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Annual Parish Meeting 2018 Report

Compton & Shawford logo - Annual Parish Meeting 2018Compton and Shawford Parish Council

PO Box 565, Winchester,
Hampshire SO23 3HG
Phone:01962 600198
email: 

Record of the Annual Parish Meeting 2018

Held at 7.30pm Thursday 17 May 2018, Shawford Parish Hall

Introduction

1. The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and, since copies had been delivered to every household within the parish, hoped that they had seen the report on council activities over the past year. He provided a short overview of the evening’s proceedings, which would begin with a presentation by Andy Robinson-Morris, Highways England Project Manager for the M3 Junction 9 to 14 Smart Motorway scheme.

M3 Motorway Smart Motorway

2. Mr Robinson-Morris explained that the smart motorway scheme was designed to increase capacity on the M3 between Winchester and Southampton. Work should begin towards the end of the financial year 2018/19 and be fully operational by the end of the financial year 2021/22. The construction phase should last for eighteen months. It will convert the hard shoulder into an additional lane and provide parking bays for disabled vehicles. CCTV will cover the entire stretch of motorway, which should assist with the rapid removal of those vehicles involved in accidents. The project was currently at an early planning stage and, since diversions would be required when the motorway was closed overnight to install the necessary gantries, he was glad of an opportunity to meet those communities that would be most affected. He stressed that there were ‘not a lot of options for diversions’.

3. Concerns were raised, by several members of the public, about the potential for increased pollution (both noise and toxic fumes), severe vibration from heavy goods vehicles transiting Otterbourne Road, potential breakdowns on the M3 and whether temporary controls would be imposed during the diversion periods? if so, how would they be policed? Mr Robinson-Morris indicated that he would be liaising closely with Hampshire County Council’s highways engineers and the police to ensure the minimum of disruption. Environmental issues would be scrutinised by an environmental expert before work commenced. He emphasised that, since some of the gantries would be visible to those householders living close to the motorway, he was keen to talk to anyone who may be affected: he did not want to see the gantries becoming a local eyesore. He was confident that, when fully implemented, the project would reduce motorway noise.

4. County Councillor Rob Humby confirmed that Hampshire County Council’s highways officers would work closely with Highways England on planned diversions. He was convinced that, while there would be some disruption, the eventual gains would be beneficial to the South East region. Capacity on the M3 would be increased and that, in turn, should result in increased economic activity. He acknowledged that it was a ‘big job’ and that it would be important to ensure speed limits are enforced both during construction and afterwards. He noted that, when traffic is moving, air quality improves.

5. Councillor Goulding, noting that he lived in Otterbourne Road one of the potential diversion routes, thanked Mr Robinson-Morris and Councillor Humby for their presentations, which he had found to be very helpful.

Parish Council Annual Report

6. Councillor Goulding mentioned that the annual report was now available on the parish website and that additional copies could be obtained from the clerk. He noted that, while the council had exceeded its budget for the financial year, it had been able to replace play equipment and, with additional funding received through development projects (i.e. CIL funding) to support a number of local projects, including essential work at Sparrowgrove and Oakwood Copse, improvements to the car park drainage at the Memorial Playing Field and the new ‘Nurture Room’ at All Saints School.

Telephone Kiosks & Defibrillators

7. Councillor Webster briefed the community on the project to purchase the old BT telephone kiosks, their renovation and the installation of defibrillators. Community training on defibrillator use would take place in Shawford Parish Hall on 11 July 2018 and at the Reeves Scout Hall Compton on 30 October 2018. He hoped that many parishioners would attend.

Bus Shelters

8. Councillor Bell mentioned that, following the recent damage to the bus shelter on the southbound side of Otterbourne Road, close to the junction with Compton Street, consideration was being given to replacing the breeze block shelter, with a more modern structure. This drew little reaction from the meeting but did inspire a request from a member of the public for another bench to be installed, at a bus stop further along Otterbourne Road.

School Reports

9. Councillor Strange thanked Charlotte Bailey for producing a comprehensive report on All Saints School’s activities over the past year. (Copies of the report had been distributed to those attending the meeting.) Summarising, she said that the school had had a good year but financial restraints had meant that it had been unable to replace the deputy head. The school was grateful for the grant that had been received from the parish council towards the ‘Nurture Room’ and that there had been fewer complaints about parking in the vicinity of Compton Street. Mark Jenkins followed with a short presentation on his role with Shepherd’s Down School, which involved fund raising and seeking volunteers to help with teaching. Even a few hours would be welcome. Anyone interested should contact him direct.

Compton and Shawford Community Association (CASCA)

10. John Griffith explained that CASCA was run by a small committee: its objective being to maintain Shawford Parish Hall and the adjacent caretaker’s cottage. The caretaker, Frank Smith, organises the bookings, which include 35 regular monthly users. Although the current financial situation was good, with competition from Twyford and Otterbourne both of which have village halls, CASCA needed to maintain a competitive pricing structure. After fourteen years as chairman, he would be resigning in November, as would the treasurer David Jeffrey. He hoped that volunteers would come forward to take over both roles.

11. Following his presentation, Councillor Wilkinson thanked Mr Griffith for his excellent work for the community and, on behalf of the council, presented him with a gardening voucher in recognition of his efforts.

Questions from the Public

12. Concern was raised about the number of cyclists that appeared not to understand the ‘no cycling’ signs along the Itchen footpath. Could they be changed to signs with the words ‘no cycling’? It was agreed that Councillor Wilkinson would email District Councillor Laming, asking for Winchester City Council (WCC) to consider this proposal. Concern was also raised about the Village Design Statement (VDS), which WCC planners considered to be out of date. Councillor Goulding explained that the planning team would be presenting a paper on the ‘pros and cons’ of updating the document at the next meeting of the parish council.

13. There being no further questions, the chairman brought the meeting to a close. He thanked the ladies of the WI, for providing refreshments, the hall caretaker, Frank Smith, his fellow councillors, the clerk and the webmaster, Adrian Walmsley, for their work over the past year. He hoped that, following the meeting, those present would take the opportunity for ‘one to one’ discussions with members of the council and Andy Robinson-Morris over tea and cakes. Mr Walmsley proposed a vote of thanks to the council for its efforts over the past year. This was well received by parishioners and followed by a round of applause.

David Drake
Clerk


Reproduced from the July 2018 Parish Magazine.
The formal version of the APM report is at https://comptonshawford-pc.gov.uk/parish-council/minutes/#apm

You can download the Council’s Annual Report mentioned in paragraph 6 above and this report of the Annual Parish Meeting using the links below:

APM2018 Annual Report
APM2018 Annual Report
APM2018AnnualReport.pdf
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230 Downloads
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APM 2018 Report
APM 2018 Report
APM2018_report.pdf
34 KB
198 Downloads
Details...