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An Ordinary meeting of Odstock Parish Council was held on 9 September 2009 in The Barker Room at Nunton.
Present: Rod Poynting (Chairman), Cliff Whitley (Vice-Chairman), Colin Berry, Nigel Start, Richard Parsons (Clerk), Wiltshire Cllr Julian Johnson and one member of the public.
Apologies: Stephen Stapley, David Williamson-Jones and Ray Martin.
26/09 Open Public Forum: The Nunton PCC reported on the results of a consultation with parishioners for some repairs and alterations to the Nunton Church. There is a damp problem at the SE corner of the church requiring a drain and the central heating boiler needs replacing. The three existing bells will be refurbished and a fourth bell added. Some of the pews will be removed to accommodate the improvements. The Eastern Churchyard wall will be repaired and re-pointed. There is overwhelming support from parishioners and it is hoped that the Parish Council will be supportive in order that funding from several external sources will be successfully achieved.
27/09 Declaration of Interest: None.
28/09 Minutes of the Annual PC meeting held on 13 May and minutes of the Extraordinary PC meeting held on 23 June were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
29/09 Matters Arising:
a) Shepherds Close: Cllr Berry was able to report that Wiltshire Highways had undertaken repairs and resurfacing of the roadways. Hatching has also been added to the car-park surface in front of the playing field gate.
30/09 Nunton Field:
a) Grass Cutting: It was noted that the field has been cut a total of ten times so far. Lessons learnt will influence the grass-cutting regime to be adopted in future years.
b) Pavilion Maintenance: There was a lengthy discussion about plans to refurbish the interior of the Pavilion.
c) Play Area Maintenance: There was a discussion about alternative safety surfaces. The existing surface requires the regular application of weed-killer to control bindweed and couch grass. Because the wood chip material degrades, extra material frequently needs to be added. Nevertheless, alternative surfaces would be expensive and might not be 'in keeping' with the rural setting.
d) Signage: There was concern about some ambiguity in the wording used on the prepared playing field notices.
31/09 Community Initiatives:
a) Radnor Hall Committee: It was reported that a programme of redecoration was under way at the Radnor Hall and that the Radnor Hall Players would be putting on a Panto in November.
b) Area Board Community Grants: It was noted that Britford PC had some R2 money which they were unable to spend. Odstock Parish will be welcome to have this money if there is an appropriate scheme. It was agreed that Odstock PC would look into the possibility of using this money for the Pavilion refurbishment.
32/09 Transport, Roads and Footpaths:
a) WCC Parish Steward Report: Nothing significant to report. Incidental maintenance attended to, as required.
b) The A338 at Bodenham: The Chairman had met with a Highways engineer on 3 August because of the apparent confusion caused by the new road markings. There have been a number of car accidents since the road was resurfaced in the Spring.
33/09 Planning:
a) S/2009/0750: Full Planning - Construction of dirty water lagoon and associated works at Nunton Farm. It was noted that this application had been approved on 11 August. Members were disappointed that the planners appeared to have taken little notice of local people's concerns.
b) S/2009/0997: Full Planning - Two storey side extension at Fonbadet, Odstock.
No Objection.
c) S/2009/1138: Full Planning - Convert first floor of existing garage into habitable accommodation ancillary to the existing house at 112 High Street, Bodenham.
No Objection.
34/09 Reports and Correspondence:
a) Cranbourne Chase & WWD AONB: Over the weekend of Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, Woodfair South West will take place at Larmer Tree Gardens. Cllr Start will attend on behalf of OPC.
b) South Wiltshire Area Board: The next meeting will be held at the Downton Trafalgar School on 15 September. The Chairman agreed to attend on behalf of Odstock Parish Council.
c) Councillor Training Seminar: The next event is on Friday, 18 September in the City Hall.
35/09 Finance:
a) OPC Budget for 2010-2011: There was a discussion about the presentation of OPC's budget. The Clerk explained that the objective was to help PC members to discharge their duty of ensuring that the Council's resources were adequate.
b) Standing Orders and Financial Regulations: Members agreed to adopt the
NALC model standing
orders.
c) Risk Assessment: Members reviewed and approved the updated risk assessment document.
d) Payments: The following were approved:
Nunton Farm - Two years rent ---------------- 308 - £800.00p
Nunton Farm - Hedge cutting ----------------- 308 -- £69.00p
HAC Joynt - Nunton Maintenance ------------ 309 - £124.00p
Sodexo Land Technology Ltd - Grass Cutting - 310 - £596.85p
R Parsons - Clerk's fee on account ------------ 311 - £760.00p
Earl of Radnor 1989 Settlement - Rent -------- 312 -- £10.50p
Southern Electric - Nunton Field Electricity ---- DD -- £37.76p
Wessex Water - Nunton Field Water Supply -- DD -- £11.03p
Southern Electric - Nunton Field Electricity ---- DD -- £35.75p
Southern Electric - Nunton Field Electricity ---- DD -- £29.16p
36/09 Any Other Business (for information only):
a) Cllr Start suggested a re-routing of the footpath in the vicinity of Jubilee Gardens. He will raise the issue with the farmer concerned.
b) Cllr Berry again drew attention to the parking issue outside the hospital entrance.
c) Cllr Berry drew attention to the overgrown state of the roadside hedgerows on the road south from the Yew Tree Inn. This causes straw deposits on the roadway when straw bales are moved.
37/09 The next Ordinary Parish Council meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 9 December.
The meeting closed at 9:15pm
Signed without amendment by the PC Chairman, Cllr Rod
Poynting, on 9 December 2009.
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