BAYDON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD AT THE BYPA HALL ON
12th January 2009 (Draft copy. Subject to approval at the next meeting)
PRESENT: Cllr
Tony Prior (Chair), Cllr Ian Timms, Cllr Alison Tomkins, Cllr Tamsin Witt,
Elizabeth Carmichael (Clerk), County Cllr
Before the meeting started the chair reminded the public that there were still 3 vacancies on the Parish Council and that the Council would welcome anyone who would like to join.
An apology was given on behalf of the Parish Council for the late posting of the agenda on the notice board. The chair advised the meeting that this was partly due to the holiday period.
1. APOLOGIES
None.
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None.
3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
The minutes of the meeting on 1st December were approved, subject to the numbering being corrected. Some of the matters for consideration which had been deferred until later in the meeting. These had been minuted in the order they were discussed but the paragraph numbering no longer tied back to the agenda.
It was agreed that the minutes be re-typed and the numbering corrected before they were signed as a true record.
4. SUSPENSION OF THE MEETING FOR PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
The meeting was suspended so that members of the public could speak to the Parish Council.
5. CLERK’S REPORT (FOR INFORMATION ONLY)
The Clerk advised the Parish Council that official confirmation of the dates for the recycling skips had been received from Kennet District Council. It was noted that skips will be placed by the garages on Downsmead between 8am and 10.30am on the following days: 19 May, 28 July, 22 September, 17 November, 26 January & 23 March.
The Parish Council noted receipt of the clerks report which forms Appendix A to these minutes.
6. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
6.1 The Parish Council resolved to rescind the decision not to carry out a leaflet drop and to proceed with same, to all households, describing the importance of residents coming forward to fill existing vacancies on the Parish Council.
Page 2009-01
6.2 The wording of the draft leaflet for vacancies was discussed and it was agreed that the wording be approved subject to the inclusion of an introductory paragraph. The Council agreed that the leaflet should be printed/copied outside the Parish offices e.g. using the school’s resources or a printing company. Costs of up to £20 for the production of the leaflets were agreed.
Organise printing of leaflets Action: TP
6.3 The Council resolved to hold the annual Parish meeting on Friday 24th April 2009. It was noted that the notice with the Parish Council schedule of meetings could possibly be merged with the Councillors’ contact details onto one page as this would save space on the notice board.
Organise annual Parish Meeting Action: LC
6.4 The clerk advised the Council that the only modification made to the Model Code of Conduct for Town & Parish Councils that had been done was the substitution of the words ‘your authority’ with ‘Baydon Parish Council’. The clerk confirmed that the Model Code of Conduct included paragraph 12(2) which allowed Parish Councillors with prejudicial interests to make representations, answer questions and give evidence relating to the associated items of business provided that the public has the same facility.
6.5 The Parish Council noted that according to the schedule for Q1 2009, the Parish Steward would visit Baydon on 5th February. Councillors were asked to advise the clerk of any specific jobs that they would like the Parish Steward to undertake on his next visit by the 30 January. It was decided not to send a representative to the scheme familiarisation day.
6.6
It was agreed that Cllr Prior should be the Parish Council’s
representative at the Wiltshire Council’s Development Control Service meeting
at
6.7 The Parish Council considered and approved the wording of the Neighbourhood Watch notice for publication in Scene in Baydon and on the notice board.
6.8 The Council considered the access policy for the Parish field. The clerk advised the meeting that as a byelaw was not being created, anyone going against the policy would not be breaking the law and penalties could not be imposed. The access policy for the Parish field was approved.
6.9 The letter to Highways drafted by the Traffic Calming Working Group was approved.
Send letter to Highways Action: LC
6.10 The shortfall in contracted cuts by Sodexho was discussed. The Parish Council decided that it wasn’t worthwhile accepting the offer of 2 additional cuts in place of the shortfall as the grass wasn’t actively growing and that payment would be made instead for the actual number of cuts that had been made. The clerk asked Sodexho to provide a revised figure for the work that had been done in readiness for the December but still hasn’t received anything. The clerk confirmed that one invoice for £1146.33 had been paid and that the second invoice for the same figure had not been put before the Council as she had disputed the amount owing. It was noted that the budgeted figure was £1950 and that the 2 invoices raised to date exceeded this amount.
Request final invoice amount from Sodexho Action: LC
6.11 The Parish Council agreed the following changes to the grass and hedge cutting contract for 2009:
Area B1, the right hand side of the Parish field, number of cuts to be increased from 2 to 4
Area A8, the two grass verges at the entrance to Ermin Close, to be removed
Area D1, the Parish field hedge, to be added and to be cut once a year between Nov – Mar at the contractor’s discretion.
Page 2009-02
Condition to be added to the general terms to require the contractor to make good any damage caused in the execution of their duties under the grass cutting contract.
6.12 Cllr Prior advised the meeting that he had met with Peter Chambers and Enid Johnson and that they had stated that the paddock could not be used for a children’s playground. Cllr Prior has spoken with Jonathan Smith. It was noted that if the cricket field was to be used a tenure document would need to be agreed and signed. Meetings have been arranged with 3 suppliers of
playground equipment. It was noted that equipment costs would be in the range of approximately £8,000 - £10,000 with the total costs for the project including installation, safety surface, & insurance to be £18,000 - £20,000. The Parish Council noted that an Awards for All grant could be applied for but the associated project must be completed in 12 months. It was noted that once a reasonable proposal had been submitted to Kennet District Council, the S106 money could be released in 10 days.
7. Correspondence for Action
7.1 The Parish Council had no comments to make on the consultation on the proposed boundaries of the new Wiltshire Area Boards
7.2 The Parish Council noted the letter regarding Wiltshire Involvement Network. It was agreed that the poster be placed on the Downsmead notice board.
7.3 The Parish Council noted the invitation to Wiltshire Tree Warden Launch on 31 January 2009. It was agreed that details be placed on the Downsmead notice board.
8. Correspondence (For INFORMATION ONLY)
8.1 The Parish Council noted the correspondence for information; as list of which had been circulated by the clerk along with the agenda.
9. PLANNING
9.1 The Parish Council had no objections to the application for Baydon Hill Grange (K/59960/F) for an extension to lads’ accommodation to provide a dining area and additional bedroom.
The clerk advised the meeting that another application had been received and that she would be requesting an extension to the deadline.
Request extension to deadline for pending application Action: LC
9.2
The Parish Council noted that the following applications had been
refused planning permission : K/59682/F for the erection of two dwellings with
garages at Dacre,
K/59632/F for a two storey side extension at 8 Ermin Close was also refused.
Planning permission has been granted for the following applications:
K/58541/F for a single storey side extension and garage at 20A Ermin Close.
K/59611/F for a single detached dwelling and to extend the Red Lion pub to provide restaurant facilities. It was noted that permission for the Red Lion development included 12 conditions.
10. Finance
10.1 The clerk advised the Council that the only payment made between meetings was the invoice for
Page 2009-03
hall hire in 2006, 2007 & 2008 and that, with the exception of the charge for hiring the hall for the initial meeting of the Traffic Calming Working Group, no further money was owed to the BYPA. The Parish Council endorsed the payment of £408.00 to the BYPA.
10.2 The Parish Council agreed in principal that unspent money from the 2008/09 budget could be allocated to projects such as a children’s playground. This is an interim measure as any funds in the Parish Council’s accounts will be revised and reallocated at the end of the financial year.
10.3 The Council approved payment of £346 for the clerk’s remuneration for 1st December 2008 to 11th January 2009. The clerk advised the meeting that it was not necessary to include the amount paid to her as salary in the minutes and that she would prefer that this did not happen as she considered this to be personal information. It was noted that the clerk was sensitive to her salary being made public in this way. The Parish Council agreed that the amount paid to the clerk should appear in the minutes.
11. ITEMS TO NOTE / ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
Items for next meeting :
- Update on playground project.
- To agree a possible playground site and the proposal to be submitted to Kennet District Council.
- Review of quarterly budget monitoring report.
It was noted that Cllr Prior would like a copy of the signed Administration Procedure and the annual report.
A vote of thanks was given to Debbie and Alan for donating the Christmas tree for the village green. Thanks also went to Sue & Jim Grove, Rob & Alison Tomkins, Mark Austen, Trevor Dominy and Tony Prior for their help putting up and taking down the tree.
It was noted that a copy of the finalised 2009-2010 budget needed to be circulated to Councillors.
Cllr Witt advised the meeting that Lambourn Parish Council
and the business at
10. FINANCE
10.4 The Parish Council resolved that, under the Public bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, the public and press should be excluded for the following agenda item by reason of the confidential nature of the business and they were instructed to withdraw.
After the public and Clerk had left the meeting the Council resolved to extend the meeting by 15 minutes.
10.5 After the public and the Clerk left the meeting, the paper circulated to Councillors by the Clerk, detailing the additional hours worked in 2008 due to the extra Council meetings was discussed. The Council resolved to pay the 19 hours, as claimed, at the relevant standard hourly rate in the JNC/NALC 2008-09 interim award. The Council also resolved that it must be advised by the Clerk when a likelihood of additional hours becomes clear in the future and that any such hours will be paid, on approval, at the standard hourly rate.
The meeting closed at 10.15 pm
Signed : ________________________________ Date : _______________
Page 2009-04