Held in the Bramley Room at the Village Hall on Monday 18th November 2013 at 7.30pm.
Minutes
Parish Councillors present were:
Chris Holland (Chair), Richard Wood, Janet Grieve, Chris Wright, Malcolm Bell, Tony Durrant, Alison Jayawardena,
Claire Greggor
Also present were:
Parish Clerk, Borough Cllr. Ranil Jayawardena, 2 members of the public
ITEM COMMENT ACTION
1.0 Apologies
Cllr Bruce Ansell who is away with work, Borough Cllr Tomblin and County Councillor Chapman who were at other meetings.
Announcement from the Chairman
‘After the Parish Council AGM and Council Election in May 2013 Councillor Penfold was in dispute with the Chairman and after a number of disagreements chose to resign in an email. The resignation was accepted and confirmed at the June PCM. During June and July two sets of legal advice confirmed due process had been followed. On 29th July Councillor Penfold confirmed she believed her resignation was not valid.
On Friday 15th November the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Interim Public Law Manager and Deputy Monitoring Officer Melanie O’Sullivan, judged that all previous legal advice was wrong; she concluded that Claire Penfold had not lawfully resigned. New legal advice concluded that Claire Penfold did not follow the correct process in her resignation and therefore it was invalid; the Deputy Monitoring Officer stated she is satisfied that the Parish Council took the right action, by seeking advice and then acting correctly on that advice.
Mrs Claire Greggor is now entitled to retake her place on the PC.
Let us now move on to the Agenda.
2.0 Minutes of the last meeting
It was resolved that the minutes were a true and accurate record.
Proposed Cllr. Durrant, seconded Cllr. Grieve
3.0 Finance
3.i Monthly bank Reconciliation and Accounts for approval
It was resolved that the accounts for payment would be approved. Please see appendix.
Proposed Cllr. Wright, seconded Cllr. Durrant
3.ii To agree a contribution of £500 towards the costs of the village magazine
It was resolved that a donation of £500 would be paid to the magazine organisers to secure the near future of the village-wide magazine within which the parish council and its committees are able to publish information for monthly distribution.
Cllr. Holland abstained from the vote and signed the register as his wife is on the Magazine production team.
Vote 6:1 with Cllr. Greggor voting against.
3.iii To receive the minutes from the finance committee meeting
The matters discussed at the finance committee meeting were outlined. There were no further questions or comments.
4.0 Planning Applications
Please see appendix for applications.
It was noted that the planning application 13/01938/HSE, Erection of detached double garage at Waverley Cottage had been rejected since the agenda was published.
Application 13/01594/FUL for Change of use of land to residential land and erection of fences at numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43 Farriers Close, Bramley would not be supported by the parish council because the environmental buffer land is important and should be preserved. It was noted that one of the reasons the residents may be applying was that the maintenance of such areas by the Borough Council may be inadequate and it was suggested that the parish council try to assist with improving the maintenance of buffer land, rather than allow the land to become privately owned and closed off.
5.0 Borough Council reports
Cllr. Jayawardena delivered his verbal report.
Public interval
Judith Foyle commented that the parking in Longbridge Road appears not to have been helped by the road markings which have recently been put in. Cllr Wood agreed as he had been contacted by some residents who live in Longbridge Road. It was noted that the engineers would be carrying out a site visit and Cllrs Holland and Wood would raise this matter with them and propose some solutions.
She went on to discuss the consultation held by Charles Church regarding the proposed Minchens Lane development. She explained that she had asked them whether they were considering any bungalows and was disappointed that they were not, because it appears they do not get as much profit from them. She explained that 2-3 story houses were not what everybody in Bramley needed and felt there was a lack of opportunity for older people to downsize and stay in the village, remaining independent by moving into a bungalow.
John Atkins who is a new resident to the area attended and made more enquiries about the Local Development Plan and NDP process.
6.0 Allotments project
Cllr. Mrs Jayawardena delivered a verbal report and circulated some proposed plans for the new site. It was noted that the new costs which had been calculated by the engineers were higher than the original estimates which were now 2 years old and which did not include such things as road opening and access. It was explained that the project team would speak with the engineers to understand the costs for which the explanations were somewhat technical, and to try to consider alternatives to bring the project within the previously anticipated budget.
Cllr. Bell said he felt that the car parking being proposed was inadequate and wanted to ensure that vehicles would not park on Bramley Green Road. It was noted that the project team had previously been tasked with reducing the project costs as the finance committee had reduced the overall budget, and that additional parking would increase the costs again. It was also noted that the project team were trying to limit the amount of hard landscaping being proposed, as this would impact more on the natural environment.
It was agreed that the engineers would be asked to provide estimates for increasing the number of parking spaces so that the cost and benefits could be discussed further.
7.0 Neighbourhood Development Plan
Cllr. Bell had circulated his briefing note prior to the meeting which would be available on the NDP website. It was agreed that the Terms of Reference for the committee would be reviewed during the month so that it could be approved at the December parish council meeting. Cllr Holland asked all Cllrs to consider the draft wording and pass comments back in advance of the meeting.
8.0 Other representatives reports
Clift Meadow Trust
It was reported that the Trustees met on the 4th Nov and will meet again on the 2nd Dec. Andy Stead was nominated to succeed Hugh Tottenham as Chairman. The Trustees are beginning to see business returning to levels of last November before the Pavilion was flooded. The acoustic challenge in the Pavilion has been assessed and will cost £3K to fix. The Secretary has approached the National Lottery for a grant. The CMT is considering the detailed implication of the new facilities being proposed. The PC is facilitating the delivery of capability and it will be for the CMT to manage the use and through life costs – the PC will respond to requests for financial assistance as is the current situation. The Trustees have for some time been comfortable with the project however they will have a ‘Go/No Go’ decision for the Project on the 2nd Dec.
Resignation of Parish Clerk/Proper Officer
Last week I was offered the resignation of Sarah Smart as our Parish Clerk and the proper Officer to our council. Sarah is to take up a post working for the CAB – she has given 30 days of notice which began last week; she has agreed to support the December PCM on 16th December as part her expected handover of responsibilities. I am sure all Councillors and those present will agree with me that Sarah has been a great Servant to Bramley and has been responsible for some significant improvements – she will be greatly missed.
We have already placed the required advertisement on the HALC website. Closing date for applications is Wednesday 4 December. Interviews are planned for mid December.
There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.10pm.
Appendix 3.i
Monthly bank Reconciliation and Accounts for approval
BRAMLEY PARISH COUNCIL
BANK RECONCILIATION NOVEMBER 2013
Business Account sheets 48 £ 166,770.51
Receipts £ 5.96
Payments £ –
Closing Balance £ 166,776.47
Current Account sheets 53 £ 24,106.09
Receipts £ –
Payments £ 7,207.64
Closing Balance £ 16,898.45
National Savings Account £ 16,183.63
Interest £ –
Closing Balance £ 16,183.63
Totals £ 199,858.55
Cheques not yet cleared from these statements £ 6,311.93
True Balance £ 193,546.62
Cheques for approval
300001 Litter Warden Salary £ 291.67
300002 Clerk Salary £ 1,251.33
300003 Clerk Expenses £ 50.64
300004 Mark Pendold (*S106 to be refunded) £ 5,076.00
300005 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council,
planning application fee (*S106 to be refunded) £ 577.50
300006 Bulpitt clearance of Green, plus 3rd cut £ 2,400.00
300007 R Gregory – Burial Grounds Maintenance £ 110.50
300008 Bramley fun day (payee tbc) £ 1,500.00
Total cheques for payment £ 11,257.64
Checked By Chairman Chris Holland Date
……………………………………………….. 18th November 2013
Appendix: 4.0 Planning Applications
| REFERENCE NUMBER | APPLICATION DETAILS | LOCATION | RECOMMENDATION/ DECISION |
| 13/01594/FUL | Change of use of land to residential land and erection of fences | Numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43
Farriers Close Bramley RG26 5AX |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/02068/FUL | Provision of new access gate to Green Farm | Green Farm Land
Off Sherfield Rd Junction With Campbell Rd Bramley RG26 5BB |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/00751/FUL | Provision of photovoltaic solar park and ancillary infrastructure | Land at Beaurepaire Farm
New Road Bramley Hampshire RG26 5ED |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/01868/HSE | Conversion of garage loft to living accommodation with the construction of pitched roof dormer to front elevation and 3 no. roof lights to rear elevation | 16 The Mews
Bramley Tadley RG26 5QX |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/01021/FUL | Conversion of outbuilding to 4 no. flats with new vehicular access | Bramley Inn
The Street Bramley Tadley RG26 5BT |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/01938/HSE | Erection of detached double garage | Waverley Cottage
Sherfield Road Bramley RG26 5AG |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/02039/ENSC | Request for screening opinion for development of 200 dwellings | Land At OS Grid Ref 465296 159586 Minchens Lane
Bramley Hampshire |
Pending Consideration |
| 13/01973/HSE | Construction of new first floor living accommodation involving raising of the roof with dormer windows to the front and rear elevations and erection of front, side and rear extensions | Dunsandle
Silchester Road Bramley RG26 5DQ |
Pending Consideration |
Attachments:
| File | Description | File size | Last modified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes of the Meeting of Bramley Parish Council – 18th November 2013 | Minutes of the Meeting of Bramley Parish Council – 18th November 2013 | 254 kB | Thu, 29 May 2014 10:49:03 |