MINUTES OF KINGTON LANGLEY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM OF THE VILLAGE HALL ON

MONDAY 14^th JULY 2008

PRESENT: Cllr. Dr. Maurice Dixson (Chairman), Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird, Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles, Cllr. Dennis Gill, Cllr. P Hart, Cllr. D Styles, Cllr. C Timbrell, Cllr. G. Trickey. Mrs. Sue Hart (Clerk) plus 5 members of the public.

Vice Chairman Dennis Gill opened the meeting.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllr. J Foster. County Cllr. Jane Scott.

100.08

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None.

ACTION

101.08

RESIDENTS’ FORUM

(Cllr. Dr. Maurice Dixson took the chair.) Mrs. L Reynolds said that she wished to speak about the planning application for Glenhaven. Cllr. Dr. Dixson said she could do so at the appropriate point on the agenda.

Mrs. Reynolds said that the grass along Plough Lane just past Moors Close towards the traffic lights was no longer getting cut by the new contractor. The Clerk said that there were some areas of grass which the previous contractor had cut that were not originally part of the village contract but that she would investigate further. Cllr. Timbrell added that the cutting was shorter than before but some deep ruts had been created near paths to residents’ houses where machines had turned. Cllr. Gill said that the area round the waste bin by the Upper Common bench had not been strimmed.

Clerk

102.08

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 9 JUNE 2008

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2008 had been circulated to all Councillors. Minute 097.08 Finance: Cllr. Gill said that “Bank Accounts as at 31 April 2008” should read “Bank Accounts as at 30 April 2008”.

On a proposal from Cllr. Don Styles, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird, IT WAS RESOLVED that the Chairman, Cllr. Dr. Maurice Dixson, sign the Minutes and amendment as a correct record.

103.08

MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES

The Chairman asked for the actions from the previous meeting to be reviewed as follows:

Min.055.08 Greens Registration:	Covered by agenda item ‘Greens Registration’
Min.075.08 (b) Village Walkabout:	Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles had done a comprehensive investigation of the potholes requiring work in the village and the Clerk had sent the list to Kristian Price of Wiltshire Highways Partnership. The planning history for Field View House had been sent to Cllr. Ms. Sherry Meadows but no response had yet been received.
Min.078.08 Finance (c) iv:	Covered by agenda item ‘School to Playing Fields Footpath Maintenance’.
Min.085.08 Planning (a):	The Barton planning letters had been circulated to councillors.
Min.086.08 Chairman’s Business:	Cllr. Dr. Dixson had sent a letter to the Boundaries Commission requesting that the Sutton Benger unitary division be renamed Kington Ward.
Min.088.08 Commons Erosion Project:	Covered by agenda item ‘Commons Erosion Project’
Min.089.08 Village Pond:	Covered by agenda item ‘Village Pond’
Min.091.08 Refuse Collection:	Cllr. Ms. S Meadows was not at the meeting.
Min.091.08 Byway 34:	The Clerk had put a request in the Village Magazine for villagers to let her know of any problems on the byway which would be collected as evidence.
Min.097.08 (c) All Weather Footpath Maintenance:	Cllr. Chris Timbrell said that he had made a visual check of the lower part of the village footpath but did not believe that any work was needed at this stage although he did recommend another inspection in January 2009. Cllr. Timbrell provided councillors with a written summary of his findings. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Timbrell for his efforts.
Min.097.08 (c) Lloyds Online Banking:	This was still under investigation by the Clerk.
Min.099.08 (e) Land at Church Lane:	A letter had been written to North Wiltshire District Council asking for enforcement of their recommendations for working hours on construction sites. NWDC Environmental Control had agreed to investigate further. Cllr. Hart said that both NWDC Planning Enforcement and the Planning Inspectorate could be contacted to request a site visit to determine if the construction complies with approved size and location. The collapsed drain outside the property had not been fixed and had caused flooding across Church Lane.

Dist.Cllr. Ms. S Meadows

Clerk

Clerk

Cllr. Dixson/ Clerk

Clerk

104.08

PLANNING

(a) Planning Issues: A garden building was being erected in the back garden of Caramena, Parkers Lane which, as it is in a conservation area, does not appear to have received planning permission. The clerk was asked to check this with NWDC Planning Department.

(b) Planning Applications decided by North Wiltshire District Council:

08/00918/FUL 7 Ashes Lane - Single storey rear extension and enlarge existing kitchen window.	Permission Granted – 12 June 08
08/00968/LBC Lodge Farm, Kington Langley – New Porch, conservatory + first floor extension plus associated internal changes.	Withdrawn – 25 Jun 08
08/00969/FUL Lodge Farm, Kington Langley – New Porch, conservatory + first floor extension.	Withdrawn – 25 Jun 08
08/01036/FUL Offices at Langley Gate Farm, Swindon Road – Extension to link detached office buildings	Permission Granted – 4 July 08
08/01037/LBC Offices at Langley Gate Farm, Swindon Road – Extension to link detached office buildings	Consent Granted – 4 July 08
08/01038/LBC The Glen, Ashes Lane - Replace sash windows, remove secondary glazing and restore shutters.	Withdrawn – 24 Jun 08
08/01217/FUL Sunnydene, Malmesbury Road – Erection of two storey side extension	Permission Granted – 9 July 08
08/01232/FUL Elmet House, 9 Fairleigh Rise – Shed.	Permission Granted – 25 Jun 08
08/01314/FUL Bowldown Farm, Days Lane – Erection of an Agricultural workers dwelling to replace existing temporary dwelling (Revised proposal)	Permission Granted – 4 July 08

Planning Application Recommendations decided under powers delegated to the Parish Clerk:

08/01378/TCA Sawyers, Parkers Lane – Fell 3 Trees / reduce 1 tree.

Supported.

(c) Planning Applications for consideration:

08/01383/FUL North Site, Kington St. Michael Road - Change of Use of land and existing buildings to equestrian teaching & trainer’s yard. Alterations to form stables, extension to form store & canteen facilities, provision of 20 x 40 m training arena & alterations to existing vehicular access.	Supported with Comments.
Councillors commented that the change of use could have traffic implications as trailers and hooked up vehicles would be using the entrance.
08/01437/FUL – 08/01437/FUL Glenhaven, Plough Lane –Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of 2-detached dwellings, access, parking, turning and garaging.	Not Supported.
Neighbours Mr. & Mrs. Reynolds expressed a considerable number of concerns about this application including current ownership; no datum point; the Grafton extension was not shown; removing an apple tree to create a central access had not referred to the telephone and electricity pole there too. Reference was also made to the previous Appeal for 2 houses being turned down. The Parish Council had received a letter from Mr. & Mrs. Ellett expressing similar concerns. The Clerk was asked to contact District Cllr. Ms. Sherry Meadows to ask for this application to be called to the Development Control Committee.
08/01496/FUL Honeysuckle Cottage, Plough Lane – Proposed extension to front and side and erection of detached garage with room over.	Not Supported.
Councillors were not opposed in principle but had practical objections to the design, including the position of the stairs. They also had questions on vehicular access.
08/01628/FUL Bowldown, Days Lane – Extension	Supported.

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk

105.08

CHAIRMAN’S BUSINESS

Cllr. Dr. Maurice Dixson said his concerns regarding the development at Church Lane had been covered in Matters Arising and all other points would be covered by agenda items.

106.08

COMMONS EROSION PROJECT

Cllr. Hart said that the kerbing contract has now been awarded to Groundscape and work would commence at the beginning of the school holiday. It was estimated to take approximately 3 weeks.

The bollards contract has been awarded to Furnitubes and the bollards will be delivered in mid August. The Groundscape contractor quoted £875.00 + VAT to add the installation of bollards to the work he was carrying out. On a proposal from Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird, seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS RESOLVED to award Groundscape the contract for installation of the bollards.

The Chairman had written letters to all villagers who had made Promises pledges and cheques for £4,700 had already been received. Cllr. Hart had also put an update in the Village Magazine.

Clerk

107.08

COFFIN WAY RESURFACING

The Clerk said that a quotation had been received from Groundscape for tarmac-ing the Coffin Way outside the school for £2,200 + VAT. There is no provision in the current Precept for this level of expenditure. As there had been no other responses to the request for tenders, Cllr. Dr. Dixson said he would talk to villager Nick Elkins who had some experience of this kind of work and could provide further advice.

Cllr. Dixson

108.08

FOOTPATH – CHURCH DOUBLE BENDS

Cllr. Graham Trickey said that he had agreement in principle from Wessex Water for a path along the edge of the water reservoir. Following a meeting by Cllr. Trickey and Cllr. Dr. Dixson with the owners of Church Farm, Mr & Mrs. Bicknell, it was agreed that a letter would be written to the current owner of the west part of the footpath as the conditions of the current license would need to be changed.

Gating arrangements would need to be modified. In order to alleviate noise concerns, gates would need to be erected on both ends of the public footpath as well as putting a gate at the point where the path divided to provide access for the school children to get to the playing field.

Cllr. Trickey / Cllr. Dixson

109.08

GREENS REGISTRATION

The Clerk had attended a meeting with Wiltshire County Council’s solicitor and the Rights of Way Officer responsible for registering Village Greens. The County Council were in agreement in principle and the process is relatively straightforward. However, the Parish Council now needs input on villagers’ use of each green for more than 20 years. The Clerk was asked to place a request in the Village Magazine.

Clerk

110.08

HIT OR MISS – LICENSE TO TAKE OVER MAINTENANCE OF HIGHWAYS VERGES

Following receipt of licensing information from Wiltshire County Council, the Parish Council was being asked to specify exactly how they wished to maintain the areas which are currently highways verge.

As car parking for the Hit or Miss was an important part of any solution to prevent further erosion, the Clerk was asked to set up a small Working Group of interested parties including the near neighbours to consider possible designs.

Clerk

111.08

VILLAGE POND

Cllr. Timbrell provided councillors with a written summary of the Village Pond’s Crassula helmsii issue and approaches to eradicating it over the next 2-3 years.

The solution would have to be treatment with glyphosate herbicide which would not be toxic to wildlife but would disturb their habitat. Cllr. Timbrell was in consultation with Dr. Newman, Head of Aquatic Plant Management at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, a pre-eminent aquatic plant expert. Dr. Newman could obtain the necessary permissions from the Department of the Environment with the outcome of making arrangements for spraying in late September.

As September was fast approaching, on a proposal from Cllr. Mrs. Val Giles, seconded by Cllr. Peter Hart, IT WAS RESOLVED to authorize Cllr. Timbrell to proceed with this solution on the basis of a budgetary cost of £250 per treatment + VAT for 2 or potentially 3 treatments. A written proposal was awaited.

Villager Mr. Andy Allum kindly volunteered to support the project and help in any way he can.

Cllr. Tibrell / Clerk

Clerk

112.08

WILTSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST – STOP THE DROP PROJECT

Cllr. Timbrell provided councillors with a written summary of this project, which is a 3-year campaign, led by the CPRE and its chairman Bill Bryson, to highlight the spoiling of the countryside by litter and fly-tipping. Cllr. Timbrell had not yet received detailed information from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust regarding their involvement in this initiative, and recommended a watching brief at this stage.

113.08

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT – ANNUAL REVIEW

The Parish’s external auditors, Mazars, had submitted a 2-page report for the Parish Council to consider in evaluating its internal auditors, Auditing Solutions Limited. Councillors reviewed each point in turn and on a proposal from Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird, seconded by Cllr. Graham Trickey, IT WAS RESOLVED that the completed report be held on record with the end-of-year accounts.

114.08

FINANCE

(a) Cheques issued, payments received and transfers made since 9 June 2008 meeting:

10 July 08	Warren Shergold – Footpath strimming	001049	£70.00
10 July 08	Zurich Municipal – Engineering Inspection	001050	£344.90
14 July 08	Clerk Salary – June	001051	£333.37
14 July 08	Open Spaces Society	001052	£30.00
14 July 08	Society of Local Council Clerks Subscription	001053	£80.00
14 July 08	Clerk – Petty Cash	001054	£50.00
10 July 08	PCC Donation – 2007/8 and 2008/9	001076	£200.00
			£1,108.27

Payments Received:

9 Jun	Current A/C	J Foster	Commons Stone	£30.00
1 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£200.00
1 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£250.00
1 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£200.00
4 Jul	Current A/C	S & Sthn.	Wayleave	£37.89
4 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£1,000.00
4 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£940.00
4 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£50.00
9 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£700.00
9 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£500.00
9 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£120.00
9 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£325.00
10 Jul	Current A/C	Villagers	Project Donations	£355.00
				£4,767.89

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. Don Styles, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird IT WAS RESOLVED that cheques numbered 1049-1054 and 1076 be approved by the meeting.

(b) Bank accounts: The clerk reported that the last reconciliation had been successfully carried out on 8 July 2008.

Bank Accounts as at 30 June 2008:

Current account	£4,112.95
Deposit Account	£10,633.29
Petty Cash	£3.09
Total	£14,749.33

(c) Grants, Donations and other Financial Actions:

1. Fund for Planning Consultant / Change to Financial Regulations: Cllr. Dr. Dixson asked councillors to consider a proposal to set aside a fund for employing professional advice when considering major and controversial planning developments in the village. Following discussion, on a proposal from Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird seconded by Cllr. Don Styles, IT WAS RESOLVED that should such an application be received, the Chairman would call an emergency meeting of the Parish Council and if councillors decided to oppose the application, an outcome would be to enlist professional support to assist the Parish Council to make objections as effectively as possible.

Whether such a fund should be set aside in next year’s Precept should be the subject of discussion at the November Parish Council meeting when next year’s Precept is drafted.

2. Change to Asset Register: Following discussion with Dennis Gill in was noted that the Playing Fields notional insurance value of £1.00 had not been included in last year’s Asset Register. It has now been added to the current one.

3. Footpath Maintenance Contract – School to Playing Field. Two bids had been received for this work but one was too large to award without going to competitive tender. On a proposal from Cllr. Chris Timbrell seconded by Cllr. Graham Trickey, IT WAS RESOLVED to award the contract to Complete Weed Control to carry out a one-off spraying for £95 + VAT plus add the work to their existing 6-monthly village footpath spraying contract for an additional cost of £45 + VAT per spray.

In addition, as children had been unable to get to the playing fields without being stung by the nettles overgrowing the path, on a proposal by Cllr. Dennis Gill seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird IT WAS RESOLVED to retrospectively authorise the clerk’s expenditure of £70 to Mr. W Shergold to strim the footpath. The work had needed to be carried out at the end of June before the end-of-term school activities.

Clerk

115.08

CORRESPONDENCE - None.

116.08

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

(a) The Clerk said that the document ‘Governance and Accountability in Local Councils in England and Wales’ has been re-issued and as the contents concerned the Parish Council’s financial accountability, all councillors should be aware of its contents.

(b) The Clerk said that reference to the special archaeological significance of the fields around Byway 34 needed further investigation as records were not available in the village. Cllr. Dennis Gill volunteered to accompany the Clerk to the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre to investigate old records and maps.

(c) Clerk said that the standard ‘Parking on Registered Commons’ letter had been revised to refer to the new chairman and should anyone wish to have copies they should contact her. This should only be used for repeated violations and the clerk kept a log of any that were issued. A case had recently occurred on Lower Common where it had been used for overflow parking for a wedding. Cllr. Hart pointed out that it may be appropriate to restate in the Village Magazine that permission should be sought from the Chairman of the Parish Council before special event parking. This arrangement gives the opportunity to write a letter giving permission and also to cover safety issues.

(d) The Clerk said that in response to councillors’ feedback regarding the election year following the Wiltshire change to a Unitary authority, she had received an e-mail from Wiltshire County Council saying they had received 94 responses from parish and town councils and 78 favoured deferring elections until 2013. The WCC Implementation Executive had therefore resolved to recommend that elections should be deferred until 2013.

(e) Cllr. Dennis Gill said that the fire hydrant by New Linden fire hydrant has been decapitated.

(f) Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird asked for ‘Donation for Almshouses extensions’ to be added to next month’s agenda.

(g) Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird said that concern had been raised by some villagers regarding a builder’s vehicles that were parking across Silver Street.

(h) Cllr. Mrs. Betty Bird said villagers had complained about a farm vehicle had been parked by Old Draycot Lane. However, Cllr. Hart said that as this was highways verge it was not likely that the Parish Council could intervene.

(i) Cllr. Dennis Gill showed photographs of damage to the fencing at the top of Morrell Lane and asked that consideration by given to replacing the fencing.

The meeting closed at 21:58.

The next Parish Council Meeting will be at 7:45 pm on Monday 11 August 2008.

All Cllrs.

Cllr. Gill / Clerk

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk