Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday, 21st April 2008
at 7.30 pm at Kings Worthy Community Centre, Fraser Road, Kings Worthy
Present:
Councillors:
R. Johnston (Chairman),
P. Warrener (Vice-Chairman),
D. Brockway,
D-M Cox,
E. James,
N. Pidduck,
R. Sign,
D. Smithers,
D. Welstead and S. White
Also present:
as WCC Councillor R. Johnston
HCC Councillor J Porter
PC B Webber
Clerk: B. Fairbrother
Press & Public: 1
PC/08/32 Apologies
Apologies were sent by Cllr J Marshall, WCC Cllr S Howell and PC D Russell
Cllr Nick Culhane resigned from the Parish Council.
The PC regretted his resignation, particularly as his knowledge and experience was greatly valued and he will be very much missed. The Clerk was asked to write to Nick expressing the Council’s regret at his resignation, copied to Simon Eden at WCC.
PC/08/33 Signing of Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Cllr Derek Smithers and Cllr Sarah White signed the Declarations.
PC/08/34 Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 17th March 2008
The minutes were amended with Cllr S. Howell added to the ‘Also Present’ list and then agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman, Cllr Johnston.
PC/08/35 Matters arising from the Parish Council Meeting on 17th March 2008
(PC/08/29) It was proposed and agreed to allow St Mary’s Church to hold the annual Village Fete at Church Green. It was discussed that the Council should have an information stall at the fete informing about the work of the Council, and this would need a modest financial commitment to cover the cost of promotional material, such as photographs and signs.
PC/08/36 Reports from Police/County Councillor/City Councillor/School Governor
Police Constable’s Report – PC Webber presented a verbal report outlining the incidents that have taken place between 1st February and 20th April 2008.
The incidents included:
1 Assault (2 people arrested)
7 burglaries – stealing food and alcohol from garages (a male arrested and charged with 4 offences)
1 house burglary (no arrest)
9 criminal damages (5 arrests and 2 charges and ongoing enquiries)
4 drug incidents – all cannabis (3 arrests and 4 charges)
Firework problems – the loud bangs that had been heard were from a bird-scarer.
1 offensive weapon, an axe (person arrested and dealt with)
10 rowdy and anti-social behaviour
15 thefts from gardens (7 arrests and on going enquiries)
3 theft from vehicles
PC Webber commented that Kings Worthy is a relatively safe place to live.
Cllr Cox asked how often speed limits were monitored in Abbots Worthy.
PC Webber commented that was covered by the Traffic Division.
Cllr Warrener said he would raise the item at the next Police Forum meeting he will be attending which is dealing with traffic and parking.
Cllr Cox questioned why there was an inconsistency of police representatives at the PC meetings.
PC Webber outlined that there are five police constables and five PCSOs who cover the Northgate area, which includes Kings Worthy, and that although they have specific areas for their day-to-day work they are a team and able to fill in for each other.
He will ask PC Russell to send a list of officers for the Northgate area.
Cllr Cox asked how often the police patrol Abbots Worthy and was informed they patrol the area regularly.
County Councillor J Porter – Cllr Porter provided a written report which was circulated by email, see Appendix 1.
Other matters raised were:
Footpath – Edinburgh Rd/Springvale Road – It was commented that although this footpath had been recently refurbished it already had cracks in it, and it would be attended to.
Village 30 Project – Cllr Welstead commented on the ‘permanent’ removal of Kings Worthy from the current ‘Village 30 Project’.
It was discussed that PC had not been able to reach a consensus of opinion on speed reduction, and a public consultation in the PC’s Newsletter had not resulted in a ground swell of opinion for such a reduction. The application was, therefore, removed. The PC can undertake another consultation and re-apply in the next fiscal year.
Abbots Worthy Bus Stop – Cllr Brockway asked if there had been any feedback from HCC on the lack of consultation of the placement of the new bus stops.
Cllr Porter commented that she had not pursued the matter further, but offered to request the person responsible attend a PC meeting. That was not considered necessary but an acknowledgement of the lack of consultation would be welcomed.
Also, there is some confusion by bus users as the exactly which bus stops they can use.
The item is to be covered in the PC’s next Newsletter.
Lorries from Alresford Drove – Cllr Porter commented that the owner of the site had been written to telling him not to overfill the lorries, also, the number of lorries has reduced considerably as the site is now almost full.
City Councillors S Howell & R Johnston – Reports were not presented as there is a local election in May.
Cllr Howell – School Governor’s Report – Cllr Howell did not attend, but asked that the PC was informed that the new classrooms should be completed in July and an official opening will take place in September 08.
PC/08/37 Public Question Time
None.
PC/08/38 To receive the Minutes of the Sub-Committees:
The Minutes of the following Committees were received and discussed.
Planning Committee – 26th March 2008
The Minutes from the meeting were presented by Cllr James, Chairman of the Planning Committee.
(P/08/23) – 08/00439/FUL Clelands, Churchill Close – the PC objected to the application, and wished to have the application considered by Committee as the residents in the area have grave concerns about the proposals
Recreations & Amenities Committee – 9th April 2008
The minutes from the meeting were presented by Cllr Sign, Chairman of the R&A Committee.
Notice boards – It was commented that the contractors hired to install the notice boards had subsequently said they had under-quoted for the work. A compromise was agreed and the remaining board is expected to be installed this week.
Cllr Sign outlined the projects that are currently on-going and those to be considered over the next three years.
Footpath – Cllr Smithers commented that footpath between Edinburgh Road/Springvale Road was hazardous because cyclists leaving the downhill footpath come out at such a speed they risk colliding with users of Springvale Road. It was discussed that clear ‘no cycling’ signs should be placed on the footpath.
Finance Committee – 16th April 2008
The Minutes were presented by Cllr Johnston, Chairman of the Committee.
(F/08/34) Due to the change in the committee cycle an investment in the Money Market had to be made before the Finance meeting. Therefore, a decision had been made with the RFOs and Chairman that an investment be made in the Money Market of £40,000 until the 12th May 2008.
It was further proposed and agreed to bring the investment back in line with the meeting dates, that a minimum of £120,000 should be invested in the Money Market for one month, subject to review of the accounts by the RFO.
(F/08/35) Parish Office Notice Board – THMC will be meeting on 1st June 2008 at which a decision on a contribution would be made.
Recommendations contained within all the Minutes were agreed and are subject to follow up checks by Councillors and Clerks
PC/08/39 Chairman’s announcements
- WCC local elections take place on 1st May 2008.
- Annual Parish Meeting – 12th May 2008 – All Councillors are requested to attend this event, at which local organizations will present short reports.
- A guest speaker, Mr Robert Hutchison from Winchester Action on Climate Change will give a short, opening presentation.
- Annual General Meeting – 19th May 2008 – Councillors are asked to consider any nominations for Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
Councillors are requested to inform the Clerk of any nominations so that ballot papers can be prepared. The AGM is also the time when Councillors consider the Committees they would like to join or remain on, and if they want to be a PC representative at particular local organizations.
PC/08/40 Clerks’ Report & Notice of Correspondence Received
The Clerk commented on the correspondence and event notifications received at the office, and asked that Councillors interested in any of the items contact the office. Core Skills for new Councillors – Cllrs Smithers and White were asked if they would like to attend this event and to the Clerk know as soon as possible.
PC/08/41 Any other notices
Councillors considered whether the following items should be discussed in a ‘closed session’. The Clerk read out the Act relating to ‘closed sessions’ to exclude press and public, however the discussions proceeded without the closure.
- Co-option of Councillors – Cllr Cox expressed concern that she had been pressurized to nominate a candidate for co-option although she had not had time to assess all the applications. She was concerned that there had been an underlying political agenda to the co-option, of which she was unaware at the time.
It was discussed that although applicants may have political interests or connections this does not have to be declared when they apply to be co-opted onto the Council.
The Clerk had contacted WCC’s Democratic Services in relation to the procedure that had been undertaken for the co-option and it was confirmed that the PC had acted in an open and democratic manner.
The Clerk had received three applications and had time to circulate all the information they had provided prior to the meeting.
It was discussed that in future the closing date for applications is to be five days before the next Parish Council meeting. Councillors commented that they support the Clerks and have confidence in them to deal with matters correctly.
- Web-site – It was commented that although another web-site had been set up in Kings Worthy using ‘.org’ in its address, it will not affect the PC’s web-site, which will contain considerably more data and information. The PC has confidence that the web-site will progress as agreed, and Cllr James informed the meeting that all the information is to go off to John Brown this week.
A ‘URL’ will be circulated shortly for Councillors to see, and it is expected the web-site will be able to go live shortly after that. If Councillors would like to see examples of Mr Brown’s work it is available on www.tlc-online.co.uk which has links to other sites.
PC/08/42 Date of Next Meeting preceded by the Annual General Meeting
Date: 19th May 2008
Venue: Kings Worthy Community Centre
Time: 7.30 pm
Meeting closed at 9.32pm
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