CHACOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council held on
Monday, 12th May 2003 at 7.15pm in the Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs. Harper, Coates, Woolley and Clerk.
Apologies:
Cllr. White
Public
Time. Mrs Daphne Evans advised the
Council that she was organising a petition to highlight concerns about the
safety of children and the elderly with regard to speeding motorists in Thorpe
Road. Daphne recalled one specific incident where a car mounted the pavement,
narrowly missing her. A seat on the edge of her property, recently installed in
memory of her late husband, had already been hit by a vehicle. A police
presence, while discussing the incident, had significantly reduced the speed of
vehicles travelling from Wesley Place to The Ring. This stretch of road was
used regularly by children and parents going to Nursery School and to Chacombe
School. Will there have to be a fatality before anything is done? Some type of
traffic calming measure is called for.
Mrs Evans had collected many signatures and PC Sargeant and been very helpful and supportive.
Election of Chairman. Cllr. Harper was re-elected having been proposed by Cllr. Woolley and seconded by Cllr. Coates.
Cllrs. Harper, Coates, Woolley signed the above form.
Cllr. White will sign at the next meeting on 2nd June
Minutes of AGM 2002 were adopted and signed. (In future, AGM minutes will
be signed at the following meeting.)
Co-option of new
councillors
Cllr. Woolley proposed the co-option of Chris Reid, Sue Kennedy, Geoff Jones and Phil Jenkins. This was seconded by Cllr. Coates and all named persons were duly co-opted.
Election of
Vice-chairman
Cllr. Kennedy was elected Vice-chairman having been proposed by Cllr. Jones and seconded by Cllr. Woolley.
Reports from Councillors
as representatives on other organisations.
Chacombe School. Cllr. Harper reported that the Board of Governors
had met three times during the year with sub-committees meeting at other times.
He and a parent are leaders of the Gardening Club, which meets from May –
October. There was also a vacancy for a parent governor. *Mrs Kathleen Flower
had produced a comprehensive report for the Annual Parish Meeting on 29th
April and the Council agreed to adopt this report for the year.
Allotments. Cllr. Harper reported that all plots were let. The
current rental fee is £12 for a full plot (30’ x 90’) and
£7.50 for a half plot. To maintain the site, the car park and the side
track are weed killed, the laid hedge trimmed in August and the main grass pathway
regularly mowed. Loads of farmyard manure can be delivered when required.
*Village Hall. Cllr. Kennedy proposed that the Council accept the
report given by Bob Blake at the APM. Cllr. Kennedy advised that the PC
representative should be somebody other than herself who, as treasurer, may
inevitably face a conflict of interests. Many of the councillors were already
actively involved or committed to other organisations and therefore the time to
commit to another group was often limited. However, Cllr. Woolley volunteered,
but made it clear that he would not be able to attend every meeting
*Playing Fields. The Council agreed to accept the written report
presented by Cllr. Jones at the APM.
Chacombe School:
Cllr. Harper would continue until his term as governor ended in July but then
he could stand for re-election.
Allotments: Cllr. Harper
Adoption of Standing Orders
Cllr. Jones proposed that the Orders be adopted, was seconded by Cllr. Woolley and agreed by the Council.
Financial statement: Year
ending 31st March 2003
*The Council agreed to accept
the report given by the Clerk to the Annual Parish Meeting on 29th
April.
Expenditure Income
101046 Clerk’s
expenses £69.53 Village
Hall £60.70
101054 Chacombe
Chimes £780.00
Direct debit CPRE £25.00
Insurance renewal premium had seen an increase of £87 to £631.79. The total premium would be paid
then any adjustments would be made after the transfer of custodial trusteeship
of the Playing Fields from the Parish Council to NPFA. The
mower would also be removed from the policy.
The following payments were
authorised: Allianz Cornhill
£631.79 and Jeffs Coaches (April) £80.
* See APM minutes.
Countryside Agency Parish Plans. Guidance for Parish and Town Councils
NALC The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 come into effect from April 2003
What goes around comes around!
NACRE “The Playing Field”
Our Common Land – the law and history of common land and village greens
Cherwell Vale NHS PCT Board Bulletin April 2003
ODPM Sustainable Communities Programme Public Meeting (Milton Keynes/ South Midlands Study
CPRE “Rural
Matters”
“Planning Update”
Eleanor Wentink telephoned on 18th May: Thorpe Road signs damaged, skateboarding outside
house at12.30am, loads of rubbish and child’s trike left outside 24, Thorpe Road. Police called at 10.30am.
NCC a) Termination of Service 508 operated by Cheney Coaches from Brackley to Banbury as from 28th April
b) Countryside and Rights of
Way Act 2000 Section 94 and establishment of a local access forum for
Northamptonshire
c) New Jason Sunday Explorer Service
SNC a) Result of Uncontested Election. Return of names of Persons Elected Councillors for the election held on 1st May 03
b) e-mail from John Wood: amended information regarding filling of vacancy.
c) Electoral Services Officer Result of Uncontested Election and how to proceed from here.
d) No funding available from
Operation Springclean. The Parish
Council will organise its own event for 2004.
e) Declarations of Acceptance of Office forms
Notification of financial and other interests forms
f) District Council Election
Notice of Poll
g) Planning applications wk. ending: 2/04/03, 9/04/03 (inc. applications from 5/3 – 12/3) and 16/04/03
Brochures: Shaw & Sons Ltd - availability of registers, Glasdon – seating and SMP
Playgrounds
Since folder distributed
Malcolm
Mildren telephoned. Would be willing to
attend a future meeting with a representative from Highways. Suggested
Public Time on 2nd June
Yvonne Philippou telephoned re: young people parking their cars opposite garages in Poplars Road while using the skateboard ramp.
Brackley
& District Mencap Society newsletter
SLCC Order form for update to Audit Regulations
ACRE South Northants Rural Transport Partnership – 12 questionnaires
Clerks & Councils Direct Publication
Telephoned Thames Water re: overflowing manhole in Wardington Road
Diana Princess of Wales National Air Ambulance Warwickshire and Northamptonshire asking for support and would be prepared to give a brief presentation to the Council
NCC S Northants Area Committee. Minutes of meeting held on 13th March and agenda for meeting on 13th May
PC Martin Sargeant proposed 25th June for an open meeting to re-launch Neighbourhood
Watch. PC Sargeant and Community Support Officer Suzanne Bourne would lead the
meeting.
NCC a) Northants County Structure Plan 1996 – 2016. Monitoring Report 2003
b) Co-opted Governor vacancy at
Chacombe CEVA Primary as from July
SNC a) EnCams (formerly Tidy Britain Group) Anti- Fly-Tipping Campaign
b) Permissions for development: S/2003/ 0151/P at Wesley Place
S/2003/0258/P at Chacombe School
S/2003/ 0350/P at 62 Thornhill
c) Planning applications wk. ending: 30/04/03 and 7/05/03
Flyers: Spring Concert at St Mary’s Church on 17th May
Brackley Music Festival 20 - 28th June
Summer Voices at Sulgrave Manor on Sunday, 13th July
Mick Holloway - letter re: vandalism etc.
The Council discussed this item of correspondence at some length. Specific incidents needed to have been recorded and why were they linked to the installation of the skateboard ramp? The Council is aware that there is often an increase in vandalism at this time of year with young people meeting up in the lighter evenings. The official view of the police is that the presence of such a facility actually reduces the amount of vandalism. The facility is considered one of the best in the area and that is why it is attracting young people from outside the village, who may be responsible for some of the vandalism. The installation of the ramp is the first thing that has been done for teenagers in living history and they were very much involved with the whole process from the initial idea to the installation. The young people themselves are aware of what is going on and the Playing Field Management Committee is dealing with any issues that arise directly from use of the ramp. Any anti-social behaviour, including suspected drug use, can only be monitored if residents are prepared to report what they see to the police, the only body with the power to take any action.
The Council had already discussed the idea to re-launch Neighbourhood Watch and an open meeting has been planned for 25th June. This information will be included in an open letter to all residents via June’s edition of the Chimes. Letters will be sent to individual residents who had reported incidents in recent months.
A reply will be sent to Mr Holloway’s letter.
Litter bins
The metal ‘Guppy’ bin (£190) featured in the Glasdon brochure was chosen as a suitable design for the Playing Field. The Clerk would obtain details on how the bin could be secured in the ground.
County Councillor, Malcolm Mildren had spoken of his intention to attend the next meeting of the Council with a representative from NCC Highways, therefore the Chairman proposed that the Council should discuss the matter of traffic calming raised by Mrs Evans. Update: a representative from NCC Highways is not able to attend but has agreed to arrange a site meeting to discuss Highway related issues.
3.12 Speeding in Thorpe Road
Cllr. Jenkins also believed that vehicles were travelling too fast, but in the past when vehicle speeds had been checked, only one or two drivers, often locals, had been found exceeding the limit. It is often people’s perception that vehicles are speeding and although the Council would agree that some vehicles are travelling too fast through Chacombe, they may not be exceeding the speed limit. It has been stated that if a 30mph speed limit cannot be enforced then it is unlikely that a 20mph limit could be. Therefore, the only solution would be to look at ways to physically slow drivers down. The Council supported Mrs Evans in her efforts to bring this matter to the attention of the relevant authorities and further discussion would take place at June’s meeting.
AOB
1. Dates of meetings for 2003 - 2004 were distributed.
2. The Clerk will compile a new contact list once all councillors have signed their acceptance of office.
Meeting closed at 8.50 pm.
The
next meeting will be held on 2nd June 2003 at 7.15pm.
pcmn069AGM/ss 25/5/03