July 2014 PC Meeting Report

Report of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 1 July 2014 in the Compton Room, Shawford Parish Hall.

Police Report

The chairman noted from PCSO Wilkinson’s report that there had been two burglaries in Otterbourne Road (entry via rear glass doors); one theft of a pedal cycle from Shawford railway station and several reports of youths causing general nuisance along the Itchen Navigation and Compton Lock.

County and District Councillors’ Reports

County Councillor Phil Bailey advised the council that Hampshire County Council (HCC) had reviewed its policy on mending potholes and parishioners should soon see improvements in the service. The council was also aware that several pavements were suffering from overhanging vegetation, caused by a wet winter and warm spring, and that a programme for cutting back such vegetation was underway. Finally he advised that parishioners should not expect the new street lights to be able to be dimmed immediately following installation: a different set of engineers was required to implement this service.
District Councillor Jan Warwick noted that the Silver Hill retail/housing development in central Winchester would be discussed at Cabinet and Full Council in July. She added that, following the election commissioner’s review, it was likely that the number of District Councillors would be reduced to 45, saving approximately £75,000 per annum. The commissioner’s recommendations will be available for public consultation between March and June 2015.

School Governor’s Report

Mrs Bailey reported that the school underwent a very successful Ofsted inspection in February and was judged as “Good”. There will be a Church inspection in July, when the Inspector will look at the effect that the Christian ethos has on the whole school community. There had been 54 applicants for 17 places, which had been filled by in-catchment children and siblings.

Public Comments

Concern was expressed that, while the work undertaken by councillors was much appreciated by the community, the reduction in council meetings to every second month left a large gap between meetings. Concern was also raised about a recent noisy ‘rave’ on the Memorial Playing Fields, which only ended following police intervention at 3.00am. It was thought that most of the ‘revellers’ were local youths. Following comments about a blocked drainage ditch on the MPF, Councillor Wilkinson advised that this would be cleaned and vegetation cut back by the Lengthsman, when he next visits the parish in August. The council was pleased to hear that preparations for the WW1 commemoration were well in hand. Councillor Townell offered to assist in obtaining a bugler.

Committees

The council confirmed the following appointments:

Committee	Members	Responsibilities
Finance & Administration	Angela Jeffrey* Mike Goulding Mike Southgate Marc Townell	Budget and precept.Clerk’s terms and conditions of service (inc. wages). Office equipment, stationery etc. Insurance. Governance documents: Financial Standing Orders and adherence to accounting regulations. Sports Club and Tennis Club leases.
Playing Fields and Play Area  Management	Myra Wilkinson* Naomi Sadler Marc Townell John Richardson (co-opted) Jean Millar (co-opted) Mark Jenkins (co-opted)	Maintenance and improvement of facilities play equipment, trees and plants, pitches. Progress provision of playground for Shawford.
Planning	Una Stevens* Angela Jeffrey Alison Cordery Naomi Sadler	Monitor planning applications affecting the parish. Advise City Council planners of PC objections as appropriate.Reassess LDF, VDS and PP, value of a Neighbourhood Plan. Monitor changes in planning policy. Review and revise our council’s own planning policy (last updated May 2009)
Highways & BywaysTransport	Alison Cordery* Mike Southgate Myra Wilkinson	Road signs, street lighting, traffic safety, speed limits, parking, cycle tracks. M3 subway and bus shelter cleaning, Lengthsman project, street furniture.(MS) Railways, buses, Southampton Airport & aircraft noise.
Footpaths & Environment (including Compton Lock)	John Wilkinson	Regular inspection of all footpaths to ensure they are walkable.  Liaison with HCC on footpaths & Shawford Down; H&IoW Trust, Itchen Navigation.

Other roles and Representatives to Outside Organisations

 

Compton School Governor Liaison	Charlotte Bailey
Tree Warden	Naomi Sadler
Winchester Villages Trust	Vacant
SOCCT	Mike Southgate
CASCA Hall Committee	Myra Wilkinson Maureen Mabbott
Sports Club Rep	Myra Wilkinson
Winchester District Association of Parish Councils	Adrian Walmsley
Police Liaison	Mike Southgate
Webmaster	Adrian Walmsley
Civic Service Review	Mike Goulding

Playing Fields

The council discussed Councillor Wilkinson’s proposal for an outdoor gymnasium at the Memorial Playing Field (MPF). While the 25 year guarantee provided by The Outdoor Gym Company was welcome, some concern was expressed about the annual cost of maintenance.
Councillor Wilkinson briefed the council on her discussions with representatives of the Sports and Tennis Clubs. She noted that the MPF provided, not only excellent facilities for tennis, cricket, football and ball games on the MeGA, but that it was also a beautiful open space for the community to enjoy. It was agreed that the Playing Fields Committee should engage in a much wider consultation with parishioners before the council takes any decisions on further development at the MPF [excluding the outdoor gymnasium].
The council noted Councillor Wilkinson’s intention to purchase a litter bin, to be installed close to the MeGA (Memorial Games Area). It also noted that the Play Inspection Company had been engaged to undertake quarterly inspections of the two children’s play areas.

Footpaths

The council noted that a grant of £325 had been obtained from HCC’s Small Grants Scheme towards the cost of installing a map board at the MPF, for which the total cost is estimated to be £660. It also agreed to provide £100, in support of The Conservation Volunteers’ project to clear scrub from Shawford Down between October and March. Following a short discussion, it was agreed that, once English Heritage had confirmed that the proposed dressing was appropriate for the site, the council should set aside £150 towards the purchase of footpath dressing (scalpins) for the resurfacing of Footpath 23 alongside the Tudor Wall in the direction of Compton Lock.

Date of the next meeting

7.30pm Tuesday 2 September 2014 in the Compton Room, Shawford Parish Hall.

David Drake
Clerk