Mursley Parish Council

Minutes of the Mursley Parish Council Meeting held at 8.00 pm on Monday 23 September 2019 in the Village Hall, Mursley.

Present: Ian Hook (Chairman), Chris Laws (Vice Chairman) Anwar Rashid, Colin Cramphorn, Ashley Davies-Payne and Simon West. In attendance: Jackie Driss Laurent (Clerk).

1. Apologies Caroline Walker.

2. Minutes Approved The Parish Council Meeting minutes dated 27 August 2019 were approved and signed off by the Chairman.

3. Planning Applications Agreed 19/03325/APP The Barn, Church Hill Farm, Church Lane, Mursley. Change of use of a residential outbuilding into a separate residential unit (retrospective). Parish Councillors studied the application detail and agreed No Objections.

19/03254/APP Rosedene, 9 Main Street, Mursley. Single storey rear extension and extension to rear attached garage. Parish Councillors noted the proposed extensions were inconspicuous and that no objections had been lodged on AVDC web site. They too agreed No Objections.

4. Parish Councillor Roles and Responsibilities Agreed Colin Cramphorn kindly agreed to meet with Rob Francis so he could potentially take over the management of devolved services, footpaths and MSA liaison. Village Hall liaison will be added to Anwar Rashid’s responsibilities and Chris Laws’ MVAS management was also noted.

Ian Hook said that NAG was no longer meeting. Ian Hook is now LAF representative and Simon West is NBPPC representative.

5. WW1 Memorial Book Agreed Ashley Davies-Payne shared background information pertaining to the PC’s involvement with the WW1 Remembrance event held last November. He explained that after the event Melinda Cole created a spiral ring binder formatted book by amalgamating detail pertaining to Mursley residents who served during the war along with artwork created by Mursley school children.

Ashley Davies-Payne suggested that a bound format may be more robust and look more appealing. Parish Councillors agreed, and the Clerk was asked to introduce Ashley Davies-Payne to Harlequin Press, who may quote competitively for printing 50 bound copies. Ashley Davies-Payne agreed to seek quotes for both hard and soft covers.

The PC noted that the PCC have agreed to sponsor 50 copies of a ring binder version book (£698). Councillors agreed that a contribution will come from the Parish Council once final costs have been determined. Councillors also noted that most copies will be sold in aid of charity and that the cost of each volume has yet to be determined.

Chris Laws asked if it might be possible to see the compilation of material. Ashley Davies-Payne said he would bring it to the next meeting and ask Melinda Cole if she would like to attend too.

6. Traffic speed calming/village entry ‘gates’ Noted Mursley Parish Councillors noted that Ashley Davies-Payne had submitted an application to TfB for the installation of gates/road marking demarcation/signage on each of the three entry roads into the village. Ashley Davies-Payne also asked TfB for an indication of costs involved and what other options are available.

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Councillors noted that the application is still under review.

7. Best Kept Village competition/enhancing Mursley’s street scenes Agreed Anwar Rashid has now met with Lyndon Broom, and subsequent to that meeting a quotation for supply and maintenance of troughs has been received. Parish Councillors discussed life expectancy of differing troughs, their cost and potential vandalism/theft. It was agreed that a decision on the final design of troughs would be made once the type of gates to be installed had been ascertained.

Anwar Rashid agreed to contact Lyndon Broom to thank him for his quotation and indicate that the PC should be able to go ahead in January/February 2020.

8. MVAS Signage in Whaddon Road Noted Chris Laws said that it was not cost effective to repair the MVAS sign in Whaddon Road. SWARCO (the PC’s current MVAS supplier) only hold the design used at present. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact nearby parishes to ascertain their MVAS suppliers. Councillors noted that ’s signage may have sensors on both sides. Chris Laws anticipates that a smiley face MVAS will cost about £3,000 with potential additional costs for batteries and installation.

Ian Hook will approach LAF to find out if funding is available.

9. East West Expressway Agreed Ian Hook reported on emails received from Jenny Edwards and Puss Jones. After discussion it was agreed that Mursley Parish Council should register as a stakeholder with Highways . When further detail of the route is publicised, a joint meeting with neighbouring Parish Councils was suggested by Ashley Davies-Payne.

10. Request to increase the Parish Precept Agreed Ian Hook and Chris Laws provided background regarding Andrew Cowell’s request for an increase in Precept. Councillors noted that MSA, VH and PCC would like a rise in Mursley residents’ Council Tax payments by £1 per week to support their needs. However AVDC will not sanction a rise in precept of £13000 (£52pa x 250 households) from £9000 to £22000. Councillors also agreed that the incentive would polarise opinion, as some people may want to give to one or two of the groups, but not all.

11. Financial Regulations Agreed Ian Hook has now studied the revised NALC document, and the following was agreed:  Bank Statements will be signed off at each PC meeting  A recommendation for a 3 year financial forecast is not achievable at present. The PC will continue with annual planning.  Councillors noted that risk assessments should be and are reviewed annually. It was agreed that the current assessment should be amended to cover more comprehensively the taking of MVAS readings in Whaddon Road.

12. Finances Approved The financials for period ending 31 August 2019 and the following payments were approved by the Parish Council:

Npower – street lighting August 2019 - £163.36 & £38.62 Mains – street light repairs as instructed - £306.00 Clerk’s invoice – 11 August/10 September 2019 - £223.14 Enterprise Agency – Invoice 31 August 2019 - £140.00 Rectory Room – use of meeting room on 27 August 2019 - £10.00

Future Meetings Parish Council 18 November 2019 Planning 21 October 2019, 16 December 2019

The meeting closed at 9.20pm.

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