Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 26th May 2011
in the Village Hall.
Present: Cllrs F.Winup
A. Bishop
J. Halliday
J. Mackelden
G. Ruggles
D. Ryall (Clerk)
5 Parishioners
1. Apologies for absence –
Apology for absence was received from Cllr M. King, Cllr D.Taylor, Unitary Cllr. Mrs. J. Scott.
2. Election of Chairman & Vice- Chairman –
Chairman: Cllr. F. Winup – Proposed by: Cllr. A. Bishop
Seconded by: Cllr. Mr J. Mackelden
Vice-Chairman: Cllr. A. Bishop – Proposed by: Cllr. J. Halliday
Seconded by: Cllr. F. Winup.
There were no other nominations and Cllr’s Winup & Bishop were unanimously elected to serve as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively for 2011-12.
3. Acceptance of Office–
Cllrs Bishop and Winup duly signed Acceptance of Office documents.
4. Declarations of interest –
There were no declarations of interest
5. Minutes of the meeting held on 17th March 2011
The minutes were unanimously accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
6. Matters Arising –
A. Area Committee Meeting
The Chairman said that no one attended as there was nothing affecting the Parish on the agenda
B. Traffic Calming and Speed Checks
Cllr Bishop said the site meeting to decide the 30mph sign positions would take place in September with Richard Lewis with Wilts Council Highways. He reported that Grittleton PC is again considering the use of speed cameras.
C. Parking Review
Cllr Winup said that he had been informed that there is currently a short fall in the number of Traffic Wardens which had caused the recent lack of visits. He said he would continue to monitor the situation.
D. Neighbourhood policing.
The Clerk was asked by the Chairman to contact PC Barham to find out if this organisation still exists.
E. Cold Weather Plan
Cllr. Bishop said the container was being manufactured and would be available foe the winter. He confirmed that Wilts Council would supply the initial supplies free.
G. Road Closure & Tree Destruction.
The Chairman said it was a Government mandate to clear trees from near power lines to minimise disruption of electricity supply in bad weather. The work had however been carried out with no regard to the visual impact. Scottish Power are now endeavouring to make amends by planting new ‘Sorbus’ trees in the car park under the control of the Wiltshire Council tree preservation officer. (Mandy Fyfe)
H. Royal Wedding
Cllr Mackelden said he had attended the Whitegates event which was very good and well supported. Cllr Bishop said he had a large number of mugs remaining at £4 each.
I. Queen Elizabeth II Field Challenge.
Cllr Bishop said he thought the areas owned by the Parish Council were not appropriate and that the whole process was extremely bureaucratic. The Clerk said he had received paperwork from Wilts Council saying that the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire was asking for field nominations. Cllr Bishop agreed to examine the documentation.
J. Best Kept Village Competition
The Clerk said the Village had entered in the competition and judging would take place in June. The meeting agreed that the village tidy would take place during the first week in June.
H. PAYE. – Clerk
The Chairman said HMRC have instructed that all Parish Councils must in future pay their staff via PAYE. It has been arranged that this will be organised and carried out by Douglas Tonks a firm of accountants recommended by WALC at a cost of £54.00 /annum plus VAT. Cllr Winup said it was appropriate to consolidate all costs paid to the Clerk into one salary which did not increase the total paid. This recommendation was proposed by Cllr Ruggles, seconded by Cllr Halliday and unanimously agreed by the meeting.
7. Finance –
Income £
Precept – full year 4250.00
HMRC VAT repayment 2868.03
C.C. Village Hall – double glazing repayment 1560.00
The Production Factory – film donation 200.00
Expenditure
The Councillors checked and approved the following invoices:
Wessex Water – ½ year bill 67.95
Cllr Winup- Chairman’s expenses 125.00
Wilts Wood Recycling – deposit 60.00
D. Ryall – petty cash 40.00
Village Hall – room hire 60.00
Cllr Bishop – remembrance wreath 40.00
Brookman and Son – double glazing 1872.00
Cllr Winup – newsletter printing 24.10
Cllr Bishop – Royal Wedding mugs 268.74
7A 2010-11 Year End
The Clerk reported that the Council annual outgoings were £22931 against an income of £20326 which left £2369 in the current account. He said this was a significant increase in spend compared with the previous year due to the new heating, insulation in the village hall and the renovation of the Trim Tram footpath. This had been paid for by the film donation and grants from Wiltshire Council. The total assets at 31.03.11 stood at £27504 which includes £15000 invested in a Halifax bond.
7B Internal Auditor
The Chairman reported that Mrs. Hermina. Fleming had again agreed to act as the Council’s internal auditor for the 2010-11 accounts.
8. Correspondence –
A. AON – Insurance Renewal (£1555.00) – The meeting agreed to renew the insurance.
B. NALC – revised 1st edition of standing orders.
The meeting agreed that the Clerk should obtain a copy
C. WALC – membership renewal
The meeting agreed to renew membership
D. Wilts Wildlife Trust – The meeting agreed to donate £25
E Community First – membership renewal
The meeting agreed to renew membership
F. Wilts Bobby Van –The meeting agreed to donate £25
9. Planning applications –
P.C. Approved:
2, School lane – rear extension
The Cottage UCC – extension and garage
Manor House Hotel – tree surgery
Manor House Hotel – illuminated sign
Dunns Lane car park – fell trees and replant.
Parsonage Wood – fell trees to clear TV aerial
P.C. – Under Consideration:
1, Whitegates – 2 storey extension
P.C. – Rejected:
Nil
NWDC – Granted:
Manor House Hotel – erect gazebo
Manor House Hotel – tree surgery.
Dunns Lane car park – fell trees and replant
N.W.D.C. Rejected
The Cottage UCC- extension and garage
Withdrawn
2, School Lane – rear extension
10. UnitaryCouncillor
Nothing to report.
11. Playing field and C.C. Circuit Reports
Cllr. Mackelden said with regard to the playing field he had nothing to add to his report to the Parishioners’ meeting.
He said there had not been a CC Circuit meeting recently due to Mr Strawford being on holiday.
The JAPFEST meeting last weekend resulted in the usual chaos with traffic jams extending into Chippenham and past Burton. There were examples of totally thoughtless driving, inconsiderate parking and engines being started at 7am. The Chairman asked Cllr Mackelden to list the problems and inform the Circuit management. He said that the Council would arrange a meeting with the Police, Highways and other local Councils before next years meeting to ensure that early action is taken.
Cllr Halliday said that there had been no problems with this years Steam Traction Rally.
Cllr Mackelden said he would ask Circuit their signs immediately after an event in future.
12. Play Area Report.
Cllr Halliday reported that she had replanted the border in bottom play area and was pricing large bags of playground bark to replace that lost during the winter.
The springers in the Whitegates area have been repaired and she asked the Clerk and Cllr Mackelden to check the quality of the work done. Cllr Halliday said she was having difficulty getting some one to repaint the play equipment. The Chairman suggested she spoke to Mike Matthews who redecorated the village hall.
13. Highways
.Cllr Bishop reported that the local roads have been repaired at the entrance to Whitegates and near Shrub Farm.
14. Village Environment
Cllr. Ruggles reported that recently there had been very little fly tipping and that the troughs in the car park and near the bus shelter had been replanted.
15. Whitegates – no report in the absence of Cllr. King
16. Village Hall – to review minutes etc.
Cllr Winup said he had nothing to add to the report given to the Parishioners’ Meeting.
17. Youth Issues
The Chairman said that due to the ROSPA inspection Wilts Council had removed the skateboard ramps and metal pipe goal posts from Whitegates. As a result the local lads played on the Castle Combe Colts pitches and been ordered off by the groundstaff. He had asked the Clerk to find out the implications of erecting proper goal posts at Whitegates on Wiltshire Council land. The Clerk said it appeared that the Council could lease or buy the land and that the Health and Safety aspects and insurance would be the Parish Council’s responsibility. Cllr Winup asked the Clerk to get more detail of both possibilities but expressed the view that care would be needed before agreeing to accept any ongoing responsibility for this area.
18. Standing Orders
The Chairman said there were no changes and the Council unanimously accepted the standing orders as written.
19. Date of next meeting –
This was confirmed as Thursday 21st July 2011 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.