HIGHCLERE PARISH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

 

Minutes of a meeting held in Penwood Village Hall on Monday 15 April 2002

 

Present on behalf of Highclere Parish Council

Councillor Mrs S Roberts, Chairman of Highclere Parish Council

Councillor I Davidson

Councillor J Pearson

Councillor R East

 

Also Present

County Councillor John Wall

Mr Andrew Blaxland, Forward Planning Manager Basingstoke and Deane Planning dept

Acting Police Inspector Julie Young

Plus approximately seventy parishioners

 

Apologies for Absence

Councillor T Farmer

Borough Councillor Patrick Hedgeland

 

1/02 WELCOME

The Chairman welcomed the assembly and was pleased to see so many present

 

2/02 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR

(a)    Traffic Calming measures have been implemented

(b)   There were no projects undertaken as part of the Hampshire Paths Partnership due to the foot and mouth crisis

 

3/02 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Sue Roberts outlined the activities of the Council during the previous year.

The Council now deals with a great deal of information and change, and is consulted by all levels of Government.  This inevitably means more work.   The local plan has been one of the biggest consultations on which the Council has passed comment, and it has also passed comment on the planning green paper

 

There were over 50 planning applications considered and commented upon, and several projects initiated by the Council have been completed during the year including additional lighting installed in a footpath at Woodlands; security lighting and entrance system in flats at Woodlands; and a new bus shelter has been erected at Penwood.  The Parish Council has taken over from the Penwood Residents Association, in consultations with the Borough and County Council and the Police on providing youth facilities in an attempt to reduce vandalism. This will be an on-going project. 

Councillor Ian Davidson undertook to identify grid references for the Parish's houses and the list is now nearly complete.  This will assist emergency services to locate properties quickly.  The Council will take this forward and review the best way of communicating this information to residents.

The Traffic Calming scheme will be monitored over the next few months, and all present were given a questionnaire for their observations.  Councillors along with representatives from Hampshire County Council will shortly be meeting to walk the route and review the measures.

3/02 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT continued

Much time has also been given to the Penwood Village Hall lease.  Negotiations have been taking place with the Borough Council and this Council has engaged a solicitor to act on behalf of both the Council as custodian trustee and the Penwood Village Hall committee. At his recommendation, the Council is seeking a change in policy by the Borough Council regarding rent assessment for village halls.

 

The Chairman stressed the need for the Council to be aware of the wider issues in the borough

 

The Council has successfully petitioned for its membership to be increased to eight and the Parish is now warded with four Penwood Councillors and four Highclere Councillors.  All have been elected unopposed to serve for the next term and those present were introduced

Three of the current Council will be continuing but Councillor Ian Davidson and the Chairman herself did not seek re-election and will retire.

The Chairman thanked all the Parish Councillors, the Clerk and the Borough Councillor, for their hard work and support during her term in office.

Thanks were given to the litter wardens. Bill Bendle and Colin Corrall for their hard work.

 

4/02 COUNTY COUNCILLOR'S REPORT

Councillor JohnWall referred to the Traffic Calming and regretted that the work had been implemented in a piecemeal manner but felt that it gave the result that it had set out to achieve.

It was necessary to educate drivers to drive reasonably and with the hardware in place a review can now be undertaken and adjustments made.  Multiple speed cameras and a strong police presence could only be considered in "heavy accident" areas, which mercifully Highclere was not.  This policy had his full support. The accident record at the Penwood Crossroads however had fluctuated over the years as various improvements were put in place.  Several schemes including traffic lights and roundabout are currently being considered to make it safer.

Councillor Wall then commented on the new system of Local Government and the "leader and cabinet" set up at Hampshire County Council.  Many County Councilors who were not part of the cabinet disliked the system and now felt sidelined, and with the exception of Education he felt that the standards committees were not yet effective.  He will continue to press for action on behalf of his constituents.  He commented on the Government' s proposals for regional government which in order to be successful needed democratic bodies to implement the system and power disseminated down from Whitehall.  Until this was in place the present tiers of local government should remain.  There is also consultation on making local government more effective by means of a Council league table, whereby best performing Councils will be rewarded with more money.  He is opposed to this and feels that the best way to deal with a failing Council is not to vote them in for a further term.

 

5/02 BOROUGH COUNCILLOR'S REPORT

Councillor Patrick Hedgeland was absent and his report was read by Mr Tim Jardine

Councillor Hedgeland was not seeking re-lection and will retire at the end of his term.  He had enjoyed working with the Parish Council, which he felt was very active and capable.  He had assisted in acquiring the bus shelter and lighting at Penwood and improvements to Highclere Village Hall, as part of the Rural Strategy. 

The new" leader and cabinet" system of Government at Basingstoke presented challenges.

He had been involved in setting the policy criteria for officers to use when selecting suitable sites for consideration for future development in the Local Plan over the next ten years. 

He has campaigned continually against "double taxation" in the countryside where many services are charged to the Parish Precept, but are provided by the Borough Council without additional charge in urban areas.

6/02 PARISH ACCOUNTS

The Clerk stated that Last year Parish Councils were advised that if income was below £50000 the District Auditor would accept a receipts and payments only format.  This Council has however decided to keep full accounts with Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet. 

The accounts presented were for the year-end 31 March 2002 and had been internally audited by a member of the Council, but not yet by the District Auditor

At the beginning of the financial year 2000/2001 there was a fund balance of only £267, which was criticised by the district auditor as being too low.  This year (2001/2002) there was a healthier opening balance of  £2250 but this was only because the traffic-calming scheme was delayed and the £2000 contribution from the Parish had not yet been paid over.

The precept was increased to maintain a proper working fund in line with the District Auditor's recommendations.  This year we also had additional income of £3763.00 by way of specific grants.  This was money from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council for lighting and bus shelter at Penwood. 

The Parish Council has given money towards the cemetery maintenance, paid the contribution towards the traffic-calming scheme, and paid legal fees in connection with renewing the lease to Penwood Village Hall.  A new notice board for the outside of Highclere Village Hall has also been purchased.

This coming year the precept is £10355, which is a cost of  £14.94 per annum for a band D property.  The Council has made a provision for up to £1500 towards the celebrations for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and £1040 towards the continued cemetery maintenance. 

This year our precept is tenth lowest out of 37 parishes, and we are still considered a low spending Parish

The Reverend Tim Horsington then gave the report of the Charities accounts.  The two accounts produced a little interest each year.  There were two meetings a year and at the November meeting it was always decided how to spend the interest.  Twenty four tins of biscuits were bought and distributed to the elderly, and two cheques of ten pounds each were give to each of the school libraries at Woolton Hill.

 

7/02 UPDATE ON CEMETERY MAINTENANCE

Mr Chris Buckingham addressed the meeting.  The payments for burial and internment of ashes did not cover the on going maintenance of the cemetery and he was pleased that the Parish Council had provided funds.  The money was used towards grass cutting and tree pruning and also towards repairing the paths within the cemetery.  The main path was now repaired and the works would continue on the other paths.  

The Chairman then asked if the Cemetery was becoming full and the Rev Tim Horsington said that there was still some space but cause for concern in the long term.

 

8/02 QUEENS GOLDEN JUBILEE

Mr Ron Snipp described how various groups in the Parish have put forward a representative to form a committee to plan celebrations for the Queens Golden Jubilee.  The celebrations will begin on Saturday 1st June at 7.30pm at St Michael and All Angel's church.  There will be a "Champagne" preview of a local history exhibition and floral celebration.  This will also be open on Sunday 2nd June from 12.00noon until 4.00pm and on Monday 3 June from 10.00pm until 4.00pm.  The church service on Sunday will be celebratory with a group photograph taken after the service.

 On Monday 3rd June there will be a Parish Picnic in Maber's Field, Highclere Park by kind invitation of Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon. From 4.00pm until 6.00pm there will be children's games and pony rides and then there will be a Parish Photograph taken for the archives.  All parishioners will be invited with their families and friends to bring their own picnic or buy fish and chips from a mobile stall. 

There will be a marquee and music for dancing and dining until 10.00pm will be provided by local groups and a disco,  At 10.00-10.15 pm a beacon will be lit at Beacon Hill and will be seen from Maber's field.  

This is all still at planning stage and a lottery grant has been sought to bring the Parish together for this event.  Volunteers will be required to assist in various functions.

 

9/02 REVIEW OF THE LOCAL  PLAN

Mr Andy Blaxland, Forward Planning Manager from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council addressed the meeting.

His team is responsible for the "Local Plan" and also works on the "Rural Strategy" There is £150,000 available in the Rural Strategy budget for this year compared with £50,000 available in the previous year.  The following year this will be increased to £250,000.  He urged the Parish to bid for funds if there was a suitable project.

The local plan identifies land within the Borough suitable for forward development.  The plan also contains the policies, which are used to determine planning applications.  Over 2000 planning applications are considered each year.  The present plan ran until 2001, but continues until reviewed and replaced.  There have been 230 sites across the borough put forward by developers and landowners for inclusion in the new plan. There have been thousand of comments passed on these sites, and hundreds of comments from parishioners on the sites in Highclere Parish.  In July decisions will be made on the sites to go forward to the next version of the local plan.  This will be published in the Autumn and there will be a six week period for objections to anything in the plan or missed out of the plan.  A revised version of this document will be published in 2003. There will then be a period of public consultation and in 2004 a public enquiry in front of an independent inspector.  The final version will be approved in 2005. 

The Borough Council has to find land for between six and eight thousand houses between 2001 and 2011 but by focusing on brownfield sites, only 1500 houses will be built on greenfield sites. The larger settlements will be built around major towns and not rural villages where there is a lack of facilities. 

Section 106 monies are collected from a developer towards improving local facilities and the Borough Council is reviewing the way they seek contributions and how they are used.  The Parish Council will be consulted.  A suitable use of funds might be to acquire land, which could be used for a new Cemetery.

The planning green paper proposes fundamental change to the current system.  It proposes to cut out the County (structure plan) level, replacing it with a regional level.   The planning system will be speeded up and easier to use.

There was then a short question and answer session

                                                                                                                                     

10/02 PRESENTATION OF THE TREE AND HEDGEROW SURVEY

Mr Peter Bigby said that two years ago he had surveyed the trees and hedgerows in Penwood, and last year a team of volunteers had begun to survey the rest of the Parish.  There was still a large area to be surveyed and more volunteers were needed.  If everyone just gave details of the trees on their own land it would help.  In particular a large area at Horris Hill still needed surveying.  There will be a meeting in Westridge House on 29 April for volunteers and he urged everyone to attend.  With the aid of a local heritage Initiative grant, Ariel photographs to help volunteers and display screens have been purchased, and Peter had set up an excellent informative display for the meeting.   The intention was to produce the survey of the whole of the parish on CAD drawings, which may then be held at the records office at Winchester.

 

 

 

11/02 PRESENTATION OF THE VILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT

Mr Michael Roberts said that after many months of meetings, detailed discussions with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, and finally consultation with developers, major landowners, and businesses, the statement was now complete with the exception of the inclusion of photographs and plans.  There will be a limited printed version plus an Internet version.  The final version will be submitted to Basingstoke and Deane in June before the first draft of the Local Plan, and the team is hopeful that it will be adopted as supplementary planning guidance. There were copies of an earlier draft design statement on display

 

12/02 QUESTION TIME

Acting Inspector Julie Young had to leave the meeting before question time but had advised the Chairman that if there were any questions these should be passed to her.

One parishioner asked what could be done about young children who were tormenting other children and the elderly, and destroying property.  She detailed recent incidences. 

The Chairman said that the Police, the Schools and Social Services were aware of the antisocial behaviour of a few children and were acting on information supplied, and coordinators of neighbourhood watch who were present at the meeting confirmed that they also were aware of this.

The Clerk said that she has been advised that Hampshire Constabulary hope to have a mobile police station, which will visit the area. 

Many in the audience were surprised to hear of the problems, and all were keen that they should be dealt with promptly.

All the information gained at the meeting will be passed to the police.

 

 

 

 

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE CHAIRMAN THANKED ALL CONTRIBUTORS, DECLARED THE MEETING CLOSED, AND INVITED EVERYONE TO PARTAKE OF REFRESHMENTS AND VIEW THE DISPLAYS.