REDLYNCH PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING MINUTES

Transcription

1 REDLYNCH PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING MINUTES Minutes of the Redlynch Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 11 th April 2017 at 7.30pm in Morgan s Vale and Woodfalls Village Hall. Present: Parish Cllrs Baker-Beall, Bennett, Blocksidge, Budworth (Chair), Dunn, Everett, Peacock, Simpson, Wood and Youdan, Unitary Cllr Randall, Cllr Richard Britton (Chair of Wiltshire Council), 17 members of the public and Nicky Ashton (Parish Clerk). 1. Welcome and Introduction by Parish Council Chairman Kate Budworth: Cllr Budworth welcomed everyone to the Annual Parish Meeting and thanked them for attending. 2. Apologies for absence: There were no apologies received. Cllrs Anderson and Aymes were absent. 3. To receive a presentation from Cllr Richard Britton, Chairman of Wiltshire Council, followed by a questions and answers session: As the Chairman people tend to think I run Wiltshire Council and often want to have a moan at me regarding roads, litter and fly-tipping. Wiltshire Council operate a cabinet system which is led by Baroness Jane Scott. If you think of the House of Commons with the Prime Minister being Baroness Scott and I m the Speaker. As you can imagine as speaker having 98 self-opinionated councillors to deal with is quite a challenge. I rule on councillor s questions and various procedural matters. As Chairman I do get to represent the Council at lots of Civic Events. I attended a CPRE event which included an hour s lecture on international year of soil. Another event included nine speakers on the importance of the Magna Carta today. I also get to attend events with Royal visitors which inevitably involve lots of hanging around. Some members of the Royal family such as Prince Charles don t want anything to do with people like me; he wants to talk to members of the public which is very commendable. At these events there will be an opportunity for HRH to tidy which always amuses me as this is code for toilet break! In the South of the County there is still a lingering resentment against Unitary mainly as based in the North. I originally opposed Unitary when it was discussed in village halls in the south of the County. I debated the proposal with Jane and this is probably why I didn t get a job in her cabinet! However, I now believe it was wrong to oppose it, as Salisbury District Council would be hard pressed to deliver the many services required. It was the right thing to do for Wiltshire though it may not feel that way in the south. With regards to Wiltshire Council s budget which is nearly 1 billion a year only a third of that, 311 million, is discretionary as the rest is ring fenced for schools etc. With that 311 million we have to deliver many services. With a cap on council tax and with zero grants from the government the funds available will only be those collected from Council Tax. 311 million sounds a good amount but there are 1500 elderly people in care which is paid for by council tax. I only hear I get nothing for my council tax apart from my bins being emptied. These other services are invisible to them. It costs 30,000 for care packages and with 2000 at home receiving care and 500 young people in council care; this means 140 million a year is spent on social care. 21 million has been agreed for road improvements to make good a year backlog due to previous administration spending nearly nothing, this current administration is trying to make up for that. The roads in rural locations will only have works completed if there is a safety issue. The council does respond well where there are safety concerns. Where sign issues reported on Wiltshire App they do get done. I am often asked how much does the council spend on litter picking. 2.5 million is spent on litter picking on the highway network not including trunk roads as these are the responsibility of Highways England. Area Boards play an important part as the reality of local government funding means moving more to the fact that villages need to do things themselves. There will be more devolution of responsibility to parish councils with Area Boards being able to sign post where to go for assistance. Area Boards help parishes, parish councils and community groups. The Southern Area Board in particular is beginning to function well. It has a good manager, Tom Bray, and has programmes of constructive activities for young people

2 including sports, arts and even cooking little wins help improve lives of our communities. I think they work well and benefit our communities. We are approaching Elections and as I m nearly 75 I m often asked why I am doing it. Well as Chairman of Wiltshire Police Commission I can be holding police to account for 3hrs during a meeting in the morning but then in the afternoon I can be spending time with an elderly lady trying to assist her and that s what it s all about! Questions and Answers Q. Can any action be taken regarding the traffic lights at Lode Hill, Downton? When riding a bike problems are experienced getting through the lights before they change again it is ok going down into Downton but not when coming back up the hill to Redlynch. A. This should be referred in the first instance to your Parish Council and then discussed with Downton Parish Council. It could perhaps be an issue to refer to CATG which will involve Julie Wharton who will possibly take a look at it. Q. Do you or are you aware of anyone who has any influence over the portfolio holder for waste? I would like to see dump open more again so the Council is not wasting money on having to collect fly-tipped rubbish. A. I don t have any influence but I can tell you that the hours for the dumps are being changed and extended. Days which were closed now being opened. Q. Are you aware of any Parish Council s making national awards for individual awards for recognition? A. Two or three years ago the Area Board had an award scheme. Contacted Parish Council s to let them know of nominations and they would select people. Unfortunately, the response was pathetic and I m not sure why as I believe really important. I do believe Parish Council s need to put in a bit of effort. Parish Councillors are unpaid volunteers with an interest in their area. Area Board points out they all have same problems and if collaborate and work together could be more cost effective. Q. There is a lack of sporting facility in Southern Wiltshire with many parents having to ferry kids across the border where there are 3G pitches etc. Fordingbridge have poor facilities so have an agreement to use Burgate School facilities. There is no 3G or 4G pitch at Trafalgar School and if they had one they could play hockey. It would be really nice to have better facilities in this area like they do in the North of the County. Fordingbridge Town Council not happy to provide as many members not parishioners. A. Wiltshire Council is pushing health and well-being to keep people out of hospital etc. Discussions are going on with Downton to make facilities more general. Individual villages need to come up with proposals as there are grants available for modest facilities. Q. I have two issues to raise the bus service is relied upon by elderly in the village it is invaluable to them and am concerned about the future of this service and secondly there is a lack of mobile phone signal in Lover and with the mast now being moved it could make situation worse. The lack of signal causes issues for residents and feel obligated to have a land line. A. Mobile phone services are nothing to do with Wiltshire Council but there are lots of channels to go through to raise the issue. The bus services will be one of first projects if elected to look at and will be asking Parish Councils to compile a list of specific routes where cuts are particularly affecting people. We will be looking at a possible community bus service instead to try to meet specific needs; specific routes at specific times of day. 4. Chairman s Annual Report: Historically the Annual Parish Meeting has been organised by Redlynch Parish Council and has offered an opportunity for the Parish Council, organisations and charities within the Parish to report on their activities during the year and an opportunity for residents to ask any questions of and provide feedback to these groups. I am pleased to report on the highlights of the activities of Redlynch Parish Council for the second year running. The last year has again flown by and the time has arrived to reflect upon what we have achieved and what the future may hold. As Councillors we are all volunteers who take an interest in our villages, services and amenities and I am privileged to have a hard working and committed team of Parish Councillors and to report on the considerable work carried out by them.

3 There will be changes ahead however, with 2017 being a historic year with the County s boundary changes resulting in both Hamptworth and Nomansland becoming a part of Landford Parish. We have been all one Parish since 1934 so a huge thank you to all the residents, local volunteers, committee members and those offering support over all these years. For the Parish Council specifically we thank our Nomansland ward Councillors for their services, Councillors Wood, Aymes and Dunn. Councillor Bill Dunn in particular has given many years committed service with a 100% attendance record this past year and representation in many areas including the management committees for both the Nomansland Reading Room and defibrillator project. His wealth of knowledge, particularly in relation to planning issues will be sorely missed and quite possibly may need to be tapped into over the in the coming months! In the last year we have also seen the resignations of Councillor Garth Everett after an impressive 30 years of service and John Roberts and thank them for their hard work and commitment. It has also been election year for the Parish Council with 8 nominations submitted to carry forward for the coming year leaving 2 vacancies. Should you have any interest in representing your community as a Parish Councillor please do feel free to come and chat with any of us and we will happily inform you about the future options. As a new slimmer version of Redlynch Parish Council we will be changing format from our AGM in May to one meeting a month of full council and separate planning committee. In the last year we have introduced the Local Community Grant scheme with applications received from Nomansland preschool, Redlynch table tennis club, Redlynch cricket club, Lover Community Trust and Lover and Redlynch preschool. We have also continued to support our assets through our Asset Grant Scheme honouring applications from Morgan s Vale and Woodfalls Village Hall, Redlynch Village Hall, Lover Green Association, Nomansland Sports Association, Nomansland Reading Room and Redlynch Playing Fields Association. We have also purchased a new see-saw, safety surfacing, child s rocker and large multi play piece of play equipment at Nomansland Recreation Ground play park, carried out repairs and maintenance on play equipment at Nomansland, Lover and Redlynch play park, and continue to commission annual play inspections. Councillors represented the Parish by attending the Southern Wiltshire Area Board meetings, Southern Community Area Transport Group meetings, North West Quadrant meetings of the New Forest National Park Authority, New Forest Consultative Panel meetings, Stockman and Woodland Trust Meetings and Downton Link. Our planning committee continued to work hard having reviewed 56 planning applications and attended 2 appeals. We also nominated two projects for the New Forest National Park Authority Building Design Awards with the Grove Lane lawn cemetery extension and the extension to The Cottage, Quavey, Redlynch which won its category. It has been another challenging year with both fly grazing and trespassing on Council land requiring both the Clerk and members to undertake crash courses in various laws and procedures resulting in the Parish Council briefly taking ownership of a horse! We continue to learn and strive to do our best with all the scenarios that this role entails. A height barrier has been installed at Muddyford chalk pit following trespassing issues, maintenance works have been carried out on Lover telephone box with repainting and new signs and to the footbridge at Hamptworth and clearance of the adjacent footpath and the telephone box at Woodfalls has been converted to a book exchange. Refurbishment works have been carried out to Besomer well, new fencing installed at Loosehanger, the parish spring works have been completed at Morgan s Vale and a new bus shelter now stands opposite the Cuckoo at Hamptworth. Missing Grove Lane road signs have been replaced, we have been part of a Speed Indicator Device scheme and training relating to the defibrillator has been undertaken at Nomansland. A consecration service also took place on part of the new cemetery extension. The Parish Council also continued with their normal activities including the running of the cemetery at Grove Lane, allotments at Vale road and various grass cutting throughout the Parish. The Parish Steward operation is also in place with liaison having successfully resulted in the clearance of drains, removal of vegetation from footways, filling of potholes, clearance of ditches and the cleaning of road signs. We also had another Great British spring clean event with 25 volunteers taking part collecting about 37 bags of rubbish from around our parish, many thanks to all those who gave up their time in support of this. Fly tipping along the Hamptworth Road was also reported and subsequently cleared. The challenge for the coming year will be trying to do more with even less resources. All our meetings welcome public attendance should you wish to hear more about what is going on around the Parish. My thanks go out to all the Councillors who put in a considerable amount of time and effort on behalf of our community, often without thanks or recognition but because they care about the place where we live. Also my thanks go to Councillor Blocksidge as Vice Chairman for his support and the amount of time and effort he puts into this role. We would also like to thank David Huckfield for his continued support and work with the Parish Council website and Lockerley Stone for the cleaning of Bowers Hill War Memorial. All of our thanks must also go to our Unitary Councillor Leo Randall who regularly attends our Parish Council meetings, is always happy to advise and assist and can regularly be seen supporting local events. Special thanks and congratulations must also go to our Parish Clerk, Nicky Ashton who gained her Certificate in Local Council Administration this year whilst adeptly guiding us all through another year of challenges. Nicky is often the first port of call for you as parishioners and her personable calm and informative manner is an asset for both the community and professional running of your Parish Council.

4 I would like to end my annual report by thanking all the residents of the Parish who are involved in any aspect of the community. We recognise that the Parish Council is only one part of the community that we share and far more residents are involved in so many other aspects of this Parish and I wish to thank you for whatever role you do, you all help to make Redlynch a Parish we can be proud of, as Churchill once said We make a living by what we get, but make a life by what we give. Thank you all for your continued support. 5. To receive a written Police Report from PC Matt Holland: Current local Policing Priorities Ongoing Non-dwelling Burglary series Targeted patrols following recent series of overnight burglaries to sheds/ outbuildings and linked thefts of garden power tools. Recent offences 14/03/17 Salisbury Rd, Downton 14/03/17 Whiteshoot, Redlynch 22/03/17 Barford Lane, Downton 24/03/17 Goggs Lane, Redlynch Police Officers are carrying out stop/checks and searches of any suspicious vehicles and/or persons, patrols to focus on areas close to county boundary. Local officers are holding regular intelligence sharing meetings with colleagues from Hampshire and Dorset to co-ordinate our investigations. Dwelling Burglary Local officer to co-ordinate enquiries, carry out targeted patrols and issue crime prevention advice. Recent offences 10/03/17 Nunton CCTV of 2 male suspects and vehicle 16/03/17 Blandford Rd, Coombe Bissett 2 neighbouring houses entered 31/03/17 Twynham Close, Downton male arrested 01/04/17 Blandford Rd, Coombe Bissett attempt to force entry 6. To receive presentations from Community Groups: Lover Green Association (Peter Harper) It has been five years since the Parish Council acquired the playing field and set up a community group to run it on their behalf. Since day one it has been well supported with 3800 being received via the Asset Grant scheme. As a community group it is possible to also get funding elsewhere so can factor up fund raising. If the Parish Council decided to manage and run the green themselves would only be able to do basics but local community groups can do more which Parish Council couldn t afford to do. The Green is well maintained and now has a long jump pit and outside table tennis tables, good stack of equipment, the ponds has been restored in recent years and this is all as a result of this collaboration. Thank you to the Parish Council and there will be further ambitious results in the future. Nomansland Reading Room (Andrew Smith) Nomansland Reading Room is a cute little building which is used by the local community Bridge Club, WI, Photographic Club etc. It is 107 years old so needs things doing do it! Monies have been received from the Parish Council which has meant a new kitchen has been installed, new fencing and insulation which has unfortunately exposed wood worm! Thank you very much to the Parish Council for their support. Lover Community Trust (Nick Gibbs) Working group formed in November 2015 with specific objective to raise money to buy the former primary school building. This was achieved and now busy decorating, updating electrics, emergency lighting, fire equipment etc. We are currently ensuring the building is weather tight and hoping it will be fully available for letting in Winter. There has been huge community support with open meetings attracting people. It was decided that as the building is known locally as the Old School that is what it would officially be called. At a meeting held to discuss the vision for the building approximately 70 people attending and currently putting together the ideas from this. We brought back Lover Post for Valentines; reached every continent apart from South America and Antarctica. Thanks to Richard and the Area Board for their help and support and to the Parish Council for their support. So many people give so much like Tom Bray and Councillors like Leo Randall and Parish Councillors who are volunteers. I would like to say thanks for what you do. Redlynch Village Hall (Paul Bromage) I would also like to say thanks to Area Board and Parish Council for their support. Grants received have assisted in replacing the old storage shed at the back of the hall and making improvements at rear of hall. Thanks to the whole community for their continued support and to those of you in volunteer positions.

5 Redlynch Playing Fields Association (Bill Maddy) The playing fields are such an asset to the community and are well supported. There are three football teams and three cricket teams. The Cricket are registered with the ECB and are providing cricket for children aged over 5 years. Youth cricket is well supported by not only boys but girls are also joining in. There are also two petanque teams for the elderly and the young. The field is maintained by volunteers. Security seems to be the only issue with one attempted break-in only 8 days ago. We have applied for small grant to replace this particular container to help solve this issue. Thanks to Parish Council for their support and particularly to John who sits on the committee. 7. Any general questions to Parish Councillors from residents who are on the electoral roll for Redlynch Parish. Q. Cllr Dunn raised issue with regard to a faded white line outside a resident s house in Nomansland to prevent parking blocking access. He asked the Parish Council to contact Highways again. A. Due to the possible length of time it will take Highways to deal with the issue it was suggested to go down CATG route instead. Q. Mr Birch raised concerns about the health and welfare issue of the link on foot between Downton and Redlynch and safety issues for walkers using Grove Lane. There is a white line on Grove Lane on one side to give preference to pedestrians but there is no indication as to what it is for so drivers are unaware. The safety issues are made worse by residents no longer keeping their hedges in order people no longer seem concerned about their overhanging hedges. Cllr Budworth thanked Mr Birch for his comments and his concerns would be discussed in a future Parish Council meeting. 8. With no further questions Cllr Budworth thanked those present for attending and the meeting was closed at 8.40pm. Representing the communities of Hamptworth, Lover, Morgan s Vale, Nomansland, Redlynch and Woodfalls