BENTWORTH PARISH COUNCIL

Chairperson: Mrs Jenny French

Clerk: Allison Spyer

14 Barley View, North Waltham, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG25 2ST

Tel: 07786 063570 Email:

MINUTES OF ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

2nd May, 8.15pm, Jubilee Hall, Bentworth

Present:

Parish Councillors

/

Clerk

/

District & County Councillors

/

Others

David Hawes
Veronica Parker
Jenny Lewis
Paul Mellish
Jane Costigan
Chris Hurley
Abbey George / Allison Spyer / Mark Kemp-Gee
Tony Costigan / members of the public in attendance
/ ACTION
FOR
1 / Apologies for Absence:
Minutes of 2016APM:
DH proposed and VP seconded with unanimous agreement from the rest of the council
2 / Matters arising:
There were no matters arising.
3 / Chairpersons Report: Annual review. David Hawes
Once again we have run with a councillor shortthroughout the year however we have notexperienced the extremely high churn rate as in ourprevious years. Jane Costigan joined the council afterTony's departure to bring us up to seven with still thateighth seat vacant.In no particular order I will now go over the events
since the last APM. The village gates have been replaced after one of theoriginals was destroyed in a car accident. This isthanks to Mark Kemp-Gee, EHDC and the Highwaysdepartment. At the same time as the installation of thegates, the speed limit between Medstead and thevillage, was changed from 60mph to 40mph. TheHighways Department will shortly be changing thecolour of the Tarmac, by the gates, to indicate that abuilt up area is being entered into and hopefully makedrivers aware of the speed that they are travelling. Abig thank you to Mark and all involved.
Talking of speed limits let's move on to Speed Watch.To be honest we are struggling to get enoughvolunteers. Those we do have are not alwaysavailable so we do need more hands to the pump.Even if you can only attend once a month that wouldimprove the situation. Although we have a date in thediary every week we do struggle to cover it as we donot have enough volunteers. We have had to cancel 3
in April this year for lack of volunteers and if we comply with having 3 people on duty at any one time itlooks like we will have to cancel all of the May datesand all of the June dates. We hear a lot of noise in theparish regarding speeding but it would appear that theissue is not to be serious enough for anyone tochange that hot air into actions.Just to reiterate the system. Speeding vehicles above35mph in the 30mph limit have theirregistrationnumber, type of vehicle and colour noted by thevolunteers. This is entered into the system by the
Police. Then a letter is sent to the vehicle owner. In addition to the letters going out our local PCSO visitsanyone who has had 2 letters, and if the person doesnot live locally they contact the police force wherethey do live and they pay them a visit. Here are theletters results for Bentworth in 2016.
  • Holt End Lane – 65 (47)
  • High Street – 19 (17)
  • Dury Lane – 1 (1)
A really big thank you to the small band of volunteers who give up their time in an effort to make the parishsafer for pedestrians, young and old, horses, pets andother law abiding drivers. Thank you.
The village green continues to offer a place to sit andpicnic thanks to Matt and his mowing and Murray forthe use of his mower. A big thank you to both. At therecent village tidy the seats on the green werecleaned and look much better. It is also noted that thegreen has been utilised for a number of impromptuFriday night village get together. Excellent. Keep an eye out for email round robins. Plus the parish cametogether to celebrate, with a picnic lunch on the green,the Queens 90th birthday in June. The Dragons Teetharound the green have been replaced wherenecessary and further continued along past the pull-into protect the edge of the green in that area. Thesmaller greens at Holt End have been eroded overtime leaving the entrance in a similar state to that of
the pull-in by the post box prior to it being upgraded.At a recent meeting with, interested parties on site, itwas decided to carry out a similar solution. Currentlywe are working with Highways to check out anymaterial issues prior to the installation of the DragonsTeeth.Once again there has been an abundant amount ofwild garlic along the field side of the village green andthroughout the village. I note that a number ofparishioners took advantage of this crop. Includingmyself.The village flight pond liner is slowly filling. Work stillhas to be done to landscape the top edges as thepond fills. However thanks to Stella and the GardenClub for superbly planting snow drops around the areain time for them to be in bloom this year. Stella hasalso obtained plants for the next phase. Many thanksto Stella and the Garden Club.
Bentworth Neighbourhood Plan update from BoydMcCleary Chair.A Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee was setup with volunteers following Public Meeting on 27thOctober 2015. This has six members (BoydMcCleary, Alasdair Pepper, David Hutley, VeronicaParker, Debbie Rhodes, Colin Brooks), two observers(Nicky Branch and David Hawes) and two advisersPeter Egerton-Warburton and Jean Cornelius). The initial aim of the Steering Committee was tounderstand the purpose and scope of aNeighbourhood Plan. We drew up a Charter, whichwas approved by Parish Council. We then looked atexamples of other Neighbourhood Plans and met with
representatives from Steering Committees in neighbouring parishes (Ropley, Bentley and FourMarks/Medstead). And met with EHDC.We applied successfully for grant from Department ofCommunities and Local Government. And we thenappointed consultants, with experience of workingwith Neighbourhood Plans.
In October 2016, we issued a questionnaire. Based on Post-it notes gathered at the first Public Meeting.There was an excellent response (58%).We used the responses to the questionnaire toproduce a draft Vision and Objectives for theNeighbourhood Plan. These were presented to afurther Public Meeting, attended by over 100
parishioners, on 15th December 2016. The draft Vision proposed was:“The parish of Bentworth, part of which is aConservation area, is an oasis of calm, a refuge fromthe rapid expansion of neighbouring Four Marks and
Medstead. It retains a rural character, being surrounded by beautiful countryside of farms andwoodlands, with fine trees and hedgerows. There aregood views and a number of protected local greenspaces. There has been a modest increase in housingstock, which includes some smaller homes. All newhomes are varied in style, are sustainable and arebuilt to the highest standards. There are low levels ofpollution. The parish has a strong sense ofcommunity.The draft objectives proposed were:
  • To respect and conserve the distinctive character ofthe landscape, natural environment and historic
assets of the parish.
  • To provide a modest increase in homes includingsmaller homes.
  • To incorporate new development seamlesslyrespecting the parish’s rural character.
  • To ensure that views across the countryside aremaintained.
  • To ensure new development encompasses a rangeof size, style and design to match the eclectic mix of
existing dwellings.
  • To minimise pollution.The draft Vision and Objectives were broadlyendorsed at the Public Meeting and by subsequentfeedback. We decided, however, to add oneadditional objective:
  • To conserve areas of local green space for use bythe community
Our next step has been to begin the process ofevaluating the five sites in the parish, which areavailable for development. Once the SteeringCommittee have completed their initial assessment, we will share this with parishioners; there will befurther consultation, in the form of a secondquestionnaire and a third public meeting.
When we are ready, the Steering Committee will prepare a draft Neighbourhood Plan, which will alsobe subject to consultation. Once this is complete, the“submission version” of the Neighbourhood Plan willbe handed over to East Hampshire District Council.East Hampshire District Council will appoint anindependent Examiner to examine the Plan andsupporting documents as well as the consultationresponses to check that the Plan fulfils the legalconditions for a Neighbourhood Plan and that "dueprocess" had been followed.If the Examiner is satisfied that we have followed thecorrect process, that our plan meets the five “BasicConditions”, and that our evidence is sufficient tosupport our policies, he/she will allow the Plan toproceed to a referendum.The District Council will then arrange for a localreferendum in the parish. Everyone in the parish whois registered on the electoral roll will be entitled to voteYES or NO to the whole Plan. For the Plan to come into force, a majority (i.e. over 50%) of people who voteneed to vote "Yes".The Steering Committee would like to thank all
Parishioners for their support.All relevant papers on the Neighbourhood Plan areavailable through the Parish Council website.This all has a cost and that will be partly paid for bythe government with the shortfall being made up bythe council. In view of this situation the council agreedto increase the precept in 2016. This caused a rise inthe rates which have now gone back down for theyear 2017 as promised. Broadband update as covered in the AGM.Former Treloar School and College Chaplain,Reverend Canon Ed Pruen, returned to the area fromthe West Country to become the new ‘Priest inCharge’ of the parishes of Bentworth, Lasham,Medstead and Shalden. The official licensing service,conducted by the Bishop of Basingstoke, theReverend Canon David Williams, took place in theevening of Tuesday, July 19, at St Mary’s Church inBentworth. A very warm welcome.There was no Participatory Budget scheme in the pastyear as it was decided to donate £1000 every twoyears rather than £500/annum. So will be entered intoas the year goes by. However the Defibrillator was aprevious PB and is now fully functional in its positionon the Jubilee Hall by the main entrance.Finally . . . I would just like to name a few personsoutside of the council that have assisted greatly.
Jenny and Boyd for keeping the roundabout plantingin good order as well as Nigel and Anne with the busstop flower basket and their support of the parish.Julian and Jenny for always being on hand to to assistwhenever needed. Boyd and his NP team namelyDebbie Rhodes, Veronica Parker, Dave Hutley,Alasdair Pepper, Colin Brooks plus advisors.Thank you for all the efforts and unpaid time you aredevoting to this so important project. Jill Hurley forgetting the Villager magazine printed on time with somuch information. Thank you. Charlie for heading upthe Fete Committee. He makes all look so easy.Swans and paddling come to mind. John Stockdale
with his round robin emails, Toby Stevens with thewebsite and a number of other issue's, Fred forneighbourhood watch plus the Care Group. ChrisHurley for ensuring road signs are in order plus potholes are filled.Veronica, for stepping into Fred's shoes, with theability to make a feast from five loaves of bread and
two fish this evening.Nicky Branch, Mark Kemp Gee and Tony Costigan fortheir knowledge on all matters council. Matt Smith and Murray regarding mowing of the green as alreadymentioned, PCSO David Nops for keeping an eye onthe parish plus many others whom I have notmentioned.I am sure you will have noted that these are the samenames as previous years and it would make such adifference if more people could forget the reasons whynot and say will do! When it comes to participating inactivities that make Bentworth such an active
Community. Join us.Finally I would also like to thank our learned clerkAllison, all members of the council and of course you,our parishioners in particular Mary who is always inattendance. Thank you......
4 / Financial Report: Allison Spyer
Current account is in credit by the amount of £19,396.25 at 31st March 2017. This year’s income and spend to date below:
16/17 Budget / Spend / % Inc / Dec / 17/18 Budget
Clerks wages / 4600.00 / 6084.00 / 132% / 6240.00
Clerks expenses / 360.00 / 292.00 / 81% / 360.00
Cllr expenses / 51.00 / - / 51.00
Chairman allowance / 51.00 / - / 75.00
Repairs, Benches, Bus Shelter, Pond / 300.00 / 1766.00 / 589% / 200.00
Insurance / 430.00 / 426.00 / 99% / 430.00
Grants/donations / 500.00 / 1517.00 / 303% / 500.00
Training / conf / 364.00 / - / 250.00
Hall hire / 450.00 / 267.00 / 60% / 450.00
Audit fees / 375.00 / 350.00 / 93% / 375.00
Subscriptions / 250.00 / 264.00 / 105% / 250.00
Part budget / 500.00 / - / 500.00
Data protection / 35.00 / 35.00 / 100% / 35.00
Laptop & support / 250.00 / 177.00 / 250.00
Website / 200.00
Pond / 500.00
Neighbourhood Plan / 2500.00 / 3037.00 / 121%
Miscellaneous / 2428.00
2016/2017 Precept 11,016.00, VAT repayment £106 and grants totalling £1000 from HCC and £2800 from Groundwork to cover the Neighbourhood plan, so total income for the year was £15,822.00. Total spend for the year was £16,643.00 which equates to 36% overspend on the budget of £10,666.00
Misc items – There was £900 spent on the traffic survey which was refunded and significant increased costs towards the pond. There was also a salary increase for the clerk to cover 4 years without one. We also went over budget on grants towards the school and the church
Budget for 2017/2018 has been set at £10,000.00 a £1016.00 decrease from last year.
5 / County Councillors Report: Mark Kemp-Gee
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and thank you Chairman and Councillors for inviting me to your meeting.
A lot in the press recently about Adult Social Care (ASC), by 2024 25% of the population will be of pensionable age. HCC has 1.2 million population with 20,000 ASC clients. ACS annual cost is £460 million (with £60 million recharged to users) out of a total council spend of £1 billion excluding education. National living wage (NLW) will add £10 million per annum to our ASC cost. Council tax 2017/18 is up 4.99%, 3% of which is the ASC levy, 1% increase in Council Tax is £5 million, so the ASC levy is worth £15 million this year but can only be £30 million over three years. Hants needs £60 million. Hence the importance of central government in Budget giving us £37 million over the next three years which will help greatly but is a short term fix. However the bad news, Rate Support Grant (RSG) has been cut by £128 million over the next three years. Witt our major challenges being pay and price inflation of £80 million and extra ASC cost of £60 million. All this means is that HCC has to find and extra £221 million over the next three years to maintain services at same level as today. We can only increase Council Tax by 2% a year without a referendum and the addition of three years Council Tax hike of 2% per annum and 3% per annum, ASC levy and £37 million Government ASC extra help comes to £124 million which means that the County Council has to find savings and make cuts totalling £124 million over the three years. By way of contrast, EHDC’s budget is £12 million in total and we have 78 Councillors and the 11 Hampshire Districts have some 450! Please note that some people contribute to their own care if they have more than £23,000 of free assets but the value of their home is EXCLUDED if they continue to live at home.
Highways, 5000 miles of roads, most of them rural – 10,000 pot holes a year repaired and road maintenance costs of £60 million. Capital programme of £220 million of new roads and bypasses. £300 million School Building programme, new housing needs.
Finally 800 Extra care beds in assisted living accommodation (own homes) and a new programme coming to provide 600 cottage hospital type beds as a bridge between leaving hospital and being able to go home.
6 / District Councillors Report: Tony Costigan
The Highways officer, Derek Rawle from HCC has hand delivered letters to three properties in the village, asking for the hedges to be either removed or cut back to the boundary. There are various pinch points in the village and hopefully this remedial work should alleviate the necessity for HGVs and buses to use the middle of the road to protect their nearside mirrors.The residents have four weeks to comply with the notices after which the Highways have the option of doing the work themselves and billing the owners. Jane Austen's bi-centenary.I discussed the opportunity with the head teacher of some of the pupils visiting the house and library. It was mentioned that the cost for a coach would be approx £500.00. I have suggested that the PC meet half these costs with me providing the balance through my district fund. The new EHDC leader had been selected and voted in. Councillor Richard Millard will become leader on Thursday 18th. May next and that Councillor Ferris Cowper will take up the role of deputy.I have suggested that the antique type style road sign on the Green be refurbished, including the replacement of the wooden sign indicating the direction for the Church.During the village clean when the sign was jet washed, it was noted that the paintwork was in need of re-doing as it was badly flaking. Councillor Hurley has the contact details for a company that can carry out this work.
Unfortunately car parking charges throughout the region will be increasing from 5th. June next. I have supplied the detail of the increases which John has circulated. The new Alton sports and facility centre will be entering the planning and consultation stage very soon. I have agreed that I will keep the PC updated as regards information at each stage.In agreement with Mark Kemp-Gee, we recognise that the traffic through Bentworth is increasing and that the PC should explore the option of re-visiting the flashing speed indicators that had previously discussed and agreed but were never installed. It is possible that there could be grants available for this project. If possible I would like this to be on the agenda for the next PC meeting. The Green Spaces, including the village green could be adopted by the Bentworth PC on the pretext that we keep and maintain. I have written to Reginald Smith asking if he is the correct representative to deal with this adoption request. I shall be chasing again today as I have not a response to my e-mail of 28th. April last. I have been advised that the grass verge cutting will be reduced from nine cuts to six. I have suggested that the PC discuss the option of Julian Lewis replacing the three missing cuts and that we ask him to provide a quote for doing so. I had previously discussed this with him. The only thing he could not offer was the strimming. Maybe we could have a "strimming" Saturday morning with a group of volunteers periodically through the summer months. The HGV movements through the village have been monitored, concluding that there was not a significant increase in traffic movements through the village. This is probably due to the fact that the signage of the HGVs leaving the site at Cedar Stables, through the village, had been blanked out as the local PC had no authority to re-direct the traffic. So far this seems to have been working.I suggested that the tree overhanging The Lychgate, and also extending over the War Memorial, needs urgent attention. I suggested that I was happy to provide some funding for the costs, if the PC would consider matching my contribution. Again, could this be added to the next PC meeting. Jenny Lewis has agreed to make an application of £70.00 for the lifebelt holder that will be located by the pond.It is clear that the PC is suffering from poor communications with EHDC (various departments). This is a subject close to my heart as in a meeting that I recently had with the CEO, I raised this subject as there seems to be similar issues throughout my district. Sandy Hopkins has agreed to look into specific examples of two issues that I am currently dealing with in the Bentworth area. If any of the PC do not receive a response to a request for help or advice within a reasonable time period, could I ask you to escalate it to me. I will then take the matter up with the appropriate department. As I have said, this seems to be a common problem.The ongoing issue of dog fouling where the plastic bags are being hung on the trees and hedges at Holt End, is unacceptable. I propose to seek help and advice from the enforcement office to see if we could solicit the help of an Enforcement officer to patrol the area at the specific times that the dog walkers are active. I am quite happy to take this issue up with Sandy Hopkins as it seems that Jenny is being bounced from one department to another with no real progress being made despite her best efforts. Once again could this be added to the agenda for the next PC meeting as I will need copies of the e-mails too and from EHDC to help me resolve this.Finally, I would like to thank the Chairman and the PC for the hard work and due diligence that they all provide as volunteers to the PC.Many thanks and keep up the good work
7 / Electors Open Forum:
  • Many residents in attendance supported paying more council tax and keep / improve the services provided
  • One resident asked the PC if they have a view on the recycling plant closure in Alton – MKG confirmed that the Alton branch would not close
  • Fly tipping on Trinity Hill – TC responded that as it’s not on public highways it won’t be removed; it will be down to the landowner. NG suggested a social media approach to fly-tipping possibly to name and shame.
  • Why do Highways wait to cut the hedges when the verges are wet and soggy – JL because the cutters are sticking to a timetable.
  • NG traffic survey was done on one day and should have been over a period of time.
  • EHDC – do not respond quickly or at all to queries. TC suggests he sends any queries to him.
  • FM rang the fly-tipping number and reported dead carcass on the road which was removed quickly so she would like to say thank you….

8 / Closure of Meeting:
Chairman DH closed the meeting at 9.26

Signed ……………………………………………………. Date ………………………………………………