Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 7 July 2008 at 7.30pm in the Pavilion Committee Room.

PRESENT: Mr A Fendall (Chairman); Mrs A Archibald; Mr D Clark;

Mr S Godesen; Mrs V Lickley; Mr S Marks; Mr K Nuttall; Mr A Renwick;

Mrs J Savage; Mrs S Wilson.

.

1 TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies received from: Ms B Waller.

2 MINUTES

The minutes of the ordinary meeting of 2 June had been circulated and were agreed as a true record of the business that took place.

3 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Mrs Archibald declared a personal interest in item 9.3.

4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Observations were made on the need for regular drain clearance to avoid road flooding and the failure of Murphy Ltd to adequately reinstate damage caused by the relief sewer installation. Mr Fendall advised that he would take this matter up with the contractor.

5 MONTHLY MONITORING REPORT

The monthly monitoring report was tabled and noted.

6 TO RECEIVE COMMUNICATIONS THAT THE CHAIRMAN WISHES TO LAY BEFORE THE COUNCIL

6.1 The chairman congratulated Mr Marks on the birth of his son.

6.2 Mr Renwick confirmed that he will be attending the workshop on Settlement Sustainability at the Borough Council.

7 REPORTS FROM DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS

7.1 Councillor Mrs Still reported as follows:

(i) a meeting has taken place with residents of Cowdery Heights at which they supported the proposal to install a gate on land adjacent to Basing Road to prevent unauthorised access. It has been decided to proceed with this but a contribution from the Parish Council would be welcome. (See item 8.7);

(ii) discussions are taking place with County Council officers to further the proposal for a gyratory system at the Lychpit Centre car park.

7.2 Apologies received from Councillor Mrs Cubitt.

8 MATTERS RELATING TO FINANCE

It was agreed to vary the agenda to permit item 8.7 to be taken next.

8.7 Councillor Mrs Still had advised members that a contribution of £1000 will be required towards the gate adjacent to Cowdery Heights. An application for £500 may be made to the County Councillors devolved budget leaving £500 to be found. It was resolved to fund this latter amount.

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 7 July 2008 cont:

8.1 Balances at the end of June: Deposit Account: £98289.10;

Current Account: -£323.34; Treasury Deposit Account: £135016.95

Petty cash expenditure for June: £46.27.

8.2 Total cost of wage and salaries for June: £6628.52.

8.3 The following invoices were approved for payment:

Amount £	Payee	Details
163.00	Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council	Cottage Council Tax
50.00	M Robertson	Refund damage deposit,Lychpit Hall
55.00	DVLA	Tractor registration fee
155.31	Jewson Ltd	Repairs to toilet, archery frontage improvements & repairs to tennis court surround
87.99	Tesco Fuelcard	Fuel
49.35	Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council	Repair to gang mower (labour only)
297.92	Spaldings Ltd	Machinery spares & protective clothing
30.14	T H White	Machinery parts
613.35	Meakin Ltd	Paving slabs for archery frontage
165.22	SCATS	Preservatives, safety boots & sundries
238.20	RBS Property Services	Plumbing & drainage repairs
2.00	Hampshire Association of Local Councils	Copy of finance guide
169.00	Threadworld	Repairs to Lychpit Hall curtains
549.41	British Gas	Lychpit Hall energy charges
13.16 & 14.99	AOL	Internet service provider, May & June
50.00	M Robertson	Refund damage deposit, Lychpit Hall
23.00	Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council	Lychpit Hall, change of licence holder fee
15.00	PJH Window Cleaning	Pavilion window cleaning
223.25	Contractors Plant & Tool Hire	Hire of machinery for archery frontage improvements
63.45	Meakin Ltd	Drainage supplies for archery frontage improvements
91.00	Personalised Print	Newsletter printing
108.57	Roffey Wessex Ltd	Fertilisers for bowling green

219

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 7 July 2008 cont:

95.11	Hampshire County Council	Janitorial supplies
188.00	Richard Thorpe Fire Safety Services	Installation of smoke detector, Lychpit Hall
464.13	Basingstoke Cleaning Services	Specialist cleaning to Lychpit Hall
646.25	Aqua Analyse Ltd	Legionella risk assessment to pavilion
211.50	D C Knight & Son	Tree surgery
17.60	H Mountford	Travelling expenses
222.08	K Davies	Pavilion cleaning & relief Lychpit Hall cleaning
300.00	A Reeder	Refund of damage deposit, Lychpit Hall
205.70	SISIS Equipment	Machinery parts
233.42	Avoncrop Ltd	Turf maintenance supplies
123.47	R Hunt Ltd	Tractor parts (not covered by guarantee)
55.65	Viking Ltd	Office supplies
461.66	Sporting Surface Supplies Ltd	Materials for improvements to archery frontage
239.70	Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council	Repairs to gang mower
111.63	Skilz	Lychpit Hall heating repair
34.36	Lister Wilder Ltd	Machinery parts
130.00	Hampshire County Council	Lychpit Hall lease
472.19	Rawlings Fuels	Tractor diesel
70.00	Cash

8.4 Members resolved to approve the annual return for the year ended 31 March 2008 for signature by the chairman and clerk. Clerk reported that she had made attempts to contact the internal auditor following his recent illness but no response had been received. As the deadline for completion of the internal audit report is fast approaching the clerk had requested another auditor, Eleanor Greene, to carry out the audit. Mrs Greene’s charge will be £750. Members resolved to approve this in retrospect.

8.5 A quote in the sum of £580 plus VAT was tabled for the provision of netting to the eaves of the Lychpit Hall to prevent birds etc entering. It was agreed this should wait until the tiles are in need of repair in order that both jobs may be done at the same time.

8.6 Clerk reported on applications for funding made under the Small Scale Environmental Renewal Scheme as follows:

(i) Unauthorised encampment deterrent to Olivers Battery: an officer of

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 7 July 2008 cont:

the Borough Council had visited the site and was of the opinion that it would be unlikely to attract those seeking to set up camp because of the levels. He felt that the village hall car park would be a far more attractive site and suggested that height barriers should be erected to the entrance/exit. The village hall committee had been advised of this and requested that the Parish Council takes the grant aid application forward on its behalf. It indicated that it would be prepared to contribute towards the cost. It was resolved that grant aid should be pursued for this.

(ii) Lychpit Centre footway: this is currently being examined by Borough Council engineers but and may be eligible for assistance via another grant aid scheme;

(iii) Lychpit Centre gyratory traffic flow: the Borough Council state that this has been put forward before but not implemented as it is difficult to manage and does not fit the criteria of this grant aid scheme. Mr Nuttall stated, however, that the scheme has been put to County Council officers who have put it to highways management for consideration;

(iv) Byfleet estate street lighting replacement: this scheme may be eligible for funding under the Private Finance Initiative operated by the County Council.

8.8 It was resolved to open a trading account with Roffey Wessex for the purchase of turf maintenance supplies.

9 MATTERS RELATING TO CORRESPONDENCE

9.1 Members received a response from the Borough Council to a request for changes to the layout of the council tax demand to make clearer the charges applicable to each authority. The Borough Council states that it is unable to make changes owing to the restrictions of the software used to produce the bill. Members found this unacceptable and resolved to pursue the matter.

9.2 Clerk reported that the County Council has advised that bus subsidies are applied to the service and not the route. The changes on May 11 effectively made no change to the service in that a bus still runs through Old Basing albeit at different times and on different routes. The service from Basingstoke to Hook is not subsidised and, therefore, commercial.

Members also debated a response from Stagecoach to the request for smaller vehicles to be used. This stated that size of vehicles is dictated by passenger numbers during the peak period and that it is not cost effective to have a separate fleet of mini buses for the off peak times. It was resolved to continue with efforts to restore the link within the parish, to request mini buses to be used off peak, to advise the company that its notices were inadequate and to reserve the right to liaise with the County Council to achieve satisfaction.

9.3 Members received a petition from residents and users of the Lychpit playgroup alleging that the Parish Council had failed to provide suitable storage facilities for the group following a request to move its equipment from the meter cupboard following a fire risk assessment which had deemed it unsafe to be there. The petition stated that this would lead to the closure of playgroup. Mr Fendall reported that he and the other committee members had investigated the possibility of building a storage facility on the stage and a quote had been received for this in the sum of £3679.07. Another quote would be forthcoming. It was resolved to authorise the committee to spend up to a sum of £4000 to provide the facility and to obtain all necessary permissions.

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 7 July 2008 cont:

9.4 An invitation from Basingstoke Voluntary Services to nominate a local volunteer for an award was tabled. It was resolved that the village hall management committee should be asked for its recommendation

9.5 The Borough Council’s draft Statement on Flood Defence was copied to all members and noted. Mr Godesen requested that residents should notify the Borough Council’s highways department immediately of any blocked drains.

10 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

10.1 Members noted the resignation of John Barton from the Parish Council. Clerk reported that confirmation of an election is waited from the Borough Council.

10.2 Members noted the resignation of Mrs Archibald from the Lychpit Hall and planning committees. Mr Marks was elected to the Lychpit Hall committee.

10.3 Members debated the proposal to introduce a pilot scheme for polyclinics but, owing to a lack of background information, were unable to formulate an opinion. It was agreed that the clerk should endeavour to obtain more information from the appropriate bodies.

11 MATTERS RELATING TO COMMITTEES

11.1 PLANNING:

Minutes of the meetings of 27 May and 9 June tabled and ratified.

11.2 RECREATION:

Minutes of the meeting of 28 May tabled and ratified.

Item 8.7 (resurfacing of Riley Lane car park): clerk advised members that the provisional estimate of unallocated reserves as at 31 March 2009 is c£50k. In view of this, the committee’s recommendation was ratified.

11.3 LYCHPIT HALL:

Minutes of the meeting of 21 May tabled and ratified.

NEXT MEETING

The next ordinary meeting will be on Monday 4 August 2008 at 7.30pm in the Pavilion Committee room.

Meeting closed at 9.40pm.