Minutes of the Monxton Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 12th January 2021 Via Zoom at 7.30pm.
Present: Cllr M Cleugh – Chairman
Cllr J Balding – Vice Chairman
Cllr C Barbone
Cllr H Corroon
Cllr J Hooper
Hampshire County Councillor Mrs Zilliah Brooks
Test Valley Borough Councillor Mrs Maureen Flood
Heather Bourner – Parish Clerk
0 Members of the Public
Apologies:
Apologies for absence were received from Test Valley Borough Councillor David Coole.
WELCOME.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr Corroon declared an interest in a planning application for his property.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
No members of public were present.
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
The Chairman agreed to sign the minutes of the previous meeting of 13th October 2020 as a true record. All agreed.
VILLAGE HALL UPDATE
The plans for a new Village Hall have been submitted to TVBC along with a completed CIL bid for funding. It is hoped that confirmation as to whether the bid is successful will be received in May. Cllr Mrs M Flood said she would talk to the TVBC CIL team to obtain an update.
The Clerk provided an update on The Village Hall finance position as follows.
Village Hall Finance Reconciliation
Current account £2068.36
Savings account £53828.96
Parish Council held
Village hall fund £12040.77
Total available £67938.09
Cllr Cleugh confirmed in addition Amport Parish Council have pledged £3800 toward the village hall project.
PLANNING.
To note the following TVBC decision:
20/02381/TREEN –tree works Bec House- permission
20/02829/TREEN- fell 2 elm, 1 manor Farm Cottage- permission
Resolved: that the planning advisory committee’s approval on the following applications were endorsed:
20/02277/FULLN- single storey extension Bryning Lodge- no objections
20/01093/FULLN – Paisley House Monxton Condition 4A – External Lighting –objections made
20/03017/FULLN- cover existing covered link, Monxton Manor –no objection
20/03010/TREEN- reduce height of pine, Springfield, Chalkpit Lane- no objections 20/0322/RESN- layout plot 5 Andover Busines Park- as outlying permission has been granted it is not possible to object to this building. Cllr Cleugh will send a comment regarding the lost opportunity to fit solar panels and create power.
21/00075/TREEN- tree works, Monxton Manor- no objections
Concerns had been raised about a variation to a planning application at Paisley Cottage. Reference number 20/01093/FULLN. The plans included planting a whole row of trees which will all be lit at night. Several villagers had expressed concerns regarding the resulting light pollution however it was apparent that public comments to variations on an application were not published on the website. This resulted in the applicant being completely unaware of comments made by residents. The Parish Council comments did appear on the website. Cllr Cleugh had approached TVBC planning department who confirmed officers had visited the site with environmental officers in December. The case officer confirmed they are unhappy with the lighting scheme and a decision should be forthcoming shortly. Cllr Flood agreed to check with the officer why public comments are not published for objections to conditions,
Revisit VDS or produce Neighbourhood Plan.
Cllr Balding had suggested the Village Design Statement be revisited to update this and include a paragraph highlighting the need to retain dark sky in the village. Cllr Cleugh said the parishioners also wanted to protect the Village Green. This could not be done in a VDS but could be included in a Neighbourhood Plan. The Clerk had circulated a NP document made by another parish which showed how much work was involved in producing such a document. There followed a discussion as to the merits of either. It was agreed Cllr Balding would circulate the current VDS and all Cllrs were asked to review and send comments to The Clerk by 22nd January. In addition, the Clerk would contact Sarah Hughes from TVBC to arrange a meeting where she could give Councillors information and advice on creating a neighbourhood plan for Monxton.
FINANCE
To note balance in Lloyds bank as at 07/12/20 £29350.90
Resolved: that the following payments be approved and cheques signed
Clerks expenses (Aug-Oct) £28.55
Clerk back pay £43.29
Clerks salary £106.71 per month and HMRC £26.67 payments by standing order November – January
New standing orders for revised pay and Income Tax from April 2021 to be signed.
ENVIRONMENT & FOOTPATHS
Cllr Balding reported as follows: –
Lengthsman Scheme 2021
HCC have confirmed they will continue to support the Lengthsman Scheme for 2021/22.
Environment Agency
The ground water levels at Clanville Gate have started to rise and but remain reasonably low at present. See graph appendix 1
Southern Water
One of the pumps at the Monxton Pumping Station was replaced in December.
The Pillhill Brook
The Development Phase of The Watercress and Winterbournes scheme by the Hants & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has been completed and they are looking for volunteers who live in Monxton to be involved in helping with the Monxton section of the Pillhill Brook.
Footpaths Report
The stile on footpath 6 behind Manor Farm remains broken despite being repeatedly reported to HCC. Via the local Face book page farmers have requested that walkers do not stray from footpaths
SUNNYSIDE
Cllr Barbone had nothing to report
Traffic Monitoring
Cllr Hooper has now obtained all the necessary equipment and will begin monitoring traffic speeds in the village, a full report will be provided at the April meeting
Borough & County Councillor Reports.
HCC Mrs Zilliah Brooks reported: – she will continue to send the regular Cllrs Briefings which provide up to date information about the latest COVID facts and figures. She said HCC have been doing lots of work with local foodbanks to ensure residents who need this help are supported. She highlighted some current scams where people are contacted and asked to pay for a COVID vaccination. This vaccination is free to all and no one should respond to any messages asking for payment.
She further reported that not only will the lengthsman scheme continue next year it is possible after training that the lenghtsman will be able to work on the road system which is not currently allowed. Finally, she confirmed HCC Countryside Access team are keen to work with parishes to improve the footpath network across the county.
TVBC Councillor Maureen Flood reported as follows–
Increase in garden waste collection rounds
On Monday 1 February the Council’s garden waste collection service will be moving from two to three collection rounds. This change is taking place due to unprecedented demand for the service, which now has over 18,000 subscribers. The team has worked hard to minimise disruption and around 7,000 householders will receive a day change as a result. These householders will be contacted directly.
Garden waste collection service launching a new online system
To coincide with the introduction of additional garden waste rounds, from Monday 1 February residents will have access to a new online system for subscribing to the council’s garden waste collection service. Provided through the My Test Valley App, for the first-time residents will be able to subscribe and pay at point of signup. Residents will also be able to renew or update their subscriptions online resulting in an improved customer experience.
At the same time, the Council will be introducing a new online bin collection calendar ‘Know Your Bin Day’ which is also supplied through the My Test Valley App. providing residents with bespoke waste collection information for their address and can also be downloaded into a smartphone.
Test Valley Community Helpline: (Unity)
Tel: 0330 400 4116. Open 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday, every week.TVBC has granted a £10k boost to Unity, to support their response to Covid-19 and recruit an army of volunteers to staff the local Covid vaccination sites.
Financial difficulties or worries.
Please, do pick up the phone and speak to TVBC about your council tax concerns. Tel: 01264 368000
Businesses – Covid grants
There are grants varying from between a few hundred pounds to £3,000 for every 28-day period. They include money for those businesses that have been forced to close as a result of the national restrictions, as well as those that remained open but whose custom is significantly impacted.
To view the full list of grants available and to apply, visit www.testvalley.gov.uk/businessgrant
In response to a question about finances Cllr Flood confirmed that there is no proposal to cut frontline services to make the budget balance although it is possible that TVBC may need to rely on reserves to meet these obligations.
Correspondence – none other than that already discussed.
Any other business – none
CLOSE OF THE MEETING
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.
DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 13th April 2021, 7.30pm
