Little Milton Parish Council
Minutes of Council Meeting held on Wednesday 9th August 2005
in Little Milton School Library
Present:
Mr Stuart McGill (Chairman)
Mr Simon Oddie
Mr
Barry Coward
Mrs Mabel Wood
Mrs Alison Shelton
Mrs Isabel Fox
Mr
Raymond Fergusson (Parish Clerk)
Mr
John Nowell-Smith (District Councillor)
2
members of the public
01/08/05
Apologies for Absence: Mr David Turner, County Councillor
02/08/05
Declaration of any personal or
prejudicial interests of members
Mr Stuart
McGill declared a prejudicial interest in the Village Hall agenda item.
03/08/05
Approval of Minutes
The
Parish Council approved the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on13th
July 2005 as a true record of the meeting and the Chairman signed them.
04/08/05
Matters Arising
Footpath in front of SOHA
The
Clerk reported that he had not received any feedback from Mr Peter Ronald of OCC.
A further report will be give at the next meeting. (Action
Clerk)
Damaged Manhole Cover
The
Clerk informed the meeting that Thames Water had identified the damaged manhole
cover and had taken steps to have it repaired.
(Action Clerk)
Steps
leading down from Old Field
The Clerk
stated that SOHA had discounted an additional handrail as it would leave an area
between the rails of less than 900mm and this was considered to be inadequate.
The depth of the steps is within the building regulations and therefore no
further action was proposed.
Triangle
of land adjacent to Wells Farmhouse
The Clerk
reported that he had applied to have the land registered as Common Land. However
it was necessary to obtain statements from local residents supporting our
application. Mrs Isabel Fox volunteered to co-ordinate this activity. The Clerk
will supply a list of possible residents to be contacted. (Action Clerk)
BT
Telephone Box
The Clerk
informed the meeting that he had made preliminary enquiries with English
Heritage in respect of listing the existing BT telephone box adjacent to the
Post Office. The Council agreed that we should make a formal application to have
the telephone box listed. (Action Clerk)
Collection
of ECO Bags
The Clerk
informed the meeting that he had received a response from SODC in respect of the
concept of central collection points for ECO sacks. SODC stated that the
suggestion would be considered as part of the review of the trial on ECO sacks.
05/08/05
A329 Advisory Group
Mrs
Aliston Shelton reported that the A329 Advisory Group had not met since the last
Parish Council meeting.
The
Clerk informed the meeting that the overhanging shrubbery on the Haseley Road
towards Rofford had been cut back after he had reported it to OCC Highways.
06/08/05
Recreation Ground
There was
nothing reported under this item
07/08/05
Finance
The Council
approved the following expenditure:
Colourplus August
Newsletter
£227.01
SODC – Emptying
of dog hygiene
£38.03
Southern Electric
£39.36
Three Villages
Car Sharing
£52.50
BDO Stoy Hayward
LLP
£411.25
SODC 100 Green
Refuse bags (retrospective)
£65.00
SODC 100 ECO
sacks (retrospective)
£65.00
The
Clerk reported that he had placed an order for kitchen equipment for the Village
Hall to the value of £2222.00 with Domesco Ltd. The Council approved
retrospectively the order.
08/08/05
Planning
P05/W0736
– Wells Farm Cottage:
The
Council discussed the proposed alteration to the vehicle access and the erection
of a double garage. Although there were concerns about the proposals the Council
agreed by a majority to recommend approval of the application.
P05/W0786 – Manor
Rise: Church Hill
The Council agreed to recommend approval of the single storey front extension.
P05/W0627 –
Chartwell; extension of existing dormer
The Clerk informed the
meeting that SODC had refused planning permission for this application. Mrs
Isabel Fox requested that the Council express their concerns to SODC about the
misunderstanding that appears to exist between SODC Planning and residents. (Action
Clerk)
09/08/05
Correspondence
OCC Scrutiny programme
OCC have made a request for input into possible
topics that should be considered by the OCC Scrutiny Committee. The Clerk was
asked to make a suitable response. (Action
Clerk)
SODC – Review of sporting facilities
The Leisure and Economic Development Team at SODC are currently undertaking a review to identify the need of providing sports and physical activities in rural areas. Mr Stuart McGill agreed to complete the return on behalf of the Council. (Action Mr Stuart McGill)
OALC Training programmes
It was agreed that the Clerk should attend the Common Land and Village Greens training programme on September 27th 2005.
10/08/05 Village
Hall
Mr
Simon Oddie chaired this agenda item as Mr Stuart McGill had declared a
prejudicial interest.
The
Council considered the request by the Little Milton Village Hall committee to
underwrite the forthcoming launch concert on September 4th. Mrs Isabel Fox
expressed her concern that agreeing to the proposal would set a precedent for
the future. The Council agreed that the Little Milton Village Hall committee
could apply for a grant up to £300.
Mr
Richard Alliston presented the latest cash flow projections for the New Village
Hall that showed a funding requirement from the Parish Council of £30,167. In
addition he informed the Council of a further £5,000 requirement to fund
curtains, blinds and a hearing loop system for the new hall. The Council
considered the information and agreed that it should apply for a loan of £35,000
from the Public Loans Board. This finance would be used to by the Council to
fund any direct purchases for the hall or as a grant to the Village Hall
Committee. The Clerk highlighted the opportunity to reduce the term of the loan
from an anticipated twenty five years to fifteen years. The Council agreed to
reduce the term of the loan. The Council also agreed that it would review its
reserves to ensure that they were at an appropriate level at the end of the
current financial year. This could give the Council an opportunity to reduce the
level of capital borrowed.
Mr
Richard Alliston also informed the meeting that the name chosen for the new hall
was The Pine Lodge.
11/08/05
Any Other Business
Mr Stuart
McGill continued to chair the meeting.
Mr
Barrie Coward requested that the Council expresses its gratitude to the School
for allowing the Council to use the School Library for its Council meetings.
The
Clerk stated that he would include the following items on the September agenda
·
Powers
for payment of Parish Councils
·
Future
maintenance of the Car Park – who should pay?
The
Clerk informed that he would write to OCC re the footpath from Hillview Cottage
to the Wheatley Road as it was inaccessible due to weeds and crops. (Action Clerk)
12/08/05
Date of Next Meeting
The
Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 8th
September 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in The
Pine Lodge Little Milton unless
there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings.
The
meeting finished at 9.50 p.m.
Parish Forum
No items were raised.