BAYDON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting held at the BYPA Hall on 19 April 2010
(Draft copy. Subject to approval at the next meeting)
PRESENT: Cllr Tony Prior (Chair), Cllr Michael Edmonds, Cllr Alison Tomkins, Cllr Tamsin Witt and 6 members of the public. Cllr Humphries joined the meeting at 8.30 pm
1. APOLOGIES – None
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST - None
3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on the 29th March 2010 were approved.
4. SUSPENSION OF THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
The meeting was suspended
so members of the public could speak to the Parish Council. It was
confirmed that the grass contractor Pittams will mow
the newly cleared bramble patch at the junction of
Two drains in Aldbourne road and outside the school need further attention; the Chairman stated that these have been reported to Clarence for action.
6. CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
The Clerk had circulated the report to Cllrs as Appendix B. No comments were forthcoming.
7. PLANNING
7.1 E/10/0378/FUL – 30 Downsmead – Two storey rear extension. Front Porch and extension of front boundary garden walling. After discussion, the Cllrs raised no objections.
Action: Clerk
The Clerk stated that she had
recently received the street lighting plan for
8. FINANCE
8.1 Payments made between meetings:
Four payments, inc VAT, were approved:
125 £50 Petty Cash
124 £259.56 Seton Notice board (not sent)
126 £259.56 Brady Notice board
127 £169.05 WALC Membership
An additional payment of £39.63 from the Petty Cash was approved for the purchase of locks for the parish field stand-pipes and hozelock connections.
8.2 Bank funds reconciliation statement for April 2010. - The statement was approved by Cllrs. The total in the RBS bank is currently £22,919.27, (£13,860.71 in the current account, £699 in the Allotment account, £ 8359.56 in the Recreation Account) and £13.05 in the Petty Cash.
pg 2010-06
8.3 The 2009/2010 Accounts. The Chairman thanked Cllr Edmonds for his work keeping the statements up to date. The Cllrs approved the following documents:
a. The fourth quarterly budget monitoring report
b. The 2010 Asset register
c. The 2009/2010 Annual Accounts.
It was noted that the PC budget was under spent by £4300.90 as of the 31st March 2010.
The Cllrs agreed a proposal to process the Annual Return and forward the accounts to the Auditor for approval.
8.4 The final Water pipe invoice. The Cllrs approved the final water pipe invoice of £1267.72 inc VAT. The final cost of the water pipe minus the VAT of £148.58 was £1119.14, which in conjunction with the Thames Water cost of £736 gave a total cost for the project of £1855.14.
Due to the Wiltshire Council grant of £619 the final net cost to the Parish Council was £1236.14.
Criminal Damage Repair Work - The cost of the necessary repair work to the water pipes of £85.18 was approved by Cllrs. This is an additional, unexpected cost that will be shared by all Parishioners via the precept. The use of a local contractor for the original work had proved invaluable in getting the work done in a timely manner.
8.5 Request to Wiltshire Young Peoples Opportunities Fund, (WPOF) for funding re-allocation The Cllrs approved the Chairman’s letter to WPOF which requested the returned Baydon BMX money be re-allocated to the Baydon play equipment. The Cllrs agreed that if WPOF requested that the application came directly from a child, the Chairman would liaise with Mr Chambers at Baydon St. Nicholas school.
8.6 The Clerk’s expenses. The Cllrs approved expenses of £26.20 for attending clerk training in Devizes. The Cllrs agreed that the Clerk could charge printer consumables to the Parish Council.
9. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
9.1 Traffic Calming Working Group, (TCWG):
a. 30mph stickers – The Cllrs approved the final cost of £58.75 inc VAT for the available stickers and up to £15 inc VAT for postage and packing. The Clerk was asked to order them. Action: Clerk
b. The village gates – Cllr Witt advised that the current quote for the gates had risen by £37.48 inc VAT to a total of £1142.10 inc VAT. The Cllrs approved this additional cost and asked Cllr Witt to order the gates. Action: TW
The TCWG currently plans to meet on the 26th April 2010.
9.2 Weatherproofing for the Downsmead notice board - The board has been purchased and partially installed; magnetic strips will be attached to replace the requirement for a locking key.
Action: AT
9.3 PlayBuilder progress. The next phase of the project is for consultation to take place between Ella Coghlan, Play Builder and children at St. Nicholas School Baydon; this will provide information to the proposed suppliers to provide possible designs for the equipment. In parallel, the Chairman will make a pre-planning application to Wiltshire Council. Action: AP
The Cllrs discussed the possibility of approaching the Lottery fund, prior to full planning being achieved and agreed Cllr Edmonds would approach the ‘Awards for All’ lottery group to seek advice. Action: ME
The Chairman advised that PlayBuilder had awarded Baydon a further £5000 towards play equipment.
pg 2010-07
9.4 Arrangements for the Annual Parish Assembly meeting. Due to building constraints in the school hall the Parish Assembly date has moved to the 30th April in the BYPA hall. The Cllrs discussed the refreshment arrangements and agreed to provide red & white wine and orange juice for the meeting in a 60:30:10 ratio. Cllr Witt suggested another village flyer inviting people to attend. Action: TW / All
The Clerk will arrange for notices on the notice boards and Baydon website. Action: Clerk
9.5 Parish Field report:
a. Damage to the water pipeline -
The Chairman invited the Cllrs to discuss the criminal damage to the water pipeline. The Cllrs agreed the following:
The Parish Council denounced the sabotage to the pipe line in the Parish Field. The police judged it to be a premeditated criminal act and was recorded with a crime number. It was totally unacceptable as a means of registering a protest against allotments on the Parish Field. Comments made by residents had all been along the same lines. It was the latest and most serious incident in a series related to the allotments. There will be a nil net gain for the perpetrator because the allotments do exist and there will be a water supply in the Parish Field. Unfortunately the perpetrator can hide beneath the cloak on non-detection. The unacceptability extends to and affects all residents in that the extra cost of repair will be borne and shared by them because the Parish Council balances are generated from residents’ money via the precept.
The Cllrs recorded a vote of thanks to Alan Archer for his quick response to the problem.
The Chairman read out a list of problems experienced over time at the allotments. The Cllrs then discussed the recent ‘Public Notice’ in the shop, whilst they accepted that they may from time to time incur criticism they agreed there was a proper process for complaint in place and residents should follow that. The Chairman stated that unnecessary language towards the Parish Council at any time is not helpful or acceptable. The Cllrs discussed whether to respond to the ‘Public Notice’ and although they were unhappy with some of the untruthful content they collectively agreed that they would not respond.
The Clerk was instructed not to receive any more communication via the shop.
b. The requirement for a water trough –
The Cllrs agreed to a water trough on the Parish Field. As the Baydon Allotment Association (BAA) owns the trough the Cllrs proposed that the BAA should recommend the positioning of the trough – BAA representatives present suggested a position at the top of the field behind the garage. The Cllrs agreed to the proposal. The representatives agreed that the BAA would purchase a hose to fill the trough and to the need for fitting of a suitable water trough cover. The Chairman offered a design of wooden cover if a proprietary version could not be obtained.
The Chairman re-iterated that the BAA will be responsible for paying the water usage charges, the Parish Council paying the standing charge. The water meter reading was 0000027 on 17 April. This was the base figure beyond which the BAA will be responsible for usage cost. The Chairman asked the BAA to collect plot holders’ contributions and pay the water usage bill as a single sum to the Parish Council. The BAA representatives agreed.
The Chairman reiterated the need for the BAA to advise plot holders to take particular care when using the water stand pipes, especially regarding the need for the last person to leave the allotments to always check that both locks are in place and locked.
c. Additional screening After discussion, the Cllrs agreed to defer the issue of further screening on the parish field until the play equipment designs were finalised.
pg 2010-08
9.6 To discuss new Baydon recycling skip arrangements. The Clerk had circulated notification to the Cllrs that the current recycling skip arrangements are due to change from the 1st May 2010. The dates remain the same but Wiltshire Council is trialling a new compacting vehicle and recycling may be at a different time slot. The Clerk is in negotiation with Wiltshire Council over the arrangements and was asked to publicise the new arrangements when they are finalised.
Action: Clerk
Cllr Edmonds asked if the wider issue of recycling and waste disposal could be raised at the Marlborough Area Board. The Chairman agreed to forward waste disposal as an agenda item to a Marlborough Area Board. Action:TP
10. ITEMS TO NOTE
10.1 Clarence Reporting. – The Chairman reminded the public that any resident could report village maintenance issues using ‘CLARENCE’ (an acronym for Customer Lighting And Roads ENquiry Centre.) The contact details are:
Website: http://localview.wiltshire.gov.uk/Localview/ReportAFault.aspx
Telephone: 0800 23 23 23 / 01225 77 72 34
10.2 Ditch Clearance. - The Parish Council offered a vote of thanks to the Chairman for clearing the reported blocked ditch from tree and grass debris.
10.3 Removal of Manor Lane Brambles – Work has started on this area. Once the bramble roots have been killed the area will be turfed.
10.4 Additional Councillors - A resident had decided not to pursue an initial interest.
10.5 Parish Council Annual Insurance – The Clerk had circulated this to the Cllrs. It was agreed this would be reviewed at the next parish council mtg. Action: Clerk
10.6 Litter Pick 22nd May 2010 - The date for the next village litter pick has been confirmed as the 22nd May 2010 starting at 13.30.
10.7 Beating the Bounds Monday 3rd May 2010 – The Chairman is completing a risk assessment form.
10.8 Firework’s Sub-committee – The Chairman asked for the link between the fireworks committee and the Parish Council to be strengthened.
10.9 Allotment Rents – All rents have been collected, the Chairman thanked the BAA members for prompt payment.
10.10 Village Green –Cllr Tomkins remarked that the Village Green was looking particularly attractive at the moment and the grass cutting contract was appearing to work well.
10.11 Baydon Website – The Baydon website is currently not being updated as the webmaster is stuck oversees.
11. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING – 10th May 2010
11.1 To discuss the
11.2 To approve the Parish Council Annual Insurance.
11.3 To discuss the link between the fireworks committee and the Parish Council
The meeting closed at 21.52pm
Signed............................................ Date..................................
Pg 2010-09