Minutes of the Meeting held on 11th July 2010
Minutes remain in draft until ratified at the next Council meeting
PRESENT: Cllrs J. Ford (Chairman), B. Usborne, S. Carleton-Smith, E. Stacey (late arrival); Viv Robins (Clerk). Apologies from Cllrs P. Hammond, M. Patte + District Cllr N. Rose.
10/54: Minutes of meeting May 11th 2010 were amended to read (10/49 line 7): “in the highly unlikely event of a third party subsequently coming forward to successfully claim ownership”. The minutes were then approved and signed as a true record.
10/55 Matters arising from Minutes: Dink was due to re-site the Parish notice-board from the Old Post Office to the Shop (10/53).
10/56 Adjournment for comments or questions from members of the public: Giles Knowles said he would be standing down as a governor of Lee Common School on July 20th and by tradition his successor should be from the Parish Council. He would write an article for the September Newsletter explaining what the post entailed.
10/57 Declarations of interest on forthcoming business: Cllr Carleton-Smith had played no part in discussions on planning application CH/10/0919.
10/58 Planning applications: The Parish Council had offered no objection to:
10/60 Council property: The Clerk had had a word with two of the allotment-holders whose plots did not appear to be being cultivated; both said they wanted to keep them and would bring them up to scratch. She had been notified that a local 16-year-old was planning to set up after-school football practice on the playing field; if this came to pass she would ask the contractor to resume giving part of the field a closer cut. The annual playground safety inspection report had been received: no items had been found to be at high risk but Dink would be asked to attend to those problems that had been identified.
10/61Reports from organisations where Council is represented: Cllrs discussed the Local Area Priorities put out by the Local Area Forum. It was agreed it was important to identify vulnerable people in the Parish so help could be given where possible.
Cllr Stacey entered the meeting at 8.15 pm.
The Chairman said there was a possibility that funding could be obtained from the LAF to tackle the flooding in Arrewig Lane.
Cllr Carleton-Smith had attended the NAG meeting in June which he said was quite useful. Police would be asked to deploy the SID to monitor speeds at Swan Bottom. The September meeting would be at The Lee Parish Hall and the cost borne by the Parish Council.
10/62 Road maintenance: A Councillor from Hillesden in N. Bucks had circulated details to Clerks of a patching lorry called the Jet-patcher which was supposed to be an economical way of repairing pot-holes: these would be forwarded to the Bucks Transportation department and Cllr Birchley.
Re. gritting of roads in winter, the Council would press for a salt bin at the bottom of Red Lion Hill. The Clerk would press also for an answer to the Chairman’s much-repeated question as to how often The Lee had been gritted the previous winter.
An over-hanging branch by Grove Wood would be logged with the gang that repaired highways defects, along with a reminder about restoring the road markings in Princes Lane.
10/63 Report from County Councillor: Cllr Birchley was now the cabinet member for Adults and Families. The highways gang would begin work shortly on the pot-holes in Potter Row. LAF had funds to give out and she suggested an approach to them for the cost of the salt bin. The route for HS2 would be identified by the end of next year.
10/64 HS2 Campaign: The Clerk had written opposing the DfT’s proposed Exceptional Hardship Scheme on behalf of the Council. Cllr Usborne had met Andy Brice, a campaigner against the HS1 proposals in Kent, and suggested we try to identify places in Kent whose experience might correspond with what we could expect. Kathryrn Gurney, Chairman of the HP16 Missenden Group, believed The Lee might need to set up a shadow group to ensure its voice was heard once the route was chosen. Cllr Stacey had not yet heard whether her request to go on the Bucks CC trip to Kent on July 30th had been successful. A database of all the Councils along the proposed HS2 route was being compiled by Chetwode Parish near Buckingham: the Clerk would provide our details.
10/65 Centenary of (expanded) Lee Parish Council: It was suggested the occasion next March should be marked by the beating of the bounds and a party. A working group would be set up in the Autumn to begin planning.
10/66 Co-option of Councillor: After discussion of two candidates to replace Cllr Lewis it was agreed that Frances Nichols would be co-opted.
10/67 Sustainable Communities Act: It was agreed that the Clerk should petition MPs in support of this Act, which claims to give local communities a hot-line to Whitehall and allows the transfer of funds from central to local government.
10/68 Fromelles visit: On July 19th the Chairman was due to attend the dedication of the War Cemetery at Fromelles, where eleven men from The Lee died in the attack of 1916.
10/69 Grant applications: It was agreed to make donations of £100 apiece to:
10/71 Any other business: A suggestion had been received that The Lee should operate its own ‘Honours System’ to recognise those who’d made a particular contribution to the Parish: it was agreed that this was a good idea but that it would be invidious for the Parish Council to be involved.
Cllr Stacey had attended a Chilterns AONB Open Day and training session and had found it worthwhile.
The Chiltern District Council’s Community Cohesion Report was noted.
The meeting closed at 9.55pm.
Viv Robins, Clerk
Minutes remain in draft until ratified at the next Council meeting
PRESENT: Cllrs J. Ford (Chairman), B. Usborne, S. Carleton-Smith, E. Stacey (late arrival); Viv Robins (Clerk). Apologies from Cllrs P. Hammond, M. Patte + District Cllr N. Rose.
10/54: Minutes of meeting May 11th 2010 were amended to read (10/49 line 7): “in the highly unlikely event of a third party subsequently coming forward to successfully claim ownership”. The minutes were then approved and signed as a true record.
10/55 Matters arising from Minutes: Dink was due to re-site the Parish notice-board from the Old Post Office to the Shop (10/53).
10/56 Adjournment for comments or questions from members of the public: Giles Knowles said he would be standing down as a governor of Lee Common School on July 20th and by tradition his successor should be from the Parish Council. He would write an article for the September Newsletter explaining what the post entailed.
10/57 Declarations of interest on forthcoming business: Cllr Carleton-Smith had played no part in discussions on planning application CH/10/0919.
10/58 Planning applications: The Parish Council had offered no objection to:
- CH/10/0901 Oakfield House, Field End Lane, The Lee, or
- CH/10/0919 Willow Barn, Princes Lane, The Lee.
- AOC/CH/2009/0892/18 Arrewig Barn, Arrewig Lane, Chartridge (loam extraction).
- CH/10/1056 Evenley House, Village Road, Lee Common on the basis that the scale and appearance of the proposals were out of keeping with the surroundings.
10/60 Council property: The Clerk had had a word with two of the allotment-holders whose plots did not appear to be being cultivated; both said they wanted to keep them and would bring them up to scratch. She had been notified that a local 16-year-old was planning to set up after-school football practice on the playing field; if this came to pass she would ask the contractor to resume giving part of the field a closer cut. The annual playground safety inspection report had been received: no items had been found to be at high risk but Dink would be asked to attend to those problems that had been identified.
10/61Reports from organisations where Council is represented: Cllrs discussed the Local Area Priorities put out by the Local Area Forum. It was agreed it was important to identify vulnerable people in the Parish so help could be given where possible.
Cllr Stacey entered the meeting at 8.15 pm.
The Chairman said there was a possibility that funding could be obtained from the LAF to tackle the flooding in Arrewig Lane.
Cllr Carleton-Smith had attended the NAG meeting in June which he said was quite useful. Police would be asked to deploy the SID to monitor speeds at Swan Bottom. The September meeting would be at The Lee Parish Hall and the cost borne by the Parish Council.
10/62 Road maintenance: A Councillor from Hillesden in N. Bucks had circulated details to Clerks of a patching lorry called the Jet-patcher which was supposed to be an economical way of repairing pot-holes: these would be forwarded to the Bucks Transportation department and Cllr Birchley.
Re. gritting of roads in winter, the Council would press for a salt bin at the bottom of Red Lion Hill. The Clerk would press also for an answer to the Chairman’s much-repeated question as to how often The Lee had been gritted the previous winter.
An over-hanging branch by Grove Wood would be logged with the gang that repaired highways defects, along with a reminder about restoring the road markings in Princes Lane.
10/63 Report from County Councillor: Cllr Birchley was now the cabinet member for Adults and Families. The highways gang would begin work shortly on the pot-holes in Potter Row. LAF had funds to give out and she suggested an approach to them for the cost of the salt bin. The route for HS2 would be identified by the end of next year.
10/64 HS2 Campaign: The Clerk had written opposing the DfT’s proposed Exceptional Hardship Scheme on behalf of the Council. Cllr Usborne had met Andy Brice, a campaigner against the HS1 proposals in Kent, and suggested we try to identify places in Kent whose experience might correspond with what we could expect. Kathryrn Gurney, Chairman of the HP16 Missenden Group, believed The Lee might need to set up a shadow group to ensure its voice was heard once the route was chosen. Cllr Stacey had not yet heard whether her request to go on the Bucks CC trip to Kent on July 30th had been successful. A database of all the Councils along the proposed HS2 route was being compiled by Chetwode Parish near Buckingham: the Clerk would provide our details.
10/65 Centenary of (expanded) Lee Parish Council: It was suggested the occasion next March should be marked by the beating of the bounds and a party. A working group would be set up in the Autumn to begin planning.
10/66 Co-option of Councillor: After discussion of two candidates to replace Cllr Lewis it was agreed that Frances Nichols would be co-opted.
10/67 Sustainable Communities Act: It was agreed that the Clerk should petition MPs in support of this Act, which claims to give local communities a hot-line to Whitehall and allows the transfer of funds from central to local government.
10/68 Fromelles visit: On July 19th the Chairman was due to attend the dedication of the War Cemetery at Fromelles, where eleven men from The Lee died in the attack of 1916.
10/69 Grant applications: It was agreed to make donations of £100 apiece to:
- Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance and
- The Lee Newsletter, as a contribution towards their insurance cost
- V. Robins x 3 (invoice no. 72: £263.22/cheque no. 100573; invoice no. 73: £36.98/cheque no. 100574; re-imbursement of bill from Veolia Water – water supply to allotments Oct/April: £19.51/cheque no. 100575);
- All Seasons x 2 (invoice no. ASL080329: £130.00/cheque no. 100577; invoice no. ASL080334: £415.00/cheque no. 100576);
- P.J. Pearce & Sons (invoice no. 35: £115/cheque no. 100578);
- cheque 100579 CANCELLED;
- Playsafety Ltd. (invoice no. 225503: £115.16/cheque no. 100580).
10/71 Any other business: A suggestion had been received that The Lee should operate its own ‘Honours System’ to recognise those who’d made a particular contribution to the Parish: it was agreed that this was a good idea but that it would be invidious for the Parish Council to be involved.
Cllr Stacey had attended a Chilterns AONB Open Day and training session and had found it worthwhile.
The Chiltern District Council’s Community Cohesion Report was noted.
The meeting closed at 9.55pm.
SUBJECT
TO RATIFICATION AT MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 14th 2010
Viv Robins, Clerk