Thakeham Parish Council

OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE MEETING - Tuesday, 8^th August 2006

Meeting opened:         4.10 p.m.

Present                         Mr A Harwood                            Mrs P Maggs

Rev P Messenger                       Mr N Prince      

In attendance                 Mr J Denman                             Clerk to the Council

24.        Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Cllr Berry.

25.        Interests of Members

            No interests were declared.

26.        Minutes of the last meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held on 1^st June 2006 were approved and signed.

27.        Report on action items from previous meeting

27.1      (17.1) Stuart Stone has completed the repairs to the playground fence and swing; the ropes are on order for the outstanding job.

27.2      (23.3) A volunteer has strimmed along Woodlands Way and Cllr Harwood had conveyed the thanks of the Council

28.        Reports from Councillors

28.1      Cllr Harwood reported that the grass had been cut to an acceptable height in the playground and the molehills had been flattened. Heavy straw spillage in The Street; clerk to contact Highways for cleaning.

28.2      Cllr Prince reported that the residue of burnt plastic on the playground tables has been removed. The Abingworth bus shelter has been damaged and shiplap boarding is missing from the base; clerk to get quotation from Stuart Stone. Neighbouring tree to 40 Crescent Rise to be inspected. The verges by Greendene have been cut by WSCC.             

28.3      Notice Boards in a state of disrepair and being accessed by public without Council authority; clerk to produce proposal to the Council for repairs and installation of non-standard locks in liaison with Cllr Prince.       

29.        High Bar Lane playground

29.1      Playground sign; agreed unnecessary expense and no action is therefore needed at present.

29.2      Re-allocation of S106 Agreement; unnecessary under new procedure.

29.3      Cllr Harwood to arrange for Mike Summers to turn over the bark and then check the depth and in addition to weed the area.

29.4      Last 2 weeks inspection reports from Mrs Harman were circulated; Cllr Prince to review.

29.5      The approach regarding new equipment was discussed; Cllr Prince to submit item for the newsletter provided there is no conflict with the Action Plan. Large investment should not however be made if equipment likely to be under-utilised; members therefore to monitor and report current usage.    

30.        Vegetation encroachment on B2139 between Merrywood Lane and Little Thakeham Farm

            Cllr Prince reported that although trees are encroaching it only affects Little Thakeham Farm; no action necessary.

31.        Community Payback Scheme

            Cllr Prince will inspect the lower area of Strawberry Lane, take the relevant measurements and ascertain the cost of materials and then report back to enable a recommendation to be made to Council.

32.        Oak tree crop by playground

            Cllr Prince has discussed with Will Jones/HDC and a TPO would not be appropriate at present as they are too immature and also not amenity trees, the issue will however continue to be reviewed.

33.        Parish walks

            2 walks have now been published and are available in the box, HDC have a walks co-ordinator who is writing a 3^rd; Cllr Messenger to pass to clerk to see if amalgamation into a form of booklet would be appropriate and also to provide newsletter input.

34.        Dangerous steps/Jackets footpath

            Cllr Prince has inspected but there is no easy resolution; will continue to be monitored but no action appropriate at present although re-direction could possibly be considered at some time in the future.

35.        Overgrown hedge on corner of High Bar Lane

            Clerk to contact Estate Agent to ask owners to trim on safety grounds and also to move refuse bin to an appropriate location.

            Meeting closed:           5.10 p.m.