Minutes of the Council Meeting of 14th February 2011 - Hampshire ...

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCILMinutes of the Council Meeting held in the Village Hall on Monday 14 th February 2011 at 7.30pmPresent:Apologies:Mr Roger Brooke (Chairman)Mr Robert BryantMr John MitchellMrs Monica NightingaleDistrict Councillor Neil BaxterMrs Rhona Hatchley (Clerk)Mrs Sheila WyeCounty Councillor Jackie PorterCouncillor Neil Baxter was welcomed to the meeting1. Community Safety Update:The recent Countrywatch and Neighbourhood Watch reports for the local area were reviewed and althoughthere were a few instances of burglary, thankfully there had been no major crimes reported.2. Reports from County and District Councillors:Cllr Porter had sent her apologies and circulated her Monthly Report to the council. The main points werenoted.Cllr Baxter circulated his Winchester City Council Jottings from January 15 th 2011 on Localism. He said thecouncil was reacting very positively towards Localism. The Parish Councils are to be encouraged to thinkcarefully about what they want to achieve and he believes that, within reason, we will have real powers topersuade, particularly in issues of planning.Cllr Baxter also discussed the Totford Sawmill Appeal which was turned down in December. The ParishCouncil felt that the ruling had been somewhat unjust and that if we and John Tabberer were able to presentan idea for a small amount of low cost housing and/or business units, a new planning application might bemore successful. Cllr Baxter suggested setting up a Housing Association, although the infrastructure of thevillage with its lack of bus route might not support it. It was felt that the general thrust of the planningapplication should be to give young people in the village new homes or to give older residents theopportunity to downsize. Employment opportunities would also be key. The Chairman gave the example ofHobbs, a private rehabilitation centre looking for new premises in the area, as the type of business whichcould be considered. He agreed to maintain contact with the owners of this centre and discuss the suitabilityof the site. It was agreed that the Chairman should write to the planning office to express our disapproval ofthe way in which John Tabberer’s planning appeal had been dealt with.The Chairman introduced the government’s Blueprint plan which invites us to “be the community architect”and to aim to provide our village with what we really feel we need. He proposed a three tier discussionprocess as follows: a meeting with Mark Baring, Ian Cammack and John Tabberer who are all interested indeveloping land or buildings (John Mitchell and Monica Nightingale also agreed to come to these meetings);an open village discussion preferably at the Annual Meeting on 5 th May; and a meeting with Steve Brine MPto discuss our ideas.Councillor Baxter explained that he would only be coming to one more meeting before he retired and he wasthanked by the Chairman before leaving the meeting.

3. Minutes of the previous meeting:Minutes of the previous meeting, held on 6 th December were accepted and signed by the Chairman.4. Matters arising:Rural broadband service - unfortunately Whitchurch had received the pilot scheme but it was agreed thatwe should carry on asking for our service to be upgraded in keeping with government promises.Millenium seat - Sheila Wye had been dealing with the planned refurbishment of the seat . It was agreedthat the Clerk should contact her and follow up.Grit bins - Monica Nightingale had ordered three new grit bins for the village of which only one hadappeared in Totford, not on Northington Hill. She agreed to phone the council and follow this up.Nat West Bank - the official forms were signed to enable the new clerk Rhona Hatchley, to become asignatory on the Parish Council bank account. Rhona Hatchley also agreed to organise the same for theNationwide Building Society Account5. Government Localism Bill and Blueprint (see point 2 above).6. Management of Abbotstone Down:Robert Bryant reported that work had begun to cut down ash and hazel trees and clear the area of the IronAge Fort. The Chairman reported that since David Ball, our contact on the project was now retiring, it wasimportant for Mr Bryant to make contact with David’s successor and ask him to produce a timetable ofworks for us.7. Formal Appointment of new Clerk to the Council:Rhona Hatchley was duly appointed as the new clerk and welcomed to the council by the Chairman andother council members.A small amendement was made to the terms and conditions of employment for the Clerk and these will besigned by the Chairman and circulated to the rest of the council as soon as possible8. Discussion of Appointment of new Councillor:The Chairman reported that Sheila Wye would be standing down from the council and that Fleur Boyce wasvery interested in taking her place. Councillors agreed that Lady Boyce would be a very good choice.9. Finance:The Clerk thanked Monica Nightingale for meeting her to explain the finances of the Parish Council and thenpresented the council with the financial statement to the end of December. It was agreed that the remainingClerk’s salary of £200.00 for the third quarter of 2010 should be left in the balance of the Nat West bankaccount and that the further expected audit payments should read £20.00 and not £70.00. The Clerk agreedto amend these and circulate a revised Financial Statement with these minutes.10. Planning: Totford Sawmill Appeal (see point 2 above)11. Road Condition:The Clerk reported that she had made contact with Chris Wilson in the Winchester Council Highwaysdepartment who had given her the name of our area team member who is the best contact for reportingpotholes and general road condition: neil.broadbent@hants.gov.uk. Robert Bryant explained that it is also agood idea to report potholes direct onto the website that he has used for many years. It was agreed that heshould continue to monitor the road conditions for the Parish Council.

12. The Water Meadows – maintenance of the Candover Valley Stream:The Clerk reported that she had spoken to Mark Bickford-Smith who owns the stream and he had explainedthat he is working closely with the Environment Agency to ensure that the stream is correctly maintained. Itwas suggested that he should be invited to attend the Annual Meeting in May to update us with any furtherdevelopments.13. Village Hall refurbishment plan:The Chairman reported that the Village Hall Committee is doing well in their efforts to raise the funds for thisexciting and much anticipated project. They now propose to apply for a specific grant and to ask forindividual contributions from the village in order to raise the further £10,000 needed for the new and vastlyimproved heating system. It was confirmed that the Parish Council would continue with their annualcontribution of £1,000 to the Village Hall.14. Church Road:Proposals for the improvement to this road were discussed. John Mitchell explained that previous attemptsto resurface the road had been unsuccessful as the drainage is so poor and the adjacent wall is veryunstable. The road is owned by Lord Ashburton.15. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend:It was agreed that this should be raised at the Annual Meeting and the village asked for ideas for ourcelebration.16. Next Meeting:The date of Annual Meeting is Tuesday 3 rd May and the next meeting of the Parish Council is Thursday 7 thApril 2011.RMH 19 th Feb 2011