Minutes of Adisham Parish Council, 2nd July 2012
A Meeting of the Parish Council was held on Monday 2nd July 2012 at Adisham Village Hall
Present: Councillors Mrs M. Maxted (Chairman), Mrs S. Mellowship, Mr J. Stanbury, Dr E. Collins, Mrs V. Talbot-Rosner, Mrs S. Back (Parish Clerk) and 6 members of the public.
1. Apologies: Councillor Bill Oakey , Councillor Michael Northey and Mr K. Terrett
2. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on 11th June 2012 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman
3. Matters arising: Alan Armstrong from CPRE raised concerns over a vote cast at the previous meeting to indicate how many members present were in favour of the Bulls Head pub being demolished to make way for a new development. The Chairman said she asked for a vote in favour of a shop or housing as a way of closing the debate as there were so many views and opinions being raised at that meeting by parish councillors and members of the public present. Councillor Leidig said he felt that the developer would have left the meeting feeling that they had the support of the village in his hopes to demolish the building. Councillor Mellowship stated that Councillor Oakey had said he would support the demolition of the building at the City Council if this was the wish of the village, but only on these terms. The Chairman declared that she felt if the option to pull the building down was not there, the developers would sell the building and the land, as he stated in the meeting it was not a viable option to develop the building in it’s present state. Councillor Collins said members of a survey which is being sent out in July in the ‘Newsheet’ asking for the opinion of the whole village about the future development of the village. One member of the public said he would like the historical interest of the building to be preserved. The Chairman stated she would be surprised if the City Council ruled in favour of the building being demolished as previously this has been refused on the basis it is the last remaining public house in the village. The Chairman concluded that the Parish Council can only have their say when the plans are submitted but the ultimate decision will be made by the Planning Committee at the City Council.
4. Declarations of Interests by Councillors: Cllr Maxted – Village Hall.
5. Matters raised by the public: The meeting was adjourned for public questions and comments.
6. Reports:
School – The teacher involved in the accident on the B2046 is still making good progress towards a full recovery and everyone at the school is missing her and wishing her well. The current teacher of the Reception Class will be leaving at the end of the school year to take up a post closer to her home town. This will also be a promotion for her. All connected with the school wish her well for the future and record their thanks to her for many years of loyal service to the children of our community. A new teacher has been appointed and everyone is looking forward to welcoming her to the school. Boundary fencing – the work on the school’s fencing is due to start on 23 July 2012. The contract for the entire fencing work has been given to Jacksons Fencing. The Headteacher and the Chair of Governors have been in contact with the residents to inform them of the work and the start date. The residents who were in/answering their doors at the time of calling were all very positive about the forthcoming work. They even indicated that they were pleased, since it saved them the work of cutting back the hedges themselves. Some repainting of the weatherboarding and windows of the 2004 extension will be carried out over the summer holidays. The tables in the Village Hall stacked loosely against the wall still pose a risk to children who accidentally run into them while doing PE. It is desirable for this situation to be resolved by September, the start of the new academic year. The little concert that formed part of the annual Adisham Music Festival during which students from Canterbury Christ Church University were performing together with children from the school was a success. The KS2 assessment results are due to come out shortly and will be published in due course. It is hoped that they will be a further piece of evidence to record the pupils’ good progress and, in turn, the school’s good work in preparing the pupils for their future lives
Village Hall – Councillor Maxted confirmed there will be the AGM on 5th July. The clerk was asked to issue a cheque for £3000, as the Parish Council’s contribution towards the flooring which is due to be laid shortly.
Footpaths, highways and transport: Councillor Collins mentioned what a good job the ‘gang’ did on the Wednesday 20th and following Saturday in June organised and funded by Councillor Northey. Councillor Maxted said that Martin had cut back the overgrown vegetation along the side of the village hall. Councillor Collins confirmed the next big cut is scheduled for August. Potholes are still a problem but Councillor Collins is following these up with Kent Highways as she has asked for a full review of potholes on The Street as there are so many to report. The resurfacing to Donkey Lane has been completed. A member of the public asked for the storm drains by The Old Off Licence to be unblocked. Mrs Leidig asked for the outside of their house to be tarmaced as the asphalt is in a poor state. Also reported was a damaged drain cover which needs replacing. Councillor Collins said she will report all of these issues and urged anybody who has an issue with footpaths and highways to contact her and she will report it straight away.
Aylesham & Community Development Partnership: Nothing to report.
PCSO Elaine Cannadine: Elaine introduced herself as the new PCSO for Adisham. She apologised for her absence but has been on long term sick leave. She said she will endeavour to be accessible even though she has a large area to cover and does not have a car until 26th July.
PCSO Cannadine said there had been no reported incidents in the last month. Councillor Mellowsip raised concerns over the Kings Diner which is trading from the Train Station. There are concerns over traffic problems with cars turning into the station approach. The parish council have also been informed on good authority that illicit drugs are being sold from the van, however there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. The PCSO said she would investigate further on the matter. Councillor Mellowship reported an incident of youths dangerously driving up and down The Street in an old white untaxed van making ‘handbreak’ turns and being a nuisance. Some members of the public present agreed that they had witnessed this. Councillor Mellowship said she had reported an incident one evening of the same driver parking on her land but the police were unhelpful and made excuses for the youths. PCSO Cannadine apologised for the enquiry not being handled properly and she would look into the incident and report back. She confirmed that the Rural Police Officer is now Robin Mcalpine-Downey.
Barham Downs City Councillor Bill Oakey: The Chairman read out an emailed report from Councillor Oakey in his absence.
I am sorry to not be with you tonight as I am attending Kingston Parish Council's Meeting instead. Last Monday there was an Extraordinary meeting of Canterbury City Council to agree to adopt the Kent Code of Conduct for Members. This Code of Conduct also includes Parish Councillors and toughens up, by making it a criminal offence, if, without reasonable excuse, you:
1). Fail to notify the Authority's Monitoring Officer of a personal interest within 28 days of your becoming a Member
2). Fail to disclose the interest(s) at meetings where you have not entered it onto the Register.
3). Fail to notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the meeting.
4). Take part in discussions or votes at meetings where you have an interest.
5). Fail to notify the Monitoring Officer of the above.
6). Knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information in any of the above disclosures or notifications
These apply to both elected members and co-opted members. The Kent Code of Conduct also deals with Councillors' behaviour and complaints by the Public or fellow Councillors of a Councillor's activities and his or her general behaviour. Whilst sanctions for such do not go down the criminal offence route,unless a criminal offence (such as Aggravated Bodily Harm), has occurred, they can lead to the removal of the offender from committees, banning them from the Council's premises, except for meetings, and require the Member to receive formal training.
The Standards Committee will be re-formed to comply with the new act, the Localism Act of 2011 and will still have an appointed Chairman and 3 Non City Council members, as present.
I'm sorry that this is a "dry and boring" subject and would not normally bring it up in a Parish Report. However, as it became law yesterday (July 1st) and does affect all elected and co-opted Members, I felt it timely to make you aware of it. You are lucky in Adisham to have Ken Terrett who has a vast knowledge of how the previous Code of Conduct worked, and is one of our Parish Councillor representatives on the Standards Committee.
KALC Canterbury Area Committee Nothing to report in Councillor Terrett’s absence.
7.KALC / NALC /ARCK: The correspondence received from these organisations as listed on the agenda and on the supplementary list of items received since the publication of the agenda was noted.
8.Correspondence: The correspondence received as listed on the agenda and on the supplementary list of items received since the publication of the agenda was noted.
9. Accounts:
Income 0.00
Outgoings: 0.00
The Council noted the monthly Budget Monitoring Report distributed with the Agenda.
10.Planning:CA/12/01036/FUL – 57 The Street, Adisham. CT3 3JN – Erection of single storey extension to rear elevation of dwelling.
11.Recreation Ground: The clerk agreed to arrange work for the youth shelter to be concreted to the base as the bolts securing the feet have been tampered with again and the shelter is not safe.
12. Parish Council to adopt reviewed Standing Orders (circulated with agenda).
All agreed to adhere to the new standing orders until changes occur.
13. Set Date for Concurrent Function Funding meeting (deadline 7th September).
The date set for the meeting is Monday 20th August at The Chairman’s House for 7.00 p.m.
14. Any other business for discussion only: The Chairman reminded everyone about the Parish Plan meeting being held at the village hall on Thursday 19th July.
15. Next Meeting: Monday 3rd September 2012 at 7.30 p.m in the village hall.
The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.49 p.m.
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