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Draft minutes - to be approved at the next meeting
Minutes of a Meeting of the
held at Kingswood Village Hall on Monday 4th August
2008
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Present:
Cllr Bob Bowker Cllr Peter Coleman Cllr Mike Evans
Cllr Maurice Fitzpatrick Cllr Beth Hendy (Chair) Cllr Derek Hobson (Vice Chair)
Cllr Tom Hoy Cllr Fay Rouse (8)
Sue Wotton – Clerk
Gail Gosden – Assistant Clerk & RFO
Ward Councillor Peter Parvin
PCSO Jon White
3 members of the public were present, there were no questions.
Cllr Hendy opened the meeting at 7.33pm
72. Personal & Prejudicial Interests
There were no declarations
73. Minutes of the Planning Meeting held 23rd July 2008 and Matters Arising
The minutes of this meeting were proposed as being a true record by Cllr Fitzpatrick, seconded by Cllr Hobson and being agreed were signed by Cllr Hendy.
74. Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held 7th July 2008 and Matters Arising
Cllr Fitzpatrick stated that item 50(ii) had been recorded incorrectly and that it was Cllr Hoy who proposed that should more affordable housing be required the PC should look elsewhere to build them. Cllr Hoy agreed this to be correct
The minutes of this meeting were proposed as being a true record and approved, with the above amendments, by Cllr Hoy and seconded by Cllr Fitzpatrick. They were then signed by Cllr Hendy
75. Policing
(i) Police Report and
Crime Figures, July 2008 – PCSO White Report attached: 1. Criminal Damage on 03-08-08,
Clerk reported that since the start of the
summer holiday there have been increased reports of off-road motorcycles in
woodland bordering
Report of a lost or stolen black and white Springer
Spaniel, from
Cllr Hendy asked PCSO White for advice about what members of the public could do when an out of hand party causes problem. Councillors were told the police cannot do anything when on a private property and that police would only refer complainant to Environmental Health department.
(ii) Neighbourhood Watch - Cllr Bowker
reported that in mid July two young lads cycling along
76.
Ward Cllr Peter Parvin told Councillors of an interesting talk from Gurkhas which was well supported by general public. The Gurkha charity now had enough money to pay for a Gurkha statue in the town and that any money remaining would go to a Gurkha charity
Travel tokens for the disabled and their carers should be available by the autumn, these will be available for use on the Kent Karrier service.
MBC are still experiencing teething problems
as a result of the move of
Cllr Hendy closed the meeting at 7.47 for public questions. The meeting was reopened at 7.52pm
77. Planning
Applications:
(i) MA/08/1174 - Nine Oaks,
(ii) MA/08/0995 - Burr Cottage,
(iii) MA/08/1245 - High Trees,
(iv) MA/08/1227 – Land adjacent to The Ness, Chartway Street, Sutton Valence – erection of a field shelter and store to replace temporary shelter for keeping alpacas Approve
(v) MA/08/1338
– Cherry Tree Farm,
The above applications were considered at at Planning Meeting held 23rd July 2008, see Item 73.
Cllr Evans proposed that these decisions be ratified, seconded by Cllr Fitzpatrick and agreed by all.
(vi) MA/08/1425 – Land between Elder Close and Charlesford Avenue, Kingswood – Amendment to MA/03/1444 (Demolition of 1 no. garage and erection of 2 no. detached dwellings, 1 no. double garage and 1 no. single garage) being an increase in area of bedroom, dining room and kitchen of both dwellings No Comment
Cllr Hendy advised that from next month’s meeting Planning Applications will be available from 7.15pm for Councillors to peruse to save time during meetings
MBC Decisions:
(i) MA/08/0970 – Sylvan Crest,
78. Finances and Finance Officer’s Report – Assistant Clerk / RFO requested that members consider paying an additional amount to Kevin Funnell in regard to the extra time he has given to the RFO to complete the interim audit that was unexpectedly required by the Audit Commission. Cllr Evans proposed payment of £100.00; this was seconded by Cllr Coleman and unanimously agreed.
The RFO advised that a meeting of the F &
GP Committee is required to discuss various financial issues, this was agreed
for Wednesday 13th August at 10.30am at
(i) Invoices for payment £ Chq No
Clerk – Pay & mileage 20 June to 20 July ‘08 643.53 439
Clerk - Expenses 1.50 440
Ass Clerk/RFO – work 20 June to 20 July ‘08 180.77 441
HMRC – Clerks’ PAYE & Employer’s NI 188.78 442
Kingswood & Broomfield Village Hall, Jul – Sep inc., 2008 72.00 443
P Tweddell – grass cutting 08/05/08 – 31/08/08 322.00 444
P Tweddell – clearing Tall Trees Play Area 65.00 445
Cllr Rouse proposed that the above payments be made, seconded by Cllr Evans and agreed by all.
(ii) Payments for ratification £ Chq No
Thurnham PC – Parish contribution re: KIG JPG – Waterfront 380.19 429
JB Metal Works # – fit caps to internal gates, Sports Field 50.00 431
MBC – legal services re: Tall Trees Play Area 200.00 432
Leeds & Kingswood Scouts – donation re: use of Scout Hut 20.00 433
Colin Sims – fencing Tall Trees^ (see Min 46(ii)) 260.48 434
Cllr P Coleman – donation to coach driver, Pensioners’ outing 20.00 435
KALC – Training Day – Cllrs Fitzpatrick & Rouse 141.00 436
K & B News, June edition – printing costs 75.00 437
Spot Hire – balance coach hire, Pensioners’ Outing 25/6 390.00 438
Cllr Coleman proposed the above payments be ratified, seconded by Cllr Hobson and agreed by all.
(iii) Other
Clerk / Assistant Clerk – review expenses & details of breakdown of payments – RFO as per report (see above) - it was agreed to consider this item at the next F & GP meeting 13/08/08
Request for donation, Victim Support – Cllr Coleman proposed £50.00, seconded by Cllr Evans and agreed. Cllr Rouse requested that a review of PC donations be made ACTION - RFO
Installation of telephone line – Clerk reported that from Friday 1st August, the Parish Council dedicated telephone number will be: 01622 842183 and will include the
Broadband account. Clerk will advertise
details in September edition of the Village Magazine, on the Website and on the
notice boards. An answerphone will be
used during non-
79. Resignation Cllr Gosden – Co-option of New Member – Clerk reported that she had advertised the vacancy for Councillor for 3 weeks on the village notice boards and Website and one resident had put themselves forward for co-option. It was resolved that a closing date for applications be included on the advertisement and that this item would be first on the agenda at the next meeting ACTION - Clerk
Cllr Coleman requested that the Parish Council thank Jamie Gosden for his time with the Council, Cllr Hendy advised she has already done so.
Cllr Hendy closed the meeting 8.17pm meeting reopened 8.20pm
80. Quality Parish Status / Cilca – Clerk had prepared and circulated report to all members in advance of meeting. Cllr Hendy had recently met with other Chairpersons who advised that they considered that very little had been achieved by coming Quality Parishes. B&K Parish Council could not become a QPC at this time as two thirds of members are not elected and neither Clerk is CiLCA qualified. Following discussion it was unanimously agreed not to pursue QPS at this time but to review this decision in a year’s time.
81.
(i) Progress update – Clerk reported that on 11th July the Secretary of State renewed the Article 14 Direction to MBC relating to the Highways Agency traffic assessment. This now runs to 12th December 2008 and thus gives the JPG additional time to prepare its opposition case – no further meetings planned at this stage.
(ii) Funding & JPG membership – Cllr Evans advised that it had been agreed for the PC to monitor the campaign costs. RFO stated that to date the PC were well within the £1500.00 budget for this financial year. It was agreed to continue in participating with the JPG campaign but an over view of costs would be maintained.
82. Recreation & Sports Field
(i) Funding for additional seating / devolved budget - Cllr Coleman had submitted an application for funding of additional seating to Cllr Parvin’s devolved budget. Cllr Parvin advised that the funding has been agreed.
Cllr Coleman proposed that Phil Tweddell be asked to treat the new benches with anti-graffiti paint and to install them on concrete bases, as with previous ones, seconded by Cllr Bowker and agreed by all.
(ii) Repairs to car park area – The A/Clerk had written to Clearey & Downey offering the Contract to them and asking for an expected start date, but has had no reply to date, will follow up
(iii) The Star Football Club enquiry – The draft Contract has been reviewed by Councilors and relevant amendments were agreed by all. The A/Clerk will liase with Phil Tweddell about the access to the portacabin and toilet facilities ACTION-A/Clerk
(iv) Sports Field Footpath – Clerk reported that at side of garage block in Wildwood Close there is a short footpath that has been blocked off with a locked wooden gate, which appears to lead directly, with safe access, to the Sports Field. Cllr Hendy suggested the Sports Field Committee arrange to meet to discuss the issue of public footpath to the sports Field and report any outcome to the next meeting ACTION – A/Clerk
(v) Funding for additional play equipment – Cllr Rouse reported that she had still received no response to the application she had submitted, but it would now appear that any funding requests would need to be matched 50/50 by the PC. She will research alternate funding opportunities if the current application is unsuccessful ACTION –Cllr Rouse
(vi) Other - Clerk reported that a fire had been lit on the field in the vicinity of the Teenage shelter using wood discarded after the coppicing; also a bag containing cans and bottles had been dumped and spread around nearby. Clerk had contacted Phil Tweddell who agreed to deal. Clerk suggested that details should be put in the K & B News for the next quarter ACTION- Clerk
83. Roads – Having still heard nothing from KHS Liaison Officer, Pam Kaur, in reply to 21st May letter, Clerk had written in depth to Director of KHS, Mr Harrison-Mee, letter dated 18th July, previously circulated to members. Cllr Parvin has undertaken to contact the KCC Cabinet Member in this regard and Hugh Robertson, MP has also written to Mr Harrison-Mee. On Fri 1st August the Clerk received a letter addressed to Mr Hugh Robertson MP at her home address, with ‘KCC’ on envelope – not being addressed to the Clerk, the letter has been forwarded to Mr Robertson unopened
In the July issue of KALC’s ‘Parish News there is a full A4 page article re: KHS and the new Community Officers which states that KHS aim to ‘provide a full response within five working days to e-mails or ten for letters, or an explanation as to why a reply may take longer’ ……
84. Twinning Funding - Cllr Coleman requested this item be put on the Agenda for next month.
(Cllr Parvin left the meeting at 9.0pm)
85. Village Hall Re-cycling Banks – Clerk reported that the broken white bottle bin has now been removed and replaced, and the two bins causing an obstruction had been relocated. The Oxfam clothing bin has also been emptied and the area has been swept by MBC
86. Dog Waste Disposal – Street Warden, Val Clarke, has reported that MBC are no longer providing boxes of dog waste bags, verified by the Clerk. It has been suggested that dog owners may wish to consider buying nappy bags (available Tescos @ 29p x 100 or Poundland @ £1 x 300). Agreed Clerk to advertise details in Village Magazine. Cllr Coleman proposed that the Parish Council supply £1.00 per month of sacks for public use, to be obtained from the Village Store, seconded by Cllr Hendy and agreed by all. It was agreed to review the situation in 3 months. ACTION - Clerk
87. Clerks’ Hours <> Councillors Areas of Responsibility - Cllr Hendy advised Councillors that the Clerks are considerably exceeding their contracted hours which neither Clerks nor Council wants. This is primarily due to their attendance at external meetings. Cllr Hendy requested each member to consider what areas of responsibility they might be prepared to take on, for discussion and agreement at the next meeting ACTION - Clerk
Cllr Coleman stated that there may be some meetings that the skill of the Clerks’ record/minute taking may be required. Cllr Evans stated that members should always circulate reports to other Councillors regarding any meeting attended.
88. Parish Council Office - Cllr Hendy considered that
it would be financially impractical to rent an
89. Correspondence File
(i) Freightliner attendance dates - Sat 23 August 1015 – 1130 and Sun 5th October 1445 - 1545
(ii) Letter -
Cllr Hendy closed the meeting at 9.23pm for public questions re: the above item, meeting re-opened 9.30pm
(iii) Letter - KCC re: Legal Services – offering advice re: property, litigation, planning matters, etc.
(iv) Letter - MBC Enforcement of Planning Conditions – enquiries re: planning enforcement service. ACTION- Clerk
(v) MBC – Integration of Diverse Communities Questionnaire – to be returned by 31st October. To be discussed at the next F & G P Meeting 13/08/08
(vi) Sec of State – Proposed Changes to the
draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East of
90. Items for next Meeting’s Agenda
(i) Clerk apologised for her absence at next meeting 1st September due to holiday
(ii) Notice board replacement*
91. Any Other Business
(i) Clerk reported still having problems with the lock of the main notice board outside the Village Store and that following recent heavy rain, water has got in. Request attention and change of lock to also include a lock on the public side. Cllr Coleman requested that a replacement notice board that is more weather proof is considered. It was agreed to research the costs* ACTION –Cllr Coleman
(ii) The A/Clerk advised that the leases on Tall Trees were now completed and that payment of the leases to 31st March 2009 had been received
(iii) Cllr Rouse advised that as part of her recent Councillor training KALC had recommended that this item should be named Any Other Information
92. Parish Council Meetings / August Meeting
The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Monday 1st September at the
There was no other business Cllr Hendy Closed the meeting at 9.40pm.
Signed Chairman
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