Zeals Parish Council

ZEALS PARISH COUNCIL Minutes for the meeting held on Thursday 12th May 2016. Zeals Village Hall commencing at 7.15pm. Note: These minutes do not constitute a true record until ratified at the next meeting of the Parish Council Present: Cllr C Spencer (Chairman), Cllr J Wigg, Cllr Ms J Stokes, Cllr M Grimwood and Cllr D Corbin. Apologies: Cllr K Byrne and Cllr N Rice and County Cllr G Jeans. In Attendance: IJ McVie (Clerk) and 3 members of the public. 1. Declarations of Interest- None 2. Approval of minutes a. Parish Council Meeting 10th March 2016 Cllr Grimwood asked that the second line up on the bottom of page two be amended from Cllr Spencer to Cllr Grimwood. This was agreed by all and minutes were amended. All present agreed the amended minutes as a true and accurate record. Proposed by JW, seconded by JS and agreed by all present. b. Planning Meeting – Stour Vale Cottage, Zeals 26th April 2016, supported. Proposed by JS, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. c. Planning Meeting – The Small House, Zeals 10th May 2016, supported. Proposed by MG, seconded by JS and agreed by all present. 3. Matters for report from the above meetings. a. Speed limit reduction to 30mph. Cllr Wigg confirmed that the parish council are awaiting revised documents for the next Community Area Transport Group (CATG) Meeting due to be held on 18/5/2016 at 2pm in Dinton Hall. JW stated he would be speaking to the Chairman of CATG prior to the meeting to gain a better understanding of the likely financial implications and contributions from all parties to this proposed scheme. Therefore the parish council may have to be in a position to state how much finance the parish are prepared to contribute. Plus this project will be competing for funds at the CATG and County levels. Cllr Wigg informed the meeting that there had been some concerns expressed by some residents over the necessity for a speed reduction and how the scheme could make the village look more urban than rural. Cllr Corbin stated that he had also been told of these concerns. Cllr Wigg stated that at the public meetings residents had expressed support for the scheme although there had been some suggestions as to how the road layout could be improved upon, which Julie Wharton the senior traffic engineer is considering when finalising the plan and the indicative costs. JW also confirmed that copies of the full plan had been placed on the council website and a hard copy had been left in the post office. This information had been confirmed in the council minutes and in the summary of the minutes in the village news. The clerk confirmed he had received two requests from the public for copies of the information and this had been provided by e mail. Cllr Wigg stated that the consultation to the village had been timely and at the two public sessions the public present seemed to support the proposals with as previously stated some observations on individual elements of the scheme. Cllr Grimwood pointed out that these points had been discussed with the Senior Engineer. Cllr Spencer asked how the parish council should therefore approach the question of parish contribution. Cllr Wigg reminded the meeting that on previous occasions the parish council had discussed levels of 10% of the overall cost which in money terms was £5500. Cllr Grimwood pointed out that the county council 1 need to come up with the final cost and that locally the parish council have discussed the possibility of fund raising to contribute finances to the project. Following further discussion it was agreed that the parish council if requested would agree to a 10% contribution to a maximum of £5500. Proposed by NR, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. Cllr Wigg confirmed that he and Cllr spencer would attend the CATG on 18th May 2016 and invited any other parish councillor to attend if available. ACTION: Cllr Wigg to provide an update at the next meeting. b. Transit van purchase. Cllr Corbin reminded the meeting of the previous discussions on this subject that were raised by County Cllr Jeans at the March meeting. Cllr Corbin provided clarity on the proposal and confirmed that the parish council would not have any involvement in the purchase, ownership, running or future costs. The clerk confirmed that the proposal to use the parish council to claim back VAT was lawful under the provisions of Section 33 of VAT legislation relating to the recovery of VAT for community projects. Cllr Corbin further explained the proposed use of the transit van by ZAC and the school. Following a discussion it was agreed to support this. Proposed by NR, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. 4. Matters Arising from the above meetings a. Speed Indicator Device. Cllr Spencer confirmed that the clerk had found a suitable location on New Road at the junction with Fantley Lane. He confirmed a suitable pole had been sourced and this would be erected this month. Cllr Jeans confirmed that once this was done he would arrange the provision and fitting of a speed indicator device. Item discharged. b. Refurbishment of War Memorial. Cllr Corbin provided three quotes and explained the levels of service and work each quote provided. The first quote was from a company that have worked on St Martins before and quoted £2500 plus VAT but have informed us that they are unlikely to get to Zeals War Memorial this year. The second company have recently repaired the Chafyn Gove Memorial and has quoted £1742. They have also allowed £489 for replacing failed stone and stone slab giving a total cost of £2231. The final quote was from a company currently working on the Almshouses windows of £2150 but reserve the right to charge extra if stone replacement is required. Following a discussion it was agreed to progress quote two as quote one could not commence the works till 2017 and quote three could lead to unknown additional costs if replacement stone was required. Proposed by CS, seconded by MG and agreed by all present. ACTION: Cllr Corbin to inform builder and report back. c. Planning Appeal – Car Wash. Cllr Spencer confirmed this was still with the Planning Inspector at Bristol. d. Derelict Building. The clerk confirmed that he would update the parish council when there is any progress. 5. Financial Business a. Audit (i) Arrangements for the Internal Audit for the FY 2016-2017. Cllr Spencer read out the 2016/17 financial and audit requirements as laid out by the external auditor Thornton Grant. Following a discussion the parish council agreed that the arrangements proposed were lawful, proportionate and transparent. Proposed by MG, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. b. Insurance (i) 3 year Parish Council insurance scheme

2 Cllr Spencer confirmed that the parish council and village hall insurance scheme was in the second year of the three year agreement. This was noted by all councillors. c. To approve the following payment (i) Insurance premium for Parish Council for 2015-2016 @£277.66p (ii) Insurance premium for Village Hall @£384.11p (iii) Wessex Water- Allotment Standpipe@£16-22p (iv) Clerks expenses for March and April 2013 @£8.99p (v) HMRC (PAYE) @£186.80p (vi) Allotment rent to landowner, Mr. Mumford @£150-00p (vii) Lease payment for Green Pastures@£1-00p (viii) Monarch’s Way Association @£25-00p (viii) Mrs J Adams (Wages/PAYE)@60.00p Proposed by MG, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. d. To consider annual grants to local organisations as listed below:- (i) Upper Stours Magazine @£125-00p (ii) Village News @£200-00p (iii) Mere Link Scheme @£150-00p (iv) St Martin Church. Churchyard Grass Cutting @£250-00p (v) School Swimming Pool @£250-00p Proposed by DC, seconded by JW and agreed by all present. e. To note payment to the parish council:- (i) Precept Payment 2016-17 @£4726.00p (ii)VAT repayment for 2015/2016 @1956.00p (iii)All 2016/2017 allotment payments @240.00 The parish council noted the payments in. 6. Correspondence for discussion a. Defibrillator – South West Ambulance Service. Cllr Spencer confirmed that this would be sited next to the noticeboard opposite the church. The equipment, ongoing costs and maintenance would be provided by the South Western Ambulance Service (NHS). The NHS would also be providing a public awareness session in the village hall in June which will be advertised on the noticeboard Cllr Spencer also pointed out that the fund raising by a parent at the school for a defibrillator was continuing and he asked for everyone to support this valuable cause. b. First Aid Training – There will be a first aid training session held in the Mere Lecture Hall on 15th May 2016 0930 to 1300. Item discharged. c. Wiltshire Council – New maintenance contracts. Cllr Spencer confirmed that Wiltshire Council contract with Balfour Beatty had now ended and that the following contractors have been employed. These are Tarmac for The Largest Highway Schemes, Ringway for the Majority of Highway works, The Landscape Group for Amenity and Street scene Services and Jacksons for Rural Verge Cutting. The public should report issues direct to Wiltshire Council. Report problems on roads, highways, footpaths verges or litter via the council website of http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/report.htm or by phone on 0300 456 0105 7. Any other business. a. Cllr Corbin asked that the minutes reflect the appreciation of the council for the work being done by the clerk to improve the services in the village. b. Cllr Corbin informed the meeting that Zeals has been selected as one of 9 villages in the South West Area Board to receive a grant for a “Circular Walk” signage. As part of the development of the Monarch’s Way, in the village, the Parish Council is asked to allow a second notice board, a facsimile of the one on 3 Portnells Lane, to be positioned on the lower side of Tulse Hill just below the other. The intention is to commission a painted map with the Monarchs Way and other footpaths within the parish area. Fortuitously this will link in with the Area Boards plans for local foot paths and in particular the CPRE Sponsored “Circular Walks” which will begin and end at the new Notice Board. Other features in the village including the church and pub(s) will be on the map. The Zeals Walkers, led by Ashley and Liz Kemp, are assisting with the provision of the notice board and map and will advise on the footpaths especially the “circular walk”. He asked for the parish council support for this project and £1000 for the notice board, whilst additional funding will be found to match this and pay for the map. Cllr Grimwood pointed out that the parish council have to consider the potential funding of the proposed 30mph scheme and should therefore wait until this is resolved before agreeing to such a grant. Cllr Stokes stated she agreed with Cllr Grimwood and also pointed out that the parish council had not budgeted for such an expense when setting the 2016/2017 precept. Cllr Spencer pointed out that a map of the walk could go into the noticeboard opposite the church where the route passes. Cllr Wigg stated he would prefer to progress the 30mph scheme, finalise this funding and then consider future expenditure afterwards. Cllr Spencer thanked Cllr Corbin and the item was discharged. c. Cllr Spencer read a letter out from the ‘Bobby Van Trust’ dated April 2016, requesting a donation. Following a discussion this was declined and discharged. d. Cllr Spencer informed the meeting that the Wiltshire Neighbourhood Watch Association is holding its AGM on Saturday 25th June 2016 at Wiltshire Police Headquarters, 1000am, if councillors wish to attend. Item discharged e. Cllr Spencer informed the meeting that the Bourton Wildlife and Habitat Group had arranged for a survey of milestones by the Milestone Society on 17th May 2016. This will include the areas of Bourton, Zeals and West Knowle. Should councillors wish to attend if they inform they can inform the clerk? Discharged. f. Cllr spencer informed the meeting that the county councillor had written to the parish council on 3rd May 2016 highlighting the firework display from Castle Hill on the 11th June 2016 to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday. There was a request for donations or pledges which the council noted. Item discharged. Closure-The meeting closed at 8.20pm

Date for next meeting- Thursday 14th July 2016

Signed ______Date______Chairman Zeals Parish Council

Parish Council Website can be accessed via http://www.hugofox.com/community/ Then type ‘Zeals’ in the location field