MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF CHURTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY
8 SEPTEMBER 2015 AT 8PM IN CHURTON VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT; Cllrs. Andrew Palmer (Chairman), Richard Prossor, Carol Hayes, Karl
Cundill, Rachel Welch, Tom Prior, Phil Thacker, Howard Greenwood
IN ATTENDANCE; PCSO Jon Hurst, Sgt Graeme Carvell, Helena Crawford (CWAC
Highways), 5 members of the public, Claire Taylor (Clerk)
APOLOGIES; None received
1. OPEN FORUM
(i) School transport. Representative parents from the village attended to
bring attention to their situation with regards to new regulations
applicable to home to school transport whereby CWAC will now only
pay for transport to the nearest school in distance. It was noted that
6 children were presently affected. As a result of the new rules
Churton children wanting to attend Bishop Heber High school in
Malpas were now required to pay £880 per annum for a ‘spare seat’
which was not guaranteed for the whole year. All had received a % of
a mitigation fund which accounted for approximately 50% of the cost
of a seat for this year only. The parents supplied the following table as
additional background information;
SCHOOL
CWAC
OUR DIST.
OUR COMMENTS
6.3
Oversubscribed, would never been
DIST.
Bishop Blue
6.331
offered a place
Coats.
Christleton
None given
6.7
Oversubscribed, would never have been
offered a place
Queens Park
7.7
Catholic High
8.23
7.95
Not a consideration on grounds of
religion
Upton High
8.34
Bishop Heber
8.46
8.38
Our Catchment school
There was already an existing bus that took children from Churton to Bishop Heber, currently
with spare seats on board so the council would not have to provide a new bus. If the children
went to Queens Park in Handbridge however the council would have to lay on a specific
minibus at an additional cost. Additionally when they applied for the school places they knew
about the change in transport policy, however based on their selection criteria, they were not
provided with any distances to the schools.
Also the spare seat cost had risen from £660
to £880 this year, a 33% increase and they were seeking some clarity on this increase as
they were worried that this would rise sporadically annually, and furthermore that they would
not be guaranteed seats for the duration of the children’s’ time at Bishop Heber. To conclude
they felt that the decision was grossly unfair to the Churton children and wished to be given
free transport to Bishop Heber School.
Agreed; Cllr Howard Greenwood agreed to take up the issue with CWAC on the parents behalf.
Parents to email Cllr Greenwood with their concerns.
(ii)Street lamps; Lights were reported as being out in Pump Lane and Hob lane.
Agreed; Clerk to raise with Highways.
2. POLICE MATTERS
Sergeant Graeme Carvell introduced himself as the new Rural Sergeant. He reminded
those present that the Cheshire Alert system continued to provide updates on main
areas of concern and encouraged those not already subscribed to sign up for the
alerts. Any specific priorities should continue to be raised with PCSO Jon Hurst.
Speeding was a particular/regular issue locally and it was noted that Jon continued
to deploy the speed gun and would be able to assist in starting up a Community
Speed Watch initiative if required. This would need 6 to 8 volunteers and CWAC
would train and select areas to work from. John Lloyd had recently been recruited to
the new role of volunteer CSW co ordinator and would also be able to support. Noted
that Chester Road needed targeting and advisory letters sending where necessary.
Concern was raised regarding cyclists in general and Sgt Carvell reported that this
was not just a local issue and that the police already engaged with the cycling
community and would continue to do so through Cycle Watch.
PCSO Jon Hurst reported that the area would be getting another third PCSO. There
had been few incidents over the last 30 days but these included;
Farndon … Theft from a small holding
Kings Meadow estate … Burglary
Farndon School … 2 unattended bikes stolen from outside
Crewe Lane … Valuable garden ornament stolen
Hare coursing … Activity noticed, please be vigilant and report on 101.
Police Beat Management meetings were being organised and would be advertised in
the near future.
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 14 JULY 2015.
Agreed as a true record. Proposed; Cllr Prossor and Seconded; Cllr Hayes.
4. MATTERS ARISING.
(i)
Heber Bus Stop. Noted that CWAC Road Safety Unit had responded to
the Parish Council concerns regarding the bus stopping on Chester Road
to the effect that a risk assessment would have been carried out when the
bus stop was initially sited in its current position opposite The White Horse.
Agreed; Clerk to ask Arrowebrook to revert back to using the stop in Pump Lane
by the noticeboard.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
BBQ. Noted that the BBQ had raised £420 profit.
Litter picker. Noted that a suitable applicant had come forward in response
to the recently placed advert for a village litter picker.
Register of Interests. Noted that two forms were outstanding and should
be submitted without delay.
The White Horse; Noted that painting/works were underway by Admiral
Tavern.
Noticeboard on White Horse carpark; Noted that the board needed moving
or making safe. Agreed; Cllr Palmer to speak to Ash at The White Horse.
Payphone/defibrillator; Cllr Palmer had spoken to The Community
Heartbeat Trust who confirmed that they thought they had bought a red
phone box. As the box was on Admiral Taverns land they would now be
responsible for removing it. The defibrillator had been found by The White
Horse and would be passed back to the Parish Council for
siting/community availability.
5. WEBSITE
Noted that 2 tenders had been received for the website provision.
Agreed; UK City Images (Alistair Campbell) be approved as the website provider.
Proposed by Cllr Welch and seconded by Cllr Thacker. Clerk to contact Alistair
and ask him to progress as soon as possible.
6. CONDITION OF THE B5130
Helena Crawford from Highways attended the meeting to hear the concerns of
the Parish Council; the B5130 was littered with potholes, patched, surface was
generally poor, faded markings, cat’s eyes not working when other minor roads
further afield were being kept in pristine condition.
Helena’s response was that funding for maintenance had to be evidence driven
and a DVI survey where surveyors walk the road and assess the defects over a
rolling 30 metre length is used to generate a score. The higher the score the
worse the road. A score of 58 or more would warrant funding. The highest
scoring for the B5130 had been 20 when it was surveyed. It had potholes but it
still had shape. Surface treatment was favoured on rural roads and the B5130
was last dressed in 2007.The plan was for 2 sections to be dressed again in May
2016 ( The section through the village and a section between Aldford Hall
Cottages to the north of Glebe Farm) which would prolong the life of the road to
between 5 and 10 years. Nationally only A roads now get catseyes when road
maintenance is carried out and there may in the future be no central line.
Anybody wishing to comment should do so at DFT.Gov.website. There was no
100% funding for traffic calming. If the community funded half of the cost (£30k to
£40k is full approx. cost) CWAC would fund the other half which again would
have to be an evidence based need. Sometimes a camera was the only answer.
Any potholes should be reported via the CWAC webpage or through the contact
centre on 0300 123 7036.
7. SIBBERSFIELD LANE SPEED LIMIT
Cllr Palmer reported that he had spoken to Paul Roberts and expressed the view
that the Redrow/Elan developers should fund the majority of any costs resulting
from a reduced speed limit being enforced. Churton Parish Council would
however be prepared to offer a pro rata contribution. Paul Roberts was to follow
this up.
8. PLANNING
(i)
15/03202/FUL The Cottage, New Lane, Churton. Demolition of existing
single storey timber conservatory and car port with erection of two storey
side extension and other external alterations. APPROVED 2/9/2015
(ii)
15/01913/LBC Churton Lodge, Chester Road, Churton. Demolition of
greenhouse and removal and infilling of swimming pool. APPROVED
10/8/2015
(iii)
15/03542/CAT Knowle Cottage, Stannage Lane, Churton. Tree
felling/works. Comments by 15/9/2015
9. FINANCE
(i)
Annual Audit; Noted that the annual audit for year ended 31 March 2015
was concluded on 10 August 2015.
(ii)
Cheques raised;
£16.22 clerks expenses.
£20.00 Cheshire Community Action affiliation fee.
£181.00 CWAC Election re charge fee.
(iii)
Payroll provision; Agreed following the demise of Douglas Tonks payroll
provider the Council would use the services of CVS Cheshire East.
10.
VILLAGE HALL UPDATE
Cllr Cundill reported that an error on the new lease had been rectified by
Grosvenor Estate and that he was due to meet with them to discuss potential
further improvements. The fire officer had done an assessment and had
requested a copy of the fire risk assessment. The 5 year electrical check was to
be addressed.
(i)
11. OTHER CORRESPONDENCE
Development of the Farndon Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan; Terms of
reference for The Neighbourhood Plan Committee received.
12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
(i)
Pump Lane; Residents had noticed that the Grosvenor Estate had been
conducting various surveys on land at the junction of Pump Lane/New
Lane. Agreed; Cllr Palmer to write to the Estate to ask what the activity
was for.
(ii)
Hedges on Chester Road; Have become overgrown. Agreed; Clerk to
write to the Barnston Estate.
(iii)
Dee Valley Water; Cllr Palmer voiced concern regarding the regularity of
the water supply being cut off. Agreed; Cllr Palmer to write to Ian
Plenderleath asking why it kept happening and when the infrastructure
might be upgraded.
(iv)
Weeds in gutters south of village; Agreed; Clerk to contact Streetscene.
13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING; 17 NOVEMBER 2015 AT 8.15PM IN CHURTON
VILLAGE HALL.