MINUTES OF NORTHINGTON COUNCIL ANNUAL MEETING

St John’s Church, Northington

7.20 pm on Tuesday, 14^th May 2024

Present:               Dennis Nye (DN, Chairman)

Juliet Blanshard (JB)

Andrew Bason (AB)

Simon Walker (SW)

Wendy Simson (WS, Clerk)

14 residents

Apologies:           Margot Power (District Councillor)

Fiona Issac (District Councillor)

Jackie Porter (County Councillor)

Russel Gordon Smith (District Councillor)

Rhona Hatchley (RH)

Gail Taylor

Harry & Felicity Buchanan

Matthew Pellereau

Belinda Mitchell

Jane Bryant

Carly-Sue Ray

Zoey LeBrocq

Steph Savil

Rosie Warner

Val Brodrick

Sharon Swithinbank

Nancy Brooke

The Chairman welcomed all present.

1. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Minutes of last year’s annual meeting held on the 23^rd May 2023 were adopted as a true record. The minutes were proposed by Mark Ashburton and seconded by Peter Lamb. The Chairman signed the minutes.

2. MATTERS ARISING

None

3. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Annual Village Meeting.  This is not the Parish Council AGM, which is a separate meeting to follow, but a public meeting to review the past year and discuss local matters of concern.

For newcomers, there is sometimes confusion between the Church Parochial Council and the secular Northington Parish Council.  This meeting is hosted by the latter.

We have just had the Village Hall AGM.  While the Village Hall committee and Parish Council closely cooperate, they are separately constituted groups.

4. PLANNING CONSULTATIONS

The Parish Council is not a planning authority, but like all in the Parish we have a voice that is listened to by the City and/or County planning authorities.  We believe that the collective Parish Council input is a significant influencing factor when made in accordance with ‘material’ planning considerations.  Material considerations include such items as adherence to our published Village / Community plan, highway safety, loss of collective visual amenity, noise and disturbance, ecological impact and more.

We previously implemented a process to strive for better consistency in our reviews and to minimise the subjectivity from our recommendations.

After a careful review process, the Parish Council will typically lodge a Neutral /’No Objections’ comment.  If we see a problem, then we lodge an ‘Objection’ with relevant reasons to the planning authority.  The Parish Council rarely lends its support to any application.

In the past year, there were just five domestic planning applications that required Parish Council review.  None of these five applications caused concern.

5. CANDOVER DROUGHT RELIEF SCHEME

The Candover Drought Relief / Augmentation Scheme planning application HCC/2023/0083 was made in the previous year with understandable widespread Parishioner concern.  Following Southern Water’s planning submittal, we held a second village meeting on this topic on 10 May 2023, with representatives from Southern Water.  This meeting was just prior to our last Annual Village Meeting.

The Parish Council, Parishioners and others lodged ~60 objections to the revised planning application that Southern Water submitted in February 2023.

A planning decision was originally anticipated by Autumn 2023.

A regulation 25 request (environmental impact) was made by the planning authorities, requiring Southern Water to provide more details.  The action is now back with Southern Water to supply this information and so the planning decision is on hold awaiting this further submittal.  Once all of the required data has been delivered, the authorities will inform the Parish Council, neighbours and consultees in case of further comments.

A resident suggested that as the pipeline needed to decommissioned by 2030 tht the project may not progress.

6. SCOTTISH & SOUTHERN ELECTRIC NETWORK (SSEN) POWER OUTAGES

The village has been severely disrupted by at least 14 power cuts in the last 4 months.

The Parish Council lodged complaints with SSEN in February 2024, urging supply network improvements and asking for three key issues to be addressed.

1. You urgently add secondary supply cabling to those areas of the village with a single cable and who have suffered the most.
2. You repeat the program of tree clearance/pruning around power cable runs.
3. You make an ex-gratia compensation payment to all consumers in our village. I do recognise that hot meal reimbursement was already offered.

The matter has already been escalated to include City Councillors, County Councillors and our MP, Steve Brine.

No adequate response has been received to the request for cable doubling.  All that SSEN could offer was the possibility of network enhancements in as yet unplanned 2029-2030 works.

Some continued tree clearance work has been conducted, but power-cuts continue.

With regards to compensation, they have only offered SSEN’s standard compensation package.  The standard compensation procedure is applicable for individual customers who have experienced four or more instances of power loss of over 3 hours on each occasion within the financial year.  Customers need to contact SSEN directly to check if they are eligible for this.

As no adequate plan has been forthcoming from SSEN, we will probably now need to direct our complaints to the Scottish and Southern Electric (SSE) board members.  This will be combined with the threat or maybe promise of a follow-on media campaign highlighting SSEN’s appalling supply performance.

Action: it was agreed that a meeting be convened by the Parish Council to look at how to lobby and get work carried out to improve the reliability of the supply.

7. BROADBAND PROVISION – FIBRE TO THE PREMISES

We continue to try to progress access to Fibre to the premises (FTTP) throughout the Parish to achieve Gigabit internet speeds.

Little progress has been made on this project largely due to the barriers presented by Open Reach at every step along the way.

Our hope to be included in an early Government sponsored deployment has as yet come to nothing, possibly as it went out to commercial tender.  Northington does not present the prospect of an easy and profitably deployment for bidders.

We may just have to wait for the wider national deployment.

8. VILLAGE EMAIL DISTRIBUTION

Our village email list is governed by GDPR regulations, so access to the list is funnelled through the Parish Council.

There have been about 70 village-wide emails sent in the year since our last village annual meeting.

We try to restrict emails to non-commercial matters that directly affect our village, although we do allow very local businesses to have limited access.

These emails range from missing dogs (very important to the families involved) to village hall social events, to matters concerning us all, such as the drought relief scheme.

We hope you do not feel inundated with the volume of messages.

There is another, possibly more immediate village communication mechanism provided by Lou Walker’s facilitated WhatsApp group.  Thanks again to Lou for setting this up.

9. DEFIBRILLATOR TRAINING

Some years ago, Andy Fannon led efforts to get a defib unit installed at the village hall.  Village-wide training was made available concurrent with the installation.  As time has progressed it became apparent that renewed training was necessary.

Our Clerk, Wendy Simson, arranged for training sessions throughout the Candover Valley.  A well-attended session was held in Northington on 24 Feb 2024, conducted by Community Heartbeat.

10. VILLAGE HALL LIAISON

The Parish Council and the Village Hall Committee enjoy a two-way communication process where the Council feeds back any matters arising in their meetings of interest to the Village Hall Committee and vice versa.  This process has been strengthened since July 2023, with Rhona Hatchley acting as the Council’s Village Hall liaison person.  Rhona contacts Beth Lamb, the Village Hall Chair, prior to each council meeting to ensure we are regularly updated on such matters as:

1. Key issues affecting the Village Hall.
2. Use of the grant received from the Parish Council.
3. Hall Bookings.
4. Other Village Hall income and expenditure.

As always, Village Hall and Church events are published by the Parish Council via the Village email.

11. UPDATED VILLAGE / COMMUNITY PLAN

Simon Walker and Rhona Hatchley are working to refresh our community plan.

In 2013, Northington Parish Council conducted a survey on several key local topics such as broadband, housing, land use, parish amenities, footpaths, roads etc. The results were collated and published in a Parish Plan, representing the views of residents of our three villages. The original document can be found on both the Parish and City Council Websites.

A decade has passed since the plan was written and the Parish Council is now undertaking a similar exercise to compare the results over time. Such documents are now called Community Plans.

Consultation is now underway in the form of an online survey which has been circulated to parishioners, seeking their current views.  This input will be distilled into a new community plan, which is to be published by the end of 2024.

This document is an important reference for planning consultations and is considered by the Parish Council and the planning authorities.

12. OUR ROADS

Juliet Blanshard is currently our Parish Council coordinator for Highway matters.

Neither the Parish nor City Council have any official responsibilities for local highways.  Highways are a county matter.

As much as the Parish Council would like to be able to lobby the County Highways department on behalf of the Parish, the only method of contact is as for individuals, via the Hampshire County Council website.

The issue raised most frequently is potholes and their repair.  On the Hampshire County Council website, it requests that we do not report the same issue more than once as this would put undue pressure on their system.  It further advises that a greater proportion of potholes reported are currently being treated with temporary repairs.  They are taking this approach because in the time taken to undertake a permanent repair between 4 and 7 temporary repairs can be completed.  They state, that ‘we understand that seeing temporary repairs can be frustrating, but this enables them to address any immediate safety risks. A permanent repair can then be considered at a later date.’  This may help to explain why the large potholes such as the one at the bottom of Kites Hill have returned so quickly.

The request for a reduction of the speed limit on the B3046 to extend beyond the Grange entrance is not being ignored by Northington Parish Council.  However, at this present time there has been no change of policy to allow speed limits to change unless there is a record of accidents occurring.  We are looking at other villages’ applications for a change in speed limit and will watch their result closely to see if they have any success.

13. LENGTHSMAN AND VILLAGE MAINTENANCE

Andy Bason has continued to coordinate our regular Lengthsmen visits for village maintenance tasks.
These visits have focussed on the areas of the village that usually require attention. Whether that is cleaning road signs or clearing grips, there always seems to be enough work to keep the Lengthsman busy every couple of months.

Andy again coordinated our annual village litter pick on 21 April, conducted by a team of volunteers.  About 20 bin bags of rubbish were collected, although collection was hampered due to the already long grass on the verges.  Thank you to the team of helpers.

Andy coordinated a meeting with the Winchester City officer responsible for fly tipping investigation.  This gave us more insight into what is happening to try to tackle fly-tipping and how they follow-up on reports.

It is worth commenting that the recent spate of fly-tipping towards the Lunways while of concern to us is outside of our Parish boundaries.

14. THE PARISH COUNCIL

2023-24 PARISH COUNCIL TEAM

My fellow councillors deserve thanks for giving up their time to work for the village good.

Our councillors were involved across the board, but as previously noted took on the following areas of focus.

• Andy Bason has continued to look after Lengthsman Matters and village maintenance, including the annual village litter pick. He has also liaised with the appropriate authorities on fly tipping incidences.
• Juliet Blanshard has maintained a watchful eye on our highways.
• Simon Walker was welcomed back to the Parish Council via co-option after a few years break. He is taking care of our website and related matters as well as driving the process to create an updated Village / Community Plan.
• Rhona Hatchley, who had earlier served as Parish Clerk, was co-opted onto the council and has been coordinating our efforts with the Village Hall Committee as well as working with Simon on the updated Community plan.
• Myself, Dennis Nye as the elected Chairman, continued with village email coordination, the FTTP project, working on the drought relief scheme response, SSEN power-Cuts, planning matters and whatever else needed doing.
• Wendy Simson is our highly professional Parish Clerk. She brings her experience of clerking for other local Parishes to her role with us.  She provides timely support and accurate guidance on what we as a Parish Council can and should do.

15. CHANGE OF COUNCILLORS

Having had the privilege to be a member of the Parish Council since 2018 and serving as Chairman for the past two years, I am stepping down from the Parish Council with immediate effect.  This has been prompted by a planned house move out of the Parish.

With my departure, there is a vacancy on the Parish Council that was previously notified to the village.  We have a new volunteer to bring the council back up to strength.

16. PARISH COUNCIL NEXT STEPS

The Parish Council will meet shortly to formally vote on co-opting this new member, electing their new Chairperson and deciding upon their respective responsibilities.

Please wish the Parish Council well as they continue to serve our community.

17. CLERK’S FINANCIAL REPORT

WS gave the meeting an overview of the accounts.

The Parish Council made a small increase to the precept in 2023/24 taking it from £4,500 to £4,950 (10%), a similar increase to £5,346 (8%) has been agreed for 2024/25. The Councillors agreed that the increasing prices of insurance, training, and supplies for items such as the defibrillator necessitated an uplift in line with inflation.

Councillor spent a total of £4,216.57 which included grants of £2,100. Other costs included insurance, membership to Hampshire Association of Local Councils (HALC), hall hire for the meetings and the Parish Council website.

The Chairman has already mentioned the defibrillator training which many of you will know was repeated in Brown Candover and Preston Candover Village Halls to ensure a range of dates.

The Councillors approved an increase in the Clerk’s salary from £1,100 to £1,200 in 2023 for which I am very grateful.

The closing balance on the account is £9,838 this includes £3,565.57 of Community Infrastructure Levy funding.

18. Any other business

A resident asked that the communities thanks be recorded to the Parish Council and in particular to Dennis Nye for his work as a Councillor and Chairman.

The meeting ended at 8:10pm.

WS 14/5/2024

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Tuesday 14^th May 2024                                                  Time:    8:45 pm

Venue:                 St John’s Church, Northington

Present:               Simon Walker                                                                                  Chairman

Juliet Blanshard

Andrew Bason

Wendy Simson                                                                                  Clerk

Apologies:          Rhona Hatchley

Gail Taylor

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith                                                            District Councillor

Cllr Jackie Porter                                                                              County Councillor

Cllr Fiona Issacs                                                                                 District Councillor

Cllr Margot Power                                                                           District Councillor

Welcome and apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Cllrs Hatchley, Taylor, Issacs, Power, 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 14^th March 2024 and agreed the minutes as a true representation of the meeting.

Matters arising.

Annual Litter pick – Cllr Bason arranged, and 20 bags of rubbish were collected. It was agreed that it needed to be booked for earlier in the year in 2025 as the long grass made finding the litter tricky.

Action: Date to be agreed for 2025.

Action: Clerk to add to list of dates for approval at the next meeting.

School Bus Update – Cllr Bason looked to speak to the company collecting children from the village to go to school about the speed and taking over the road on Northington Hill. The comments have been noted.

District and County Councillor updates

The Clerk had forwarded the reports prior to the meeting.

There were no questions.

Financial Update

The first 50% of the precept has been received at £2,673.

The Clerk confirmed the subscription cost for HALC membership was £196, this was approved by Councillors.

The Village Hall Committee had completed an application for £500 from the one off grant fund towards the exterior decorations work being carried out, this was approved by Councillors.

Action: Clerk to pay HALC invoice and grants.

Planning applications & related matters

There has been one planning application since the last meeting.

The application for Brookside (24/00633/HOU) was received on 17^th May and was a retrospective application for an Air Source Heat Pump.  The Councillors agreed that they had no objections to this application.

Action: Clerk to forward comment to Winchester City Council

Lengthsman

The Lengthsman Scheme is continuing in 2024/25, dates are as follows:

• 18^th July
• 19^th September
• 21^st November
• 16^th January
• 13^th March

Action: Cllr Bason to forward a message to the community about work to be carried out 2 weeks before each visit.

Cllr Blanchard raised the issue of flooding at the Northington crossroads and asked that if there was standing water on the road that a photograph be taken and forward to her to flag with Hampshire Highways.

General Correspondence

None.

Date of the next meetings

Proposed dates for the meetings in 2024 and 2025 are as follows:

• Thursday 18^th July
• Thursday 19^th September
• Thursday 21^st November
• Thursday 23^rd January
• Thursday 20^th March

Meetings to start at 6:30pn in the Village Hall.

Action: These are to be agreed at the next meeting.

The meeting ended at 9:10pm

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Thursday 14^th 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 18^th 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 7^th 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 2^nd 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 25^th January.  The Chairman received incomplete comments from the team but was able to return a majority opinion before the closing date of 16^th 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 21^st 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 7^th or 14^th 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

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Thursday 18^th January 2024

Time:    6:30 pm

Venue:                 Brookside, Northington, SO24 9TH

Present:               Dennis Nye                                                                                         Chairman

Juliet Blanshard

Simon Walker

Rhona Hatchley

Cllr Fiona Issacs                                                                                 District Councillor

Cllr Jackie Porter                                                                              County Councillor

Clare Helen                                                                                         Trustee, Town Trust Bus

Wendy Simson                                                                                  Clerk

Apologies:          Andrew Bason

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith                                                            District Councillor

Cllr Margot Power                                                                           District Councillor

Welcome and apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Cllrs Bason, Power, and Gordon-Smith all sent apologies.

Public Forum

Clare joined the meeting to give the Councillors an overview of the Alresford Town Trust minibus charity which runs two vehicles between Alton, Alresford, and Winchester along with the village around Alresford. The service is not a commercial venture and does not support commercial businesses but is to support those who struggle with social isolation. A grant from Hampshire County Council paid for both buses and the team are looking to upgrade one of the vehicles to a newer model later in the year. Customers are asked for a donation when they use the service (an example is £4 for the return trip between Alton and Alresford) and this along with ongoing grants and gift aid pay for the insurance, fuel, and service costs.

The Trust are looking for new volunteer drivers and ideas for new routes to support additional people. Currently the bus doesn’t come to Northington, but it could if there is a need. Weekdays the buses complete regular routes but are available for private hire at weekends.

Drivers are required to have a D1 driving license and the Bus Manager, Ken Corbin, would complete a full induction.

Action: Clare to send detail to the Chairman for circulation in the village.

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 16^th November 2023 and agreed the minutes as a true representation of the meeting. The Clerk provided a copy for the Chairman to sign.

Matters arising.

Defib update including training. – Training dates have been booked as follows:

• Saturday 27^th January – Candover Valley Club, Brown Candover
• Saturday 10^th February, Preston Candover Village Hall
• Saturday 24^th February, Northington Village Hall

All dates are open to everyone as it was agreed that it was important that as many people as possible got the training. RH and JB both took a poster to go on the two noticeboards. The Chairman, Cllr Porter, and Cllr Blanshard asked to be booked for the Northington session, Cllr Hatchley asked to go on 27^th January.

Action: Clerk to book Councillor onto the sessions.

Storage box for sports equipment – Cllr Bason was to speak to residents about this idea.

Action: Cllr Bason to feedback at next meeting.

Website documents – the Clerk gave Cllr Walker a briefing document which lists the mandatory documents required to be put on the website. Cllr Walker agreed to review the content against this list and then any additional information can be supplied where needed.

District and County Councillor updates

The Clerk had forwarded the reports prior to the meeting.

Cllr Porter asked if anyone in the Parish was using Star Link as a broadband provider, the Chairman confirmed that at least one resident did use it.  It is reported to be reliable and with good performance, subject to a clear line of sight.  Jackie Porter noted that it was expensive. Phase 2 of the national project to get all rural areas connected is being set up, but currently Northington isn’t on the list. HCC are planning to raise as an issue. HCC have also set aside funding to support households with a child that needs fast broadband to support learning.

Cllr Issacs explained that fly tipping is still an issue, and those reporting sites are encouraged to use “what-three-words” to pinpoint the location.

Parking Wardens employed by HCC are working in Alresford. Cllr Issacs has asked for confirmation about using the parking spaces after the market stills have left on Thursdays. The wording of when parking is permitted is to be circulated once confirmed.

The Recycling Centre in Alresford is at risk of closure due wider budget constraints.   While such a decision has yet to be made, alternative management models are under consideration, including running it by a community group. There are further sites are Winchester and Alton. The public are encouraged to write in to support the facility so it might be saved.

Interaction with County and City Council

The Chairman raised several issues that residents had experienced when reporting potholes, fly tipping and with an abandoned car in the village. Whilst a reference code was given when reporting via the telephone or website, it was very difficult to get any updates of when the issue was to be dealt with.

Cllr Issacs suggest that initially the issue should be reported on the website but follow up via the telephone and asking for the name of the officer dealing with the case. If there is no progress Cllr Issacs suggest that the resident asks to speak to a supervisor.

Both Cllr Issacs and Cllr Porter agreed to get involved where no action is taken for an extended period.

Rural Policing Meeting

A meeting was set up to allow game keepers and farm managers to discuss specific issues with the local police, this took place on Friday 12^th January in Brown Candover. The meeting was well attended, and some very useful information shared. Cllr Bason had been invited as one of the local farm managers and the Chairman suggested that he should update the Council with any actions at the next meeting.

Action: Cllr Bason to update the Parish Council at the next meeting.

Financial Update

The Clerk circulated the financial report with the papers.

The Clerk thanked Councillors for the salary increase to £1,200 per annum from Q4 of the 2023/24 financial year.

The invoice has been received for the Defibrillator Training at £175 plus VAT (£210).

Action: Cllr Walker to send an invoice to the Clerk for the website domain in 2023/24.

Budgets 2024/25

Cllr Walker and Cllr Hatchley informed the Parish Council that a survey tool would be required for the Village Plan update and a possible free tool identified. However, it was suggested that a value of £100 (3-4 months at £30 a month) be included in the budget to meet this need.

The Councillors discussed the budget and agreed to increase the precept by 8% which would allow for inflation along with a small Ear Marked Reserve (EMR) to support community projects.

Village Plan Review

Cllr Hatchley and Cllr Walker have drawn up a plan for the review process which they will present to the Parish Council at the next meeting.

Action: Draft plan to be circulated a week before the next meeting.

Village Hall Update

Cllr Hatchley reported that the Village Hall Committee appreciate the support being given by the Parish Council. Bookings have been steady over Christmas and some regular hires have boosted income, these remain steady.

The Chairman has requested a new portrait of the King.  The process will have to be repeated in February, when we are now informed that Parish Councils can apply.

The Village Committee will be getting the exterior paintwork done this Spring as per our £500 one-off grant from the Parish Council. This year it is planned to request a one-off grant for attending to damaged brickwork around the hall’s damp course (esp. along the kitchen wall), repointing etc. Also improving drainage along the side nearest the fire exit. It needs the tarmac digging out and gravel or a channel put in.

The Village Hall Committee have published a calendar of Village Hall events this year as requested; this will go out in the February Oxdrove. The Village Hall Committee asked if the Parish Council could publish the Hall and Church events calendars by email and on the website each January. This would help keep the residents better informed on local events and organisations at the start of the year. The Councillors approved this.

Action: Cllr Hatchley to provide a list of events to Cllr Walker.

Simon Lavers has taken on the role to look at accessing additional funding for future structural repairs to the village hall.  Cllr Hatchley agreed to offer support from the Council along with Cllr Porter at a County level.

Succession Planning

The Chairman confirmed that he will resign as the Chairman and a Councillor at the May meeting. It was agreed that there had been a few interested residents who should be approached.

The Councillor held a coffee morning a couple of years ago to enable residents to understand the role of Councillor with a view to getting involved.

Action: Councillors to speak to any residents who might be interested in joining the Parish Council.
Chairman to send village email asking for volunteers to join the Parish Council.

Planning applications & related matters

There have been no planning applications since the last meeting.

Flooding

The heavy rain in the area on Thursday 4^th January didn’t cause any issues, there was some very deep puddles on the junction with the A33. Cllr Porter agreed to speak to Highways about this issue.

The Clerk informed Councillors that both Preston Candover & Nutley Parish Council and Candovers Parish Council have empty sandbags and access to sand if needed quickly.

Lengthsman

The final date for 2024 is:

• 15^th March 2024

Cllr Bason to organise an action plan for the visit.

The Lengthsman Scheme is continuing in 2024/25.

General Correspondence

Winchester City Council sent out the paperwork for nominations for the Mayor’s Community Awards 2024.

Date of the next meeting

Dates for the meeting is Thursday 21^st March, however the Village Hall has double booked again with the Police. The Clerk suggested that the previous Thursday (14^th March) looked to be available on the website.

Action: Clerk to change booking to 14^th March.

The following meeting is Thursday 16^th May, this will be the Annual Parish Meeting and will follow the Village Hall Annual Meeting.

The meeting ended at 8:20pm.

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Tuesday, 23^rd May 2023                                                                 Time:    8:40 pm

Venue:                 Northington Village Hall

Present:               Dennis Nye                                                                                                         Chairman

Lucy Williams

Andrew Bason

Melissa Jennings

Juliet Blanshard

Wendy Simson                                                                                                  Clerk

Apologies:          Cllr Margot Power (District Councillor)

Cllr Jackie Porter (County Councillor)

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith (District Councillor)

Fiona Issacs (District Councillor)

1. Election of Chairman

The Clerk explained that the Council is required to elect the Chairman each year. Councillor Nye confirmed that he was prepared to stand again, and the remaining Councillors confirmed that they did not wish to stand. Councillor Williams proposed Councillor Nye and Councillor Bason seconded the nomination. The full Council voted to approve Councillor Nye’s re-election.

1. Co-option of Juliet Blanshard to the Parish Council

Juliet had not been nominated at the elections on 8^th May due to an issue with paperwork, she confirmed that she wished to stand again as a Councillor. Cllr Nye proposed Juliet and Cllr Bason seconded, and the Councillors approved her appointment.

1. Resignation of Cllr Jennings and Cllr Williams

The two Councillors have decided to step down, Cllr Jennings with immediate effect after 7 years on the Parish Council and Cllr Williams at the next meeting due to a house move. The Chairman thanked both for their support and a gift was presented to each.

1. Co-option of two new Councillors

Rhona Hatchley and Simon Walker have both spoken to the Chairman about becoming Councillors. Unfortunately, neither were able to attend and sent apologies but the Clerk confirmed that they could be co-opted onto the Parish Council in their absence. Cllr Blanshard proposed both and Cllr Bason seconded, both were elected to the Parish Council.

1. Councillor roles and responsibilities

Draft roles and responsibilities to be confirmed at next meeting

6. Internal Audit Report for 2022/23

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk had taken the accounts to the Internal Auditor, however this process has not yet been completed. The Clerk agreed to circulate the report once received.

7. Certificate of exception

Prior to the meeting the Clerk had circulated the completed Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for 2022/23. Councillors approved that the Parish Council met the criteria for exception as detailed on page 3. The Chairman signed the form.

8. Annual Governance Statement 2022/23

The Clerk read out the 8 statements on page 5 of the AGAR and the Councillors confirmed that the Parish Council had the appropriate controls in place. Statement 9 was answered as N/a as the Parish Council does not have any Trust Funds. The Chairman signed form.

9. Accounting Statement for 2022/23

The Councillors confirmed that they had read the Accounting Statement on page 6 of the AGAR and that the figures submitted agreed with the Annual Accounts. The Chairman signed this page of the AGAR.

The Clerk confirmed that the completed AGAR, Annual Accounts and Explanation of Variances were posted on the Parish Council website along with the dates for the exercise of public rights to view the accounts.

The meeting ended at 8.55 pm.

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Tuesday 23^rd May 2023                                                                  Time:    8:55 pm

Venue:                 Northington Village Hall

Present:               Dennis Nye                                                                                                         Chairman

Andrew Bason

Juliet Blanshard

Wendy Simson                                                                                                  Clerk

2 members of the public

Apologies:

Rhona Hatchley

Simon Walker

Cllr Margot Power                                                                                           District Councillor

Cllr Fiona Issacs                                                                                                 District Councillor

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith                                                                            District Councillor

Cllr Jackie Porter                                                                                              County Councillor

Welcome and apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllrs Power, Gordon-Smith, Porter and Issacs all sent apologies. Apologies were also accepted from Rhona Hatchley and Simon Walker who have both expressed an interest in becoming Councillors.

Minutes of the last meeting

The Councillors reviewed minutes for the meeting on 24^th March 2023 and agreed the minutes as a true representation of the meeting. The Clerk provided a copy for the Chairman to sign.

Matters arising.

SID position on B3046 – it was agreed that the data already available would negate having to install the SID to record speeds. Cllr Blanshard agreed to to continue to pursue the speed limitation request on B3046

Culvert clearing at Northington Crossroads – the culvert and drains were cleared in March 2022, and it has been requested that they be cleared again but there has been no report of the work being done. Cllr Blanshard reported that the road does clear after rain.

Fly tipping – Cllr Bason has reported the issue and the pile dumped by Micheldever Woods has been cleared, however Cllr Bason informed the Council that another load has been left in the previous 48 hours.

Litter Pick – Cllr Bason confirmed that the litter pick had gone well.

Planning applications & related matters

Water Augmentation Scheme – following the open meeting with Southern Water on 10^th May an objection was posted from the Parish Council. The Chairman reported that there were a number of other comments posted prior to the deadline of 12^th May, all were objections.

Clerks report & Financial update

The Clerk informed Councillors that there was just one payment to be made for the subscription to HALC (Hampshire Association of Local Councils) for £170.78. This was approved by the Councillors.

Lengthsman

The dates have been agreed for 23/24 and they are:

• 12^th June 2023
• 12^th September 2023
• 11^th December 2023
• 15^th March 2024

Melissa agreed to pass on the email from the Lengthsman requesting the worksheet when it arrived and inform the Lengthsman of the change of personnel.

Village Hall

The Councillors agreed to work with the Village Hall with possible funding once the plan had been circulated of what actions were to be taken.

General Correspondence

Melissa informed the Councillors that she had a contact name and telephone number of Conway’s, Cllr Bason asked if this could be shared with him.

Date of the next meeting

The next meeting is planned for Thursday 27^th July, the Chairman agreed to circulate the date to the new Councillors to confirm they were available.

The meeting ended at 9:30 pm.

NORTHINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

Date:                     Thursday 23^rd March 2023                                                            Time:    6:30 pm

Venue:                 Northington Village Hall

Present:               Dennis Nye                                                                                                         Chairman

Melissa Jennings

Lucy Williams

Andrew Bason

Juliet Blanshard

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith                                                                            District Councillor

Cllr Jackie Porter                                                                                              County Councillor

Wendy Simson                                                                                                  Clerk

Apologies:          Cllr Margot Power                                                                                           District Councillor

Cllr Fiona Issacs                                                                                                 District Councillor

Welcome and apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllrs Power and Issacs both sent apologies.

Minutes of the last meeting

The Councillors reviewed minutes for the meeting on 19^th January 2023 and agreed the minutes as a true representation of the meeting. The Clerk provided a copy for the Chairman to sign.

Matters arising.

Bank Account Signatories – Councillors agreed to review bank signatories once the elections have taken place.

Millennium bench – Cllr Bason updated the Council that this was in hand.

Blocked drain on B3046 by Village Hall – Cllr Blanshard confirmed this was on the last list for the Lengthsman visit.

District Councillors Report

The Clerk had circulated the reports received from Councillors prior to the meeting.

Cllr Gordon-Smith updated the Parish Council on the award of a development partner to redevelop the centre of Winchester in the area where the old bus station, post office, Iceland, etc were situated. This will be a 10 years project and will include a pop up park and an area where an archaeological dig can be viewed by the public. The Debenhams site which is outside of the scheme is owned by Surrey County Council and there are plans for three restaurants to take the building.

Cllr Porter apologies that her report hadn’t been delivered but sent again earlier today. The focus was on the Council Tax and budgets. Cllr Porter expressed concerns about the Head of Education and the Head of Child Services both retiring and the gaps in the City Council this left.

Cllr Blanshard asked about the possibility of extending the speed limit on the B3046. Cllr Porter asked if the Parish Council had a Speed Indication Device (SID) that recorded data, the Clerk explained that she could borrow one but the piece of road was currently National Speed Limit so a SID could not be deployed in the area. Councillors expressed concern about the changes to the traffic at the Grange and further accidents. Cllr Porter suggested that the areas around the entrance to the Grange was an advisory 30mph zone and that Highways may allow the SID to be used.

Action: Clerk to speak to Highways about identifying a site for a SID.

The Chairman asked if there was any update on the fibre broadband project, Cllr Porter informed Councillors that the money generated from the scheme meant that some commercially viable areas including Northington were being reassessed.   Northington is near the top of the list for any local central funding.

Planning applications & related matters

Lawn House (22/02584/HOU)) – all Councillors provided comments via email and the Chairman responded on behalf of the Parish Council to confirm that were no concerns.

Clerks report & Financial update

The Clerk had circulated the financial report prior to the meeting, hall hire for the meeting was to be included but then the financial year was to be closed. The Clerk will prepare the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) and present for Internal Audit. The accounts will be ready for the May meeting for sign off by Council.

Elections

The Clerk forwarded information about the elections in January and resent the nomination paperwork on 16^th March. The Chairman has completed the paperwork and reassured Councillors that it was not onerous. The Clerk suggested that one Councillor could take paperwork in for all members, the Chairman agreed to contact Winchester City Council to book an appointment.

Action: Chairman to book appointment to deliver all Councillors paperwork.

Cllr Bason, Williams and Blanshard agreed to meet with the Clerk at 11am on Sunday 2^nd April at the Woolpack to complete all packs and allow each to nominate others.

Action: Clerk to take paperwork to Chairman for delivery.

Cllr Jennings announced that she would not be standing at the elections. Cllr Williams also announced that they plan to move this year, but she would remain a Councillor until she leaves.

There was a discussion about the need for new Councillors in view of two Councillors stepping down.

Action: Chairman to email village asking for volunteers

Action: Chairman to make a direct appeal to village newcomers to get involved.

Action: All NPC to forward to Chairman further candidate suggestions.

Action: Clerk to publicise need for volunteers in the Oxdrove magazine.

Highways

The Road has flooded again at the Northington crossroads and Cllr Blanshard agreed to speak to Highways about getting the culverts cleared again.

Action: Cllr Blanshard to speak to Highways.

Cllr Bason asked if there was an opportunity to have signage about the risks of ice during the winter on the stretch of road between the Northington Crossroads and Now House Farm. Cllr Porter suggested reporting it through the HCC website.

Cllr Bason informed that the Parish Council that there had been an issue with fly tipping of roofing materials in the area around New House Farm, each time it has been cleared quickly by WCC but would like I reported. Cllr Porter suggested that Gary Brown, the Officer for Fly-Tipping be informed as he is an ex-police officer and will investigate and collect any evidence which may allow a prosecution. Cllr Gordon-Smith asked to be copied in on the correspondence.

Action: Cllr Bason to email Gary Brown and provide all evidence to date.

Water Augmentation Scheme Update

The Councillors discussed the new submission for planning from Southern Water for:

Construction and operation of an approximately 8.1km raw water pipeline, predominantly as a permanent below ground pipeline (approximately 7.2km) but with five temporary above ground sections of pipeline (approximately 900m) and other temporary accesses, hard standings, plant (including temporary water booster pumping station) and equipment capable of installation, removal, storage and re-installation in advance of and operation during severe drought events over the period to the end of 2030. Provision of a new permanent pole mounted high voltage power supply at Land in Itchen Valley and Candover Valley Hampshire.

The full application can be found at

https://planning.hants.gov.uk/Planning/Display/HCC/2023/0083

The Chairman has read all documents and confirmed that some of the concerns raised about the last plan have been amended. The property likely to be most affected is Keepers Cottage opposite the pumping station on Kite’s Hill.

Councillors raised concerns about the temporary compound which seemed large at 80m by 40m and wanted assurances that this would be fully dismantled once the initial set up has been completed.

Cllr Porter informed the Parish Council that water was now going to be put into the Candover Brook but was not sure where this was likely to be, the Chairman suggested that it would go in at the pumping station.

Cllr Porter suggested that the Parish Councillors have a meeting with Lise Kirby from HCC, possibly via Zoom, to discuss concerns. Cllr Poster also suggested that the Parish Council asked for an extension to the closing date for comments as 12^th May is just after the elections.

Action: Clerk to speak to WCC about extending the closing date for comments.

Cllr Williams suggested that another public meeting be held to allow residents to voice their thoughts.

Action: Cllr Williams to speak to Southern Water about sending a representative.

Action: Chairman to issue a village wide email with links to planning website, together with the current NPC stance (object) and a request to lodge parishioner comments to the planners or feedback to NPC.

Action: Chairman to distribute his collected notes from scan review of ~83 planning documents to the rest of the council to facilitate their more detailed review.

Village Hall Cooperation

The Chairman has been in correspondence with the Village Hall Committee about funding for the new roof and also ongoing events and bookings. Cllr Porter informed the Parish Council that there were a number of grants available to help with the roof and she had looked to arrange a date to discuss with the Village Hall Committee but a suitable date hadn’t been identified.

Action: Cllr Porter to arrange a date to meet the committee

The Chairman suggested that the Village Hall Committee and Parish Council should meet in an email on 15^th February and gave a number of questions that needed to be explored

• Is there a plan to address the anticipated shortfall in both operating and capital expenditures that you can share with NPC?
  If such a plan exists, then we can work together to see if we might enhance it.
  If such a plan does not exist, then we can work together to create such a plan.
• Has Jackie Porter’s offer of assistance been taken up?
• Have the other source of Grants been pursued?
• No apparent communication to the village about the hall’s difficulties or appeals for funding support.
• Is the VH committee looking to change its traditional role and responsibilities?

The Chairman had proposed a meeting with the village hall committee to discuss the above matters, but with no specific response.

Action: Chairman to arrange a meeting with Village Hall Committee Co-Chairpersons to discuss.

Cllr Blanshard also suggested that the Village Hall Committee be encouraged to put forward a member as a Parish Councillor to ensure better communication.

Action: Chairman to speak to Village Hall Committee about a representative on the Parish Council.

Lengthsman

Cllr Jennings informed the Council that the Lengthsman visited on 6th March and one man did a full day and got most of the list of work completed.

The Clerk confirmed that the contract had been renewed with HCC for the Lengthsman in 23/24. RP Gardening Services who deliver the contract for the Candover Cluster has written to explain that with increasing costs that the model would be amended for 23/24 and gave two options:

• Option 1 – 4 visits a year (4 hours each) with two people
• Option 2 – 5 visits a year (4 hours each) with one person.

It was agreed that option 1 provided best value.

Action: Clerk to circulate dates when received.

The Lengthsman has collected the stones that have been washed down Church Lane and it was suggested that these be put in front of the post-box where is has become very muddy.

Action: Cllr Jennings to speak to the Lengthsman for next visit.

Website

The Chairman informed the Parish Council that no further progress had been made with the website.

General Correspondence

Litter Pick – this has been booked for Sunday 16^th April and the Village Hall Committee are arranging a coffee morning.

Cllr Bason agreed to allocate the routes and the Clerk agreed to source litter pickers and hoops for the bags.

Action: Clerk to organise litter picking equipment

Action: Cllr Jennings to provide old litter picking and route information to Cllr Bason

Action:  Chairman to issue village email for volunteers upon request from Cllr Bason.

Date of the next meeting

The next meeting is planned for Tuesday 23^rd May after the Village Hall meeting as part of the Annual Parish meeting, start time to be confirmed by Village Hall Committee.

The meeting ended at 8:35 pm.