Minutes July 2020

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2020/09

MINUTES

DEFFORD & BESFORD PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Defford & Besford Parish Council held on Wednesday 22nd July 2020 at 7.15pm held via Zoom

PRESENT: Chairman J Clarke Vice Chairman R Davis (also in capacity as District Cllr) Cllr C Wicksteed Cllr L Revell Cllr S Rees

Cllr J Harrington Cllr S Harris Clerk L Yapp 1 member of the public

  1. APOLOGIES – Cllr I Spiers and County Cllr A Hardman
  2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – Cllrs Clarke & Harris – Planning Application 20/01268 – 15 Besford Court & 20/00992 – 1 Lower Drive, Besford – ground floor extension
  3. Cllrs are reminded of the need to update their register of interests
  4. To declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in items on the agenda and their nature
  5. To declare Other Disclosable Interests in items on the agenda and their nature
  6. Written requests for the council to grant a dispensation (S33 of the Localism Act 2011) are to be with the clerk at least 4 clear days prior to a meeting.

Cllrs who have declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, or Other Disclosable Interest which falls within the terms of paragraph 12(4) of the code of conduct, must leave the room for the relevant items

Cllr Clarke welcomed everyone the meeting and to the member of the public who was in attendance.

He reported on the vacancy and that this has been advertised.

On arrival to the meeting, Cllr R Davies reported on the recent death of J Brookes – a previous Cllr

and Chairman of the Parish Council.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME – The parishioner in attendance was given the opportunity to raise any issues, but declined and advised they would comment further in the agenda if necessary. This was acceptable to the parish council

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES from meeting dated 19th May – Acceptance proposed Cllr Rees, seconded Cllr Harris – all in favour
  2. REPORTS:
  3. County Cllr Report – In his absence, a report had been received from Cllr A Hardman and is attached to these minutes.

Thanks were paid to the County Council regarding the recent re-surfacing of Salters Lane and

Bourne Road (including line marking) as well as the main road. Cllr Rees also paid thank to WCC for

the swift response to her communication with the drainage officer and issues with surface water

in Harpley Road, which has now been rectified.

  1. District Cllr Report – District Cllr Davis reported that the Executive Board are continuing to meet every week. There has been a number of small Covid outbreaks locally, Lower Moor and Mathon. All four village halls in his Ward had benefitted from the Small Business Grant. He paid tribute to Wychavon staff, with some members of staff working 7 days a week to work through the vast amount of applications for financial assistance. A high % of parishioners are still reluctant to venture out into the towns and now need to gain confidence – emphasis now focussed on supporting the economy in the towns.
  2. West Mercia Policing Team – nothing to report

2020/10

  1. FINANCE
  2. Payments for approval / made since the last meeting – a copy of the full accounts had been forwarded to Cllrs

 

The clerk reported that a payment had been received from Network Rail for £300 as per agreement

although the car park was not used as planned

Payments were accepted and approved, proposed Cllr Wicksteed, seconded Cllr Harrington. Account balances (less unpresented cheques):

Current Account: £28230.75

Deposit Account: £4055.64

  1. AGAR Documents for Approval / Discussion – Audit documents had been circulated to Cllrs and she had been in discussion with Cllr Harrington to clarify the point raised by the Internal Auditor:
  2. AGAR Part 2 – Internal Audit Report – The internal auditor and clerk had been unable to confirm the Publication of Public Rights, and after discussion with the Clerk, we were unable to provide evidence of the Notice of Public Rights for 2018/19 – The previous clerk had emigrated to Australia at short notice leaving ‘scratchy’ financial records for 2018/19
  3. AGAR Exemption Statement – Approved Cllr Rees, seconded Cllr Harrington – all in favour
  4. AGAR Part 2 – Section 1 Annual Governance Statement – with exemption of the point raised by the Internal Auditor, all in favour, proposed Cllr Harrington, seconded Cllr Harris
  5. AGAR Part 2 – Section 2 Accounting Statements – Proposed Cllr Harris, seconded Cllr Rees, all in favour
  6. HIGHWAYS & BYWAYS
  7. Footpaths / Rights of Way – Cllr Wicksteed had reported fly tipping and this has now been removed. Footpath issues including lack of way marking have been reported to WCC. Cllr Rees reported that a number of footpaths / rights of way had been ploughed in and not clearly identified. It was agreed that in the first instance an informal discussion with the landowner was a good starting point
  8. Street Lighting – One street light has been reported as being permanently on
  9. Flooding – Already covered under by Cllr Rees and nothing further to add
  10. Lengthsman – Now back to full duties
  11. Speeding – Cllr Harris had been in contact with WCC (Kieran Hempstock) and would arrange a meeting as soon as restrictions imposed by WCC permitted. Cllr Harris also reported that there was a significant ‘drop on road edge’ following recent re-surfacing, which could cause damage to the underside of some vehicles and also injury to cyclists. He would take photographs and send to the clerk to forward to WCC

2020/11

  1. PLANNING:

a) Home Farm Housing Survey – nothing further to report

b) Wychavon District Council – Housing Needs Survey – we are still awaiting the results of the survey carried out

  1. 20/00722 – Solar Farm Development, Bourne Road – to be decided by full planning committee
  2. 20/01364 – Land adjacent to Keppel Gate – erection of 5 new dwellings – awaiting decision by WDC
  3. 20/01234 – Oak Tree Barn, Woodmancote – awaiting decision by WDC
  4. 20/00634 – St Brelades, Besford Road, Wadborough – approved by WDC
  5. 20/01131 – Oak Cottage, Woodmancote – change of roof covering – awaiting decision by WDC
  6. 20/00894 – High View, Upper Street – single storey extensions – awaiting decision by WDC
  7. 20/01268 – 15 Besford Court Estate – creation of door opening – awaiting decision by WDC

  8. 20/00992 – 1 Lower Drive, Besford – ground floor extension – this was a new application received just before the meeting. Cllr Clarke reported that he felt, following discussions with the applicant, the plans may well be revised, but as it stands there were no objections by the parish council
  9. OPEN SPACES
  10. Millennium Green – s106 monies are available to be used at the Millenium Green to ‘improve’ the open space or other open space in Defford. Cllr Harrington would source possible options for suitable play equipment and liaise with Cllr Rees. It was also agreed that a bit of remedial landscaping was necessary and new benches/tables . It was agreed that the playground should officially re-open (although it was probably already being used) and the clerk would arrange signage to put the emphasis on users to maintain social distancing and hand sanitising.
  11. PROJECTS
  12. Village Hall Car Park – Cllr Spiers had sent a report in his absence that there was still some work to be carried out at the car park but this had been delayed because of the Covid situation. Cllr Clarke reported that the car park could do with hedge cutting and removal of weeds. The clerk would pass this on to Cllr Spiers
  13. Electric Car Charging Points – It was considered that this could form part of a larger ‘project’ for the Village Hall. Solar panels are no longer working and the hall floor needs replacing. The clerk reported on a meeting she had attended with the Chair of the VH Committee and WDC NHB officers and was advised that maintenance & Wear and Tear would not be covered under the guidance /protocol
  14. Repair to Church Wall – A further quote had been received for £40,000, compared with the first one for £26,000. A third quote is in hand. Cllr Harris has also arranged for surveyor to take a look at the wall, in particular the footings. The clerk reminded the Council that we had made provision of £10,000 from the reserves to be put towards the church wall project. She had ben seeking help from grant funding but it appeared that all options would only cover the fabric of the church and not the church wall. To be re-visited at September meeting.
  15. Phone Boxes – Defford phone box is now almost finished within the agreed budget of £300. It was agreed that we should ask residents how they would like to see the phone used. Thanks were paid to Cllr Harris for organising this.

2020/08

  1. DOO POO SIGNS – It was agreed that an order be placed for 10 x signs previously sourced by the clerk

2020/12

  1. CORONAVIRUS UPDATE – Covered under District Cllr report above
  2. CORRESPONDENCE / EMAILS had been circulated to Cllrs
  3. OTHER MATTERS FOR INFORMATION / FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
  • Cllr Davies had advised that he had taken on the role of Vice Chairman as a temporary post and now felt that it was time to step down due to his ever increasing District Council duties. Cllr Rees had offered to step into the post. The Parish Council were asked if there were any objections or any request from a Cllr to apply for the role themselves. There was no objection to Cllr Rees becoming Vie Chairman or any interest from other Cllrs. This would be formally resolved at the September meeting
  • Cllr Harris reported on the poor state of a lot of the signage around the parishes. He was advised to take photographs and report on the WDC and/or CC websites
  1. DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS – Dates for the next meeting – Tuesday 15th September at 7pm, to be held via Zoom (unless the current situation changes enabling meetings in person)