Odstock Parish Council
The Annual meeting of Odstock Parish Council was
held on 22 May 2017 in the Pavilion, Nunton Recreation Field.
Present: Gavin Simmonite, Rod Poynting, Stephen
Stapley, Colin Berry, Nigel Start, Sally Nelson, David Williamson-Jones,
Richard Parsons (Clerk), Wiltshire Councillor Richard Clewer and
two members of the public.
Apologies: None
18/17 Annual Parish Meeting: With the agreement
of the two parishioners present, it was resolved to proceed
immediately with the Annual OPC meeting.
19/17 Declaration of Acceptance of Office: Gavin
Simmonite, Rod Poynting, Stephen Stapley, Colin Berry, Nigel
Start and Sally Nelson, having been nominated for election as
Parish Councillors at the 2017 election on 4 May, all signed
their Declarations of Acceptance of Office as Councillors of
Odstock Parish Council and will complete their register of member’s
interests within 28 days.
20/17 Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman:
Cllr Poynting proposed and Cllr Start seconded, Cllr Nelson as
Chairman. Cllr Poynting proposed and Cllr Berry seconded, Cllr
Start as Vice-chairman.
21/13 Co-option of Eligible Person to the Office of
Parish Councillor: David Williamson-Jones, having agreed
to continue as a Councillor, was unanimously appointed. A
Declaration of Acceptance of Office as Councillor of Odstock PC
was signed by David Williamson-Jones and he will complete his
register of member’s interests within 28 days.
22/17 Declaration of Interest: The Chairman
expressed a concern that long-standing relationships with the
Longford Estate by some members might be seen as raising a
conflict of interest. On this occasion, no interests were
declared.
23/17 Minutes of the Extraordinary OPC meeting
held on 13 April were approved and signed by the Chairman.
24/17 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.
25/17 Meeting Dates: 3 July, 11 September, 11
December, 12 February 2018 and the Annual meetings on 14 May 2018.
In accordance with LGA72 sch.12 s.9(1), Extraordinary PC meetings
can be called by the Chairman at any time or by any two
councillors and may be subject to LGA72 sch.12 s.10(2) requiring
three clear days notice. Meeting cancellations will be similarly
advised.
26/17 Community Initiatives:
a) Radnor Hall Committee: Car-boot sales held on the
Nunton Recreation Field continue to raise much-needed funds to
enable the Radnor Hall to operate effectively.
b) Community Planning: The Chairman highlighted
some of the key issues identified by the questionnaire survey
conducted as part of the stalled Neighbourhood Plan initiative.
c) Dog Waste Bins: The Chairman had prepared a
report on the cost of providing and emptying dog waste bins in
the two Parish recreation fields. Cllr Start was concerned that
the provision of dog waste bins in the recreation fields would
discourage dog owners from finding alternative areas within the
Parish where dogs could be exercised without restriction. It was
agreed to publish in News and Notes some suggestions for
responsible dog owners.
27/17 Nunton Recreation Field:
a) Pavilion: Cllr Poynting reported that the Community
First grant was unlikely to be forthcoming because OPC was unable
to agree to unrestricted public access of the Pavilion. It was
unanimously agreed to proceed with the replacement windows
project with earmarked funds from OPC reserves and the community
grant of £598.30p from Wiltshire Council Southern Area Board.
b) Usage Request: It was agreed to permit
Longford CE Primary School to access the Recreation Field on
Tuesday, 18 July, if they wished to hold their 2017 Sports Day
event in Nunton. Usage requests are determined by reference to
OPC meeting minutes, ref: 51/15(c), 4/16(c), 19/16(b) and 30/16(c).
28/17 Transport, Roads and Footpaths:
a) Wiltshire Council Highways: The Clerk agreed to
attend the Highways meeting in the City Hall on Tuesday, 23 May,
on behalf of OPC. Most of the maintenance issues requested by OPC
had been completed.
b) Bridleway, Shelf Lane to the A338: Cllr
Poynting reported that, in March, his team of volunteers had
successfully cleared the bridleway of debris and weed growth.
c) Community Area Transport Group: Neither Cllr
Berry nor Cllr Start will be available for the CATG meeting on 12
July at Bourne Hill. The Clerk agreed to attend on behalf of OPC.
d) Community Speedwatch: Cllr Start reported
that, due to a shortage of staff time at Police Headquarters in
Devizes, his team of trained volunteers are limited to operating
every third week. The team have observed drivers travelling at
speeds in excess of 40mph from Odstock into Nunton. More
volunteers would increase detection frequency.
e) Speed Indicator Displays: Wiltshire Cllr
Richard Clewer advised that the SIDs were effective when used for
a maximum of 2 weeks at any one location. Whilst OPC had agreed
to participate in Area Board’s SID schedule of deployments
at suitable sites along the C12, to date, OPC has not receive any
of their deployments. (Ref.20/16g)
29/17 Planning: 17/01797/FUL Full Planning -
Extension of existing agricultural grain store at Great Yews, SP5
4JG. It was noted that this application, the subject of the
Extraordinary OPC meeting on 13 April, had been approved on 11
May. The applicant’s representatives had confirmed that the
increased capacity would reduce the number of traffic movements
because current off-site storage at Charlton-All-Saints would no-longer
be used. The highways officer report concludes, ‘I do not
consider the overall impact of the proposals to be severe in
highway terms. As such, I recommend that no Highway objection is
raised to this proposal.’
There were no new Planning applications to consider.
30/17 Finance:
a) Bank Accounts: It was agreed to continue maintaining
Odstock PC's Bank Accounts with Lloyds Bank plc.
b) Staff Costs for 2016-2017: The Parish Clerk's
salary of £50.77p per week was in line with expectations.
c) Accounts for 2016-2017: OPC's Internal
Auditor had verified Odstock PC's accounts as presented. Income
of £12,394.13p for the year includes a grant of £51.58p from
Wiltshire Council, donations of £320, bank interest of £5.75p
and the balance of £12,016.80p from the precept. Expenditure of
£7,987.97p includes £2,942.19p on rents, grass-cutting and
maintenance, £850 on grant support for village groups and £4,195.78p
on general administration. Annual Return for 2016-2017: The
Chairman approved the figures entered into the 2017 Annual Return.
d) Chairman's Allowance for 2017-2018: Up to £100
will be made available to the Chairman for expenses of office.
e) Zurich Municipal Insurance Premium for 2017-2018:
The invitation to renew, for £525.70p, was approved.
f) WALC Membership for 2017-2018: Subscription
renewal of £177.18p ex VAT was approved.
g) Earmarked Reserves: OPC is carrying forward
£12,781.65p of which £6,750 is earmarked for Recreation Field
and Pavilion maintenance and £3,600 is in a Capital fund.
h) Receipts:
Wiltshire Council – Community Grant £598.30p
Wiltshire Council – First instalment of the precept £6,034.19p
i) Payments: The following were approved:
Wiltshire Association of Local Councils – Subscription 589
£212.62p
Community First Trading – Zurich Insurance Renewal 590 £525.70p
Bawden Contracting Services Ltd – Grass Cutting 591 £407.15p
R Parsons – Clerk's salary and expenses, on account 592 £912.00p
Southern Electric – Nunton Field Electricity DD £19.53p
31/17 Reports and Correspondence:
a) Wiltshire Council: The next Area Board meeting is in
Winterslow Village Hall on 1 June. The Clerk agreed to attend on
behalf of OPC. The next meeting thereafter is scheduled for 27
July in Coombe-Bissett Village Hall.
b) WALC: Transparency Fund grants for PC
websites will continue to be available during 2017-2018.
c) Undergrounding of Power Cables: Cllr Start
reported that his application had been turned down by the
Electricity board due to the fact that there would be no
discernible benefit because of other cables on the routes.
d) Longford Estate: OPC had received a letter
expressing concern that OPC is less than supportive of
initiatives designed to improve community relations. Following a
discussion, it was resolved to engage more frequently with
Longford Estate representatives.
32/17 Any Other Business (for information only):
a) Jubilee Gardens: Cllr Poynting reported that the
Willow trees needed pruning.
b) Footpath: Cllr Berry reported that he had
located a footpath in Nunton requiring maintenance and possibly
new kissing gates. He believes there may be funds available for
Wiltshire footpath maintenance.
33/17 The next Ordinary OPC meeting is scheduled
for 3 July.
The meeting closed at 8:51pm
Signed without amendment by the Chairman, Cllr Sally Nelson, as a
true record on 3 July 2017.
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