Minutes of a Meeting of Sapcote Parish Council Held at 7

Minutes of a Meeting of Sapcote Parish Council held at 7.30pm on Thursday 5 July 2007 in the Pavilion, Sapcote Playing Fields.

Present:Mr K Gibson (Chairman)

Mrs Scott, Mrs Robinson-Smith (part)

Messrs Milne, Jackson (part), Porwol, Bannister and Dixon

Also PresentMr N Gilson DC, Mr E White CC.

PC Vadhia

Mr M Guntrip, Clerk to the Council

Members of the public.

111/07 Apologies for Absence

Mr Bailey

112/07 Declarations of Interest

Mrs Scott declared a personal interest in the planning application for 7a Stanton Road.

113/07 Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 7 June 2007

Resolved that, the minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Councilheld on 7 June 2007, a copy of which had been circulated to each member, be accepted as a true record of the proceedings.

114/07 Traffic Matters

The meeting discussed the traffic issues within the village that most concerned the residents. The situation was summarised as follows:

Grace Road: A survey had been carried out in December 2005 which identified 65% speeding although the vast majority of those exceeding the speed limit fell within the 31 to 39mph category. While these speeding statistics did qualify for vehicle activated signs the national set injury/accident criteria was not met and accordingly the bid for VAS was rejected. It was hoped that the installation of a mini roundabout at the junction of Grace Road and Sapcote Road would help with speed reduction.

Leicester Road:Previous requests for parking restrictions were turned down because it was considered that they would cause traffic to increase speed. No speed survey had been carried out but this had now been requested. Recent police action with speed cameras had resulted in warnings and fixed penalty notices.

Village Centre:There had been long standing consultations with the County Council over the unsuitability of the stretch of road for medium and heavy vehicles and there was much evidence that vehicles were being forced to mount the pavement to negotiate the bend. The County Council had rejected all requests to ban heavy lorries as they considered that this would just transfer the problems to other villages. They had also rejected requests to raise the pavements to stop them being mounted.

It was suggested that in order to achieve changes to eliminate the problems the Parish Council would have to change tack and become more focussed on its objectives. Mr White said that the single greatest cause for complaint in villages was in respect of traffic but unfortunately, because villages were never designed for modern traffic the solutions were limited. Mrs Gamble, a member of the public advised that she had been spearheading a campaign to get some action taken to reduce speeds on Leicester Road and, to date, she had gathered some 150 signatures. Mr White suggested that she pass the petition to him so that it can be presented to committee and act as a catalyst for debate. He said that he was anxious to see speeds limited to 20 mph in villages. It was suggested that a major problem with speed limits and enforcement was that it was not a key political issue and therefore there was little political will by the decision makers to strive for change.

Action: Clerk to request a speed survey on Leicester Road.

Mr Jackson joined the meeting

115/07 Speed Watch

The Speed Watch initiative was discussed and it was agreed that before an application was made the level of support for a management committee would be investigated. Action: Clerk.

116/07 Road Safety Competition

It was agreed that the Parish Council would proceed with a road safety poster competition involving children from Sapcote. Action: Mr Jackson, Mr Dixon and the Clerk.

117/07 Information Update

The Clerk reported that he had again spoken to the Co-op Head Office in Nuneaton to ascertain whether any progress was being made on creating a disabled access to the Sapcote store. He was advised that while the Co-op was aware of the need for this facility and, that it would be installed in due course, it had no plans to do so in the near future. The Clerk also established that no government agency was responsible for enforcing disabled access legislation and any pursuit of this matter, in respect of enforcement action, would have to be through the courts.

118/07 Public Participation

A member of the public expressed her concern at the proposed increased charge for the school buses from Sapcote for post 16 students. The charges were due to rise from £60 for this school year to £180 next year and £240 the year after. She suggested that the net effect of these increases would be more parents and students cars on the road and half empty buses. Mr White explained that school travel was no longer the responsibility of the County Council and instead had been passed to the Learning Skills Council who had decided to reduce the subsidies previously enjoyed. Low government support grants added to problem leaving local authorities with choices of either lowering service provision or increasing charges. Council tax increases were not an option because of capping and political and public pressure.

A message was passed from the Heritage Group thanking the Clerk for his assistance in securing grants for a lap top computer and projector system.

119/07 District Councillors

Mr Gilson advised that he had been informed that No.1 Spa Drive constituted neither a structural danger nor a health risk. A formal response to the Parish Council’s enquiry had not yet been received.

In response to a matter raised by a member of the public Mr Gilson said that he would look into the broken rail on the fence adjacent to No.1 Spa Drive which appeared to have been damaged during the resurfacing of the path.

120/07 CountyCouncillor

Mr White reported that he had attended seminar which amongst other things had dealt with initiatives to return powers to the grass roots level in local government giving local councils, including parish councils, more powers. There was disappointment however that the report of Sir Michael Lyons on local government finance, which had originally been delayed, had now been shelved.

Mr White also reported that the three yearly national Best Value customer satisfaction survey showed some very impressive results for Blaby District Council. Under the Quality of Life indicator, Blaby was the top district council in the country (out of 238) for satisfaction with the cleanliness of the District and, best council (out of 353) for satisfaction with recycling facilities. They also came 3rd (out of 238) for overall satisfaction with the council’s services. Mr White said that these impressive results were a reflection of the hard work and care taken by BDC staff in support of the community.

121/07 Correspondence

LCC:Museum Guide

BDC:Sustainable Community Strategy; visioning process

RCC:Suicide Awareness Pack

LCC:Leicestershire Libraries, Mobile Library Review

BDC:Corporate Planning/Sustainable Community Strategy*

LCC:Community Speed Watch*

Clerk:Holiday notification*

LCC:148 Bus Service*

LCC:Traffic Matters (email)*

BDC:1 Spa Drive acknowledgement

BDC:Outstanding Achievement Awards

Action: Chairman

BDC:Invitation to Chairman from Chairman of BDC

Audit:Parish Audit Services; Internal Audit*

Police:Bomb Attacks

* Copied to Members

** Circulated to Members

122/07 Parish Council Objectives

The meeting discussed the setting of objectives for the Parish Council for the coming year. It was agreed that any objectives should be precise with identifiable and achievable targets. The targets should be a catalyst for making things happen while at the same time bringing the community together. The suggestions put forward included:

Village Hall: A clear targets for achieving a new pavilion including funding.

Heavy Goods Vehicles:Focussed incremental targets on what we want to achieve and how we are going to go about it, and possibly commencing with ensuring that 7½ ton vehicles were confined to designated safe routes and action on kerb heights.

Speeding and Road Safety: initiatives to bring about a safer environment for motorists and pedestrians,

Cemetery: to improve the cemetery environment further,

Aesthetic Appeal of the Village: initiatives to brighten up the village and make it a more enjoyable environment; increase community involvement in village projects which make it a more attractive place to visit,

Parish Council: Fill vacant seats and list agenda items for meetings in more detail

123/07 Delegates Reports

At this point PC Vadhia joined the meeting.

The Clerk reported that following a prolonged spate of vandalism against the pavilion and changing rooms he had requested that this matter be given urgent attention by the Baby Joint Action Group (JAG), (a group run by the Blaby Local Police Unit in collaboration with Blaby District Council). The Clerk had attended the last meeting of this Group and had presented a detailed report on the damage caused to property together with details of other incidents involving cars and motor bikes. He had also reported on a personal threat to a Sapcote resident. The Clerk had explained to JAG that in the last two to three months in excess of twenty incidents had occurred with at least 12 being reported to the police. This matter had now been placed on the JAG agenda and the police had now formulated a Neighbourhood Problem Solving Plan, (a copy of which had been circulated to members), which was designed to bring a stop to these incidents. The matter had also been given neighbourhood priority by the police with the creation of a mini-beat and the allocation of part of the time of a further two officers. The police would shortly be carrying out a visual audit of the site and make recommendations to the Recreation Ground Management Committee. Also, in accordance with the Plan, PC Vadhia confirmed that he had visited local schools to identify all Sapcote students and he would now write to the parents of these students, with a letter drafted by the Clerk, issuing a warning of the consequences of any acts of criminal damage or anti-social behaviour. Extra high visibility patrols together with covert patrols will be undertaken. Concurrently, the Clerk had drafted a letter to be issued to nearby residents, asking them to report any incidents to the police. It was suggested that it would be prudent to install cameras to identify the perpetrators; this would be considered with other recommendations arising from the police audit.

On the matter of vehicles mounting the pavements at the centre of the village PC Vadhia advised that if the vehicles numbers are passed to him he will write to the drivers concerned. Failing that, the company name of the offending vehicles would be helpful as he would write to the firms who could in turn identify the drivers.

PC Vadhia left the meeting.

Mrs Robinson-Smith left the meeting at this point

124/07Grounds Maintenance

The Clerk reported that he hired a drain clearing firm to clean out the drains in the cemetery following flooding of the main path.

The Clerk advised that he was placing an additional row of graves at the rear of the cremation plots before starting the new section east of the new rose bed.

125/06 Planning Matters

Resolved that, the following decisions of the Planning Group be approved

07/0483/1/PXSingle storey rear extensionNo objection

28 Harecroft Crescent

07/0494/1/PYExtension to existing gypsy site for nineObjection

mobile homes with permanent stay.

Rear of Rosevale House, Aston Firs

07/0544/1/PXExtension to existing caravan site to provideObjection

an additional 10 caravan plots (26 in total)

and erection of amenity block.

Land east of Woodfield Stables, Aston Firs.

Objection to the above two applications on the grounds that these sites are placing more pressures onto the sewerage, drainage and highway systems; they are creating a great imbalance within the community and are intruding more and more into open country are thus having a significantly adverse affect upon the appearance and character of the surrounding rural landscape.

07/0554/1/PXTwo storey side extension and single storeyNo objection

side extension to form a garage/store.

22 Leicester Road.

Resolved that, the following decisions of Blaby District Council be noted

06/0793/1PYChange of use of land to gypsy caravanApproved

site for 6 no. families with 6 no. caravans.

Land at rear of Oak Tree Cottage, Aston Firs,

Hinckley Road.

07/0064/1/VYVariation to Condition 4 attached to planningApproved

approval 04/1050/1/PY to allow increase

from 7 pitches (14 caravans) to 11 pitches

(22 caravans), transit and permanent.

Land rear of Rosevale House, Aston Firs,

Hinckley Road

126/07 Finance

Resolved that the contents of the 2006/7 internal audit report be noted

Resolved that the balances on Bank Reconciliation statement be noted

Resolved that the following items of expenditure be approved

Parish Audit Services£ 211.50

Brian Mee Associates – Cemetery£ 207.62

Brian Mee Associates – Playing Fields£ 158.78

366.40

RCC Annual Subscription

Village Hall Membership Service£ 30.00

Pavilion planning application fee£ 795.00

Sapcote Nursery – Plants£ 26.97

Harry Stebbing (notice boards)£2232.50

Slabs for cemetery£ 27.73

Resolved that, the following items of income be noted

Burial: Wright£ 130.00

Memorial: Bennett£ 25.00

SOAP balance of account£ 113.89

Bank Interest£ 60.35

127/07 Items for the Next Agenda

NB Parish Councillors training evening 7.30pmThursday 13 September 2007 at Sapcote Pavilion

Signed………………………………..

Chairman

Date………………………………….

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