The Minutes of the previous meeting (April 2013)

MINUTES OF MEETING OF HARDINGTON MANDEVILLE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 21st MAY 2013 AT 7.30pm
IN THE VILLAGE HALL

Members were reminded that the Council has a general duty to consider the following matters in the exercise of any of its functions - Equal Opportunities (race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status & any disability); Crime & Disorder, Health & Safety and Human Rights.
Sharyn White, Temporary Parish Clerk

PRESENT

Robin Carpenter (Chairman), Peter Bysouth, Bill Turner, Keith Blackwell, Vanessa May, Cathy Bakewell (District Councillor) and Gina Seaton (District Councillor).

IN ATTENDANCE

Sharyn White (Temporary Parish Clerk) and 5 members of the public.

Before the meeting commenced there was an opportunity for the public to speak.
Jim Hedges felt it was not prudent for the Chairman to have dealt with the Housing Needs Survey having expressed a personal but not prejudicial interest in Moor End Nursery site but the Parish Council explained that the two were entirely separate issues and that a Survey was needed as the previous one was outdated. Elsa Hedges expressed concern about data protection on the Housing Needs Survey and the omission of envelopes but whilst the Parish Council agreed that envelopes should have been provided they were quite happy with the form used for the Survey as was SSDC. Alan Ivory asked for the site at Moor End Nursery to be treated as a parcel of land in Moor Lane and not as a site belonging to a member of the community.

  1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
    Apologies were received from Malcolm White and Paul Vallis.
  2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
    1. Robin Carpenter was elected as Chairman; this was proposed by Keith Blackwell and seconded by Vanessa May - this was unanimous. The Declaration of Acceptance of Office will be signed before the next meeting.
    2. Peter Bysouth was elected as Vice Chairman; this was proposed by Robin Carpenter and seconded by Vanessa May - this was unanimous.
    3. Peter Bysouth was elected as Village hall Representative; this was proposed by Robin Carpenter and seconded by Keith Blackwell - this was unanimous.
    4. The election of the Messenger Reporter will be held over until the new Clerk is in office.
    5. Neal Dyer was elected as Highways Representative; this was proposed by Robin Carpenter and seconded by Peter Bysouth - this was unanimous.
    6. Robin Carpenter was elected as Footpath Representative; this was proposed by Keith Blackwell and seconded by Vanessa May - this was unanimous.
    7. Vanessa May was elected Parish Environment Officer; this was proposed by Robin Carpenter and seconded by Bill Turner - this was unanimous.
  3. MINUTES OF MEETINGS held on 16th and 22nd Apr 2013 (Already Circulated)
    1. The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record of the meeting.
  4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.
    There were no declarations of interest.
  5. MATTERS OF REPORT ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES.
    1. The Chairman reported a letter from Jim Hedges about the Localism Act as it could affect the Mandeville Arms, dated 26th February, which was addressed to, and reported by, Peter Bysouth at the end of the meeting on 19th March, with an intention to include discussion in the April agenda. Partly due to the sad death of our clerk Jessica Vale, I have to apologise for failing to include it when preparing the agenda. As a result of this and further comments and discussion at the April Parish Assembly and council meeting, a further letter was sent by Mr Hedges to myself, to be circulated to all members of the council, which was done. This letter raised several points, which are included for discussion tonight. I have to report that in addition to the points raised, the letter was highly critical of myself and members of the council, to the extent that it amounts to a statement of no confidence. A letter of this sort cannot be ignored, and it will, in my opinion, be necessary to agenda a full discussion of the letter, and to formulate our response.
  6. APPOINTMENT OF NEW CLERK
    1. The Chairman reported that there had been 4 strong candidates for the position of Clerk but it had been a unanimous decision to put forward Nancy Chapman for the post. The Chairman proposed Nancy as the new clerk this was seconded by Vanessa May and unanimously agreed. The contract will start on June 1st. Meanwhile Peter Bysouth will arrange to hand over the files and paper work to Nancy.
  7. DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS' REPORTS (by invitation)
    Vote of thanks for Cathy Bakewell. The Chairman thanked Cathy for her dedication and help as a County Councillor and presented her with a card and a primrose lilac shrub on her retirement from the post, but said that he hoped that she would continue as District Councillor for many more years. Gina Seaton had attended the Annual Meeting of the District Council where the main topic was the housing development off Lyde Road in Yeovil. Barrett Homes have found it difficult to sell the non affordable housing homes and have found it difficult to meet the 106 agreement, the Community Hall and other projects have been cancelled due to lack of funds but it is hoped that the site can be finished if pending negotiations to find a compromise concerning the 106 agreement.
  8. PLANNING & PLANNING APPLICATIONS
    1. No planning applications received.
    2. No planning applications received after publication of this agenda.
    3. No results of previous applications.
  9. HIGHWAYS
    1. Report from Highways Representative: the Chairman read a full report from Neal Dyer: the ditch in the field off Primrose Hill needs attention to allow excess water to drain away, said to be the responsibility of the landowner Malcolm White, who will be notified, and the drain covers in Moor Lane and North Lane have been repaired.
    2. Pressure will be kept up about the dangers of the repairs to the stream bank adjacent to the community field.
    3. Response to letter from Jim Hedges: Keith Blackwell said he thought Neal Dyer did an excellent job in keeping up with Highway issues. Gina Seaton reported that W S Atkins would no longer be in control of Highways and she thought that Hardington Parish Council had an excellent system with a Highway Representative, and one which other parish councils may adopt.
    4. Response to Rob Lloyd’s letter: Mike Fear will be approached about the proposal to supply stone to farmers in the community to fill defects adjacent to the highway.
  10. PARISH PLAN
    1. Comments on the Housing Needs Survey: the Chairman will place an article in the Messenger setting a deadline for the surveys to be returned by the end of June and assuring confidentiality with regard to the forms.
    2. Response ref Localism Act and the Mandeville Arms ref letter from Jim Hedges: the Parish Council felt that, as the Mandeville Arms had been sold as a going concern, nothing needs to be done at the present time.
    3. High Speed Broadband ref letter from Jim Hedges: an article will be placed in the Messenger to see if any other parishioners have need or comments about high speed broadband then action can be taken if necessary.
    4. Report from Community Forum Meeting on April 29th 2013: the Chairman attended the meeting and reported on:
      1. The Countrymen’s Club-care farming. Therapeutic use of farming practices, aimed at older men with e.g. Dementia, Parkinson’s or younger people aged 5-19 who want to build a countryside career, possibly with learning/living difficulties, similar to the work carried out by Richard Brooks.
      2. Local Action Groups – radio links in the town centre working with CCTV having good results.
      3. Designated Public Places Order- gives Police power to stop people drinking in public places.
      4. Community Justice Panel - existing arrangement ending due to funding constraints but will continue as a charity with volunteers.
  11. COMMUNITY FIELD
    1. Verbal report from Recreation Space Committee Chairman: the annual inspection and risk assement has been booked to be done in June or July by SSDC at a cost of £77 plus vat. The Chairman does a weekly visual inspection to comply with our insurance policy. It will be put on the next agenda for payment to be made. Grass cuttings have been removed and the field looks better for this. The inside hedges have been cut by the Parish Ranger Scheme. Malcolm White will deliver the top soil to fill the defect by the tunnel when he has time.
  12. RISK MANAGEMENT
    1. Nothing to report under Risk Management.
  13. FINANCE
    1. The Temporary Clerk’s hours for April 2013 are 14 hours.
    2. Bonus Saver Account; this item has been left on the agenda so it is not overlooked.
    3. Agree Audit to be returned by July 2013. Peter Bysouth will pass the accounts to Nick Lunt for the internal audit all in agreement.
    4. Notice & Advertisement of Annual Audit for y/e March 2013, Peter Bysouth confirmed the notice had been posted 11th May 2013.
    5. Quarterly & year end bank reconciliation. This was presented by Peter Bysouth and signed by The Chairman.
    6. Final budget analysis 2012/3, was presented by Peter Bysouth and noted by the Council.
    7. Peter Bysouth reported that Jessica Vale's final hours amounted to £800 in total. HMRC have not replied to Peter's letters regarding access to the payment website but hopefully this will be resolved soon.
    8. Peter will write for confirmation of payment from the suppliers of the Village Hall Equipment.
  14. FOOTPATHS
    1. Report from the Footpath Representative: the Chairman read a letter from Somerset County Council concerning application of a bridleway along Coker Hill Lane; the temporary clerk will reply to the letter saying that the necessary information will be collated shortly.
    2. Bill Turner confirmed that the footpath on the field to the west of Pen Lane had been reinstated.
  15. PARISH RANGER SCHEME
    1. Work carried out in April: inside of the hedges in the recreation field have been cut.
    2. Work proposed: repair to vandalised bridge, minor highway repairs, footpath clearance, triangle by tree to be kept tidy.
    3. An article will be placed in the Messenger about the Parish Ranger Scheme explaining how the scheme works and inviting people to suggest work needed to be done.
  16. CORRESPONDENCE
    1. Correspondence to be circulated. The current correspondence has been circulated.
    2. Correspondence received.
  17. MATTERS OF REPORT & ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
    1. Chairman. Brian Dodd’s suggestion about advertising village houses for sale on the website will not be taken up, this was proposed by Vanessa May and seconded by Bill Turner.
    2. Councillors. Peter Bysouth reported that the Annual Village Hall meeting will be held on Thursday 23rd May.
    3. Clerk. Nothing to report.
  18. DATE AND TIME OF NEST MEETING & CLOSURE
    The date for next meeting will be Tuesday 18th June 2013 at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall. The meeting closed at 9.24 pm.