The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council was held

Thursday 21st May 2009, Winscombe Community Centre at 7.30 p.m.

 

Present:           Mr. S Bridges, Mrs P Bushnell, Mrs. P Cram, Mr. A Forbes, Mr. R Jones, Mr. G Lloyd, Mrs V McGann, Ms. D Powell, Mrs A Richmond, Miss B Roper, Mr. C Sampson, Mr. J Westlake, Mr M Williamson.

 

Ward Councillors:                                Mr A Lake & Mr T Marter

Clerk:                                                            Mrs. L Rampton

Assistant Clerk:                                 Mrs N Flint

Press Representatives:                     Mr G Jones – freelance reporter

                                                         Mr A Ross, Weston Mercury

Members of the public:                     six

 

1.         TO ELECT A CHAIRMAN (Agenda item 1)

Nominee Mr. A Forbes (1 nomination received for Mr. Forbes)

Mr. A Forbes was unanimously elected Chairman.

The Declaration of Acceptance of Office was duly signed and received by the Clerk.

 

The new Chairman thanked the outgoing Chairman for his dedicated service to the Parish Council as Chairman over the past 10 years in which a lot of changes had been handled with quiet efficiency lending stability to the Council.

Mr Sampson responded by thanking Vice-Chairmen, Councillors & office staff for their support and considered it to have been a privilege to lead such a Council. The best wishes & support of Mr Sampson were extended to the new Parish Council Chairman.

 

2.         TO ELECT TWO VICE-CHAIRMEN (Agenda item 2)

Nominees’ 1 nomination each received for Mr Sampson & Ms Powell

Mr C Sampson and Ms. D Powell were unanimously elected Vice-Chairmen.

The Declarations of Acceptance of Office were duly signed and received by the Clerk.

Ms Powell re-iterated thanks to Mr Sampson for his service to the Parish Council as Chairman and looked forward to working with Mr Forbes.

 

3.         TO APPOINT PARISH COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES Annex 1  (Agenda item 3)

The representatives to Outside Bodies named in Annex 1 were duly elected en-masse.

            Proposed:        Mr A Forbes                 Seconded:       Mr S Bridges                            All in favour

 

4.         PARISH COUNCIL COMMITTEES Annex 2 (Agenda item 4)

a.                     To appoint members to committees

Nominees to all Parish Council Committees were agreed en-masse.

Nominations were received, with the consent of those Councillors for Parish Council Committees and Working Party. The Chairman’s Committee should consist of Committee Chairmen elected by their relevant Committee.

The Parish Council Committee nominees for 2009/10 named in Annex 2 were duly elected en-masse.

            Proposed:        Mr J Westlake              Seconded:       Mr G Lloyd                               All in favour

 

b.         To accept revised committee meeting calendar for 2009.

            Mr Forbes thanked those Committee Chairmen that had reduced the number of their scheduled meetings as this will lead to a considerable saving in office staff hours.

            The revised committee meeting calendar was approved & accepted by the Parish Council

            Proposed:        Miss B Roper                Seconded:       Mrs V McGann                         All in favour

 

5.         APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (Agenda item 5) were received from Mrs A Brading, Mr G Luckett, Ward Councillor Harley, Parish Liaison Officer Mr J Foster, PC Church & PCSO Wright.

 

6.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (Agenda item 8) Mrs McGann declared a personal & prejudicial interest in agenda item 14, Affordable Housing ‘exception’ site search & selection report due to a family member being employed by Summerfield Developments. This same interest was also declared for agenda items 7 & 8 should any matters relating to this interest arise from the previous Council meeting minutes.

 

7.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD 16TH APRIL 2009.

(Agenda item 7)

The minutes to the meeting held 16th April 2009 were approved as a correct record subject to two amendments.

Proposed:        Mr C Sampson             Seconded:       Miss B Roper              

All members present at the last meeting were in favour.

 

8.         MINUTE UPDATE FROM THE PREVIOUS PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES & CLERKS REPORTS– Annex 3 (Agenda item 8)

            Min 208 – Mr Bridges advised that five volunteer helpers for the Youth Club had come forward after local advertising & he would be drafting a letter to be sent to NSC requesting that the Winscombe Youth Club be affiliated to NSC enabling additional assistance to be obtained. As previously suggested, the Youth Club is not considered to be in danger of closing.

 

9.         CRIME REPORT 16/04/09 – 21/05/09 – Mr S Bridges Annex 4 (Agenda item 9) office no 01934 638123

Graffiti around Winscombe and minor damage to houses & gardens in Winscombe has been a problem over recent weeks with our local Beat Team gathering a lot of information about these crimes. Moves are being made to remove offensive graffiti by landowners.

The Sandford Village Hall sign is now thought to have been stolen & Miss Roper will be reporting this matter to the Beat Team. The current Local Police Priorities (LPP) were detailed to all those present at the meeting & members of the public were advised that Agenda item 10 (Public Participation) is their opportunity to be involved in the setting of the LPP targets for the forthcoming month.

 

10.       PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Agenda item 10) – there was none.

 

11.       TO SET COMMUNITY POLICING PRIORITIES FOR THE PERIOD TO 18TH June 2009 (Agenda item 11).

            Local Police Priorities for the period to the next scheduled Parish Council meeting were considered by members present and set as follows:

1.       Anti-social behaviour & criminal damage should be given priority.

2.       Visible police presence around the Parish to deter further crime & allay Parishioners concerns.

3.       Parking & speeding problems should continue to be targeted.

Proposed:        Mr G Lloyd                   Seconded:       Mr M Williamson          All in favour.

 

12.        WARD COUNCILLOR UPDATE & NSC PARISH LIAISON OFFICER UPDATE (Agenda item 12)

Congratulations were offered to Mr Forbes on his election to Parish Council Chairman and previous comments about the superb service of Mr Sampson as previous Parish Council Chairman for the past ten years were re-iterated.

Mr Lake advised that central government funding through NSC Play Strategy is being distributed to help get people involved in ‘play’. A grant of £37,000 may be awarded to the Parish in this financial year and NSC Officer Gail Smith should be contacted for further details. Future awards under this scheme may be granted to the Strawberry Line Walk.

 

13.        TO AUTHORISE BILLS FOR PAYMENT – The Clerk Annex 5 (Agenda item 13)

Cheques 102712– 102753 and direct debits payments detailed were authorised for payment

Proposed:        Mr G Lloyd                   Seconded:       Mrs P Cram                All in favour.

 

14.       AFFORDABLE HOUSING – TO ACCEPT THE DRAFT ‘EXCEPTION’ SITE SEARCH & SELECTION REPORT Mr S Bridges (Agenda item 14)

           

            Due to a previously declared personal & prejudicial interest, Mrs McGann left the meeting.

            The draft document was discussed by the Council and in discussion it was considered that further efforts should be made to contact owners of site 3 to assess availability of land for a future affordable housing scheme.

            With one amendment to the report as detailed in minute 14, the draft report was accepted as a fair representation of sites recommended for possible consideration for Affordable Housing schemes within this Parish.

            Proposed:        Mr C Sampson             Seconded:       Mr M Williamson          All in favour

            Mrs McGann returned to the meeting.

 

15.        TO ADOPT REVISED PARISH COUNCIL STANDING ORDERS & ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS (Agenda item 14)

            The document issued in advance of this meeting was considered by the Parish Council.

            Mrs McGann questioned standing order 7 (a) (v) Election of Parish Council vice-chairmen and proposed that ‘two’ vice-chairmen be specified at this point. No second to the proposal was received and no vote followed.

            The document, as submitted is intended to be a working document that may be amended by the Parish Council as circumstances dictate.

            Revised Parish Council Standing Orders & Associated Documents were adopted by the Parish Council as a working document.

            Proposed:        Mr S Bridges                Seconded:       Miss B Roper                All in favour

            Ms Powell thanked the Clerk for the amount of time involved in producing this revised document.

            Mr Bridges thanked the Employment & Policies Committee for works to produce the revised document.

 

16.        CIVIL SERVICE 14TH JUNE 2009 UPDATE - Mr C Sampson (Agenda item 16)

            As previously agreed the Parish Council will be represented at the civic service and an indication of numbers attending is now requested by Revd Slade. Six Parish Councillors indicated their intention to attend this event and an appropriate response should be sent to the Church Office.

 

17.        TO PARTICIPATE IN ‘CELEBRATING SANDFORD’ DISPLAY IN SANDFORD VILLAGE HALL 18TH & 19TH JULY 2009. (Agenda item 17)

            An invitation has been extended to the Parish Council to participate in this event with a display of information and pictures about the Parish Council and, particularly, the Award Land. Mr Westlake agreed to represent the Parish Council at this event.

            Miss Roper informed the meeting of back-ground information leading to this and other events during 2009. Councillors were reminded that they have previously been issued with a programme and are welcome to attend all events.

 

18.        NHS NORTH SOMERSET GROUP MEETING UPDATE – Miss B Roper (Agenda item 18)

Miss Roper advised that she had been unable to attend the group meeting held today but will provide a full written report to the next Parish Council meeting.

 

19.       TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Annex 6 (Agenda item 19)

The minutes for the Finance Committee from the meeting dated 27th April 2009 were approved and signed as a correct record.

            Proposed:         Mr S Bridges                Seconded:        Mr M Williamson

All Committee members present were in favour

 

(i)                     To Approve the Accounts for the period 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009

            The Accounts for the 2008/09 financial year were approval by the Parish Council

Proposed:          Mr S Bridges                 Seconded:         Mr G Lloyd                     All in favour

(ii)                    To Approve the Statement of Accounts for the period 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009

The Statement of Accounts was approved by the Council & signed by the Chairman

Proposed:          Mr J Westlake               Seconded:         Mr M Williamson            All in favour

(iii)       To Complete & Sign Annual Governance Statement to 31st March 2009

Box 1 - 8 of the Annual Governance Statement was completed by the Parish Council as ‘yes’ and with box 9 completed as N/A. The statement was signed by the Chairman

Proposed:          Mr G Lloyd                     Seconded:        Mr S Bridges                 All in favour

 

The decisions of the Committee were recommended for action by the Parish Council.

Proposed:         Mr M Williamson         Seconded:        Mr J Westlake              All in favour

Mr Williamson had previously requested a breakdown of the outstanding Parish Council loans that has been provided. A request of interest rates paid is now requested.

 

20.       AWARD LAND COMMITTEE REPORT - Mr J Westlake Annex 7 (Agenda item 20)

Due to budget restrictions in the previous financial year, works to the repair the ‘old forge’ had been deferred to the 2009/2010 financial year. The NSC County Archaeologist has made recommendations to return the structure to its original state.

Seats in need of repair will be dealt with by the Community Service Team.

It was proposed that the quotation supplied to the Council from Mr Edwards for £421 to repair the old forge be accepted.

Proposed:        Mrs V McGann             Seconded:       Mrs P Cram                  12 in favour, 1 abstention.

 

21.       CHAIRMAN’S COMMITTEE REPORT – Mr C Sampson Annex 8 (Agenda item 21)

With one deletion the minutes for the Chairman’s Committee from the meeting dated 21st April 2009 were approved and signed as a correct record.

            Proposed:         Mr R Jones                   Seconded:        Mr S Bridges

All Committee members present were in favour

            The meeting was advised that amalgamation of committees will not take place and a reduction in the number of committee meetings will save office hours worked. A discussion ensued where statements made by Councillors at the committee meeting were discussed. Some members considered that Councillors spend too much time in the Parish Office.

 

22.       ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE REPORT – Mr G Lloyd  Annex 9 (Agenda item 22)

The minutes for the Environment Committee from the meeting dated 5th May 2009 were approved and signed as a correct record.

            Proposed:         Mr G Lloyd                   Seconded:        Mrs V McGann

All Committee members present were in favour

Min 11 – Councillors were advised that the biannual gift of plants for the Winscombe pots has been withdrawn with plants now being charged at cost price.

Contributions to the next edition of the ‘Occasional’ information sheet were invited from members.

The blue plaque is to be affixed to Sandford Village Hall in time for the Strawberry Tea to take place on 24th June. It was reported that the kissing gates to be installed by NSC from the Aggregate Levy fund are still not in situ and a request should be made to our Ward Councillors & Parish Liaison Officer for assistance in this regard.

The decisions of the Committee were recommended for action by the Parish Council.

Proposed:         Mr G Lloyd                  Seconded:        Mr C Sampson                         All in favour

 

23.        SPORTS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT - Mr C Sampson Annex 10 (Agenda item 23)

The first meeting of this new committee has taken place to consider the terms of the lease between the Parish Council and tenants.

The minutes for the Sports Development Committee from the meeting dated 7th May 2009 were approved and signed as a correct record.

            Proposed:         Miss B Roper                Seconded:        Mr G Lloyd

All Committee members present were in favour

 

The decisions of the Committee were recommended for action by the Parish Council.

Proposed:         Mr G Lloyd                  Seconded:        Mrs A Richmond                      All in favour

 

24.               WAR MEMORIAL RECREATION GROUND COMMITTEE REPORT – Mr S Bridges

Annex 11 (Agenda item 24)

The decisions of the Committee were recommended for action by the Parish Council.

Proposed:         Mr S Bridges                Seconded:        Mr C Sampson             All  in favour

 

(i)         To approve advertisement sign for Winscombe Cricket Club House in car park facing the Strawberry Line Walk.            The proposed sign to be installed on Parish Council land by the entrance to the Strawberry Line was discussed and accepted by the Council.

Proposed by Mr S Bridges, seconded by Mr C Sampson. 12 in favour, 1 abstention.

 

25.               MATTERS FOR INFORMATION  (Agenda item 25)

St Monica Trust Planning Application for a 72 bed general needs nursing home adjacent to the former Sandford Station Site– Members were advised that due to Parish opinion on the proposed two-storey home, the Trust have taken all comments made into consideration and have today withdrawn the planning application. Provisional plans for a single-storey 25 bed home have been emailed to the Parish Office and these will be displayed at a public consultation event to be hosted by St Monica Trust on 1st June 2009.

 

With no further business, the meeting concluded at 9.00 pm

 

 

            Signed................................................................... (Chairman)

            Date.......................................................................

 

 

Winscombe and Sandford Parish Council acknowledges the general duty placed upon it by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.  The Council will continue within its functions and policies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote racial equality of different racial groups.