Odstock Parish Council
The Annual meeting of Odstock Parish Council was held on 9 May 2016 in the Pavilion, Nunton Recreation Field.
Present: Gavin Simmonite (Chairman), Rod Poynting (Vice-Chairman), Stephen Stapley, Nigel Start, Sally Nelson, David Williamson-Jones, Wiltshire Cllr Julian Johnson, Richard Parsons (Clerk) and twenty members of the public.
Apologies: Colin Berry.
12/16 Annual Parish
Meeting: a) Shepherds Close: Several residents in attendance
reported the severe congestion in the parking area adjacent to the
Odstock Recreation Field exacerbated by people visiting the new Play
Area.
b) Steering Group for Neighbourhood Plan: The widely publicised results of the questionnaire were
discussed.
13/16 Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman:
Cllr
Poynting proposed and Cllr Nelson seconded, Cllr Simmonite as Chairman.
Cllr Start proposed and Cllr Williamson-Jones seconded, Cllr Poynting as
Vice-chairman.
14/16 Declaration of
Interest: None.
15/16 Delegation of Functions: LGA 1972 s101
allows for the functions of a statutory authority to be discharged
through a committee, sub-committee, officer or any other local
authority. It was unanimously agree that when necessary, statutory
functions would be delegated to the Parish Clerk as Proper Officer of
Odstock Parish Council.
16/16 Meeting Dates: 4 July, 12
September, 12 December, 13 February 2017 and the Annual meetings on 15
May 2017. In accordance with LGA72 sch.12 s.9(1), Extraordinary PC
meetings can be called by the Chairman at any time and may be subject to
LGA72 sch.12 s.10(2) requiring three clear days notice. Meeting
cancellations will be similarly advised.
17/16 Minutes of the
Ordinary OPC meeting held on 8 February were approved and signed by the
Chairman.
18/16 Community Initiatives:
a) Radnor Hall
Committee: The programme of improvements, including redecoration,
heating improvements, fire safety and public address system are all
close to completion and fund raising initiatives and hall lettings
continue to improve. The committee very much hope these improvements
will lead to a significant increase in Radnor Hall usage and they are
planning to have an interactive presence at the ONB Fete on 9 July. Some
of the Hall’s uses will also be revealed.
b) Longford Estate
Presentation: The Agent introduced their award-winning Architect who
proceeded to explain how the Estate envisage developing three sites in
Nunton. A small-scale residential development of a maximum of 15 homes
is planned for the farm buildings site, opposite the Old Dairy houses.
The Elm Tree site will accommodate 2 homes and the Longford Farm site
will be a mix of light industrial, business and residential. A
permissive path across the Ebble will link Longford to Nunton. The
Estate is very conscious of the contentious nature of planning issues
and wants to reassure villagers of their desire to involve residents in
the planning as much as possible. The presentation involved a number of
artists’ impressions for general discussion and it was stressed that
plans are at a very early stage and all ideas will be considered. Some
of the issues raised included sewerage considerations and increased
traffic flows.
c) Parish/Community Planning: Cllr Nelson delivered a
comprehensive report on the outcome of the questionnaire survey. 104 of
the 246 delivered questionnaires were returned and revealed concerns
over the state of the roads, excessive speeds, agricultural traffic and
mud on the roads. Agreed, the Steering Group will formally apply to
designate Odstock Parish as a Neighbourhood Area and will proceed to
produce a Neighbourhood Plan on behalf of Odstock PC.
d) Yew Tree
Public House: There was a discussion about formally designating the Yew
Tree as an ‘Asset of Community Value’ so that there would be a greater
incentive for the owner to be more supportive of their new tenant
publican.
19/16 Nunton Recreation Field:
a) Pavilion: Cllr
Poynting reported two quotes (£3,300 and £3,142) for seven widows and
two doors. Agreed, to seek grants from the Area Board and other sources.
OPC will become eligible for the Community Landfill Fund in Nov-2016.
b) Scale of Charges: Agreed, to always request a donation to cover
costs when asked about using Nunton Field facilities.
20/16 Transport, Roads and Footpaths:
a) Wiltshire Council Highways:
Cllrs Berry and Start will be available to liaise with the Parish
Lengthsman.
b) Community Area Transport Group: Either Cllr Start or
Cllr Berry will attend the next CATG meeting on 22 June.
c) Resurfacing and Traffic Calming along the C12: Still no clear
indication of when this is scheduled to commence.
d) Fly Tipping: The
illegal dumping of waste is a criminal offence and must be reported to
Wiltshire Council.
e) A338/C12 Junction: OPC is awaiting further
proposals from Wiltshire Council.
f) Community Speedwatch: Cllr Start
reported that he is awaiting confirmation about the availability of
training.
g) Speed Indicator Displays: A schedule of deployment has
yet to be agreed with the SID operators and suitable sites along the C12
will need to be identified so that OPC is ready to receive their
deployments.
21/16 Planning: There were no planning applications
for consideration.
22/16 Reports and Correspondence:
a) Wiltshire
Council: The next Area Board meeting is at the Trafalgar School, Downton
on 26 May. The Clerk agreed to attend on behalf of OPC.
b) Wiltshire
Association of Local Councils: Cllr Nelson expressed an interest in
learning more about the legislation governing Parish Councils. WALC
produce a monthly newsletter and have a comprehensive website. OPC’s
membership fee to WALC includes a fee to the National Association of
Local Councils and a subscription to the bi-monthly publication entitled
‘Clerks and Councils Direct’. Cllr Nelson will be kept informed.
23/16 Finance:
a) Bank Accounts: It was agreed to continue
maintaining Odstock PC's Bank Accounts with Lloyds Bank plc.
b) Staff
Costs for 2015-2016: The Parish Clerk's salary of £50.77p per week was
in line with expectations.
c) Accounts for 2015-2016: OPC's Internal
Auditor had verified Odstock PC's accounts as presented. Income of
£11,834.15p for the year includes a grant of £143.29 from Wiltshire
Council, donations of £175, bank interest of £4.10 and the balance of
£11,411.76p from the precept. Expenditure of £9,822.78p includes
£1,317.60p spent on refreshing the safety surface at the Nunton play
area, £3,458.80p on rents, grass-cutting and maintenance, £850 on grant
support for village groups and £4,196.38p on general administration. The
balance of £8,375.49p being carried forward includes £3,400 reserved for
Capital Funding and £2,500 earmarked for incidental maintenance expenses
in the Nunton Recreation Field.
d) Annual Return for 2015-2016:
Members answered all of the Governance questions in the affirmative.
e) Chairman's Allowance for 2016-2017: Up to £100 will be made available
to the Chairman for expenses of office.
f) Zurich Municipal Insurance
Premium for 2016-2017: The invitation to renew, for £509.77p, was
approved.
g) WALC Membership for 2016-2017: Subscription renewal of
£214.79p inc VAT was approved.
h) Receipts:
Wiltshire Council –
First instalment of the precept £6,008.40p
Wiltshire Council – First
instalment of precept grant £25.79p
i) Payments: The following were
approved:
Bawden Contracting Services Ltd – Grass Cutting 567
£403.13p
Wiltshire Association of Local Councils – Subscription 568
£214.79p
Community First Trading – Zurich Insurance Renewal 569
£509.77p
R Parsons – Clerk's salary and expenses, on account 570
£912.00p
Southern Electric – Nunton Field Electricity DD £19.72p
24/16 Any Other Business (for information only): Cllr Start reported
that an agreement had been reached to designate 8 parking spaces in the
Odstock Church car-park to alleviate the need to park on the road
outside of the Nursery School.
25/16 The next Ordinary OPC
meeting is scheduled for 4 July.
The meeting closed at 9:15pm
Signed without amendment by Cllr Poynting on 4 July 2016.
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