Minutes May 2008

Birdham Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council held on Monday 19th May 2008 at 7pm in Birdham Village Hall

Present: Cllr Tilbury; Cllr Howat; Cllr Ms Leach; Cllr Mrs Cobbold; Cllr Ms Huskisson

In attendance: The Clerk, three members of the public

12-08cl. Election of Chairman It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Cobbold and seconded by Cllr Ms Huskisson RESOLVED that Cllr Tilbury be elected Chairman of the Council. Cllr Tilbury will read and complete the Declaration of Office which will be witnessed by the Clerk.

13-08cl. Election of Vice-Chairman It was proposed by Cllr Howat and seconded by Cllr Ms Leach RESOLVED that Cllr Mrs Parks be elected Vice-Chairman. Cllr Mrs Parks will read and complete the Declaration of Office which will be witnessed by the Clerk.

14-08cl. To appoint to outside bodies
i) Play Park - Cllr Churchill
ii) Civil Protection Emergency Planning - Cllr Mrs Parks
iii) Village Hall Trustees - Cllr Tilbury; Cllr Ms Huskisson; Cllr Mrs Cobbold; Mrs Rees
iv) Manhood Mobility Volunteer Service - Cllr Ms Leach
v) Peninsula Community Forum - Cllr Tilbury; Cllr Ms Huskisson; the Clerk
vi) Governor at Birdham C of E School - Cllr Mrs Parks

It was proposed by Cllr Tilbury and seconded by Cllr Howat RESOLVED to make the above appointments.

15-08cl. Apologies were received from Cllr Meynell, Cllr Churchill and Cllr Mrs Parks

16-08cl. Declaration of Interests
Cllr Howat declared a personal interest in Kellys Nursery planning application. Cllr Mrs Cobbold declared a personal interest in item 23-08cl donations to charities.

17-08cl. Approve and sign the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21st April 2008
It was proposed by Cllr Ms Leach and seconded by Cllr Howat RESOLVED to approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21st April 2008 and that they be signed by the Chairman.

18-08cl. Matters arising from the Minutes dated 21st April 2008
i) Min 4-08cl i) - Village sign -the Clerk has received a letter from Richard Dixon to say that Highways would not consider a sign on the roundabout as it would be considered a distraction for motorists, and the Council will need to apply for planning permission for one opposite the Old Bird and Ham, giving exact details of proposed height, design, size etc. After discussion it was decided to allow the chairman to consult with Cllr Mrs Parks and the Clerk to pursue this and to bring a concrete proposal to the next meeting.
ii) Min 4-08cl ii) - Food put out in field - the Clerk is still awaiting the letter about this matter. The Chairman has been contacted by various people concerned about dog fouling. The Dog Warden has leafleted the area and notified local people.
iii) Min 10-08cl vi) - Play England - Cllr Churchill was not present - it was agreed to postpone this item until the next meeting.
iv) Min 10-08cl iii) - Layby - Cllr Tilbury reported that he had had a meeting with Highways. Highways will be doing a survey of speeds in Birdham in June. The effect of reducing a speed limit can be rather small and people get used to it over time. District Cllr Pieter Montyn has taken action about roadside vehicle sales. Alison Smart has been in touch and says that if the cars are more than 500 metres apart no action can be taken. With regard to the layby opposite Birdham Stores, it would not be possible to have a real layby with a speed limit as there is a very long waiting list for road improvements.

19-08cl. Clerk's Report including:
a) WSCC reports, Highways matters and correspondence
i) The Clerk has received a copy of a letter sent to Birdham School which withdraws the proposals for the widening of Church Lane by St Mary's Cottage and the pavement between the Church and Kewells Corner on the grounds that they are not likely to be cost-effective nor will they encourage many more children to walk to school. This was noted.
ii) WSCC has written to explain how they intend to change some areas of the County to lower levels of street lighting during the early hours of the morning, while in some cases improving the levels of lighting in the evening. They will shortly be writing to parishes where they maintain the lighting, including Birdham, about the proposed PFI contract. This was noted.
iii) West Sussex Sustainability Forum has sent the Council a copy of its Quality of Life Indicators Response. This will be placed in the correspondence file.
iv) The Chairman has been invited to attend a meeting and workshop on Wednesday 11th June at 5.30pm in Selsey Town Hall to help the County Local Committee learn about priorities for the area. He will attend the meeting. There was some discussion about items he should raise at the workshop.
b) CDC reports including correspondence
i) The Council has received two letters from the new Rural Enabling Officer, Sam Irving, who would like to meet with a member of the Parish Council to be given a guided walk around Birdham fairly soon, as there are currently 102 households wishing to move to Birdham. After discussion it was decided that Cllr Tilbury would offer to meet with him.
ii) The Council has been sent some posters about the Careline service for older people. The Clerk will put these up when she next changes the notice boards. This was noted.
c) other related matters
i) The Council has received the papers for the Ship Canal Trust's AGM, and in view of time constraints, the Chairman voted on their behalf and had the voting paper taken to the meeting. This was noted.
ii) The Council has received information about the Going Dutch II workshop which will run from 22 to 25 June. Six representatives from Manhood parishes will be able to attend and their names will be agreed at the Peninsula Community Forum on 2nd June. In the meantime they would like comments from parishes about concerns surrounding coastal issues on the Manhood Peninsula, in order of importance to the parish, by 23rd May, with any suggestions on the options and ideas on these concerns. Cllr Mrs Cobbold tabled a paper with suggestions about priorities for the workshops. Cllr Tilbury will re-write the paper so it can be sent in by the Clerk. Cllr Mrs Cobbold will represent the parish at the meeting. There will be a presentation on 24th June at Earnley Concourse in the evening. Cllrs Howat, Tilbury and Ms Huskisson would like to attend.
iii) RoSPA will be carrying out the usual annual safety check of the play area in June. Last year they informed the Clerk that it was not necessary to have more than a two/three yearly check of the pond. This was noted.
iv) Action in Rural Sussex has written to say that they will be sharing the CLA marquee at the South of England Show on Saturday 7th June and would be pleased to see any members who attend the show that day. This was noted.

20-08cl. Planning matters including CDC decisions
A paper detailing planning matters had been circulated to all councillors

Plans to be considered:

BI/08/00583/DOM - Coombers Barn Farm, Birdham road - erection of steel and glass balustrade over sun room. It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Cobbold and seconded by Cllr Howat RESOLVED NO OBJECTION.

BI/08/01690/FUL - Kellys Nursery, Bell Lane - Farm shop (including imported produce). It was proposed by Cllr Ms Huskisson and seconded by Cllr Ms Leach RESOLVED NO OBJECTION.

BI/08/01776/DOM - Rose Petal House, Crooked Lane - single storey flank and rear extension. It was proposed by Cllr Tilbury and seconded by Cllr Mrs Cobbold RESOLVED NO OBJECTION.

CDC Decisions

BI/08/00871/TPA - Mrs C Panteny, 18 Pipers Mead, PO20 7BJ - Reduce height and width by 20% on 2 no. oak trees within group G2 subject to TPO/14/BI - PERMIT

BI/08/00918/ADV - Mr Khan, The Spinnaker Café Bar, Chichester Marina PO20 7EJ - New fascia with neon lighting - REFUSE

BI/08/01086/TPA - Birdham Parish Council - land to south west of Birdham Straight House, Main road, PO20 7HS - removal of lower limb to south west on 1 no. Oak tree (T10 subject to TPO/22/BI - PERMIT

BI/08/01210/DOM - and BI/08/01211/LBC - Hilland Farm House, Batchmere Road, PO20 7LJ - single storey rear extension and side ki8tchen extension to existing dwelling - PERMIT

21-08cl. Correspondence
Correspondence to be circulated includes

WSCC - forward Plan of Key Decisions June - September 2008
Fields in Trust AGM notice and Annual Review 2007
Clerks and Councils Direct May 2008
NALC LCR May 2008

22-08cl. Reports:
i) Village Hall - the Chairman reported that there was an open morning on 17th and there was not much response. The Play group has had a grant towards a sun awning which has now been fixed.
ii) Playing field and Play Area - Cllr Churchill was not present. The Clerk reported that she had emailed Justin to see what had been done about the grass and he had not replied. Clerk to write again to Justin and copy to both District Councillors.
iii) Village Green and Pond - no report
iv) Neighbourhood Watch - the PCSOs had not been able to be present, but had sent the Clerk a report saying that they are still working with the youths in the evenings when they are on the appropriate shift. An incident occurred on 16th May when a male drove at speed around the Village Hall car park in a dangerous manner. He has been issued with a Section 59 warning. Leaflets have now been distributed by the Dog Warden with regard to dog fouling in the area. If anyone sees this happen, would they please report it to either of the PCSOs or the Dog Warden, giving as much information as possible, such as breed of dog, description of owner and time and date fouling occurred. They also remind the public that they can be contacted on www.sussex.police.uk where there is also information on local issues.
v) Tree Wardens - no report
23-08cl. Finance, including donations to be made under Section 137
i) A financial situation report had been circulated to all councillors, as had a list of donations made the previous year (for information).

Clerk's salary April 543.24
Principal I Ltd - copier service contract, includes 9.74 VAT 65.39

Receipts, current account (precept) 18366.50

Receipts, Village Hall account - nil

Receipts, deposit account - nil

Payments to be considered:

Mrs Geary, litter, May 65.00
Adrian Dover, grass 118.00
Clerk's expenses, includes 4.39 VAT 38.38

Notes: The Clerk has moved the following sums of money: £3154 to the Village Hall account - this will mean that there is just under £2000 in this account when the interest payment for the PWLB loan is taken out until the next tranche of the precept arrives so the Council odes not keep having to close and re-open this account. She has also transferred £10000 to the deposit account and will transfer monies back to the current account as required for on-going expenditure.

ii) The audit papers will be going to the Internal Auditor this week. As referred to in Minute 46-07cl last year, it was discovered after the audit had been agreed that the figure for the end of year 31st March 2007 was incorrect. The figures with which the year 2007-8 began are therefore different from those in last year's audit. The Clerk is asking the Council to note and approve the use of the correct figures for this year's audit.

It was proposed by Cllr Tilbury and seconded by Cllr Ms Leach RESOLVED to approve the above use of the correct figures.
iii) Charities to which donations are to be made during the coming year:

The Samaritans £100
Chichester Ship Canal Trust (membership) £15 plus £85 donation (total £100)
4Sight £100
Victim Support £100
Manhood Mobility Volunteer Service £300
Citizens' Advice Bureau £300
RNLI £60
It was proposed by Cllr Tilbury and seconded by Cllr Mrs Cobbold RESOLVED to approve the financial report and to make the above donations in the year 2008-9.
24-08cl. Reports of meetings attended by Councillors
i) Canal Trust AGM - Cllr Ms Huskisson reported that she had attended this meeting. The Canal Restoration Steering Group has now published proposals for the bridges. At the Birdham crossing they will lower the level of the Canal and put in a new lock to take the boats under the road. Nobody has yet thought about the houseboats and the effect on them. At Donnington they are proposing a swing bridge. Martin Daws-Chew is a member of the steering group. Nasty rumours are going around, which are believed to be unfounded. Council to write to the Restoration Steering Group and to Premier Marinas to ask what their intentions are with regard to the houseboats. Ask for a presentation on the bridges etc. for the July meeting.
ii) MMVS AGM - Cllr Tilbury reported that he had attended and made a presentation to a lady who had done ten years' service with them. He was impressed with the work they do.

25-08cl. Public session
There being no further business, the Meeting closed at 9.12pm