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MINUTES
OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH OF KINGTON LANGLEY HELD AT 7:30 PM ON
TUESDAY 27th MARCH 2007 IN
KINGTON |
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PRESENT: Cllr
Peter Hart (Chairman), Cllr. Mrs. L Atwell, Cllr. Mrs B. Bird, Cllr. D Gill,
Cllr. Mrs V Giles, Cllr. Rev. John Schofield and Cllr. G Trickey. Parish
Clerk: Mrs. S Hart. |
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01.07 |
APOLOGIES
FOR ABSENCE were received
from Cllr. E Sudbury, Mr. K & Mrs. S Burton, Mr. R Weston, Mr. D Sealy
and Mr. D Hume. |
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02.07 |
MINUTES OF THE LAST ANNUAL
PARISH MEETING The minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish
held on Tuesday 21st March 2006 were read by the Clerk and on a
proposal from Mr. M Hinder seconded by Mr. S Duffill, IT WAS RESOLVED that the Chairman
sign them as a correct record. |
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03.07 |
MATTERS ARISING
In view of the length of
time it takes to read the previous year’s Minutes and Reports, Mr. Peter
Giles suggested that it might be more effective to put them onto the Internet
so that only a summary needs to be read at the start of each Annual Parish
Meeting. Villagers were in support
of this arrangement and this is therefore the format that will be followed
for these Minutes. Full reports can therefore be found on the Parish Council
website on www.kingtonlangley.org and
summarised in these minutes. Full reports are also kept on file. Agenda items
not the subject of previously submitted reports are minuted normally. |
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04.07 |
CORRESPONDENCE
No Correspondence has been received. |
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05.07 |
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT The Chairman, Cllr. Peter
Hart, said that following resignations, two new councillors, Mrs. Lynn Atwell
and Mr. The two major successes
last year had been the Commons Erosion Project and Speed Limit Changes at
both ends of the village. The current state of the village was not good and a
lot of building work meant that there had been more damage than usual to the
verges. Unfortunately, too, there was a lack of volunteers to carry out the
small maintenance jobs needed to tidy up village assets like the village
benches. Cllr. Hart said that he
only intended to remain Chairman for 6 months following the Parish Election
and encouraged villagers to put their names forward as councillors. He
thanked all his colleagues on the Parish Council and gave a special thank you
and goodbye to District Councillor Peter Green who would be retiring at the
next Election. |
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06.07 |
YOUR
County Councillor Mrs.
Jane Scott reported that shortly after determining the County’s 2006/2007
budget, changes to health care funding and increased calls on social services
meant that the County Council had to contend with a projected budget deficit
of some £11 million. This resulted in all departments having to make savings
which they succeeded in doing by the end of the year, but also resulted in
care services being limited to those in critical need. In the Autumn an
application was made to government for just one new council in the county to
replace the 5 existing ones. Not all District Councils were in agreement;
however, a business case has been submitted for a Unitary authority in
Wiltshire. Two positive reports were
that the new History Centre in Chippenham had been completed on time and
under budget and The Audit Commission has awarded the County Council the
highest rating of 4 Stars, a first for any council in Wiltshire. However,
Wiltshire remains the lowest government funded County Council in the country
and council tax will need to rise by a further 4.8%. |
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07.07 |
YOUR DISTRICT COUNCILLOR
District Councillor Peter Green said that he
would not be seeking re-election in May. He had been District Councillor
continuously since 1983 and also He felt that he was leaving at an unfortunate
time for the present administration and residents of North Wiltshire. The
District Council was short of money and would have to cut expenditure. He
believed that the situation had been predictable and has now resulted in cuts
and increased charges. Cllr. Green thanked everyone for all the support he had
received over the many years. |
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08.07 |
WILTSHIRE POLICE REPORT
PC Heather Barham sent her apologies for not
being able to attend the meeting in person. As well as being Community Beat
officer for Kington Langley she had now taken up the position of Neighbourhood
Beat Manager for Chippenham Rural North. Neighbourhood policing teams now have a dedicated
team of officer and staff working with local communities to identify and
address issues of local concern, also increasing the quality and visibility
of local policing. As successful neighbourhood policing is reliant on
communication between police and the community, she encouraged villagers to
bring any issues they had to her attention, anonymously if preferred. She was aware of drug-related issues in the
village and would keep the Parish Council Chairman updated of any
developments. She was also aware of recent youth egg throwing which was a
criminal offence and would be dealt with accordingly. She looked forward to
working with everyone to make Kington Langley a crime-free zone. |
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09.07 |
PRECEPT AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNT
The Chairman reported that Bank Accounts as at 26
March 2007 were as follows:
The Precept for
2006/2007 was set at £18,700. The Precept for
2007/2008 has been set at £19,000. This was a small
increase of £300 to cover the potential cost of £1,000 for the 2007 Parish
Election and the Parish contribution to the second phase of the Commons
Erosion Project. |
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10.07 |
LYTES ALMSHOUSES,
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11.07 |
Mrs. Lynn Evans started by
explaining new developments in the school including NETWORK focus, to develop
children’s writing. They were also developing the use of ICT through
SMARTboards and a laptop trolley with wireless technology. The children’s
Nature Crew were working on improving the ‘copse’ area outside the school,
and Mrs. Evans emphasised the school’s involvement with many village groups
including the Parish Council, governors, the Church and Greathouse friends. Fund-raising during the
year had been phenomenal. The Christingle Service had raised £190 to support
the Children’s Society and they had also raised money for Marie Curie and
Goat for families in A Healthy Food task group
had been set up as part of the revalidation process for the Healthy Schools award
and children had been giving feedback on school dinners and promoting healthy
lunch boxes. Finally, Mrs. Evans thanked everyone who had contributed to
these successes. |
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12.07 |
RIGHTS OF WAY REPORT
Cllr. Dennis Gill reported that the past
year had been a quiet one. There were issues about an obstruction blocking
Path No. 5 and complaints about dog dirt adjacent to Path 34 at the
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13.07 |
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
REPORT Apart from the egg
throwing saga, Cllr. Dennis Gill said that it had been a quiet year as far as
burglary, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour were concerned. He had
outlined the principles of Neighbourhood Watch in the Village Magazine but
had regrettably received no calls from potential volunteers. Cllr. Gill reminded
villagers of the free-of-charge service offered by the Wiltshire Fire Brigade
of a free smoke alarm service and free home fire safety check. |
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14.07 |
PLAYING FIELDS ASSOCIATION Playing Fields Association
Chairman, Mr. Brian Boyce, said that following Simon Harris’s resignation,
Keith Burton had taken his place as Tennis Representative. The Playing Fields were
regularly used by sporting groups and the village school. Additional revenue
was raised by the fields being hired for private events by non-village
organisations. He hoped that greater use would be made of the facilities by
villagers, and Alistair Mathewson was hoping to organise village cricket
matches during the summer. A proposal by two
young villagers for a BMX Cycle Track had regrettably not gone ahead due to
the cost of building the track to satisfy the insurers and meet National
Playing Fields Association rules. However, Mr. Boyce commended the way in
which the application had been made. Following expenditure
on new drainage pipes during the summer, Mr. Boyce was happy to report that
in spite of heavy rainfall during the past football season, not one match has
had to be cancelled. The Pavilion was now showing signs of age and use and
the time was approaching for substantial costs to be necessary. A
consultation exercise would need to be done to decide on the option of large
scale refurbishment versus building a new pavilion / changing room. |
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15.07 |
VILLAGE HALL REPORT
Cllr. Mr. Dennis Gill said
that a high usage rate of the hall had been maintained thanks to regular
hirers, and Rural Arts Wiltshire had put on two events. A new kitchen had been
installed at a cost of £7,000 and a nappy-changing facility provided in the
disabled toilet. However, after some years of stability, hire charges would
need to be increased from 1st April. Cllr. Gill thanked the Committee
for the large amount of work they undertook to enable the hall to operate in
a smooth and profitable manner. He also gave a special thanks to Chas who
keeps the hall clean and tidy. |
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16.07 |
COMMONS EROSION PROJECT
Cllr. Hart said that
last year’s project of kerbing and turf reinforcement outside the school had
been a success and thanked the school and parents for their cooperation in
letting everything knit in. However, the opposite side of the road was
suffering and although he had put up marker posts, they had been pulled out
by drivers. He invited comments from the floor on what villagers thought
should be done next. Following
discussion, villagers supported the need to kerb the opposite edge of the Middle
Common. However, opinions varied about how to prevent drivers from mounting
the grass. Suggestions included large slabs of stone, traditional metal
bollards, pieces of granite or banking. The majority of those present voted
by a show of hands for kerbing and “big scary stones”. Cllr. Hart suggested
that the project could be funded by villagers volunteering a ‘promise’ of
money for the project which could result in matched funding by Wiltshire
County Council. |
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17.07 |
2007 VILLAGE PARTY
Mrs. Debbie Elkins, as a representative of the
Village Party Committee, thanked all those who had returned the questionnaire
asking for feedback on what villagers wanted from a village event. She said
that the conclusion will be a party on Middle Common on Saturday 9th
June, starting at 6 pm and finishing earlier than last year at 11 pm. There
would not be a beacon, but there would be a barbeque and band. There would be seven marshalls, who would wear
identifiable badges and situate themselves at the road closure points. They
would stay on site until 12 pm. Two security guards had also been hired and
the community police would be contacted. |
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18.07 |
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(a)
The owners of
the Old Picnic Site on the (b)
Mrs. Judy
Ellett asked whether there were any plans to replace the notice boards in (c)
With reference
to the Chairman’s comments about damage to village verges, Mr. Colin Coles
asked whether it should be extended to include people who cross over the
commons, for example, the corner of Newlands Green where horse-boxes cross
over the edges, and the messes from farmers further along (d)
Mrs. Pippa
Cooper expressed concern about the fact that drivers still continued to speed
through the village. (e)
Mr. Simon
Cooper proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, Cllr. Hart, which was
seconded by Mr. Maurice Dixson. The meeting closed at
21:56 pm. (Full copies of all reports are held on file.) |
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