Parish Council Minutes April 2020 to March 2021 Page| 19 Initialled

Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at 7:00pm, 1st December 2020 via Zoom

Present: Councillor Carolyn Bloom (Vice Chairman) Councillor Rachel Tighe Councillor Mandie Bradshaw Councillor Danielle Williams Councillor Nick Harrington (Chairman) Councillor Ian Prosser

In Attendance: Clerk & RFO Jane Chatterton County Council: Councillor Wallace Redford District Council: 0

Public: 0

59. Apologies Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Valarie Leigh-Hunt (WDC).

60. Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest.

61. Councillor Co-option It was reported that following a recruitment process the Parish Council were granted permission from WDC to proceed to fill the vacancy via co-option.

RESOLVED THAT Councillor Ian Prosser be appointed via co-option.

62. Minutes The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 20th October 2020 were discussed.

RESOLVED THAT the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 20th October 2020 were approved.

63. Matters Arising There were no matters arising, not listed on the agenda.

64. Public participation There were no members of public present.

65. Councillor’s reports and items for future Agenda County Councillor Cllr. Wallace Redford Covid-19 – Councillor Redford reported on the local situation with regards to Covid-19 levels within the County, Brunswick and Lillington were in the top 5. One new case had been reported at Leamington School.

Precept – the Government had restricted the raise in the precept request to 2% plus 3% for social care.

Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council Minutes April 2020 to March 2021 Page| 20 Initialled

Winter Grant Scheme – the winter grant scheme was available between December to March, the sum of £1.4m was available to help families in need towards heating and food.

New laboratory – a new laboratory would open in the Spring of 2021 and would go through planning shortly. This would create 2,000 jobs.

Councillor Danielle Williams joined the meeting

District Councillor Valerie Leigh-Hunt A major concern for the Council is that the District together with Stratford District has been put into COVID Risk Tier 3. The Government has treated the risk in this area as being as great as that in Coventry and the north of the County. The leaders of both Warwick and Stratford Districts have written to the minister pointing out the much lower infection rate in this area. It remains to be seen whether this will have any effect. The District’s outdoor sport centres and leisure facilities are due to reopen on 2nd December.

National or Local Restrictions Support Grants totalling £935,000 have been paid out to local businesses and also £115,00 of Additional Restrictions Grants.

Discussions are still ongoing regarding the budget for next year. The local economy has been hit. Income is down and various options for reducing expenses and increasing income are being looked at. A number of charges will be increased next year to cover some of the shortfall but free parking is to be in place in the Council’s off-street car parks during December.

There are also ongoing discussions with Stratford District Council for some joint working. A Joint Local Plan will be prepared and some senior offer roles will be joint over both districts. Work has begun on some new council homes in Warwick.

The draft Canalside Development Plan is out for consultation. Any comments on the draft plan they should be sent to Planning Policy at Riverside House by 5pm on 21st December by post, email or on-line

66. Correspondence Nothing further to discuss.

67. Finance 67.1 to approve payments: -

21.10.20 E35 J Chatterton Stationery £63.76 28.10.20 E36 S3i Group light cables £803.66 30.10.20 E37 LITE Christmas lights £1,658.40 30.10.20 E38 WALC WALC training NH 20498 £30.00 22.11.20 E39 J Chatterton Salary November DPA 22.11.20 E40 HMRC Tax for Clerk DPA

RESOLVED THAT the payments be approved. Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council Minutes April 2020 to March 2021 Page| 21 Initialled

67.2 Grant Request A grant request had been received from St Michael’s Church.

Councillors were reminded that WALC and NALC informed Parish Councils that the Local Government Act 1894, expressly prohibited parish councils from spending any money on maintaining or improving church property. In practice this included the church building itself, the churchyard and the church hall.

In this instance, the situation was complicated by the fact that subsequent legislation appeared to contradict the earlier 1894 Act. For example, s.214(6) of the Local Government Act 1972 permits a parish council to contribute towards the expenses incurred by any person in providing or maintaining a cemetery and s.215 of the Local Government Act 1972 permits a parish council to maintain a closed churchyard.

Whilst it was widely accepted now that a parish council can legally maintain a closed churchyard there remained a difference of opinion amongst some legal professionals over whether a parish council was permitted to maintain or contribute to the maintenance of an open churchyard.

RESOLVED THAT this update be noted.

68. Draft Budget 2021-22 The draft budget and Precept request for 2021-22 was discussed.

The budget and Precept request for 2021-22 was approved as:

Budget 2021-22 £10,962.20 Precept 2021-22 £11,000.00 Tax base 189.02 Band D 2021-22 £58.19

Proposed Councillor Harrington Seconded Councillor Bloom Unanimous

RESOLVED THAT the budget and precept request for 2021-22 be approved at £11,000.00

69. Christmas activities Councillor Harrington updated that the lights on Sabin Drive had been installed. The tree had been planted on St Michael’s Close and lights installed on the Willow Tree.

70. Planning Nothing to report.

71. WDC Complaint Councillor Harrington reported he had requested an update on progress of the various complaints sent to WDC, but this was still awaited.

ACTION: Councillor Harrington to contact WDC for progress. Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council Minutes April 2020 to March 2021 Page| 22 Initialled

72. Progress with Playing Area refresh Councillor Harrington had met with the Green Spaces Officer in October. It was disappointed to note that yet again, no progress had been made.

ACTION: Progress update to be obtained.

73. Village Hall – gate installation The Parish Council had written to the Village Hall Committee requesting the installation of gates and height restrictor. Incidents of anti-social behaviour continued to occur on the Village Hall car park. The complaints received from parishioners continued and the Parish Council were keen to see this resolution.

A quotation for the work had been sought by the Parish Council and shared with the VH Committee.

It was also noted that the police safer neighbourhood team also supported the installation of gates.

ACTION: the Village Hall Committee be contacted for an update.

74. Meeting Dates 2021 The meeting dates for 2021 were discussed.

Tuesday 26th January 2021 Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Tuesday 27th April 2021 (APM) Tuesday 11th May 2021 (APCM) Tuesday 22nd June 2021 Tuesday 27th July 2021 Tuesday 7th September 2021 Tuesday 19th October 2021 Tuesday 30th November 2021

RESOLVED THAT the above dates be approved.

75. Councillor’s reports and items for future agenda Speeding Councillor Williams raised the issue with speeding in the Village. She was currently liaising with PSCO Ed King for the creation of a speed watch group.

It was noted that Radford Semele had purchased “20 is plenty” signs.

If the signs were to be erected onto WCC street furniture then permission would be required.

ACTION: (i) Clerk to contact the Clerk at Radford Semele PC. (ii) Councillor Redford would raise the issue with the Safety Officer at the next WCC meeting.

Weston Under Wetherley Parish Council Minutes April 2020 to March 2021 Page| 23 Initialled

Drains – Rugby Road Issues with the drains on the Rugby Road were raised again. This covered the stretch from number 20 to Sabin Drive by the bench.

ACTION: Councillor Redford to progress.

76. Next Meeting The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 26th January 2021.

Meeting closed at 8:05pm