Odstock Parish Council

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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