2016/07/01
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 29th June 2016
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council, held on Wednesday
29th June 2016 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.
1. Apologies: Cllrs. Martin Baker, Pat Lennard and Ray Triggol, also Cllr. Mrs Liz Perry (SDC}.
Present: Cllrs. Martin Allen (Chairman), Brian Gale, Katrina Maxwell and Terry Oxman, also Cllr. David Hall (SCC).
Members of the public: Messrs Pete Dodge and Rodney Young.
Also Mr Antony Codner and Jane McCabe from Tailored Auto Enrolment.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting of 18th May 2016. The Clerk explained two amendments were necessary to the circulated draft minutes:
6. Planning.
Application reference: 18/16/00004/LE
Proposal: Erection of dwelling to form holiday accommodation, on site of previously approved garage for which the foundations have been constructed.
Location: Parchey House (2), Ward Lane, Chedzoy, Bridgwater TA7 8RW.
Applicant: Mrs. C Williams.
This is the same as a previous application, and it was agreed to send supporting comments as before. Any flood plain issues etc. would be covered by the appropriate bodies.
7. Correspondence.
8. Matters arising from the correspondence. None.
9. Finance.
Balances after allowing for all payments made:
The final tranche of this year’s precept of £1000 is due towards the year's end
4 cheques to be issued when signed by 2 councillors as follows:
10. Any Other Business including the date of the next meeting.
1. Apologies: Cllrs. Martin Baker, Pat Lennard and Ray Triggol, also Cllr. Mrs Liz Perry (SDC}.
Present: Cllrs. Martin Allen (Chairman), Brian Gale, Katrina Maxwell and Terry Oxman, also Cllr. David Hall (SCC).
Members of the public: Messrs Pete Dodge and Rodney Young.
Also Mr Antony Codner and Jane McCabe from Tailored Auto Enrolment.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting of 18th May 2016. The Clerk explained two amendments were necessary to the circulated draft minutes:
- Landline and Broadband problems - follow up meeting of
26th May 2016. The Chairman’s report was deleted and replaced
with the date of the meeting.
- Under Any Other Business – an item added concerning speeding tractors passing through the village.
- Landline/Broadband problems – follow up meeting 26th
May 2016. The Clerk reported as follows:-
Attendees at the meeting: Paul Coles (BT), Martin Allen and Chris Fry (Chedzoy Parish Council), Don Johnson and Cllr. David Hall (SCC). Paul Coles advised the meeting that the problems of Chedzoy’s landline telephony and connectivity had been the subject of substantial remedial work. A large amount of copper wire had been installed and many personal home visits had been made to check and replace equipment where necessary. The work was completed on 27th February and no further complaints had been received since. Martin Allen thanked Paul for the speed with which this had been carried out. Sadly, the broadband range issue was never part of this work, and it will not improve until substantive work is carried out to overcome the problem of the distance the village is from the enabled box outside Mole Valley Farmers.
There are some grounds for optimism here in that a further phase in the rollout- Phase 2- is shortly due to be put out to tender by the County Council. Let us hope this is the case. Martin Allen said it is important that any further landline telephony and connectivity problems are reported as before.
- SID possible relocation to Front Street. The
Clerk read an e-mail from Dave Grabham of SCC in which he agrees
to relocate to a place of the Parish Council’s choosing but
points out that the supporting bracket of the SID needs to be
attached to a standard traffic sign, rather than a telegraph
pole. There appears to be two options in Front Street and after
a discussion it was decided to request the relocation to the
'30' sign outside Fisher’s Cottages. The Clerk to request this.
- Isolation and Loneliness in Sedgemoor. The Clerk reported on the seminar on the subject held at Cossington village hall on 25th June, attended by Pat Lennard and the Clerk. He said it had been a useful and interesting event in which thoughts were exchanged from a wide range of representatives of many organisations and charities and voluntary groups. Although there are many groups and charities out there aiming to overcome the problem, it can sometimes be a matter of pinpointing and offering assistance to all lonely individuals. Approach has to be sympathetic and caring with problems sometimes surrounding transportation difficulties .The causes of the problem can vary – poor health and physical weakness and illness and failing faculties such as hearing difficulties. The Death of a partner can trigger it. Poor diet can lead to mental and physical problems. Depression and low self-esteem are relevant. Chedzoy seems to be lucky with many gatherings taking place. Details of the seminar will be sent through in due course.
- Short Mat Bowls. David Hall understands the problem we face with little or no demand to utilise the equipment in the village and he said he would approach both Bawdrip and Stawell Parish Councils to see if they were interested in receiving it as a gift.
- 'Brexit'. He said the Brexit vote would have an inevitable effect on the County Council’s present and probably future activities- as yet to an unknown extent.
- Hinkley Point and EDF. Happily, EDF had made an announcement that the Brexit vote would have no effect on the FID decision, which is now expected in the early autumn.
- Broadband. The SCC Phase 2 contract is due out to tender within the next 10 days
- Somerset Rivers Authority. Good news here in that the Secretary of State was progressing to formalisation which would clarify the future permanent funding arrangements. In the meantime however, this is unlikely to be completed before next year’s Council Tax level needs to be set and so this will simply mean a further year of “Temporary Levy” showing separately on householder’s demand notices.
- Severn Barrier. Progressing with the original 7 possible sites being reduced to 4.
- Local Government Association Conference. This is coming up next week.
6. Planning.
Application reference: 18/16/00004/LE
Proposal: Erection of dwelling to form holiday accommodation, on site of previously approved garage for which the foundations have been constructed.
Location: Parchey House (2), Ward Lane, Chedzoy, Bridgwater TA7 8RW.
Applicant: Mrs. C Williams.
This is the same as a previous application, and it was agreed to send supporting comments as before. Any flood plain issues etc. would be covered by the appropriate bodies.
7. Correspondence.
- Work Place Pension. Mr Antony Codner and Jane McCabe
outlined the legal requirements here. All employers with at
least one employee being paid via the paye system is required by
law to set up a work place pension scheme, regardless of hours
worked and salary level, even if (as is the case with Chedzoy’s
current Parish Clerk) the employee is not at all likely ever to
wish to join the scheme. The scheme has to be in place before
the “Staging Date”, in our case 1st May 2017. Every salary
payment has to be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure the
rules are followed at all times. Employees have to be contacted
and advised of all options. The whole matter is involved, with
heavy penalties imposed if deadlines are missed or instructions
followed. “Tailored Auto Enrolment” has a special package aimed
at Parish Councils and will set up and monitor as required. They
will liaise with the payroll officer ( Diane Malley) and lift
the burden from the Parish Council Clerk, who would otherwise be
writing letters to himself. Costs are:- £ 349 + vat to set up
and a monthly monitoring fee of about £10 + vat per employee per
month. They need to be engaged fairly soon both to ensure
adequate time and to ensure they do not have a full client list.
A full question and answer session took place and, with just 4
councillors present it was decided to hold any final decision
over till the next meeting. More information will be sent to the
Clerk for circulation among particularly those not present.
Several of the councillors will be aware of this as employers
themselves. Agreement in principle to eventually ensure a
suitable system is put in place was proposed by Brian Gale and
seconded by Terry Oxman.
- Somerset Foster Care Association. The Clerk reported that a series of coffee mornings were being held at the Edgar Hall Somerset in aid of the association. More Foster Carers are needed in the county.
8. Matters arising from the correspondence. None.
9. Finance.
Balances after allowing for all payments made:
| Lloyds Bank current account | £5789.23 |
| Lloyds Bank deposit account | £2.48 |
| Cambridge Building Society Easy Access | £12252.99 |
The final tranche of this year’s precept of £1000 is due towards the year's end
4 cheques to be issued when signed by 2 councillors as follows:
| Number | Payee | Amount | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 515 | C N Fry | £152.47 | June net salary |
| 516 | C N Fry | £58.56 | Expenses |
| 517 | HMRC | £114.40 | PAYE Jan/Feb/Mar |
| 518 | HMRC | £114.40 | PAYE Apr/May/Jun |
10. Any Other Business including the date of the next meeting.
- Twinning Association Funds. Mr John Weeks of the Twinning Association contacted the Clerk to advise that it is looking like the Association will fold soon due to lack of interest. He wondered if the Parish Council would agree to hold and “ring fence” the monies on hand (approx. £800) for possible use if revival takes place in the future. In the same way that the Neighbourhood Watch did in the past. Agreed and the funds could be placed in the Cambridge account when received.
- Localised Storm Drain Flooding. Katrina Maxwell has been advised by her neighbour Stephanie Bryan of the fairly serious flooding that occurred recently near to her house when there was a deluge of rain. A discussion took place and it was noted that many such storm drains throughout the village were blocked solid and only very partially cleared by the regular unblocking team. The Clerk was asked to liaise with SCC Highways (Laurence Hackling) to see if he could do any more to help.
- Playing Field Inspection Regime. Katrina Maxwell has recently left the Playing Field Committee and she has been carrying out the required checks of the equipment. She sensibly wanted clarification as to any duty the Parish Council may have – bearing in mind they insure the asset value for damage or loss under their insurance policy. The Clerk had sent a somewhat confusing e-mail in the past which made her think there was something to worry about.
- The Clerk said he had sought clarification today from Messrs
Came and Co - the brokers- who have confirmed that they
recommend a weekly visual check of the equipment is carried out
and appropriate check lists be completed of any visual damage.
This is being done by the Playing Field Committee and Katrina
said she has complete faith that this will continue. Came and Co
advised the Clerk that an agreement be drawn up and signed by
both the Parish Council and the Playing Field Committee along
the following lines:-
“The Parish Council accepts that it has responsibility for any damage or loss of the equipment. The Playing Field Committee accepts it has responsibility for any Public Liability claim arising”.
The Clerk was asked to arrange this.
- Somerset County Council “Listening, Learning Changing”. The e-mail from SCC concerning this will be held over till the next meeting.
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