Minutes of the meeting of Westwood Parish Council held in the Parish Rooms, Westwood at 7.30 pm on Monday 6 June 2011.
Present
Cllr. A Parker Chairman
Cllr. J Johnston
Cllr. T Biles
Cllr. J Bishop
Cllr. G Edwards
Cllr. S Harding
Cllr. S Higgs
Cllr. I Richardson
Mr. R Coleman Clerk
Wiltshire Councillor L Conley attended (Part-time).
PC Martin Barrett attended (Part-time).
There was one member of the public present.
1. Welcome and Introductions.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies.
Apologies for non-attendance were received from Cllr. R Howard-Evans.
3. Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 9 May 2011.
The minutes of this meeting were signed as a true and accurate record.
4. Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 9 May 2011.
The minutes of this meeting were signed as a true and accurate record.
5. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 10 May 2011.
Cllr. Johnston stated that there was only one matter that arose from the Annual Parish Meeting and that was a proposal by a parishioner that the Parish Council investigates the feasibility of providing allotment gardens in the parish. The Council decided to defer this matter until the next meeting.
6. Adjournment.
The Chairman adjourned the meeting for any members of the public to raise any matters of concern.
The meeting then re-convened.
7. Westwood Road Safety.
a. Cllr. Bishop reported on behalf of the Road Safety Working Group.
Cllr. Bishop stated that the first of three phases of monitoring traffic speeds had now been completed. He commented that until 24th October this year, six months after the commencement of the trial, comments on the trial can be sent to the Highways Department at Wiltshire Council in Trowbridge. The officer responsible is a Martin Rose. He stated that the Parish Council would invite parishioners to send copies of such correspondence or comments to the Parish Council.
Cllr. Bishop explained that the trial involves taking three sets of data at sixteen week intervals and eight weeks after the third set has been taken, the Parish Council should receive a final report from Wiltshire Council after which a survey of all villagers will be undertaken to seek the views of the parishioners. There are, he observed, two opportunities to make views known.
Cllr. Bishop added that Wiltshire Council is reluctant to introduce a virtual pavement in the village – even assuming that funding was available – for fear of it contaminating the results of the ‘speed trial’.
b. Cllr. Richardson stated that the Parish Council may need to lower its expectations in respect of the installation of a virtual pavement. He commented that funding is an issue and its installation may detract from the data gathering associated with the current ‘speed trial’. He added that it was not at the top of the list of possible highway works currently being considered by the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) and did not appear to have a sufficiently high priority for action to be taken. . Cllr. Parker stressed that the Parish Council will have to be forceful in ‘pushing’ the virtual pavement proposal and he saw some merit in introducing it now whilst a speed monitoring regime was in place. Cllr. Richardson stated that he understood that the CATG had funding to undertake a number of feasibility studies and that a feasibility study in relation to the ‘virtual pavement’ may be the only way forward at present. He added that the ‘virtual pavement’ has now been referred to the Wiltshire Council Highways Department and that the next CATG meeting should be better informed regarding its viability.
Cllr. Richardson stated that he would attend the next CATG meeting, if available, and the Parish Council resolved that Cllr. Richardson had delegated authority to represent the Parish Council at that meeting.
8. Neighbourhood Policing.
a. PC Barrett reported on behalf of the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT).
PC Barrett stated that there was little to report and that Westwood had been relatively crime free. He commented that there was a minor domestic incident reported and that children were reported playing in the school grounds when the school was unoccupied.
b. Cllr. Harding reported that the Play Area fence had now around twenty missing fence slats and that he had discovered many of the missing ones made up onto a ‘pallet-like’ structure nearby. He commented that this was a deliberate act of vandalism and asked PC Barrett to take an interest in the matter. He added that he would pass the slats to Mr Say with a request that they are refitted to the fence.
Cllr. Higgs reported that nothing had been heard recently from the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator.
9. Bradford on Avon Community Area Board.
a. Cllr. Parker stated that he attended the recent Area Board meeting. He commented that the main business, in addition to discussing a number of grant applications, was a presentation by Wiltshire Council officers on improving broadband internet access within Wiltshire. He added that it was stated that the objective was that 85% of the population would be served by high-speed broadband by 2015. He urged everyone to use the website to record interest in the project.
b. There were no specific matters that councillors wanted to have raised at the next Area Board meeting.
c. Cllr. Biles stated that he would be attending the next Area Board meeting.
10. Sub-Committees - Sub-Committee Reports.
Planning.
a. The Council noted the status of extant planning applications thus:
b.
W/11/01113/FUL 1 Ancliff Square Installation of photovoltaic panels Pending
W/11/01186/TCA 8 Ancliff Square Tree works No TPO
W/11/01281/FUL 5 The Laurels Air Heat Source Pump Permission
W/11/01306/FUL 12 Ancliff Square Installation of photovoltaic panels Pending
b. The Council examined the following planning application received after 31 May 2011 and resolved to send comments to Wiltshire Council, as shown (in italics):
W/11/01622/FUL 11 Ancliff Square Single Storey Extension PC Objections
The design (e.g. metal roof and oak panelling) and style of the proposed development is out of character with the rest of the building and would be an alien feature on the landscape.
c. There were no other planning matters raised.
Cemetery.
a. Cllrs. Bishop and Harding stated that the cemetery is in good order. Cllr. Bishop commented that he had spoken to Mr Cooke regarding a pile of cuttings in the north-west corner of the cemetery. There were no other matters reported.
b. The Clerk stated that he had written to Rev. Ron Lowrie, Chairman of the Parochial Church Council, regarding the process for transferring responsibility for the maintenance of the ‘closed churchyard’ to a Local Authority and was awaiting a reply.
Meanwhile, he stated that he had informed Rev. Lowrie that the Parish Council would continue cutting the grass and other general ‘tidying up’ activities in the churchyard until such time that this matter is resolved.
Finance.
a. The Clerk stated that the current financial position was as follows:
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Lloyds TSB A/C 1643417 |
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Bank Statement |
£ 8,124.50 |
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09-May-11 |
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Credits (9 May 2011 to 31 May 2011) : |
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31-May |
Westwood United FC |
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£ 75.00 |
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Total: |
£ 75.00 |
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Debits (9 May 2011 to 31 May 2011): |
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Clerk's Expenses (April) |
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£ 28.31 |
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St Johns CC |
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£ 75.64 |
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N Mc Camley (Annual Parish Meeting) |
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£ 40.00 |
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Playforce (Repair) |
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£ 180.00 |
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S&J Grounds (April) |
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£ 182.00 |
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Zurich Insurance Premium |
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£ 996.10 |
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V Cooke |
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£ 245.76 |
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Total: |
£ 1,747.81 |
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Balance at 31 May 2011: |
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£ 6,451.69 |
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Credits (1 June 2011 to 6 June 2011) : |
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None |
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Total: |
£ - |
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Debits (1 June 2011 to 6 June 2011): |
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01-Jun |
Clerk's Salary (May) |
£ 344.62 |
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Total: |
£ 344.62 |
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Balance at 6 June 2011: |
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£ 6,107.07 |
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Lloyds TSB A/C 7573321 |
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Bank Statement |
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£ 5,576.72 |
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10-Jan-11 |
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Credits: |
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09-Feb |
Interest |
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£ 0.23 |
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09-Mar |
Interest |
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£ 0.21 |
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11-Apr |
Interest |
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£ 0.25 |
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Total: |
£ 0.69 |
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Debits: |
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None |
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£ - |
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Total: |
£ - |
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Balance at 6 June 2011: |
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£ 5,577.41 |
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National Savings A/C 138409348 |
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Balance at 1 January 2010 |
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£ 7,772.06 |
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Credits: |
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Interest 1/1/10 to 31/12/10: |
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£ 15.54 |
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Debits: |
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£ - |
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Balance at 9 May 2011: |
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£ 7,787.60 |
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Total Balance in hand at 6 June 2011: |
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£ 19,472.08 |
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Payments to be authorised 6 June 2011). |
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Clerk's Salary (June 2011) |
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£ 344.62 |
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Clerk's Expenses (May 2011)) |
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£ 30.33 |
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Val Cooke (May) |
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£ 262.50 |
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S&J Grounds Ltd (April) |
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£ 182.00 |
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Chairman's Allowance |
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£ 56.49 |
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G Edwards (Play Equipment Repair) |
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£ 10.50 |
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TOTAL: |
£ 886.44 |
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Donations/Subscriptions to be considered. |
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Community First |
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£ 36.00 |
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TOTAL: |
£ 36.00 |
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b. The Council resolved to make the payments shown under ‘Payments to be authorised’ above.
Open Spaces.
a. Cllr. Edwards reported on behalf of the Open Spaces sub-Committee. He provided the following written report (shown in italics) that he read out at the Parish Council meeting:
Open Spaces Report 6th Jun 2011.
Park - Graffiti inside entrance on air shaft building walls still to be dealt with
Playing Field - No issues
Play Area - The play equipment is safe but the aggregate has not been added to raise the path to the level of the gravel boards yet
Multiplay - Missing machine screws have been replaced, except for two that couldn’t be replaced as the screw thread had been stripped. The holes will need to be drilled through and stainless steel nut and bolts fitted. I can do that.
Fencing - Although new palings have been added there are now 21 palings missing. Steve Harding and I searched the park and found that a dozen of the missing palings had been assembled by persons unknown into a closely boarded panel which was hidden behind the air conditioning building near the bus turning circle.
Swings - Bird droppings on swing seats
Graffiti - None added
Waste bin - Needs emptying
b. Cllr. Johnston confirmed that the cherry tree in Westwood Park is dead and that two other trees are dying. The Council resolved that Mr Cooke be authorised to remove the dead tree and to hire a stump grinder, at a cost of £50 approximately, to remove the stump. He is to be asked to level the ground subsequently.
Cllr. Johnson reported that the Nursery School wall appears to be crumbling in places. The Clerk remarked that this may simply be frost damage but that the state of the wall should be monitored.
Councillors remarked at the high standard of grass cutting in the village undertaken by the Local Authority and asked the Clerk to writes a letter of appreciation to Wiltshire Council.
Cllr. Biles reported a hole in the pavement at Boswell Road through which bind weed was growing. He asked that the Parish Steward be requested to attend to it.
Environmental.
Cllr. Richardson stated that the presence of a number of potholes in the Lower Westwood Road is a safety issue and that it should be raised formally as an ‘issue’ with Wiltshire Council. The Clerk was asked to write to Wiltshire Council and to request that action is taken.
Footpaths.
Cllr. Johnston reported on behalf of the Footpath sub-Committee and stated that a tree had either fallen or had been felled at Path 26 (WW0026). Cllr Johnston stated that she would investigate whether the tree had been removed and if not she would inform the Clerk for him to contact the Footpath Warden.
11 Valley Parishes Alliance (VPA).
a. Cllr. Edwards stated that he had sent the minutes of the last meeting to all councillors and that these summarised the current position. He gave a brief summary of the main points and added that a VPA website was to be created and that the content of that website was currently under discussion.
b. There were no actions to endorse.
12. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration 2012.
Cllr. Biles stated that he had received general support for a ‘celebration event’ next year and that a large picnic in the Playing Field appeared to be favourite. There was a general discussion as to whether it should be combined with an existing village event, such as the Flower Show or Church Fete, but the prevailing view was that it should be a separate event. Cllr. Biles commented that he would consider the matter further and involve others in the discussions and would report back at a subsequent meeting. The Chairman stated that it would be an ideal opportunity to bring the various village organisations together and to involve everyone in its organisation.
13. Date of Parish Council Meeting.
The Council noted the date of the next Meeting:
· Ordinary Parish Council meeting – Monday 4 July 2011 at 7.30pm.
14. Any Other Business.
Exchange of views on matters not requiring a decision.
· The Chairman reported that he had received an anonymous letter and after discussion with the Clerk had decided to ignore it. He stated that letters from parishioners are always very welcome and that the Parish Council will always respect confidentiality and will not reveal names and addresses of the author if requested. He added that anonymous letters carry no weight and will be ignored and not read. He asked the Clerk to ensure that a notice to this effect is included in the next edition of the Westwood Update.
· Cllr. Higgs reported that she had been approached by the occupant of Ashlers at Upper Westwood who had complained that her newly re-build wall was being scraped by parked cars. The Council decided that it was not in a position to take any action.
· Cllr. Bishop offered his apologies for non-attendance at the July meeting.
· Cllr. Higgs observed that it was very dangerous for pedestrians to walk alongside the Westwood Manor wall at the Lower Westwood Road where the visibility for on-coming vehicles was very restricted. She named a parishioner who habitually takes this route. The Clerk stated that he would have a word with her to point out the dangers and suggests that she walks on the opposite side of the road that is, arguably, safer.
The Clerk drew the attention of councillors to the following:
· QE 2 Playing Field Challenge. Cllr. Harding took the literature to read.
· ‘Netball taster’ at The John of Gaunt School.
· An interment in the cemetery (Remembrance Garden) is to take place at 5pm, 9 June.
There was no other business.
The meeting concluded at 9.20pm.
Chairman 4 July 2011.
Action 1 (6/6/11) Clerk.
To make agreed payments.
Action 2 (6/6/11) Cllr. Harding.
To pass Play equipment fence slats to Mr Say for him to replace them.
Action 3 (6/6/11) Clerk/Cllr. Johnston.
To contact Footpath Warden – Path 26 (Subject to confirmation by Cllr. Johnston).
Action 4 (9/5/11) Clerk.
To write to WC – Planning Applications.
Action 5 (9/5/11) Clerk.
To instruct Mr Cooke to remove dead cherry tree (plus stump grinder).
Action 6 (9/5/11) Clerk
To write to WC (High standard of grass cutting in village).
Action 7 (9/5/11) Cllr. Edwards.
To contact Parish Steward – To remove bindweed in Boswell Road.
Action 8 (6/6/11) Clerk.
To write to WC – Potholes in Lower Westwood Road (Safety issue).
Action 9 (6/6/11) Clerk.
To place notice in Westwood Update – Anonymous letters.
NB. Details of the actions above are contained in the minutes.