KINGTON ST MICHAEL PARISH COUNCIL
TH
19
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON THE
MAY 2011 AT THE VILLAGE HALL, KINGTON ST MICHAEL THAT COMMENCED
AT 8.00 PM
Present:
Councillor:
Mrs L Durno – Chairman
Mrs J Charge, Mrs M Hall, Mr B Low, Miss C Marlow,
Mr D Rawlins, Mr R Sealy
In Attendance: Mrs C Sutton (Clerk), and 3 members of the public.
Public Question Time
It was reported that the seat at the Recreation Field had again been moved. It was agreed that a
note would be put on the web site and in the newsletter to request that people refrain from moving
it. ACTION CLLRS DURNO & RAWLINS
MINUTES
11/063
Apologies
Apologies had been received from Cllr Charge, Cllr Squires and Mr H Greenman.
11/064
Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
11/065
Minutes of Last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 24th March 2011 were received and approved as a correct
record before being signed by the Chair.
11/066
Report on Actions from last meeting
(i)
Clerk’s Report ;
Planning : Responses have been sent for 8 The Ham and Tallywacker Farm. No decision has
been made for either of these applications, or for the Kington Farm application.
Neighbourhood Watch Signage: David Budd from the Crime Prevention Unit of Wiltshire Police
has arranged for the signs to be provided. He met with the Clerk and explained that if the Parish
Council erects them there could be liability issues if for example a sign came away and hit a car or
bicycle. He advised that the costs of these could run into the millions. He has agreed to arrange
for Wiltshire Council to erect the signs at a cost of £42. They should be up by the time of the
meeting. Mr Boyd who has a sign on his land has been told of the liability problem, and it has
been suggested that he remove his sign.
Tor Hill: The deeds have been received and circulated following a freedom of information request.
The pedestrian warning sign should have been done in April, a chaser has been sent to ask when
this work will be carried out.
Registrations: The Council has been registered with HMRC and we are awaiting the
documentation. Once registered, I will arrange that KSM is my main employment. This will mean
that any tax payable will be paid through the payroll for my other job, making the administration
much easier.
The Public Sector Mapping Agreement has been entered into.
Recreation Field :
Benches - There are benches in the play area, and a bench outside the play area. There are also
benches available in the Nymph Hay Wood. There is no need for any further benches.
Zip Wire and Maypole spinner – these have been installed and are being well used. They have
been included in the Council’s insurance policy.
Missing deep water sign – this has been recovered, and Cllr Low is looking into ways of re affixing
it to its post.
A parishioner had reported teenagers causing damage to the kick-wall fence, damaging
trees and lighting a fire and this has been reported to the police. The fence is to be repaired on
14th May.
A location plan of the buried cables has been passed to the Clerk.
Damage to fencing of playground area will be repaired by Frank Hughes, materials to be provided
under the Clerk’s delegated authority.
Highways: A request has been made to Clarence, copied to Kington Langley and Langley Burrell
Parish Councils that the footpath alongside the A350 be upgraded to a cycle path. A response
has been received from Kristian Price suggesting that a dual footpath / cycleway would be the
best option. He has this should be submitted to the Community Area Board Transport Group for
consideration, and an Issues form has been completed. Cllr Greenman has been informed and is
very supportive of the proposal.
The weeds on the road between KSM and The Plough have also been reported. This has been
passed on to the Parish Stewards who should arrange for the weeds to be removed.
Sound System in Hall: This was used at the start of the Annual Parish Meeting and felt not to
contribute much to the proceedings.
Defibrillator Scheme: The total raised currently stands at £4,263.12. The grant that was applied
for is now being discussed by the fund's trustees this month, as opposed to April, and the outcome
is awaited. An electrician has been consulted with regards to the cost of installation of the
equipment and the Listed Building Officer from Wiltshire Council has been consulted regarding the
positioning of the defib at The Jolly Huntsman and will be making a site visit.
Area Board Meeting: Cllrs Durno & Squires attended the Area Board Meeting in Chippenham on
May 9th. Matters of interest are:
 Wiltshire Council has launched a superfast broadband survey for home and business
users, which runs until June 3rd. This allows people to say what types of services they
can currently access over the internet and how well their service performs. They are also
asked for their views on getting superfast broadband in their community for the future.
The survey can be completed on-line at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/digitalinclusion or by calling
0300 456 0100.
 Seagry Parish Council requested and was granted a Community Asset Transfer of their
parish allotments from Wiltshire Council.
 Following cutbacks to bus services county-wide, there will be no change to Kington St
Michael's bus service.
 The RUH is becoming an NHS Foundation Trust. Further information is included in the
correspondence folder.
 A presentation was made on the Localism Bill and a more detailed presentation was
requested. The Bill is currently in a state of flux until it is presented to Parliament at the
end of the year. Items of interest were Community Right to Buy, Community Asset
Transfer and Referendums on Request.
 Kington St Michael Village Shop was held up as a good and thriving example of a
community shop.
 Avril Balmforth was nominated in the individual section of the first Chippenham
Community Area Awards. Having been shortlisted into the final four, Avril was Highly
Commended and a framed award was accepted on her behalf.
Village maintenance: The canopy needs raising on some of the trees in The Ridings, as
branches are overhanging the footpath. This will be reported to the Parish Stewards later in the
year, when trees may be pruned.
Diamond Jubilee Update: The 2nd meeting took place in the KSM Club on 10 May 11. The
scope of the meeting was to provide background, highlight ideas already submitted and form a
Cttee or WG. The group was in favour of a 1 day event starting near the Church and finishing with
an evening social. Everything in-between would be finalised by the Cttee although there are
approx 20 ideas already on the table. Cllrs Low & Rawlins now have names of those definitely
interested in being on the Cttee. They will sort out another meeting in June at which point the
Cttee will elect a Chair / Dep Chair and Sec. Kevin Henderson has agreed to be the Treasurer.
Event co-ordinators will come from the various village groups.
11/067
11/068
(ii)
Other Actions ;
It was noted that the movement of the documents from the Village Hall had been done to make
sure they remained safe and available to anyone that wished to view them.
Policing
No report had been received from the Police.
Planning Matters
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11/069
(i)
WC Decisions received
a. No decisions received. The Kington Farm application remains undecided.
(ii)
Planning Applications received
a. N/11/01364/TCA – Tree Surgery at Kington Manor KSM. Application withdrawn.
b. N/11/01164/FU – Erection of Replacement Dwelling at Tallywacker Farm. Response
sent 28th April 2011 objecting and requesting that the agricultural tie remains. Cllr
Greenman had advised that he had spoken to new responsible planning officer, and
they were aware of the history. It was agreed that Cllr Greenman should be asked to
call in the application if there was any chance of approval. ACTION CLERK
c. N/11/01112/FUL – Extensions and alterations to existing dwelling at 8 The Ham.
Response sent 28th April supporting the application.
Highway Matters
(i)
Jubilee Footpath – It was proposed, seconded and unanimously resolved that the Tor
Hill project be nominated as the Parish Council’s Jubilee Project, and that the
footpath be named the Diamond Jubilee Footpath.
(ii)
Jubilee Footpath progress – A draft letter to Wiltshire Council which had previously
been circulated was discussed. This was amended, and it was agreed that the Clerk
should send it to the Property Solicitor at Wiltshire Council, Cllr Jane Scott, Cllr
Howard Greenman and Kristian Price. ACTION CLERK.
Three different plans were circulated showing proposed routes of the path, with
different ways of dealing with the steep incline. It was noted that the solutions
proposed fell outside the land owned by Wiltshire Council, and Cllr Hall agreed to
return the plans to Churches and ask them to redraft so that they fit on the Wiltshire
Council owned land. ACTION CLLR HALL
It was agreed that the Wiltshire Council owned land needed to be staked out, and a
letter should be drafted to Mr Tim Royal inviting him to come and bring his own
surveyor if he wished. It was noted that this site meeting would need to take place
after the harvest. ACTION CLERK / CLLR CHARGE
(iii)
11/070
Westlea – Update on progress at Honeyknob Hill
It was noted that nothing had been heard from Westlea for a while, and the Clerk was
asked to chase this up to see what progress had been made. ACTION CLERK
Recreation Field
(i)
To consider skip quotes
It was noted that quotes had been received from 2 companies, however Cllr Isaac offered
to remove the debris using his trailer, which would mean the items could be removed
straight away rather than being left in a skip for the weekend. This was much
appreciated. It was agreed that all the hardcore should be removed, even though this had
been earmarked for cricket nets. It was agreed that Cllrs Low and Isaac should liaise re a
suitable date for a working party to clear the field and woods. ACTION CLLRS LOW &
ISAAC.
It was noted that the damage to the kick wall fencing would be dealt with under the Clerk’s
delegated authority.
(ii)
(iii)
Himalayan Balsam
It was noted that Himalayan Balsam had come back, mainly on the Woodland Trust’s
land. Sarah Stebbing of the Woodland Trust had offered to help with tracing the source,
however she had been out of the office for a while and responses were awaited from her.
The way to deal with the plant was to pull it up by the roots, however it would need to be
over nettle height, which it currently was not. Mme Pereire had indicated that she did not
have any balsam, however it was known to be on the Labouchere’s land. Cllr Low agreed
to chase up with the Woodland Trust. ACTION CLLR LOW
It was reported that Sarah Stebbing had agreed to get the notice board at the Nymph Hay
tidied up, and she would look into getting it replaced.
Stone Bridge Repairs
Steve Leonard of Wiltshire Council had confirmed that these had been carried out by
Wiltshire Council.
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11/071
(iv)
QEII Jubilee Fields Initiative
The benefits of having the field registered as a QEII Jubilee Field were considered, and it
was proposed, seconded and unanimously RESOLVED that the Kington St Michael
Recreation Field be put forward. ACTION CLERK.
(v)
Investigation of Tyre Marks on the Field
Despite investigations it was not known what had caused the marks.
Village Maintenance
(i)
Parish Stewards
It was noted that various matters had been reported to the Stewards. It was also noted
that the hedge near the build out was obscuring the signs, and the owner would be asked
to cut it back as soon as possible. ACTION CLLR DURNO
It was also reported that the stile at the South end of the allotments site had been
damaged, and the Clerk was asked to report this to Steve Leonard. ACTION CLERK.
11/072
CiLCA Qualification
It was noted that the Clerk had passed 19 units, but failed 6 in her CiLCA submission. It was
proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that the Parish Council should pay £90 for the resit
fees.
11/073
Financial Matters
The financial report for April / May was reviewed and it was proposed seconded and unanimously
RESOLVED that the report be accepted and that payments be approved.
11/074
Exchange of information / reports from members
It was reported that the Village Hall car park had now been resurfaced.
It was reported that work to convert 82 KSM into Almshouses would start on 18th June.
It was noted that Nigel Farr was in hospital having had a kidney removed, and it was agreed that
he should be sent a card wishing him a speedy recovery. It was agreed that the Church
volunteers should be asked if they would cut the grass at the Pond area whilst he was
incapacitated, and the Clerk should also write to Nigel to let him know what arrangements had
been made. ACTION CLERK
It was noted that a working party was being organised for Sunday 12 th June to dig in the cables,
and it was suggested that the clear up with Cllr Isaac’s trailer could also take place on that date.
The recreation field working group had suggested Saturday 5th November for the bonfire night,
and this would be added to the agenda for the next PC meeting for approval. The group had
suggested that they would donate 50% of the profits to the Jubilee celebrations fund. ACTION
CLERK
Cllr Rawlins reported that he was trying to obtain the cricket nets from RAF Lyneham for the field,
and would know the outcome within the next few weeks.
It was confirmed that the PC had approved the provision of a pergola at the recreation field, and
the working group was currently seeking a contractor to provide costings.
The recreation field working group was looking into arranging a 10k fun run to raise funds for the
Jubilee celebrations fund, and this was proposed for Sunday May 6 th. The Clerk was asked to put
this on the agenda for June so that it could be properly considered. ACTION CLERK.
11/075
Correspondence
Correspondence received was available for inspection at the meeting, and a schedule was
circulated.
Meeting closed at 9.40pm
Next meeting: 8.00pm 16th June, KSM Village Hall
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