Present

In Attendance

148

AVON DASSETT PARISH COUNCIT

Minutes of Meeting held at the Reading Room onMonday 5 February 2OOl

A Fraser; D Brcngwyn (paft attendance); J Burgess; L Hope-Frcst;K Martin (part attendance); Cllr C Williams;Cllr D Booth (paft attendance); Cled<

PC R Joy

1. Apologies:

2. Declaration of Interest:A Fraser declared an interest in item 4.a) reference his connections with Jeremy Davies/

. Dassett Farms Ltd.\' Oerk advised all Councillors that paragraph 6 of the Declaration of Interest form requires thatCouncillors with an interest in propefi within the parish area - whether as an outright owneror as an owner subject to mortgage - must declare this. The Monitoring fficer has stated thatit is acceptable br Councillors to write to him separately (or via the Cleft) with any updates tothis effect instead of re-writing the whole Delaration. All Councillors to action.

3. Confirmation of Minutes:The minutes of the preMous meeting were apprwed as correct by L Hope-Frost and secondedby D Brangwyn; they were then signed by A Fraser.

4. Matters Arising:Note: In order to accommodate PC Rod Joy, item 4.h) was discussed first.a) Relocation ofTree & Memorial Plaoue - no progress made.

b) Readino Room - D Lawson to commence works on 14 February.Ught bulb to lamp outside Reading Room to be replaced.Awaiting quotes for wall-mounted hot water heater for the kitchen area and for an electrical

. assessment of the Reading Room.\z Contents of bank safe now known; no deeds for Reading Room found. Fufther enquiries tobe made at Warwick Records ffice and with Charlie Worrall.

c) 'Soeed Aware'- A Fraser has applied for'Speed Aware' pack.

J Burgess had contacted J Hickman and requested a written repoft of his recent(unsuccessful) investigations with regard to traffic calming in Avon Dassett in order that thisinformation be kefi on file. Request made for updates of any new Uaffic calming initiativesthat may be applicable to the village in the future.

d) Plavoround - Safety repoft received and reviewed by A Fnser.J Burgess notified the Council of the worsening condition of the hedge; interim repairs to beundeftaken.M Mann instructed to carry out repairs to playground (including hedgerow) - start date to bedetermined.

e) Burial Ground - Review process of the 'Rules for the Avon Dassett Cemetery' undenruay.

f) Parish Website - No information received from SDC. Clerk recommended Sony Vaio FE4LElaptop to be purchased (f770 inc VAT); Council approval given.Clerk instructed to contact BT for installation of telephone lindbroadband connection toReading Room.Broadband seryice providerc to be investigated.

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g) Parish Plan - Meeting had taken place with Parish Plan Steering Group and Parish Council onThursday 25 January; latest vercion of Draft Plan copied to Councillors; awaiting prioritisationof action points frcm Steering Group.

h) Communitv Policino/l.leiohbourhood Watch - rc Rod Joy attended the meeting to introducehimself to the Parish Council and provide an update on local policing initiatives. Forcewebsite: www.safer-neighbourhoods.co.uk launched inmrporating regular publication of localrural crime summary, good news stories, local safer neighbourhood schemes, etc; withinwhich ruralcommunities enouraged to publicise local schemes (eg F€te).Paftnership approach to'Partners and Communities Together' (PACI) - letter from PoliceSergeant Mandy Crust reference the Safer Neighbourhoods programme to be e-mailed orcopied to all Councillors - Clerk to action.Cllr Williams reported that the Neighbourhood Watch rheme promoted the arailability ofone co-ordinator per 15-20 houses in order that information be disseminated quickly.PC Joy exchanged contact details with L Hope-Frost and D Brangwyn with regard toNeighbourhood Watch scheme.

i) Floodino at Lower End - Sarern Trent Water activity repofted at the lower end of the village;howerer it is unknown as to whether this is in relation to requests from the Parish Council.J Burgess to make enquiries to local householders.Cllr Williams to investigate what information is held at SDC reference drainage netrarork inAvon Dassett.Cllr Williams stated that no monies are available from SDC to support individual rcsidentswiUt flooding problems. He suggested that the Parish Plan mechanism may be a moresuitable method by which to apply for community grants to support an initiative to improvedrainage for the village as a whole.

5. Correspondence:Communitv Links Social Transoort Proiect - SDC request Iocal promotion of transport scheme;information posted on Reading Room noticeboard and copied to Compton Chrcnicle. CllrWilliams askd for telephone numbers of possible scheme users.WALC Seminar - Annual briefing seminar to be held on 10 March - J Burgess or D Brangwyn toattend. Cheque rcised at the meeting.Best Kept Villaoe Comoetition - L Hope-Frost to mmplete application form. Cheque raised atmeeting.2005 Plavoround Inspection Reoort - A Fraser reviewed document produced by SDC (see item4.d) above).Hiohwavs Minor Capital Works - e-mail from Cllr Booth requesting suggested schemes.Chairman to assist Clerk in application to provide layby for up to 6 vehicles at the Playground.Small Business Rate Relief - application form completed and retumed to SDC by Clerk.'Movino Pictures'- ufrate from sDC regarding proposed rural cinema scheme.Street Liohting Maintenance 2007/8 - quotation received from WCC. Clerk to write to acceptterms.'Celebration of Excellence' Desion Award 2007 - nominations requested by SDC.Minerals Core Strateov - document received from WCC requesting completion of questionnaire.

Plannino - A provisional date was set for the next e><traordinary planning meeting on Thursday22February 2007 at 7.30 pm in the Reading Room, should responses to applications berequired prior to the next ordinary Parish Council meeting.Consent was given to re-site existing stables at Pump House Cottage to Mr N Paxton.With rcference to the application to construct 5 garages at land south-west of 3 Lower Terrace,an e-mail to Les Greenwood at SDC Planningoutlining the need for adequate drainage at th

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6. Financial Statement:Balances at close of business on Monday 5 February 2007:

Current acmuntDeposit account

Cheques to be issued:

8270.20 crditf 11,101.00 credit

a) M Maughan (Clerk's pay)b) J Kipling (Cleaning)c) WRCC - Best Kept Village Competitiond) WALC - Briefing Seminar

€100.00f 16.00f 15.00f35.00

The payment of cheques was proped by L Hope-Frost and seconded by J Burgess.

7. Council Repoft:Cllr Williams presented his report - attached.Cllr Williams rcported that a survey of volume of business in rural Post Offices was to beundertaken in the district.CIlr Booth stated that fie County Council budget will E set on 6 February 2007. E4m ofadditional funding is likely to be allocated to Adult Social Services.A review of ffie Firc Serulce is to be undeftaken.County Council ffice accommodation under review in atempt to reduce costs.Cllr Booth repofied that the County Council wished to retain a 2 tier local governmentorganisation with close working between District and County to create a 'seamless seruice'.

8. Any Otlrer Business:a) Clerk to order copies of 'Good Councillors Guide' from WALC for all Parish Councillors.b) CD Toolkit distributed via WALC to be issued to all Councillors - Clerk to action.c) Update given reference 'Code of Conduct' meeting of 29 January attended by Chairman and

Clerk - hanUouts copied to Councillors.d) A Fraser in contact with WALC reference mntract of employment for Parish Council

employees.e) HaMng had the oppoftunity to read/copy documents of note, J Burgess to retum documents

to bank safe.

9. Questions from the Public: None.

lO.Date of Next Meeting:The no<t meding will be held on Monday 12 March 2007 at 7.30 pm in tlrc Reading Room.Meeting closed at 9.45 pm.

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Avon Dassett Parish Council Meeting 05.02.07.District Councillor's Report

The Council is still putting its final touches to next year's budget. Present indications arethat it will result in a 3.5Yo increase in Council Tax. This is lower than last year and thiswill meaq if previous yeaf,s a.re anything to go by, Stratford will be the lowest taredauthority in Warwickshire and in the lowest quarter for the whole country. We haveachieved this lower tax, not by disinvesting or making any cuts in service but byefficiencies. We will be investing in improving our CCTV equipment and spending moneyspecifically targetting those households who currently do not undertake any form ofrecycling. It is noticeable that the culture of not recycling is more prominent in urban,rather than rural, areas. There was a public meeting on Monday in Stratford to discussbudget proposals.

The weekly surgeries held by our planning officers in Southam have been very successful.This free service provides pre-application advice for those people who intend to carry outwork requiring planning permission. This advice not only saves time but ultimately moneyfor both the applicant and the council.

The Spatial Strategy, in other wordg how many houses are to be allocated in our district forthe period 20ll-2025 seems to be crystallising at a figure of 5,000, This means that theannual allocation could be only 350 houses per year throughout the district. This figure isnot only considerably less than was previously anticipated but has grven us a problem as faras the allocation of social housing is concerned. Currently, for every 100 houses built 35have to be social houses. With the current figures indicated we will only be providing 100houses a year which is far below the ambitions of our council to improve the housingproblem. The good news is, however, that with such a low requirement it will not benecessary to consider developing new settlements. On the other hand, we could addressour complete housing requirement by developing one new settlement and not allowing anyfurther dev6lopment throughout the district. I cannot imagine that this proposal would besupported!

You will have heard directly from Southam Police Station that an initiative, in conjunctionwith County, District and Parish Councils, is being started where Parish Councils becomeinstrumental in ensuring that local concerns regarding safer neighbourhood iszues are heardat their monthly meetings. It is hoped that members of the public will be encouraged toattend local Parish Council Meetings and voice their concerns. Attendees should be givenan opportunity to provide as much detail as possible whether it is local nuisance youths,graffiti, fly tipping or general fears of crime. They can vary from policing problems suchas speeding cars or environmental issues such as street lighting. A member of the policewill be in attendance at every Parish Council Meeting and this awareness will provideinvaluable information in maintaining this area as the local centre for crime in SouthWarwickshire. This whole process goes under the name of PACT which stands forPartners Approach and Communities Together.

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CRW0s.02.07.