A meeting of Odstock Parish Council was
held at 7.45 pm on 16th April 2003 in The Radnor Hall,
Bodenham.
Present: Mr R Underhill (Vice-Chairman),
Mr C Whitley, Mr R Poynting, Mr C Berry, Mr S Martin, Mr
R Parsons (Clerk), District Cllr Bryan Rycroft, County
Cllr Julian Johnson and one member of the public.
Apologies were received from Dr S Elcock and Mrs J Payne.
01/03 Annual Parish meeting: The earlier
Annual Parish meeting had been attended by three
parishioners, Parish Cllr Rod Poynting, District Cllr
Bryan Rycroft, County Cllr Julian Johnson and was chaired
by Parish Cllr Robert Underhill, Vice-Chairman of the PC.
Parish Cllr Sherwood Elcock, Chairman of the PC, had been
called up to assist with the conflict in Iraq and was,
therefore, unavailable.
During the year the PC made financial contributions to
the Parochial Church Council, News and Notes, the
organisers of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations and
the Radnor Hall management committee. Skips, funded by
Salisbury District Council, were deployed in the Villages
in May and again in October and the litter clearance day
in October was well supported.
The first of the new noticeboards, funded by a SWAGrant,
has been installed on the side of the Post Office in
Bodenham and the others are awaiting installation. The
SWAG scheme also funded a gang mower for the Longford
Cricket Club and a new kitchen and other fittings in the
Radnor Hall. Salisbury District Cllr Rycroft was
particularly pleased that the Villages had taken
advantage of the District Council's grant scheme and was
impressed with the way that the Parish Council continued
to engage with villagers at the annual Nunton Fête.
The WCC Parish lengthsmen's visits have been well
received and a variety of small tasks have been completed.
There are still some hedgerows and pathways that need
attention and hopefully these will be actioned in due
course.
In particular the road from Odstock crossroads towards
the hospital needs tidying and a resolution to the car
parking problem close to the hospital will be attended to
by Wiltshire County Cllr Johnson.
A Villager, also a Partner in the Salisbury based Wilsons
law firm, has agreed to draw up the lease on the Nunton
field for no charge. However, because he is currently
very busy this may not materialise until the beginning of
June at the earliest. If the PC needs to have the lease
sooner it would be necessary to have it drawn up by a
member of staff and in consequence a fee of about £300
would be incurred.
It is understood that the terms of the original lease,
although expired, are still in force to the benefit of
the Radnor Football Club. It is still not clear to the PC
how this field is currently being used or indeed how it
might be used into the future and, although the PC does
have funds available for providing amenities, a pertinent
business plan has yet to be produced. Concerns were also
raised about the safety aspect for young children using
the field. It was suggested that the Police should be
consulted to ensure that any plans incorporated adequate
safety measures. These issues should be a top priority
for the new PC administration following the elections on
1st May.
During the year the PC took the new code of conduct in
its stride and has complied with all the regulations
passed down from central Government. Although both the
Chairman and Vice-Chairman are standing down at the
election there will still be eight candidates for seven
seats and parishioners will be expected to consider
carefully how they cast their votes.
02/03 Declaration of Interest: None.
03/03 Minutes: Minutes of the meeting on
4th December 2002, having been circulated, were agreed
and signed by Cllr Underhill.
04/03 Matters Arising:
* It was hoped that local people would continue to offer
their services voluntarily to foster a sustainable
community spirit in the Villages.
05/03 Neighbourhood Watch: The scheme,
as presented to the PC several years ago, is no longer
active and the Councillors believe that the next PC
administration should address this deficiency. Also of
concern is the occasional evidence of anti-social
behaviour centered around the Village bus-shelters. There
needs to be a defined policy for discouraging wanton
vandalism. In the past, perpetrators have been persuaded
to repair damage caused in this way. Cllr Martin reported
that the 'Farm Watch' initiative provided a monthly
report and it was probable that there was a similar
arrangement for Neighbourhood Watch.
06/03 Parish Council Election on 1st May:
Cllr Underhill stated that he was not a candidate for the
forthcoming PC election but that eight nominations had
been received for the election of seven Parish
Councillors.
07/03 Freedom of Information Act 2000:
Odstock PC acknowledges the duty placed upon it by the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 to adopt and maintain a
publication scheme. The PC resolves to adopt the Model
Scheme for Local Councils (Core Classes only).
08/03 Finance: * The Clerk produced a
summary of the PC's accounts for the year ended 31st
March 2003. This showed a balance to be carried forward
of £6,342.57p after all outstanding accounts had been
paid. This relatively large surplus was because the
anticipated development of the Nunton Field had not yet
commenced.
* The Council approved the following payments:
Burnbake Trust - Noticeboard (SWAGrant) - 121 - £165.00p
HAC Joynt - Grass Cutting ------------------ 122 -- £36.00p
Sodexho Land Tech Ltd - Grass Cutting ----- 123 - £183.86p
R Parsons - Clerk's fee and expenses -------- 124 - £392.20p
Radnor Hall - 6mths lease -------------------- 125 - £250.00p
08/03 Transport, Roads and Footpaths:
The WCC Parish Lengthsmen were active in the villages on
11th/14th April. Next visit is scheduled for 13th/14th
August.
09/03 Planning:
* S/2003/382 - FULL APPLICATION - INSERTION OF TWO
WINDOWS IN BLANK WALL TO PROVIDE ESSENTIAL LIGHT TO
OFFICE at PARSONAGE BARN ODSTOCK - No comment by the PC -
Approved.
* S/2003/51 - FULL APPLICATION - ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING
GARDEN STUDIO at ODSTOCK MANOR GARDEN ODSTOCK - The PC
asked for clearer plans and once received no objections
were raised to the proposed development.
* Cllr Whitley reported that he was reluctant to discuss
the Nunton field development with the planners until the
terms of the new lease on the field had been agreed. Cllr
Martin stated that Wilsons would be acting for Nunton
Farm and the PC would be expected to pay any fees
incurred. There was some discussion about the likely
impact on the PC's Insurance premium once public
liability for the field was added to the policy and it
was proposed that a quote should be obtained in advance. Action:
the Clerk to seek comparative quotes.
10/03 Correspondence: * SDC Skip Grant
for 2003/04. * Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Local Plan
2011 Public Inquiry will commence on 29th April. * Notice
of Forum meetings by the Cranborne Chase & West Wilts
AONB.
11/03 The Annual Parish Council meeting
is scheduled for Tuesday, 13th May 2003.
The meeting closed at 8:34pm
Signed without amendment by Cllr Rod Poynting, the PC
Chairman, on 13th May 2003.
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