MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL -14th March 2024

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Thursday 14th March 2024

Time:    6:30 pm

Venue:                 Northington Village Hall

Present:               Dennis Nye                                                                                         Chairman

Juliet Blanshard

Simon Walker

Rhona Hatchley

Andrew Bason

Cllr Fiona Issacs                                                                                 District Councillor

Cllr Margot Power                                                                           District Councillor

Wendy Simson                                                                                  Clerk

 

Apologies:          Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith                                                            District Councillor

Cllr Jackie Porter                                                                              County Councillor

Welcome and apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Cllrs Porter and Gordon-Smith sent apologies.

Declaration of Pecuniary & Personal Interests to note any conflict with any item on the agenda.

None were declared.

Minutes of the last meeting

The Councillors reviewed minutes for the meeting on 18th January 2024 and agreed the minutes as a true representation of the meeting. The Clerk provided a copy for the Chairman to sign.

Matters arising.

Storage box for sports equipment – Cllr Bason informed the Parish Council that he had spoken to the resident who had enquired about a play area and the option of a storage box of play equipment and perhaps football goals. It was agreed that this would be a useful option if the field behind the Village Hall could be used. Councillors agreed that an allocation from the CIL funding of £500 could be used to support the purchase of items and Cllr Bason confirmed that the resident was happy to fund raise to cover the remaining costs.

It was agreed that there would be further discussion should costs exceed this initial estimate.

Cllr Hatchley agreed to speak to the Village Hall Committee about the public having access to the land and insurance.

Action: Cllr Hatchley to report at next meeting.

The Councillors agreed the Village Hall BBQ on 7th July would be an achievable timeframe to have the equipment in place.

Feedback from Police Rural Crime meeting – Cllr Bason confirmed that the meeting was primarily for farmers and gamekeepers and that this target audience was invited in advance of the meeting.

Some isolated families have been threatened and intimidated by trespassers who are hare coursing and poaching on the land. A code word has been allocated and given to all farmers which when given on calling 999 initiates a police response including 4×4 vehicles, the drone team, and police helicopter. Cllr Bason explained that the code had been used last year and 7 police vehicles attended plus the helicopter.

At the meeting the police urged farmers to continually report any incidents to ensure that the area remained a high priority.

District and County Councillor updates

The Clerk had forwarded the reports prior to the meeting.

Cllr Power updated the Parish Council on concerns raised about the digitation of services and the impact on those who can’t access the internet due to poor signal coverage or lack of technology. Cllr Power is advocating testing of new systems using rural areas such as the Candover Valley.

Cllr Power also informed the Councillors that funding was available to replace septic systems close to waterways to reduce the nitrates escaping into the rivers. Simon James is working with two companies Burrow Environmental and CSG who are looking to promote the fund in this area.

Cllr Issacs explained that a set of speed watch equipment had been purchased and was available for communities to use. Training is required before volunteers can get involved and any road needs to be assessed for suitability before the team can be deployed. Roads need to have a straight section to allow the equipment to assess the speed of a vehicle, there also needs to be a suitable position for the team to sit where they will be safe.

Cllr Issacs has also been working with the reporting of non-crime incidents via the telephone as the reports are filed in different ways which means any patterns cannot be identified. The Community Safety Team are looking to standardise the process to make it easier to track. The Parish Council were asked to let the District Councillors know if there are any persistent issues not being followed up.

Village Plan Review

Cllr Walker and Cllr Hatchley circulated a draft action plan prior to the meeting and a draft of the letter to each household about the update of the plan was given out at the meeting for feedback. The survey will be online but paper copies will be available if required. It is planned to focus on the existing topics but to ask if they are all still relevant or if any new topics should be added.

Once the plan has been agreed it is to be sent to the District Council for approval. It is hoped that the plan will be adopted by the end of the year, and it was suggested that a gathering could be held to celebrate.

Village Hall Update

Cllr Hatchley received an update from the Chair of the Village Hall Committee explaining that the external paintwork had not yet been completed but a quote of £2,900 had been agreed and the £1,500 of grant funding from the Parish Council this year was being used to cover this cost, the remaining funds would be taken from the Village Hall savings.

In 2024 the Village Hall Committee plan to look at the repointing and damp-proof work on specific areas of the building.

Financial Update

The Clerk circulated the financial report with the papers.

The invoice for the website hosting was presented at the meeting for payment. Cllr Walker explained that the invoice covered 19 months from August 2022 when the last payment was made. The total cost was £131.79 which was within the budget of £100 per year. Cllrs approved payment.

Succession Planning

The Chairman informed the Parish Council that two potential new Councillors had expressed an interest in the vacancy. One of the residents had been more enthusiastic but the Councillors agreed that the Chairman should go back to the candidate who was still thinking about the idea to determine the current interest level.  The other candidate has already said they are ready to serve. If both want to stand then they would present themselves at the next Parish Council meeting and the Councillors vote on which should be co-opted, if the vote is tied then the Chairman has the casting vote.

A by-election is only called if 10 or more residents request one, in this case all those on the electoral role would be sent voting cards and asked to vote in the same way as for national elections. The cost of this must be met by the Parish Council but Cllr Power explained that if it was included in the ballots to be held on 2nd May then the cost would be reduced.

Planning applications & related matters

There have been no planning applications since the last meeting.

The application for Chapel Cottage (24/00201/NMA) was received on 25th January.  The Chairman received incomplete comments from the team but was able to return a majority opinion before the closing date of 16th February.

Lengthsman

The Lengthsman Scheme is continuing in 2024/25, dates have been requested for visits.

Cllr Bason has drawn up a list of work to be carried out for the last visit due next week, this includes some items requested for the last visit but not completed.

Annual Litter Pick

Cllr Bason suggested that the Annual Litter Pick be planned for Sunday 21st April, this was agreed.

Action: Clerk to organise equipment and Cllr Bason to draft communication for village.

General Correspondence

Cllr Bason has been contacted by a concerned resident about the school bus using Northington Hill which has a 7.5 tonne weight limit. The resident reported that the bus nearly damaged another vehicles which was parked on the side of the road. Cllr Power suggested if it was a Marks coach that the company would be keen to know if there was an issue.

Action: Cllr Bason to identify bus company and make contact.

Date of the next meeting

Dates for the meeting is either Tuesday 7th or 14th May, this will be the Annual Parish Meeting and will follow the Village Hall Annual Meeting.

Action: Chairman to agree date with Village Hall Committee

The meeting ended at 7:30pm