MINUTES of the MEETING of the OMBERSLEY and DOVERDALE PARISH COUNCIL HELD on TUESDAY, 16Th

MINUTES OF OMBERSLEY AND DOVERDALE PARISH COUNCIL

HELD ON TUESDAY, 19th SEPTEMBER 2017 AT 7.30PM.

IN THE NARTHEX, ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, OMBERSLEY

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Present: Cllrs Mrs J Goodman (Chairman), W T Arnold, Mrs H Barningham, M Best, F Cody, Mrs S Collier, D Ingram, C McKenzie-Rowan, P Reynolds, Mrs B J Serrell and Mr C J Welch (11)

Cllr P Tomlinson (County and District Councillor) also attended until 8.50pm.

Public Question Time

No members of the public were present.

106/17 Chairman’s Announcements

The Chairman reminded the Parish Council that, at the last meeting, Cllr Welch had stood down as the Parish Council’s representative on the Ombersley Memorial Hall Committee. A vacancy currently existed and the Parish Council would be looking for a nomination to fill that vacancy. Councillors were asked to give the matter some thought so that a decision could be made at the October 2017 meeting.

107/17 Apologies for Absence

An apology for absence was received from Cllr R Reynolds.

108/17 Declarations of Personal and Prejudicial Interest

The following interests were declared:-

Cllr W T Arnold – Member of Ombersley Memorial Hall Management Committee and Ombersley Memorial Hall Trustee.

Cllr M Best – Member of Sytchampton Village Hall Management Committee.

Cllr F Cody – Parish Council representative on Sytchampton Village Hall Management Committee.

109/17 Minutes of the Meeting held on 18th July 2017

Copies of the minutes of the meeting held on 18th July 2017 had been previously circulated to Councillors.

It was moved by Cllr Ingram and seconded by Cllr Cody that the minutes were an accurate record of the meeting. All Councillors agreed and the Chairman signed the minutes.

110/17 Co-option to the Parish Council.

The Clerk reminded the Council that following Cllr Mrs Mitchell’s resignation from the Parish Council he had notified Wychavon District Council of the vacancy. The vacancy had subsequently been advertised and no request for an election had been forthcoming. The vacancy could now, therefore, be filled by co-option. The Clerk had therefore drafted the necessary notices and timetable.

In addition to advertising the vacancy via the Parish Council website and noticeboards, Councillors also felt that a copy of the notice should be included in the next edition of the church magazine. This was due to be circulated towards the end of October.

The Clerk confirmed that he would adjust the timescales to account for this. He would also forward a copy of the notice for inclusion in the magazine.

Consideration of any nominations received would be given at the Parish Council’s November 2017 meeting.

All Councillors agreed with this approach and asked the Clerk to make the necessary arrangements.

Finally, the Parish Council wished to place on the public record, its appreciation for the work Janet Mitchell had undertaken whilst she was a Parish Councillor.

111/17 Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan

Cllr Mrs Collier updated the Parish Council on developments to date.

Meetings of the Project Group had been held to ensure that the momentum continued.

Wychavon District Council had now approved the Parish’s Neighbourhood Area application. Effectively the area covered the parish of Ombersley and Doverdale Parish.

Consideration continued to be given to the grant application. However, there was a requirement that any grant allocation must be spent within 6 months of receipt. Further consideration would therefore need to be given to the timing of the application. The Project Group would continue to monitor this.

It was proposed that the Neighbourhood Plan be entitled TOAD (Tomorrow’s Ombersley and Doverdale). This suggestion had been supported by those who had been consulted.

A meeting to look at the IT aspects of the Neighbourhood Plan had been held. Rick Johns had agreed to assist the Project Group with this area of its work. Arrangements for the design of an appropriate logo were also on-going. The content of associated leaflets and flyers had also been discussed.

The first public meeting was also proposed. This would be held at St Andrew’s Church at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd November 2017. Cllr Collier outlined details of the suggested flyer and accompanying leaflet. An electronic copy would be circulated to Councillors.

Finally work was also ongoing to capture the contact details for as many people in the parish as possible. This would be vital to ensure that all residents had the opportunity to be engaged in the development of the Plan.

There were a number of costs which would need to be incurred but which would ultimately be offset by any grant allocation. These included website domain and mailing licence (likely to be around £200), room hire charges for the public meeting and design and printing costs for the flyers and leaflets.

The Parish Council was grateful to Cllrs Mrs Colliers and Mrs Goodman for their work so far. It was also extremely appreciative of the support given by Rick and Sue Johns.

On being put to the Council, it was unanimously agreed that:-

·  The work which had been undertaken to date be supported.

·  The use of ‘TOAD’ as the title for the Council’s Neighbourhood Plan be approved.

·  Those costs incurred to date be approved and that a fund be set aside to meet any other set up costs which needed to be incurred prior to the receipt of any Grant. The Clerk, after consultation with the Chairman of the Council and Chairman of the Finance Committee was authorised to incur any expenditure in this regard on behalf of the Parish Council.

·  The arrangements for the public meeting on 2nd November 2017 be agreed and Cllrs Mrs Collier and Mrs Goodman continue to develop the flyers and leaflets to be produced to publicise this event.

112/17 Parish Council 5 Year Budget Plan

The Finance Committee had, at its meeting on 5th September 2017, given some detailed thought to the production of a Five Year Budget Plan for the Council.

The Committee was mindful that there was likely to be a number of budgetary pressures facing the Parish Council in future years. These included:-

·  The costs of producing a Neighbourhood Plan. Although some of the costs may be offset by grant funding, there was still likely to be a significant cost to the Parish Council.

·  The cost of future maintenance of the church burial grounds (which was a statutory responsibility)

·  A potential reduction in the amount of grant funding currently provided by the District Council to fund the Parish Council’s annual budgetary requirement. Although there was no indication currently that this element of funding would be withdrawn, other local district councils had already taken a decision to withdraw this. It would therefore be prudent for the Parish Council to factor this into its considerations.

·  Changes to the New Homes Bonus arrangements. Whilst Wychavon currently passported a percentage of New Homes Bonus funds to local Parish Council, this may not always be the case.

The Finance Committee had therefore concluded that it would be prudent to consider the impact of increasing the Parish Council’s budgetary requirement by around £23,000 over the next five year period.

To illustrate the impact on residents and the percentage increases involved, Cllr Best had prepared a spreadsheet setting out the options. A copy had been circulated to all Parish Councillors.

As part of the discussion, there was a general agreement that the proposed increase in the Parish Council’s budgetary requirement was sensible. The Parish Council had managed its funds in recent years without having to raise the precept significantly. However, potential pressures in future years meant that an increase should now be considered. The only real question was whether such an increase should be implemented in one year or over a two year period.

After further discussion, it was moved by Cllr Cody and seconded by Cllr Ingram that the Parish Council’s Five Year Budget requirement for the years 2018/19 – 2022/23 be set at £213,750 and that the necessary increases in the budget requirement be implemented over a two year period (2018-19 and 2019-20). On being put to the vote this was unanimously agreed.

Having agreed the budget requirements necessary over the next five year period, the Parish Council would need to embark on an exercise to inform residents of the potential increases and the reasons behind this. This should be undertaken prior to the Parish Council setting its budget for the 2018/19 financial year in January 2018.

113/17 Planning Matters

(a)  Arrangements for dealing with consultations on Planning Applications

The Parish Council had, in September 2015, agreed alternative arrangements for dealing with comments on planning applications with a greater use of delegated authority. Having now operated for 12 months, it was prudent to review these arrangements in the light of experience.

To assist the Parish Council, Cllr Cody had produced a paper looking at the current approach and bringing forward suggestions for alternative ways of dealing with comments on planning applications should the Parish Council feel that change was necessary.

He briefly outlined these to the Parish Council and suggested that a copy be circulated to Parish Councillors so that they may give the matter some thought before considering the matter fully at the next meeting. All Councillors agreed and the Clerk confirmed that he would place the matter on the agenda for the next Parish Council meeting.

(b)  Planning Applications for consideration

There were no planning applications requiring consideration.

(c)  Responses to Planning Applications made on behalf of the Parish Council

(Delegated Authority)

The Clerk reported that he had responded to a number of applications on the Parish Council’s behalf under the delegated authority procedure. These were listed at Appendix 1.

(c)  Details of decision Notices received from Wychavon District Council

A list of decision notices received since the last meeting was also circulated. A copy was included in Appendix 1 to these minutes.

(d)  Consideration of any other ‘planning’ matters received by the Council prior to the commencement of the meeting.

An update on a number of planning matters was contained in the District Councillor’s report. Any consideration would be given to these as part of the discussion on his report.

114/17 County and District Councillors Reports

A copy of the County Council’s Members update had been circulated to the Parish Council. There were no questions or comments on this. He also briefly updated Councillors on arrangements for the forthcoming VELO Birmingham event. Despite the many concerns this event would be going ahead. Cllr Tomlinson would be attending a ‘de-brief’ meeting on 9th October 2017 and would be grateful to receive any feedback prior to this meeting. He also highlighted growing concerns about the increases in the levels of traffic (particularly along A449) being caused by the on-going M5 Oldbury Viaduct roadworks.

Cllr Tomlinson had also produced a District Councillor’s Report which had been circulated. In this report Cllr Tomlinson updated the Parish Council on the following matters:-

·  Plots 1 and 2 at The Paddocks, Comhampton Lane. Highways views were still awaited and he would chase this. Should officers decide to refuse the applications he would delegate the decision. However, if they were minded to grant approval he would ask that the applications be considered by Committee.

·  Dough Bank – ongoing development.

·  Stone Farm – whilst this application had been approved despite much local opposition, the development had been significantly conditioned.

·  Knottsfield Nurseries.

·  The Firs, Holt Fleet Lane – possible enforcement issue raised by a resident in the parish.

He also updated the Parish Council on discussions re sewage issues in the ‘High Street’ in Ombersley, an ongoing water leak in Holt Fleet Lane, speeding issues outside Ombersley First School and the arrangements for the provision of a sign outside the school.

The Parish Council thanked Cllr Tomlinson for his reports.

(At this point – 8.50pm, Cllr Tomlinson left the meeting).

115/17 Police Report

A copy of the latest police report had been circulated and was noted.

Cllr Mrs Goodman took the opportunity to update Councillors on progress being made via the Neighbourhood Watch Group.

116/17 Finance and Authorisation of Accounts

(a)  Finance Committee Meeting

Cllr Best reported on the Finance Committee held on 5th September 2017.

Issues covered included:-

·  Annual Report 2016-17 – the Parish Council’s accounts for 2016-17 had been audited by the external auditor and the Annual Return approved. Notice of the conclusion of the Audit had been advertised.

·  5 Year Budget Plan – This had been discussed earlier in the meeting

·  Future Audit and Insurance Arrangements – arrangements would change for next year. The Finance Committee would continue to look at alternatives.

·  Ombersley Memorial Hall Grant Application – This had been turned down. Arrangements would be made to meet with the Hall Committee to look at future options.

·  Sytchampton Village Hall – Heating and lighting works were needed. This would be put to the Parish Council under 116/17(d) later. Work would also be proceeding shortly on the widening of Cow Lane. A sum in respect of this work were already held by the Parish Council.

·  Work continued to renovate and improve the Ombersley Handbells. This was funded by third party contributions and co-ordinated by the Parish Council to allow the resultant VAT to be reclaimed.