Great and Little Hampden Parish Council Clerk to the Council – Jill Knowles Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Memorial Hall, Memorial Road, Great Hampden on Tuesday 26th November 2019 at 6.00pm Present: Councillor F Smith (Chairman) Councillor R Dawson (Vice Chairman) Councillor I Pratt In attendance: J Knowles (Clerk) Mr N Baxter (new Clerk) Members of the public: District Councillor G Peart BEM There were no members of the public present. MINUTES 19/0089. To NOTE any apologies Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Griffin, County Councillor Carroll. Councillor Aston was not present. 19/0090. To RECEIVE Declarations of Interest of Interest in items on the Agenda In accordance with the Local Code of Conduct to receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non-disclosable pecuniary interests and to consider and grant any dispensation requests. There were no declarations of interest. 19/0091. Members of the Public and Press are invited to address the Council. The Press were not present. There were no members of the public. Nick Baxter the new Clerk was in attendance to watch proceedings. 19/0092. To RECEIVE a Crime Report The Clerk had previously emailed the report to Members. The Clerk reported that there had been a burglary of an unoccupied dwelling in Great Hampden, and theft of licence plates in Little Hampden. 19/0093. To RECEIVE reports from Councillors There are no reports to bring to the notice of the council. The Chairman invited District Councillor Peart to give his report. He reported on the following items; Wendover Air Rifle Club District Councillor Peart advised that a planning change of use planning application had been recommended for refusal. The club are currently not looking to increase the membership and around 10% of members are disabled, or not fully able. The club is also used for other activities such as the scouts. The planning department issued an enforcement notice on the club, but the outcome is not known at this present. The club will appeal and submit another planning application. The intention behind the enforcement notice was to establish the rights of club members and the Initial Page 1 use of the woods. The Chairman asked District Councillor Peart BEM if the support of Great and Little Hampden Parish Council was required. He replied that he will do what he can to find a route to resolve the planning issues. He also felt that when an amended application is submitted it would be helpful if the Parish Council was able to support the application. It was unanimously AGREED that we could support the club in its planning application. District Councillor Peart BEM went on to advise that there is currently no assistance for minority sports and that the club is a good facility in the community. Saw Mill Site District Councillor Peart BEM reported that site access arrangements are likely to be amended and that it he anticipated that the planning application will be approved. Amalgamation of the councils District Councillor Peart BEM reported there are some benefits and some disadvantages to a unitary authority, but there was a risk that it could become ‘Aylesbury centric’. The Shadow Executive has appointed an Executive. The authority will use the same financial system as Buck County Council. There is an Election due in May 2020 and depending on which party is elected a new leader may be required. The budget for the amalgamation is £22 million. District Councillor Peart BEM the main area of great concern is children’s services. He added half the reserves of new unitary will come from Wycombe District Council (WDC). WDC is investing in a number of schemes at the rate of £1 million per week; examples are Risborough Springs, a new cemetery at Hazelmere, and properties have been purchased for strategic reasons Saunderton lodge will be closed. This information is all in the public domain for members of the public to access. The reserves are c£80 million. There will be more money available, to the value of c£25 million, in April 2020. All the parish councils will have an increased status and it is likely they will be required to do more when the unitary authority is formed. The Chairman said we have some Cil money due. It was supposed to be paid in September and should be about £5 thousand, (15% of Cil around £10K per house). The Parish should receive 15% of what was raised. It was AGREED to send a letter to the planning team, Alistair Nicholson, to enquire why the payment has not been made. District Councillor Peart BEM advised Members to contact him if there is no response from Mr Nicholson. He further advised that he had been selected for Woburn Green and Bourne End and is in post until April 2020. 19/0094. To APPROVE the Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 16th October 2019 The Minutes were approved and signed. 19/0095. To DISCUSS matters arising from the Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 16th October 2019. The maters arising; a) It was noted that Councillor Aston should have her initial ‘C’ in her name on the Minutes. b) Item 19/0071d - Wi-fi in the Memorial Hall. The Chairman reported that a phone line is actually live, the phone number is known and the Post Office have been paying for the telephone line. The Parish will pay half of the cost of internet (standard speed). It was AGREED that an internet connection in the Memorial Hall would benefit the community and the logistics were discussed. It was AGREED to find out more. Initial Page 2 c) Item 19/0086 – Spoil Pile. Councillor Dawson reported that he had spoken to the landowner and it had been confirmed that the location where the the spoil had been deposited did belong to the landowner. Councillor Dawson had been advised that a machine is required to sift through the spoil to remove other materials so that the good soil can be reused. It was AGREED that the Clerk should draft a response to the person who wrote in about the spoil heap. d) 19/0085 – meeting dates for 2020. The new Clerk provided some dates for the Parish meetings next year and will email them to all Members. The Clerk was INSTRUCTED to place the dates notice on the noticeboards and website. e) 19/0071c – phone for Clerk. The Clerk explained she has cancelled the payment from her personal bank account for the voipfone. f) 19/0083 precept – It was noted that the annual Precept submission was due to be made by the end of January. It was AGREED to hold a separate budget meeting with a proposal being submitted to the January 2020 Parish Council meeting. g) Royal British Legion Wreaths – The Chairman reported the wreaths cost £18.95 each and the Parish donated £60.00 towards them. 19/0096. To APPROVE Accounts for payment a) List of invoices for payment – the cheques were approved and signed. The accounts were checked and signed. 19/0097. Planning Applications a) To CONSIDER for response, planning applications; There were no new planning applications to report. b) To RECEIVE an update on any RECEIVED and / or DECIDED planning applications and appeals for the period 11.10.19 to 19.11.19. These had previously been sent to Members. 19/0098. HS2 To RECEIVE an update. Councillor Dawson raised the issue of the mess surrounding the Link Road in Great Missenden. The Chairman said the link road work starts on 2nd or 3rd of December 2019 and Bucks County Council will undertake the work on the link road that is required as a result of HS2.. 19/0099. Tree work in the Parish To DISCUSS any works to trees that may be required The Chairman reported that the Parish own the tree outside the Hampden Arms. It was a ‘millennium tree’ (planted by the Parish Council). There had been a request that the lower branches could be trimmed so the grass below the lower branches could be cut more efficiently. The question of employing someone to do the work was discussed. Councillor Dawson said the tree was the Parish Council property so we should do it or get someone to do the work. The Chairman will ask Mr Higgins to undertake the work, as he does the tree works on the estate. 19/0100. Memorial bench, Village Green, Little Hampden To DISCUSS a new ‘lest we forget’ bench for the Village Green, Little Hampden Councillor Dawson reported he had contacted the landowner and that the landowner agreed with the proposal for the Parish Council to fund a memorial bench for the village green. The cost is c£1700 per bench and discounts are unlikely. Councillor Dawson requested that we consider this for next year. There was a discussion about the location of the bench. The Chairman suggested only one bench was required, for Little Hampden and that we should Initial Page 3 budget for it in the next precept Councillor Dawson AGREED to continue discussions with the landowner. 19/0101. New steps to churchyard entrance in Little Hampden To DISCUSS the installation of one or two new steps for the entrance to the churchyard from the road at Little Hampden Councillor Dawson mentioned this to Christopher Figg and suggested that the step is dangerous when wet. The Chairman said we should improve the condition of the slope. 19/0102. Wi-Fi – Memorial Hall To RECEIVE an update on the installation of Wi-Fi to the Memorial Hall. This was discussed above.