Odstock Parish Council
An Ordinary meeting of Odstock Parish Council was held
on 11 December 2014 in the Radnor Hall, Bodenham.
Present: Rod Poynting (Chairman), Stephen Stapley
(Vice-Chairman), Colin Berry, Nigel Start, Sally Nelson, Gavin
Simmonite, Richard Parsons (Clerk) and three members of the public.
Apologies: David Williamson-Jones and Wiltshire Cllr
Julian Johnson.
50/14 Open Public Forum: 1. A
parishioner was reassured that OPC’s finances are properly budgeted and
accounted for.
2. Dates for Car Boot sales were
provided as follows: 15 March, 12 April, 10 & 24 May, 14 & 28 June, 26
July, 23 August
and 13 September. The organiser asked whether the
grass could be cut before each event.
3. Two
parishioners expressed concern about planning application 14/10390/FUL
for extending the Nunton Dairy Unit. A
major issue is drainage and
the narrowness of access along Nunton Drove. The Chairman advised that
those concerned
can make representations to the Wiltshire Council
planning department.
51/14 Declaration of Interest:
None.
52/14 Minutes of the Ordinary OPC meeting
held on 11 September were approved and signed by the Chairman.
53/14 Nunton Recreation Field: Play Safety: The RoSPA
safety inspection report indicated that several of the timber uprights
are decaying at ground level and whilst considered to be low risk at
present, will require replacement soon. In some areas, the loose fill
levels are too low to provide adequate protection. A minimum depth of
300 mm is recommended.
54/14 Community Initiatives:
a)Radnor Hall Committee: Nothing to report.
b)Odstock Recreation Field: Cllr Simmonite reported that he is
less certain than two years ago about the value of tree planting around
the play equipment to form a wind break. It was agreed to reassess this
before next Autumn.
c)Shepherds Close Parking: Cllr
Simmonite reported that, in discussion with the estate’s land agent, he
had discovered areas of agreement about how car parking might be
improved for the residents of Shepherds Close. Cllr Berry restated his
opinion that there are several potentially insurmountable issues
associated with the legal ownership of various pieces of land which
could make a plan unworkable. It was agreed to canvass residents to
gauge public opinion.
55/14 Transport, Roads and
Footpaths:
a)Community Area Transport Group: Cllr Berry
reported that Wiltshire Highways is planning to resurface the roads
throughout the parish during 2015 and a traffic calming scheme can be
incorporated at the same time.
b)Traffic Calming
Consultation: There is significant support for the proposals,
although, there is some disagreement about the benefit of the mini White
Gates which have been used at other local traffic calming locations.
c)Footpath Resurfacing: Cllr Berry reported the
Longford Estate will contribute £500 and the work is now complete.
d)Avon Valley Way: Recent improvements are being
well-received.
56/14 Planning: 14/10390/FUL Registered on
24-Nov-14: The erection of an extension to an agricultural
storage building and the erection of an agricultural building to be used
to house livestock at Nunton Dairy Unit, Nunton Drove. SP5 4HZ.... If
there is a significant number of responses published on the Wiltshire
Council planning website before the end of the consultation period, the
Chairman will ask the planning authority to prepare a report for
consideration at a future Wiltshire Council Southern Area Board
Committee meeting. This will provide local residents with the
opportunity of having their concerns heard by those who will decide the
outcome of the Planning Application.
There were no other planning
applications for consideration.
57/14 Reports and
Correspondence:
a)Area Board meetings: The next meeting is
in Morgans Vale & Woodfalls Village Hall on 29 January.
b)Consultations: The Housing Land Availability is an ongoing
search for land suitable for development. In Nunton, the site occupied
by Farm Buildings has been identified as being suitable for housing. The
land agent for the Longford estate has indicated that this land is being
considered for future development.
58/14 Finance:
a)
Internal Audit: 2014/2015 is year 3 of the current 3 year
internal auditor's appointment.
b) OPC's Community Grants:
It was resolved to award the usual £500 to ONB PCC for grass cutting at
Jubilee Gardens. Members asked for more financial information regarding
the ongoing operations of the Radnor Hall Committee before agreeing to
the usual £750 contribution towards the cost of the annual Radnor Hall
lease.
c)Precept requirement for 2015-2016: Some
items in the Nunton Play area will soon need replacing and the safety
surface needs replenishing with loose fill. It was resolved to increase
the precept by about £1,582 to accommodate some of these extra costs.
d)Receipts:
Wiltshire Council – CATG Grant
£1,234.48p
Lloyds Bank plc – Donation in respect of account
irregularities £300.00p
Diabetes UK – Donation in respect of car boot
sales £100.00p
Longford Estate – Donation in respect of resurfaced
footpath £500.00p
e)Payments: The following were
approved:
Playsafety Ltd – RoSPA Safety Report 523 £81.60p
Nunton
Farm – Annual Rent 524 £400.00p
Nunton Farm – Hedge Cutting 524
£111.60p
Bawden Contracting Services Ltd – Grass Cutting 525 £403.12p
R Parsons – Clerk's salary and expenses, on account 527 £782.00p
Odstock with N&B PCC – Grass Cutting Grant 528 £500.00p
Woodford
Forest & Landscape Ltd – Path Resurfacing 529 £2,901.79p
HAC Joynt –
Ground Maintenance 530 £280.00p
Southern Electric – Nunton Field
Electricity DD £21.29p
59/14 Any Other Business (for
information only):
a)Parish Plan: Cllr Simmonite believes
that the Parish needs to have a Parish Plan and also a Village Design
Statement, so that there are specific established guidelines to
influence future development. This needs to be initiated by members of
the broader community and supported by Odstock Parish Council.
b)Trees in Odstock: Cllr Start reported that some beech
and silver birch trees in Odstock are causing concern and that plans are
under-way to remove some of them before they become a hazard to
neighbouring properties. The Chairman has advised the land agent for the
Longford estate about the most appropriate method for dealing with
parishioners’ concerns.
60/14 The next scheduled OPC
meeting is the on Thursday, 5 February 2015.
The
meeting closed at 9:20pm
Signed without amendment by the OPC Chairman, Cllr Rod Poynting, on
5 February 2015.
Download here
as a .pdf file.