MINUTES OF KINGTON
HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM OF THE VILLAGE
HALL ON
PRESENT:
Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird; Cllr. Dr. M. Dixson; Cllr. J Foster; Cllr. Mrs. V Giles;
Cllr. D Gill; Cllr. P Hart ;
Cllr. D Styles; Cllr. G Trickey and Mrs. S Hart (Clerk) plus 3 members of the
public. County Councillor Mrs. Jane Scott (Part)
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllr.
Mr. C Timbrell (Sickness) and District Councillor Ms. Sherry Meadows (Away)
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174.08 |
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr. Peter Hart declared a Personal and
Prejudicial Interest for the part of the Precept that covered the Clerk’s
remuneration. |
ACTION
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175.08 |
RESIDENTS’ FORUM The Chairman said that
if any villagers had any comments to make regarding the 2009/10 Precept they
should raise them at this point rather than during the agenda item. Dr. Peter
Giles said that the Kington Langley Precept was one of the most expensive in
North Wiltshire and hoped that the Parish Council would exercise prudence in
the current difficult economic situation. He believed that many villagers
would feel the same. |
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176.08 |
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON
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177.08 |
MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES
The Clerk handed out
summaries of the Actions from the 10 November Parish Council Meeting Minutes.
Actions with updates were as follows: Minute 164.08: Chairman’s Business. Cllr. Gill asked for clarification on the reference to the new builds
being built “in line with their planning permission” as he questioned which
plan was being referred to. Cllr. Dixson assumed it was the latest plan and
added that planners have provided a tree planting plan to the developer in
replacement for the horse chestnut that had been removed. Minute 168.08: Dauntsey Transport Group. Cllr. Foster said he had investigated what would
have to be done for yellow lines to be painted along Church Road by the
Village Hall to prevent parking obstructions. However, it would necessitate
asking Mr. George Batten (Director of Environmental Services at Wiltshire
County Council) to write to the Minister and get a Traffic Order. Councillors
were not in favour of such an action. Following NADFAS parking issues, Cllr. Dixson had
followed up with the NADFAS Chairman and Cllr. Styles had spent an hour
outside at the last NADFAS lecture morning and everyone had parked correctly.
Villager, The Clerk said that even when there were no cars
or lorries parked in Minute 169.08: Highways and Byways. Cllr. Foster and Cllr. Dixson are still to arrange a separate meeting
with Marion Rayner of Community First to understand the best approach to
preparing a Village Plan. Minute 173.08 (c): Any
Other Business. Cllr. Bird had raised a safety
issue concerning a pothole by the manhole cover on the Church bend outside
Vicory House. Cllr. Giles said that this was an ongoing issue as the hole had
been filled in several times, the latest being 4 days before the meeting, but
the filler is being blown out because the manhole is surcharging. British
Telecom, who is responsible for the manhole, is being chased by Highways
Department to find a permanent solution.
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Cllr. Styles Cllr. Foster / Cllr.
Dixson |
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178.08 |
PLANNING
(a) Planning
Issues: 1. 08/02175/S73A -
Field View House and 08/02278/S73A - Holly Bank House. The two retrospective planning
applications at Lower Common would be on the
agenda for the Development Control Committee on 2. Carillion Site on B4122. Cllr. Peter Hart said that to his knowledge the Carillion Site on
the way to the recycling centre had never received planning permission and
suggested that the Parish Council should request that the area is brought
back to uses that comply with the regulatory use. Cllr. Foster was very
familiar with the planning activities on the site and in spite of the fact
that the Parish Council had never received any communications from the
Planning Department about it, it appeared that a lot of recent activity had
been taking place. Cllr. Hart therefore asserted that if this was the case, the
Parish Council should also request that all information on what is happening
should be copied to Kington Langley as the site is close to the parish
boundary and the Parish Council were informed of activities at the nearby Recycling
Centre. Sutton Benger Parish Council should also be copied on any
communication to Planning about this matter. On a proposal from Cllr. Dennis Gill, seconded by
Cllr. 3. 08/02167/FUL Glenhaven, At the last hearing District Cllr. Meadows had
asked that if the application were approved, would the Public Open Space
Contribution come to the village. On a proposal from Cllr. Peter Hart,
seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS RESOLVED that Cllr. Dixson would write to the Chair of
the Development Control Committee, Cllr. Thomson, with this request.
Subsequent to this resolution, County Cllr. Mrs. Jane Scott agreed to take on
this action on behalf of the Parish Council (see Minute 188.08). (b)
Planning Applications decided by North
Wiltshire District Council:
Planning Application Recommendations decided
under powers delegated to the Parish Clerk:
None. (c) Planning
Applications for consideration: None. |
Clerk Clerk |
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179.08 |
CHAIRMAN’S BUSINESS (Cllr. Dr. M Dixson) Cllr. Dixson said that the points he wished to
raise had already been covered. |
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180.08 |
CLERK’S REPORT (Mrs. Sue Hart) Mrs. Sue Hart said that she had nothing to
report. |
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181.08 |
CHIPPENHAM AND VILLAGES COMMUNITY PLAN The Chippenham Area Partnership (ChAP) is running
2 meetings as part of the consultation process to update the Chippenham
Community Area Plan. Cllrs. Dixson and Foster will attend the meeting at
Christian Malford on 20th January and Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles will
attend the meeting with Dr. Giles at The Clerk was asked to put this item on the
agenda for the January Parish Council meeting so that Councillors could
prepare points for submission. |
Cllr. Dixson / Cll. Foster Cllr. V Giles Clerk / All Councillors |
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182.08 |
KINGTON Cllr. Dixson referred to the Kington St. Michael
Village Plan and believed it would be helpful to have one for Kington
Langley. Cllr. Hart questioned the difference between a Village Plan and a
Village Design Statement and suggested that County Councillor Mrs. Jane
Scott, who would be attending the later part of the meeting, should be asked about
the value of both. The Case for creating a Kington Langley Village
Plan was therefore held in abeyance until its value could be ascertained. |
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183.08 |
HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS – UPDATE 1.
On a proposal from Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird,
seconded by Cllr. John Foster, IT WAS RESOLVED that the Cllr. Trickey
should pursue the possibility of licensing and opening to the public the
Church Bend footpath and would investigate further through local solicitors. Councillors
expressed their thanks to Councillor Trickey for all the work he had put into
getting the project to this positive position. 2.
Completion of Hard Surfacing to the All Weather Footpath. A letter from Mrs. Audrey Palmer had been received saying that funds
should be prioritised to complete the hard surfacing as she did not consider it
to be a new project but the completion of an existing project. Councillors
were concerned that putting a hard surface on the footpath down Plough Hill
could result in it becoming very slippery when frosty. 3.
Rights of Way. The Clerk said she
had received a letter from Wiltshire County Council saying that there were a
limited number of Parish Improvement Grants available if the Council acted
quickly. However, there were only 5 grants available of up to £1,000 each and
one of up to £5,000 and councillors were not ready to prioritise which
project they wished to submit a grant to support. |
Cllr. Trickey |
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184.08 |
REVIEW OF CONSULTATION DOCUMENT ON CHANGES TO CODE OF CONDUCT Links to the large Internet document on Proposed Changes
to the Code of Conduct had been e-mailed to councillors. The questions for
review were also provided. On a proposal from Cllr. |
All Cllrs. / Clerk |
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185.08 |
REVIEW OF PARISH OBLIGATIONS REGARDING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT The Clerk said that every public authority is
required to adopt an approved Publication Scheme by 31 Dec 08. Copies of
guidance plus a draft Guide form had been e-mailed to Councillors. Councillors decided that as some of the
information was already available on the website they would delegate its
completion to Cllr. Trickey and the Clerk. Mr. Ramon Weston pointed out that
not everyone had access to the website so it was further agreed that an
update would be put in the |
Cllr. Trickey / Clerk Clerk |
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186.08 |
FINANCE
Councillors
were provided with handouts for Finance summaries (a) and (b) given below: (a)
Cheques
issued, payments received and transfers made since 10 November 2008 meeting:
Payments Received:
Transfers Made: None. Direct Debits Paid: None. The invoices for the above cheques had been
inspected and approved by the signatories. On a proposal from Cllr. John
Foster, seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS RESOLVED that
cheques numbered 001084 and 001085 be approved by the meeting. Bank
accounts: The last reconciliation had been successfully
carried out on 7 December 2008. Bank Accounts as at 30
November 2008:
(b)
Grants,
Donations and other Financial Actions: A very generous £500.00 donation has been received from a villager for
the Commons Erosion Project. Cllr. Dixson would send a letter of thanks. |
Cllr. Dixson |
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187.08 |
2009/10 DRAFT PRECEPT Copies of a draft Precept plan for 2009/2010 had
been e-mailed to councillors and was also available as a handout. Each item
was then discussed by Councillors and a recommendation made. In order to ascertain the amount remaining from
the Reserve before settling the next Precept, on a proposal from Cllr. Dennis Gill, seconded by Cllr.
Mrs. Betty Bird, IT WAS RESOLVED that an additional payment of £1,000 be made on the Public Works Loan. At the point when the Parish Clerk’s salary was
reviewed, Cllr. Peter Hart and Mrs. Sue Hart left the meeting. On a proposal from Cllr. On a proposal from
Cllr. Maurice Dixson, seconded by Cllr. Peter Hart, IT WAS RESOLVED unanimously that the 2009/10 precept
remain unchanged at £19,038. (Cllr. Don Styles left the meeting at 9:20.) |
Clerk Clerk |
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188.08 |
CORRESPONDENCE
Prior
to discussing correspondence, County Cllr. Mrs. Jane Scott discussed with the
Parish Council responses to the following points: 1. Glenhaven, 2. Holly Bank House and
Field View House. Cllr. Scott was apprised of the fact that this
would be on the 17 Dec 08 Development Control Committee agenda and agreed to
attend if possible. 3. Village Design
Statement and Village Plan. Cllr. Scott said that Village Design
Statements could be used as Supplementary Planning Documents and were useful
when looking for grants. They showed that the work had been done by villagers
to define how they wanted to look as a village. A Village Plan addressed
issues like whether a village school should be kept and defined whether there
should be shops or other local facilities. They should not be compiled by the
Parish Council but by a working group of villagers. Both were a large amount
of work and didn’t guarantee that funds would be forthcoming. 4. Planning
Applications and Development Control Committee. Cllr. Scott committed
that if the District Councillor was unavailable, she would be willing to
request that a village application be put on the Development Control
Committee agenda. Correspondence
Received:
Cllr. Mrs. Jane Scott
agreed to pursue the matter further. |
Cllr. Scott Cllr. Dixson |
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189.08 |
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(a)
Cllr. Peter Hart
said that he would be resigning as councillor on the following day. Following
receipt of his letter, the Clerk would put in place the required actions to
enable the co-option of another councillor. The meeting closed at 22:18. The next Parish Council
Meeting is at 7:45 pm on Monday 12 January 2009. |
Cllr. Hart Clerk |