HIGHCLERE PARISH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

 

Minutes of a meeting held in Penwood Village Hall on 28th April 2004

 

Present on behalf of Highclere Parish Council

Councillor Jim Pearson (Chairman)

Councillor Russ Castle

Councillor Amanda Hosie

Councillor Tom Farmer

Councillor Don Langan

Councillor Fitzroy Somerset

 

Also Present

County Councillor John Wall

Mr Patrick Hedgeland (Highclere Society)

Mr Ron Snipp (Highclere Village Hall)

Ms Nicky Hutchins (Community Warden Co-ordinator, BDBC)

Mr Paul Hayes (ASB Coordinator, BDBC)

Plus approximately 11 parishioners

 

Apologies for Absence

Councillor Robert Drew                              Rev’d Tim Horsington

Councillor Ray East                             Mrs Dulcie Martin

Mrs Sue Hedgeland                                 Mrs Heather Snipp

 

 75/04 WELCOME

The Chairman welcomed the assembly and thanked both guests and parishioners for attending.

 

76/04 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

The Chairman noted apologies from the above mentioned.

 

77/04 MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING

The minutes from the last meeting on 30th April 2004 having been made available were taken as read.

 

78/04 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

There were no matters arising.

 

79/04 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

The Parish Council now deals with an increased amount of work. Thanks to all the members of the Council for their hard work during the past year and to our former Borough Councillor Tim Jardine. Thanks also to our litter wardens Mr Bill Bendle and Mr Colin Corall. Thanks lastly but not least to our clerk Mrs Diana Mitchell for all her work throughout the year and also for organising this meeting tonight. Sadly the Rev. Tim Horsington cannot be here with his jokes left over from the Carol concert, since tonight is also the annual Church meeting.

HPC qualifies in most respects under the Government’s ‘Quality Councils’ programme. However this does also require that the Clerk obtains a particular paper qualification, regardless of his or her skills, experience etc. The Clerk at Newtown is a Chartered Accountant but still does not qualify. Diana does not have the time at present to attend college; she already works more hours than we pay for! I suggest we get Horace to read them the twelfth Chapter of Ecclesiastes, verse 12:  “much study is a weariness of the flesh and of making many books there is no end”. Of the making of paperwork to send to Parish Councils and their Clerks there certainly seems to be no end!

A Village Plan is in the process of being organised. The Village Design Statement already helps to bring development proposals into line with Highclere’s needs and local environment; the Village Plan will look more widely at future requirements for the health and well being of our communities.

There were 67 Planning applications during the past year; an increase of 26%. Thanks are due to the Planning Sub Committee, who look carefully at each of them; also to the Highclere Society who take a very active interest. We have had some successes in getting inappropriate development stopped or modified.

The electricity cable behind the Spar shop has been buried underground in preparation for possible future facilities in that area, as and when funding becomes available and subject to consultation with the residents. Proposals for a Youth Shelter are still at the design stage; comments as to a suitable site would be welcome.

Sadly the glass recycling bins had to be removed from the Penwood Village Hall car park following repeated vandalism; several Parishioners have commented on the improved tidiness. A bin was borrowed for trial use near the Spar shop, but quickly generated complaints about noise, damage and litter caused when certain persons encouraged children to jump on top of the bin. B&DBC received a petition, with fewer participants than the earlier consultation and some spurious names and addresses. The bin was being used about four times a day. Cllr David Potter and Mr Bob Brooks visited the site and had an altercation with one individual. Before the bin was removed the next day the bolts on the back were smashed so the glass fell out. Cllr Potter decided to remove the bin and consult the residents. Mr Brooks attended a HPC meeting in September 2003 when three suggestions were put to him.  None were taken up and it has now been suggested that B&DBC could produce a scheme of their own; they own 50 acres of land locally. HPC will resist any suggestion to re-site bins back at the old site next to this hall.

After prolonged negotiations and a lot of chasing, further traffic calming measures have been introduced on the A343 in Highclere. The early signs are that this is having some effect in slowing vehicles, especially large lorries.

We all owe a debt of thanks to Councillor Ray East for the extensive work he has done in a further survey of traffic at Penwood/A343 (Blind Mans Gate) cross roads. In Ray’s absence this evening Diana has put his report and details on display boards. We are concerned that the traffic might increase further when Junction 13 of the M4 is completed. The HCC recorder only checks traffic through Highclere and not cross traffic at this busy junction where children have to pass to get to school. We will continue to pursue actions to reduce accidents and improve pedestrian facilities there.

Penwood Village Hall lease is still under discussion. It is now nearly 10 years since the expiry of the original lease. We have been from 2 pages to 21 via 28 pages but are getting there. The lease has also gone from £11 a year to £2850 and we are now discussing a peppercorn rent thank to the efforts of our former clerk Mrs Pat Clarke. We might have it sorted by the anniversary in June!

We have had a donation from B&DBC of £500 which was not expected when setting the precept.  This is a sop for the double taxation on rural communities compared to those in the town. I hope that an additional sum will also be forthcoming next year, enabling us to maintain a low level for the precept.

 

80/04  COUNTY COUNCILLOR’ REPORT

Councillor John Wall was pleased to be able to attend the Annual Meeting because at this time of the year there were often several meetings on the same night. He was sorry for not having arrived till half way through the meeting, having already attended a parish meeting elsewhere. Cllr Wall reported as follows:

I am sure to cover items that have been heard already but I believe this highlights an important message. Most things that get done in a parish community involve some input from all levels of local government.

I intend to continue to be as active as possible a local member.  If response is slow on county matters, then please let me know and I can take action. I am happy to receive e-mail comments. I must say that the level of complaints and concerns expressed to me has been quite low, I hope this indicates that officers are taking care of most requirements.

A subject of frequent concern to residents has been the level of litter generally, but in particular on the trunk roads where local action is impossible and the originators of the litter are usually passing through. After a series of fairly fruitless complaints to all local areas of responsibility - namely the Highways Agency, the County and Basingstoke & Deane, I concluded that a more fundamental action was needed. I therefore proposed at a recent full Hampshire council meeting that the present divided responsibilities should be changed. The Highways Agency has responsibility for all activity on the trunk roads except for litter. I proposed that for very practical reasons they should have that duty imposed and that the local district authority (B & D in our case) should be responsible for auditing and enforcing a good standard of cleanliness. These proposals are to be considered by the next Environment Policy Review Committee and also at the next meeting between HCC and the Highways Agency. I shall keep up the pressure.

As I reported last year, County officers were examining options for improvements at the Penwood crossroads (Blindman's Gate). These have run into the sand for what on the face of it is a good reason. The cost of any major scheme that would make a difference is estimated at £100,000 and capital of that size is being put only where there are a high number of injury accidents. Our injury accident level is quite low by such standards. The only prospect of action would be from a spate of accidents (please not) or just perhaps from a concentrated letter writing campaign.

There is one other item that residents may find of interest. I became aware of a campaign to obtain recognition by the award of a medal to members of a diminishing band of brave people who crewed the Arctic convoys to Russia in World War 2. I was able to bring this to the attention of the council and received unanimous support. One of the members of this group of people was present in the public gallery and was welcomed by the Chairman and Leader of the council. Members were also able to sign the petition.

 

81/04 PARISH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS

The accounts for the year ended 31st March 2003 were duly audited and the Parish Council were advised by the District Auditor that there were no issues arising.

At the beginning of the financial year there was an opening balance of £5,221.00, which included provision for two items reapplied from the previous year.  These were fees for legal advice regarding the new lease for Penwood Village Hall and supplier costs relating to the Village Design Statement. Both these projects were still ongoing at year end.

The Parish Council had once again contributed towards cemetery maintenance and paid the Council’s contribution towards maintaining the village web site.

The total precept for the new financial year 2004/05 is £12,222.00.  This is higher than last year as £600 has been included for proposed lighting along Foxs Lane between the two estates Woodland and Heathlands, towards which HCC agreed to pay 50% of the costs.  £1,000 had also been included for work relating to the village plan. These are one off costs so that next year the precept should be lower. 

Since the precept has been set the Parish Grant of £500 has been raised to £1,000.  If the Parish Grant is the same next year this should also help to keep costs down and reduce the Precept.

 

82/04 HIGHCLERE CHARITY ACCOUNTS

In the absence of The Rev’d Tim Horsington the Clerk presented the accounts for the two Highclere Welfare Charities which consist of Highclere Relief in Need and Highclere Relief in Sickness.

The Trustees meet twice yearly.  Both accounts are very small with minimal interest which the Trustees use to distribute to Parishioners at Christmas time.  In 2003, 23 tins of biscuits were distributed and donations went to both St Thomas's Infants School and Woolton Hill Junior School. The total amount distributed in cash and kind amounted to £90.00.

 

83/04 THE ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOR COORDINATOR

Mr Paul Hayes from the ASB office gave a most interesting talk on his role as ASB Coordinator for the Borough. This was a new role created by Basingstoke & Deane about 18 months ago.  He explained that his background from being in the police force was a great help with this new role.  His role is to coordinate the activities of all agencies and organisations relating to antisocial behaviour – convening and chairing meetings, devising and following through action plans, ensuring that appropriate records are kept and generally working to reduce antisocial behaviour. The aim is to challenge and redirect young people and others who engage in antisocial behaviour, only using legal actions as the ultimate step where other methods fail, but being fully prepared to bring people to court where appropriate.

Mr Hayes then went on to talk about Youth Shelters and his involvement with them.  This was very relevant to the Council as they are actively considering the possibilities for a Youth Shelter at Penwood. 

Mr Hayes explained that youth shelters can be very successful in providing a safe place for young people to meet and interact but can also have pitfalls. The key factors are (a) an appropriate location; (b) ensuring that a shelter is what local young people really need and want; (c) ensuring that the young people concerned feel a sense of ownership towards the shelter. Local residents also need to buy-in to a youth shelter project and the ‘not in my backyard’ response has to be avoided or overcome.

In siting a shelter an open space with clear visibility and good lighting is important. The shelter itself should be well lit and Mr Hayes also cited a good example of a shelter from which a policeman standing under a street light some distance away could both observe the shelter and be clearly seen by the young people using the shelter.

Inappropriate sited or used a can become a place for inappropriate behaviour (drink or drugs), or for bullying or gang activities.

Mr Hayes is available to help by – for example – participating in meetings at which young people can discuss their needs, including the possibility of a shelter, and meetings at which local residents can raise questions and have them answered.

There were several questions asked at the end of his talk concerning the noise, damage and rubbish left around the shelters. The level of interest was high and this could have gone on all evening so the Chairman drew this part of the meeting to a close.

 

COMMUNITY WARDEN COORDINATOR

After Mr Paul Hayes had finished his talk Ms Nicky Hutchins, Community Warden Coordinator talked about this new role created by Basingstoke & Deane. The training for the community wardens started near the end of last year and they were on the streets by the first week in January.  As present this scheme is only working in five areas, with two wardens in each of these areas, all of which are around Basingstoke. The Community Wardens, working in shifts, are on the streets from 9.00am to 10.00pm. The Wardens work with any and every resident in their communities, from the very young to the elderly.

Even though the scheme is so new it is working really well.  Already crime rates are down and older citizens who were afraid to go out in the evening were now going out as they felt quite safe.

The wardens visit the schools, youth clubs etc and become well known by local children and adults. The wardens have no powers of arrest and do not bring charges against anyone, which helps them to establish a trusted relationship with everyone in the community. They do feed back any relevant information to the Police and call in the Police if a crime has been or is being committed.

The enthusiasm and commitment shown by both these speakers was impressive. The Chairman Councillor Jim Pearson thanked both Nicky and Paul for giving up their time to attend our meeting and give such interesting and useful talks. They were warmly applauded by those present.

 

84/04 HIGHCLERE SOCIETY

Patrick Hedgland , chairman of the Highclere Society gave a short talk on how the Society had evolved over the last 8 years.  It started with just a few residents feeling that they would like to be more involved with the village, and should work together to counter threats of development on a green field site. The Society are very involved with all local activities including the review of development planning, a History group and a Wildlife Group.

Last year, they discovered that newcomers to the village had the impression that a “Parish Society” must be either part of the Parish Council or part of the Church. Accordingly, the name was changed from “Highclere Parish Society” to “Highclere Society”; Mr Hedgeland emphasised that their activities and interests do still cover the whole of the parish area.

The Society now has 200 adult members, a remarkable achievement in such a small community.

The Society holds social events during the year including a B-B-Q and a wine tasting evening.  These are always very popular and sell out. Through this they are able to raise monies to help with research that they might wish to do. The Society has also built up reserves that can form a “fighting fund” in the event there is a future need for extensive action in protection of the local environment.

 

85/04  HIGHCLERE VILLAGE HALL

Mr Ron Snipp, Chairman of the Highclere Village Hall Committee gave a short talk on the background of the Village Hall. It was generously given to the village in 1942 by Godfrey Arkwright, a musician, who lived at Crowshot. There had been several problems with the hall over the years especially with rising damp. Last year the Management Committee gained planning consent for the hall to be extended and refurbished; now came the difficult task of raising the money. So far through fund raising £20,000 had been raised with another £18,000 from development gains, grants and other contributions. The full cost is expected to be £155,000. The detailed plans will be revealed at a launch meeting on June 1st and Mr Snipp cordially invited everyone at the meeting to attend.

 

The Chairman Mr Jim Pearson thanked him and also Mr Patrick Hedgeland for attending the meeting.

 

86/04 QUESTION TIME

Mr Ron Snipp raised concerns that after all the effort and costs of producing a VDS and getting it adopted by the Borough Council, the same council appears to take little or notice of it when reviewing planning applications. He felt that this is unacceptable, given that BDBC had encouraged the exercise, provided funds, commented on the draft and then formally accepted it. Several other parishioners endorsed this view and urged that it be taken up formally with BDBC. The Chairman confirmed that when the Council objected to a planning application the relevant aspects of the VDS were always mentioned. Cllr Don Langan suggested that given the workload of planning officers and the way that the officers responsible for our parish change, there is a need to provide a one-page summary of the key points from the VDS, cross-referenced to the full document.

Mr Snipp undertook to follow up on this with the Parish Council. Mr Horace Mitchell, prospective Borough Council candidate, suggested that the Society with the Council should list those applications where VDS guidance had been disregarded, as evidence to take to BDBC.

There being no further main points raised the Chairman before drawing the meeting to a close, mentioned a meeting that the Council had arranged on May the 25th when Mr Keith Pauw from HCC had been invited to visit us and talk about traffic problems on the A343 through Highclere and Penwood Crossroads (Blindsmans Gate).  The Chairman then drew the meeting to a close inviting everyone to stay and carry on their discussions over some refreshments and also to look at the displays round the hall, provided by the Village Hall Committee, the Village Plan team and Councillor East (Penwood/A343/Blind Man’s Gate cross roads traffic survey).

 

There being no further business, the Chairman thanked all contributors and declared the meeting closed at 9.25pm.