Woodchester Parish Council
Clerk: Duschanka Sutherland
Tulip Cottage, Windsoredge Lane, Nailsworth, Glos GL6 0NP
01453 833313
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Minutes of the meeting of Woodchester Parish Council held on November 12th 2009 in the Village Hall, North Woodchesterat 7.30pm
Present: Cllrs Brown,Lead, Swait, Wigzell and Syrett
In attendance: DuschankaSutherland (Clerk to the Council)
1 / ApologiesApologies were received from Cllrs Bastin and Hamilton.
2 / To receive declarations of interest in items on the Agenda
Cllr Swait is a member of the South Woodchester Amenity Land Trust.
3 / To receive questions from members of the public and those attending in an official capacity
No questions arising.
4 / To confirm the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting September 3rd 2009
The minutes were approved. The clerk was asked to email minutes to councillors in the future as well as uploading onto website.
5 / To receive a presentation from a representative of the South Woodchester Amenity Land Trust
The council received a presentation from Kim Woodford, a representative of the South Woodchester Amenity Land Trust (SWALT). SWALT purchased 2 acres of land in July below the Ram and are currently considering a number of projectssuch as parking, allotments and bees. Kim is championing a project to build a children’s adventure playground. She would like the council’s support and for it to give consideration to ‘renting’ the playground and paying for insurance and potentially maintenance. Support for a playground in principle was given and Cllr Syrett agreed to sit on a steering committee. Councillors will respond after the January council meeting.
6 / To receive the Clerk’s Report
The clerk presented the report. The council resolved to do the following:
- Put up the dog fouling signs provided by Stroud District Council. Cllrs to email the clerk with suggestions for where they should be sited within the next two weeks.
- In light of the response received from Gloucestershire Highwaysagain rejecting using the cycle track as an underpass to access Frogmarsh Lane from the bus stop on the far side of the A46 and advising that under current criteria it is very unlikely that Scott’s Crossing would be built, councillors agreed to include a comment in the next Woodchester Word registering the parish council’s concern and asking for community support and action. This will be drafted and circulated to the council by Cllr Wigzellas part of the Parish Council news.
- The council asked the clerk to obtain a copy of the revised Register of Electors 2009/10 and noted that it can only be used for the purpose of establishing whether any person is entitled to attend and participate in a meeting of, or take action on behalf of the Parish.
- The clerk will write to the Citizens Advice Bureau in Stroud to advise that the council is unable to assist with funding on this occasion.
- Cllr Hamilton will be asked to submit a response to the Big Plan Consultation and the LGA debate about how principal authorities and their partners can to be given greater freedom to respond to local priorities.
- Cllr Hamilton has volunteered to respond to the consultation relating to the Gloucestershire Waste Core Strategy which has identified a number of sites that could potentially be used to treat waste.
7 / To note the latest financial statements
These were noted.
8 / To approve expenditure and approve cheques as per annex
Cheques were noted and approved.
9 / To note planning applications and decisions from SDC
These were noted.
10 / To discuss events
Village Fete
Cllr Brown was thanked for organising a very successful village fete and Cllr Bastin for hosting it in his grounds. Whilst it is not intended to hold a village fete every year it has been agreed to hold a produce show in 2010. A suggestion had been made by the village’s two schools to take this on but the council unanimously agreed that it should be kept as a parish event although it welcomed involvement by the schools. Cllr Brown volunteered to put together a committee to move it forward.
Carol Service
The carol service will be held on the 23rd December.
Remembrance Sunday and Litter Pick
Cllr Wigzell reported that commemorating Remembrance Sunday and holding a litter pick on the same day was quite challenging, particularly with only 2 councillors around and a new clerk. Whilst the litter pick was successful with 20 residents turning up who collected 24 bags of rubbish, it was agreed that it would be better to hold it in the earlyspring in the future. The council agreed to arrange a date at the January meeting so that it could be advertised in the next Woodchester Word.
Cllr Wigzell has also produced notes to help whoever organises the litter pick and Remembrance Sunday in the future which she will email to the clerk.
As the council did not need to finance the fete Cllr Wigzell suggested a “Meet the council” event. The council resolved to set a date for this at the next meeting.
11 / To discuss timings of future meetings
The timing of the external audit has changed and as all councillors have to approve the audit it will require an extra meeting. Rather than changing the months of the meetings (currently Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov) it was agreed to hold an extra meeting in June. A date for this will be set at the next meeting. In the meantime the clerk will check when the audit needs to be submitted.
12 / To receive an update on the website
Cllr Wigzell and the clerk met with John Fairley, a local resident who has volunteered to rebuild and redesign the village website on Wordpress. He has also confirmed he is happy to act as the Web Manager. He is currently working on an online questionnaire on the Village Design Statement as a result of feedback from the Freelancers. He is proposing to re-launch the website in conjunction with the sending out of the VDS questionnaire in February and is looking at also setting up a notice board on the website. He has also offered to run a surgery to train those who will be involved and help as required. The council agreed to spend up to £600 which has been identified as required for Epicado to redesign the look of the website which is not John Fairley’s area of expertise and accepted his offer to be web manager.
13 / To receive an update on the Village Design Statement
At the last meeting it was noted that younger residents are more likely to respond to the questionnaire if they can do so online. It would cost around $60US to do this. The paper questionnaire was trialled at the village fete. The subsequent analysis of responses showed that the questionnaire needs work. Conrad Moore at Stroud District Council will assist and it is intended that this will be sent out to all local residents in Feburary and hand collected. The returned questionnaires will then need to be analysed which could be done using SNAP. Cllr Lead confirmed it would cost around £1,040 to get the paper questionnaire out, back and analysed plus any printing costs.
14 / To discuss the annual village maintenance contract.
Cllr Syrett has offered to review the existing contract and meet Ian Smith, the contractor, with the clerk.
Councillors agreed to suspend standing orders at 9.30.
In the meantime, the council agreed to award Ian Smith, the existing contractor, a one year contract. Also to ask Ian to complete a “works completed” checklist when jobs have been done. The council will then offer Mr Smith the option of quoting for a potentially revised contract. Councillors were also asked to submit any additional items they feel should be covered under the contract to the clerk for discussion at the next meeting.
15 / To discuss the allocation of Council Funds in preparation for setting the precept
The following items were identified:-
- Notice-boards
- Contribution to the British Legion
16 / To receive a report from the Water Warden
Cllr Syrett will email this report to other councillors.
17 / To receive a report on Highways
Cllr Swait confirmed that in the last two days gulleys have been cleared. Cllr Syrett advised this has not actually been done in Rooksmoor although the job may not yet be finished. Cllr Swait also confirmed that some of the village’s potholes have been repaired, although not all including the one on Cow Lane. This may be due to the financial pressures being experienced by Highways as a result of the floods and the hard winter last year.
18 / To receive an update on Gloucestershire Homeseeker Scheme
This has now gone live and the clerk has putting up housing lists on a weekly basis on only two of the village’s main notice boards. The clerk agreed to put up lists on all four notice boards and to contact Stroud District Council to see whether Woodchester’s ten affected residents have registered with the new scheme. The clerk will also follow up with Stroud District Council to establish if the Post Office in North Woodchester has agreed to put up the weekly list.
19 / To discuss the BT ‘Adopt a Kiosk’ Scheme
Whilst the council agreed not to participate at this stage, the clerk was asked to clarify what will happen to the kiosk if it is not adopted at this stage.
20 / To receive comments from members of the public on items discussed at the meeting
No members of public present.
Meeting closed at 10.00 pm
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