MINUTES OF KINGTON
HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM OF THE VILLAGE HALL ON
MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2007
PRESENT: Cllr. Peter Hart (Chairman), Cllr.
Mrs. Lynn Atwell, Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird, Cllr. John Foster, Cllr. Mrs. Val
Giles, Cllr. Dennis Gill, Cllr. Rev. John Schofield, Cllr. D Styles, District Cllr. Ms. Sherry Meadows (part) Mrs.
Sue Hart (Clerk) plus 8 members of the public.
APOLOGIES for absence were received by Cllr.
G Trickey (abroad on business) and County Councillor Mrs. Jane Scott.
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127.07 |
RESIDENTS FORUM
Mrs. B Davies spoke about her 3 applications for
developments at Bowldown Farm. The poly-tunnel, intended for tomato growing,
would be the same size as the existing one and not visible from the road. The
agricultural building replaces the dilapidated one and also has the potential
for being used to bring birds indoors should there be any problems with bird ‘flu.
The dwelling conforms to planners’ preference for a house rather than a
bungalow and of a size determined by NWDC. It is within sight and sound of
vulnerable livestock and conforms to the requirement for a permanent dwelling
to be built after 3 years of profitable business. Mrs. Celia Trickey asked how many responses had
been received from the village survey on Commons Erosion. There had been 97
responses. The subject was to be discussed later in the meeting. |
ACTION
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128.07 |
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None. |
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129.07 |
MINUTES
Minutes of the meeting held on 8 October 2007 were
circulated to all Councillors. Cllr. Mrs. Val
Giles said that the wording in Minute 118.07
was confusing as it implied that parishioners were planting village bulbs in
their own gardens. It was agreed that this should be changed from “…planted
them in their own grounds” to “planting them in front of their own property”. The Clerk asked for a change to Minute 121.07 (b) - 07/02193/FUL
Lipgate Cottage, Days Lane - Erection of granny annexe. This should read
“Withdrawn” rather than “Consent Granted”. Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles also asked for a correction
to Minute 124.07 (a). Cllr. Don “Giles”
should read Cllr. Don “Styles”. On a proposal from Cllr. Dennis Gill, seconded by
Cllr. Mrs. Lynn Atwell, IT WAS RESOLVED that the Chairman, Cllr. Peter
Hart, sign the Minutes and amendments as a correct record. |
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130.07 |
MATTERS ARISING
Minute 114.07 – The Chairman has now written a letter to the
Chairman of the Kington Langley Decorative and Fine Arts Society about
members’ parking arrangements and has also discussed it with the Beat
Officer. Minute 126.07 (b) - Footpath issue in Wayside Close. The area
referred to is the pavement between Wayside Close and Doveys Terrace. This has
been reported as CLARENCE Incident # 274177. The path has now been cleared. |
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131.07 |
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Cllr. Peter Hart said that he had represented the
Parish Council and laid a wreath at the Village Remembrance Sunday Service at
St. Peter’s Church. The Commons Erosion Project had generated a lot
of general comment and correspondence and Cllr. Hart asked the Clerk to put a
file together for circulation to Councillors containing all the relevant
papers. Cllr. Hart also said that in accordance with his
statement at the Annual Parish Meeting last March he still intended to stand
down as Chairman within the next 2 months. He asked Councillors to consider
who wished to replace him and if there was anything they wanted to clarify
about the role he would be pleased to discuss it. |
Clerk All Councillors |
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132.07 |
CLERK’S REPORT The Clerk said that in view of the fact that both
the Lower Common wall issue and the Barncroft horsebox issues remained
unresolved, she had sent follow-up letters to the relevant authorities. She had also written to Wiltshire County Council
following residents’ requests to downgrade Byway 34 to establish how this
could be carried out. The
removal of two large trees and the creation of a new road access at 16 Doveys
Terrace was investigated as planning applications had not been received. However,
the property is not in a conservation area so the trees are not protected. Wiltshire
County Council Highways Department appear unconcerned that the access affects
a road junction. |
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133.07 |
PROPOSED FLOWER BED BY PLOUGH HILL VILLAGE SIGN Resident Mr. Andy Allum has approached the Parish
Council asking if he could create a small flower bed around the Village Sign
at Plough Hill. Mr. Allum said that he would just make a bed the same width
as the sign and plant flowers / small shrubs. Two councillors believed the
village should be consulted first, however, seven councillors thought Mr.
Allum should go ahead. Following a proposal by Cllr. Mrs. Lynn Atwell,
seconded by Cllr. Rev. John Schofield, IT
WAS RESOLVED that Mr. Allum could proceed. |
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134.07 |
PLANNING
(a)
Planning Issues: None. (b)
Planning Applications decided by North
Wiltshire District Council:
Planning Application Recommendations decided
under powers delegated to the Parish Clerk:
(c) Planning
Applications for consideration: Reissued Planning Applications: None. New Applications:
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Clerk Clerk Clerk Clerk Clerk |
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135.07 |
COMMONS EROSION PROJECT Promises
are now up to £5,350 out of the £6,000 (89% of target). Two additional
villagers have said they will make Promises once a decision has been made on
whether to use stones or alternatives. Survey results were distributed to councillors along
with transcripts of villagers’ comments. There were 97 respondents. 41 wanted
no stones. 29 favoured natural timber bollards, 19 favoured keeping the
existing road-side markers, 12 favoured an earth bank or bund, 9 favoured
planting trees / shrubs, 7 favoured 12 large stones, 6 favoured larger
numbers of small stones, 2 favoured a ditch and 2 favoured a hedge. Following discussion on the results, including
reading an e-mail from Cllr. Graham Trickey, who was unable to attend the
meeting, councillors agreed that kerbing would be installed. Following a
proposal by Cllr. Peter Hart, seconded by Cllr. John Foster, IT WAS RESOLVED that natural timber
bollards should be installed and no large stones. Cllr. Peter Hart suggested that how many timber
bollards should be erected and where they should be sited should be an agenda
item at the next Parish Council meeting. Cllr. Don Styles thanked the Clerk for the work
she had done on consolidating all the results. |
Clerk |
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136.07 |
VILLAGE POND UPDATE Cllr.
Mrs. Lynn Atwell informed the Parish Council that her investigations with
nature specialists had revealed that the village pond contained large amounts
of Crassula helmsii, an invasive
pondweed also known as Australian Swamp Stonecrop, which required very
stringent measures to eradicate. This also meant that mechanised equipment
cannot be used to renovate the pond as it only makes it worse. Cllr.
Atwell was investigating whether it would be possible to get a grant to help
treat it. The plant has no dormant period therefore work should start on this
as soon as possible. She would also put an article in the Village Magazine
asking villagers not to take it away as this would only spread the problem. |
Cllr. Mrs. Lynn Atwell |
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137.07 |
SUGGESTED DATES FOR 2008 PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS Dates
were circulated to councillors in advance of the meeting to enable them to
check their diaries in advance of the meeting. Cllr. Graham Trickey has problems
with four dates due to his absence out of the country on business however it
was decided to keep the dates as consistent as possible. The following dates
were agreed: Parish Council Meetings in Village Hall Committee Room
(Start 7:45 pm): Monday
14 January 2008 Monday
11 February 2008 Monday
10 March 2008 Monday
14 April 2008 Tuesday
6 May 2008 (Parish Council Annual Meeting) Monday
9 June 2008 Monday
14 July 2008 Monday
11 August 2008 Monday
1 September 2008 Monday
13 October 2008 Monday
10 November 2008 Monday
8 December 2008 The
Clerk was asked to confirm these dates with the Village Hall Booking Clerk. Annual Parish Meeting (Start 8:00 pm): Tuesday
25 March 2008 Councillors
unanimously agreed that the Annual Parish Meeting should again be held at the
Union Chapel. |
Clerk |
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138.07 |
FINANCE
(a)
Cheques
issued and transfers made since 8 October 2007 meeting:
Payments Received:
Transfers Made: None. Direct Debits Paid: None. Invoices for the above cheques had been inspected
and approved by the signatories. On a proposal from Cllr. Don Styles, seconded
by Cllr. Mrs. Lynn Atwell, IT WAS RESOLVED that cheques numbered 1003-1008 be approved by the
meeting. (b)
Bank accounts: The last reconciliation had been successfully carried out on the 7th November 2007. Bank Accounts and Petty Cash as at 31st October 2007:
(c)
Grants / Other
Financial Actions: None. |
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139.07 |
CORRESPONDENCE
(a) Received / Sent: Received: · Letter from · Letter from Mr. John Gill saying the new Middle Common road signs
cause confusion between Middle Common and Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles said that this was also a confusion at the
entrance to the first part of Fairleigh Rise (Nos. 1 – 6) and asked if this
could be annotated more clearly. · Letter from Mr. P Jones of Draycot Cerne dated 15 October supporting
Phil Greenhill’s request for the downgrading of Byway 34 (a letter had also
just been received by Mr. Greenhill) The Clerk was asked to circulate both letters regarding Byway 34 to
Councillors. Sent: · Letter to WCC Senior Rights of Way Officer re. down-grading Byway 34. · Letter to Highways following up issue of Horsebox at Barncroft, The
Barton. · Letter to Planning Enforcement following up issue of walls and also stones
across highway verge at Holly Bank House, Lower Common. (b) Circulated to Parish Council: ·
Community First,
Annual Report year ending March 2007 ·
Open Space, Autumn
2007, Vol. 28 No 10 ·
WCC, Hills Waste –
Annual Service Review 2006/7 ·
NWDC Local
Development Framework: Sustainable Devt. Suppl. Planning Doc / NW Open
Space Suppl. Planning Doc ·
WALC Newsletter,
October 2007 ·
WCC Parish
Newsletter, November (e-mail) ·
Clerk & Councils
Direct, November 2007, Issue 54 ·
NALC Local Councils
Review, Vol.59, No. 4, November 2007 ·
WCC, Wiltshire
Magazine, Autumn 2007 ·
Wiltshire
Association of Local Councils, November 2007 ·
CPRE, Countryside
Voice, Autumn 2007 |
Clerk Clerk |
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140.07 |
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(a)
Cllr. Dennis Gill
said that there had been an article in the Gazette & Herald about the
owner of Lime Tree Farm complaining about the difficulties she had getting
permission for changes to the property because the house is a Grade II Listed
Building. Councillors had heard of several concerns about unreasonable
restrictions by conservation officers in recent times. (b)
Cllr. John Foster reported
that Mr. Mathewson of Yew Tree Cottage was upset at being sent a letter
reminding him of his commitments to rectify outstanding issues following
redevelopment of his property. Copies of the letter sent by the Chairman were
given to councillors. Cllr. Foster suggested that the Council should approve
the wording of all letters sent on behalf of the Parish Council before being
sent. Cllr. Hart said that this would
result in at least one month’s delay before any letter could be sent. (c)
Cllr. Don Styles had
passed a note and letter to the Parish Clerk from Wiltshire County Council
Passenger Transport about re-routing the Number 91 bus to use (d)
Cllr. Mrs. Betty
Bird said that tenders for the Almshouses extensions have now been received. (e)
Cllr. Mrs. Betty
Bird said that 6 cars had been scratched by vandals in the Village Hall car
park and problems had arisen getting through to the police. This raised the
question of whether security cameras should be installed in the car park. (f)
Cllr. Mrs. Betty
Bird said that the hedgerows along Plough Hill below (g)
Cllr. John Foster
asked what should happen to “the rock” that had been installed on Middle
Common. Cllr. Hart asked councillors to think about it and that it should be
an agenda item at next month’s Parish Council Meeting. The meeting closed at 21:24. The next Parish Council
Meeting is at 7:45 pm on Monday 10 December 2007. |
Clerk Clerk All Councillors / Clerk |