PC Meeting Report 1 November 2016

Report of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 1 November 2016 in the Compton Room Shawford Parish Hall

Introduction

Table of Contents

The main items for discussion were the proposed changes to the Winchester constituency; the vacancies caused by the resignations of Naomi Sadler and Marc Townell; support for the refurbishment of the Reeves Scout Hall and the recent inspection of the Jubilee Pavilion. The council also congratulated Adrian Walmsley for winning the Hampshire Association of Local Council’s Award for the best website.

Proposed Changes to the Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries

Mr Walmsley was invited to present his report^(a), which had been commissioned by District Councillor Jan Warwick, on the Boundary Commission’s proposal that the parishes of Compton and Shawford, Otterbourne, Hursley, Twyford and Colden Common, should be included in the constituency of Test Valley. The proposal was being made in order to comply with the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituency Act 2011, which stipulates that every constituency electorate size must be within 5% of the UK Electoral quota of 74,769.

The chairman reported that he had attended a meeting of the three district councillors and the chairs of the five parish councils, within the Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery ward, to discuss the proposals. There had been general agreement that all the parishes within the ward would like to remain within the constituency of Winchester. [Twyford and Colden Common are in a separate ward.] Mr Walmsley noted that this would not be possible, without major changes to the Boundary Commission’s proposals, because the Winchester electorate would exceed the upper limit permitted by the legislation (78,507). However, the Commission might accept a lone request from Compton and Shawford to remain within the constituency of Winchester, since the addition of 1,340 electors from the parish could be accommodated within that limit.

Following a long and detailed discussion the council agreed on the following motion:

The parish of Compton and Shawford has close and long standing ties with the city of Winchester. Consequently, the Parish Council would prefer to remain within the constituency of Winchester, ideally, together with its neighbouring parishes of Otterbourne and Hursley.

Casual Vacancy

The chairman noted that, following the last meeting, Naomi Sadler had resigned from the council. He had thanked her for her considerable efforts on behalf of the parish. Councillor Townell advised the council that he too would be resigning form the council at the end of the meeting. The chairman thanked him for his work on behalf of the parish. The clerk was instructed to inform WCC of both resignations and to post notices indicating that there were two vacancies on the council. The deadline for nominations would be extended into December to allow for a notice to be included in the next edition of the parish magazine^(f).

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The council discussed a request from the trustees of the Reeves Scout Hall for a grant towards the cost of refurbishing the kitchen and lavatories. It agreed, in principle, to make a grant of £5000 towards the costs of refurbishment, subject to satisfactory assurances from the trustees about the length of the lease with Winchester City Council and confirmation that the facility will continue to be made available for reasonable public use. The grant to be funded from CIL funds.

Playing Fields Management

Councillor Wilkinson advised the council that she had received two quotations for the installation of additional fencing behind the QE II Field east goal. She recommended that the council should accept the lower quotation, received from Vita Play, of £1,112. She also advised that both QEII Field goal mouths needed revitalising and that she would be seeking quotes for replacing the Astroturf. She noted that the QEII Field had been used, during half term, for coaching sessions provided by Arsenal FC and WCC football coaches.

The council noted that the Play Inspection Company had completed an extensive survey of the council’s play equipment. All items of equipment had been rated either ‘low’ or ‘very low’ risk.

The council noted that Councillor Wilkinson had undertaken the annual inspection of the Jubilee Pavilion on 28 September 2016. It agreed to a request from the Sports Club that it should be allowed to install an extractor fan in the kitchen area and to raise the grass bank to the level of the patio slabs, which would then enable the club to remove the balustrade on the west side of the patio. [The council has received assurances that, for health and safety reasons, the balustrade on the south side of the patio will not be removed.] It also agreed to the replacement of the broken pavilion water fountain at a cost of £466.

The council noted that there was a need to improve the drainage around the car park; that two dead trees, around the perimeter of the Memorial Playing Field (MPF), should be replaced and that a pest control company should be invited to consider options for reducing the rabbit problem on the MPF but that ‘lamping’ should not be one of those options.

Finance and Administration

The council noted that the clerk had produced a draft budget for the financial year 2017/18, which did not require an increase in the current WCC funding of £27,170. A final decision on the budget for 2017/18 will need to be taken at the meeting on 10 January 2017.

An insurance claim was being compiled to recover some of the cost of repairing the vandalised bus shelter on the Otterbourne Road, adjacent to the junction with Shawford Road. The deadline for the claim to be submitted is 20 November 2016 i.e. within 30 days of the incident.

The council noted that the grass cutting contract for the MPF and QEII field will expire in November. It agreed the proposed tender document for a new three-year contract, starting in March 2017.

Annual Parish Meeting (APM)

Following a short discussion, Councillor Bell agreed to produce suggestions on the future format and timing of the APM for discussion at the meeting on 10 January 2017.

Planning

Councillor Stevens expressed disappointment that, despite the clerk having forwarded details of the application to the Compton Village Association on 20 September 2016, the association had not raised any concerns about the potential development at Parsonage Barn until 36 hours before the deadline for comment. This had left her very little time to react to those comments. She confirmed that she had raised an objection to the proposed development at Southgate.

The council noted that the Church Commissioners had recently held an initial meeting with senior officers in Winchester City Council (WCC), with a view to considering the development options for Bushfield Camp. District Councillors have agreed to keep the council informed of any proposed developments on the site^(c).

Parish Website

Councillor Webster confirmed that, at the Hampshire Association of Local Councils AGM, the webmaster, Adrian Walmsley, had received an award, on behalf of the council, for the best parish website^(e). The council agreed that, in addition to Councillor Goulding and Naomi Sadler, other content authors should be considered for the council’s Facebook pages.

Remembrance Sunday

The clerk noted that the Shawford Down War Memorial has been included in a list of special, architectural or interest compiled by the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport under section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1900. The listing took place on 14 September 2016. [The Wayside Cross was not included in the listing.]

The chairman confirmed that Councillor Wilkinson would attend the memorial services at the Wayside Cross and Shawford Down Memorial on Sunday 13 November 2016. The council acknowledged the amount of work that had been undertaken by the two scout leaders, Terenia and Robert James, in preparing for the service.

Date and Venue of Next Meeting

7.30pm Tuesday 10 January 2017 Reeves Scout Hall, Compton.

David Drake
Clerk

PC Meeting Report 1 November 2016