Minutes
of Sulhamstead Parish Council Meeting
held at The Parish Rooms Thursday 21st May 2015 at 7.30pm
Present: Mrs Margaret Baxter (Chairman), Mrs. Rosemary Sanders-Rose, Mr. Ivan Wise,Mr. Roger Ashfield,Mr. Richard Smith, Mr Chris Soudenand Mr Keith Chopping
In attendance: Mrs. Elisabeth Shaw-Brookman (Clerk)
Open Forum: Members of the Public were invited to comment on any of the items on the agenda before the meeting convenes.
Declarations of Interest: Visitors were reminded that declarations of interest must be made where appropriate.
1)Apologies
Apologies were received from: Ms T Sosna and Mrs Joan Palmer
2)Declarations of Interest by Councillors
None
3)Open Forum
4)Approval of Minutes of 19th March 2015
The Minutes were approved and signed.
5)Matters arising from Minutes of 19th March 2015
6c Ufton Rail Crossing covered under item 7c of today’s Agenda
6e Signs for Sulhamstead Road/Shortheath Lane covered under 6f of today’s Agenda
6)Local Interest
a)Public Open Space
Mr Wise reported that all is well and there are no issues to be addressed.
b)Play Park Inspection Report
The Play Park has had a formal inspection by Playsafety. Mr Wise reported that there are two repairs required and these will be dealt with. The Clerk was asked to purchase “Dog Fouling” signs for both the POS and the Play Park together with Ownership signs.
c)Website
The website continues to be well supported. The Stats for March and April were:
3160 unique visitors 5259 pages viewed
3172 unique visitors 5206 pages viewed
d)Local Roads, signs, weight limits and Ufton Nervet Rail Crossing
A Planning Application has been received for the proposed bridge to replace the rail crossing at Ufton Nervet and was dealt with under item 7. Mr Smith reported that the hedges in Sulhamstead Hill and Whites Hill have not been cut back as requested. Mr Chopping will pass the concerns to WBC Highways Dept. Although this is the wrong time of year to cut hedges there are parts which will need to be cut back during the Summer.
e) Speeding Concerns:
The Clerk reported that TVP were pleased with the results from the Speeding Awareness Day held on 16th April. However speeding is still an issue on both Sulhamstead Hill and Whites Hill in particular. The Clerk will pass on a request to TVP to hold a speed check, maybe outside the Village Hall.
f) Road Sign for Sulhamstead Road/Shortheath Lane
The request for 2 signsnamed“Sulhamstead Road” to be placed at the cross roads of Hollybush Lane, Sulhamstead Road and Shortheath Lane has been turned down by WBC who state that it should be called Shortheath Lane. A discussion was held and the unanimous conclusion was that it would be better to have no signs than the wrong ones. The Clerk will inform WBC.
g) Willink Leisure Centre
A report on the meeting held on 22nd April was given by Mr Wise. He had reported the Councillors’ concerns about the size of the contribution the Parish Council makes towards the costs of running the Leisure Centre. Wokefield Parish Council also expressed concerns. The Chairman will contact WBC to request a copy of the Contract with a view to renegotiating the contribution when it next comes up for renewal. Mr Chopping will also speak to WBC on the subject.
h)Litter
The Chairman has approached Macdonaldsto request a donation towards the cleaning up of litter in Sulhamstead – a significant amount of which comes from the take-away. She will report back at the next meeting.
7) Planning Applications
a)Planning decisions taken since last meeting
15/00504/HOUSE 23 Acorns Gardens No Objections Approved
15/00822/JOUSE 14 Sulhamstead Hill No Objections Approved
15/00556/LBC2 Meales Farm No Objections Approved
15/00425/OUTD Benhams Farm ObjectionsRefused
15/00974/COMIND Ufton Rail Bridge Reviewed at meeting No Objections
15/01287/FUL Mrs Bland’s Infant School. Reviewed at meeting No Objections
(Mrs Sanders Rose declared an interest and did not take part in the discussions)
b) Firlands
A letter has been received from Pegasus giving details of a revised plan. The view of the Parish Council is that this constitutes a new Planning Application and as such should not be part of the Appeal process. The Chairman contacted WBC on this matter and understands that they have put in a request to the Planning Inspector to have it thrown out.
8) Finance:
a) Account Balances: Current: £15,316.99
Deposit : £14,653.70
Bond: £30,000.00
£59,970.69
Pro forma Invoices were presented for payment and cheques signed:
Auditing Solutions / 192.00Karen Eagle / 55.00
Playsafety Ltd / 78.00
General Technics Ltd / 55.00
1st Burghfield &Sulhamstead Scouts / 200.00
Total / £580.00
An up-to-date Bank Reconciliation was given to the Councillors. A query was raised about an adjustment of £100 by the auditors, the Clerk will respond by email.
b) Online Banking
We have yet to try the system out but hope to do so in the very near future. The Clerk will contact Lloyds Bank to update the list of Councillors authorised to sign cheques. Once this is done more Councillors will be added to the Online Banking. Previous experience of the problems encountered with Lloyds Bank shows that this will not happen quickly.
c) Budget Forecast - estimated Income and Expenditureto year end was sent to the
Councillors prior to the meeting and was agreed at the meeting.
d) Donation from 2013-14
A cheque for a £200 donation to Burghfield and Sulhamstead Scouts in 2013-14 has been lost.A request for a replacement was discussed and agreed. A cheque was raised and signed at the meeting.
e) Audit Report and Issues arising from same.
The Internal Auditors, Auditing Solutions, have approved the annual accounts for 2014-15.
The Annual Return was approved by the Parish Councillors and signed by the Chairman and
the Clerk.
The Auditors had highlighted the fact that the Financial Risk Assessment needs to be reviewed on an annual basis and this review was overdue. This will be undertaken by the Finance Committee at their meeting on 8th July 2015 and circulated to all the Councillors prior to the meeting on 19th July.
The full Auditors’ Report had been circulated to the Councillors prior to the meeting.
f) As a result of the audit the Clerk recommended that the insurance of assets should be
reviewed and increased accordingly. This was approved. The Clerk will obtain a revised quote for the premium due and circulate it to the Councillors.
9) Parish Council Elections 2015
The Parish Councillors elected to the Sulhamstead Parish Council were:
North Ward: Mr F.R.Ashfield, Mrs M.H. Baxter and Mr C.J. Souden
South Ward: Mrs J. Palmer, Mrs. R.A.G Sanders-Rose, Mr R.J. Smith, Ms T.J. Sosna
Mr I.H. Wise.
All Councillors present signed individual copies of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
The Clerk will arrange for the remaining two Councillors to sign a form as soon as possible.
10) Part Funded PCSO
Jordan Bruce continues as the part-funded PCSO covering Sulhamstead, Burghfield and Mortimer. The Clerk, together with the Burghfield Clerk and the Chairman of Mortimer Parish Council attended a meetingon 12th May with Inspector Chris Ward and Sgt. Michael Adams to confirm the duties of the part-funded PCSO. Insp. Ward confirmed that PCSO Bruce would spend most of his time in the three villages. The exception being when there was an emergency elsewhere. This was thought to be a realistic view of policing in this area but will need to be addressed when the contract comes up for renewal for 2016-17.
11) Review of Post/ Any Other Business
a) A proposal to hold meetings with neighbouring Parish Councils was discussed and looked at a future meeting.
Next Parish Council Meeting To confirm that the next Parish Council Meeting on Monday 20th July 2015 at 7.30pm to be held in the SUN Village Hall. Please note change of date