs once they have been purchased and Cllr Witt responded that she hoped CATG could advise on this. All councillors agreed that Cllr Witt would raise the query and start the procedure. 

10.8 Emergency Response Team

An email was received from Aldbourne PC regarding their Emergency Response Team. A discussion whether it was something that Baydon should also have was deferred to the next meeting.

10.9 Social Media Presence

All councillors were in agreement that there should be a page for Facebook but anyone raising the council’s attention to village issues will be encouraged to contact the Clerk via the normal route.

The Clerk will set up a page on a six-month trial with the remit of using it for publishing Parish events.

10.10  Dog Fouling                                                                                                                                    

Both the Clerk and the Chair have contacted Wiltshire Council and been sent to different departments regarding ordering a bin.

Wiltshire Council have stated they will not empty any new bins, so this would be the responsibility of the council and it would be necessary to get costing for this.  

10.11 meeting dates 2017

All Councillors agree these dates for the 2017 BPC meetings.

·         January 9th

·         February 27th

·         April 3rd

·         May 15th

·         June 26th

·         July 31st

·         September 11th

·         October 16th  

·         November 27th

10.12 Items for the Baydon Scene                                                                 

Agree items for the next Baydon Scene Publication are:

1)      Advertisement for Councillor Vacancies (Clerk to resend)

2)      Host a Teacher’s/Parent’s Car (Cllr Witt to provide copy)

3)      Update on Traffic Calming (if anything new to report).  (Cllr Witt to provide copy)

11. FINANCE                                                                                                                      

11.1 Signatories for Bank Authorisation                                                                  

BPC only have two signatories (Charlotte Booth and Cllr Witt). Forms were passed to Cllr Bryan to take to the bank.

Considering the terrible service we have had recently from Barclays regarding setting up Cllr Witt as signatory, they paid £100 into the Community Account as compensation.

11.2 Income                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Cricket Fund (interest)

0.48

 

11.3 Bank statements                                                                                                             

 

Barclays Community

£35189.99

General reserve

£3672.13

Cricket Fund

£1203.92

Petty Cash

£18.51

PC Total

£40,084.55

 

 

            11.4 Payments approved between meetings                                                                                 

Thames Water bill

£23.12

                       

11.5 Payments for approval    

Pittams Grass Cutting

£2970

Whittam Team (Printing Welcome Pack)

£18

Clerk Phone Bill (Sept-Nov)

£15

SSE Electricity

£19.99

 

All payments approved

11.6 Budget & Precept

The budget categories and amounts for 2016/2017 were discussed at length and all councillors agreed on a final budget.                                                                                                                              

12. ITEMS TO NOTE

            12.1 CATG Meeting

The next meeting is on the 15th December 2016.

12.2 Expressions of Thanks

Cllr Witt thanked the Firework Committee for an excellent firework display.

Thanks were also extended to the fourteen people who attended the litter pick. More than three bin bags were filled including sundry dumped items. Special thanks were given to Cllr Cockcroft who took it away in his trailer.

12.3 Events in the village

A number of events are coming up in December:

4th December – Operation Vixen, The Green, an art installation in aid of a local charity.

4th December – Red Lion Pub Quiz, 7pm.

9th December – Ladies Night, Red Lion 7pm.

14th December – Drop in Bellyfit Class, BYPA 8pm.

17th December – Christmas Carols on the Green.

13. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING

13.1 Emergency Response Team

13.2 Review of the Village/Neighbourhood Plan

An email was received from Aldbourne PC regarding their Emergency Response Team. A discussion whether it was something that Baydon should also have.

 

Meeting closed at 21:45.

 

Signed                                                   Chairman             Date 

 

 

 

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