Minutes June 2009

Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 15th June 2009 at 7pm in Birdham Village Hall.

Present: Cllr Tilbury; Cllr Mrs Parks; Cllr Mrs Cobbold; Cllr Ms Leach; Cllr Meynell; Cllr Howat; Cllr Ms Huskisson; Cllr Churchill

In attendance: The Clerk; District and County Cllr Montyn; 3 members of the public; Dean Miles.

26-09cl. Apologies: none was received

27-09cl. Declaration of interest Cllr Mrs Cobbold declared an interest in item 34-09cl v).

28-09cl. Minutes of the Meeting of 18th May 2009 It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Cobbold and seconded by Cllr Mrs Parks RESOLVED to approve the Minutes dated 18th May 2009 and that they be signed by the Chairman.

29-09cl. Matters arising from the Minutes dated 18th May 2009.
i) Min 18-09cl ii) Seat by the bus shelter. The Clerk reported that she had sent off the plan and a copy of the Council’s £10m public liability insurance to Steve Hodd. He has spoken to her on the phone and says it is likely to be okay, although they have to go through the usual consultation first. She has further received a letter from WSCC saying that the notices have gone out for the consultation. The Council will need to have their insurance endorsed to cover the liability to and of the County Council. The Clerk will attend to this. She has asked Iain Grant to quote for moving the seat which is currently next to the bus shelter by the Old Bird and Ham, and is waiting for a reply. If he thinks the concrete is too liable to crumble for it to be moved she will get some quotes for a new seat. She has also contacted Geof Muffet about the shingles on the roofs of the other bus shelters, and he will repair them when she can let him know where to obtain them. This was noted.
ii) Min 18-09cl i) Dean Miles attended and spoke briefly to the Council. There is a detached youth team based in Selsey and it is planned to bring them over to Birdham on a Tuesday night to meet with youngsters and see what their needs are, maybe to provide some kind of outreach work. He would also like to try to get some funding for a temporary project to encourage them to catch the bus one night a week to the youth club. He had some posters to be put on notice boards, and hoped to have a summer programme as well. The mobile skate park will be coming to Bracklesham Park, and there will be a “Big Brother” sleepover during the summer. He will keep in touch with the Clerk and the Council will consider possibly funding some items for Birdham young people.

30-09cl. Clerk’s Report including
a) WSCC Reports, highways matters and correspondence
i) In Church Lane, when major work was done, a lot of damage was done to the ditch and the verge was not seeded as it was February. Steve Hodd is going to get someone to look at it and see if the contractors can be pursued to do the work. Also there is a lot of damage by the post box and it may need a few kerb-stones to prevent people parking there. Cllr Mrs Cobbold referred to the problem of getting back to the Manhood during good summer weather and how it may become worse if the Whyke roundabout is closed. The difficulty is that the A27 improvements will not necessarily be made in the near future or at all, and the best that may ever happen will be a few traffic lights on the A27.
b) CDC reports including correspondence
i) A letter has been received confirming the TPO on the trees in Lock Lane Birdham. The order took place on 20th May so any future work on these trees will be subject to a planning application. This was noted.
ii) CDC has now decided to reinstate three future grants panels on 5th October, 18th January and 30th March, with closing dates two months before the dates of the panels. This was noted.
iii) The Chairman has received a letter from the Chief Executive of CDC about the planning applications in the Chichester Observer. He has also heard from the editor, and they have now agreed to publish the applications without charge to the District Council. This was noted
c) other related matters
i) The Clerk has been sent a copy of a letter from the Lock Lane Road Management about the damage done to Lock Lane by vehicles turning in and out of Birdham Fruit Farm’s temporary drive. This was noted.
ii) Stirlands Cricket Club has written to ask whether the Parish Council would be willing to give them a grant towards their additional cover to protect the wicket and a re-power kit for the auto roller, which will cost them over £10,000. After discussion it was decided to discuss this under Finance below.
iii) The NALC conference will be held on 4/5 September 2009 in London, at a cost ranging from £127.28 for a day to £207 for the two days including the conference dinner, but not including accommodation. After discussion it was decided not to send anyone to the conference.
iv) The Clerk is proposing the following dates for meetings for the rest of this year as 20th July (already agreed in January); 21 September; 19 October; 16 November; 21 December. These were agreed.

31-09cl. Planning matters including CDC decisions
A supplementary paper detailing planning matters had been distributed to all councillors.

i) Plans to be considered:
BI/09/02237/TPA – 25, Walwyn Close, Birdham – Crown reduction of 20% to oak (T8) and also to oak (T7) remove branch over house/conservatory by 2 metres. Branches are damaging garage/house/conservatory and cars by garage.
It was decided to look at the trees before making a decision.

ii) CDC Decisions:
BI/09/01293/OUT – 4, The Triangle, Westlands Lane, PO20 7HG – Residential 1 no. dwelling house and garage – PERMIT

BI/09/01556/TPA – 17, Pipers Mead, PO20 7BJ – Crown reduced by 20% (overall) and crown raise up to 4 metres on 1 no. Oak tree within Group G2 subject to BI/83/00023/TPO - PERMIT
iii) The Chairman reported that he had again been in touch with Sam Irving, who wishes to find a site for affordable housing in Birdham. The Planning Officer has made it clear that all the sites available so far are unsuitable in planning terms. He has asked if we could advertise more widely that CDC are looking for suitable sites.

32-09cl. Correspondence
Emails forwarded since the last meeting:
29/5 – Chichester Harbour Events June; 29/5 – BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show; 3/6 – BBC Village SOS; 8/6 – Communities Workshop; 8/6 – West Sussex Fire and Rescue Plan: 9/6 – Wiley Nautical Almanac; 9/6 – Stakeholder Newsletter “in touch”; 9/6 – Latest Weekly rural News Focus; 9/6 – The Drop – mobile skate park for West Sussex; 10/6 – Peninsula Forum Slides; 11/6 – Local Notice to Mariners No 7; 11/6 – Manhood Week of Action Results; 11/6 – Rural Community Network; 12/6 – Solent Seals on Countryfile; 15/6 – Queen Victoria Hospital – session on skin cancer.

Other correspondence:
CPRE Sussex Review Spring 2009

33-09cl. Reports:
i) Play Area and Playing field – Cllr Churchill reported that the top of one of the swings is slightly damaged. The playing field looks good under the new contractor. The fence is damaged towards the scout hut.
ii) Village Green and pond – Cllr Tilbury reported on his meeting with Adrian Dover. He has used his discretion in how much to cut back. Cllr Ms Huskisson will meet with the Chairman and Adrian Dover. The culvert which is at the exit from the pond is pretty much silted up. The Harbour Conservancy may be able to help with this. Alison Fowler may be able to help. The Clerk added that John Hayes had asked her if the Council still wanted the trunk of the tree he had removed on the Green gouged out and she had replied that they did. He will remove this trunk when he has a suitable tool on hire.
iii) Neighbourhood Watch - Rose Bainbridge spoke about the Manhood Week of Action in early June. She has spoken to Birdham School, lots of people were stopped about minor offences. Chichester police are launching Operation Castle across the district, some vehicles will be tagged etc. Neighbourhood Watch is being given plenty of security advice for the summer time. Birdham has been quiet.
iv) Tree Wardens – the Clerk to ask them if they wish to continue in the job

34-09cl. Finance
i) A Financial Situation Report had been circulated to all councillors.
Payments since the last meeting to be ratified:

Clerk’s salary May 556.72
MH Kennedy and Son Ltd grass cutting includes £48 VAT 368.00

Income

Current account – nil
Deposit account – nil
Village Hall account – nil

Payments to be considered:

Mrs Geary, litter, June 70.00
Mrs S Heasman, clerk’s expenses, includes 3.86 VAT 40.21
Chichester Tree Services – work to trees on field and green,
Includes £112.50 VAT 862.50
The Information Commissioner (renewal under Data Protection Act) 35.00 The Samaritans 250.00
4Sight 100.00
Victim Support 100.00
Manhood Mobility Volunteer Service 450.00
Citizens’ Advice Bureau 500.00
RNLI 60.00
(Last 6 as agreed in Minute 23-09cl iii)

Notes: The Clerk has transferred £3000 on 12th June from the deposit account to the current account and also £1500 on 15th June in order to pay the above bills and have some money available for any future bills in the next month. She has applied for a refund of £657.16 VAT for October 2008-March 2009 which should arrive by the next meeting. The payment to Chichester Canal Trust is not usually made until Birdham’s subscription falls due in August.

It was proposed by Cllr Ms Leach and seconded by Cllr Churchill RESOLVED to approve the financial report.
ii) Possible costs of youth funding – could be used as a seeding relationship and if it is not used we would stop. Travel should be up to £300, and up to £200 and a contribution to outreach.
iii) Cricket Club – it was proposed that we should offer them £200 as a token of our support.
iv) If we need extra money for the pond this will be taken from the existing budget.
v) Manhood Peninsula Partnership – Julie Whitney has been working part-time as a project officer for this, funded part-time by agencies involved in the Manhood. Trying to get the area designated as an integrated coastal zone, possibly using European funding. She is interested in the drainage survey in Birdham. It was agreed to contribute £500 for this financial year.
It was proposed by Cllr Howat and seconded by Cllr Churchill RESOLVED to make the above contributions.

35-09cl. Reports of meetings attended by councillors
The Clerk had circulated a brief report of the meeting of the Peninsula Community forum held at Dell Quay on 1st June. The Chairman added that he had raised the provision of parking at the Longmeadow site. He also pointed out the effects which would come from managed retreat at Medmerry. He has also circulated the letter which has been sent to the drainage authority about the flooding in Birdham in January past. He has also written to the Environment Agency about the overwhelming of the sewage treatment works and its effects on the area.
The drainage meeting should happen in early September, Village Plan meeting in October and the use of the playing field when we own the new piece of land.

36-09cl. Public Session

There being no further business, the Meeting closed at 8.50pm