COMPTON PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Clerk:
Maryon Lordan 48 Minster Road Godalming GU7 1SR
01483 421811 email:
MINUTES OF MEETING OF COMPTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN COMPTON VILLAGE HALL ON WEDNESDAY 18 November 2009 - 7.30pm
Councillors: M J Foran (Chairman) *
M R Williams *
C Maslin *
Fiona Curtis *
Mark Bills *
David Haskins *
(* attended meeting)
Apologies: Councillor K Patel
In attendance: County & Borough Councillor Tony Rooth
PC Nick Sharpe
Mrs Maryon Lordan (Parish Clerk)
5 members of the public
9083 Minutes of the last Meeting held Wednesday 16 September 2009
The Minutes of the last meeting were approved and the Chairman signed them as a true record.
9084 Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
9085 To receive reports from Borough and County Councillors and Neighbourhood Police Officer
i) Eashing Farm/Surrey Minerals Plan
Cllr Rooth told the meeting that the Eashing Farm Quarry site had been removed from the Surrey Minerals Plan. Thanks to Anne Milton, Steve Kosser and all responsible for their hard work. Cllr Rooth stated that the ANOB should be expanded.
Cllr Fiona Curtis reported receipt of 2 documents from SCC, outlining Surrey Minerals Plan – Development Plan Documents (DPDs) shared with the Surrey Waste Plan, Consultation from
6 November – 18 December 2009.
ii) Down Lane Traffic
Cllr Rooth said that suggestions had gone to the Task Group Local Committee, to be assessed at the next financial year.
iii) Compton Traffic Committee
a) Cllr Rooth said that Derek Lake and other Highways Officers had met recently. It was suggested that contact was made with West Horsley to view their plan.
b) Cllr Williams told the Councillors that Mr John Prior was willing to represent Down Lane residents. The Councillors felt that the present Traffic Committee was already sufficiently large and that they did not want to have membership specifically representing particular roads. They agreed the existing committee was well able to incorporate all issues relating to traffic problems in Compton.
iv) Rumble Strips- B3000
Cllr Rooth said it was too costly to have these taken away, quote £10k. However he was hopeful that next year’s budget may bring a solution. In the meantime people are urged towrite in to Surrey County Council, Highways Division, with their complaints. The more reports received, the more hopeful we are that the Rumble Strips will be removed.
v) Refuse Collection Cllr Rooth reported that GBC were operating a new recycling system for refuse, as from October 2009. There were problems in the initial stages but these should be sorted out within a couple of months.
vi) Bund on A3 South John Dobson passed on thanks to the Parish Council for their support of the Bund, from the organisers. The completed bund has over a thousand new trees planted which considerably reduces the noise from the A3.
9086 Speed Restrictions/Traffic Calming
Nick Sharpe reported that NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE covers Shalford, Compton, Artington, Holy Trinity, Peasmarsh & Chilworth.
i) Public Information PC Nick Sharpe told the Council that more burglaries are taking place on the run up to Christmas. Advice to householders: keep valuables including car keys out of sight. He reminded them of Operation SMART – a new Driving Campaign as reported in the September Minutes.
ii) County Watch Special Notices available for Farmers/Golf Clubs/Game keepers/ Stables etc. apply to SURREY POLICE - 0845 125 222 - Ext 30063.
The Police are issuing Resident Packs,which include information, stickers for front door and marker pen. Invisibly mark TV, DVD player, and DVD's etc. with your postcode and house number, this increases the chance of stolen goods being handed back to you.
Please report all suspicious activity. The more reports they receive, the more attention our area will be given.
iii) Compton Speed Watch PC Nick Sharpe said monitoring equipment was in place and the Committee had full police support.
iv) Warning Speed Camera PC Nick Sharpe said this would be installed in
The Street.
9087 ERH HOLDINGS Application for an ‘O’ Licence on land at COMPTON NURSERIES -Investigations have been taking place by the Parish Council and residents. Cllr Fiona Curtis said the results so far are:-
It is the sub-contracting by sub-contractors that can cause problems. In summary it appears that the work has to be done and will be carried out whether an O license is approved or not (lorries from ERH currently use permissible overnight areas). They have omitted to answer questions relating to numbers of vehicles / used by other Companies who already have an O license.
It appears that the O License belongs to the Company (ERH Holdings) and not to the land / plot in question. Should it be necessary, other Companies with an O License working on the A3 under the permitted development scheme could park on the site with ERH’s permission. She has asked ERH to confirm if this is so. It raises the further question, if other Company vehicles will be using the site will ERH Communications be responsible for them and the routes they take and would there ever be more than 10 lorries using the site?
9088 Briefing from Anne Bott, Local Council Support Officer, Surrey County Association of Town & Parish Councils.
Anne appraised Councillors on support available from SCAPTC and NALC and her role regarding situations that often arise within Parishes. Anne is particularly qualified from a legal standpoint and is always on hand to advise.
9089 Planning
i) Application 09/P/01749 The Withies Inn - Listed Building Consent for a single storey extension following part demolition of outbuilding to provide increased restaurant area.
Cllr David Haskins reported on the above - 2 points:
a) provision of car parking places including 14 which are actually on Compton Common (marked "off street lay-by") for which no agreement or proposed arrangement has been made.
b) The application point 17 "Assessment of Flood risk" states that the site is not in a flood-risk area which is contrary to the postcode lookup on the Environment Flood Risk web-site which places the area in a high-risk category.
The Clerk was asked to send a letter to Guildford Borough Council stating these 2 points. ML
ii) Cllr Haskins said he had had a meeting with residents regarding Monkshatch Garden Farm who were considering taking the case to the Ombudsman. An appeal against Guilford Borough’s refusal of a certificate of lawful use on the Barn was considered likely in which case the Clerk was asked to write reiterating the PC’s strong opposition.
9090 Recreation Ground & Playground
The Chairman said he was pleased to see the new area being used benefiting the nearby residents and visitors.
A report of horses riding across the recreation ground had been received, and the Chairman said a notice should be put up covering both the parking of vehicules and horse riding MJF
9091 Allotments
Cllr Maslin reported a huge success for allotment holders who entered the Guildford In Bloom competition. Silver/Silver Gilt and Gold awards had been won by individuals, which resulted in Compton Allotments winning more awards than any other in the Borough.
Vegetables and flowers adorned the various plots throughout the year and local art groups had enjoyed painting sessions.
The annual Harvest Festival Church Service was held at the allotments in October.
The recent high winds caused shed damage, on an allotment holder’s property from a tree on land adjoining the allotment site. The Clerk was asked to write a letter to the owner of the land, asking him to attend to the matter. ML
9092 Watts Chapel & Cemetery
i) Essential work Following a meeting on 21 October with the architect, Nicola Westbury, Chris Harvey, Cllr Williams and the Clerk, a comprehensive report had been produced dated 13 November 2009, which called for essential works:
a) to the Cloister Roof , to be carried out before the end of 2010.
b) repair terracotta work around Well Head and Cistern
c) repair pathway around edge of Chapel
d) re-establish a main pathway from Cloister to Zone 5
ii) Fundraising Cllr Williams said suggestions for a person to fundraise specifically to meet these costs was being looked into. MW
iii) Tree work The Clerk confirmed that Dryad Ltd had been appointed to carry out essential tree work as specified by Sapling Arboriculture Ltd in their recent survey. Application (09/T/00174) of intention to lop, top or fell trees in a Conservation Area had been placed with Guildford Borough Council. It was hoped the work would commence early December.
iv) Watts Gallery – Tours of Chapel Cllr Bills said that 50% of profit on tours would be paid to the Parish Council. These had been very popular in the summer months particularly with schools. It was anticipated the Gallery would not re-open until May 2011. In the summer of 2010 a Watts Exhibition had been arranged at St Paul’s Cathedral; Cllr Bills would take this opportunity to promote Watts Chapel.
9093 United Charities
The Chairman said the usual Christmas gift would be distributed to the needy folk of Compton. It would be a good idea to identify a suitable capital project in the near future to guard against criticism from the Charities Commissioners about the level of funds.
9094 Village Hall
Cllr Bills passed on the VH Committee’s thanks to the Parish Council for their support over the purchase and installation of the new kitchen.
9095 Financial Matters
i) External Auditor’s Report year end April 2009 – The Clerk told the Council that two Issues Arising External Auditor’s Report 2008-09 had been raised, a) Comparative figure and b)Risk Assessment. Her explanation was approved by the Members and the Return Year End April 2009 was approved and accepted by the Council.
ii) Schedule of Income & Expenditure – The Schedule attached, showing a balance of cash at bank of £9,940 at 31 Oct 2009 was approved.
iii) Parish Precept 2010/11 It was agreed to discuss this further - before January 2010.
iv) Grant Aid 2010/11 The Clerk confirmed GBC’s approval for the following projects:
Est. Cost / Max. Grant AgreedWatts Cemetery tree works / £5,000 / £2,500
Village Hall – heaters / £2,060 / £1,030
Cemetery Lodge – refurb / £25,000 / £8,000
v) Risk Assessment The Clerk reported a Risk Assessment had been carried out in conjunction with Helen Hienkens-Lewis, Watts Gallery, Chris Harvey and the Clerk, at Watts Cemetery & Chapel. The reason for this was an increase in the numbers of visitors and school tours.
9096 Other Business
a) COMPTON Village Sign. The Clerk confirmed a new sign had been ordered.
b) Telephone Kiosk – check the selling price on Ebay
c) COMPO Bus – new parking bay noted in Spicall.
9097 Items for November/December COMPTON NEWS
* ERH HOLDINGS
* POLICE REPORT
* RUMBLE STRIPS REPORT
* ALLOTMENT REPORT WITH AWARDS
9098 To note dates (all Wednesdays at 7.30 pm) of future Council meetings:
20 January 2010
17 March 2010
12 May 2010 (Annual Meeting & Parish Assembly)
14 July 2010
15 September 2010
17 November 2010
1