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Minutes of Thakeham Parish Council Meeting - Monday, 21st August 2006
Meeting opened: 7.30 p.m.
Present: Mr D Berry Ms K Dawes Mrs C Goring Mr A Harwood Mr D MacEachern Mrs P Maggs Rev P Messenger Mr N Prince Mr R Walker In attendance Mr J Denman Clerk to the Council Members of the public
149. Apologies for absence Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Bearman who was on holiday and Cllr Hardisty who was also away. Cllr Goring joined the meeting later as shown below.
150. Interests of Members Cllr Prince declared a prejudicial interest in agenda item 19 (minute 171) and withdrew from the meeting at the appropriate time. Cllrs Prince and Messenger declared a personal interest in agenda item 10 (minute 159).
151. Minutes of the last meetingMinutes of the last meeting of the Parish Council held on 17th July 2006 were approved and signed.
152. Matters Arising 152.1 (127.3) Thakeham Tiles / TPO: Cllr Prince to arrange to meet with Mr Davidge.
152.2 (132) Japanese knotweed: Noted now a problem nationwide.
152.3 (137) August newsletter: Input received and submitted to publisher by the due date.
152.4 (141.1) Town House Corner footpath: Awaiting response from WSCC.
152.5 (141.2) Collapsed stile Bramble Lane / Crays Farm: Now repaired.
152.6 (146.3) Overgrown hedge on corner of High Bar Lane: Cllr Prince to trim.
153. Correspondence HDC: Summons to Development Control (South) Committee meeting 15th August. Clean Neighbourhoods (Prevention/Enforcement) Strategy Consultation Document and Questionnaire, response by 18th September, passed to Cllr MacEachern. Statement of Licencing Policy in respect of the Gambling Act 2005 - Consultation document, response by 13th October, clerk to pass to Cllr Bearman for village hall. Draft Younger and Older Persons' Strategies, response by 18th September, clerk to pass to Cllr MacEachern. WSCC: A24 Route Safety Strategy, passed to Cllr Walker. Environmental Campaigns: Local environmental quality - a town and parish council guide, passed to Cllr Prince, to return to clerk. Action in rural Sussex: Invitation to Annual Conference and SRCC AGM, Thursday 12th October. Nick Herbert MP & NHS: Responses to our support in campaign to save local hospitals (previously circulated to all Cllrs). Storrington & District Museum Society: Thank you for donation
154. Finance 154.1 Financial Performance A report on the current financial year to 31 July 2006 was received.
154.2 Payments A report on the current bank balances was tabled and the following were approved for payment: Mrs C Goring: replacement cheque 85.85 Roger Smith: July Outdoor Maintenance 290.00 Federation of Sussex Amenity Societies: Annual subscription 7.50 Staples UK Ltd: Office supplies 38.97 Staples UK Ltd: Office supplies 54.96 Stuart Stone Building Services: Playground repairs (part) 311.38 British Telecommunications plc: Calls and service charge 119.32 Sussex Business Computers Ltd: Call out re e-mail problem 23.50 SLCC-CiLCA Management: Registration fee 70.00 Gross salaries including PAYE / NI and Clerk's OP expenses and mileage 1294.73 £2296.21
155. Adjournment The meeting was then adjourned to enable the affected residents to provide background details for the next agenda item.
156. Thatched properties / Bonfires The problems experienced by the residents of The Old Cottage and The Old Thatch were discussed and possible solutions explored. It was agreed that the clerk would write to HDC, copy other agencies, to express concern and frustration over the inability of Council to take appropriate action.
157. Kingdom Hall The letter from Peter Jones was noted.
Cllr Goring joined the meeting.
158. Affordable Housing Cllr Goring distributed copies of the letter that was originally sent with the Action Plan questionnaire and reported that RHT had confirmed no applications had been received to register interest. A further copy of the letter could be sent with the results, together with a reminder.
159. Parish Office / Playing Fields The paper from Cllr Harwood was discussed together with the written comments from Cllr Bearman. It was agreed that a working party be formed to consider all the issues raised, members of which to be Cllrs Harwood, Dawes, MacEachern and Walker, with Cllr Bearman also to be invited to join. The working party will operate without the involvement of the clerk. It was also agreed that the working party will submit terms of reference to the next Council meeting. Additional papers on the subject from the Rector and Mrs Barbara Laker were also distributed.
160. Joint Planning Advisory Working Group Nothing to report.
161. Parish Action Plan All questionnaires now entered. Draft headline results should be available for the next meeting. Hard copy questionnaires to be returned and held by clerk.
162. Open Spaces Committee Cllr Prince reported on the meeting held on 8th August.
163. Footpaths 163.1 Town House Corner signage and mirror in place which indicates legal requirements have now been satisfied.
163.2 Strawberry Lane - looking to improve possibly via Community Payback Scheme. Material cost approximately £10 per metre.
163.3 Furze Common Road - clerk to write to MP requesting support for early decision.
164. Laybrook Landfill Waste Area Forum scheduled for 20th September in Steyning, Cllrs Berry and MacEachern have registered to attend. Joint Working Party meeting with TVA on 30th August.
165. Planning Committee Minutes The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 4th & 17th July were received.
166. Open Spaces Committee Minutes The minutes of the Open Spaces Committee meeting held on 1st June were received.
167. Reports from Councillors Cllr Walker reported that SID had been operated on 5 occasions so far and approximately 40% had been exceeding the 30 mph speed limit. There are another 4 or 5 volunteers wanting to be trained.
168. Liaison with TVA The meeting was updated on current TVA issues.
169. Chairman's Announcements 169.1 West Sussex Food & Drink Festival, range of events from 9th September to 8th October.
169.2 HDC has reported an unusually high number of thefts and criminal damage incidents to parked motor vehicles.
169.3 Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy received from HDC.
169.4 General update meeting with Mark Howarth / Heveco scheduled for 12th September.
170. It was resolved that in view of the confidential nature of the business the public be excluded from the following item.
171. Heveco Mushrooms unauthorised uses The current status was reviewed and it was agreed that no action by the Parish Council would be appropriate at present as the issue was currently being addressed by HDC.
Date of next meeting: Monday, 18th September 2006 at 7.30 p.m. Meeting closed: 8.55 p.m.
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