Minutes of the Meeting of Bramley Parish Council
Held in the Committee Room at Bramley Village Hall on Monday 18th March 2013 at 7.30pm.
Minutes
Parish Councillors present were:
Richard Wood, Janet Grieve, Malcolm Bell, Tony Durrant, Claire Penfold, Alison Jayawardena, Chris Holland, Chris Wright
Also present were:
Borough Cllr. Chris Tomblin, County Cllr. Keith Chapman, and 6 members of the public
ITEM COMMENT
1.0 Apologies
Borough Cllr. Jayawardena who was at a Borough Council meeting, PCSOs
Cllr. Wood explained that there had been two applications for the vacancy of Parish Councillor to date, with the closing date of end March.
2.0 Minutes of the last meeting
Proposed Cllr. Penfold, seconded Cllr. Grieve
3.0 Income and expenditure as circulated, no comments
Accounts for approval March 2013
Proposed Cllr. Mrs Jayawardena, seconded Cllr. Grieve
| Jamie snow litter warden pay |
£279.10 |
| Sarah Smart clerk’s pay and allowances |
£1,132.28 |
| includes reimbursement NDP leaflets printing (Staples) plus 10 hours overtime | |
| R Gregory, burial grounds maintenance |
£330.00 |
| Greenhouse Graphics, newsletter and other printing |
£688.80 |
| Prontaprint |
£180.00 |
| Communicorp, clerks and councils direct subscription |
£12.00 |
| HALC ‘the knowledge’ courses |
£72.00 |
| ICO data protection registration |
£35.00 |
| HMRC tax and national insurance |
£1,953.53 |
| Total for approval |
£4,682.71 |
4.0 Cllr. Keith Chapman – WWI exhibitions and events
Cllr. Chapman spoke about some proposed commemorations of the 100th Anniversary of outbreak of World War I and 70th Anniversary of D-Day, planned across the County for 2014. He forwarded the following notes including suggestions for events and activities which local communities can get involved with:
- With my responsibility for Libraries, Country Parks, Museums and Archives etc. I feel I’m in the right position to take the lead role in the 2014 commemorations.
- I have asked whether it will be possible to plant areas of poppies within our Country Parks and if it is possible I would expect local Councillors to take an active role.
- In view of the above I also plan to ask the Borough and Districts if they would wish to participate in planting poppies in their Parks as well.
- I see Museums, Libraries and Archives taking a very active role in the commemorations with displays and exhibitions portraying the life of troops and also Hampshire generally at that time.
- With the Leader’s permission I would like to set up a series of lectures in the Great Hall on specific events during the two World Wars and with displays of some of the sketches and paintings troops did whilst facing conflict. I will rely on Archives for much of the investigation.
- For Arts I am hoping to persuade our performing arts to do a mixture of songs from the era and poetry that soldiers wrote themselves or enjoyed reading.
- Theatre Production/Film of ‘War Horse’ – I believe the First World War was the last time horses were used in battle – and hope to find ways of portraying this.
- I will be arranging meetings with the Royal British Legion both at County and branch levels.
- I will use Councillor Mans expertise and knowledge to link in to the military.
- Birth of the RAF on 1 April 1918 – bringing together both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
- M33 – in support of the British landings during the Battle of Gallipoli.
Richard Wood as PC Chair said the parish council would consider options and aim to come up with a suitable event or activity. The idea of a memorial for the village was put forward, as this has been requested by the community, but it was acknowledged that funding for a war memorial may be difficult to find. Cllr. Chapman suggested he may have some sources of funding available to assist with the costs of this.
Cllr. Wood also explained that Bramley has a Historical Society who may wish to investigate archives and libraries for information about how Bramley was involved and affected by WW1.
5.0 Planning and Development Committee Report
The parish council was asked by the Chairman to ratify a response previously forwarded to the Borough Council Cabinet by the P&D Cttee in respect of decision notice 794/PL regarding proposed development sites for the Local Plan. Cllr. Penfold asked for confirmation that the PC would continue to acknowledge the impact of development on the whole community, and it was stated that through the P&D Cttee and the Neighbourhood Planning process this would be followed up in every possible way. See appendix for full response.
It was resolved that the response be endorsed.
Proposed Cllr. Holland, seconded Cllr. Durrant. Vote as follows: 6 Cllrs in favour, 1 Cllr abstained
In addition, Cllr. Durrant reported that Cllr. Holland had attended the P&D Cttee meeting to discuss the disused RBL site which is likely to be subject of a planning application in the near future. It was noted that the Cttee were aiming to position some influence over the National RBL to build no more than 8-10 houses on the site.
Neighbourhood Development Plan progress report
It was noted that the open session went exceptionally well, with 152 people attending. The increased publicity for the event worked well and the Cttee thanked those who helped with a number of door-to-door deliveries of promotional and information leaflets.
The ‘marmite quiz’ which was used to start discussions about the challenges being faced by the NDP group and the community gave interesting insight into people’s views.
The Cttee were delighted that 15 people have come forward to work on the NDP group, the next step being to meet with them and representatives from the Borough Council and Planning Aid to start the process for the steering group. The NDP reps would address the APM in April with more information to maintain momentum.
It was agreed that the NDP should have its own website rather than be a part of the main Parish Council website. Until this can be worked on, the information will be posted on the PC website under its own button.
Following on from the open session it was also noted that the community had taken the opportunity to discuss other issues with the parish councillors present, and it was suggested that ‘surgeries’ may be considered on a more regular basis to engage with the community. It was also noted that the newsletter had been well received.
7.0 Community Wellbeing Cttee Update
Transport
It was noted that there had been a good overall improvement throughout the village since the highways works had been carried out, although there was an ongoing issue with pot holes, which have been reported and are showing on the HCC website as open jobs awaiting repair. The cinder track resurfacing was still awaited and was in the hands of the contractor. The nature of the contract which offered the most cost effective solution was that the contractors could decide their own order for carrying out the complete package of works. The closure notice on the footpath came into effect 11th February and lasts for 3 months so it is hoped the work will still be done within the timescales.
There was an update from Cllr. Holland about the concept of a footbridge over the level crossing. Hampshire County Council and Network Rail have looked at various schemes seemingly costing iro £800,000. The recent study showed a potential suitable position as being on the footpath side of the C32, adjacent to the Bakery car park. It was noted that for every group of people who would be pleased to see this proceed, there would be an opposing group who would not be happy. There are various aspects which need to be linked in before this can be considered further, including the electrification of the railway line which is already planned, and the increase in rail traffic focussing on freight. There is also the potential for an additional station at Chineham which is being promoted by HCC and on the outline plans being proposed by Croudace for the nearby development. Parking for the station is also a long-term concern as there is no obvious site to develop a car park and residential side roads are increasingly congested. It was noted that Network Rail charge a significant fee to meet with people outside of their organisation and while there are so many aspects to consider, it is not likely going to be possible to further consider a footbridge at this stage. If there appears to be progress in the near future there would then be consultations to establish the views of Bramley’s residents, accepting that those people who live nearby would likely not welcome such proposals.
Cllr. Holland explained that now the roadworks have been completed and the weather has improved a little, the community speedwatch scheme will be restarted. There was a request that commercial vehicles get some focus as it is felt that they are most guilty of speeding through the village.
It was also noted that the local police had issued a letter Bramley Primary School’s parentmail asking for sensible driving and parking near the school.
Broadband update
Cllr. Wright explained that he would be attending a meeting at which Maria Miller and Mike Simpson would be present, discussing the Internet and Broadband provision for businesses. He would try to establish some dates for the fast broadband scheme to be rolled out in Bramley, as the new cabinets have been being installed over recent weeks. BT are not clarifying at the moment when the broadband will be available for sign-up, other than to reiterate that it should be ‘during 2013’. It was clarified that this was a commercial decision and not related to the Hampshire County Council broadband campaign.
Bramley Granary
The outcome of the grant application is awaited, although feedback from the fund managers was that the project scored highly and it is the type of work they would be willing to support, the whole fund is only £60,000 to the £15,000 that we are requesting may be too much. It might be that the repairs could be scaled back, or we could seek a further grant from another source to make up the difference.
7.0 Police, County and Borough Councillors Reports
County Cllr. Keith Chapman explained that there had been some meetings about different ways to run the Museum service, with pressure on revenue budgets to run them with less funds. Charitable Trusts may be an option.
Cllr. Tomblin congratulated Cllr. Bell and the P&D Cttee for their work on the NDP open session.
He explained that he was not so happy with the PCs response to decision notice 794/PI and went on to explain that the decision had been ‘called-in’, which means that amendments will need to be made before further work can proceed. This means that the paper is returned to the P&I Cttee who have 21 days to decide what action will be taken in response to the call-in. Traffic reports were going to be vital and it was noted that sensors had been placed around the borough to monitor traffic flow.
Public Interval
Judith Foyle explained that members of her family had gone to regimental museums who were very helpful in researching WWI and WWII information concerning family members, and the same could be done to research Bramley’s historical information.
Catrina Stockwell asked whether there was an update on the parish lengthsman scheme which had been discussed last year. It was reported that the pilot scheme had proved to be successful and that the Clerk had added Bramley onto the list to be a part of the roll-out. This was separate to the proposed ‘rapid response warden’ role being considered, as the lengthsman role has responsibility for working alongside the Highway, and usually covers several neighbouring parishes.
She also asked whether those residents living near the proposed yellow lines schemes will get a say. It was confirmed that the proposals will be consulted on and the views of residents would be vital in deciding whether the scheme goes ahead, but that it was these residents who had asked for a solution so they were likely to approve of the scheme.
There were some negative responses to the rumble strips which have been installed at either end of the village, with some residents feeling that they were ineffective.
A member of the public asked why Network Rail were not being made to pay for a car park for the village as it
is their customers who are parking in the residential side roads. The response from County Cllr, Borough Cllrs and the Parish Councillors were, while that would be nice, it would not happen as Network Rail have no duty to make such a provision and it is instead the responsibility of the local authorities to manage parking.
Parish Plan Group
Cllr. Penfold explained that they would be presenting the results of the survey conducted last summer at the annual parish meeting in April.
9.0 Representatives reports
Cllr. Wood explained that several of the committee members of the Village Hall Trust had resigned for different personal reasons. The trust are now seeking volunteers to work with them, and Cllr. Janet Grieve was discussion with them how she may be able to help, as she has experience of working for a Trust.
It was also reported that a village fun day may now take place, organised in part by Kevin Smart from the Bakery. This would be a smaller event than the one previously proposed and they make seek some funding in order to book the pavilions and green for the day, proposed to be 26th May 2013.
11.0 Items for the next meeting
To consider proposals for the S106 outdoor leisure funding pot. Cllr. Wood was proposing an outdoor gym and the Clerk was checking with June Balcolm, BDBC, whether this would be covered by the funding. Cllrs. were asked to contribute their ideas which may be circulated before the next meeting.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.30pm.