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A meeting of Grimstead Parish Council was
held at 7:30pm on 4th August 2003 in East Grimstead
Reading Room.
Present: Mr J Wrigley (Chairman), Mr R
Amor (Vice-Chairman), Mrs A Read, Mrs R Clark, Mrs M
Sheppard, Mr J Maple, Mr T Shrapnell, Mr R Parsons (Clerk),
District Cllr Richard Britton, District Cllr Jane
Bissington and nineteen members of the public.
Apologies were received from District and County Cllr
Bill Moss and District Cllr Leo Randall.
53/03 Public Question Time: * Concern
was voiced that the road surfaces and signs were still
not being maintained to high enough standards. * It was
reported that a new gateway had been created to access
land adjacent to the northern end of Macks lane. Because
the gate opens outwards it could become a hazard to users
of the Right of Way. Action: Cllr Amor
will make enquires and report to the next meeting.
* A significant number of West Grimstead parishioners
were in attendance to protest at a WCC proposal to
upgrade Macks lane in West Grimstead to a byway open to
all traffic. There are numerous reasons why this track is
unsuitable for vehicles and these will form the basis of
the PC's response to WCC. It was agreed to deal with this
agenda item first.
54/03 Declaration of Interest: Cllr
Clark declared a personal and possibly prejudicial
interest in the application to upgrade Macks lane (footpath
no.21) to Byway open to all traffic. She also declared a
personal interest in any matter relating to East
Grimstead Chalkpit.
55/03 Minutes: The minutes of the PC
meeting held on 23rd July, having been circulated, were
agreed subject to a clarification of Minute no.45 were it
was agreed that R2 money should be committed to the
playground improvements proposed by Cllr Clark and
approved by the full Council. Cllr Read recalled that she
had requested that the PC consider placing a litterbin on
Crockford Green. The PC unanimously agreed to the
amendments to the minutes and Cllr Wrigley signed them as
a correct record.
56/03 APPLICATION TO UPGRADE FOOTPATH NO.21 WEST
GRIMSTEAD, TO BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC (BOAT): WCC
has received this application from a member of the public
and is obliged to conduct an investigation of the facts.
An initial response from the PC has been requested by 1st
September. Cllr Wrigley explained that there is a
substantial body of evidence supporting the application
and a letter from the South Wiltshire Rights of Way
Preservation Group advises that the modification order is
likely to succeed and that individual parishioners should
write to WCC to record their objections.
57/03 Matters Arising:
* The Clerk reported that the application to HM Land
Registry for a First Registration of the West Grimstead
Chalkpit required to be accompanied by a fee of £40. Action:
The Clerk.
* A letter from WCC advises that the owner of the East
Grimstead Chalkpit is aware of his obligations with
regard to the restoration plan. However, his attempts at
securing the property are being frustrated by persistent
vandalism. The Environmental Services Officer at WCC
points out that nature will be able to colonise the area
if little activity is taking place on site. He assures
the PC that he will monitor the situation regularly.
* A safety report on the Playingfield has been received
and Cllr Clark reported that volunteers had carried out
many of the recommendations. As agreed at the last
meeting, a new goal post has been delivered and a
decision will need to be made about where it should be
installed. It was agreed that the location should be
determined in consultation with those that had agreed to
help with the installation. Action: Cllr
Clark agreed to liaise with the youths concerned and it
was agreed that a RoSPA inspection should be arranged in
September. Cllr Clark agreed to meet the RoSPA safety
officer who will also provide a risk assessment.
* Cllr Maple and Cllr Shrapnell reported that the
Sycamore trees in the West Grimstead Playingfield would
need to be removed by tree surgeons. Action: Quotes
will be obtained for the work involved.
* There was nothing further to report on the project to
provide a walkway between Whaddon and W.Grimstead.
58/03 Vehicular Access Across Common and Other
Land (England) Regulations 2002: Copies of the
Statutory Instrument no.1711 had been circulated and the
Clerk drew attention to Regulation 17 - "Where the
applicant withdraws or otherwise fails to continue with
the application at any stage, he shall be liable for the
reasonable costs incurred by the land owner". The
regulations have been drafted to minimise costs.
59/03 Reports: * No reports from WCC,
SDC or the Police. * The Clerk reported that he had
attended the AGM of the Wiltshire Association of Local
Councils 17th July and that there had been a presentation
on the NALC/SLCC training initiative for Clerks and
Councillors. Training for Parish Councillors has been
arranged for Saturday, 13th Sept in Devizes, although
this is not convenient for Grimstead PC members.
60/03 Finance: * Applications under the
SWAG scheme will be considered at the next meeting. * The
private meeting arranged on 22nd July to consider the
Clerk's contract of employment had determined that 3.5
hrs per week should be the basis for calculating
remuneration. It was agreed that this would be backdated
to 1st April 2002. * The following payments were approved:
R Parsons - Balance
of Clerk's fee for 2002/03 - 196 - £478.77p
R Parsons - Clerk's
expenses for 2002/03 ------ 196 -- £40.00p
West Grimstead
Village Hall - Hire x2 ---------- 197 -- £20.00p
* An invoice had been received for £445 from the
Burnbake Trust in respect of the Noticeboard installed in
the West Grimstead playingfield. Members of the PC are
concerned that a glazed noticeboard is not appropriate in
a playing field. It was agreed that this noticeboard
should be reinstalled at East Grimstead and an unglazed
noticeboard provided in the West Grimstead playingfield. Action:
The Clerk will inform Burnbake Trust.
* The Council could not agree to pay the Land registry
fee of £40 to enable the application for a First
Registration of the West Grimstead Chalkpit to proceed.
It was resolved to conduct more research into the
implications of the PC registering their interest with HM
Land Registry. Action: The Clerk will
draft a letter to the owner of Manor Farm asking that he
make known to the PC his intentions in respect of the
land that he has enclosed with a fence.
61/03 Transport, Roads and Footpaths: *
Cllr Read and Cllr Clark agreed to liaise with the
Lengthsmen's co-ordinator to ensure that the visit on 1st
/2nd September is carried out correctly. * Cllr Wrigley
proposed that a notice should be posted in the Parish
Magazine that explained the obligations of owners of
hedgerows bordering the Parish's roads. The Highway
Authority has the power to cut back overhanging branches
and vegetation up to half a meter from the edge of the
carriageway to a height of 5 meters. * A letter had been
received from a West Grimstead Parishioner dated 3rd July
expressing concern that dog fouling signs had been
removed and not replaced. He was also concerned that
hedgerows were being allowed to overgrow the roads. Action:
The Clerk will draft a reply identifying steps taken to
resolve these problems.
62/03 Planning: S/2003/1522 - FULL
APPLICATION - TRACTOR GARAGE at OLD KEEPERS COTTAGE WEST
GRIMSTEAD - No Objection.
63/03 Correspondence: The members are
concerned that correspondence is not being circulated
frequently enough. Action: Cllr Wrigley proposed that he
would collect correspondence for circulation from the
Clerk on Tuesday mornings. The following schedule of
correspondence was identified for immediate circulation:
1: WCC - * Cultural Strategy for Wiltshire. * Information
Exchange System. 2: SDC - * Wiltshire Draft Compact. 3:
ODPM - * Indemnities for Members and Officers of Relevant
Authorities. * Quality Parish Councils. 4: DEFRA - *
Rural Services Standard 2003. 5: WALC - * July circular.
6: Standards Board for England - * How to register and
declare interests. 7: Zurich Municipal - * General
Conditions of Insurance.
* Playground Inspections Procedures. 8: Clerks and
Councils Direct July edition.
64/03 The next Council Meeting is on
Monday, 15th September 2003 in West Grimstead Village
Hall.
65/03 Any Other Business: * Cllr Read
produced a letter from the SDC Streetcare Officer
addressed to a parishioner in Greenfields, West Grimstead
regarding Street Cleansing services. She was concerned
that the services outlined in the letter were not being
provided. Action: The Clerk will make enquires and report
to the next meeting. * Cllr Read also reported that there
was an overhanging tree in the Greenfields Estate that
needed surgery. Action: The Clerk will
attempt to find a solution. * In the matter of a
litterbin for Crockford Green, further enquiries will be
made.
66/03 Confidential Item from which it was
resolved members of the public should be excluded: To
consider an application under the Vehicular Access Across
Common and Other Land (England) Regulations 2002. Cllr
Wrigley was concerned that a majority of the Councillors
were friendly with the applicant who has applied for an
easement across Maypole Green and that an application to
the SDC Standards Committee for a dispensation would be
appropriate before this matter could be discussed. Action:
The Clerk will discover the appropriate
procedure and inform the Councillors in due course.
The meeting closed at 9:38pm
These minutes were approved for publication at the GPC
meeting on 6th October but could not be formally adopted
because only two of the present members participated in
that meeting.
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