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A meeting of West Dean Parish
Council was held at 7.30pm on 9th September 2003 in King
George's Hall.
Present: Mrs S Gruzelier (Chairman), Mr
P Dawkins (Vice-Chairman), Mr P Hargrave, Miss C Warry,
Mr M Rowe, Mrs P Parsons, Mrs J Gimpel, Mr R Parsons (Clerk),
District and County Cllr Bill Moss and six members of the
public. PC Rothwell from Alderbury Police was also in
attendance.
58/03 Matters raised by the Public: Parishioners
living on the road East Grimstead were concerned about
road safety. The varying width of the road along its
length contributes to the risk of accident.
59/03 Police Presentation: PC Rothwell
explained that he wanted to encourage people to have
their equipment and goods marked so that there would be a
chance of identifying their property if it was later
stolen. He agreed to visit the Village with marking
equipment when a mutually convenient time has been
arranged.
60/03 Declaration of Interest: Cllr
Parsons declared a personal and prejudicial interest in
the Hedgerow Removal Notice ref no. S/2003/1848.
61/03 Minutes: The minutes of the PC
meeting held on 1st July, having been circulated, were
agreed and signed by the Chairman.
62/03 Matters Arising:
* Cllr Gruzelier reported that all of the items
identified as requiring attention by the Playingfield
safety inspection had been resolved. Action: the
Clerk will research this issue of warning signs and
report.
* Cllr Hargrave reported that BT has fixed the telephone
kiosk door and the light is lit 24 hrs per day.
* The Post Office has lowered the post box and a
parishioner has written a letter of thanks.
* The Friends of War Memorials charity has awarded a
grant of £150 and a SWAG application has been submitted
for £350. SWAG applications will be considered at the
Southern Area Committee meeting on 25th September.
* A grant of £250 has been awarded to WDPC under the
SWAG scheme for a single sided glazed solid oak notice
board. The quoted installed price of £326 was the least
expensive of the three quotes supplied to the SWAG
committee. Action: Cllr Gruzelier
proposed that members of the PC should meet in the centre
of the village to consider the most suitable site for the
new noticeboard.
* Cllr Gruzelier reported that the visit by the WCC Youth
Development Co-ordinator with the purple bus in July had
been successful and that a parishioner had agreed to
liaise with the officer regarding future monthly visits.
There was also a proposal that one off trips would be
arranged when possible.
* Cllr Gruzelier reported that the off-road bike
facilities by AS&A Leisure Ltd are prohibitively
expensive.
63/03 Reports: * No reports from WCC,
SDC or the Police. * The Clerk reported that he and Cllr
Parsons had attended the AGM of the Wiltshire Association
of Local Councils on 17th July and that there had been a
presentation on the NALC/SLCC training initiative for
Clerks and Councillors. Training for Parish Councillors
had been arranged for Saturday, 13th Sept in Devizes,
although this was not convenient for West Dean PC members.
* The Standards Board for England issues periodic
newsletters and updates, which are available from the www.StandardsBoard.co.uk
Website.
64/03 Parish Plans: Cllr Gimpel reported
that it had been proposed that West and East Dean should
work together on producing a joint plan. This was
acceptable to the Countryside Agency who is able to help
with funding for the project. Both villages would retain
their identities within the plan, but a joint approach
was thought to be more practical. It was thought unlikely
that much progress would be made while most participants
were still engaged with proposals for the disposal of the
MoD site at Dean Hill. Action: Cllr
Gimpel will report to the next PC meeting.
65/03 MoD Dean Hill: Cllr Gimpel
reported that meetings had been held with both Sandra
Gidley MP and Robert Key MP to make them aware of the
established working party (ref.min.no.50/03). A
questionaire had been prepared and distributed to West
and East Dean and West Tytherley. This will be analysed
by Southampton University in time for a meeting with the
planning departments of both SDC and TVBC on 18th
September. Action: The working party
will arrange to meet with Defence Estates and Broadway
Malyan following meetings with the planners.
66/03 Finance: * The Clerk reminded
members that advice on the smooth running of Parish
Council Business was provided jointly by the Society of
Local Council Clerks and the National Association of
Local Councils. He had produced and circulated a risk
assessment statement, as required by the Audit
Commission, which will help with the preparation of a
realistic budget for presentation at the next meeting.
* Cllr Dawkins drew attention to the Health and Safety
issues associated with any work done on behalf of the PC.
67/03 Transport, Roads and Footpaths: WCC
Highways Dept had produced a report of the work
undertaken by the Parish Lengthsmen on their visit of 3rd/4th
Sept. The next visit is scheduled for 16th/19th January.
68/03 Planning: * S/2003/1617 - ERECTION
OF CLEAR SPAN STEEL PORTAL FRAMED GENERAL PURPOSE STORAGE
BUILDING at OS PARCEL NUMBER 2800 (OPPOSITE WINDRUSH
COTTAGES) DEAN ROAD WEST DEAN. - SDC has determined that
prior approval of details for this development will not
be required. * S/2003/1848 - HEDGEROW REMOVAL - 10 METRES
OF HEDGE TO BE REMOVED TO MAKE NEW ACCESS AT (OS PARCEL
2800) OFF DEAN ROAD at DEAN ROAD WEST DEAN. - No
Objection, although members were concerned about the poor
sight line where the track joins the road at Windrush.
69/03 Correspondence: * There was a
debate about dealing with the responses made by
Councillors to items of correspondence circulated between
meetings. It was resolved that some attempt should be
made to paraphrase these and append to the relevant file
in the PC archive. * A letter from The Local Channel Ltd
was discussed and it was agreed that Cllr Gimpel would
visit the relevant Website and that a decision to take
advantage of the TLC offer would be made when the
Councillors met to determine the site for the new
noticeboard.
70/03 Communications: PC members were
reminded that parishioners had raised the subject of
Broadband and Mobile phone services in the locality at
the Annual Parish meeting. The Clerk reported that he was
in consultation with the relevant NTL manager who is
responsible for informing the mobile phone service
providers in this area that a service is needed. Where BT
is unable to provide a Broadband service, either
satellite or wireless delivery can be considered. Action:
the Clerk will report to the next PC meeting.
71/03 The next PC meeting will be held
at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 2nd December 2003.
72/03 Any Other Business: Members agreed
that while the river was dry the riverbanks could safely
be cut back before winter. Action: Cllr Rowe and Cllr
Hargrave agreed to make the arrangements.
The meeting closed at 9:40pm
Signed without amendment by the Chairman, Cllr Gruzelier,
on 2nd December.
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