MINUTES of the meeting of Broad Town Parish Council held on Monday 14th November 2016 in Broad Town Village Hall starting at 6.30pm.
PRESENT: Cllrs Jason Bayliffe, Simon Billis, Ray Bourton, Stuart Hinson (chairman), Donna Ponting, Veronica Stubbings. Mrs Deborah Bourne (clerk)
Also Present: Seven members of the public.
Public Question Time
Members of the public raised several points concerning Council administration, which has changed slightly with the new clerk.
Wilts. Cllr Mollie Groom was absent; she sent a written report which was read out.
052 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Cllr Matt Nailon.
053 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest in items on this agenda.
054 Minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 10th October 2016 were adopted by the Council, and duly signed by the Chairman.
055 Planning
- The Council noted the following Planning Decisions made by Wiltshire Council since the last meeting.
There were no Planning decisions made by Wiltshire Council that affected the Parish of Broad Town in the last month.
- The Council considered the following Planning Applications received from Wiltshire Council since the last meeting.
There were no Planning Applications submitted to Wiltshire Council that affect the Parish of Broad Town in the last month.
056 Training / Conference Fees
The Clerk recently attended the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) Annual National Conference. This three day event, held in Leicestershire cost £264.00 which the Clerk financed personally. It was suggested by Lydiard Millicent Parish Council that the fee should be split as follows:
Lydiard Millicent £132.00
Little Somerford £ 66.00
Broad Town £ 66.00
Discussion as to whether Budget would allow for this expenditure. Employment of new Clerk has caused extra expenditure.
RESOLVED to defer this matter to a later date when finances can be looked at more closely.
057 Finance
RESOLVED to authorise payment of the following accounts:
It was confirmed that all cheques must be signed by two Councillors. Current Cheque Signatories for the bank account are: Cllrs Simon Billis, Ray Bourton, Veronica Stubbings.
058 Highways Matters
Grips still awaiting attention from the Parish Steward; a new name sign is needed at the North end of the village, these will be reported to Wiltshire Council.
Discussion held about safe driving through the village. Wiltshire Council advise that safety will be enhanced with some form of traffic management but residents do not wish for any Street Lighting to be placed around the village, which may be needed for some types of traffic management. The first step is for a Wiltshire Council Highway Engineer to carry out a survey of the area, to analyse which scheme would be best suited. It is thought “build outs” will be most suitable as they do not require overhead lighting and have been successful in nearby parishes.
RESOLVED that Cllr Stubbings report back to the CAT-G that Broad Town Parish Council would support a survey being carried out. It is understood the Parish Council will be required to pay 25% of the cost of this project. A decision can not be made on advancing the project until full costs are known.
059 NEW-V Neighbourhood Plan
Wiltshire Council had requested that another, specifically worded, resolution be made allowing some parishes to leave the NEW-V group. Members requested more time to compare the wording of the original resolution, made in July, to the one now be requested.
RESOLVED to defer this decision to a later date. If this decision is required urgently, an Extra-Ordinary meeting will be called by the Chairman. Members wished it noted that this deferment does not affect their commitment to the NEW-V Neighbourhood Plan, which they fully support.
060 Housing Survey Results
Answers from the recent Housing Survey have been collated, Cllr Billis read out a statement questioning the validity of the survey. No other Councillor held this view, and general discussion took place, as to background of survey and the initial results. The previous evidence collected for the NEW-V Neighbourhood Plan in the same way has been deemed robust enough by Wiltshire Council.
RESOLVED that due to the heated debate, there was not enough time to look at the results in a meaningful way. This will be carried out at a later date by members of the Parish Council and the results will be published on the Broad Town Village website when they are adopted by the Council.
061 Relationship with the Community Led Planning Group (CLPG)
The CLPG was originally set up to help the Parish Council gather information for the Community Area Neighbourhood Plan. This Plan is a pilot set up by Wiltshire Council at the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government. Increasingly the CLPG have become more difficult to work with; this manifests itself in constant mistrust from both sides.
Discussions included :
- Is the CLPG interested in a Neighbourhood Plan
- Does the CLPG have the support of residents
- Will the Housing Survey be accepted
- Work of Lorraine Billis was noted. She has worked tirelessly for the NEW-V project, and Councillors thanked her for this dedication.
- Concern that CLPG are causing a split in the village - Cllr Billis confirmed that No member of the Parish Council is allowed to attend the CLPG meeting and speak, even though they are residents of the Parish. They can request to sit as an observer.
- Cllr Billis attends CLPG meetings regularly and speaks, others are not allowed despite also being residents.
- Is the CLPG still needed within the Parish, or is there a need for movement in a different direction
RESOLVED that the Clerk write to the CLPG requesting answers to two questions:
- Does the CLPG commit to the NEW-V process
- Will the CLPG accept the findings of the Housing Survey, and support the Parish Council in this process?
The Clerk should request written statements from the CLPG committee regarding the above questions and for the response to go forward to the Council meeting in December.
062 Village Newsletter
Cllr Simon Billis will write an article for this months Newsletter.
063 Councillors Observations and Items for Next Meeting
It was noted that the grass around the edge of the Play Area needs cutting. The Clerk was asked to investigate the finances for the Play Area, concern has been raised that s106 monies have been used to pay VAT.
CSW: Speed Indicator Devices can be used to collect data as well as a useful tool to show drivers their speed. Wiltshire Council no longer use these devices, they can be purchased at approximately £1,400 or they can be hired on a weekly basis. This equipment may be useful for monitoring speed on the main road before and after any traffic management programme is commenced.
It was suggested that due to the recent very negative and destructive e-mails sent to some Councillors that all correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk and can then be forwarded to all Councillors. In this way making sure that everyone is given the same information and not left out of any discussions. The e-mail address of the clerk to the Council is: clerk.BroadTown@gmail.com.
The next meeting of Broad Town Parish Council is scheduled for Monday 12th December 2016, at 6.30pm in Broad Town Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 8.16pm.
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Cllr Stuart Hinson
Chairman