Great and Little Hampden Parish Council Clerk to the Council – Nick Baxter

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Memorial Hall, Memorial Road, Great Hampden on Wednesday 27 May 2020 at 6.00pm

Present: Councillor F Smith (Chairman) Councillor R Dawson (Vice Chairman) Councillor I Pratt Councillor J Griffin

Attendance: Mr N Baxter – Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

Members of the public: No members of the public were present. Buckinghamshire Council [‘BC’] Councillor Peart BEM attended for part of the meeting.

MINUTES

20/0035: Formalities

a) To NOTE apologies for absence  Apologies were received from BC Councillor Carroll b) To RECEIVE declarations of interest in items on the agenda (In accordance with the Local Code of Conduct to receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests and to consider and grant any dispensation requests)  Those present confirmed that there were no declarations to be made. c) Members of the Public and Press are invited to address the Council  There were no members of the public or press present. d) To RECEIVE an update from Councillor Carroll and Councillor Peart BEM (if present)  Councillor Peart updated the Council on matters relating to the new unitary council. As a result of the COV-19 situation, several Councillors had been unable to attend physical meetings although virtual ones had been taking place. Councillor Peart advised that no planning meetings had taken place, but he had heard that the local air-rifle club had recently submitted an application. Great and Little Hampden Parish Council has been placed in a Unitary Ward called Ridgeway East. The BC Councillors represented in that Unitary Ward are D Carroll (former district council ward of Greater Hughenden), S Broadbent (Greater Hughenden), A Jones (Greater Hughenden), G Peart (Lacey Green, Speen and the Hampdens) and C Harriss (former district council ward of Icknield). It was AGREED that each of these BC Councillors would be invited to attend our future meetings.

Initial Page 1

20/0036: Minutes and matters arising

a) To APPROVE the Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 March 2020  The minutes were unanimously APPROVED and signed by the Chairman b) To DISCUSS matters arising from the Minutes of the Meeting 3 February 2020 that are not covered in the Minute Action Tracker  There were no matters arising that were not covered elsewhere in the agenda or on the Minute Action Tracker c) To REVIEW the Minute Action Tracker i. The Minute Action Tracker was reviewed and updated. Councillor Dawson asked if the completed tasks could be archived. The Clerk AGREED to amend the format.  Decisions and actions of note were: i. 20/0007 (b) & 20/0027 (d) The Clerk reported that no response had been received from the land owner to the approved letter that had been sent. It was AGREED that the Clerk should contact the planning officer who had written to the local resident and Heritage England to ascertain progress. . 20/0014 (b) & (f) The Clerk reported that he was still in contact with the previous clerk who was still trying to obtain a refund of the credit balance on the old VOIP card and pre-pay card. The Clerk reported that he felt progress was being made, albeit slow progress. . 20/0014 (j) It was noted that a reserve account for the Community Infrastructure Levy [‘CIL’] monies could not be opened until a revised bank mandate had been signed by Councillors and had been received and actioned by our bankers. The required mandate was signed by the Chair and Vice Chair at this meeting and has been sent to the bank. . 20/2015 (a) Monks Risborough Charity. The Chairman reported that Peter Collier had agreed to represent the Parish as the Parish Council appointed representative on the Charity. . 20/0016 (a) Missing Post Box. The Chairman reported that she had been in contact with the Post Office on numerous occasions, but the Post Office were being very slow in resolving this issue as it had to liaise with other utilities. . 20/0024 (a) ii Local signposts. No response to the letter had been received. It was AGREED the Clerk should contact the highways department to ascertain how to expedite matters.

Initial Page 2

20/0037: Finance

a) To CONSIDER and APPROVE the financial pack and bank reconciliation  The finance pack for the year ending 31 March 2020, which had been previously circulated by email and sent to the internal auditors, was formally approved. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to place the year end accounts and cashbook on the Parish website. b) To RATIFY the email decision to renew the annual insurance with the existing provider  The email decision to renew with the existing provider was RATIFIED. It was noted that there was no increase in the annual cost. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to make a note to carry out a supplier review before the 2021 renewal when it was hoped that the pandemic effects would be less restrictive and offices would be working normally which would make it more practical to obtain alternative quotes. c) To CONSIDER and APPROVE the monthly payments to be made (appendix 2 finance pack)  The payments were APPROVED and approved cheque signatories signed the individual cheques. d) To RECEIVE an update on the 2020 internal audit i. The Clerk reported that he had forwarded the required documents to the internal auditors. The Clerk reported that he was very impressed with the depth of the audit and the level of questions he was being asked. Two lists of questions had been received, one specifically focused at Councillors in respect of governance overview questions and the other at the Clerk in respect of administration matters. The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Clerk agreed to meet before the next meeting in order that timely answers could be provided. e) To RECEIVE an update on the draft AGAR completion i. The Clerk had previously circulated a completed draft AGAR. The figures in the draft were APPROVED once the Asset Register had been updated. The internal control questions and governance questions were debated. It was AGREED that a positive response could be made to each of the statements. The Asset Register was reviewed. It was AGREED it needed to be updated. It was AGREED that the value of each item would be the replacement value. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to circulate an updated version for APPROVAL so that the updated figure could be used in the AGAR.

Initial Page 3

ii. It was noted that the annual income was c £22,000 (including the CIL receipt and donations). The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to ascertain what governance/reporting requirements would apply if our receipts or expenditure exceeded £25,000 in any one year. f) To CONSIDER and APPROVE funding in respect of common and cricket pitch maintenance i. The Chairman explained that as cricket was not being played at the present time and because the members of the cricket club were unable to carry out work on the cricket pitch and common due to the government ‘lockdown’ requirements there was a risk that the village amenity would fall into disrepair and look ‘scruffy’. The Chairman had spoken with the local forestry contractor and he had agreed to cut the common grass (effectively the outfield) for £50 per cut (£100 per month) as he agreed he could do this once a fortnight. The Chairman PROPOSED that he is retained to do this once a fortnight between May and September. If he did this every fortnight, the cricket club could deal with it on the alternative weeks. Councillors AGREED that we would prefer to put such a job out to tender. However, they also AGREED that in view of the urgency of the issue and the fact that obtaining a variety of quotes would be difficult at the present time due to government movement restrictions that the local forestry contractor be used for this in 2020. It was also AGREED that a budget for this purpose should be added to the budget planning process each year and that the Clerk would, in late Autumn of 2020, commence a 2021 competitive tender process for the 2021 season g) To CONSIDER contingency plans for future cheque payment processes/planning for a second ‘lockdown’. i. The Clerk advised that the current process of requiring a ‘wet signature’ on cheques would have caused regulatory issues if government restrictions have carried on for much longer. Other parish councils had sent up procedures for electronic payments with appropriate checks and balances. The Clerk felt such processes could be adopted and that such procedures might be needed, as some medical experts were predicting a possible ‘second wave’ of the coronavirus and possible second ‘lockdown’ periods. It was AGREED that the Clerk should investigate how such a facility could be arranged and that he should prepare the procedures, processes and controls for approval at a future meeting.

20/0038: Reports

a) To RECEIVE a crime report  In view of the COVID-19 situation the Clerk had not been in contact with the local police.

Initial Page 4

b) To RECEIVE reports from Councillors (not covered elsewhere) i. Councillor Dawson updated the Council on conversations in Little Hampden in respect of the ‘lest we forget’ bench for Little Hampden Common. These benches are metal and cost around £1,800. It was AGREED that if one was procured, the donation from the film company in respect of recent filming in Little Hampden would be put towards the purchase. It was AGREED that Councillor Dawson would continue to investigate the acquisition, would consult with the residents of Little Hampden and that he would bring a proposal to a future meeting.  Councillor Dawson advised that he was still looking into the flooding issues caused by water washing off fields around Little Hampden. ii. Councillor Dawson asked if the Clerk knew if there was likely to be grants available for Victory In Japan [‘VJ Day’] as many of the Victory in Europe [‘VE Day’] events had been cancelled due to government restrictions. The Clerk advised that he had not received any information in respect of such matters, but would investigate. c) To RECEIVE a report from the Clerk on matters not covered elsewhere in the agenda or Minute Action Tracker  The Clerk had no additional items to cover.

20/0039: Planning

a) To CONSIDER for response any planning applications since the previous meeting and CONFIRM the response: . No planning application notifications had been deceived. b) To RECEIVE an update on any RECEIVED and/or DECIDED planning applications and appeals . There was nothing to report.

20/0040: Strategy

a) To CONSIDER the received Community Infrastructure Levy i. It was noted that an article inviting suggestions for the use of the money that had been put in the village magazine had received no response. It was thought this might be because the recent version was an online version rather than a paper version. It was AGREED that the Chairman would repeat the article in the next edition in the hope it would be a paper version.

Initial Page 5

ii. There was a discussion about the village gates (with speed signs) that some villages had installed. Councillor Griffin AGREED to investigate how these might be installed in Great Hampden. b) To REVIEW issues with East Lane traffic when there are works in other parts of Great Hampden  A discussion took place regarding the chaos that takes place when the Hampden Road (from the Hampden Arms to the Church entrance) is closed for any reason – a recent example being the unnotified BT works. The meeting felt it was illogical that there was a sign at one end of East Lane indicating that the lane was unsuitable for motor vehicles, but not at the other.  One suggestion was that a request be made to at least make the narrow East Lane a one way road. However, it was commented that a number of School Lane inhabitants use the lane, in both directions and Councillor Griffin AGREED to speak with local residents. i. Post-meeting note: Since the meeting there has been another period of chaos as the Hampden Road between the Hampden Arms to the Church entrance has been closed again, this time for a water leak. There has been a subsequent discussion by email between the Councillors and one solution discussed was if there was also an unsuitable for motor vehicles sign at the other end of East Lane, then it would be logical for the ‘no through road’ sign currently positioned on the triangle of grass in School Lane at the end of East Lane to be moved to the beginning of School Lane. This would mean that non- local traffic would be likely to find a more appropriate route and local traffic could still ‘chance’ their tyres on a lane which was labelled as unsuitable for motor vehicles. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to contact Bucks Transport to ascertain what options might be available.

20/0041: Correspondence

a) To REVIEW items of correspondence received since the last meeting.  No items of correspondence had been received.

20/0042: Urgent Items - To DISCUSS urgent items

a) To DISCUSS urgent items not covered elsewhere in the agenda  There were no items that needed to be discussed.

20/0043: Next Meeting

Initial Page 6

a) To RECEIVE any items for the next meeting  No items were notified. b) To AGREE the date of the next meeting as Tuesday 9 June 2020 i. In view of the close proximity to 9 June the date of the next meeting was AMENDED to Wednesday 24 Jun 2020. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to amend the notice boards and website. It was NOTED the following meeting is to be held on 21 July 2020.

Signed ……………………………………………………….. Date ……………………………..

Initial Page 7