BAYDON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD AT THE BYPA HALL ON

1st September 2008 (Subject to approval at the meeting on 29th September 2008)

PRESENT: Cllr Tony Prior, Cllr Ian Timms, Cllr Alison Tomkins, Cllr Tamsin Witt. Also present were Elizabeth Carmichael (Clerk), Councillor Chris Humphries & 4 members of the public.

1.             APOLOGIES

None. All Parish Councillors were present.

2.             DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Ian Timms, Cllr Tony Prior and Cllr Tamsin Witt all individually declared a personal interest in agenda items 6.3 as they are all allotment holders.

3.             MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

The minutes of the meeting on 18th August were approved subject to the following additions:  

“The Clerk advised the meeting that she would work with Cllr Timms to produce a draft proposal of items to buy with the litter grant. This would then be submitted for approval at a future meeting. “

“Cllr Prior was asked as Liaison Officer to speak to Bernie Gribble regarding moving forward with the quotation for the water supply.”

“The Chairman put a time limit of 10 minutes for the discussion on Standing Orders and consequently several items were left for future consideration”.

The minutes were subsequently signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

4.             SUSPENSION OF THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

The meeting was suspended to give members of the public the opportunity to speak to the Parish Council about matters on the agenda before they were considered.

5.             CLERK’S REPORT (FOR INFORMATION ONLY)

The Clerk advised the Parish Council that she had put together an updated list of all matters from previous meetings and asked if the Parish Council wished her to read through the complete list. The Chair responded stating that it was only necessary to read out matters where some progress had been made. An email has been sent to Gleeson Homes enquiring about their plans for the land. No response has been received yet. It was noted that although the Gleeson plans for the development show a play area, it was not clear whether land was simply being set aside for a play area or whether Gleesons would be providing any play equipment. A holding letter has been sent to the school. The NALC Solicitor has been asked to confirm the next steps that the PC must take to correct the previous process to allocate land on the Parish field to the allotments. It was confirmed that the following tasks were undertaken by the Parish Steward on his last visit: weeds sprayed along path from Ermin close to Manor Lane, and along Downsmead, silt cleared from gullies & pot holes filled. The overhanging branches covering the 30mph sign have been added to the list for the UNIMOG machine. The broken manhole cover has been passed to Paul Bollen, engineer, to fix. It was noted that the UNIMOG machine is for the whole area and is scheduled months in advance by Ringway’s Network Leader so it is not

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possible for the Parish Steward to bring various machines with him. The scheduled visit would otherwise have had to been when the Parish Steward was carrying out other jobs in Baydon with the UNIMOG.

6.             ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION

6.1         To consider electing a Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council

No Councillor put their name forward for the position of Vice-Chairman. The Clerk confirmed the understanding of the Parish Council that it is not required to have a Vice-Chairman and advised that in the event that the Chairman was unable to attend a meeting, the meeting would not need to be abandoned. Instead, the first order of business would be to elect, from those Councillors present, someone to chair the meeting. Any Councillor elected to chair a meeting would have all the powers and authority of the Chairman of the Parish Council e.g. would have a casting vote.  

6.2         To consider approving the following draft documents :

-   Revised Standing Orders

-   Chairmanship

-   Administration Procedure

-   Co-option Procedure & Validity Form

The Parish Council agreed that more work was required to complete the Standing Orders. The Chairman asked all Councillors to review his comments on the draft document.

The Chairmanship document was approved.

It was agreed that more work was required to complete the Administration Procedure.

The Co-option Procedure & Validity Form were approved by the Parish Council.

It was agreed that all the documents should have a version date in the footer.

6.3         To consider approving the Risk Assessment for the Water Supply

The Risk Assessment for the Water Supply was approved. It was agreed that the document should have the version date in the footer. 

6.4         To consider what action to take regarding the broken glass, litter etc in the school paddock

The Clerk read out an email from Wiltshire County Council. This advised that, as Baydon St Nicholas is a VA school, the governors/diocese provide the buildings and the County Council is responsible for providing a playing field; hence the field is owned by the County Council. The field therefore has the same status as any other County Council playing field forming part of a school site and as such is covered by the Local Management of Schools Policy. Accordingly, the school governors, not the Parish Council, are responsible for its use, maintenance, security and such like, together with the associated issues & costs. This also applies to out of hours usage.

The Parish Council agreed that a letter be sent to the school containing the following : i) the advice received from WCC on responsibilities for the land, ii) acknowledgement of the school’s concerns iii) an invitation to meet with representatives from the Parish Council

Send letter to the school                                                                                        Action: Clerk

 

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6.5         To discuss the trees chopped down by Sodexho and to consider what action to take

The Clerk advised the meeting that she had reported the matter to Sodexho. It was agreed that a letter be sent to Sodexho advising them that the trees should be replaced.

Send letter to Sodexho                                                                                           Action: Clerk

6.6         To consider any tasks for the Parish Steward’s visit on 2nd October

It was agreed that the Parish Steward be asked to undertake the following work: remove weeds from Downsmead and from the lane that goes between Ermin Close and Manor Lane, to cut down or spray with weed killer, as appropriate, the nettles on the road down to Plough House, clear the debris on the road and pavement from the eucalyptus tree in the back garden of the property on the corner of Downsmead and Aldbourne road.

6.7         To consider organising a litter pick to take place during the month of September

The Clerk advised the meeting that Kennet District Council had sent a letter advising that it was supporting the national campaign organised by ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ and asking Parish Councils to help by holding a litter pick during the month of September. The Parish Council decided to hold a litter pick on 20 September. Notices to be placed on notice boards and tree opposite the school and to be put up as early as possible to give plenty of notice of the event.

Put up notices for litter pick                                                                                    Action: Clerk

7.             PLANNING

7.1         K/59270/F - It was noted that the application for two dwellings with garages at Dacre, Manor Lane, Baydon had been withdrawn by the applicant.

7.2         K/59346/F - The Parish Council had no objections to the application for the erection of a wooden summer house in the garden at Pear Tree Cottage, Aldbourne Road, Baydon.

7.3         The Parish Council discussed the revised application for the Red Lion pub. The Parish Council had some reservations regarding the single 4 bedroom houses rather than two smaller houses and would like to see the revised building plan in context with the neighbouring buildings. It was agreed that the Parish Council should wait until it received the application from KDC before making its formal response to the changes.

7.4         The Parish Council noted the following planning decisions :

Notice of full planning for application ref. K/58950/F - Substitution of plots 16-19 of approved planning layout of application reference K/53477/F

Notice of permission to carry out tree work in a conservation area ref. K/59080TR2 (the feeling of 3 small unspecified trees situated at the south western boundary of the property, 3 Ash Terrace.

8.             Finance

8.1         The Parish Council approved payment of £8.29 to Southern Electricity for the electricity point on the village green.

8.2         The Parish Council approved the payment of £37.46 for the annual provision for web space to host the website. It was agreed that continued financial support will be approved annually through the provision of funding for the website in the budget.

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9.             ITEMS TO NOTE / ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING

To consider a list of litter picking equipment that the litter grant can be spent on

To record the date of any lost minutes

It was agreed to hold another meeting within the next 6 weeks and, if necessary, to also push out the date of the October meeting. 

10.         Co-OPTION OF NEW MEMBERS

The Parish Council agreed unanimously to co-opt Oliver Bond. Mr Bond signed the acceptance of office at the end of the meeting.

 

The meeting closed at 9.53 pm

 

 

 

Signed :  ________________________________                      Date : _______________

  

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