DRAFT MINUTES
Shalford Parish Council Meeting
on Thursday21stApril 2016
at Peasmarsh Village Hall at 7:30 p.m.
1) Attendance and apologies: Present: Cllrs. Bill Birkett (Chairman), Mary Phillips (Vice Chairman) Adrian Cansell, Nigel Keaneand Mike Parsons.
In Attendance: 2 local residents, Cllr Stephanie Sokolowski (St Martha PC), Nuala Livesey (Parish Clerk).
Apologies: SPC Cllrs David Thomson and Mark Hallam, SCC Cllrs Keith Taylor and George Johnson, GBC Cllr Michael Illman.
2)Local Code of Conduct – Disclosure of Interests: Cllr Mary Phillips confirmed an interest to planning application16/P/00701 9 Oaklands Close as a neighbour.
3)Minutes: Confirmation: The Council considered and confirmed the minutes of the last Council meeting held on the 24thMarch 2016.The minutes were then signed by the Chairman.
4) Councillor Report: Cllr Parsonsreported that the details of the Local Planhad been published in GBC Council papers. Parking changes for Shalford had been agreed at the end of March and would be introduced over the next few months. He also confirmed that land to the rear of the village hall had been allocated as amenity and recreation land in the Local Plan which was good news in terms of protecting it from development.
5) Crime Report: the Clerk reported the following crime statistics since the last meeting:
07/03/16 Dwelling burglary, Droges Close Bramley
10/03/16 Vehicle crime – car keyed Station Road Shalford
10/03/16 Theft of a chain saw that fell off the back of a van
14/03/16 Road related incident – driver deliberately hit a motor cycle travelling in the same direction
18/03/16 Theft from Boots chemist Shalford
18/03/16 Theft of car parts new Road Chilworth
28/03/16 Theft of handbag at Chilworth Duck Race
The Clerk also reported that PCSO Young had confirmed that he would no longer be able to supply crime stats, something which the Clerk finds is quite hard to extract accurately from the Surrey Police website.
6) Public session:A resident of Peasmarsh commented on how delighted he was to see the clearance work that had been started at Broadford Road allotments. The Chairman agreed that he was amazed at the inroads that had been made to the bramble and growth at the back of the site. He added that this work would be followed up by weed spraying in 6-8 weeks to contain any regrowth and added that it would be good to get a group of allotment holders together to clear some of the rubbish that had been hidden in the undergrowth in order to make this area of the site ready for new tenants. The Clerk confirmed that fencing had been ordered for the side along by the gate and was available whenever the allotment holders were ready to carry out the work. A resident of Shalford commented that there was flow of water along Chinthurst lane that had been present for some time. The Chairman was able to confirm that Surrey had looked at this and confirmed that it was a natural spring. It needed rerouting onto the other side of the road and SCC had confirmed that they were prepared to carry out the work
7) Planning: Current Planning Applications (Appendix 1): The Council considered eachapplication and agreed to support each application.
16/T/00043: 2 Montague Place Shalford: Cllr Phillips raised concerns about an application for tree surgery from the previous meeting which seemed to have allowed permission for trees with preservations orders and poor paperwork to be approved. Cllr Parsons agreed to look at the application and make appropriate enquiries if necessary.
8) DunsfoldPark: the Chairman reported that following the first review of the Transport Assessments for this development the group of parishes were now proposing a further review of the Mott McDonald report on transport issues. The cost for Shalford parish would be £775.00 which of course had not been budgeted for. It was agreed that this spending could not be justified at this point and the Clerk agreed to pass this onto the Chairman of the group, Charles Orange. Cllr Birkett reported that having spoken with Mr Orange who had attended a recent meeting at WaverleyBC regarding the development and he felt that the temperature was slightly against development. However this was just a personal view. He confirmed that the Shalford comments would be put to the May meeting for approval.
9) GBC Local Plan:the Chairman reported that Shalford parish appears to have been let off lightly in terms of new development. The latest version of the Local Plan did not contain any surprises and the areas for development listed within the parish were no surprise. Cllr Parsons confirmed that land at Hornhatch farm was not in the Local Plan and reminded members that all development had to be supported by suitable infrastructure. He also suggested that the Local Plan should not be read in isolation, but alongside the Town Centre Masterplan, the proposals for North Street, Guildford and the Infrastructure Plan in order to fully understand the implications of any development. He reconfirmed that the land behind the village hall was not in the plan for development but had been designated as amenity and recreation land.
10)Traffic issues:Cllr Wiggin reported that he would be meeting Nick Willmott SCCofficer with responsibility for cycling and that he had discussed the proposal for a cycle path from Bramley through to Guildford with Cllr Martin Foley from Bramley PC. He would report on any possibilities following the meetings. Cllr parsons suggested it would be useful to look at the Infrastructure plans for Guildford. It was agreed that the long list of traffic issues that had been running for some time needed reviewing and updating and this should be done over the next month. Cllr Cansell asked that Rice’s Corner remain a high priority for improvement. Cllr Parsons confirmed that some consideration was being given to taking some Commonland for improvements at that junction.
11)Annual Assembly 2016:the Chairman report that the Annual Assembly had taken place on Thursday 7th April. It had been good to have a range of local groups in attendance and they were all appreciative of the opportunity to be able to highlight their work. There were also a number of new faces in attendance and the refreshments had helped to make it a friendly and informal get together. It was agreed that Annual Assembly was not an appealing title for the evening when trying to broaden out the appeal of the parish council. Cllr parsons reminded the meeting that it had been agreed to discuss the name of the parish once the outcome of the Governance review had been completed. The Clerk agreed to include this as an agenda item for the next meeting.
12) Play area improvements: the Clerk confirmed that the council had a significant amount of money to spend on the play areas over the next year. There was a total of £42,660 to be spent across the parish consisting of S106 money, GBC concurrent grant and PC reserves and current years budget. Cllr Phillips reported that she and the Clerk had met the GBC play development officer who had been supportive of the broad plans and confirmed that the S106 money could be spent across all the play areas in the parish. She also helped to clarify some of the issues relating to the S38 Commons Act application that was nearly ready for submission which gave the PC greater scope for proposals particularly at Pound Place. It was necessary for the working group to meet and agree the main proposals so that some improvements could be made over the summer months.
13) Peasmarsh Bus Shelter:the Clerk confirmed that a claim had been made to the PC insurer for the replacement of the bus shelter damaged beyond repair in Peasmarsh during the Easter storms. She was awaiting s response from the insurers on the next steps to be taken.
14) Finance: Finance Report:
14.1)Report for the year up to the end of March 2016 (Appendix 2): Income totalled £317.10 for March. Expenditure for the month was £6,679.16 incl VAT being mainly regular monthly outgoings, fencing for Peasmarsh allotments, a new sign for Shalford cemetery and a contribution to the joint parishes review of transport assessment for the Dunsfold Park development. The cash balance at the end of March was £98,911.78 compared with £105,273.84 at the start of the month. In comparing actual with budget, expenditure at 78% was comfortably within budget for the year.
14.2) Review of spending 2015/16: the Clerk will confirm the bank balance at the end of March 2016 was £98,911.16 which included £10,300 of committed spending from the 15/16 financial year still to be paid out, and cemetery reserves of £45,269, a significant amount of which would be spent in 2016/17. This left a general reserve of £43,342.16 which although quite large would be needed to fund the S106 playground work before claiming that money back from GBC. Some consideration also needed to be given to St Mary’s Church wall which was showing signs of wear. It was agreed that some of the money should be earmarked for this but that consideration should be given to projects that might need funding over the next three years.
14.3) Insurance policy renewal 2016/17: the Council agreed to change insurers to Zurich and to make a three year agreement with them because of the competitive nature of their quote.
Resolved: to move insurance provider to Zurich Insurance Ltd and to enter a three year agreement for their services. Proposed: Cllr Birkett; Seconded: Cllr Keane
15)Authorisation of Expenditure:the Council approved the following additional expenditure:
Metal brazier for the Queen’s birthday beacon £48.95
16)Cemetery Chapel Restoration: the Chairman reported that there was no current update. Having met with a potential new architect to over see the future work, little progress had been made. The Clerk reported that Guildford BC Conservation team had given some advice on who might give advice on maintaining the church wall. It was agreed to get a quote for surveying the wall as the first step in drawing up a maintenance programme.
17) Queen’s 90th birthday:the Chairman reported that a very successful beacon lighting had taken place earlier in the day with the supoort of ShalfordInfantsSchool and The Snooty Fox. The Council agreed to send good wishes to HM Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of her 90th birthday. It was agreed that the PC would focus on volunteer groups, cycle paths and strategy, the GBC Local Plan, improving communications at the Shalford fete as well as providing the weblinks to all relevant GBC current planning initiatives. The date for the next volunteer morning was agreed as weekend of 25/26th June.
18) Correspondence: The Clerk reported that there would be another meeting with GBC regarding new arrangements for dealing with planning applications on Monday 23rd May. Cllr Parsons agreed to attend. A resident had written to the PC requesting a notice be put up close to her property regarding flytipping which had become something of a problem. It was agreed that this was not appropriate for the PC as it had no powers to take action against flytipping and could set a precedent for other requests. The Clerk agreed to advise liaison with GBC who could take appropriate action against flytippers. Cllr Keane agreed to attend a meeting with Anne Milton regarding flooding issues in the Tilthams Green area. A resident of Shalford had written in requesting action to prevent the pond deteriorating because of the number of carp in the pond either other wildlife. The Clerk agreed to discuss this with the GBC Countryside Manager.
19) Members reports: the Clerk reminded the meeting that the elections for the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner would be taking place on 5th May, and that the May meeting of the PC was the Annual Meeting of the Council where the Chairman and Vice Chairman would be elected and appointments to Committees and Working Groups would be made. It was agreed that once the cemetery Chapel work had been completed it would be offered as a potential Polling Station which could mean that ShalfordInfantsSchool would not need to close on election days
Cllr Phillips: congratulated the friends of Shalford on receipt of their grant of £1500 towards the defibrillator project from the Surrey Community Foundation and further support from Nisa through Snooty’s Grocery store. Both these donations had helped to set the project well on the way to reaching its target.
Cllr Wiggin: asked for an update on the Surrey Hills Decluttering initiative. The Chairman confirmed that someone would be coming round to review suggestions and that this work would be considered at the June Local Committee. Cllr parsons added that “repeater speed signs” were also to be included in the scheme.
Cllr Cansell: reported that following discussions between Shalford and St Martha parish councils about trees to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday, it had been suggested at the last St Martha meeting that the War Memorial in St Martha parish would be a suitable location for a tree.
Meeting closed at 9.15pm
Signed………………………………………………Chairman
Date…………………………………………………
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 26th May atShalford Village Hall.