27 Feb 2017

Minutes: 20th February 2017


­­­­­­­­­DRAFT MINUTES

CHEARSLEY PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 20th FEBRUARY 2017 IN THE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30PM

PRESENT

Councillors:                                         Nic Brown (NB), John Lewis (JL), Paul Bown (PAB), Michael Edmonds (ME), John Howard (JH), Michael Hawkett

Parish Clerk:                                       Helen Spurgeon

Responsible Finance Officer:      Robert Parkes (RP)

Parishioners:                                      There were 6 Parishioners

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no interests declared. 

PARISHIONERS QUESTION TIME

There were no questions.

1.        APOLOGIES

Julia Witcher (JW), Margaret Aston.



2.       APPROVAL OF JANUARY 2017 MINUTES

Minutes were agreed as a true record and signed by Chairman, Nic Brown.



3.       MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES

·         Provision of Welcome to Chearsley signs. NB has given the details to Dave Smith at Transport for Bucks and is waiting to hear back.

·         Bank Mandate forms. These have now been submitted to the bank.

·         Kerbing and Verges. JL has produced a single specification for the contractors to quote against. Four quotes have been received from the approved contractors list but there are considerable differences in pricing. ACTION: JL to arrange to meet with a couple of the contractors.

·         Feasibility study for traffic calming measures. Indicative cost £3,700, final figure should be available by the end of the week. This cost is eligible for LAF funding on a matched contribution basis. ACTION: JH to obtain final quote.

·         Trees in Village. There is no list of public owned trees in Chearsley. ACTION: ME to identify on a map trees the Parish Council are responsible for. ACTION: JL to send village map to ME.

·         War Memorial repair and conservation. The war memorial is eligible for funding through The War Memorials Trust to cover up to 75% of costs. ACTION: Clerk and JL to complete Grant Application form.

·         Defibrillator.  ACTION: NB to keep chasing BT to remove the old phone box. NB is working with a contractor on the provision of electricity to the bus shelter and Village Green. There appears to be no progress with the grant for the defibrillator. ACTION: PB to investigate what has happened with our grant application.

·         Signage for Village Green. There has been a request to move one of the ‘No Parking’ signs nearer to the bus shelter. ACTION: NB to ask if we can reposition this sign on Mr Slatter’s wall.

·         Village Noticeboard. This is now in full working order.

·         Bus Shelters. The bus shelter roofs have now been replaced and look good. Further investigation is to be done into the options for replacement railings. ACTION: PB. Further improvements may be needed e.g. benches, bus stop signs.  ACTION: NB to look into options for bus stop signs for the bus shelters. Litter bins at the bus stops are to be replaced. ACTION: JH to look into the purchase of 2 new freestanding bins in keeping with the village. The bin outside the shop also needs replacing. ACTION: NB to contact Jay in the shop to see if he is able to replace this bin. ACTION: Clerk to determine emptying schedule of village bins from AVDC.

·         Bollards around the Village Green. NB is having a meeting tomorrow with Broxap who supply bollards, litter bins and railings. One option is to have wooden bollards. ACTION: NB to report back at next meeting.



4.       PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCY

The vacancy will be advertised from 21/02/17 once AVDC have confirmed that it is not necessary to hold a by-election.



5.       PLANNING

·         17/00265/APP – The Old Plough, Aylesbury Rd, Chearsley HP18 0BS

Site visit on 24/02/17 at 2pm. NB, JL, JH to attend.

·         17/00462/APP – Merrydowne, 2 Crendon Rd, Chearsley HP18 0DL

Demolition of existing dwelling and garage and erection of replacement single storey dwelling and garage.

Site visit on 9/03/17 at 10am. JL, PB, JH to attend.



6.       CORRESPONDENCE

·         Correspondence from Margaret Morbey requesting a village hall committee representative from the Parish Council following the resignation of Cllr Michael Heybrook. ME volunteered. ACTION: Clerk to inform Margaret Morbey.

·         A parishioner reported dangerous potholes on Chilton Road. ACTION: JH to photograph and report via the BCC website, Report a pothole. PB commented how the pot hole reporting system on the BCC website works very well and encourages residents to use it.



7.       CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AVDC AND BCC COUNCILLORS

The Councillors were pleased to have our AVDC Councillor, Michael Hawkett, attend the meeting. NB requested his support with our highways projects to improve the condition of the roads and traffic calming. This is, however, more of a BCC issue.



8.       FINANCE

Orders for Payment – cheques were issued for the bus shelter works and the Clerk’s salary.



9.       REPORTS FROM COUNCILLORS ATTENDING MEETINGS AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS

·         Buckinghamshire Freight Strategy – Initial Workshop (13/02/17) attended by JH and NB. They were given the opportunity to raise concerns on behalf of Chearsley, including the heavy use of the Crendon and Winchendon roads by HGVs, speeding and kerb damage. It appears that no code of conduct on driving behaviour in the road haulage industry exists. We urge the public to photograph any incidents that they witness so they can be reported.

·          Haddenham & Long Crendon Local Community Area Forum (16/02/17) attended by JH and NB. They raised the poor state of the approach roads into Chearsley. NB has since met with Dave Smith from Transport for Bucks. The persistent flooding on the Cuddington Road was raised. The defective pipework really needs to be replaced by Thames Water. ACTION: NB to contact Thames Water. The high number of HGVs travelling through the village was raised. A formal application is to be made for LAF funding for our ‘Feasibility Study’. The LAF have invested in Speed Sentinel equipment to measure speeding cars. We can send 2 people on a Sentinel training course and the equipment is available for us to borrow. Chearsley to attend future LAF meetings.



10.   ANNUAL VILLAGE MEETING

The date was confirmed as 24th April. ACTION: NB to organise drinks and nibbles. ACTION: Clerk to invite Cllr Aston and if she is unable to attend to request a written report.

AGM confirmed for 15th May.



11.   COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY

JH presented some ideas on how we might engage more positively with the village. He suggested:

·         An ‘Annual Report’ presentation at the annual village meeting. ACTION: JH to produce draft.

·         Production of ‘Annual Report’ leaflet to be distributed to all homes in village.

·         Establish village email database for distribution of regular mailings/updates on the work of the PC.

·         Set up a Chearsley PC Facebook page. ACTION: JH to enlist the help of JW.

·         Consider production of quarterly magazine, in co-operation with Chearsley Blogspot.



12.   PC GOVERNANCE

Templates of Code of Conduct and Standing Orders to be circulated to Councillors. ACTION: Clerk.



13.   PARISHIONERS QUESTION TIME

A Parishioner raised the difficulty of parking outside the shop at weekends. There is nothing that can be done about this as it is a public highway. 



14.   ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

Modernising Local Government – meeting at AVDC on 23rd February 2017. This meeting is to provide an update on the District Councils’ proposal for two Unitary Councils. No Councillors to attend.



15.   DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING in Chearsley Village Hall

·         Monday 20th March 2017 at 7.30pm

21 Feb 2017

Parish Councillor Vacancy


CHEARSLEY PARISH COUNCIL






NOTICE OF CASUAL VACANCY





Notice is hereby given that by reason of the resignation of Councillor Michael Heybrook a vacancy has occurred among the members of the Parish Council.





 Any person willing to fill this vacancy should apply to the Clerk in writing on or before 10th March 2017.





The applicant's name must appear on the current register of the Voters List or  the applicant should during the whole of the twelve months preceding the relevant date have resided in or within three miles of the parish or the applicant’s only place of work during the whole of the twelve months preceding the relevant date is in the parish.  The applicant must not be debarred from standing as a Councillor.





If anyone is interested or would like further information, please contact one of the Parish Councillors or email helen.v.spurgeon@gmail.com





Chearsley Parish Council Clerk



Helen Spurgeon



21st February 2017


10 Feb 2017

Agenda: CPC meeting 20th February 2017


CHEARSLEY PARISH COUNCIL

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE NEXT MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON:

Monday 20th February 2017 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall

Councillors are summoned to attend.

AGENDA

Declarations of Interest, in accordance with Sections 30(3) and 235(2) of the Localism Act 2011 Councillors to declare any personal, prejudicial or pecuniary interests pertaining to the Agenda.

Parishioners Question Time, 15 minutes will be set aside to receive representations from members of the public.

1.    Apologies for Absence

2.    Approval of Minutes – Monday 16th January 2017

3.    Matters Arising from previous Minutes

4.    Parish Councillor vacancy

5.    Planning

·         17/00265/APP – The Old Plough, Aylesbury Rd, Chearsley HP18 0BS

Two storey rear extension and front porch

·         Any new planning applications since 10th February 2017

6.    Correspondence, any outside Agenda items

7.    Contributions from AVDC and BCC Cllrs

8.    Finance

·         Orders for Payment

9.    Report from Councillors attending meetings and outside organisations including

·         Buckinghamshire Freight Strategy – Initial Workshop (13/02/17), JH & NB

·         Haddenham & Long Crendon Local Community Area Forum (16/02/17), JH

10.  Annual Village Meeting, to confirm date and discuss topics and contributors

11.  Communication with the community, JH

12.  PC Governance, to discuss Code of Conduct and Standing Orders

13.  Parishioners Question Time – 15 minutes will be set aside to receive representations from members of the public.

14.  Items for Information

·         Modernising Local Government – meeting at AVDC on 23rd February 2017.

15. Date and Time of Next Meeting in Chearsley Village Hall

·         Monday 20th March at 7.30pm – Parish Council Meeting

The Minutes and Agenda of the Parish Council can also be viewed at chearsley.blogspot.co.uk

Helen Spurgeon (Clerk)