Minutes of the Monxton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 17th September 2013 in the Monxton Village Hall at 8pm.
Present: Cllr Mike Cleugh – Chairman, Cllr Sarah Dowding – Vice Chairman, Cllr Judith Balding, Richard Waterman – Parish Clerk, County Councillor Mrs. Pat West, Borough Councillor Mr. Ben Few-Brown, Members of the Public – 8
Apologies: Cllr David Eaglesham and Cllr David Bateman
WELCOME
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Cllr Judith Balding declared an interest in the planning application for Upper Mill House – 13/01556/FULLN.
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The Chairman signed the minutes of the August meeting as a true record.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
The Chairman stated that it is the Parish Council’s intention to give members of the public 3 minute slots to speak, registering the issue 10 days before the Parish Council meeting. Details are on the Web Site. There were no pre-booked slots for this meeting.
PARISH REPORTS
ENVIRONMENT – Cllr Judith Balding spoke about the following issues:-
•The Pillhill Brook
•Bridge on Pillhill Brook at Upper Mill House
•Dam at the Monxton End of Pillhill Brook
•Footpaths & Bridleways
•Letter received from Roland Colbourne re condition of Boat 11 on land at Manor Farm.
•Email received from Peter Derbyshire re condition of Boat 11 and Bridleway 7.
•Peter Watson, Senior Countryside Access Ranger, HCC was informed in July. The surface growth of Boat 11 was cut in August but he stated that Bridleway 7 was passable and suggested that the MPC include this bridleway in our request for action from the Countryside Service. JB will talk to Kurt Morton about any further issues.
•Hook Lane Bridleway is very overgrown, making it almost impassable for riders on horseback. JB to speak to Amport Parish Council, as shared responsibility for this bridleway.
•Potential Fracking in Hampshire
FINANCE – Report from Cllr David Eaglesham
Current MPC funds are £10,708
•Annual expenditure is approx. £5,000
•£1,000 WHICH HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE VILLAGE HALL
•£1,000 WHICH HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO TRAFFIC CALMING
•£2,000 WHICH HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR TWO NEW BENCHES ON THE VILLAGE GREEN
•Current balance available is £6,708.68
•Annual Precept is ~£60/household – Total £5000/yr.
•Proposal was to reduce this year by 3% to reduce the surplus
•New traffic measures may however require the precept to remain the same to fund part of the works required
SUNNYBANK – Report from Cllr David Bateman
- County Councillor Pat West was contacted to see if a grant could be obtained from HCC to provide a footpath from Red Post Bridge to Manor Farm (Barn) entrance. HCC (Pat West) advised it would not be possible to have a footpath that far into the village as most of the land is privately owned. HCC cut the grass from Lilac Cottage up to Red Post Bridge. There are however plans to put in a footpath from Red Post Bridge to Sunnybank. Dates to be advised.
- Mrs Joan Snow, Manor Farm, was contacted to see if it would be possible to purchase a portion of land behind Sunnybank to provide a secure play area for children to play ball games etc., instead of playing in road and causing a nuisance and damage to vehicles. Mrs Joan Snow advised this was not on their agenda to sell off land.
- Pat West was approached with regard to getting our bus service reinstated and using the money from the CO-OP fines to help with funding as it now takes 55 minutes to get to town as the bus only goes one way. Part of the journey brings it along Red Post Lane from Weyhill which MPC feel is totally inadequate and dangerous as the road is narrow and winding with blind bends. There have been several accidents on this stretch of road. Cllr Bateman was informed that this matter had already been investigated and was refused as it would cost too much. It is felt that in light of the fact that the bus station is closed for a year for a rebuild at vast cost, this matter needs to be looked at again, especially as the new development at Picket Twenty has a bus service that needed a tunnel build for the exclusive use of walkers/cyclists and the bus service,
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH – Mr David James
Crime reported to the Police locally over the past three months has been low and has been primarily non-dwelling. Reports have included sightings of suspicious vehicles, burglaries or attempted burglaries from garages, barns and outhouses, and criminal damage. In the latter category have been a number of instances of damage to parked vehicles, one suffered by a village resident, albeit not in Monxton.
• We now have a new PC to replace Roger Kitson, his name is Don Stubbington and he joins our PCSO David Trowbridge working from Stockbridge. Don is ex-Army, and since joining the Police has worked as a beat officer, firearms officer and in counter terrorism.
Crime Alerts
• Since taking over from Robert Davies I have issued three crime alerts:
14th June – covering non-dwelling crime and advice on security of garages and outbuildings
29th July — advice on home security following opportunistic burglaries via open doors and windows
7th September — covering car park distraction, telephone and cold calling scams.
• Monxton Matters: In addition to the hard copy distribution of the crime alerts by the Neighbourhood Watch team the last two alerts have been posted on Monxton Matters website. This gives valuable extra coverage and the electronic format allows the inclusion of links such as the one to Hampshire Constabulary’s CCTV site in the September alert.
TRAFFIC – Cllr Sarah Dowding
• Traffic steering committee formed following the AGM
• Members are: Cllr Sarah Dowding, Cllr Judith Balding, Sarah Moriniere, Cathy Barbone, Heidi Carre, Marcus Tebbutt-Ford, Pete Parfrey, Rupert Collingwood and Lorraine Pullen.
- Brain storm produced a list of suggestions and list was prioritised by Monxton Parish Council showing short, medium and long-term measures. List reviewed with TVBC and HCC. Timescales agreed with TVBC and HCC. The next step will be to monitor items are implemented in a timely manor.
- Steve Spender from HCC has confirmed that the bollards should be in place by the middle of October.
- A map has been produced showing the sites for the various traffic measures to be implemented.
FLASHING SPEED SIGN – Chairman
Displays speeds of vehicles and records speeds and time. Ideally, would be shared with 2 other parishes. Cllr Mrs P west will provide a £1000 grant from her devolved budget. The balance would be split between 3 Parish Council’s approximately £650 each. Annual costs split three ways is £260 to move between three locations. The Chairman stated that Ray Alborough has been very helpful with the traffic issues.
PLANNING – Chairman
Application for retrospective planning for the bridge at Upper Mill House 13/01556/FULLN. A letter of Objection has been submitted to TVBC – available to view on the Monxton and TVBC Web Site.
Application for a temporary building at Army HQ due in September for a two storey block, this will be hard to see from the road. The PC have no valid grounds for objections but will request that the 200 employees use the A303 not Monxton Road.
ALPINE GROUP – Chairman & Kelvin Barry
Alpine have appointed a Consultant to manage the move to a new location and the proposed development at the site. Five developers/builders have expressed interest in bidding for developing the site in the last few weeks. The next step will be to select the best company with which to partner and discuss the options for the development and start the outline design and planning process.
Monxton and Abbotts Ann Parish Council’s will meet with the consultant/developer within the two next months to help steer the development and ensure it is within the parameters already agreed.
The Alpine Group has carried out repairs on damaged properties in the village – and additional works are in progress.
WEB SITE – Cllr Sarah Dowding
The web site is going very well and has generated a lot of interest within the parish. Since January 2013 the web site has had over 15,000 hits, at its peak it received 706 hits in one day. Additional pages have been added and feedback has been good.
PROJECTS
The Chairman spoke about suggested future projects for the parish.
- Re-instating the pond on the land at the bottom of Abbotts Ann Road/Chalkpit Lane was discussed and received unanimous support from those present.
- Tidying up the village green and getting rid of the garden rubbish heap that many residents use to dump their garden waste. It was noted that the Village Green is owned by Enterprise Inns and by agreement is maintained by the Parish Council.
The council will be looking for volunteers to undertake the work as a village projects over the next 2 months and dates will be published on the website for the various activities.
It was noted that the Rail Track Contractors are leaving an amount of rubbish where they park their vans by the railway bridge – Cllr Judith Balding will speak to Abbots Ann Parish Council as it is in their parish.
COUNTY COUNCILLOR, MRS PAT WEST’S REPORT
Cllr Mrs Pat West was pleased to report that Hampshire County Council are concentrating on getting the rural roads repaired and are working their way around the villages. Cllr West spoke about her recent trip to the depot at Totton to look at the new gritting equipment – the visit was very interesting and informative!
Cllr West reported that Hampshire County Council are to review their Flooding Policy and are working closely with Amey, HCC’s highways contractor, to ensure that repairs are carried out correctly.
Cllr West’s suggested that the Parish Council keep an eye on their grit bins to make sure they are filled before the start of winter.
CLLR MR BEN FEW-BROWN’S REPORT
Cllr Few-Brown stated that none of his Parish Councils have applied for the Community Grant he has available. The Chairman stated that he has looked at the Community Grant and the criteria is quite stringent and does not apply to any of the current projects in Monxton.
CLOSE OF THE MEETING
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.
DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
Wednesday 20th November 2013 in the Monxton Village Hall at the new time of 7pm
Monxton Matters 