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Minutes of Thakeham Parish Council Meeting - Monday, 19th February 2007 Meeting opened: 7.30 p.m. Present: Mr D Berry Mr J Bearman Ms K Dawes Mr D Hardisty Mr A Harwood Mr D MacEachern Mrs P Maggs Mr N Prince Mr R Walker Mr J Weight In attendance Cllr David Jenkins District Council Mr J Denman Clerk to the Council Members of the press and public 23. Apologies for absence Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Goring, due to family illness. 24. Interests of Members No interests were declared. 25. Minutes of the last meeting Minutes of the last meeting of the Parish Council held on 15th January 2007 were approved and signed.
26. Report on Action Items 26.1 (175.1) TPO/visit Thakeham Tiles: Cllr Prince will action now the evenings are lighter.
26.2 (186.1) 2nd stile from THC footpath: WSCC have undertaken work in the area, Cllr Prince will inspect.
26.3 (7.4) APM Speaker: Letter sent to Martin Quaife 1st February.
26.4 (7.6) B2133 Accidents: Cllr MacEachern awaiting details.
26.5 (8) Snapes Corner chevron complaint: Letter sent to MP 23rd January.
26.6 (18.3) Vandalism at Toddlers Play Area: District Cllr Jenkins followed up with HDC, they will maintain specific check on area and we now have contact for any recurrence.
26.7 (18.6) Health Seminar: Cllr Walker attended due illness of Cllr Berry.
26.8 (20.1) Linfield Copse fence posts: Contractor secured to make safe, quotation requested for chain link fencing.
26.9 (20.2) Branches on road north end B2139: Now clear.
26.10 (22.1) Potholes in Crays Lane: Highways advised.
27. Correspondence HDC: Summons to Council meeting 24th January. Summons to Development Control (South) Committee meeting 20th January. Invitation to Local Development and Transport Advisory Group meeting 30th January. WSCC: Avian flu - updated briefing note. Draft Highways and Transport Works Programme 2007/08, previously passed to Cllr Walker. Defra: Review of Quality Council scheme - delayed awaiting enactment of Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill. Audit Commission: Proposed extended appointment of Mazars to cover 2006/07 pending competitive tendering. Also new fees to operate from 2006/07- £285 for Thakeham.
28. Finance 28.1 Financial Performance A report on the current financial year to 31 January 2007 was received.
28.2 Payments A report on the current bank balances was tabled and the following were approved for payment: Roger Smith: January Outdoor Maintenance 90.00 HDC: February dog bin emptying 6.93 R Goldsmith (Sales & Marketing): Newsletter labels 25.00 Staples UK Ltd: Office supplies 59.70 S M Berry: P Messenger gift (Chairman's allowance) 33.55 Gross salaries including PAYE / NI and Clerk's OP expenses and mileage 1246.80 £1461.98
29. Parish Office/Playing Fields Advisory Committee 29.1 Cllr Berry briefed the Council on developments since the last meeting and before considering the recommendations requested it be minuted that the introduction to the presentation given at the 15th January meeting should be corrected to read "make recommendations to the PC" rather than "make recommendations on behalf of the PC".
29.2 The 3 recommendations were then discussed separately with the following conclusions. 29.3 Parish Office: Cllr Walker advised this had originally been seen as an urgent issue but the situation has now changed and it was agreed this item would be deferred to a later date, although it was noted that the restrictive covenant negates the High Bar Lane option.
29.4 Glebe Field: It was agreed that the prime objective is to protect the land as an open space and to that end discussions would be held with the PCC/Diocese and also with Pat Arculus/WSCC regarding the First School aspect. Cllr Berry will speak to PCC and draft a diocese letter, Cllr Dawes will follow up the school issue.
29.5 Playing Fields: It was agreed that the objective is to secure the long term future of the playing fields and village hall as an amenity for the parish and a strategy to achieve that be developed in closed session at the next meeting.
30. Nominations for Election to next Council Posters will be displayed encouraging people to stand and an open evening will be held; clerk to check when village hall available, but ideally aim for 13th March.
31. Revised Model Code of Conduct Noted and accepted.
32. Local Works The campaign letter was considered and it was agreed the clerk would write to our MP on the basis requested.
33. B2139 Speed Limit Proposals It was agreed the clerk would write to WSCC strongly supporting the proposal but also draw attention to earlier correspondence regarding extensions of the 40 mph limit and request that consideration also be given to applying a 40 mph limit throughout the whole length of Merrywood Lane.
34. Village Clean-Up Day It was agreed this would be held on 14th April provided the equipment is available; clerk to organise.
35. Crays Lane Maintain a watching brief but need Highways input.
36. Power Cuts The letter from EDF to a resident was noted.
37. April Newsletter Input was agreed and is to be submitted to the clerk by 19th March. 38. Joint Planning Advisory Working Group Cllr Berry advised that HDC has arranged a meeting with the landowner for 21st February and it was agreed that he will attend on behalf of the Council. HDC have suggested the Furze Common Road issue should go to WSCC and Cllr Berry will follow this up with the clerk.
39. Parish Action Plan Cllr Walker advised that the final meeting was held on 30th January but was poorly attended. Actions completed, Mark Keenan has all he needs and is now going to press. The Parish Council recorded their thanks to all involved. 40. Open Spaces Committee Cllr Prince updated the Council on current issues and advised that the next meeting would be held on 13th March.
41. Footpaths Nothing further to report at this stage regarding the Furze Common Road footpath but will be kept on the agenda. 42. Laybrook Landfill Cllr MacEachern reported on the outcome of the Working Party meeting held on 7th February and advised the Group are seeking contributions towards the £2100 cost they wish to spend on research into the WSCC waste management proposals. Cllr Berry circulated the draft response to the WSCC proposals, any comments to be passed to him before the clerk submits on 1st March.
43. Planning Committee Minutes The minutes of the Planning Committee meetings held on 18th December and 15th January were received.
44. Reports from Councillors 44.1 Cllr Bearman advised that quotations have been requested for repairs to the village hall but the usual grant facilities are no longer available. He also reported on the last HALC meeting and advised that the Daffodil Lunch will be held on 17th March.
44.2 Cllr MacEachern reported that branches had been left on the High Bar Lane footpath following electricity works by EDF and there is still an unacceptable dip in the road at the top of Merrywood Lane.
44.3 Cllr Walker briefed the meeting on the Health Seminar he attended in place of Cllr Berry.
44.4 Cllr Berry reported on the 23rd January CLC meeting and referred to a paper on doorstep crime which the clerk will circulate.
45. Liaison with TVA The meeting was updated on current TVA issues.
46. Adjournment The meeting was then adjourned to allow comments or questions from the public. 46.1 There is deep rutting on the southbound road edge at Jackets Hill; clerk to advise highways.
46.2 Straw in gutters continues to be a problem.
46.3 Chain link fencing at Linfield Copse would be the same height as the wooden fence.
47. Chairman's Announcements Cllr Berry advised that Horsham MicroBiz 2007 will be held on 10th March.
48. Any other business for noting or inclusion on a future agenda 48.1 Need and condition of bus shelters to be researched by Open Spaces Committee. Date of next meeting: Monday, 19th March 2007 at 7.30 p.m. Meeting closed: 9.50 p.m.
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