Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes HAMPTON LUCY PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of meeting held on 5 October 1999 at 5 Hithersand Close Present: Councillor Martyn Gardner Councillor John Robinson Councillor Elaine Rajkowski Councillor Hugh Williams Councillor Michael Woodman Alan Scaife, Clerk No members of the public 1. The council having been in abeyance for several months, and the election of 29 July 1999 having been aborted due to lack of candidates, the above, having volunteered, had been appointed temporarily by the district council pending a new election on 25 November 1999. Cllr Woodman (the only person present to have served on the previous council) explained the procedure for the new election, and nomination and acceptance forms were handed to each of the nominees above, who were asked to complete these forms and take them to the returning officer. It was agreed that if the present councillors were unopposed, the first proper council meeting would be held in the village hall on Thursday 11 November at 8 pm. 2. It was agreed that all the councillors would act as cheque signatories, any two being acceptable. 3. Grass cutting problems were discussed, and it was agreed to spend £100 for one final cut this year on the playing fields and the school field. 4. It was agreed to donate £40 to the Village Enhancement Group for fencing the four Scots pine trees which will shortly be planted on the school field. 5. A copy of the Millennium Footpath map, to be given to each parish household, was given to each councillor. The wording for an envelope was agreed, as was the inclusion of a leaflet from the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. All the councillors agreed to help distribute the maps, and it was agreed that this would be done after the appearance in the Grapevine of an item about the map. 6. Planning application 99/01224/FUL (Hatton Rock Farm development) was discussed. It was agreed to send a fax to the planning department fully supporting Councillor Lambert’s objections to the scheme, on the grounds that the surrounding roads were unsuitable for the traffic which the scheme would generate. 7. It was agreed to place an item in the Grapevine about the forthcoming election, with nomination dates for any additional candidates. 8. It was agreed that we should continue our subscription to WALC, which has not yet been paid for this year, and Cllr Rajkowski agreed to attend the seminar for councillor training to be held at Moreton Morrell on 30 October. (9. Next year’s precept and future plans were not discussed.) 1 Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes 10. Past plans for the playing fields were discussed, but no decisions taken. 11. The question of dead trees in hedgerows and elsewhere (mainly killed by Dutch Elm Disease) was discussed. Councillor Rajkowski felt that they should be left in place. 12. It was agreed to invite Councillor Lambert to the first proper council meeting on 11 November. 13. Under Any Other Business, Cllr Williams raised the problem of the danger of traffic travelling too fast through the village. The CPRE had been surveying this problem, and their material was later passed to Cllr Willams to follow this up. Also, the question of whether a local resident should be allowed to fly a helicopter from his home was discussed. Cllr Rajkowski agreed to look into the rules applying to such flying. 2 Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes HAMPTON LUCY PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of meeting held on 11 November 1999 in the village hall Present: Councillor Michael Woodman Councillor Elaine Rajkowski Councillor Martyn Gardner Councillor Hugh Williams Councillor John Robinson Alan Scaife, Clerk and 9 members of the public. 1. Michael Woodman was elected Chairman. 2. Alan Scaife was appointed Clerk with effect from 1st October 1999. 3. Apologies for absence were recorded from Councillors Lambert and Hobbs. 4. No declarations of interest were made. 5. The minutes of the meeting held on 5 October 1999 were read aloud, agreed by Council, and signed by the Chairman. 6. There were no matters arising from the previous minutes. 7. Cllr Woodman presented the Treasurer’s report and stated that the council had approximately £7000 in the bank, with bills of approx. £500 yet to be paid. He suggested that parishioners should be invited to suggest possible projects for funding, and it was agreed to put this invitation in the “Grapevine”. It was agreed that the full council would meet as a finance committee on 9 December to plan next year’s budget. 8. A new cheque mandate was signed by all the councillors, whereby any two may sign cheques. 9. Cllr Rajkowski gave a report on her day’s training at the WALC Training Seminar at Moreton Morrell on 30 October. She considered it to have been very worthwhile, and mentioned possible sources of funds. 10. Football pitch. Mr Scaife stated that he had approached Mrs Mandy Knight, who is looking after the missing football posts, and asked her if her husband would submit plans for putting the football field in order. However no plans had been received. It was agreed that up the £250 could be spent on this, and that the SDC Sports and Leisure Dept might be consulted. 11. Cllr Williams was asked to present the problem of speeding traffic. He pointed out that it was too late to return the CPRE questionnaire. After much discussion it was agreed that the clerk should write to the County Council Highway authority to raise the problems of speeding, and overweight vehicles using our historic bridge. 3 Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes 12. Mr Scaife drew attention to the huge amount of mail received by the clerk, and it was agreed that much of this would first be circulated to the councillors, after which items of general interest would be left in a box file in the church porch, with a summary on the village notice board of what is in it. It was agreed to renew our subscription to the Voluntary Service Organisation (now £27.50), and to donate £100 to the Depot Bus youth project, which all the councillors visited immediately before the meeting. 13. Under AOB, three recently-received planning applications were studied. All were approved. (Ingon Manor licensing/28 The Close/Ingon cottage). The unreliability of the bus service was raised by Mr. Conchar, and it was agreed that we should complain to Stratford Blue. Mr Birch asked that we should ask Charlecote village meeting to arrange to cut back the hedge which is intruding into the Charlecote-HL road. This was agreed. 14. The next full council meeting was scheduled for Thursday, 20 January, 2000. The meeting closed at 10 p.m. 4 Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes HAMPTON LUCY PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of meeting held on 20 January 2000 in the village hall. Present: Councillor Michael Woodman Councillor Elaine Rajkowski Councillor Martyn Gardner Councillor Hugh Willams Councillor John Robinson Councillor Richard Hobbs Councillor Keith Lambert Alan Scaife, Clerk + 9 members of the public; + Paul Walker (Woodlands and Green Space Officer, Stratford District Council) + Margaret Lennon (Headmistress of Hampton Lucy Primary School) 1. There were no absentees. 2. No declarations of interest were made. 3. The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 1999 and of the finance committee on 9 December 1999 were read and signed by the Chairman. 4. Matters arising: failure of bus to arrive: Cllr Hobbs has suggested to a Snitterfield parishioner that if a bus failed to arrive he should call a taxi and charge it to the bus company. They paid. 5. Mr Paul Walker and Ms Margaret Lennon presented their plan for a wildlife area to be planted by the school-children in the SW corner of the King George V Playing Field. There was much discussion about this, but it was agreed that this should go ahead, subject to certain provisions. Mr Walker also stated that he could provide trees for other areas of the playing field. 6. Other plans for the Playing Field were discussed: Mr Scaife suggested that we should use the Halford Forge estimate for repair of the railings, dated 1 April 1998, but now revised to be £4200, as the basis of a claim under section 136B to the District Council for refurbishment and repair of the perimeter fence. This was agreed. It was also agreed that members of the public, and specifically Hugh Williams, should be allowed to cut down the dead trees within the perimeter fence and use them as firewood. A Playing Field Working Group, consisting of Cllr Rajkowski, Cllr Robinson, Cllr Williams, Cllr Gardner, and Heidi Williams (Youth club organiser) was set up to oversee improvements to the Playing Field. 7. A proposed budget for 2000/1 was presented, requiring a precept of £4000. This was proposed by Cllr Robinson, seconded by Cllr Williams, and carried. 8. The proposed mowing contract for the playing field and the school field was discussed. It was agreed to leave a wild flower area in the school field, to be mowed only in late July. 5 Hampton Lucy Parish Council minutes 9. A letter from the Chairman of Charlecote Village Meeting, inviting collaboration, was read out. Cllr Lambert pointed out that it was likely that they would shortly elect a new Chairman, and that we should wait until then to respond. This was agreed. 10. Among the correspondence received by the clerk, the question of registering our ownership of the King George Playing Field with the Land Registry was discussed. Mr Hunter (who is a solicitor) considered that this was highly advisable, and it was agreed to do it.