Minutes of the Monxton Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 13th April 2021 Via Zoom at 7.30pm.
Present: Cllr M Cleugh – 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.
1.WELCOME.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllr Cleugh confirmed that Judith Balding had resigned as a Parish Councillor. He thanked her for 8 years of service to the council, in particular in her role as Environmental Representative. A notice to publish the vacancy had been posted to the website and the Village Hall notice board.
2.DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr Corroon declared an interest in a planning application for his property.
3.PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
No members of public were present.
4.MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
The Chairman agreed to sign the minutes of the previous meeting of 12th January 2021 as a true record. All agreed.
5.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 or June.
The Clerk provided an update on The Village Hall finance position as follows.
Village Hall Finance Reconciliation
Current account £10725.79
Savings account £53828.96
Parish Council held
Village hall fund £12040.77
Total available £76595.52
The Village Hall finances were currently dealt with by The Clerk as no volunteer treasurer could be found. The bank account was operated online by The Clerk as sole signatory. Following a discussion regarding banking arrangements for the Village Hall bank account it was agreed the money should be moved to a Lloyds account for ease and operated alongside the Parish Council account.
The Village Hall bookings clerk had resigned, a replacement volunteer is required. Please contact the Clerk (01264 773976) if you are able to help.
6.PLANNING.
To note the following TVBC decision:
- 20/03010/TREEN –reduce pine Springfield, Chalkpit Lane- no objection
- 21/02254/TREEN- crown lift Yew tree- St Marys Church – no objections
- 21/00075/TREEN- tree works, Monxton Manor-No objections
Resolved: that the planning advisory committee’s approval on the following applications were endorsed:
- 21/02254/TREEN- crown lift Yew tree- St Marys Church – no objections
- 21/00243/LBWN- Alterations and conversion coach house, Monxton Manor –no objection
- 21/00829/TREEN- crown lift yew, thin cotoneaster, Farm Cottage, Green Lane -no objections
- 21/00878/FULLN- single story extension, Boundary Cottage- no objections
- 21/00880/TELN- application to determine if prior approval required for telecommunications mast- objection
Cllr Hooper asked if the trees on the Village Green were to be cut down. Cllr Cleugh said he believed a road closure is required to fell the trees next to the road so a licence is required attracting an approximate cost of £4000, this will be in addition to the cost of felling the trees. Cllr Corroon said it was important to get the trees down while they were still sturdy enough to climb otherwise the costs will escalate. The responsibility for this lies with the landowner.
7.Revisit VDS or produce Neighbourhood Plan.
Cllr Cleugh reported on a meeting between Parish Councillors and Sarah Hughes from TVBC when the merits of a Neighbourhood Plan were discussed. A Village design statement has been in place for some years which has been adopted by TVBC as a supplementary planning document.
Two areas of concern had instigated the discussions protecting the Village Green and ensuring the village kept its current dark sky at night with no artificial lights being allowed.
Cllr Cleugh said there was simply not the resources available in the village to embark on writing a new plan of either sort and Cllr Hooper said he did not feel a Neighbourhood Plan would not add any value to the Parish. The planning application that had threatened the artificial light concerns had been dealt with satisfactorily.
After further discussion it was unanimously agreed not to create a neighbourhood plan and not to update the Village Design Statement at this point.
8.FINANCE
To note balance in Lloyds bank as at 31/03/21 £28261.09
i)Resolved: that the following payments be approved and cheques signed
Clerks expenses (Feb-April) £28.55
Clerk back pay £57.68
Sarah Dowding (website) £72.22
TVBC (dog bins) £426.43
ICO £35.00(DD)
Clerks salary £106.71 per month and HMRC £26.67 payments by standing order February to March
Clerks salary £112.47 per month and HMRC £28.12 payments by standing order April
ii)Following the resignation of Judith Balding Parish Council bank account signatories needed to be changed. It was agreed the Clerk should be added as a signatory and to set up online bank payments when another signatory would need to authorise any payments to be released. Cllrs Corroon and Hooper agreed to be added to the account as signatories. The Clerk will obtain the necessary forms for completion. In the meantime Judith Balding will continue to counter sign cheques.
iii)Accounts for the year ended 31/03/2021 had been circulated and were agreed. The Clerk will arrange for the audit return to be completed and signed and for records to be reviewed by an internal auditor.
9.ENVIRONMENT & FOOTPATHS
Cllr Balding had provided a final report as follows: –
Lengthsman Scheme 2021
The Lengthsman has started village maintenance and, for his safety, all dog owners are reminded to pick up dog mess and put it either in the bins provided or take it home and put it in their black bin. In particular dog walkers are asked not to leave poo bags hanging in the hedges along the footpaths!
Environment Agency
Ground water levels have been high for the last few months but are starting to drop
Southern Water
Southern Water has been informed about the APPLICATION NO: 21/00880/TELN – Land North Of Abbotts Ann Road, Monxton. There is no mention in the application that Southern Water’s rising main goes straight through the proposed site. Any disturbance to this main could have catastrophic consequences for the communities of Monxton and Abbotts Ann.
The Pillhill Brook
The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, continue their, ‘Watercress and Winterbournes’, a five-year Landscape Partnership Scheme together with local communities and other organisations to restore Hampshire’s chalk streams including the Pillhill Brook.
The Environment Agency has given Southern Water permission to start over pumping at East Cholderton in to the Pillhill Brook.
For safety reasons, please DO NOT allow children or dogs to go in to the Brook until further notice.
Footpaths Report
The footpaths representative had provided a report as follows: –
No problems reported via e-mail link from the Parish Council website.
All Monxton footpaths have been walked at least once since the last Parish Council meeting, most walked more often.
Recent drier weather has dried out most footpaths, some of which had become extremely wet and rutted due to the bad winter weather.
It has been agreed with Hampshire Countryside Services and Kurt Morton, that he will replace the broken stile on Footpath 6 at Manor Farm with a new one.
10.SUNNYSIDE
Cllr Barbone had nothing to report.
11.Traffic Monitoring
Cllr Hooper provided a full report of data recovered from the speed watch camera positioned at Sunnybank. He said the volume of traffic movements through the village was a huge concern. He said he had been able to gather telephone numbers from vans and lorries driving without care in the village and had telephoned companies to complain. He intends to carry out a traffic survey before the next meeting to establish the volume of lorries passing through the village.
12.Borough & County Councillor Reports.
HCC Mrs Zilliah Brooks reported: –
Hampshire Libraries have confirmed a ‘fines holiday’ which will be in place until Tuesday June 1 2021, to allow time for customers to safely return all overdue items with no fines applied. Items returned after this time will still be subject to overdue fines. Customers can still pay outstanding charges online, by calling 0300 555 1387 or at any of the county’s libraries, using cashless payments where possible.
Cllr Brooks confirmed this would be her last meeting as HCC for Monxton. She thanked all Councillors for the work to support their community. Cllr Cleugh thanked Cllr Brooks for her continued support and wished her well for the future.
TVBC Councillor Maureen Flood reported as follows–
Markets make a welcome comeback for 2021 –The monthly Artisan markets are back for 2021 – Andover High Street local produce and crafts on the third Sunday of each month starting from 18 April.
The indoor pop-up craft market returns in the Chantry Centre on 24 April & 25 May.
TVBC Car Parking Charges –Charging is due to resume on April 12th when the next review of lockdown restrictions is due and non-essential shops are scheduled to re-open. If for any reason the restrictions stay in place then TVBC will not re-introduce charging until non-essential shops are allowed to re-open. There are no increase in charges, it will remain £1 for up to 2 hours in the town centre car parks. Free from 4pm to 8.30am and on Sundays and bank holidays.
Recycling in Test Valley –Test Valley Borough Council is currently limited in terms of what it can collect in brown bins as the Hampshire recycling facilities that process the waste are unable to deal with some of the materials recycled in other local authority areas, such as thin plastics. But that looks set to change thanks to the Environment Bill, currently going through parliament, which seeks to level up recycling rates right across the country. It is looking increasingly likely that from early 2023 residents will be able to include glass, thin plastics such as pots, tubs and trays, and Tetra Pak-style cartons in their recycling bins. And in further good news, the council anticipates that it will be able to offer a weekly food waste service.
Southern Water –Concerns have been raised by several parishes regarding the over pumping on Pill Hill brook and the volume of tanker movements, Cllr Hooper added that these amounted to 13% of the traffic in Monxton daily. These tankers are causing lots of damage to verges and private property. Cllr Cleugh said the sewer pipes were badly damaged and required replacement. TVBC Maureen Flood said she will try to organise a joint meeting of those parishes affected and involve the local MP so a permanent solution to the problem can be found.
13.Any other business –
Following the resignation of Cllr Balding a councillor is required to take on the environmental portfolio. Cllr Cleugh and Barbone will lead on this until a replacement is agreed.
14.CLOSE OF THE MEETING
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.
15.DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
An AGM is required to be held in May. A short meeting will be held on Friday 7th May via zoom for this purpose.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 13th July 2021, 7.30pm
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