2018/09/21
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 17th September 2018.
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish
Council, held on Monday 17th September 2018 in the Village Hall at
7.30pm.
1. Apologies. Cllrs Martin Baker, Terry Oxman, Ray Triggol, also Cllr Liz Perry (SDC).
Present: Cllrs. Martin Allen (Chairman), Brian Gale, Pat Lennard and Katrina Maxwell.
Also present: the Clerk together with one member of the public.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting of 23rd July, the Interim meeting of 6th August and the planning meeting of 22nd August 2018 were taken as read, approved and signed.
3. Matters arising from the minutes.
5. Sedgemoor District Council report. None.
6. Planning. No new Planning Applications, however;
Mr Baker’s appeal - Reference APP/V3310/W/18/3197333 - has been allowed by the Planning Inspector.
The Chairman wished to record that correct procedure had been followed.
Mr Farmer’s application - Reference 18/18/00004/DT - has been granted on a delegated basis.
7. Correspondence.
9. Finance.
Balances after allowing for all payments made:-
HMRC have advised the Payroll Lady that the Parish Council have made an overpayment of PAYE of £114.40.
Eight cheques were signed as follows.
The amenity grants are being frozen at last year’s levels as, due to an administrative error, they have in the past been up-rated by 5% per year instead of the intended 2.5%. The recipients are being advised of this.
10. Any Other Business incl. date of next meeting.
Date of next meeting: Monday 15th October 2018 in the village hall at 7.30 pm.
There being no other business the meeting was declared closed at 8.30 pm.
1. Apologies. Cllrs Martin Baker, Terry Oxman, Ray Triggol, also Cllr Liz Perry (SDC).
Present: Cllrs. Martin Allen (Chairman), Brian Gale, Pat Lennard and Katrina Maxwell.
Also present: the Clerk together with one member of the public.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting of 23rd July, the Interim meeting of 6th August and the planning meeting of 22nd August 2018 were taken as read, approved and signed.
3. Matters arising from the minutes.
- Defibrillator 'bleeping'. A
new battery has been supplied by St John Ambulance at a cost of £309.60
inclusive of VAT.
Cheque No.610 for £309.60, Payee Mr C N Fry was drawn on 9th August (between meetings) as he made payment in advance.
5. Sedgemoor District Council report. None.
6. Planning. No new Planning Applications, however;
Mr Baker’s appeal - Reference APP/V3310/W/18/3197333 - has been allowed by the Planning Inspector.
The Chairman wished to record that correct procedure had been followed.
Mr Farmer’s application - Reference 18/18/00004/DT - has been granted on a delegated basis.
7. Correspondence.
- Adopt a Kiosk. The Clerk
reported receipt of an email from one of the people who originally made
a suggestion on the future use of the Kiosk, asking about the present
position as it seems to have fallen away from the minutes. He said he
was making enquiries to try to find a volunteer to lead the
project (with the full support of the Parish Council). This will
be discussed at the next meeting as appropriate.
- Avon and Somerset PCC newsletter.
The latest has been received.
- Recent road closures. A
discussion took place regarding the recent road closures in Chedzoy
Lane, which do not seem to have been flagged up beforehand. The
Chairman stressed that the Parish Council is not consulted and knows no
more than the general public about such matters. It was said that
emergency closures are permitted by the use of emergency notices. It
was also noted that, although the “road closed” signs were displayed
for a number of days, the work can often take just a small proportion
of the time, and the road actually remains open for the majority of the
time.
- Footpath behind the Church.
It was reported that the footpath running around North Field,
immediately behind the rear Churchyard wall has been partly cultivated
by the landowners, causing difficulty to walkers who now risked losing
their footing on the approach to the stile into the churchyard. This
walk is well used. The PPLO has reported this but he also points out
that a right of way is just that, and is not any guarantee of the
footpath condition, although there would seem to be a clear Public
Liability and/or a Health and Safety issue here.
- Somerset Policing Reorganisation. The Clerk read a letter from Chief Inspector Lisa Simpson, Somerset West LPA Commander based in Bridgwater, which sets out the impending reorganisation of policing in the Bridgwater and surrounding area. Details of this, together with details of our local team can be found at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/your-area/
9. Finance.
Balances after allowing for all payments made:-
| Lloyds Bank Current Account | £3354.09 |
| Lloyds Bank Deposit Account | £2.48 |
| Cambridge Building Society Easy Access Account | £12318.53 |
HMRC have advised the Payroll Lady that the Parish Council have made an overpayment of PAYE of £114.40.
Eight cheques were signed as follows.
| Number | Amount | Payee | For |
| 611 | £40.00 | Oxford rural | Allotment advance rent |
| 612 | £152.47 | Mr C.N Fry | September net salary |
| 613 | £168.00 | CVHC | Hall amenity grant |
| 614 | £270.00 | CPFA | Playing field amenity grant |
| 615 | £552.00 | St Mary’s Church | Churchyard amenity grant |
| 616 | £104.51 | Mr C.N Fry | Expenses |
| 617 | £240.00 | P.K.F Littlejohn | External audit fee |
| 618 | £200.00 | Don Johnson | Chedzoy News printing costs for the past year |
The amenity grants are being frozen at last year’s levels as, due to an administrative error, they have in the past been up-rated by 5% per year instead of the intended 2.5%. The recipients are being advised of this.
10. Any Other Business incl. date of next meeting.
- De-silting work at Parchey
Bridge and Dunball Railway Bridge. The Clerk read an email from
John Rowlands of the Environment Agency describing this work which
starts this month as part of a package of work following the 2013/14
flooding in Somerset. Funding is to come via Somerset Rivers Authority
who successfully bid for the money from the Heart of the South West
Local Enterprise Fund.
- 'Your say on how your Council
Tax is spent'. Sedgemoor District Council wants residents to
have their say on how SDC spends its proportion of the Council Tax, in
its annual budget consultation. The budget cycle starts now with the
final decisions being taken in mid-February 201.
A questionnaire is available to complete at http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/budgetconsultation
- Clerk’s and Councils' Direct
magazine. The latest has been received.
- Free 'Woodland Mix' bulbs. Sedgemoor
are again this year offering twenty-five kilo bags of spring flowering
bulbs to Town and Parish Councils. The Clerk has registered an interest.
- Fingerpost restoration. A
letter has been received about the sorry state of the fingerpost on
Cross Tree, which was last restored some fourteen years ago.
There was an initiative recently by SCC to set up a team of trained volunteers who would be allowed to carry out such work. The Clerk was asked to enquire about this.
- Grass verge in Manor Road by
Front Street. A complaint has been received about the overgrown
weeds now filling this verge. The grass appears to have died away. It
was decided to make some enquiries about the ownership.
- Litter Pick. It has
been suggested there is a need for an annual litter pick to be carried
out as seems to happen in some Polden villages.
A discussion took place around the difficulties of attracting volunteers as well as the inherent difficulties of Public liability insurance, particularly as the main areas of need would seem to be narrow roads with the inevitable corners which combine to represent a big safety risk.
It was decided to ask if the matter could be included as an item in “Chedzoy News” with villagers perhaps being encouraged to tidy up the area around their own homes, and at their own risk.
- Bridleway gates refurbishment. This problem was again discussed. There does seem to be a move to form a 'self-help' team to undergo the process of obtaining landowners’ permission and appeal for some financial help from them (they are after all technically supposed to maintain these gates), with the aim of carrying out the necessary work. The Parish Council may well be approached for limited financial support and the Chairman said that so long as others chipped in and money was raised independently in the village, then he saw no reason why some support could be considered favourably.
Date of next meeting: Monday 15th October 2018 in the village hall at 7.30 pm.
There being no other business the meeting was declared closed at 8.30 pm.
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