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MINUTES OF THE HILTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 02-08 HELD ON MONDAY 7 APRIL 2008 IN THE VILLAGE HALL
Present: Cllrs Wright (Chairman), Barradell, Robinson, Randall, Shardlow and Ward.
In Attendance: Mr Thomas, Clerk to the Parish Council, DC Bates and three parishioners.
1. To note Apologies for Absence. Cllrs Fleming and Stott.
2. Declarations of Interest. Due to proximity to their own houses, Cllr Robinson declared an interest in Item 11 and Cllr Barradell in Item 15
3. To Approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 March 2008 Approved
4. Parishioners Open Session (10 minutes).
The meeting was closed. Dr Salem, on behalf of the Cricket Club explained that his letter of 16 March had advised that the financially hard pressed Cricket Club might not be able to afford the additional costs likely to arise from any claims resulting from cricket related damage to cars parked alongside The Green. He presented a table showing the estimated costs for both the Club and for the Parish of continuing to play at Hilton and the alternative of moving to St Ivo. He asked that the Council to either exclude cars from the area surrounding the Cricket pitch during play or for the Council to meet the extra costs likely to arise from insurance claims. The meeting was reopened.
5. To Authorise the Payment of Accounts.
a. £1950.00 G Conway Tree Felling
b £274.43 CALC: Subscription
c £27.45 B Ashby: Handyman's wages
d £580.00 JSC Services: Grass Cutting March
e £17.85 B Ashby: Handyman's Wage (Sep 07)
f. £50.00 K Williams: Play Park Gate (Jul 07)
g. £1.00 CALC: adjustment of CALC Invoice 2147
Cllr Barradell proposed, Cllr Randall seconded and the Council approved payment of the above accounts. In addition, due to the delayed date of the next meeting, the Clerk asked the Council to authorize payments to the following accounts:
•a. MultiSign: £126.90 for the no-fishing sign.
•b. New Farm Cabinet Makers: £600.00 final payment for notice board.
•c. CPRE: £28.00 for annual subscription
•d. Mrs Shardlow: £12.00 for set of duplicate keys for new notice board.
Cllr Robinson proposed, Cllr Randall seconded and the Council approved payment of the above accounts with formal approval to be sought at the May meeting of the Council.
6. Review of A14 Consultation Process.
The Chairman advised that a meeting had been held with a number of other Councils likely to be affected by the A14 with the aim of presenting a joint forum of concerns to the Highways Authority and other bodies. Whilst some of these Councils had confirmed their support, replies were still awaited from others. The Clerk had recently asked these Councils to confirm their position and once these were known, a letter would be sent to the Highways Agency inviting them to address the joint forum.
7. Summary of F&GPWG Held on 26 March 2008
The chairman explained that a F&GPWG had been held on 26 March 2008 and gave the following summary of decisions reached:
a. Future Structure of F&GPWG: see agenda Item 8 of this meeting
b. Street Lighting: The Clerk was to obtain some technical details about street lighting to enable the Council to consider whether there was scope to reduce street lighting as an environmental measure.
c. Drainage Tythe Lane. The Clerk was to ascertain the responsibility for the drainage along Tythe Lane and also the ditch along Graveley Way. See para 17 b below.
d. Maintenance of The Green. The F&GPWG agreed that a new management structure for managing the Green would be appropriate but agreed that further discussion on this topic should be deferred to a future meeting
e. Cricket Pavilion. The Clerk was to obtain quotations for the repair of the Cricket pavilion roof. These are now available and are discussed under agenda item xxx this meeting
f. Wilderness Edge: Once a statement of required work has been produced by Cllrs Randall and Stott, the Clerk was to obtain quotations for cutting the edges. Cllr Randall had agreed to explore whether a DEFRA grant might be available to help defray the costs of managing The Green.
g. Control of Nettles and Brambles. Once Cllr Stott selects a suitable treatment product, the Clerk would seek a single tender price from the Grass Cutter for application to the infected areas.
h. Cutting the Football Pitch. Discussed at Agenda Item 15 this meeting
i. Removal of Posts and ropes. Discussed at Agenda Item 13 this meeting.
j. Repair of Fence etc. Discussed at Agenda Item 16 this meeting
8. Structure and Format of F&GPWG.
The Chairman explained that comments had been received regarding the format and transparency of the F&GPWG. The F&GPWG held on 26 March 2008 had agreed that a review was appropriate and it was agreed that the format of the F&PWG should be reviewed following the forthcoming election and a recommendation made to the Council
9. Pathway Along B1040.
Following earlier agreement by the Council, Cllr Fleming had been in discussion with the County Council regarding the laying of a two-meter wide path from the North end of the village to the Five Arches Bridge. The Council had agreed to lay the path and asked the Parish Council to contribute the whole of the £9000 from the Scotts Close Section 106 Grant to the cost of construction and future maintenance. Responsibility for future maintenance would remain with the County Council. The full cost for laying the path was currently being finalized by the County Council but was expected to be in the order of £22,000. The Council discussed concerns about the safety of the proposed path so close to the B1040, but it was agreed that the County Council had taken these into account in making their proposals. Cllr Shardlow again expressed her wish to see the S106 money spent on upgrading the Cricket Pavilion. Cllr Barradell proposed, Cllr Ward seconded and it was agreed that the County Council proposals were acceptable. The Clerk was to advise the County Council accordingly.
10. Flight Holding Patterns
The Council had asked HDC for their guidance on the likely impact of the proposed aircraft holding patterns and their reply had given some clarity regarding the expected noise profile. In addition, a letter from Mr Djanogly MP stated that he had taken a keen interest in the proposals and he believed that the impact on Hilton would be minimal with the greater impact being felt to the south of the village. It was agreed that a better way of judging the likely noise profile would be for a number of Cllrs to view an existing stack and report their findings to the Council. Cllr Halford agreed to organize such a visit and to report to the May meeting of the Council which would still give time to meet the consultation deadline.
11. Planning Application 0800895 Front Porch and Extension 8 Maze Road
The Council noted that it had previously recommended approval to an earlier issue of this development. The Council had earlier expressed some reservations about the scale of the proposals but his latest iteration had gone some way to address the Council's earlier concerns. The Council agreed that the latest version would have a reduced impact on the street scene and in the absence of any comments from residents agreed to recommend approval.
12. Arrangements for Replacement of Parish Clerk.
The Chairman advised that "adverts" for a replacement clerk had already been placed in Spectrum, the Village Web Site and in the CALC bulletin but without any significant interest from individuals. However two firms providing Parish Clerk services had expressed interest. The Council agreed that a clerk, resident in the village, would be advantageous and agreed that an advert in the local papers might produce a better response. Cllr Robinson proposed, Cllr Shardlow seconded and it was unanimously agreed to spend up to £250 on a suitable advert in the local press. In addition, Cllr Shardlow agreed to speak with other local Parish Councils to assess the scope for multi tasking their clerks.
13. Parking on the Green: Posts and Ropes
Noting the statement by Dr Salem at Item 3 above, the meeting agreed that the present posts and ropes had been an experiment and that it had already been agreed that they should be removed when the grass seed sown at the end of 2007 had become established. The Council agreed that cricket should be retained in the village if at all possible. However, the Council felt unable to discuss the Cricket Club's liability and insurance costs at this meeting and agreed to do so at a more appropriate time. Cllr Barradell proposed, Cllr Robinson seconded and it was unanimously agreed that the posts and ropes should be removed in the coming weeks when the new grass had fully taken.
14. Changes to Investments.
The Clerk explained that Norwich Union had recently provided a letter in which they had accepted full responsibility for the confusion between the Council's account and the personal account belonging to the Clerk. Norwich Union had since issue the required closure cheque. They had also given an award of £100 to the Clerk for the trouble caused. Unfortunately they had included this award and the final interest settlement for £44.95 on the same cheque payable to "J A Thomas". The Council agreed that the Clerk should keep the £100 and asked him to explore the best way to encash the cheque to avoid possible future problems.
The Clerk explained that New Star had provided a closure cheque but this was made payable personally to the signatories of "J A Thomas and IPH Stott" and that they had refused to make it payable to "Hilton Parish Council" on grounds that it contravened money laundering legislation. The Clerk was to explore a better way of cashing this cheque.
Finally the Clerk advised that closure of the three investment accounts would realize £49022 which represented a loss over the original investment of £60,000 of almost £11,000.
15. Cutting The Football Pitch
The Chairman explained that the Council had previously agreed to cut half the football pitch throughout the year to make it more available for village youngsters, with the half to be cut rotated on subsequent year. This practice had drawn criticism, especially from the Common Rights Owners for the potential impact on flora. The Council had been asked to revert to the previous cutting regime. After discussion the Council agreed that their earlier decision should remain extant ie for a half pitch to be cut throughout the year with the cut ends rotated in subsequent years.
16. Repair of Fences.
The Council ratified the decision of the F&GPWG held on 26 March to agree the quotation for £200 for the repair of the fence at the Cricket Pavilion and for £90 plus VAT for the erection of the new notice board. The clerk was to arrange for the successful bidders to undertake the work specified.
The Council also accepted the quotation from Mr Parr for the repair of the Lych Gate roof and the Cricket pavilion roof at a combined price of £360. The Clerk was to ask Mr Parr to undertake the work as soon as possible.
17 Clerk's Report on Parish Matters.
a. Condition of B1040. The Clerk stated that responding to the Council's letter the County Council had advised that major repairs would be undertaken to the B1040 south of the village in the current financial year.
b Responsibility for Drainage in Tythe Lane. In reply to the Council's recent letter, HDC had advised that the lane was unadopted and the responsibility for the drainage lay with the adjacent land owners. The Council noted the HDC recommendation.
18. Councillors' Items
a. Development at Punch's Grove. The Chairman explained that the application to demolish Punch's Grove and build a new dwelling had been approved by the HDC Development Panel. The application to build a second house on the adjacent site had also been approved. Subsequently, the Council had met with the Developers and had voiced concerns about the detail of the plans, including the obtrusive gateposts. The Developers had advised that they would consider the inputs from the Council and would add these to the proposals where appropriate.
b. Resurfacing of the Ford. The Chairman advised that District Councillor Bates had recently advised that the County Council had agreed to resurface the road at The Ford. It was expected that an experimental surface would be used. The work would require Church Lane to be closed.
c. Dates of Forthcoming Meetings. The Chairman advised that the Annual Village Meeting was to be held in the Chapel on Wednesday 30 April with the next Parish Council meeting delayed to 12 May to avoid the Bank holiday.
F J Wright:
Chairman of the Parish Council
12 May 2008
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