Minutes of the Meeting of Oakley and Deane Parish Council Held on April 14 2016

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OAKLEY AND DEANE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON APRIL 14 2016

Present: Mrs. Blackman ( Chairman), Mr. Bullions, Mr. Ellison, Mrs. Gavin, Mr. Hall, Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Hooker, Dr. Johnstone, Mr. Law, Mr. Parry, Ms. Tofts, Mrs.Taylor ( Borough Councillor).

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Mr. Favell, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Golding ( Borough Councillor).

1. Minutes

The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 10 March were reviewed and agreed a true record of the meeting. The chairman signed the minutes.

1. Notices, Circulars and Correspondence

a)The clerk circulated a letter from Kingsclere Parish Council congratulating the Neighbourhood Planning team on the success of the Referendum.

b)The clerk gave to members a News Release from the Memory Club in Oakley, issued by Hampshire Well Being Services.

c)The clerk informed members that she had been invited to a meeting with MP Kit Malthouse and the Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, on April 25th at Westminster. She advised that she has contacted Mr. Glasscock, who was head of the NP Group, to agree the questions to put to the Minister.

d)The clerk circulated a letter from the Methodist Church thanking the Parish Council for the donation made from the proceeds of Carols at the Pond.

1. Planning Matters

Planning Minutes

The council reviewed the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting on 17 March 2016. There were no comments.

Neighbourhood Plan

After the last Parish Council meeting, the NP team, after consultation with Electoral Services, confirmed they could issue notices encouraging voters to register a ‘yes’ vote. Subsequently, they commissioned and distributed leaflets to all residents. Mr. Bullions was asked to give the clerk a copy of his distribution list for future use. The printing of the leaflets required additional funding of £230.00 and approval for this was proposed by Mr. Ellison and seconded by Ms. Tofts. All members were in agreement.

The Chairman and the clerk attended the count, along with Mr. Golding.

The NP is due to be incorporated at a special council meeting at BDBC on 26th May – this is the 1stNP in the Borough to be incorporated and the only one to be included in the Local Plan.

Mr.Parry asked why information about what notices could and could not be distributed was not initially correct; Mrs. Taylor thought it could be because Oakley was the first Parish to get to this stage, and so the process was new to everyone.

The Chairman distributed a letter she had sent to the NP team thanking them for their hard work and congratulating them on a resounding success.

S106/CIL

The clerk had previously distributed to all members a report of a meeting attended by Mr. Golding, the Chairman, Mrs. Gavin and herself to discuss S106 and CIL funding. The conclusion of the meeting was that it is vital that a fully costed project list is kept and maintained ready to send to the Borough Planning Dept and it should cover all village facilities, not just those belonging to the Parish Council. Also, the Planning Committee should review any S106/CIL agreement when dealing with any planning application where these provisions apply. Mrs. Gavin informed members that we had missed out on possible funds from the Leamington Court development, as well as at Beech Tree Close.

Leamington Court

The chairman reminded all members of the Planning Committee that if they have objections to an application they should ensure that one of the members is available to attend BDBC Committee (should the application be referred to Committee) as well as sending comments. The clerk was asked to confirm with the Planning Team that all documents on the Planning Portal relating to Leamington Court were up to date.

Local Plan

The Inspector’s report into the Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan was published on 7th April. Mrs. Taylor informed all members that this covered all planning policy up to 2029, and the plan lists all greenfield sites allocated for housing. Included in the ‘’ main modifications’’ were a requirement for extra housing supply of up to 850 dwellings per annum, but sites around Oakley remained unchanged.

The Plan could be superseded if there was not a 5 year housing supply; there has been disagreement historically on how supply is calculated as there has to be a buffer in case identified sites either are not developed or are late. The Inspector said that the buffer needed to be only 2% over the whole period, which has resulted in a current 5.27 year supply.

Mrs. Taylor commented on how that might have affected the Beech Tree Close appeal, had the supply figure been available at that time.

The Borough had taken legal advice about the LWBTC decision and the proximity of the date of the decision to the Referendum but were advised that precedent suggests any appeal would be unsuccessful. Other towns and villages ( for example Bramley and Overton) had been even more badly affected by additional allocations than Oakley, and Mrs.Taylor suggested that due to the advanced state of the NP the Oakley allocations were not increased further.

Our NP will be incorporated into the Local Plan and will carry equal weight with this Local Plan. The Inspector has included the disputed ‘’ at least 150’’ allocation, rather than ‘’ approximately 150’’ clause.

Mrs.Taylor informed the members that Park Farm had bid for a site for 150 houses at an Examination in Public and while agreeing it was approved as a suitable site for development the extra dwellings were not approved.

As regards Manydown, the allocation of 3,400 houses remains unchanged as do the borders. There will be ‘ feathering’ at the western edge of the development to avoid having a hard edge to the western side. The proposed western bypass is not included in the current Local plan period, but a future crossing of the railway line to Basingstoke is included.

One change that is very important for all large scale developments is that identified funding for all infrastructure including roads has now to be included in the application.

South of the railway line, the housing supply has been reduced to no more than 300 houses (from 600) although the Fiveways Junction improvements are designed to resolve any issues in this area.

The plan will be adopted next month, and will give protection against speculative development.Ms.Tofts asked if it was thought developers would look elsewhere now the NP is in and Mrs.Taylor thought that is likely.

Land West of Beech Tree Close TPO’s

Mrs. Gavin and Mrs. Boutle had previously identified trees in the area of the development that needed protection, as they would likely end up in the gardens of the new houses (or indeed be removed before then). The BDBC Tree department originally advised that this did not need to happen at that time, but now have agreed to work with the EWP to get the TPO’s raised for the applicable trees.

Planning Training on 29th June

The clerk had previously forwarded to all members an email fromWhitchurch Town Council inviting anyone interested to join a training session on Planning being run by HALC. Ms. Tofts, Mr. Bullions, Mr. Hewitt, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hooker have all asked to go to the session, and so has the clerk.

1. Working Party reports

a)Burial Ground and Churchyard

Working Party reporthad been circulated prior to the meeting and no comments or queries were received from other members.

The Churchyard Gate is now repaired but the other side is slightly lower, possibly due to children swinging on it. The welder who fixed the left hand gate has agreed inspect the other side, to see if he can repair that as well. The cost to repair the right hand gate was £35.00 and Mr. Hall proposed, and Ms. Tofts seconded, that the payment was approved. All members were in agreement.

The Faculty for the wall repairs has been approved by the Diocese. However there are conditions and the document needs to be reviewed thoroughly before any action commences.

Fence repairs from the Well House have been completed.

Moles: the clerk had discussed the mole activity with the contractor who is responsible for the Burial Ground and he said that until the moles were gone, he would not be able to strim in that area. The clerk contacted two companies to obtain quotes to remove the moles but the members were not in favour of removing them. The clerk was asked to contact Larkstel as they are responsible for mole problems on the football pitches, to see what they do currently.

b)Enviroment

Litter Trolley: no update, but will be discussed at the next working party meeting.

Main Pond Clearance: as requested, the clerk contacted the company who did the work in February to ask if they would take on further work in the autumn and ongoing, and they agreed. The cost would be the same as previously. The WP will discuss at their next meeting.

Trees:Avon Road – the BDBC Tree advisor had not yet reported back, so this is carried over to May meeting; Willow at main pond– the clerk reported that the broken limb resting on the power cable was removed. Mr. Ellison commented that he believed that SSE should have been responsible for the work, but the clerk confirmed that although she had contacted SSE, because there was no actual power loss at the time, they would not come out until the following week and the risk of the power cable coming down was too great to wait that long; Holly Tree at Rose Cottage – the clerk had forwarded an email advising that the tree was being removed and replaced; Footpath 743 – Mrs. Taylor had established that the owners of the land in question were 37 The Vale and 8 Laurel Close. The clerk will contact the resident who asked for the information to advise her of the result.

Pouch Boxes: the clerk has had confirmation from Royal Mail that all pouch boxes will be removed within the next 12 weeks.

Planter: Mr. Hall distributed photographs of a former animal trough which is in his gargen, and which would be a suitable size and type for use as a planter in Oakley Lane. All members agreed. Mr. Hall advised that the planter would be free of charge but would require approximately 4 bags of compost to fill it. Planting will be agreed at the next WP meeting.

Poster Competition:the clerk had sent all members an article from Basingstoke Today, announcing a competition to design a No Smoking in Play Areas poster. Ms. Tofts had spoken with the school who are going to get the children involved. Mr. Ellison agreed that the Parish Councilsupports no smoking in play areas, but wondered how it could be policed.

Walkers are Welcome: OCA had forwarded to the clerk some details of the scheme, and she had distributed them to members. Whilst the Parish Council supports the scheme, members felt that the Ramblers would be better placed to action it, and the clerk was asked to contact the Ramblers.

Bench Policy: a resident has contacted the clerk to request that a memorial bench is erected in Hill Road. HCC has confirmed that they do not object. However, the policy is not clear on who is responsible for installation and so the WP and the Parish Governance WP were asked to review and update the Policy. Further, with the possible sale of the Manor House, the request that no more benches were erected around the pond may no longer be applicable. Mr.Ellison commented that more benches were required in both Peter Houseman and Newfound grounds, and if any further requests came through, a suggestion could be made to site the benches there if possible.

The Diamond Flower Bed is being replanted with summer plants.

Ponds: Mr. Ellison asked if a programme of rolling maintenance for both the Rectory Road and main ponds had been considered .The clerk was asked to chase the County Councillor for a response to the query about silt traps in the Rectory Road pond.

Land at Kings Orchard: Ms. Tofts and the clerk were unsuccessful in identifying the ownership of the land in question on the Land Registry website. Mrs. Taylor had used the Basingstoke GIS system and all it said on that area was ‘’ Electricity Substation’’ but Ms. Tofts advised that was a very small structure and the green space was quite large, so Mrs. Taylor will continue to research it.

c)Finance

Approval of Payments: Mr Ellison proposed and Mr. Hall seconded and it was resolved that the following payments be made:

Payee / Amount / Service / Status
The Clean Machine Direct / 214.98 / Bucket and Mop system / Paid
SW Contract Services / 180.00 / Tree work in Avon Road / Paid
Brightpay / 106.80 / Payroll Service 2016/17 / Paid
HMRC / 390.12 / March Contributions / Paid
M Bastick / 84.51 / Handyman Expenses / Paid
M Bastick / 293.75 / Handyman Salary / Paid
EE and T Mobile / 17.58 / Clerk Mobile phone March / Paid
SSE / 757.54 / Electricity for Newfound and Peter Houseman / Paid
Inker Tree Surgery / 120.00 / Remove tree limb at Oakley Pond / Unpaid
John Dollin / 590.00 / Village Show Programmes / Unpaid
Larkstel / 888.87 / Grounds maintenance / Unpaid
HALC / 608.00 / Affiliation Fees 2016/17 / Unpaid
HALC / 287.00 / NALC Levy 2016/17 / Unpaid
Basingstoke and Deane BC / 289.99 / Grounds maintenance / Unpaid
B Bedford / 54.69 / Expenses March / Unpaid
E Whitbread / 230.00 / Printing of NP flyers / Unpaid
T Harrington / 204.87 / Cleaning for March / Unpaid
Staples Ltd / 37.48 / Stationery / Unpaid
ProMow / 993.29 / Grounds Maint and Tree removal / Unpaid
Malshanger Estate / 32.76 / Water supply to 15/3/16 / Unpaid

Audit dates: the clerk advised members of the following key dates for the 2015/2016 audit- Submission date is 4th July 2016, Exercise of Public Rights is from 13 June to 22 July, and Publication of Annual Return is due by 30th September. The Chairman confirmed that the auditor had been appointed.

Training for new Councillors: the clerk confirmed that the majority of members who had replied had stated that the 1st June was the most suitable day for the training, and this was communicated to HALC. Further details will be issued nearer the time, and two Councillors from Laverstoke had been invited to attend the training as well.

Deane Churchyard Grant: The maintenance costs of the Churchyard at Deane is to be £815.00 for this year, and the Parish Council will provide 50% of that, so it was proposed by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Hooker that the clerk issue a cheque for £405.00 to All Saints Church. This was agreed by all members.

Hampshire Playing Fields Association: the clerk had received an invoice from HPFA for a subscription costing £40.00. Although the Parish had previously been a member, for some reason it had not renewed its subscription over the last few years. It was agreed that the clerk could make the payment; the Association provides small grants for play grounds and sports facilities across the county and is partly funded by (among others) HALC and HCC.

d)Highways

B3400 Bus shelters: Mr. Law has not had a response from HCC, and will ask the County Councillor at the Annual Parish Meeting on 26th.

Trenchards Lane: despite the research done by the Chairman and the clerk there is still no definitive answer to what this road is called. The clerk was asked to write to the resident who raised the issue and ask him if he would be happy with ‘’Dummer Lane’’ and if so, request the Borough to issue a new road sign.

St. John’s Piece Parking: Mr Bullions has not managed to contact the resident but has visited the area and has seen large vehicles parked on the grass verges. He will continue to try and speak with the resident to see if there is any way to assist.

Sunnymead Parking: Work on providing the new parking spaces has begun, on time.

Passenger Transport Forum: Mr. Bullions will attend the next meeting which is on 20th April, and will prepare a report for distribution to members.

e)Parish Governance

Freedom of Information Policy: Mrs Gavin is working on this.

Quarterly meetings with Borough Councillors: The chairman advised that previously she, the former clerk and sometimes the Vice Chairman had met on a quarterly basis with the Borough Councillors, and she proposed that this be reinstated. Mrs. Taylor was agreeable to this, and suggested that Monday would be a good day, and will arrange with Mr. Golding.

Working Party Terms of Reference: the clerk was asked to read the guide that the previous clerk prepared and extract the Terms of reference for working parties and distribute to all members.

f)Publicity

The Working Party report was issued to all members prior to the meeting.

Calendars: it was agreed that no calendar for 2017 would be produced as insufficient photographs were received.

Bags: the design has been agreed. The bags will sell for £5.50 each, producing a small profit. It was proposed by Mr. Ellison and seconded by Mr. Hooker that an initial quantity of 100 be purchased from Countryside Arts. All members agreed. Mr. Hall will contact the company to obtain a sample bag, and to arrange delivery in time for the Village Show.