MINUTES OF KINGTON
HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM OF THE VILLAGE HALL ON
PRESENT: Cllr. P Hart (Chairman), Cllr.
Mrs. Betty Bird, Cllr. J Foster, Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles, Cllr. Dennis Gill, Cllr. D Styles, Cllr. G Trickey and County Cllr. Mrs. Jane Scott (part), Mrs. Sue
Hart (Clerk) plus 3 members of the public.
APOLOGIES for absence were received by Cllr.
Mrs. Lynn Atwell and Cllr. Rev. J Schofield (both with family commitments).
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141.07 |
RESIDENTS FORUM
Mr. Ramon Weston said that the County Council Highways
Department are using posts made of recycled plastic for road signs and asked
whether the Parish Council could consider using similar posts on Middle
Common as part of the next phase of the Commons Erosion project. He said the
advantages of this material is that it does not rot and is indistinguishable
from wood. |
ACTION
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142.07 |
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None. |
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143.07 |
MINUTES
Minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2007 were
circulated to all Councillors. The Clerk asked for a change to Minute 138. 07 (a) Finance: Cheque 1008 should read 1009
(cheque 1008 was cancelled for VAT reasons). On a proposal from Cllr. Don
Styles, seconded by Cllr. John Foster, IT WAS RESOLVED that the
Chairman, Cllr. Peter Hart, sign the Minutes and amendments as a correct
record. |
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144.07 |
MATTERS ARISING
Minute 140.07 (f) – Plough Hill hedges overhanging road. This has
been reported as CLARENCE Incident # 281073. |
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145.07 |
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Cllr. Hart said that he intended to stand down as
Chairman at the next Parish Council meeting. |
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146.07 |
PLANNING
(a)
Planning Issues: Mrs.
Audrey Vincent has contacted the Clerk to say that the Appeal Hearing for
Outline Planning Permission for a detached bungalow on Land Adjacent to
Lypgate, Days Lane has been set for 19 February 2008. (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:
New Applications:
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Clerk Clerk |
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147.07 |
NWDC LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK – AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOUSING FOR
THE ELDERLY PROPOSED CHANGES North
Wiltshire District Council has issued a Core Strategy Consultation Paper with
3 options for affordable housing delivery. Of the 3 options suggested, the
Parish Council favoured the second option “To continue to apply the current
North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011 requirement of seeking an element of
affordable housing on all developments on the basis that about 50% of the
dwellings permitted will be affordable.” |
Clerk |
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148.07 |
COMMONS EROSION PROJECT Promises
now stand at £5,775 out of the £6,000 target. The
design of timber bollards to be installed was considered and the clerk presented
illustrations of various alternatives. It was suggested that both the
National Trust and the County Council should also be contacted for possible recommendations. Following a proposal by Cllr. Don Styles, seconded by Cllr. John
Foster, IT WAS RESOLVED that reconstituted
bollards should be favoured, with oak timber bollards as an alternative and
that this should be the approach to be taken for the next Area 3 Committee funding
application. The clerk would search for possible suppliers. The clerk was also asked to obtain 3 quotes for
the kerbing including asking the previous contractor to re-quote. The
fate of the sample rock was discussed and it was agreed that the Clerk should
arrange for it to be moved at the Days Lane end of Byway 34. |
Clerk Clerk Clerk Clerk |
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149.07 |
VILLAGE POND Cllr.
Mrs. Atwell, who was unable to attend the meeting, sent a written report. An
article had been placed in the Village Magazine about the invasive weed, stonecrop,
and Cllr. Mrs. Atwell is in the process of getting quotes from specialists to
remove and dispose of this weed. She is also seeking advice from specialists about
the appropriate management of the pond to accommodate great crested newts that
are believed to inhabit the pond. |
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150.07 |
The
Clerk summarised the history of the bus-routing, bus-shelter and lighting
arrangements that had led to the current arrangements. The Council was
reminded that the safety of children walking to the School had been a primary
concern when deciding that buses should not use Following a proposal by Cllr. Peter Hart,
seconded by Cllr. |
Clerk |
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151.07 |
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING AGENDAS – CLARIFICATION OF CONTENT The Clerk reminded councillors that they are
required in law to publicise the business considered at Parish Council
meetings in the Agenda that is posted before the meeting. The Council cannot
make substantial decisions that commit the Council under the heading of Any
Other Business. Any
suspected breaches of planning permissions or regulations should be raised in
the Planning Issues item of the Agenda. Councillors were asked to notify the
Clerk, prior to the agenda being posted, so that supporting papers can be
brought to the meeting and the matter detailed on the agenda. All
items which might result in an action or a decision must be communicated to
the Clerk in order that they can be added to the agenda and should not be saved
until the meeting and raised as Any Other Business. Following a proposal by Cllr. John Foster,
seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS
RESOLVED that the Parish Council’s Standing Orders should be updated to
include the following sentence: “Any
Other Business should only be used to raise items of information, to ask for
requests for further information or to raise matters for consideration at a
future meeting. No decisions can be made under Any Other Business.” |
All Councillors Clerk |
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152.07 |
CONFIRMED DATES FOR 2008 PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS The
following dates have been confirmed for 2008: 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 Annual Parish Meeting (Start 8:00 pm): Tuesday 25
March 2008 |
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153.07 |
FINANCE
(a)
Cheques
issued and transfers made since 12 November 2007 meeting:
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. John Foster, IT WAS RESOLVED that cheques numbered 1010-1014 be approved by the
meeting. (b)
Bank accounts: The last reconciliation had been successfully carried out on the 10th
December 2007. Bank Accounts and Petty Cash as at 30 November 2007:
(c)
Parish Council
6-monthly Internal Audit: The Internal audit has now been completed by
Councillor Mrs. Val Giles. Two minor issues need to be investigated further: 1.
Village wooden benches – The Clerk was asked to establish whether the insurance
valuation of the seats was on the basis of new-for-old or current valuation.
The benches suffer from ageing and deterioration due to weather and wear and
tear and several now may be almost worthless. 2.
The Parish does not have “orders” for some works which have been
ongoing year-on-year (e.g., Commons cuts, bus stop cleaning.) The Clerk was
asked to check how long these contracts have been running and whether new resolutions
need to passed for further contracts at start of the next financial year. (d)
2007-8 Precept – 9
monthly Review: Copies of the current Year-to-Date financial
position had been circulated to all councillors. Cllr. Hart said that the
position was looking encouraging given that £1,000 had been saved on the
election although £250 should be put into an ear-marked election reserve. The
Parish should finish the year under budget and there was some flexibility to
allocate the surplus. It was suggested that the Tennis Club, who identified a
major court resurfacing project last year, should present to the next Parish
Council meeting if they still required support. County Councillor Mrs. Jane Scott said that
she was hoping that when Wiltshire became a Unitary Authority the parishes
should not have to pay for their elections as there was a concern that potential
local candidates were not putting their names forward to avoid parishes
having to meet the substantial election costs. She would advise the Parish
Council in the event of such a decision to avoid money being put into
Reserves unnecessarily. (e)
Grants / Other
Financial Actions: None. |
Clerk Clerk Clerk |
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154.07 |
2008-2009 DRAFT PRECEPT Copies of the proposed
2008/9 Precept format had been circulated to all councillors. 2008/9
expenditure for each category was considered based on 2007/8 projected spend.
On a proposal from Cllr. John Foster, seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS RESOLVED that the Precept should be maintained at
its current level of £19,038. |
Clerk |
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155.07 |
CORRESPONDENCE
(a) Received: ·
An e-mail has been
received from Mrs. Lynn Evans, Head teacher of The Parish Council has previously decided that it will not actively
stop cars being parked across the verge outside the school where turf
reinforcement and curbing has been put in place. This position is to be
stated clearly in the Village Magazine. ·
A letter has been
received from Wiltshire County Council’s Senior Rights of Way Officer
acknowledging our letter of 19 October saying she will contact our warden and
the NWDC Refuse Department seeking their comments about removing the right of
vehicular access to Byway 34. It was noted that when the definitive Rights of Way map was drafted
some years ago, the upper part of Byway 34 was proposed to be a bridleway but
this was changed to be a byway as a result of a parishioner’s request. The
Clerk was asked to convey this information to Wiltshire County Council. County
Cllr. Mrs. Jane Scott added that the extensive byways throughout Wiltshire
were now attracting off-road enthusiasts from all over Europe and that more
byways needed to be closed to vehicular traffic. (b) Circulated to Parish Council: ·
Correspondence
relating to Byway 34 Downgrading (Minute 139.07) ·
WCC Parish
Newsletter, December 07 (e-mail) ·
WCC Transport Times
& Telegraph Newsletter, 2 November 2007 ·
Wiltshire County
Council’s Corporate Plan 2007, Letter dated 12 November 2007 ·
Community First,
First News, Winter 2007 ·
Local Councils
Update Issue 98, December 2007 ·
SLCC, The Clerk,
Vol. 38, No.6, November 2007 ·
Revised North
Wiltshire Affordable Housing SPD (link to website containing document) –
e-mail 28 Nov 07 ·
Wiltshire Association
of Local Councils, December 2007 |
Clerk |
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156.07 |
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(a)
The Clerk notified
Councillors that there will be a New Councillors’ Course on Saturday 15
March. Any councillors wishing to attend should contact the Clerk. (b)
North Wiltshire
District Council has advised parishes that there will be free car-parking in the
Chippenham council car-parks on the two weekends before Christmas. (c)
Wiltshire Fire &
Rescue have asked for a community representative on their Annual Plan consultation
process. (d)
The Village
Christmas Tree will be erected on Saturday 15th December. This
year it will be on the tump in front of St. Peter’s Church. (e)
Cllr. Mrs. Betty
Bird said that most of the Lytes Almshouses funding had been raised but asked
if this could go on next month’s agenda. (f)
County Councillor
Mrs. Jane Scott said that the County’s Unitary status would be going ahead
although several districts (not North Wiltshire) are supporting a judicial
review. There will be more meetings in January – February and she encouraged
the parish to provide input. The meeting closed at 21:43. The next Parish Council
Meeting is at 7:45 pm on Monday 14 January 2008. |
Clerk |