PC Meeting Report 12 January 2016

PC Meeting Report 12 January 2016

 

Report of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 12 January 2015 in Jubilee Pavilion, Compton Down.

Introduction

In January each year, the council is required to submit a request for funding for the next financial year to Winchester City Council. I am pleased to say that for the sixth year running, there has been no increase. The total budget for 2016/17 will be £32,832. Other issues that exercised councillors at this month’s meeting included, contractors’ damage to grass verges and roads, the Lawn Tennis Club’s request for a fourth court and nominations for the Mayor’s Awards.

District Councillors’ Report

Councillor Southgate advised the council that new parking regulations had been introduced in Shawford and yellow lines painted on Pearson Lane and Shawford Road. He had been working closely with the owners of William’s Garage, which had been badly damaged by fire, on their reconstruction plans. Councillor Stevens noted that Councillor Southgate had provided considerable support to the garage owners, who were extremely grateful for his efforts.

It was agreed that nominations for the Mayor’s Award should be submitted through the chairman. Councillors and members of the public should be encouraged to take this opportunity of recognising the efforts of those ‘unsung heroes’, who do much to enhance the lives of parishioners. The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2016.

Fourth Tennis Court

The chairman briefed the council on his recent discussions with members of the Sports and Lawn Tennis Clubs. The latter had accepted that there would be much resistance to a fourth tennis court located on the south west corner of the Memorial Playing Field (MPF). The two organisations would like to work with the council to consider the suitability and cost of alternative locations, primarily on, or adjacent to, the pavilion car park. The aim was to present the council with detailed plans in time for its meeting on 1 March 2016.

Highways & Transport

The chairman noted that he had received a number of complaints about the impact of building work on the parish roads and verges. He had been concerned to discover that it was not possible to insist that damaged surfaces should be repaired/re-instated. Following consultation with Hampshire County Council (HCC), the authority for roads, and Winchester City Council (WCC), the planning authority, it was agreed that the following guidance would be included in future planning consents:

Please be respectful to your neighbours and the environment when carrying out your development. Ensure that the site is well organised, clean and tidy and that facilities, stored materials, vehicles and plant are located to minimise disruption.

Please consider the impact on your neighbours by informing them of the works and minimising air, light and noise pollution and minimising the impact of deliveries, parking and working on public or private roads. Any damage to these areas should be remediated as soon as is practically possible.

For further advice on this please refer the Construction Code of Practice:

http://www.ccscheme.org.uk/index.php/ccs-ltd/what-is-the-ccs/code-of-considerate-practice

Finally, he advised the council that Network Rail will be working on the maintenance of the railway line between Eastleigh and Winchester during January and February. The work will affect Shawford for a few nights during this period and likely to be quite noisy. Those most affected should receive written notification of the dates the work will take place.

Planning

Councillor Stevens advised the council that she had submitted comments on the retrospective application at Warner’s Farm, where the application form for “wood store and processing site” was not properly completed and, if approved in its current form, left the applicant free to process any materials he chooses on a 24/7 basis. She was also concerned that the revised plans for the Smallwood site in Crossway did not address any of the issues that she had identified in her previous submission. She intended to submit further comments.

The council discussed the Shawford Village Residents’ Association (SVRA) request to receive notification of Shawford planning applications. It agreed that the clerk should circulate the weekly list that he produces for the Planning Committee to those residents’ associations that would like to receive it. It should, however include a note stating that details of all planning applications within the WCC district can be found on the WCC planning web site: (www.winchester.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications/).

Playing Fields Management

Councillor Wilkinson noted that, following a lengthy consultation process between councillors, the council had decided to reduce the height of the QEII Field multi-play unit to within its delegated planning rights. She had subsequently received an email indicating that the enforcement officer was content with the work that had been undertaken. The matter was now closed.

Councillor Wilkinson also expressed concern about the increasing cost of maintaining the play equipment, which was expected to exceed its budget by 50% in the current financial year. She was pleased to note that the maintenance budget contained an increase for 2016/17 and a recommendation that the sinking fund, for replacing equipment, should be increased from £5000 to £10,000.

Environment & Rights of Way

Councillor Cordery reported that she had submitted a response to the HCC consultation on further reductions in the hours of street lighting and percentage dimming; the frequency of verge cutting in urban and rural areas, and herbicide spraying of highways. She had also confirmed that she was content with the HCC Rights of Way cutting priorities for the parish footpaths in the coming year.

Following a request from the Shawford Village Residents’ Association, the clerk had contacted the Hampshire and Isle Wight Wildlife Association to discover why a gravel bar had been created in the Itchen Navigation close to the Bridge Hotel. He had been advised that it was designed to regulate the amount of flow to the Navigation in preparation for the operation of a hydropower scheme at Shawford Mill.

Finance and Administration

In his capacity as chairman of the Sparrowgrove & Oakwood Copse Conservation Trust (SOCCT), Councillor Southgate explained that the organisation was responsible for the management of around 25 acres of woodland, which, in the spring, was the home to many different flora, including a splendid bluebell display and, in summer, to many birds, insects and butterflies He added that the woodland helped to create a green barrier between the parishes of Compton and Shawford and Otterbourne. Although SOCCT had managed to reduce its annual costs, income was limited and it would welcome financial support from the council. A request for financial support had also been made to Otterbourne Parish Council.

The council subsequently agreed that SOCCT should receive a grant of £500 in the current financial year and that a similar sum should be included in the budget for 2016/17, which would total £32,832 and include a combined WCC precept and CTS grant of £27,170. (The combined precept and CTS grant figure has been maintained at this level since 2010/11.)

Website

Councillor Walmsley confirmed that HCC had given notice that it will not provide web hosting services beyond 31 July 2016. He had investigated various alternatives and recommended that the council should appoint SiteGround as its web hosting provider and change its website address to https://comptonshawford-pc.gov.uk. The cost in the first two years of operation, should be £368.40 compared to the service provided by HCC of £608. In the second two years the cost should be £423.80. Councillor Southgate thanked Councillor Walmsley for his excellent work on this issue. All agreed.

The Queen’s Ninetieth Birthday

Councillor Stevens agreed to investigate whether it would be possible to use the beacon, provided by HCC for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, for the nationwide beacon lighting which is being organised to commemorate her ninetieth birthday on 21 April 2016.

Date of the next meeting

7.30pm Tuesday 1 March 2016 in the Compton Room, Shawford Village Hall.

 

David Drake,
Clerk