HIGHCLERE
PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held at
Highclere Village Hall on Tuesday 10 July 2001
Present
Councillor Mrs S Roberts
Chairman
Councillor I Davidson
Councillor J Pearson
Councillor R East
Councillor T Farmer
Also Present
Mr R Wood
99/01 MINUTES OF THE LAST
MEETINGS
Minutes of the meeting held on 12 June and extraordinary meeting held
on 28 June 2001, having been circulated were taken as read, agreed by
Councillors, and signed by the Chairman.
100/01 MATTERS ARISING FROM
THE ABOVE MINUTES
1. The Clerk has
written to Mr Martin Ridgeway, Chief Executive's department, Basingstoke and
Deane, outlining problems recently experienced with grant applications. The subject has been placed on the agenda
for the Clerks' Parish Liaison Meeting on 5th September
2. All "footpath closed" signs placed by Council members have now
been removed, and it was noted that several signs placed by farmers have also
been removed. The Chairman was aware of
one public footpath fingerpost over which the land-owner had placed a plastic
bag, and volunteered to check that this has been removed.
3. HAPTC have produced an excellent guideline for determining a Parish
Council's Precept. Each Councillor was
given a copy for reference.
4. The Clerk has secured additional funding towards the bus shelter at
Penwood from Hampshire County Council.
HCC has agreed to give £256.50 towards this cost.
5. Mr Martin Bennett of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has confirmed
that the "Footway Programme" is delayed and no decision has been
taken as to which schemes will be included.
6. Councillor Tom Farmer stated that traffic calming works were allegedly
finished, but he believed that they were incomplete and had made no
difference.
The
Clerk drew attention to the letter from Jim Soutar, copied to Councillors and
referred to during the May meeting. This set out a revised timetable and the
remainder of the works were not likely to occur until Autumn.
The
meeting was adjourned by the Chairman to allow parishioner/observer Mr Robert
Wood to address the meeting. The
meeting then continued.
The Chairman countered criticism that white lining and traffic islands
had little effect so far, and that other measures should have been first
implemented. Independent contractors
are employed by Hampshire County Council to complete a specific task on a
network of roads. Other contractors
will complete different tasks. The
order and follow-on of implementation is out of our control and the Parish can
only judge effectiveness after all works are completed.
101/01 BOROUGH COUNCILLOR'S REPORT
The Borough
Councillor was not present and had not submitted a report.
102/01
CORRESPONDENCE
The
following correspondence has been received and relevant information copied to
Councillors:
1. Letter from Mrs Smith, 10 Woodlands re speeding
traffic on road into Woodlands estate.
Approximately
four years previously, this was investigated by Hampshire County Council,
Highways department, but no calming measures were deemed warranted.
It
was considered that this should not be an agenda item unless further
representation is made by more residents, and more new facts are available.
2. Email from Robert Wood outlining his personal
feelings expressed verbally to
Councillor Farmer re Traffic Calming
3. HCC Transport Conference 20 September from 9.15 in
Winchester £10
Councillor
Ian Davidson will consider the usefulness of this meeting
4. HCC Bus Shelter provision and maintenance survey
Clerk will complete
It
was noted that maintenance provision could affect budgeting for next precept
5. BDBC Planning and transportation bulletin
6. HAPTC response to DETR Model code of Conduct
Councillor
Tom Farmer will consider how this compares to the response he compiled for this
Council
7. HAPTC response to DETR revision of PPG 7
8. HAPTC bulletin 199 for June
9. BDBC Notice re Mobile Shop and Post office licence
103/01 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
The following planning
applications were received and considered.
BDB50909/12 Farthings
Highclere Street, Erection of a single storey rear extension and rear porch,
listed building consent.
No objection subject to the
following condition:
The rear porch will cover interesting beams,
and if those are the listed feature then the porch should not be
permitted. A flat roof though would not
be an acceptable alternative.
BDB50969 Land East of
Enborne Row, Wash water
31 dwellings incorporating
10 affordable housing units, access roads and landscaping
This application falls within the West
Berkshire Parish of Enborne, but North Hampshire Parishes are invited to comment. Councillors felt that this proposal should
be refused on the following grounds:
The same acreage of adjoining land is
developed but supports only eighteen properties. This proposal is over development and out of keeping with the
local character. The site is not
suitable for affordable housing, due lack of public transport, local shops and
facilities.
It was agreed that Enborne Parish Council
should be consulted before the Clerk submitted this Council's observations.
104/01 OTHER PLANNING MATTERS
Notification of the
following planning approvals have been received:
BDB50297 4 Mount Close,
Mount Road, Highclere
Increase roof height of side
annexe
BDB50079 Brook House,
Andover Road, Wash Water
Erection of single storey
front extension
Notification of the
following planning refusal has been received:
BDB50106 The Old Forge,
Hollington Cross
Change of use from a forge
to a dwelling
Correspondence from
Basingstoke and Deane B.C. has also been received regarding:
Pruning of dangerous oak at
4 Mount Close and erection of close-boarded fence at Byeways Tubbs Lane.
105/01 REPORTS FROM MEETINGS
ATTENDED
Basingstoke District Local
Plan, briefing meeting 5 July, report by Councillor Davidson
Persons attending the meeting were briefed on
the process of preparing the next local plan.
A register of proposed development land is currently compiled and can be
viewed on the Borough Council's website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk . Alternatively there will be a presentation
at Clere School on July 18th from 1715 until 2100. It was stressed that ten times the number of
required sites has already been submitted.
There are six sites identified within Highclere, three sites at Penwood,
and one site at Washwater (Listed under Woolton Hill). Comments are required before 28 September
2001. Those sites will be assessed over
the next 6-9 months. Additional sites
are likely to be added up to the closing date of September 2002 and there will
be a further opportunity to comment on any new site added to the register. The revised deposit plan will be presented
in 2003.
Concern was expressed that objections
expressed now were available for the public, including developers to see. It was agreed that a meeting should be held
after 18 July in order to formulate a response . The village design statement team and the Parish Society would
also be responding and in order to avoid duplication, it was suggested that
information could be shared. It was
agreed that the Chairman and Councillor Ian Davidson would put together a
timetable, and the Clerk would put the details on the website.
DAPC meeting 26 June, report
by Councillor Mrs Roberts
There was a good presentation on water in
Hampshire, and water collection was promoted.
All Parish Councillors agreed on the merit of water collection and in
order to encourage this, it was agreed that the Chairman should ask the village
design statement team to consider this.
106/01 GRID REFERENCES
Councillor Ian Davidson has consulted with
the Hampshire Ambulance Service, and the project to supply grid references for
properties was welcomed. References
could be given in batches for entry on to the Service's computer network. There followed a discussion and Councillors
agreed to proceed with this project.
Councillor Davidson agreed to manage the process of identifying grid
references, which could be done via the Web.
The Clerk will put a request on to the
village website, for volunteers with unlimited Web access, to assist.
107/01 LITTER DAY AT PENWOOD
Councillor East, in his role as
representative of the Penwood resident's association, has been in contact with
Blanche Miles, the officer responsible for litter collection at Basingstoke and
Deane Borough Council. She is
organising a major clear-up of dumped items at Woodlands and Heathlands. There
will also be a mail-shot to residents reminding them of their responsibilities
and the services that the Borough Council can provide. Following on from this, the headmaster of
Woolton Hill County Junior School, Mr Gent, has agreed to hold a workshop at
assembly for his pupils, to raise awareness of the importance of controlling
litter. Blanche has suggested that this
becomes a joint Parishes project, supported by both Highclere and Woolton Hill
Parish Councils, and that the other schools in the area should be
involved.
A litter day at Penwood is also proposed with
the children, under adult supervision collecting as much as possible. Black bin bags and litter pickers will be
provided, and badges and small gifts will be handed out. Councillor East thought it was also possible
to seek sponsorship from groups and businesses to provide certificates and
small prizes for the day.
Councillors agreed that they should support
this project, which Councillor East should continue to manage. The Chairman considered that it might become
an annual event, which in the future could possibly be combined with bulb
planting. The Clerk was asked to
contact East Woodhay Council.
.
108/01 YOUTH FACILITIES AT PENWOOD, UPDATE
Notes of the meeting held in May have been
provided to all who attended and to all Parish Councillors.
A Petition has been received against a
skate-board ramp and youth shelter
behind the Spar Shop. The Clerk has
written to each household listed on the petition to advise that a public
consultation would take place before any facilities were provided.
Mr Jon Gates who was the crime prevention
officer for Hampshire Constabulary has recently taken over as Borough Community
Safety Officer
It was at the suggestion of Mr Gates that new
youth facilities were being considered.
The proposed youth shelter could be placed near to, but not impacting on
to the children's swings in Heathlands.
A formal offer of funding was still awaited.
109/01 PENWOOD VILLAGE HALL LEASE, UPDATE
Miss Anne Carney, from Community Action
Hampshire, who kindly passed comment on the proposed lease, has now passed the
draft lease itself on to the ACRE solicitor.
It was agreed that the Council should take no further action until his
views on the matter were received.
110/01 ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT
The following accounts were approved for payment:
C Corrall, W Bendle
111/01 COUNCILLOR'S
QUESTIONS
Councillor Farmer commented that there was clearer vision to the South
when exiting Star Lane to join the A343 as the verge had been cut. He did not
believe that the hedgerow at Westridge had been cut yet, and this was needed to
improve things further.
The Clerk has already requested that the HCC Highways department cut
back the hedge and she will chase progress.
Councillor Pearson stated that a pick-up truck parked in the
shrub-land, off the road at Woodlands had now been removed, and was parked
legally on the road. The owner had been
told to remove it, by Mr Batting from Basingstoke and Deane Property Services.
Councillor Farmer expressed concern that contractors working at the
Halfacre site were parking their vehicles on the pavement at Arkwright
Close. The Clerk was asked to draw this
to the attention of the HCC Highways department. The road was also in a very muddy state.
There being no further
business the meeting was brought to a close.
There will be no Council Meeting in August.
The next meeting will be
held on Tuesday 11 September.
Planning meetings will be
called if necessary.