MINUTES of the ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE meeting
held on Thursday 13 August 2015 at 7.30pm
in the Chapel, Butts Road, Chiseldon
Present:CllrsChris Rawlings (Chair), Keith Bates, Caroline Brady, Adelaide Dudman,Paul Sunners. Also Claire Maycock (Clerk)
Public:None
Apologies: Cllrs Margarita Cabrera, David Hill, Neil McFadyen
15/74. Declarations of interest.
None.
Public recess.
No members of the public were present.
15/75. Approval of previous minutes.
The minutes of the meeting held on 16 July were approved on a proposal by Cllr Dudman, seconded by Cllr Bates; all those at the meeting in favour.
15/76. Matters arising/Action points.
Page 1 (minute 15/65 – Matters arising). Cllr Dudman asked if Cllr Rawlings had contacted Julie Furneval and he confirmed that he had tried to do so, via B.Cllr Bennett, but no response had yet been received. Cllr Rawlings will try again via B.Cllr Shaw.
Page 3 (minute 15/73 – AOB). Cllr Brady asked for an update on the removal of the hedge on New Road and Cllr Rawlings said he would raise the matter again with B.Cllr Shaw.
Action points
All Councillors are currently walking the village and will forward areas that need cutting up / tidying to Cllr Rawlings before the next meeting of Full Council.
The Clerk reported that she had written to allotment holders affected by the cutting back of the old oak tree but, following a site visit, she felt that one more letter would need to be sent.
A quote had been received, for £150, for removal of the modern plaster at the Old Chapel. This was proposed by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Bates; all at the meeting in favour.
There have been no objections to the revised location for an extra dog bin so the Clerk will seek a quote for installation.
The Clerk was asked to write a letter to 1 Draycott Road about a tree blocking the path and to check the situation with regard to the hedge at the end of Carisbrook Terrace with B.Cllr Shaw.
15/76. Matters arising/Action points (continued).
A quote had been received, for £125 plus VAT, to strim the track at the end of Norris Close. It was suggested that this bill be split between the Recreation and Environment Committees, proposed by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Dudman; all at the meeting in favour.
All other action points have been actioned.
15/77. The Old Chapel.
Cllr Rawlings told the meeting that the unanticipated remedial works at The Old Chapel had put pressure on this year’s budget and that the Finance Committee would be asked to allocate additional funds. About eighteen months ago it had been agreed to set aside £10k in a ring-fenced fund for chapel maintenance and repair but this doesn’t appear to have been followed up. The Clerk agreed to investigate.
A bill has now been received from Tithegrove and the Environment Committee’s share of that will be £818.10. This was proposed by Cllr Bates, seconded by Cllr Brady; all at the meeting in favour.
15/78. Strouds Hill car park.
Work is being undertaken to replace the old posts.
15/79. Dog bins.
This had already been dealt with under Action points.
15/80. Highways.
Yellow lines are due to be installed at either end of Turnball in the next two to three weeks.
Cllr Brady told the meeting that she was looking into obtaining a camera to monitor traffic around the HGV testing centre.
The Clerk told the meeting that she had reported an incident of illegal off-roading at the Washpool to the police and would be putting an article in The Ridgeway Bell to encourage residents to report any further incidents.
A resident has asked about increasing the parking in Windmill Piece and the Clerk agreed to raise this with B.Cllr Shaw.
15/81. Street Furniture
Cllr Rawlings stated that new noticeboards would cost £200 each plus installation costs. As a result we need to wait until the Finance Committee has had a chance to consider the request for additional funding.
The two benches are due to be installed in mid-September. We are still awaiting a final quote from SBC for this work but, as the benches have already been donated, the decision to go ahead was proposed by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Sunners; all at the meeting in favour.
Cllr Rawlings is still talking to the owner of Oakley’s spar about re-instating the railings but there are considerable costs involved so discussions might take some time.
15/82. Village appearance.
The Clerk reported a request from several parishioners to be allowed to plant bulbs around the war memorial on New Road. The committee agreed that this was a good idea and very public-spirited.
A brief discussion followed, about whether the Parish could enter a ‘village in bloom’ competition and the Clerk agreed to investigate.
15/83. AOB.
Cllr Rawlings asked for the following items to be included on the agenda for the next meeting: a mirror at the top of Turnball and the area around the Patriots Arms roundabout.
Cllr Brady confirmed that Badbury Park will now be a regular agenda item at Full Council meetings. She also enquired about the situation with regard to the closure of Dayhouse Lane and was told there is no information available at present.
Cllr Bates reported an issue with brambles intruding on the steps at the end of Church Street and Cllr Sunners agreed to take a look.
Cllr Sunners raised the issue of granting access for museum staff to the toilet in the Parish Office. This was proposed by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Rawlings; all at the meeting in favour. The Clerk will make sure a key is delivered.
The meeting closed at 8:20pm.
Next meeting: Thursday 17 September 2015 at 7.00pm in the Butts Road Chapel
SUMMARY OF ACTION POINTS
All Cllrs / 15/76 / Walk the village and forward suggested areas for cutting back / tidying up to Cllr Rawlings before the next meeting of Full CouncilCllr Brady / 15/80 / Look into the availability of a camera to monitor the HGV testing centre
Cllr Rawlings / 15/76 / Try to contact Julie Furneval via B.Cllr Shaw about illegal parking
Ask B.Cllr Shaw for an update on the removal of a hedge in New Road
Cllr Sunners / 15/83 / Look into the brambles intruding on the steps at the end of Church Street.
Clerk / 15/76
15/77
15/80
15/82
15/83 / Write to third allotment holder about work on old oak tree
Obtain a quote for the installation of an extra dog bin
Write to 1 Draycott Road concerning the tree blocking the path and check the situation with regard to the hedge at the end of Carrisbrooke Terrace.
Investigate the situation with regard to ring-fenced funds for Chapel repairs
Raise the issue of parking in Windmill Piece with B.Cllr Shaw
Look into the possibility of Chiseldon entering a ‘village in bloom’ contest.
Add items to the agenda for the next meeting.
Get a key to the history group so museum staff can use the toilet in the Old Chapel.
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