ECCHINSWELL, SYDMONTON AND BISHOPS GREEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of AGM held at Ecchinswell Village Hall
Wednesday 4 June 2014, commencing at 19.15 hours
Present: Councillors Broxis, Bayliss, Court, Sparrow, Vaisset. In attendance: 5 members of the public,
Doreen Gascoine (Parish Clerk)
Item
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Action
Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
01/14 Resolved
Councillor Broxis was nominated by Councillor Court and seconded by Councillor Sparrow.
There being no other nominations Councillor Broxis was duly elected as Chairman.
Councillors Court and Vaisset were nominated and seconded for the position of Vice Chairman.
After a vote Councillor Vaisset was duly elected as Vice Chairman by 2 votes to 1.
Apologies
Borough Councillor Izett, Borough Councillor Falconer, County Councillor Thacker.
Declarations of Acceptance of office
All Councillors signed the relevant Acceptance of Office forms. Cllrs Bayliss and Vaisset took
away a Register of Members Interest form, to be returned to the Clerk as soon as possible.
Minutes of the previous meeting
02/14 Resolved
To receive and confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2013. Signed by the Chairman
(Cllr Broxis) as a true record.
Appointments/Responsibilities of Councillors
03/14 Resolved
It was resolved that members would continue to undertake the duties/responsibilities for which
they were responsible as members of the previous Council.
Date of next meeting
To follow the AGM, starting at 7.30.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.25.
ECCHINSWELL, SYDMONTON AND BISHOPS GREEN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of meeting held at Ecchinswell Village Hall
Wednesday 4 June 2014, commencing at 19.30 hours
Present: Councillors Broxis, Bayliss, Court, Sparrow, Vaisset.
In attendance: 5 members of the public; Jane Meredith (Newbury Weekly News); Doreen Gascoine (Parish Clerk)
Item
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Action
Apologies
Borough Cllr Izett, Borough Cllr Falconer, County Cllr Thacker.
The Clerk explained that the Borough and County Cllrs were otherwise engaged this evening but
all had said they would attend the Annual Assembly in July.
Declarations of interests
The Clerk stated that she has been advised that Cllr Bayliss should declare an interest in agenda
item 12h below. Cllr Bayliss therefore took no part in discussion of that item.
Minutes of previous meeting and actions arising
04/14 Resolved
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To receive and confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14 May 2014. Signed by the
Chairman (Cllr Broxis) as a true record.
Actions arising:
The Clerk has written to the landlord at the Royal Oak regarding the trees on the property but has
not received a reply.
05/14 Resolved
To write again, stressing the Health and Safety implications and the Parish Council’s concerns
that there might be an accident should the trees not be assessed as to their condition.
The repairs to the bench at the playing fields have now been completed.
New Financial Regulations – the Clerk advised that this will be postponed until September, due
to pressure of work.
BGCA has been contacted regarding the possibility of holding alternate meetings there but no
response has been received yet.
The vacancies on the Parish Council have been advertised.
All other issues are agenda items.
Public participation
Biddy Willoughby was present regarding the traffic at Brocks Green and asked for an update.
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) advised that there was nothing new to report. Biddy then expressed
concern that from the wording in the parish magazine following the last meeting it seems the
issue is becoming an Ecchinswell issue. While she has sympathy for anyone suffering from
speeding, the Brocks Green residents have their own specific concerns. She asked what the
Parish Council’s position was.
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) explained that the Parish Council understood their concerns but that
whatever suggestions Highways make need to be understood by everyone in the parish since they
will affect everyone. When the 30 mph limit was extended to cover Brocks Green this was
advertised on the agenda so all residents could attend the meeting and express their views. The
same happened when the Bishops Green road works were proposed. And the same will happen
now. If people don’t want to comment, that’s fine but the Parish Council is bound to put the
suggestions to all who might be affected.
Biddy then asked if the wheel chair users at Brocks Green would be consulted, as they had
specific concerns. The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) replied that the Parish Council fully understood
those concerns, that those concerned were aware the issue was being discussed and hopefully
they would come to the Assembly and express their views.
One member of the public explained that there were issues with traffic in other parts of the
village, including elderly pedestrians, push chairs etc so the whole village could be included
rather than limiting any measures to Brocks Green. He appreciated what the Parish Council has
been doing, with police checks etc.
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) replied that he fully understood and speeding through the whole
village has been a concern for some time. The Parish Council doesn’t have the authority or
ability to stop motorists speeding, nor to tell Highways what to do. These things take some time
to resolve as Highways have so many cases made to them from all over the county.
Two members of the public were present in connection with the vacancies on the Parish Council
– Marian Dain and Ann Clarke. They gave brief addresses to the Cllrs. The Chairman explained
that the vacancies had to be advertised until 18 June and, as the July meeting would be very brief
before the Assembly, the question of co-opting onto the Council would be held back until the
September meeting, as there is no meeting in August. He suggested they come along to the
September meeting and the Cllrs would then consider co-opting on to the Council.
Borough Councillor’s Report
No report as Borough Cllr John Izett not present.
County Councillor's Report
Written report read out by the Clerk.
Children’s Services – Hampshire is one of the areas recently subject to a new, tougher, Ofsted
inspection. Inspectors concluded that overall services for children in need of help and protection,
children in care and care leavers are “good”, while the adoption service is “outstanding”, as is
leadership and governance across all children’s services.
Respite Care – Building has started on a £2.4m respite facility in Winklebury, Basingstoke. This
will provide short term breaks for adults with physical and learning disabilities and respite for
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their families and carers. Six guests can be accommodated at a time, in a safe, high-quality and
comfortable home environment.
Highways - HCC has submitted a bid for a share of the extra £168m funding that Government is
making available to councils across the country this year, following the wettest winter on record.
HCC’s initial repair estimate is in the region of £36million, and this is likely to increase as
further assessment needs to take place once water subsides in some areas.
Planning
06/14 Resolved
a) New applications
14/01363 Water Tower, Eagle Road, Bishops Green. Conversion of existing water tower to
three bedroom house with amenity roof terrace and two bay car park. No objection.
b) Decisions
None received.
Finance
a) Financial Report and Payments
07/14 Resolved
Payments for May:
R Wherry
Litter warden (May)
£ 80.76
D Gascoine
Clerk’s salary (May)
£415.82
D Gascoine
Clerk’s expenses (May)
£ 53.67
L McClelland
Litter warden (May)
£126.20
HMRC
PAYE - DG, RW
£ 124.00
Premier Grounds Maint
Maintenance – May
£660.00
Alan Abinger
Repairs to bench
£ 96.00
The Clerk advised that the accounts have been sent to the external auditor.
Correspondence
W Berks – Consultation on the draft revised statement of community involvement for W Berks.
S Water – Advice of water metering programme taking place in the area this summer. The Clerk
advised that this programme will reach the RG20 4 post code in July; customers will be contacted
ahead of the installation of a meter at their premises. Information to be put on the website and
circulated to all contacts.
HCC – From Leader of the Council; since HCC will no longer be providing the service of
Accredited Community Safety Offices, asking if the PC would be interested in setting up a
locally-run service. Such officers currently earn salaries in the region of £26K, which the Parish
Council would be unable to fund.
Highways and Rights of Way
a) Survey of paths and stiles
The Clerk advised that she has spoken to the landowner with regard to the remaining dangerous
stiles on FP17 and action to repair them should be taken. She has written to the landowner
regarding stiles etc on FP8 but received no reply. She will continue to pursue both issues.
The Clerk has received a further report on the condition of the Rights of Way from Margaret
Curtis, who is doing a great job of reporting issues. Any problems she found have been reported
to the HCC Rights of Way Office.
Cllr Sparrow advised that he will be attending a HCC “Partnership for Paths” seminar and will
report back to the Parish Council in due course.
b) Potholes
Cllr Sparrow gave an update; a few have been completed but it’s a slow process due to the
number that need attention across the County. It’s reassuring that Highways do get back to you
when you’ve reported a problem. Highways have looked at the culvert near North Ecchinswell
Farm and agreed that it’s a problem.
c) Overhanging vegetation
The Cllrs accepted the Clerk’s suggestion that landowners’ responsibility regarding overhanging
vegetation be mentioned in the parish magazine and also at the Assembly. If no action is then
taken, where there is a concern that vegetation is causing a hazard to all road users the Parish
Council will contact individual landowners.
b) New issues
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It has been noticed that between the school and Kingsclere Road a utilities culvert seems to be
collapsing and this will be followed up.
There is still a broken electricity pole opposite the church and the power cables are trailing on the
ground through the churchyard, causing a hazard. Southern Electricity to be contacted about this
and asked to remove the broken equipment.
New business
a) Cllrs’ responsibilities
08/14 Resolved
After discussion, that responsibilities be allocated as follows:
Cllr Sparrow – pothole and road issues.
Cllr Court – Neighbourhood Watch and Police.
Cllr Vaisset – remainder of the S106 funding. Representing the Parish Council at BGCA
meetings.
Cllr Bayliss – the pond; how to manage the weed growth, without impacting on the wildlife,
great crested newts etc.
Cllr Broxis – planning.
Cllr Vaisset will also check the bank reconciliation each month.
Other duties, including checking the work of the Lengthsman and the maintenance contractor,
and reviving the “Parish Welcome Pack” will be allocated once the Parish Council is at full
strength.
Matters for discussion
a) Annual Assembly
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) will draw up a poster and this will be put on the website, the parish
notice boards and sent to all on the contacts list.
b) Recruitment procedure
The procedure agreed at the last meeting was duly signed by the Chairman (Cllr Broxis). The
Clerk will circulate to all Cllrs.
c) Website
The Clerk advised that she has done a lot of work on this and it’s disappointing that only Cllr
Court had passed on some details that needed updating. These have been actioned but there are
other areas of the website which need checking. All links need checking, as these often change.
The various activities available in Ecchinswell and Bishops Green need checking, to see if they
are still available. Etc, etc. The Clerk is happy to do the updates but would appreciate it if all
Cllrs could help by highlighting where changes are needed. This is time consuming work and it
causing the Clerk to exceed her allocation of hours.
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d) Community Infrastructure Fund
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) reported that there was no progress yet, due to the recent Borough
elections. An application has been submitted, for clearance of the ditches in the parish, and we
are awaiting the outcome.
e) S106 money
The Chairman (Cllr Broxis) advised that it has been agreed that S106 money from three
developments in the parish be allocated to the cost of repairing the heating system at the Bishops
Green hall. This money will be released to the Parish Council so it can have oversight of the
work. The funding will hopefully be released around the end of July.
The Clerk reported that some £1200 of the S106 funding the Parish Council received some time
ago remains to be spent. The amount originally received was £13,200. By using matched funding
and obtaining grants for various works throughout the parish, this has resulted in £22,600 of
work being done, which represents a very good use of the funding.
f) Parish Lengthsman
The Clerk advised that the Lengthsman has been asked to clean the road signs and cut back any
obscuring vegetation on the road verges. After discussion it was agreed not to request additional
work at the present time.
g) Traffic at Brocks Green
Dealt with under agenda item 4 above.
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h) Allotments
i) Allotments Association
09/14 Resolved
After discussion that, as the allotment site is small, the Parish Council will not proceed with the
issue.
i) Safer Neighbourhoods Team
Cllr Court advised that she has been consulting with Abbey Carpenter about measures residents
can take in view of the recent spate of burglaries from outbuildings etc. Abbey is preparing an
advice sheet which can be circulated to residents, possibly by a letter drop and through the
contacts list. They are also discussing the use of CCTV and the possibility of organising an event
to publicise measures that can be taken.
j) Litter wardens
The Clerk advised that the Ecchinswell Litter Warden will be on holiday for three weeks at the
end of June, so if excessive litter is reported it will be due to his absence.
k) Parish magazine
Items for inclusion in the magazine were agreed.
Date of next meeting
Wednesday 9 July at Ecchinswell Village Hall at 7.00 pm, to be followed by the Annual
Assembly at 7.30 pm.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45.
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