Pages 1261 to 1263
April 2008
Minutes of the Meeting of Sherington Parish Council held on Tuesday 1st April 2008 in Sherington Village Hall commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT: Cllrs Peter Burton (Chair), Peter Cook, David Keene, Ian Thomson, David Wright and David Hyde
ALSO ATTENDING: Wendy Austyn (Clerk), and 5 public.
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
None.
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None.
3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on 4th March 2008 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
4. CLERK’S REPORT
Street lighting and under grounding. One property on Crofts End has yet to be connected to the under ground power supply, along with the nearby new street light, this work will involve a high voltage shutdown of several properties in the area. (Post meeting note intended dates are 23rd to 28th April) The remainder of the overhead cables and poles will be removed during this time. The makers of the new street lights Holophane have had photographs taken for use in articles to appear in trade lighting publications, hopefully the parish council will be able to use this material for its own publicity. BT has no plans to remove any more poles or place cables under ground, although if a cable is less than 5.9m over a road, remedial action must be taken. ACTION: Clerk/Cllr Hyde
Dog Bins. The new dog bins have been installed and maintenance to existing bins carried out. It was agreed that now would be a good time to step up the awareness campaign by publicising the bins in SCAN magazine and inviting the MKC dog warden to visit the village, as mentioned in previous minutes.ACTION: Clerk
5. PARISH PLAN
Cllr Wright reported that he has updated his original document and defined the document structure, but is as yet to meet with Bob Wilson at MKC in order to progress the link with the area development plan. This should be before the next meeting. ACTION: Cllr Wright
6. STONEPITS CLOSE
Cllr Keene reported that he has done some initial costing work and is in consultation with the Parks Trust for information and advice. Sources of funding are also to be explored. Cllr Keene will prepare an Action Point sheet ready for councillors to meet on site and discuss ideas on Sunday 18th May at 10.30am. ACTION: Cllr Keene
7. FINANCE
Monthly balances. Enterprise Account £23408.25; Treasurer Account £3524.56
Cheques for payment were as follows:
| 01/04/2008 | P Burton | Ink Cartridge | £12.67 | 101546 |
| 01/04/2008 | E.ON | Pavilion electricity | £41.33 | 101547 |
| 01/04/2008 | BALC | Subscriptions | £111.77 | 101548 |
| 01/04/2008 | Bucks Community Action | Subscriptions | £20.00 | 101549 |
| 01/04/2008 | A H Contracts | Dog Bins | £58.99 | 101550 |
| 01/04/2008 | Anglian Water | Pavilion water | £149.27 | 101551 |
| 01/04/2008 | Milton Keynes Council | Pavilion rates | £169.46 | 101552 |
| 01/04/2008 | Wendy Austyn | Clerk’s salary | £236.36 | 101553 |
| 01/04/2008 | Wendy Austyn | Clerk’s expenses | £11.32 | 101554 |
| 01/04/2008 | Nina Beal | Pavilion cleaner | £67.87 | 101555 |
| 01/04/2008 | Raymond Rowan Design | Architect’s Fees re pavilion | £846.53 | 101556 |
| 01/04/2008 | Shane Lea | Perry Lane caretaker | £50.00 | 101557 |
| 01/04/2008 | Tim Horne | Tree Maintenance Knoll | £420.00 | 101558 |
| 01/04/2008 | A H Contracts | New and repair dog bins | £598.08 | 101559 |
8. PLANNING
08/00226/FUL 26 Gun Lane. Creation of 1st and 2nd floor accommodation, plus single storey front extension to create garage. The Parish Council considered that this is an overdevelopment within the size of the plot. The neighbours’ objections are noted and it would appear that there is an issue with the planning application boundary line. The proposed development is also likely to cause vehicle parking problems.
08/00354/FUL 45 High St – convert barn to dwelling and build garage. The Parish Council understands that the application for the garage has been withdrawn so didnt make a comment on this. There were no objections to the barn conversion, as it will restore a building that will otherwise fall to ruin. It was noted that the owners intend to use recycled materials from the original structure.
08/00355/FUL 45 High St – two storey rear extension. The Parish Council noted objections from the two neighbours to the north of the property. It was acknowledged that significant improvements are proposed, particularly the roof, windows and interior room arrangement. The applicants have stated that they are open to ideas and are happy to compromise on the proposed height of the extension. The parish council requests that MKC defer its decision until discussions have been held between the applicants and MKC Planning representatives to reach an agreeable compromise on any contentious aspects of the application.
08/00381/FUL 4 Village Close – single storey front extension plus conservatory. No adverse comments.
08/00382/FUL 25 Crofts End – alteration to detached garage and dormer windows. No adverse comments.
08/00404/FUL 3 End Farm, Water Lane. New horse shelter. No adverse comment.
9. SHERINGTON SPORTS GROUND
Pavilion building project. Cllr Burton reported that the Football Association has finally approved the building layout and is now progressing the funding application. Results are still awaited regarding other funding applications; and the revised drawings have been sent to MKC Planning and Building Control. ACTION: Cllr Burton
Pavilion management committee. Councillors met with Bucks Community Action advisor Laurie Johnson who provided useful information and advice on setting up a sub-committee of the parish council to manage the pavilion. It was agreed that the committee would have its own bank account and a budget set by the parish council for the first year at least; and that one of the committee should be a parish councillor and another the current main user of the facility i.e. Sherington Football Club. It was agreed to now approach potential committee members and get together. ACTION: Cllr Thomson
Caretaker. Shane Lea has resigned from his post with immediate effect. Cllr Cook will approach a few residents to gauge interest in taking on the role of opening and closing the gates on a daily basis. ACTION: Cllr Cook
10. EXTERNAL MEETINGS
MKNECAF Wednesday 5th March 08. Cllr Burton attended where the range of topics discussed included High Street South Olney, Sherington cycle route, Stoke Goldington flooding, wind farm, Tyringham Bridge and crossing outside Olney Middle School.
BCA Rural Affordable Housing seminar Monday March 10th. Cllrs Hyde and Burton attended. It was noted that in a small rural development there would likely be a maximum of 12 AH units of good design and build quality, that these units are not just for young people, and that there would be built in safeguards to ensure that the units remained ‘affordable’ and always available to those with local connections. Any rural community wishing to explore this would need to carry out an ‘Assessment of Need’ which Bucks Community Action can help with. It was agreed to pick this up in the Parish Plan. ACTION: Cllr Wright
Parishes Assembly Wednesday 26th March. No one was available to attend.
Streetcare walkabout. For MKC officers to attend this needs to be during the week. ACTION: Clerk
11. CORRESPONDENCE
Sherington School soft partnership. The parish council received a letter from Sherington School informing of its decision to form a soft partnership with Emberton School where the head teacher role will be shared between the two schools and an additional part time teacher will be employed.
MKC Highway works to Chicheley Hill. It was noted in the weekly MKC briefing that Chicheley Hill is scheduled for resurfacing in June 2008.
Parish Plant Sale. A letter has been received from the church asking permission to hold a plant sale on the Knoll on June 14th. This was agreed.
12. PUBLIC COMMENTS
A water leak outside 26 Crofts End was reported. ACTION: Clerk
Progress of the new bus shelter was enquired after. This has been ordered along with the hard standing and level access kerb to be installed first by MKC. ACTION: Clerk to chase
It was suggested that local scouts/guides may make use of the newly extended pavilion.
A resident asked whether the parish council would need to apply for temporary event licences for the newly extended pavilion.
13. COUNCILLORS ITEMS
Cllr Thomson enquired about the ditch behind Smiths Yard. It was agreed to chase Anglian Water, and also MKC about the ditch on Water Lane outside no. 43. ACTION: Clerk
Cllr Thomson enquired about the pre-school playhouse. It was MKC who repaired the roof and the play area officer suggests that the bottom section neednt be replaced. The clerk will consult with the pre-school about spending money on safety surfacing and some other equipment e.g. activity boards that can be fixed to the fence. ACTION: Clerk
Cllr Cook reported that the ditch along the High St from Harriets End to Bakers Farm need clearing. ACTION: Clerk
Cllr Cook reported that a lorry has knocked over the safety fencing surrounding the culvert in the ditch alongside Water Lane. It was agreed to contact the developer of End Farm ACTION: Clerk
Cllr Burton reported a broken bench in the Village Hall play area.
Cllr Burton reported that Lisa Masters will join the parish council at the May meeting.
14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Tuesday 6th May 2008 at the Village Hall commencing at 7pm, followed by the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at 7.30pm. There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.18 pm
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