Baydon Parish Council Meeting 9th January 2017

By Barbara Furber

 

 

 

Cllr Tamsin Witt chaired the Parish Council meeting on Monday 9th January 2017 at the Baydon Young Peoples Association (BYPA) hall.  Councillors Kevin Howell and Amy Bryan were present with the Clerk. Apologies were received from Cllr John Cockcroft.  There were 9 members of the public in attendance.

 

The Minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.

 

The police report had been circulated and posted on the Baydon Website.

 

The lack of councillors was discussed. 7 councillors are needed to for a full working council, but with 2 current councillors handing in their resignations, the council are no longer quorate. Mr Brian Billington was then co-opted in as a new parish councillor.   Sarah Chidgey and James Lawrence then volunteered to join the council.  The Clerk then instructed them to fill in the appropriate forms.

 

In Public Question Time Debbie Moxon voiced concern about the narrowness of some pavements in the village and asked if anything could be done to improve them.  Barbara Furber asked that the style near Pear Tree Cottage be repaired, or better still, replaced.  Jim Grove reported that Bernie Gribble had cleared the alley way between Manor Lane and Ermin Close. Thanks were extended to Mr Gribble from the Council.  Debbie Moxon also said that the Christmas Concert organised by Bridget Walker was a great success and very enjoyable.

 

Planning:-

 

The application for a 2 storey rear extension and loft conversion at The Croft, Finches Lane received support from the council.

An application and appeal by Mr & Mrs Lloyd of Baydon House were dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.

The property next to the Red Lion Pub is undergoing investigation as changes have been made to the original plans, and a new application is needed.

 

 

The Clerk reported that SSE has run out of Priority Service leaflets.

 

The Facebook page for the parish council has been set up, and is an additional notice board. People are encouraged to email the Clerk for other matters.

 

The Clerk said that she is booked on a training course which will be 4 sessions at the cost of £220 + VAT. A further £250 will be needed to take the exam at the end, but the Clerk said that she would consider that at a later date.

 

Playground maintenance was discussed in light of the RoSPA inspection report. The Clerk had contacted Miracle concerning the roundabout. The company said that the matter was considered “low risk” therefore they were not prepared to redo the roundabout. It was agreed to monitor the situation.  It was reported that Cllr John Cockcroft had filed down the projecting bolt that had been an issue.

 

Cllr Tamsin Witt reported that a “Pedestrians in the Road” sign had been ordered by the council and CATG had agreed to fund the work involved in replacing the sign opposite the Cricket Field.

 

Cllr Tamsin Witt reported that she had contacted Wiltshire Council about the cost of signs pointing to the BYPA Hall. At the very most the cost could be £400. However it could be much less, but WC are to confirm.  Cllr Witt said that the management of BYPA were prepared to pay up to £200 for a sign or £300 for 2 signs. They are now awaiting a site visit.

 

The Emergency Response Team was discussed. It was agreed to ask Aldbourne if they had a template as they have completed theirs.

 

It was agreed that the Village Plan needed reviewing and updating. Cllr Witt proposed that the village be asked to comment on the priority list in the original Plan and reprioritise them, as a full review at the moment was not feasible. It was agreed to add something in the Scene in Baydon.

 

The Neighbourhood Plan, she added, was a long process and the council did not have the capacity at the moment to tackle it.

 

It was agreed to provide a new bin in Manor Lane. Idverde (who also do the Play area inspection) will provide a post, bin and install it for £193.00 +VAT. They are to be asked to empty the new bin, the one at the play area and the one outside the paddock at a cost of £1.75 per bin. It was agreed to consider an additional bin in the layby (Black Gate) near the Cricket Field, next year.

 

The item concerning the broken transformers and lights for the Christmas tree was deferred.

 

The Parish Assembly is to be held on Friday 12th May 2017 and the parish council AGM on Monday 15th May 2017.

 

A list of items to be sent to the ”Scene” was agreed.

 

A note was received from Julie of the Red Lion stating that the pub had been on the market for 2 years with no success. As Landlady she felt that she could no longer carry on and suggested that it could be purchased by the community (like the Tally Ho). She requested that the Parish Council respond within 6 weeks.  The Clerk said that she would find out the procedure and prepare a leaflet. Cllr Kevin Howell said that he would contact the Tally Ho for information.  Julie suggested that the Parish Council call a meeting of anyone who was interested.  Cllr Witt said that they may need to call an extra-ordinary meeting.

 

Thanks were extended to the Johnson’s for a particularly spectacular tree this year, and to those (namely Alison Tomkins and Rob Howe) who helped put it up and take it down.

 

Kevin Howell was praised for his efforts on the fund-raising day on the Green. Almost £3,000 was raised.

 

 

Finance:-

 

Cllr Amy Bryan had taken her forms and ID to the bank to become a signatory.

 

Income; Cricket Fund Interest £0.27; General reserve Interest £10.82;

 

Bank Statements; Barclay’s Community a/c £31,682.26; General reserve £3,682.95; Cricket Fund £1,204.68; Petty Cash £20.00; Grand Total £36,589.89

 

Payments approved;  Inverde (playground inspection) £20.60; Cilca (Clerk Training Course) £264.00; BYPA (Hall hire Jan – Nov 2016) £103.75; Pittams (Tree & Box hedge) £463.20;  Petty cash (Clerk expenses) £6.76

 

 

Items of note and for the next parish council meeting were then discussed before the meeting came to an end.

 

 

 

 

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