PARISH OF STOKENCHURCH

Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 at Longburrow Hall at 7.30pm.

Attendees: Mr Penny (Chairman), Mrs Baker, Mr Conran, Mr Jones, Mr Parkinson, Mr Randall, Mr Thomas, Mr Davis, Mr Hawkins (Clerk), and 2 members of the public.

1. Apologies Apologies were received from Mrs Cripps, Mr Elliott, Mr Saunders, Cllr Downes, Cllr Gibbs and Cllr Neudecker. 2. Declarations of Interest. Each Councillor with property within the Parish was asked to sign an Application for Dispensation to speak and vote on the setting of the precept under the Local Government Act, this dispensation to last until 1st May 2015. 3. Minutes. It was agreed by all present at that meeting, that the Minutes of 9th January 2013 be approved. 4. Matters Arising. The Clerk reported that an Agreement between the Council and the Betty Messenger Charitable Foundation, based on the discussion at the last meeting on levelling the Fair Common, had been drawn up and agreed by all parties. This now awaited signature before work can commence. 5. Reports and Actions: Several Councillors had attended the official opening of the Stokenchurch Community Library and it was agreed that the event had gone well. 6. Notification of Parish Matters: Snow, Mudds Bank and gritting were put forward for discussion 7. Planning

 05000 Reserved matters application for approval of details including access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for the demolition of existing garage and erection of a detached dwelling pursuant to outline permission 11/07723/OUT ay Minnis Cottage, The Pitch Beacons Bottom. (Atherton). The Chairman proposed that SPC offers No Objection, but suggests that the application be reviewed by the Planning Officer due to local opposition and concerns about parking. Unanimously agreed.  05019 Display of 2 x internally illuminated fascia signs, 1 x non illuminated hanging sign and 1 x illuminated ATM surround at Lloyds TSB, Church Path. (Lloyds Banking Group). No objection, agreed unanimously.  05038 Proposed Island pavilion and low-level footbridge at Wormsley Estate. (Snell Associates). No objection, agreed unanimously.

8. District and County Councillors: None present. 9. Finance: Bills Payable to the amount of £3,085.78 were approved for payment unanimously. The Chairman gave a resume of the last Finance Committee meeting, reporting that a final offer had been made, without prejudice, to Ms Tracy Keeble (allotment complaint), and that enquiries were continuing to source an appropriate dishwasher for the Hall kitchen, and a lockable metal filing cabinet to better protect archive material. The Clerk outlined the background to this year’s precept setting which was affected by the replacement of Council Tax Benefit in April 2013 by Council Tax Reduction scheme. This will reduce the Tax Base within Parishes which in turn means a higher Parish charge for each property. A support grant is being made available this year from Local Government funds to alleviate this problem, and Parishes are asked to deduct this grant from the amount of precept to be requested such that Parishioners are not adversely affected. In this way SPC will receive a grant of £5,120.22 (from WDC with the first tranche of precept in April 2013,) and will request a precept of £62,879.78, i.e. £68,000.00 less £5,120.22. This was agreed unanimously. 10. Correspondence: The Chairman had a letter from the Library thanking the Council for attendance and support at the recent official opening. Mr Davis offered his congratulations for the event and progress made so far. MP David Lidington had covered the event at some length in his online blog. Mr Chadwick answered a number of questions about contracts for maintenance: SCL had agreed to accept responsibility for cleaning and grounds maintenance. The Chairman suggested that the Parish Warden may be able to absorb the grass cutting into his duties, which was gratefully acknowledged by Mr Chadwick. Details to be agreed. A Quiz Night here at Longburrow for Library funds takes place in February, and Mr Chadwick asked Councillors to make people aware that the Library remains a fully functioning part of the Bucks County Council network. 11. Four Horseshoes Nothing to report. 12. MUGA Floodlighting Limited installation delayed due to bad weather. 13. Travellers sites: Three caravans reported as stationary in Mudds Bank layby. It appears this may be a temporary stop. Clerk to notify WDC as a matter of routine. 14. Vantage Land: Nothing to report. 15. Stokenchurch library: See above. 16. Slade Road School site: Clerk has asked Simon Barlow at WDC for an update on progress. 17. Cemetery 100 yew and hawthorn to be ordered for hedging. Cemetery committee meeting suggested for Feb 27th 2013 with hopefully Rev France to be there. To discuss details re consecration of cemetery extension. 18. Other Parish Matters Mr Parkinson asked why the snow had not been cleared regularly from the car park. We have a gritting contract, and Mr Dutton had made appreciable inroads but fresh falls frustrated his efforts. It was agreed to revisit the gritting contract upon expiry at end of March to assess the seasonal cost and whether other, more basic methods might be reintroduced, such as a supply of rock salt prior to winter to be applied by the Caretaker and Warden.

There being no further business, the meeting concluded at 8.25 pm.