Mapledurwell & Up Nately Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly
Date: 23rd May 2012 Venue: Mapledurwell Village Hall Commencing: 8.00pm
Present: Chairman Sam Preece Vice- Chairman Lorna Cuthill
Councillors: Alan Hutton and Tom Horsey
Clerk: Susan Lefley.
Chris Matcham, from The Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Cllr Sven Godeson and Cllr Elaine Still
And 13 parishioners.
The meeting began with Sam Preece informing the gathering that a stalwart of our community and a former Chairman of the Parish Council, namely Donald Komrower, had tragically lost his fight to a sudden illness and had passed away. Sam spoke of the great loss to the community in losing the love, friendship and guidance of this special man and that our thoughts were with Jane and her family. He also mentioned that the members of the Parish Council had made a small contribution to The Samaritans, Donald’s favourite charity in order to convey their thanks for all his splendid work with the council over the last eight years, four of which were as Chairman. The gathering was then asked for a few moments of quiet contemplation before the meeting began.
1 WELCOME. The Chairman Sam Preece welcomed everyone to what the Parish Council believes is the 118 th Annual Parish Assembly, since they have been running since 1894. He then went on to introduce the newly formed council. Lorna Cuthill, who returns to the post after a few years, will be looking after the tennis courts, playground, open spaces, planning applications in Mapledurwell and also looking into the website situation. Lorna has also agreed to become the vice chairman. Alan Hutton continues to be a councillor and with his experience as the local farmer is a big asset to us. Alan will look after The Environment and Roads & Footpaths for Mapledurwell. Tom Horsey, who lives in Up Nately is new to the council but has much enthusiasm and will be primarily responsible for Roads & Footpaths and the Pond in Up Nately. Sam went on to explain that he had resigned as vice chairman at the end of the last term of office, as had Hilary Hossack and Neil Tweed but because of Donald’s incapacity had decided to re-apply with the aim of providing some continuity. He pointed out that there were only four members of the parish council who were automatically made into councillors when the election was uncontested due to the lack of candidates and that we were looking to co-opt a fifth member. He asked if anyone in the audience would consider the role and if so to contact the clerk. Hilary Hossack was then presented with a gift of orchids for her great contributions over seven year and thanked most sincerely. Neil Tweed was not present to accept his gift of a bottle but was thanked in his absence.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies had been received from PC Andy Reid. The first absence in 7 years but he sent his sincere apologies.
3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING. Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly on 20th May 2011 were approved as a true record and signed by Sam Preece.
4. THE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT. (Read by Sam Preece) Signed: There were less planning applications last year, 15 as opposed to 25 scrutinised the previous year, which may be a reflection of the present austerity. Of the 15, nine were granted, one refused and five are still pending.
It was pointed out last year and it’s worth reiterating , that the opinions of the Parish Council carry no more weight than those of any individual writing to B&DBC. So it’s important if anyone has strong feelings about planning matters, they should take up the pen.
At the beginning of this year we have been able to make further improvements to the Village Hall. This Phase 3 work has provided a new stage, ambient lights, spotlights, improved entrance steps and ramp and a solution to the acoustic problems in the hall. We particularly hope that you can now enjoy-oy the lack-ack of echo-echo-echo-echo! These developments were funded by an RDPE grant ( Rural Development Programme for England) In the foyer of the hall you can see a little plaque referring to the grant and although not here, we are indebted to Emily Preston of HCC for steering us through the minefields associated with this particular grant application process.
Last year the Parish Council funded the footpath booklet and to keep costs to a minimum, the clerk used her own home printer to print off over a 100 booklets for free distribution to every household in the parish. Many thanks to Anne Lywood and Suzanne Coull for all their efforts in updating this booklet. I think you will agree it is a very useful aid to exploring the Parish. Copies are available at the Gamekeepers Pub and the Parish Churches.
During the autumn months last year a small group of volunteers planted bulbs around the village hall. This planting was funded by the parish council. The lovely spring display has proved to be worth the effort and we plan to plant more next autumn. The event will be advertised in The Villager to encourage more help.
The Parish Council has also revised the external maintenance tasks to be undertaken by Martin Gosling. Among these, we have asked him to clear leaves from the land outside the hall and to clear the gutters. This task was carried out by volunteers last year but needs to be done expediently to maintain a more welcoming entrance to the hall.
Further improvements in and around the hall are intended such as, more exterior lighting, improving the inadequate power supply to the hall and subsequently improving the heating. Also a valance for the stage, new curtains and a new signboard outside the hall are also envisaged. Some of these items are dependent on successful grant applications and others on contributions from the Village Hall Committee.
FINANCE
Copies of the internally audited accounts were given out at the meeting and the Chairman explained that the precept had been kept the same at £5,200 and that this still helps us to maintain existing standards for the parish, to pay the clerk and to administer day to day costs. He also thanked Robin Best who was in the audience for internally auditing our annual return, which he has done for the past 4 years.
Signed: The Chairman pointed out that in the accounts, you could see that advance payments were required for the Phase 3 improvements before the RDPE grant of £12,613.00 would be paid. Friends of St Mary’s very kindly agreed to pay a bridging loan for this purpose and the Chairman thanked them for this guarantee. However in the event, the Parish Council and Village Hall Committee were able to raise the sum between them. The grant was paid in mid April and the PC & VHC have both been reimbursed and the VAT reclaimed. The balance at the end of the financial year as shown on the distributed sheets was £5101.66 but since the grant payment of our share of the funded work, the new balance becomes £11,532. The balance the previous year was £9,322.68.
This concluded the Chairman’s report.
5. THE POLICE REPORT (Read by Lorna Cuthill in PC Andy Reid’s absence)
Mapledurwell
REPORTED CRIME 2009 9
REPORTED CRIME 2010 18
REPORTED CRIME 2011 17
One less crime was reported in 2011 than the previous year.
In the village we had a theft of farm gates, a burglary at a dwelling where entry was not gained into the house and damage caused to a car outside the public house and also to the telephone kiosk.
Sadly at The Hollies we had a spate of thefts of pedal cycles from the insecure communal sheds these are now locked after a call to the Housing Association) We had six pedal cycles stolen and one attempted theft, a group of youths were seen in the area and the Police were called resulting in several men being arrested and charged with theft, possession of drugs and non dwelling burglary. We also had a theft from a vehicle in The Hollies and one from the Hatch public house car park.
At Conkers Garden Centre, a man and woman were caught leaving the store with a trolley full of items and forgetting to pay for them. The items were recovered as they drove away at speed. We also had a stone thrown at a car on the London Road, near to the garden centre, causing damage.
Police also attended 2 damage and 1 injury road traffic accidents. A HGV causing an obstruction, one false burglar alarm activation, four suspicious vehicle sightings, five suspicious person sightings, two poaching incidents, three domestic incidents, two abandoned 999 calls, a car on the wrong side of the A30, a man burning papers on the side of the A30, people camping in The Hollies Nature Reserve, two reports of cows on the Greywell Road, an abandoned car, an allegation of dangerous driving, a concern for welfare and a person failing to realise he was not wanted at a party.
Up Nately
REPORTED CRIME 2009 7
REPORTED CRIME 2010 6 Signed: REPORTED CRIME 2011 5
For the third year in succession this Parish saw a reduction in reported crime, however on reading what was reported the reader may consider the area incredibly unsafe, which is the complete opposite. Two assaults were reported, one at a care home and the other between neighbours where no support was provided for further police action. There was also the horrendous robbery of an elderly man who came from Odiham with a stranger he picked up to take home as a good deed. He was assaulted and had his car stolen. I am extremely pleased to report a man is in custody for this offence. We also had two thefts of oil, with 1000 litres of heating oil being stolen from the same tank over two nights.
We also had reports of a man who was bleeding calling at someone’s home. It was later found out that he had been involved in a road traffic accident and was arrested for drunk driving. There were three suspicious men seen in Blackstocks Lane asking about a local pub but when checked it was found they were from out of the area and were genuine. We attended a damage only road traffic accident, a poaching incident, a report of a vagrant in the Parish, a civil dispute and a report of an elderly person’s death in a care home.
6 QUESTIONS AND ANSWER SESSION
1. One parishioner asked that could a follow-up email be sent to let us know the outcome of some of the police investigations. It would be good to know.
2. There was a query as to whether the footpath booklets actually made it into the church. Another parishioner said they had picked one up from there. A count up needs to be done and maybe extra copies printed off.
3. A parishioner questioned the £5,000 shown on the account, paid to the Parish Council by the Village Hall Committee. It was explained that this was an agreed payment by them to cover the unexpected new floor.
4. Sam Preece was congratulated on his report.
7 CHRIS MATCHAM, THE WATER VOLE MAN FROM SURREY WILDLIFE TRUST.
Chris Matcham gave an illustrated talk on the life of the Water Vole. He has studied the creature for many years and was indeed an expert on all aspects of their lives.
From identifying whether you are nurturing a rat or a water vole from the look of their burrow, to the territorial behaviour of the female over her stretch of the river, it was a very insightful look into these illusive creatures.
The sad part of the talk detailed the problems with reintroducing the voles back onto a stream or river. It’s not as easy as just rearing some more and placing them, the cause of their original demise must be identified and where possible eradicated. From herons, domestic cats, pike and mink, they are a very sought after morsel. Chris stressed that if a whole community got behind the project covering one stretch of water, you might be able to eventually clear a site in readiness but if the riparian owners either side of you are not doing likewise, eventually, especially in the case of mink who are very territorial and once one is removed, another will move straight on, you’ll be back to square one. So the future is not very bright at all for this much loved character.
Signed: The meeting closed at 10pm.
Refreshments were served.
Signed: