, AND BISHOPS GREEN PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of meeting held ONLINE Wednesday 9th September 2020, commencing at 19.30 hours Present: Cllrs Hall (Chair), Dain (Vice Chair), Kearney, Stamp, and Debenham. In attendance: Sarah Jones (Clerk), County Cllr Thacker (part), Borough Cllr Izett (part), 0 members of the public.

Item Action 1 Apologies Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Bayliss and Coward. Cllr Hall advised it is his intention to stand down as Chair from the end of the meeting. He proposed Cllr Dain take up the Chair role until the next AGM takes place in May 2021. Cllr Kearney seconded this, and Cllrs were unanimous in their agreement. 2 Declarations of interest Cllr Debenham advised his property is a neighbour to planning application 20/01852/FUL. Cllr Dain advised the property in planning application 20/002109/HSE is her neighbour, and both advised they will not participate in the discussions. 3 Minutes of previous meeting and actions arising To receive and confirm the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 8th July 2020. All Cllrs agree as the Chair cannot sign them, the clerk will pp them on his behalf, as a true record. Actions arising: None 4 Public participation There were no members of the public present. 5 Borough Councillor’s Report Borough Cllr Izett attended the meeting late and therefore this item was dealt with out of order at 8.55pm after Item 11(e). Borough Cllr Izett reported that the latest Covid reports show numbers in the area are still low. HCC have suggested they need a temporary morgue and a potential site in Rooksdown has been identified but there has been opposition to this. The Local Plan is required to be updated every 5 years and this process is taking place; the idea is to ask parishes via survey what they want to prioritise. The survey has not been published yet. Central Government have produced a white paper relating to changes to the processes relating to planning applications. At present the current system will continue. Cllr Izett suggested if the changes to planning are implemented it might be beneficial to have a Neighbourhood Plan. Climate change continues to be worked on and the borough are demonstrating plans on how they will be carbon neutral, including helping local businesses etc to achieve this. Covid has had a huge impact on finances and currently there is a deficit of £2m. Reserves can cover this but there are long term implications. Potential development at the area around the M3 junction 7 area is being considered. This could include up to 10,000 houses and commercial buildings. 3 potential sites have been identified for the building of a new hospital. There will be further consultations on options and the preferred way forward. There are proposals for a dog fouling order and potential fines for dog walkers who have no means on them for collecting their dogs’ mess. Due to online meetings there is still a delay and backlog on planning applications. There being nothing further to report, Cllr Izett left the meeting at 9.05pm. 6 County Councillor's Report County Cllr Thacker advised the situation with the Newtown Road recycling centre has been resolved for a further year. It is hoped during this time a permanent solution can be sought. A potential site for a new recycling centre has been identified in off the A339. This will be reviewed to see if it is viable. County Cllrs were invited to a Thames Valley communication regarding roads. The A339 was discussed but Cllr Thacker reported Cllr Mellor had subsequently written in as 1

he felt parts of the A339 were not considered and this causes concern. Cllr Thacker reported that Cllr Mellor would like to see a good strategic link from the A339 to the A34 and continues to work towards this. Covid figures remain a concern and information regarding the new government guidelines will be announced during the latter part of the week. Cllr Thacker advised he had nothing further to report and left the meeting at 7.55pm. 7 Planning a) Planning applications: 20/02109/HSE Springbourne Stud Farm, Brocks Green, Ecchinswell RG20 4UJ Erection of a detached single storey 2 bay car port with secure workshop. No objections

20/02209/PIP Land South of Darling Buds of May, Knightsbridge Lane, Headley Application for Permission in Principle for residential development of a minimum of up to 9 no. dwellings 3 objections: 1) Overdevelopment of a small area 2) The area is on a flood plain 3) Hyde Lane is small and narrow and could not cope with potential extra traffic moving to the shop in Bishops Green and the school and pub in Ecchinswell.

20/01852/FUL. The stables at Bishops Green, Ecchinswell Road, Bishops Green No objections

b) Decisions 20/01376/HSE Ratts End House, Ecchinswell Road, Ecchinswell RG20 4TX Erection of replacement garage and store with playroom above in new location in rear garden, following demolition of old garage and garden shed Decision: Application Withdrawn

20/01370/HSE 2 Ratts Cottages, Ecchinswell Road, Ecchinswell RG20 4TX Erection of single storey flat roofed kitchen extension Decision: Granted

20/00773/HSE Springbourne Stud Farm, Brocks Green, Ecchinswell, Hampshire Erection of a single storey rear extension and raised platform, removal of one dormer window to rear elevation and construction of two no. dormers to front elevation including alterations to front door canopy Decision: Granted. 8 Finance Electronic Payments:

(a) The following payments were agreed for July and August, and the bank reconciliations will be pp signed by the clerk:

S Jones Clerk’s salary (July) £588.07 S Jones Clerk’s salary (backdated increase) £34.59 S Jones Clerk's Expenses (July) £19.95 D McClelland Litter warden – (July) £261.60 R Wherry Litter warden - (July) £125.56 HMRC PAYE – RW, DM, SJ £40.60 Premier Grounds Village maintenance £433.80 ICO Direct Debit for renewal £35.00

Total £1,539.17

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August: S Jones Clerk’s salary (August) £585.87 S Jones Clerk's Expenses (August) £22.59 D McClelland Litter warden – (August) £305.20 R Wherry Litter warden - (August) £111.72 HMRC PAYE – RW, DM, SJ £30.00 Premier Grounds Village maintenance £433.80

Total £1,489.18

The following payments were also made, as agreed at the July meeting:

Volunteer phone expenses £40.00 BGCA cleaning discretionary payment £252.00 Weevils £924.00

(b) The actual/against budget for the period to the end of August 2020 was agreed. 9 Correspondence Planning Application 20/01852/FUL. The stables at Bishops Green, Ecchinswell Road, Bishops Green (dated 27/08/20) – discussed and agreed under item 7. 15.08.20 - BDBC - Open space definition. This will be added to the October agenda for discussion. SJ 01.08.20 – BGCA, thank you for the contribution for cleaning costs. 14.08.20 – BDBC – Neighbourhood Plan briefing – the parish council took this opportunity to discuss whether a Neighbourhood Plan is necessary. They agreed it is. Cllr Hall will ask for volunteers to join a committee to discuss and decide on this matter and this will be left on the agenda. 02.09.20 – HALC – reform of planning systems in the UK, details Cllr Hall also raised that an elderly resident had recently moved to Kingsclere and he thanked those involved in helping her move and also asked that the council reimburse Cllr Kearney for the flowers she sent to the resident. 10 Highways and Rights of Way Cllr Dain advised the stile at Ratts Cottages has been fixed twice, it is now in good working order. Fencing and footpaths have been worked on in the area and there have been several improvements but the stiles are still awaiting replacement with gates. The potholes in Hyde Lane remain an issue and do not appear to have had any work carried out on them. The clerk will chase this. A rambler’s association is trying to re-create an ancient footpath route through North SJ Sydmonton. The bus shelter is in bad order and is in need some attention. The bus shelter is on the assets register and will need to be included in the risk assessment. The clerk will look into who tidied it up on a previous occasion. EK/SJ 11 New Business a) Allotment land ownership – formal lease agreement This is on-going; a peppercorn rent is to be paid. This will continue to be sorted out after the busy harvest period has ended. b) EVH land access licence The licence has been re-vamped and sent to HALC for review, their legal team is looking into this and it should be sent back to the clerk this week. It can then be issued to the residents of the 3 houses. c) EVH land ownership sign request and unauthorised football The council agreed this was an EVH issue and the clerk will respond accordingly. SJ d) Village magazine distribution Cllr Debenham advised the printing costs for an extra 200 copies of the magazine is £195. Cllrs agreed to this payment and the cost of the explanatory labels. The process for distribution and the wording to advise this is a complimentary issue, along with 3

details for how to sign up will be organised by Cllr Debenham. Cllr Debenham will also write the article for the November magazine which is the one that will be distributed. PD e) Pond clearance day It was agreed the event would need to be on a smaller scale this year. Cllrs agreed however that it should go ahead and that a ‘shift’ system would be used. Volunteers will be asked to choose a time slot they would prefer. The clerk will email to this effect. Cllr Hall will add the details to the newsletter. The weevils have worked well on the Azolla problem and there is very little left which is great news. The pond now has a lot of duck weed over it. This needs to be worked on. f) Home-Start charity discussion Any decisions will be made after the charity’s AGM report has been reviewed and Cllrs have discussed further. g) The old graveyard The graveyard has been tidied up and no further action is required. h) Neighbourhood Plan This was discussed under Item 9 above. 12 Matters for discussion a) Update on the pond and weevils This item was discussed under item 11(e) above. This needs to stay on the agenda. b) BGCA update Cllr Dain reported that they are desperate for more volunteers, having lost 2 trustees, the treasurer and secretary. There is a lot of interest in new bookings which is positive. Sadly, the back gate has been vandalised but a local fencing company have offered to fix the gate for free which is very gratefully received. There has also been graffiti on the wall which BDBC removed. Police have suggested CCTV be installed. c) Website Accessibility Regulation update This has been carried out by Vision ICT and a certificate provided that the parish council are now compliant. c) Parish Magazine items for the magazine were agreed and Cllr Hall will write the article this month. 13 Date of next meeting: Wednesday 14th October ONLINE or at Ecchinswell Green Village Hall at 7.30pm. If guidelines allow, councillors will aim for an in-person meeting in preference to a video call. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.30pm.

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ACTIONS:

Open space definition. This will be added to the October agenda for discussion.

The potholes in Hyde Lane remain an issue and do not appear to have had any work carried out on them. The clerk will chase this.

The bus shelter is in bad order and is in need some attention. The bus shelter is on the assets register and will need to be included in the risk assessment. The clerk will look into who tidied it up on a previous occasion.

The council agreed this was an EVH issue and the clerk will respond accordingly.

The process for distribution and the wording to advise this is a complimentary issue, along with details for how to sign up will be organised by Cllr Debenham. Cllr Debenham will also write the article for the November magazine which is the one that will be distributed

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