Minutes of the Meeting held on: 10th March
2009
Minutes remain in draft until ratified at the next Council meeting
* SUBJECT TO RATIFICATION AT MEETING ON May 12th 2009 *
Minutes remain in draft until ratified at the next Council meeting
PRESENT:
Cllrs J. Ford (Chairman), K. Lewis (Vice-Chairman), B. Usborne, P. Hammond,
E. Stacey, M. Patte; Viv Robins (Clerk). Apologies from Cllr
S. Carleton-Smith.
09/19 Julia Binns from Bucks C.C. gave a talk on Adult Social Care.
09/20 The Chairman welcomed Michelle Patte to the Council.
09/21 Minutes of meeting January 13th 2009 were approved and signed.
09/22 Matters arising from Minutes not elsewhere on the Agenda:
09/24 Adjournment for questions from members of the public: None.
09/25 Declarations of interest on forthcoming business: None.
09/26 Planning applications: The Council had returned no objection to CH/09/0055 Furzefield Farm, Furzefield Lane, The Lee; but in the case of CH/08/1998 Floral Cottage, Oxford St., Lee Common, it had recommended that the applicant put a fence on his side of the boundary hedge to afford greater privacy to neighbours at Fern Cottage. (N.B. As a member of the C.D.C. Planning Committee Cllr Stacey had played no part in these discussions).
09/27 System for dealing with planning applications: as it was not always obvious which Cllr lived closest to an applicant – and was therefore responsible for canvassing neighbours’ opinion -- it was agreed that all applications would go to the Chairman in the first instance and he would re-direct them as appropriate.
09/28 Possible post-box for Shop: the Council noted a petition from Sly Corner residents opposing any plan to move their local letter-box. The Clerk reported that Royal Mail figures for the post-box at the old Post Office showed fairly high usage. It was agreed that the solution would be to buy a new pedestal box at a cost of £400 rather than move an existing one, the cost to be split mainly between the Shop and the Parish Council.
09/29 Footpaths: Cllr Patte would take over responsibility for the footpaths in Area II previously covered by John Fortgang. Cllr Usborne said new metal kissing gates were to be installed in the Park opposite the Parish Hall and at the bottom of School Lane. Metal pedestrian gates would replace the stile by the Parish Hall tennis court.
09/30 Council property: Cllr Hammond was disappointed not to have received a single reply to his article in the Newsletter asking whether older children would like to see a basketball court on the playground. Cllr Patte said there were between 18 and 20 children in Oxford St. alone who fell into this age group and it was agreed she and Cllr Hammond would try to arrange a meeting to gauge public opinion.
The Clerk said there were two new allotment-holders and there had been one further enquiry.
The Internal Auditor had suggested it might be appropriate for the Council to draw up a written contract for next year with All Seasons Landscapes for the grass- and hedge-cutting.
The Clerk had raised with him the repeated criticism by ROSPA that the climbing frame failed to conform with EU safety standard EN 1176: he said this was not a legal requirement so if the manufacturer was unwilling to take action we could ask ROSPA what needed to be done and get it done ourselves. However Cllr Patte said she knew Nigel Goddard and would try to speak to him about the problem.
The Clerk had now circulated three quotes for restoring the War Memorial: two came in at around £1350 but the third was nearly £3500 more expensive because concerns had been expressed concerns about the Memorial’s condition. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact the War Memorials Trust to try to get the name of a Conservation Contractor locally who could advise us on how much work was really needed. Meanwhile Cllr Usborne would seek the views of Mrs Stewart-Liberty, whose late father-in-law had given the War Memorial to the Parish.
Cllr Lewis said she was worried about the state of the Jubilee Well given some of the heavy passing traffic, but Cllr Usborne said Thames Water checked it every month to monitor the water table.
09/31 Reports from organisations where Council is represented: Cllr Stacey said she was happy to go to the next Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) on March 26th.
09/32 Traffic Management: The Clerk reported that the consultation on the Area 10 Speed Limit Review was due to take place in March/April.
09/33 Road maintenance: The Area Technician Mike Barber was collating a list of road defects which could be tackled by the local Highways Gang. The Clerk would ask for drains or gullies to be rodded through on Princes Lane and Red Lion Hill and outside Pipers and Bassibones Farm. The borehole by the telephone box in Oxford St also had a tendency to flood.
09/34 Reports of crime and disorder: Cllr Hammond said there was concern among some elderly residents of Princes Lane about what they felt to be the disruptive behaviour of the occupant of the Bugle. It was suggested he raised the matter with Julia Binns, BCC Adult Social Care.
09/35 Proposed Parish Plan: The Chairman felt a Parish Appraisal might suit our purposes better. He would investigate.
09/36 New NATS proposals: The Chairman warned that more consultation was imminent on a revised set of proposals to re-draw the aircraft route map in the South-East.
09/37 Revision of CDC policy on Hackney carriages: the Council agreed with the amendments proposed.
09/38 Finance: Cllrs approved the Financial Report and Budget Review (previously circulated) plus the drawing of the following cheques:
09/39 Any other business: Cllr Usborne reported that Mike Senior was hoping to set up a network of local volunteers to help people in need – for example if they needed to go to hospital or get food brought in. It was suggested that we try to get a speaker on this subject at next Parish Annual Meeting.
There had been complaints about the rubble in the hedge of School Cottage on Oxford St; the Clerk would write to the occupants.
It was agreed the Clerk would send out the weekly Envelope from the CDC fortnightly and prune the contents severely: most of what it contained was of little relevance. She reminded Cllrs that any invoices obtained must be addressed to the Parish Council and not to individuals.
The meeting closed at 10.30 pm.
09/19 Julia Binns from Bucks C.C. gave a talk on Adult Social Care.
09/20 The Chairman welcomed Michelle Patte to the Council.
09/21 Minutes of meeting January 13th 2009 were approved and signed.
09/22 Matters arising from Minutes not elsewhere on the Agenda:
- Bucks CC had turned down for a second time our request for a sign to the Shop at the Red Lion Hill junction; it was agreed that the correspondence be passed to Cllr Birchley to see what she could achieve.
- A replacement sign for Lee Clump Road had now been installed.
- A ditch had finally been put in to combat the drainage problems at the Vicarage.
- The Clerk had failed to investigate the cost of up-grading her PC (minute 09/18) but would try and do so before the next meeting.
09/24 Adjournment for questions from members of the public: None.
09/25 Declarations of interest on forthcoming business: None.
09/26 Planning applications: The Council had returned no objection to CH/09/0055 Furzefield Farm, Furzefield Lane, The Lee; but in the case of CH/08/1998 Floral Cottage, Oxford St., Lee Common, it had recommended that the applicant put a fence on his side of the boundary hedge to afford greater privacy to neighbours at Fern Cottage. (N.B. As a member of the C.D.C. Planning Committee Cllr Stacey had played no part in these discussions).
09/27 System for dealing with planning applications: as it was not always obvious which Cllr lived closest to an applicant – and was therefore responsible for canvassing neighbours’ opinion -- it was agreed that all applications would go to the Chairman in the first instance and he would re-direct them as appropriate.
09/28 Possible post-box for Shop: the Council noted a petition from Sly Corner residents opposing any plan to move their local letter-box. The Clerk reported that Royal Mail figures for the post-box at the old Post Office showed fairly high usage. It was agreed that the solution would be to buy a new pedestal box at a cost of £400 rather than move an existing one, the cost to be split mainly between the Shop and the Parish Council.
09/29 Footpaths: Cllr Patte would take over responsibility for the footpaths in Area II previously covered by John Fortgang. Cllr Usborne said new metal kissing gates were to be installed in the Park opposite the Parish Hall and at the bottom of School Lane. Metal pedestrian gates would replace the stile by the Parish Hall tennis court.
09/30 Council property: Cllr Hammond was disappointed not to have received a single reply to his article in the Newsletter asking whether older children would like to see a basketball court on the playground. Cllr Patte said there were between 18 and 20 children in Oxford St. alone who fell into this age group and it was agreed she and Cllr Hammond would try to arrange a meeting to gauge public opinion.
The Clerk said there were two new allotment-holders and there had been one further enquiry.
The Internal Auditor had suggested it might be appropriate for the Council to draw up a written contract for next year with All Seasons Landscapes for the grass- and hedge-cutting.
The Clerk had raised with him the repeated criticism by ROSPA that the climbing frame failed to conform with EU safety standard EN 1176: he said this was not a legal requirement so if the manufacturer was unwilling to take action we could ask ROSPA what needed to be done and get it done ourselves. However Cllr Patte said she knew Nigel Goddard and would try to speak to him about the problem.
The Clerk had now circulated three quotes for restoring the War Memorial: two came in at around £1350 but the third was nearly £3500 more expensive because concerns had been expressed concerns about the Memorial’s condition. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact the War Memorials Trust to try to get the name of a Conservation Contractor locally who could advise us on how much work was really needed. Meanwhile Cllr Usborne would seek the views of Mrs Stewart-Liberty, whose late father-in-law had given the War Memorial to the Parish.
Cllr Lewis said she was worried about the state of the Jubilee Well given some of the heavy passing traffic, but Cllr Usborne said Thames Water checked it every month to monitor the water table.
09/31 Reports from organisations where Council is represented: Cllr Stacey said she was happy to go to the next Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) on March 26th.
09/32 Traffic Management: The Clerk reported that the consultation on the Area 10 Speed Limit Review was due to take place in March/April.
09/33 Road maintenance: The Area Technician Mike Barber was collating a list of road defects which could be tackled by the local Highways Gang. The Clerk would ask for drains or gullies to be rodded through on Princes Lane and Red Lion Hill and outside Pipers and Bassibones Farm. The borehole by the telephone box in Oxford St also had a tendency to flood.
09/34 Reports of crime and disorder: Cllr Hammond said there was concern among some elderly residents of Princes Lane about what they felt to be the disruptive behaviour of the occupant of the Bugle. It was suggested he raised the matter with Julia Binns, BCC Adult Social Care.
09/35 Proposed Parish Plan: The Chairman felt a Parish Appraisal might suit our purposes better. He would investigate.
09/36 New NATS proposals: The Chairman warned that more consultation was imminent on a revised set of proposals to re-draw the aircraft route map in the South-East.
09/37 Revision of CDC policy on Hackney carriages: the Council agreed with the amendments proposed.
09/38 Finance: Cllrs approved the Financial Report and Budget Review (previously circulated) plus the drawing of the following cheques:
- V. Robins x 2 (invoice no. 54: £218.27/cheque no. 100513; invoice no. 55: £20.38/cheque no. 100514),
- BALC (2009/10 sub: £93.72/cheque no. 100515);
- P. J. Pearce & Sons (strimming: £57.50/cheque no. 100516);
- G. Weir (invoice no. 467: £64.20/cheque no. 100517).
- Transfer of £300 from the Business Money Manager Account to the Community Account was approved.
09/39 Any other business: Cllr Usborne reported that Mike Senior was hoping to set up a network of local volunteers to help people in need – for example if they needed to go to hospital or get food brought in. It was suggested that we try to get a speaker on this subject at next Parish Annual Meeting.
There had been complaints about the rubble in the hedge of School Cottage on Oxford St; the Clerk would write to the occupants.
It was agreed the Clerk would send out the weekly Envelope from the CDC fortnightly and prune the contents severely: most of what it contained was of little relevance. She reminded Cllrs that any invoices obtained must be addressed to the Parish Council and not to individuals.
The meeting closed at 10.30 pm.
* SUBJECT TO RATIFICATION AT MEETING ON May 12th 2009 *
Viv Robins (Clerk)