Full Council Minutes

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Minutes of a meeting of the above Council held at Wickham Community Centre on Monday 16^th October 2006 7.15pm. 

Present: Mrs A Clear (Chairman), Mrs J Mallett (Vice-Chairman),

Mr M Carter, Mr M Coles, Mrs J Hollis, Dr M O’ Connell, Mrs S Roger-Jones, Mr M Sadler-Forster.

Mr F Allgood (County Councillor), six members of the public, Parish Clerk Mrs N Oliver 

1                    To receive apologies for absence: Mrs D Dudley, Mrs T Evans,

2                     Mr P Clohosey (District Councillors)

3                    To receive declarations of interest on agenda items: none.

4                    To adjourn meeting to allow participation of members of the public    

4.1     Report from County Councillor: Please see attached report.

Cllr Allgood congratulated the Parish Council on its Quality Status, he also advised that Springles Lane should be closed by March 2007 and the need for a suitable means of traffic control under the railway bridge in Fontley Road was delaying the proposed footpath. HCC will discuss possible safety measures for the Church crossroads on 13^th November 2006.

A request was made for a traffic survey to monitor heavy vehicle use on Mayles Lane. (promised by HCC if problems persisted)

Due to a change in HCC executive work on the proposed 40mph limit for Titchfield Lane and Fontley Rd has made no progress.

It was reported that a member of the Chamber of Trade has asked whether the Christmas tree in The Square provided by the PC is necessary in view of the parking spaces it uses.  (NB The tree has been ordered for 2006)

4.2     Reports from District Councillors: Please see attached report

It was questioned why Cold Harbour Close required yellow lines, a resident of the Close present at the meeting advised that commuter parking was not a problem.

The function of both the Rural Towns Officer and the Economic Development Officer was questioned.  Details of their relevance to Wickham would be appreciated.

The report from Environmental Health stating only one household has complained about odour from Veranda was considered inaccurate.

There have been complaints from traders that parking in The Square is not receiving sufficient policing.

4.3     Other questions from members of the public

Sgt Chris Stanton outlined plans to introduce Safer Neighbourhood Policing Teams in the new year, this will involve five police constables and five police constable support officers (PCSO’s) dedicated to the Wickham/Knowle, Whiteley and Denmead beat areas without having to worry about policing response elsewhere in the area.

Sgt Stanton needs to identify office space that the teams could use locally as a base and would welcome help with this.

The news was welcomed by the Parish Council and every effort to help secure suitable accommodation will be made.

There has been a request from elderly residents for the bus route to be diverted through Buddens Rd.  Action: Clerk to raise with HCC.

5                    Meeting resumed to approve the minutes of the Full Council meeting 18^th September 2006. Minutes approved and signed.

6                    Matters properly arising from those minutes. Included below as appropriate.

7                    Meeting resumed to consider the following agenda items:

6.1 Proposal to co-opt councillor to fill vacancy. Mr Jackson co-opted to the council, Mr Bennet co-opted onto the GP Committee.

6.2 Proposal to progress Village Design Statement / Parish Plan review (Cllr Sadler-Forster) Cllr Sadler-Forster is to meet with WCC Forward Planning Team to discuss the production of a revised VDS and will report to the next meeting.

6.3 To receive update on European Market (Cllr Carter) Cllr Carter to discuss issues raised at the September meeting with the organiser.  It was noted that the last agreed date for this market is 24^th December 2006.

6.4 To receive a report from Knowle Community  Refer to next meeting

6.5 Youth Club Committee report (Cllr Carter) An extra Thursday session is planned for the over 12’s - a ‘chill out evening’.  The four Youth Club leaders are attending all the training courses offered by HCC.

6.6 General Purposes Committee report (Cllr O’Connell )

            6.6.1 To arrange date for next meeting: 30^th October.

6.7 Lighting Committee report (Chairman). New lights should be installed shortly.

6.8 Planning Committee report (Cllr Mallett).

6.8.1 To receive minutes of meeting 11^th September 2006. Minutes received. 

6.9 Recreation Committee report  (Cllr Roger-Jones).

            6.9.1 To arrange date for next meeting: 23^rd October.

The Scout Hut has been seriously damaged by fire, the Scout Group has had lots of offers of alternative accommodation.

6.10 Traffic and Highways Representative's report (Chairman).

HCC has advised that the request for dragons teeth, pavement resurfacing near the Shell Garage and dealing with flooding on School Rd will be carried out shortly.

A request for the gullies to be cleared outside Veranda in The Square and on Hoads Hill to be progressed. Action: Clerk.

6.11 Water Meadows Committee Report. (Cllr Mallett)

6.11.1 To arrange date for next meeting:  23^rd October 2006

6.12 Finance Committee report (Clerk)

6.12.1 To receive income and expenditure calcs. 1^st April – 30^th September 2006 Received.

6.13 Cemetery Committee (Chairman)

            6.13.1 To receive verbal report from meeting held before Full Council

Following the death of Sam Weller from the Burial Authority the Clerk has been unable to find another similarly qualified consultant to help with the project.  The sum of £1680 for an initial feasibility study will no longer be required.  It is recommended that planning work proceeds by carrying out a Tier 1 (potential groundwater risk) Hydrology report as required by the Environment Agency for the sum of £1500.  This will show whether the site could be viable for a cemetery.  A cemetery is assessed as a waste/landfill site by the Environment Agency when considering its environmental impact on water courses etc.  

6.14 Wickham Tourism Group (Cllr Carter) Cllr Carter to discuss whether the Chamber of Trade wish the PC to be involved in tourism issues.

6.15 Report on recent meetings attended by Councillors including:

Police Parish Liaison meeting (Cllr Coles) Copy of meeting minutes available on request.         

Meeting with Cllr Allgood regarding HATS (Chairman/Clerk) A long list of action requests has been presented to Cllr Allgood.

HAPTC AGM (Cllr Mallett): The AGM was held at Intech, delegates voted on a number of issues of local concern, whether the views carry any weight is questionable.

Rest Centre Exercise (Cllr Hollis): Wickham Community Centre is designated as an evacuation centre should the need arise.  Cllr Hollis took part in a training exercise as a prospective evacuee.  It was an enjoyable event and Cllr Hollis suggested that there should be a list of local volunteers to offer  local help with familiar faces in the event of an evacuation.

Meeting with WCC regarding Knowle Recreation facilities (Chairman/Clerk) WCC has asked the PC to consider taking over the recreation ground at Knowle. The PC has not been involved in consultations to date and the Clerk and Chairman have a number of concerns regarding the proposed layout.

Quality Parish Presentation Cllr Clear, Cllr Hollis and Clerk attended the presentation at Searles House, a great venue. Wickham is the second parish in the Winchester District to receive quality status.

7 Recent correspondence

Email from Sgt. Chris Stanton, Meon Valley Police Station: there are plans to introduce Safer Neighbourhood Policing Teams in the new year, this will involve five police constables and five police constable support officers dedicated to the Wickham/Knowle, Whiteley and Denmead beat areas without having to worry about policing response elsewhere in the area.

Sgt Stanton needs to identify office space that the teams could use locally as a base and would welcome help with this.  Attending Full Council meeting with more details.

Invite from Leader of WCC to PC Chairmen to attend an informal meeting on
Wednesday 25th October 6pm at the Guildhall to discuss PC issues, including devolving access and service provision to local communities, rural transport, rural economy and affordable rural housing

WCC has asked to meet the PC to discuss the future maintenance of the recreation ground and pavilion (if funding agreed) at Knowle.

New cemetery correspondence: DM Mason quote for outline highways design £3000; Richard Parker Consultancy outline highways design £3K +; Gifford initial hydrology survey £1500.

 Request for memorial plaque at Knowle Cemetery.

HCC Stan Woodford collection: Barrie Marson has spent a vast amount of time sorting out Stan’s collection and passing it to the records office.  It is now recorded in their cataloguing system which lists the contents of the files but not actual pictures as yet.  To view the catalogue www.hants.gov.uk/records-office, - our collections – search catalogues – search catalogue – enter finding no. 63A04 – to view list.

Meon Valley Churches – walks and cycle rides leaflet produced by WCC Planning Hampshire’s Future HCC,PCC,SCC update on South East Plan

Draft South East Plan HCC newsletter

HAPTC Link Local Transport Plan/Countryside Access Plan Priority Schemes – opportunity to put forward access improvement schemes

HAPTC Temporary use of allotment land update

HCC Footpath that officially ran through the back gardens of The Spur has been diverted onto the pavement.

WCC Statement of Community Involvement submitted to the Secretary of State, comments can still be sent to WCC.

WCC Performance Plan

WACA 12 seat minibus available for use by community groups

HCC Winchester District Passenger Transport Area Review meeting 13^th October

8 Accounts for payment

9 Questions and comments from Councillors: none.

Meeting closed 9.20pm 

3.0 Reports

3.1 Report from County Councillor Mr F Allgood

New Teachers for Hampshire

The 600 new teachers recruited by Hampshire for its primary schools and who started work last month were welcomed by the Executive Councillor for Education at  meeting in Winchester last week. The day’s induction meeting was to help them understand their new role as most of the teachers were taking up their first post in a school.

A similar meeting takes place next week for the county’s new secondary school teachers.

Deadline for school application

Parents have been reminded that new applications for children to attend primary schools in September 2007 must be submitted to the county by 17 November. Confirmation of places will be sent out in the new year.

HATs off

Hampshire County Council has established Hampshire Action Teams (HATs) in most districts and their work started on 2 October. The teams consist of all county councillors in a district who will work together to consult local residents on how they feel about county council services and what needs to be done to improve them.

The Winchester HAT held its first meeting last Friday and set out a programme for the next six months. At the November meeting the group will be looking at highways priorities – where additional investment is needed for 2007-8. It is hoped to arrange a meeting with parish council representatives early next year. 

Live Music for Elderly Residents

Hampshire’s innovative work of providing live music into its residential homes has been backed in a national report. The report found that live music is effective in the short-term treatment of apathy in patients with moderate and severe dementia.

The University of Southampton studied the effects of the music sessions and concluded that live music was significantly more important than recorded music to improve the lives of elderly residents with dementia problems.

On the Silver Screen

Hampshire and Film Hampshire have drawn up a set of guidelines to encourage film companies to shoot their productions in the county. The guidelines deal with suitable locations and contacts for a range of services such as props, costumes and extras.

The county has been featured in films such as Pride and Prejudice, The Da Vicni Code and TV dramas such as The Bill, Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders.

Test for Waste Management Plan

The Waste Management Plan of Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton will be tested at an Examination in Public that starts on 23 January 2007. A total of 773 responses were received on the final consultation document of which 671 were critical of aspects of the proposed policy.

 Next Spring a formal Preferred Options document will be set out, detailing sites being considered for minerals exploration and waste management over the next 15 years.

Parish Poll on Path

Denmead, Southwick and Whiteley were among 31 parishes which took part in a Parish Poll of footpaths this summer. On one day in June over 3000 people used the footpaths. The results are being analysed by officers in the Countrywide Services. The results show that the paths are highly valued and form an important part in recreation.

Population Forecast

The population of Hampshire is being forecast to rise by 6 percent – 106,000 – in the next 20 years. This is lower than the increase in the last 20 years.  About half of the increase will be due to births exceeding deaths and the other half due to inward migration.

The number of households is expected to rise by 17,000 – 118,000, mainly due to the growing number of one-person households in the county.

Mini Bus for Southern Parishes

Hampshire County Council has provided a new mini bus for the Southern Parishes of Winchester District. It is parked at the Rising Sun in Swanmore and the key holder is in Swanmore. It is for community use in this area for not for profit activities such as shopping trips, a visit to the Swanmore school sports facilities, lunch club visits, and outings for small groups. Volunteer drivers are required. More information can be obtained form Stuart Blake at WACA on 01962 854844.

Local Matters

I met with the Chairman of the Parish Council who gave me a long lists of concerns and I am trying to get to grips with some of them.

3.2 Report from District Councillors Mrs T Evans and Mr P Clohosey

At our request City Council engineers have looked at the long stay parking problems in Wickham. They say Buddens Rd is worse and enforceable measures will have to be considered. This needs consultation with residents first. As an interim measure  white lining(non-enforceable) will be marked on the junction of Tanfield Park/Lane and on the bend further up Tanfield Park. We have asked them to look at Cold Harbour Close and Holt Close but they say problem doesn’t seem bad there. Residents say otherwise so this needs keeping an eye on.

Station Road Car Park at Wickham

The  capital programme for upgrading above with resurfacing, repairs to the surface and edging as part of the package agreed with you was agreed at Cabinet last week..

Rural Towns Officer

The City Council is currently recruiting a Rural Development Officer as a one year part-time post to work with the rural towns /villages of Winchester District ; Alresford, Bishops Waltham, Denmead and Wickham. The officer will offer practical hands-on help to access the project funding available of £40,000 from SEEDA (South east England Development Agency)

Knowle Community Building

No news as yet although Knowle Residents Association seem to have been informed by a ‘contact’ that it is likely to go ahead.

Environmental Health

Has requested any complaints re invasive odours from restaurants in the Square to be logged as they currently have only been contacted by 1 individual household with data.

Enforcement Officer

Has asked Clementines to remove unauthorised signage.