Clerk Mr J Holder Councillors Mrs. J. Teesdale BCC and Cllr. D. Barnes WDC 10 members of the public

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Meeting of Great Marlow Parish Council held at Bovingdon Green Village Hall on Thursday 18 th May 2017 at 7.00 p.m. Present: Councillor Mr K Muller (Chairman) Mr J Ansell Mr N Dunn Mr G. Fletcher Mrs.J France Mrs L Parkins Clerk Mr J Holder Councillors Mrs. J. Teesdale BCC and Cllr. D. Barnes WDC 10 members of the public C. 43/17 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE Cllr. Fletcher nominated Cllr Muller as Chairman, Cllr Mrs L Parkins seconded and Cllr Muller was unanimously elected as Chairman. Cllr Muller signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. C. 44/17 ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN The Chairman said that Cllr Pack had confirmed his willingness to act as Vice Chairman. Cllr Mrs. France nominated, Cllr Dunn seconded and Cllr Pack was unanimously elected as Vice Chairman. C. 45/17 APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cllr. Mr M Pack, and Cllr Mark Harris WDC. C. 46/17 MINUTES 46.1 The following amendment was agreed to the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting dated 16 March 2017 :- the deletion of the final sentence of minute 32.1 which stated He said that Marlow Bottom PC were meeting Steve Baker next week 46.2 WDC Cllr Mark Harris by wished to make clear that the stated loss of 1.3m (see Minute 32.2) was one he did not recognise and had been stated by the Chairman.. Cllr. Mrs. J. Teesdale BCC at the meeting circulated a note from Ms Hughes, Head of Environment at WDC which in respect of the 1.3m figure noted there had been a) roll out costs of 678,000 in 2013; b) reduced parking income of 287,000 in 2015/16 compared to 2012/13 albeit largely offset by staff savings costs; c) 38,000 for software and signage; d) new barriers installed in two car parks at a cost of 110,000 and e) bringing forward the installation of additional pay machines in five car parks at a cost of 80,000.She estimated these costs would be recovered in 14 months. Cllr. Mrs. J. Teesdale BCC also stated that the DVLA had approved the system in advance but this had been varied later by Government. The Chairman said that Minute 32.2 stood as an accurate record of what was stated at the meeting but the clarification given in response was noted Subject thereto, the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting dated 16 March 2017 were proposed by Cllr. Mrs Parkins as a true record, seconded by Cllr. Fletcher and duly signed by the Chairman. C. 47/17 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None 1

2 C. 48/17 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION None C. 49/17 MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES 49.1 Asset Register (Minute C34.3/17) - The Clerk said that the Internal Auditor had confirmed that that the spend for the two Notice Boards should be added to the Asset Register but not that for the laptop hard drive. C. 50/17 ELECTION OF COMMITTEES 50.1 Planning Committee Other than Cllr Dunn who was stepping down, Cllrs Ansell, Fletcher, Mrs.J France, Muller, Pack and Mrs. L Parkins were elected Finance Committee Cllrs Ansell, Dunn, Fletcher, Mrs.J France, Muller, Pack and Mrs. L Parkins were elected.. C. 51/17 REPRESENTATIVES TO OUTSIDE BODIES 51.1 The Chairman requested the Clerk to circulate the list agreed last year, for review at the June meeting. C. 52/17 REVIEW OF STANDING ORDERS & FINANCIAL REGULATIONS 52.1 The Chairman said this should be deferred for review at the June meeting. C. 53/17 INSURANCE RENEWAL 53.1 The Clerk had circulated details of insurance renewal commencing 1 June 2017 for 12 months at a premium of It was agreed to insure with Came & Co for the Hiscox policy at the said premium. C. 54/17 ANNUAL RETURN 2016/ The draft Return was noted. Cllr Mrs Parkins queried whether the figure shown for the Precept included any CIL moneys, which the Clerk would check Members would review also the Explanation of significant Variances between the years 2015/16 and 2016/17, including a greater explanation of devolved services, to enable review and confirmation at the June meeting. Action : ALL 54.3 Members approved the appointment of Mr Robert Brunton as the Internal Auditor for the Annual Return 2016/17. C. 55/17 ACCOUNTS AND EXPENDITURE 55.1 The Expenditure Report for the Year to date which had been circulated was noted The Council noted and approved payment of the following cheques :- 2

3 CHEQUES ISSUED OUTSIDE THE MEETING Cheque No. Paid to Nett VAT Gross Oxford Children's Hospital (charity support) Thomas Fattorini Ltd (office chain) Totals CHEQUES ISSUED AT THE MEETING Cheque No. Paid to Nett VAT Gross SSE Contracting Ltd - for Feb and March Maintenance Invoices SSE Contracting Ltd -for repairs SSE Contracting Ltd - April maintenance Oxford IT Solutions for a)domain name b)web hosting BMKALC -annual sub Came & Co - Annual Insurance Robert Brunton -Internal Audit Jonathan Holder -Clerk's salary/allowance/mileage K Muller- Chairman's allowance J Ansell - Councillors Stipend N Dunn - Councillors Stipend G. Fletcher - Councillors Stipend Mrs J France - Councillors Stipend Mrs L Parkins - Councillors Stipend M Pack -Councillors Stipend N Dunn - reimburse paper/ink costs re newsletter Totals 2, , Online Banking Access 55.3 The Chairman said that his access for this was proceeding. CIL Moneys 55.4 The Chairman said that consideration on projects for CIL moneys and Other Reserves in 2017/18 was deferred to the June meeting Cllr Fletcher said he would be absent for the June meeting but he requested that some moneys should be used for the Bovington Green Village Pond; he noted his interest. C. 56/17 STREET LIGHTING 56.1 Subject to clarification on Cllr Mrs Parkins point as to whether the number of street lights is 35 or 32, it was agreed that the Clerk should on behalf of the Council enter into the Street Lighting Maintenance agreement with SSE Contracting Ltd for the period 1 April March 2020 for the fees provided therein. 3

4 C.57/17 MODERNISATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT 57.1 Members noted that currently it was not clear what effect the modernisation, whichever way it might be established, would have on Parish Councils. Cllr Mrs France expressed her concern that an increasing number of services would be devolved to what was essentially a volunteer group at Parish Council level. The Chairman said that the lack of a guarantee that BCC would do more than its statutory obligations after 2019 had been an encouragement for parish councils to take on devolved services for which it would be paid up to March 2019 as well as gaining experience. It was confirmed that the Chairman would liaise with councillors and then Cllr Mrs Teesdale BCC with issues of concern to the Parish Council which she in turn would put to Martin Tett, BCC Council Leader; Cllr Mrs Teesdale was requested in turn to advise to whom it would be circulated and the response time. Action : Cllr. Muller / Cllr Mrs Teesdale BCC 57.2 Cllr Mrs Teesdale noted that she was both a WDC and a BCC councillor. She hoped there might be a Government decision by November. Concern was expressed about BCC s approach on this issue to parish councils. Cllr Mrs Teesdale BCC said she could not comment further as she was now constrained by purdah in this pre General Election period. C. 58/17 GMPC STAFFING MATTERS 58.1 Mr Holder had nothing to raise. C.59/17 SPECIFIC ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION and/or DECISION or FURTHER ACTION (a) (b) (c) BCC Tranche 2 Devolution 59.1 Cllr. Mrs. Parkins said there should be consideration at the next meeting as to where the spend should be. Cllr. Fletcher drew attention to the bridleway at top of Frieth Road towards Munday Dean.. The Chairman understood that SCC were doing work in that area which would involve some clearing. Cllr Mrs Teesdale BCC said that BCC would generally take enforcement action against unwilling landowners Booker Air Park/JCC 59.2 Cllr Dunn reported that discussion at most recent JCC meeting had concerned noise levels, change of runway and the Air Expo on 1 3 June. GMPC Community Speedwatch 59.3 The Chairman said the next speedwatch would be in the first week of June on the Frieth Road. Cllr Fletcher said site selection depended on safety and having a straight stretch; PC Lee Turnham would do a site visit to test suitability if any alternative sites were proposed. (d) GMPC Website and Media Communications 59.4 Noticeboards Cllr Fletcher noted that he would be away for the June meeting and another councillor would need to post up the agendas. Action : ALL 59.5 Media - Cllr Fletcher said that his press release on the councillor vacancy had been picked up last week by the Maidenhead Advertiser Website Cllr Fletcher reported on the visit he and Cllr Pack had made to Oxford IT on 4 April. No major changes were needed but there were four changes which could be made to freshen the site as well as improve access for tablet/mobile users, which would beat a cost of 575 +VAT. The work done in-house together with the good working relationship with Oxford IT provided good value, particularly compared with IT spend of neighbouring parishes. Cllr. Fletcher proposed, Cllr Mrs L Parkins seconded and it was unanimously agreed to approve the proposed Oxford IT enhancement. The 4

5 Chairman expressed the appreciation of the Council to Cllr Fletcher for running the website. (e) (f) High Heavens 59.7 Cllr Mrs France said the last meeting had been cancelled. Bovingdon Green Village Pond 59.8 Further to discussion, it was agreed that there should be exploratory discussions with the Bovingdon Green Preservation Society to consider the possibility of support for the Pond without any assumption of stewardship. Action : The Chairman C. 60/17 CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS FOR INFORMATION i) Correspondence received 60.1 None to report. ii) iii) Reports from Councillors from Outside Bodies 60.2 Cllr Fletcher said he had attended a recent Marlow Society meeting. Cllr Mrs Parkins said recent South West Chilterns & Marlow LAF meeting had been postponed. Comments by Councillors None C.61/17 QUESTION TIME FOR THE PUBLIC ON MEETING CONTENT 61.1 Susannah Nicklin wished to better understand Local Government Modernisation ; the Clerk would her further information Mr Hill expressed concern at the restriction on debate by the claim that purdah applied. Cllr. Barnes WDC stated that that was not his understanding at WDC. It was confirmed that the Clerk would liaise further with Cllrs Teesdale and Barnes and their respective advisers to clarify whether or not purdah applied. / Cllrs Teesdale BCC and Barnes WDC 61.3 Susanna Craigmile of the Bovingdon Green Preservation Society highlighted the problems with weeds in the Bovingdon Green Village Pond and the Society s plan to seek a sustainable way forward whereby the pond would be smaller but deeper. The Chairman noted the discussion earlier and confirmed he would arrange to meet Society members in the next month She further expressed concern that she had not received notification as a neighbour about a recent planning matter; it was noted that any notification where required would be from WDC but that any consideration by GMPC of planning applications would be referred to in its Planning agendas which were placed on both the notice-boards and the website. C. 62 /17 NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Full Parish Council was noted as Thursday 15 June 2017 at the usual time of 7.30pm There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.40 pm. Chairman 5