PARISH OF STOKENCHURCH

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council held on Wednesday 7th May 2014

at Longburrow Hall at 7.30pm.

Attendees: Mr Penny (Chairman), Mrs Baker, Mr Jones, Mr Thomas, Mrs Nuthall, Mr Harding,

Mr Parkinson, Mr Davis, Mr Saunders, Mr Hawkins (Clerk), 11 members of the public.

1.  Apologies. Apologies were received from Mr Elliott, Mrs Cripps, Cllr Etholen and Cllr Hayday.

2.  Election of Chairman Mr Saunders proposed that Mr Penny be re-elected to the post of Chairman. This was seconded by Mr Harding. There were no other nominations. Mr Penny was re-elected unanimously.

3.  Election of Vice Chairman. Mr Jones proposed that Mrs Baker be re-elected to the post of Vice-Chairman. This was seconded by Mrs Nuthall. There were no other proposals. Mrs Baker was re-elected unanimously.

4.  Council Appointments. No changes were made to the existing arrangements - see separate list.

5.  Declarations of interest. None.

6.  Minutes of Meeting of 16th April 2014. It was agreed by all present at that meeting that the Minutes of 16th April 2014 be approved.

7.  Mr Robert Holmes Mr Holmes had been invited to speak following a letter he sent to Wycombe District Council after the WDC Local Plan consultation meeting at Longburrow in February. He briefly outlined his background as a farmer and life-long Stokenchurch resident, with concerns about how the housing shortage and spiraling prices meant that many local sons and daughters were forced to leave the community as they could not afford to buy locally. WDC have to build 600 new homes a year in future, and not all can be allocated to Princes Risborough, beyond the Green Belt and AONB boundaries. Surely it is better to work in partnership with the Local Authority to explore possible solutions. To this end he has suggested that land at Wood Farm on the Oxford Road, and also land at Mill Road be offered for consideration for housing. He would wish to continue farming in Stokenchurch on a reduced operation. The Chairman took pains to emphasise that this is the very first step in a consultation exercise and far from being a planning application at this stage. Mrs Shurrock from the floor thanked Mr Holmes for his honesty and forthright approach in placing the suggested plan in the public forum.

8.  Matters arising not included in the agenda. The Chairman reported that he and another councillor had visited Mr Elliott who had been very unwell in recent weeks. Mr Elliott was quoted as saying that he was responding to treatment and felt that he had “turned the corner”, but was not yet well enough to resume his duties. He also reported that the requested list of lampposts to accommodate the mobile vehicle activated signs had been put together and forwarded to Transport for Bucks for assessment. The Clerk had been in touch with PC Danny O’Driscol over the cars parked in the Kings car park without tax discs and ad hoc parking of cars for sale on the highway. He has promised to speak with the traders. The situation in Thirds Wood in Studley Green has been investigated by WDC Planning and Sustainability, and a temporary Stop Notice issued on 2nd May, in force for 28 days. They spoke with the owner who claimed the works were in connection with his felling licence. To be investigated further.

9.  Reports and Actions Nothing to report.

10.  Notification of other Parish matters The cemetery, the Commons, play areas, Dashwood Hill, unauthorized advertisements on lampposts.

11.  District and County Councillors None present.

12.  Planning

·  06011 Erection of agricultural building for the storage of fruit and vegetable crops and the storage of agricultural machinery and tools at Land Western End Behind Mudd Bank Layby, Stokenchurch Footpath 77. (Equine Welfare Ltd). After discussion it was agreed to object to this building on the grounds of an inappropriate development within the Chilterns AONB, and that it would set an unwelcome precedent in this large field.

·  06015 15 Consecutive applications re: Red Kite Properties in Eastwood Road. (Red Kite). Some residents from Eastwood Road attended to comment favourably on this proposal, saying the properties were well overdue refurbishment. As it is said that the majority of householders affected welcome the proposed improvements, the Council offered no objection, agreed unanimously. (NB In fact these applications are for Certificates of Lawfulness and as such are not open to consultee comment)

·  06102 Householder application for construction of front porch extension and linking tiled roof over existing front bay at 6 Wormsley Crescent.(Campbell). No objection, agreed unanimously.

13.  Finance: Bills Payable to the amount of £8,028.11 were approved for payment unanimously. The Clerk distributed copies of the final accounts for 2013-14 and of the Budget for 2014-15 for perusal at leisure by the Councillors and hopefully formal adoption by the Council at the next meeting.

14.  Correspondence: An invitation from Bucks CC to a meeting at Green Park on 27th May to explore opportunities for the County Council to devolve further services to local councils. A representative from SPC is required and the Chairman has agreed to attend.

15.  Memorial seat for cemetery: Mr Farwell of Squirrel Lane in Booker has asked permission to place a memorial seat in the Cemetery for his grandson who is buried here. Happy to agree but seat not to be fixed to the ground so that strimming can be done effectively.

16.  Longburrow Hall Solar Panels update Clerk reported that because the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of Longburrow Hall was comparatively poor, the feed-in tariff from the electricity sold to the grid would be less than previously anticipated. The net effect would be to lengthen the pay-back time for the installation from 7 years to 10 years. Whilst most councillors felt this to be acceptable, Mrs Baker asked why priority should not be given to upgrading the heating system here, as this was the main reason for the low EPC value. Clerk to investigate upgrade costs.

17.  Other Parish Matters. Some Cemetery cremation plots had inappropriate decorations and Clerk asked to contact the PCC to ask about putting up a list of their rules relating to cremation plots. Mrs Baker asked about the reinstatement by the developers of the lost public parking spaces by the Four Horseshoes site. The Chairman said that certain legal points were being clarified about the undertaking to replace the lost spaces, and he could not comment further at this time. Mrs Baker wished to move the discussions on renewal of the parish play areas forward as soon as possible and a date for the development committee to meet was arranged for next week. The recent NAG meeting noted with dismay that the footway on Dashwood Hill was increasingly obstructed by overgrowth. Mr Harding showed an example of a hand-laminated sign attached to lampposts in the village. The Chairman agreed that the way to deal with this is to simply remove and destroy. Nettle growth along the Marlow Road footways is becoming difficult for pedestrians to avoid. Though the responsibility of TfB, Mr Penny promised action would be taken by the Parish Council. New plans for the Slade Road School site are available. Councillors noted the lack of a connecting footway to Marcourt Road which existed before the school was closed. The Chairman thought the Police had recommended that this remain closed for operational reasons.

There being no further business, the meeting concluded at 8.15 pm.