Holybrook Parish Council
Council Meeting Minutes
Date of Meeting / 28th May 2012Location / Beansheaf Community Centre
Present / Cllrs. Mary Bedwell, Tull, Gilbert, Littlewood, Betteridge, Croal, Edwards, Albanese, Ward and Pate
Also present District Cllr. Brian Bedwell
Circulation / All Council Members
No. / Notes / Action /
26/12/13 / Open Forum for members of the public
27/12/13 / Apologies for absence – Cllrs Somner and Wilkinson-Flood
No apologies received from Cllr. Dennis
28/12/13 / Declarations of Interest relevant to the agenda
29/12/13 / Minutes
The Minutes of 23rd April 2012 were AGREED. This was proposed by Cllr. Tull and seconded by Cllr. Albanese.
30/12/13 / Matters arising from the Minutes
a) Cllr. Somner provided the Clerk with his views regarding the deficiencies of traffic flows at the Langley Hill junction and this was passed to the appropriate officer at WBC from whom a reply is awaited.
b) Caroline Booth has again been contacted with regard to the Parish Council’s concerns about litter around the skate park.
31/12/13 / District Councillors’ Report
District Cllr. Brian Bedwell informed members that the Olympic torch will be paraded along the A4 from Reading to Theale on July 11th. School children will display a banner and wave flags but concern was expressed regarding traffic. The Press will publish details nearer the time. Councillors were asked if they wished to volunteer to be stewards.
Meetings have taken place regarding potholes but temporary measures only last between 2 and 3 months.
Cllr. Brian Bedwell told councillors that a West Berkshire Council officer has been to look at the fence in Torcross Grove and that it is not within the spirit of planning in that area but not illegal in planning terms. If it is taken to appeal another person might need to make a planning application.
As IKEA is clearly coming to Calcot there will be road changes such as widening of the Sainsbury’s roundabout and extra lane from the motorway. The great proportion of traffic will probably go back on the motorway. The area where National Express coaches stop will be widened and also the Park and Ride facility at Mereoak will be opened to take the coaches.
32/12/13 / Clerk’s Report
a) The window shutter in the Beansheaf Room has been repaired with the fitting of a new motor.
b) A replacement valve which controls the central heating in the Beansheaf Room has been fitted to the boiler.
c) The fire alarm system and fire fighting equipment has been inspected, and both found to be in order. The fire system engineers’ report will contain a recommendation that a new fire call point be installed in the Keep.
d) Cllr Mary Bedwell and the Clerk paid a visit to Mr Prior who deals with locking/unlocking the gates at Underwood Road and both were most impressed with the way in which he keeps control of the play area. Mr Prior regularly gives sweets to the children using the play park and it was AGREED that some should be supplied to him.
e) The Anthony Smith Partnership are waiting for responses from Abel Alarms and Wessex Windows who have both been commissioned to install the new lobby door and key pad entry. Hopefully this work will be started soon.
f) ASP are also progressing the specification for the works to improve the Linear Hall and costings for the individual elements of the improvements are expected.
g) Gary Nelson has completed the improvements to the pathway at the rear of the Beansheaf Centre. The costs have been shared equally with WBC as earlier agreed.
h) Gary Nelson has quoted a price of £680 to clean our 5 bus shelters every quarter. Currently the shelters are cleaned 6 times a year at a cost of £200 a clean. GN’s quote would save £120 per annum and members are asked whether they would wish to change suppliers on this basis. It was AGREED to remain with the present supplier and councillors were asked to look at the bus shelters when passing for general cleanliness.
33/12/13 / Holybrook Youth Club and update on The Garage – Report from Cllr. Albanese
a) Cllr. Albanese reported that the youth club is going well with around 50 children attending.
The neighbourhood wardens will be delivering leaflets advertising the reopening of the Garage and the Pastor of Kennet Valley Free Church has offered support along with Becky and Paul or Nick from the youth club. The Garage will open on Thursday 7th June at 12.30pm. The SPLAT team will be present and there will be activities such as dodge ball and rounders. Cllr. Albanese will let Cllr. Mary Bedwell know future dates and Cllr. Tull asked for accounts.
b) The Clerk has reminded Stewart Sowden that the draft lease is awaited from WBC. The Clerk informed members that public liability will extend to the Garage. An inventory is required in half-term for insuring the contents.
c) The Clerk has arranged for the electrical equipment in the Garage to be PAT tested.
d) Additional key fobs have been ordered from KONE and delivery is awaited. An engineer will need to visit to programme the fobs to the shutter.
e) The Clerk has been advised that a TV Licence is not necessary for the Garage.
34/12/13 / Planning – new applications:
Application No. / Applicant / Address / Proposal / Comments
12/01005/HOUSE / Mr & Mrs D Dugay / 4 Silbury Close, Calcot / Single storey front extension / No objection
12/00920/HOUSE / Mrs C Heath / 33 Camden Place, Calcot / Single storey rear extension / No objection
Application No. / Applicant / Address / Proposal / Comments
12/01157/FUL / Thames Water Utilities Ltd / Land adjacent to Bath Road, Dorking Way, Calcot / Section 73: Variation of condition 1: Time limit for removal of compound – under approved application 11/01993/FUL – Temporary site compound to serve several Thames Water water and sewer improvement work (permitted development) in the local area. / Whilst not on the agenda this application was received in time for the council meeting and since no objections were voiced on the original application members AGREED unanimously that there is no objection to the time limit stated in the application.
Applications considered by the Planning Committee:
No applications have been considered by the Committee since the previous Council meeting.
Planning Decisions:
12/00520/HOUSE – two storey and single storey rear extension at 7 Bainbridge Road, Calcot – APPROVED
12/00370/FUL – internal alterations and a retaining wall and steps in rear garden at Calcot Grange House, Mill Lane, Calcot – APPROVED.
35/12/13 / Financial Information
a) Payments – members are asked to authorise the payment of items listed on payment sheet no 02-2012/13. This was AGREED.
b) Alan Harland completed the majority of the work on his audit of the 2011/12 accounts on 11th May. A further visit will need to be made to complete the Annual Return which members will need to approve at the Council meeting on 25th June. The internal auditor’s report will be completed following the next visit.
c) The Clerk has received notification from the Audit Commission that Mazars LLP will be reappointed to audit the annual returns of Holybrook Parish Council for a further period of five years from 2012/13.
36/12/13 / Parish Plan Refresh – update from Cllr. Tull
Cllr. Tull informed members that the design statement has been amended and the updated Parish Plan sent to Jo Naylor at WBC with a supporting statement and summary document. A copy will be sent to every house in Calcot when it has been adopted. The next meeting will be on Monday 9th July when projects will be planned.
37/12/13 / HARP – update on this project and feedback from the meeting on 23rd May
Out of 1600 surveys delivered, only 161 responses were received – 10%. Of these, only 14 were from David Smith Court – there had been a larger response expected from there. Most people wanted Post Office services and newspapers. 61 people said that they would use the shop on a daily basis with an average spend of £6. Only 6 people volunteered any help. It was considered by the HARP committee that the shop idea is not looking viable. It was suggested that Holybrook Centre could be updated with possible use as a coffee shop during the day or a mobile shop could be considered beside the Centre. The outcome of the survey and key information will be put in the next Holybrook newsletter. The next HARP meeting will be on 5th September. Possibilities need to be explored for regeneration of the Holybrook Centre which is used every day of the year and has been run by a group of volunteers as a charity for over 30 years.
38/12/13 / Festival 2012 – update from Cllr. Tull
Cllr. Tull informed members that the draw tickets, flyers and programmes have been printed and asked members to sell as many draw tickets as possible as there has been a £1,000 loss of funding this year. There is a fantastic list of prizes this year. Cllrs. Gilbert and Betteridge will be part of the raffle team on the day. Sainsbury’s, Calcot will supply £30 worth of cakes and 60 sports relief drinks. Cllr. Mary Bedwell reported that costs have remained much the same as last year. Members were asked for books and games for the stall that Cllr. Somner will be running. Cllrs. Tull and Littlewood will be shopping for the festival and one lady has come forward after reading the newsletter to volunteer to help with refreshments. The cut- off date for vendors is 1st June. Cllr. Tull thanked everyone for their work so far and asked that everyone arrive nice and early on the day.
39/12/13 / Cllr Littlewood to report on training courses attended:
Cllr. Littlewood attended a training course regarding how to react to a terrorist attack which included a mock attack and video. It was suggested that everyone puts their next of kin as ICE1 and 2 on their mobile phones (In Case of Emergency).
Information needed by emergency services for major incidents was discussed such as access, location and fire points. There will be another meeting in June.
Cllr. Littlewood informed members that he had also attended a Speed Indicator Device meeting which explained how to use it, set it up and risk assessment that is required.
40/12/13 / Eastern Area Vision – Report from Cllr Mary Bedwell
£2M will be available for a Park and Ride at Theale Station if Reading’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund bid is successful – we will know in about 2 months
Management of Pubic Rights of Way and Footpaths. They are becoming expensive to maintain, and Parishes are being asked to set aside money from Precept to help maintain. If we have any issues with footpaths, Paul Hendry said in general terms we need to come to an agreement with West Berks Council as to the way forward. I think that we only have about 4 or 5 footpaths in Holybrook, but we need to check with WBC the exact location of those in the Parish. This will be discussed at the next Finance meeting.
Bryan Lyttle outlined the consequences of the Localism Act and National Policy Planning Framework as it affects WBC and the Parishes. WBC has produced a Core Strategy which includes housing allocations and it is now in the final stage of being approved. There is an allocation of 651 houses to be built in the Eastern Area up to 2026. This includes 300 dwellings at Theale, which were granted planning permission 4 years ago. SHLAA is a document required by Planning Statement 3 which is updated annually and identifies a range of sites that may have potential for housing development. Parishes can produce a Neighbourhood District Plan which has to conform to European Law, WBC Local Plan and National Planning Policy.
74% of West Berkshire is in AONB.
Chris Jones who has taken over from David Appleton said that amenities for swimming had been considered adequate in the area with figures from Sport England, whose research was always taken into account when funding was applied for.
Councillor Brian Bedwell said that the Eastern Area Vision document was out of date. It was agreed that a small working party from the Eastern Area Vision would go through the document removing completed items and updating according to recent Parish Plans.
41/12/13 / Lunch Club – details from Cllr. Ward
Cllr. Ward informed members that 8 enquiries have been received. The first lunch will take place on Friday 7th September from 12.30pm. Fish and Chips will be supplied costing no more than £5 each and there will also be a quiz. The £50 start-up fee has already been allocated. Discussions centred on the delivery of the newsletter and festival programmes which seem to be delivered on the wrong dates. Councillors were asked to let the parish office know when they receive them.
42/12/13 / NAG – report on the NAG AGM held on 26th April
Cllr. Littlewood was re-elected as chairman at the NAG AGM on 26th April and Cllr. Mary Bedwell as vice-chairman. Inspector McKeown was introduced by PC Dan Hatfield and information was given regarding drugs warrants issued and arrests for burglary. The shutters at the police office in Calcot will be kept open to show a police presence. Cllr. Wilkinson-Flood has agreed to act as minutes secretary. Hopefully new posters of the police and neighbourhood warden teams will be received soon. PC Dan Hatfield will be bringing the police riot van to the Holybrook festival. Cllr. Val Betteridge is now a NAG committee member. The next NAG meeting is on 14th June.
43/12/13 / Parish Event
Cllr. Mary Bedwell has suggested that an open forum event is arranged in September or October to demonstrate to parishioners how the Parish Council works with the Police, Neighbourhood Wardens and others for the benefit of the Parish. Members were invited to give their views. After some debate it was generally felt that an open event may not be well supported. A question will be put to residents in the newsletter (with helpful wording from the police) – “Would you like to meet the neighbourhood police team?” The same question to be put on the website.
44/12/13 / Chairman’s Remarks
Caroline Booth of WBC will be asked to make sure that the entrances around the festival are clear before the 24th June.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9.15pm
Signed ……………………………………………………………………………Date…………………………….