Minutes of the Council Meeting held on the 15th September
Birdham Parish Council
Minutes of the
Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 15th September 2014
at 7pm in Birdham Village Hall
Present: Cllr Finch (Chairman), Cllr Harker (Vice Chairman), Cllr Cobbold, Cllr Barker,
Cllr Hamilton and Cllr Ayton.
Apologies: Cllr Pocock and Cllr Marshall (CDC)
In attendance: The Clerk, Cllr Montyn (WSCC & CDC) and 13 members of the public.
Absent: Cllr Churchill.
46-14 Public Question time in accordance with Standing Orders 1d -1l:
A member of the public asked when the 20mph speed limit was due to be introduced.
Although the Clerk had been previously told by Officers of WSCC that the work to indicate the speed restriction was due to be in place during 2015, Cllr Montyn said that this was not the case. To introduce the speed limit required a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which was not yet in place. Cllr Montyn said that he was due to attend a meeting later on during the week at which point he may well have more information.
47-14 Declaration of Interests:
There were no declarations of interest.
48-14 Approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on the 21st July 2014:
It was resolved to adopt and sign the minutes of the 21st July 2014 as a true and accurate record.
49-14 Matters arising from the minutes of the 19th November 2012:
Minute 89-12 - Land Bequest. The Clerk said he had received notification from the Councils Solicitors to say that with the exception of the actual registration of the land all was now in place.
50-14 Clerks’ Report:
i) WSCC – There was nothing to report.
ii) CDC – The Clerk said he had received the following information;
a) Confirmation notification of a TPO placed on 3 of Monterey pine trees on land at Moorings, Westlands Estate, Birdham PO20 7HJ.
b) Notification of the second tranche of the precept being deposited in the Councils bank account.
c) Correspondence from CDC Members Services on How to Become a Councillor.
iii) Reports from Members of WSCC/CDC – Cllr Montyn spoke further about a meeting that he attended today concerning the 20mph speed limit and how he was not satisfied with what had been said. He re-iterated his earlier comment about having further meetings on the subject and would feed back the information in due course.
Cllr Montyn went on to talk about the WSCC Budget which was due to take place in February 2015, and whilst little was known at the moment it could be assumed that the revenue support grant, paid by Government, would be reduced yet again, and whilst WSCC is not entirely dependent on the revenue support grant to balance its books it is likely that costs will go up. The Chancellor has made it abundantly clear that debt reduction will be achieved by cutting grants, not raising taxes. It will be tough and will get tougher. A public debate will take place on the budget situation.
iv) Other related matters – There were none.
51-14 Finance and Corporate:
i) To receive and approve the financial report.
The Clerk presented the financial reports for the month of September (shown at annex a). The current balances for July are as follows;
| Balances held at Bank | £49868.33 |
| Designated Funds | £29654.17 |
| Available Funds | £20214.16 |
| Creditors | £ 3191.92 |
The Clerk offered to answer any questions that Councillors may have.
It was resolved to adopt the Financial Report.
ii) The Clerk went to say that he had received the report of the External Auditor which showed no concerns and all proper practices had been complied with.
It was resolved to accept the report of the External Auditors.
iii) To consider the request for a financial contribution towards the rule 6 appeal of the Clappers Lane planning application.
This request came about from the briefing by Cllr Martin of Earnley Parish Council - minuted at 40-14i) – at which Cllr Martin asked for support from all Councils on the Manhood to support a Consortium of Councils in producing a transport assessment plan which could be used during the appeal and subsequently by Parishes as they saw fit. At the time of the briefing the costs of the Transport Consult were unknown but have subsequently come in which has resulted in a pro rata payment request from Birdham of £1500.00 by the Consortium.
A resident considered that this was rather high as no grant was made to the BVRA when they were making their rule 6 appeal concerning Church Lane.
Councillors considered that this was rather different in that an amount of money was being used to help fund a consultant’s study into traffic conditions experienced on the Manhood which could be used by Birdham Parish Council when determining future planning applications.
After a fairly short debate it was resolved that Birdham Parish Council pledge a maximum of £1500.00 towards the traffic study to be organised by Earnley Parish Council on behalf of the Western Manhood Consortium.
iv) To consider the quotations for ditch clearance around the playing field.
The Clerk said that although he had asked a number of companies to quote for the work only two had responded. Quotations ranged from £4498.00 to £7750.00.
It was resolved that an application should be made to OP Watershed.
v) To consider and agree the amendment to SO’s to properly reflect the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014.
The amendment having previously been circulated it was resolved to amend SO’s accordingly.
52-14 To receive an update on the Neighbourhood Plan.
The Chairman said the Neighbourhood Plan Document was in the final wording stages with an additional two documents and should be submitted for adoption by the Parish Council at the October meeting.
53-14 Planning matters including applications and CDC delegated decisions:
i) Planning Applications to be Decided:
BI/14/02543/COU – Tawny Nurseries
The Council considered that the application was worthy of support and raised NO OBJECTION to the application. However, concern was raised over the potential impact of wildlife in the area and requested that conditions are both put in place and enforced to protect the bats that are known to be present in the area.
BI/14/02264/DOM – Garden Corner, Church Lane
The Council raised NO OBJECTION to this application and considered that the application had been well thought out to protect the Village environment whilst at the same time achieving the aims of the owners.
BI/14/02698/ADV – Premier Marinas.
The area covered by this application is considered to be sensitive from a number of issues. The Council were therefore pleased to see that the advertising boards would be modest in size, unlit and set back from the road, as such the Council raised NO OBJECTION.
It was resolved to authorise the Clerk to notify Councils decision to DC Planning.
ii) Delegated Decisions to be noted.
BI/14/01731/DOM Mr Nick Judd Rickyard Cottage Birdham Road Birdham
Single storey side extension. PERMIT
BI/14/01781/DOM Mr Grahame Morgan-Watson Field Cottage Westlands Estate Birdham
Demolition of existing conservatory and porch; single storey extensions; amendments to windows; conversion of garage to living accommodation. PERMIT
The delegated decisions were noted.
54-14 Correspondence – Not previously circulated:
The Clerk reported the receipt of the following correspondence;
i) Notification of the AGM of Airs on the 9th October 2014.
ii) A letter from 4Sight acknowledging receipt of the £100.00 grant.
iii) A letter from the Arun & Chichester CAB acknowledging receipt of the £100.00 grant.
55-14 Reports:
i) Play Area and Playing Field. – The Clerk said he had nothing to report at this time.
ii) Village Green and Pond – The Clerk reminded Council that he had written a letter to the owners of the Church Field. He was pleased to say that he had now received a response which had raised a number of questions. He proposed that with Councils consent he would again write to the Secretary of Birdham Church Field Ltd with the answers that had been suggested.
iii) Condition of Village Ditch/Drain Network. – Mr Barrington reported that an inspection of the Walwyn Close gardens had now been carried out which had resulted in a shock. The variances of levels and work done by owners of the houses concerned had resulted in a meeting with Officers to determine if there could be an option of using the Langmead land with their permission.
Cllr Montyn said that using the Langmead option if it was possible may well be a capital investment for which Op Watershed was not designed.
There had been a suggestion that the Parish Council could purchase the land but various other options and ideas were being discussed.
Mr Barrington went on to talk about the ditch network and other ditches that may be the subject of an Op Watershed application. The ditch work in Florence Close and the pond is due to be cleared together with the ditch running along the Main Road from the junction with Farne Lane to the Birdham Stores.
Westlands have been subject to a considerable amount of work to the ditches and to the ponds.
Birdham Pool Marina has invited Mr Barrington to a meeting to discuss work at the Marina.
A 20 point plan has been agreed with WSCC once the ditches have been cleared.
The Old Common Close culvert ownership is still in dispute.
Cllr Finch said that a considerable amount of work had been carried out by the Flood Action Group.
Cllr Cobbold raised concerns that during the development of the various properties to the south of the village the various conditions imposed should be properly enforced and checked.
Cllr Montyn (WSCC & CDC) said that he was working with Cllr Barrett (CDC) to ensure that planning conditions would be met
A resident thank the various organisations for the incredible amount of work that was being carried out in order to protect the village.
iv) Police and Neighbourhood Watch – PCSO Ollie Broad was in attendance and gave the following report;
11/09/14 - Suspicious males were reported looking into properties and knocking on doors in Longmeadow Gardens. The males mentioned Roof Insulation but their I.D. Badges were too small to be seen. An area search was carried out by an Officer but the males could not be located.
09/09/14 - Road Traffic Collision (RTC), Northleigh Farm, Main Road, Birdham, Car V Building. Elderly Driver - No Injuries.
07/09/14 - Burglary (Other than a dwelling), (OTD) - Itchenor Green. Garage broken in to and three high value Bikes and Tools were stolen from Holiday Home. No CCTV. No Witnesses. Nothing for forensics.
03/09/14 - Burglary OTD, Itchenor Road, Itchenor. Shed broken in to and Tools taken. No witnesses. No CCTV. Nothing for Forensics.
31/08/14 - Dinghy stolen from harbour, Westlands Estate, Birdham. Long time frame when Dinghy could have been stolen between. Believed CCTV may have covered the incident. Informant advised to call Police if he found CCTV which showed Dinghy being stolen.
30/08/14 - Sus male reported in Westlands Lane. The male walked in to back garden of a property and with a very poor quality aerial photo of Informants property. Officer visited address in question. No CCTV of incident and no sign of sus male.
24/07/14 - Travellers reported to Police as attempting to gain access to the village green next to the Scout Hall. Officer attended and found a group of people playing football. The Officer did not believe that members of the Travelling Community were going to arrive at this location.
v) Communication Working Groups – The next Newsletter would be out very soon.
vi) Other -
a) To consider providing a water butt at the Bird & Ham bus stop. It was decided that this could wait to the 2015 budget.
b) To consider providing a dog waste bin at the junction of Greenacres and Westlands Farm. The Clerk was asked in the first instance to contact the Harbour Conservancy to determine if they could provide a bin.
c) To consider providing a general waste bin at the Bird & Ham bus stop. The Clerk was authorised to spend up to £100.00 to provide such a bin. The residents at the Bird & Ham had volunteered to ensure that bin was emptied on a regular basis.
56-14 Reports of meetings attended by Councillors;
There were none
57-14 Items for inclusion on the next agenda:
58-14 Date of Next Meeting:
20th October 2014 at 7pm in Birdham Village Hall
There being no further business to discuss the meeting was declared closed at 9.08pm
Signed ___________________________ Dated ____________________
Chairman
Annex a
| Birdham Parish Council | ||||||
| Financial Statement as at 15th September 2014 | ||||||
|
£ |
||||||
| Bank Accounts as at 31st March 2014 |
21689.56 |
|||||
| Receipts to date |
46768.45 |
|||||
| Expenditure to date |
18589.68 |
|||||
| Balance |
49868.33 |
|||||
| Represented by; | ||||||
| Current Account (Barclays Community A/c) |
17401.06 |
|||||
| Deposit Account (Barclays Premium Business A/c) |
25707.16 |
|||||
| National Savings |
6760.11 |
|||||
| Total |
49868.33 |
|||||
| Less | ||||||
| Reserve @ 50% of Precept |
21063.13 |
|||||
| Loan Reserve for half year |
8591.04 |
|||||
| Outstanding Cheque/s - | ||||||
| Total |
29654.17 |
|||||
| Available Funds |
20214.16 |
|||||
Signed Clerk to the Council 15th September 2014 Payments to be considered B Geary (Litter Picking)
140.00
Clerks Expenses (Telephone/Postage/Salary Inc)
102.20
A Dover (Grass/Bus Stops)
231.00
M H Kennedy & Son (Grass)
756.36
SSALC Limited (Chairman’s Networking Day)
144.00
Information Commissioners (Data Protection registration)
35.00
Broker Network (Parish Council Insurance)
1387.36
CPRE (Subscription)
36.00
PKF Littlejohn (External Auditor)
360.00
Total
3191.92