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MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 01-08 HELD ON MONDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2008 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Wright (Chairman), Halford (from item 4) Robinson, Randall, Shardlow, Stott, and Ward.
In Attendance: Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council, and four parishioners.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllrs. Barradell and Fleming.
2. Declarations of Interest.
Cllr Randall declared an interest in part of Item 16 due to his relationship with the owner of Clare Cottage. The Council noted the annual reminder from HDC for Councilors to review their standing declarations.
3. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 December 2007
Approved.
4. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes). The Chairman closed the meeting
DC Bates asked the Council to also include footpaths, bridges and horse riding in their review of the management of the Green as discussed in the village meeting on 14 January. He also asked whether the Council intended drawing up a policy statement for the management of the Green and would this be subject to consultation. Finally, he asked that the handyman from time to time cleans the debris out of the slats on the bridge near the Lych Gate.
Mr Swailes stated that Tithe Lane had flooded on a number of occasions over recent months and asked what had happened to earlier proposals to rectify the drainage in this area of the village. The Chairman said that a similar observation had been raised by Mr Bond. The Clerk was to add this topic to the next F&GPWG meeting for consideration. The Chairman reopened the meeting.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £108.00 NFCM Deposit for Notice Board
b £25.00 ACRE Membership
c £50.86 J A Thomas: Reimbursement of Stationery
d £80.00 SLCC Membership
e. £15.62 J A Thomas reimbursement of costs
f. £989.12 CCC Street Lighting
g. £57.95 Handyman's Wages
Cllr Randall proposed, Cllr Stott seconded and the Council approved payment of the above accounts and also authorized the Clerk to pay the second installment of £324 for the new notice board when required. The Council also noted the estimate of £60 to erect the new board. The Clerk was to add the topic of street lighting to the next F&GPWG to see if savings could be made.
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
The Chaiman advised that a contractor for the design of the A14 upgrade had recently been appointed and this would mean the detailed design process would now move forwards. She advised that eight neighbouring villages had agreed to join with Hilton to address environmental issues via a common forum. The Chairman proposed calling an early meeting of these villages to set an agenda for dealing with the Highways Agency and their contractor. The Chairman and the Clerk were to agree a possible date for this meeting and circulate to all concerned. The Clerk was also to clarify with the Highways Agency how best to interface with them and their contractor on environmental concerns.
7. Report on the Meeting Held to Discuss Maintenance of The Green.
The Chairman advised that the village meeting held on 14 January had been useful and had highlighted a number of issues that needed further consideration. A summary of the meeting would be placed in Spectrum and the full minutes would be on the village web site. The Chairman advised that these topics would be considered in more detail at the next F&GPWG and this would be followed by further consultation with residents. The Council also agreed to consider the merits of conducting a similar event on an annual basis.
8. Costs: No Fishing Sign.
Cllr Ward proposed, Cllr Stott seconded and it was agreed for the expenditure of an additional £8 (above the £100 previously agreed) on the provision of a no-fishing sign for Reeve Ditch. Cllr Barradell had agreed to organize erecting the sign.
9. Pond Ditch, Tree and Grass Cutting-Progress Report
The Clerk advised that a statement of work covering the cleaning work for the ponds at Graveley Way, the Crossroads and Park Farm had been agreed and the meeting authorized the Clerk to seek tenders to undertake this work in early autumn. The Council noted that the cost of this work would be met from reserves.
The Clerk advised that HDC had confirmed their earlier advice that the beech tree near the High Street was diseased and should be felled. Cllr Stott proposed, Cllr Shardlow seconded and the meeting approved Mr Conway's quotation for tree work for £3660 and authorized the Clerk to place the necessary contract. The Council noted that this would be a single tender contract but believed Mr Conway's prices to be realistic.
The grass cutting contractor, Mr Carter, had recently asked the Council to extend his current three year contract by a further two years. The Council agreed that Mr Carter had provided a satisfactory service over the past two years and saw no difficulties in principle to an extension. The Clerk was to ask Mr Carter for further details of his offer, especially on costs, for discussion at a future meeting.
10. Elections and Annual Village Meeting
The Chairman reminded the meeting that an election for Hilton Parish Council would be held on 1 May 2008. Cllrs were asked to help promote the need for prospective Councilors to contest seats. The Clerk and the Chairman were to draft an entry for Spectrum promoting the election.
The Council agreed to hold the Village Annual Meeting in the Chapel on 30 April and to delay the May meeting of the Parish Council to Monday 12 May to avoid the clash with the Bank Holiday.
11. Paths Maintenance
The Clerk advised that the Council had until the end of February to make a bid for a P3 paths maintenance grant. Cllrs Stott, Shardlow and Wright agreed to draw up a schedule of required work in priority order. Based on this schedule, the Clerk was to bid for an appropriate level of grant funding.
12 Proposed New Investment Policy
The Clerk explained that the current reserve fund investments had lost a considerable amount of capital over recent years whilst providing only an average return. The Clerk explained that a Council working party had examined the position and had recommended that the investment strategy be reviewed. The Clerk advised that a better arrangement would be to transfer the monies currently invested with Norwich Union, New Star and Invesco into a mixture of an investment bond (currently offering 5.25%) and a new deposit account (currently paying 4.12%) both with Barclays Bank. Initially the bond should be for £40,000 with the balance of reserves to held in a new Instant Access Account. Together, these investments were expected to realise a return similar to the current investments but without loss of capital, and with greater ease of operation. Cllr Robinson proposed and Cllr Randall seconded and it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should take action to set up the new funds as described. It was also agreed that the investment strategy should be reviewed annually as part of the budget setting process.
13. Repairs Cricket Pavilion.
Following a report from Mr Baker, the Council agreed that the cricket pavilion looked shabby and should be repaired as a matter of priority. The Clerk was to obtain tenders for the schedule of work highlighted by Mr Baker. The Council also agreed that the pavilion needed to be repaired and possibly improved to increase suitable usage, this should be discussed at the next F&GPWG along with how best to prevent further damage to the roof, etc.
14. Parish Charter.
HDC had recently circulated for comment a document setting out a charter to be established between the District and Parish Councils. Cllrs Robinson, Stott and Wright agreed to comment on these proposals for discussion at the March meeting and agreeing the Council's responses to the draft charter.
15. Appointment of a Councillor.
Mr William Halford had recently applied to be appointed as a Parish Councilor to fill the vacant position. The Council unanimously agreed to his application and Mr Halford was appointed as a Parish Councilor. This agenda item was taken at Item 4 of the meeting to allow Cllr Halford to take part in the remainder of the meeting. The Clerk was to take the appropriate administrative action regarding this appointment.
16. Consideration for New Easements
Cllr Randall left the meeting for the whole of this agenda item. The Chairman explained that the owners of Clare Cottage and Grange Cottage had asked to formalise their domestic access over the Green to and from their properties. It was agreed that provided the applicants could demonstrate the established nature of these accesses, the Council should waive any fees but would ask the applicants to cover all legal and other costs incurred by the Council associated with drawing up the appropriate licenses. The Clerk was to seek agreement for the recovery of costs from the applicants, or their solicitors, and also to alert the Council's solicitor to the Council's decision. The Council stressed that the waiving of fees should apply only to long established access rights that new rights of way etc would invariably be subject to consideration.
The Chairman also advised the meeting that the developers of new houses at Punch's Grove had recently demanded an extended nil cost right of access for new services. The Council solicitor had recommended that this demand be rejected and that the Council should ask for full details and consideration. The Clerk had replied along these lines to the developer and the Council noted this position.
17. Clerk's Report on Parish Matters.
The Clerk was to advise the family of the late Mr Louis King of the preferred location for planting a memorial beech tree and to highlight that it should be planted within the next few weeks, or delayed until late autumn.
18. Councillors' Items
a. Cllr Randall agreed to attend the Safer Neighbourhood Forum on 27 February 2008.
b. The Clerk was to assess the work needed to rectify the problem identified to the maze wall by Cllr Shardlow.
F J Wright
Chairman of Parish Council
3 March 2008
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