TILEHURST PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 13 February 2018 in the Committee Room, Parish Office, Calcot Present – Councillors: Mrs J Gardner (Chair), Mr K Page (Vice-Chair), Mr D Lovegrove, Mr T Marino, Mrs M Murnane, Mrs R Reynolds, Mr C Taylor District Councillors: Mr R Jones, Mr T Linden Members of Public: Five 18/018 Open Forum – a) The owner of the property 27 Dell Road, Tilehurst, which is the subject of a planning application due to be discussed this evening, outlined the changes which had been made to the application following West Berkshire Council’s refusal to grant planning permission on the previous application, and which was subsequently dismissed on appeal. Mrs Gardner thanked the owner for his comments, which would be taken into consideration when the planning application is discussed. b) (i) Mr Marino passed on a ‘well done’ from Sandra Vickers, a Councillor for Reading Borough Council, for the work which has been carried out at St Michael’s churchyard. (ii) Mr Taylor noticed that the contents of the notice board situated at Turnhams Farm Hall are out of date. The Clerk advised that the key to the notice board has been lost and we are unable to gain access at the present time. Note: The Clerk has asked the parish’s maintenance officers to carry out a further thorough search for the key before organising a locksmith to gain access or buy a new noticeboard. 18/019 Apologies for absence: Apologies have been received from Mrs R Braine, and District Councillor Anthony Chadley. 18/020 Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest relevant to the Agenda. 18/21 Approval and Adoption of Minutes: The Minutes of the Meeting held on the 9 January 2018, having been previously circulated to Members, were taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a true record, having been amended by the Chairman to read ‘9 January 2018’. 18/22 Matters arising from the Minutes: There were no matters arising. 8 18/23 Clerk’s Report: a) Minute 16/384 Calcot National Express bus stop: It has been confirmed that National Express have engaged with suppliers in order to establish the costs to install a bus shelter on the layby located on the A4 Bath Road, at the bottom of the Calcot recreation ground. This is likely to be an advertising shelter, which will remain under the control of the supplier, with their responsibility to carrying out any maintenance required, rather than National Express. Mrs Gardner asked whether the Neighbourhood Plan Committee could include in their proposals a policy precluding all advertising on public highways. b) Minute 16/391 (h) Local Government Boundary Review: On 16 January 2018, the LGBC published its final recommendations for the future electoral arrangements for West Berkshire Council. The report is available to download from www.lgbc.org.uk. Having requested that this Councils current allocation of 18 Council members be reduced, it would appear from the report that this has not been approved. c) Minute 16/406 Turnhams Farm play area: The refurbishment of the play area at Turnhmas Farm recreation ground commenced on 23 January and was estimated to be completed within two weeks. Despite a few teething problems around access to the site, due to the inclement weather, the works are nearing completion and the re-vamped play area will be re-opened ahead of the February half term school holidays. d) Minute 16/424 Library Service Contribution: Updated information with regards to the legal situation around making a contribution towards the library service has recently been received from BALC and forwarded to members. Having read the new guidance as this parish has not been in negotiation with West Berkshire Council or received a separate, bespoke request from them, the Clerk can see no legal reason why this new information affects this Councils decision not to contribute. e) The refurbishment works to Turnhams Farm Play area have now been completed, and the Clerk is preparing a press release. 18/24 Planning – a) Appeals - None b) Decisions - See Appendix A c) New applications - See Appendix B d) Eastern Area - The Clerk will advise Members if there is anything relevant on the Agenda for the Eastern Area Planning Committee on the 28 February, in order that the parish can be represented. 18/25 District Councillors’ Reports - a) District Councillor Rick Jones: 9 (i) West Berkshire Council’s budget proposals are being discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on the 19 February, before being agreed at Full Council on the 1 March. Council Tax will have to be increased, although not as much as neighbouring authorities. Mrs Gardner asked whether Mr Jones knew whether there was still an amount in the budget for a permanent building for the Badger’s Hill I-College (formerly the PRU). Mr Jones will look into this. Mrs Gardner also asked for clarification of a previous statement that there would be a 3% increase in the social care budget. Is this 3% of the social care budget, or 3% of the whole budget. Mr Jones confirmed that the increase would be 3% of the whole budget. b) District Councillor Tony Linden: (i) There is another round of Members’ bids coming up shortly. (ii) There have been various staff changes at West Berkshire Council. (iii) Following the recent boundary review proposals, no response has been received to the parish’s request to reduce the number of councillors. Mr Linden suggested that the Clerk should contact Mr Andy Day at West Berkshire Council for clarification and advice. 18/26 Badgers Hill I-College (formerly the PRU): West Berkshire Council had advised that they would contact this parish by October 2017 to confirm whether funding had been included in their Capital Budget, and to discuss the site and the new Lease. To date no communication has been forthcoming from WBC, no arrangements have been made for a meeting to discuss the situation, and no information received as to when the planning application may be submitted. This, despite the Clerk e-mailing and phoning WBC on various occasions. As the current planning permission on the building expires in January 2019, matters need to be expedited in order that the new building can be built within the timescale, provided the design, positioning etc of the proposed building can be agreed. Mrs Reynolds suggested that nothing further is done at this stage until clarification is received from District Councillor Jones as to whether there is an amount in WBC budget for this building (see 18/25 (a)(i) above), when a decision can be made about issuing a further S25 Notice. 18/27 Tilehurst War Memorial: (Minute 16/409) Despite approaching various organisations the Clerk has been unable to establish ownership of the War Memorial situated at the Triangle in Tilehurst. However, she has ascertained that under the War Memorials Act (1923) a parish council with a vested interest in a War Memorial can fund repairs irrespective of ownership. It was proposed by Mr Lovegrove and seconded by Mr Page that the parish should make the donation of £1,000 to the Royal British Legion as previously discussed, all Members being in agreement. 10 The Clerk has been advised by the War Memorials Trust that Tilehurst Parish Council were noted as custodians of the War Memorial in 2017. This parish was unaware of this, and questioned whether it was legal to be custodians as the memorial is not in parish. The Clerk will investigate further. 18/28 District Parish Conference: The next District Parish Conference will be held on the 15 March 2018. If anyone would like to attend please advise the Clerk. 18/29 Public meeting organised by Alok Sharma MP: A public meeting was recently held to discuss various problems being experienced at the Cotswold recreation ground, including motor bikes being ridden on the recreation ground, and parking issues. Those present, apart from Mr Sharma, included approximately 30 residents, and representatives from West Berkshire Council and the police. West Berkshire Council advised that there are ten enforcement officers covering West Berkshire, but on being asked by a resident how many times an enforcement officer had been to the parish in the last 12 months, no answer could be given. However, Mr Nick Carter, CEO of WBC, did advise that this information would be ascertained and forwarded to all attendees. There has been a problem with motor bikes accessing the Cotswold recreation ground by way of the slip road leading from Cotswold Way at the south east corner of the recreation ground. A resident asked whether a different barrier could be erected at this point to stop motor bikes being able to gain entry. This will be looked into, but consideration must be given to any barrier being installed not precluding mobility scooters from gaining access. 18/30 French drain: The Clerk has obtained a further quote of £10,579 for works to the French drain on the Calcot recreation ground. Three further companies were approached, but were not interested in giving quotes. Mrs Gardner proposed that the original quote from the parish’s contractors of £5,240 is accepted, all members agreeing. The Clerk reminded Members that this expenditure is included in the S106 developer contribution received for the Ikea development, and that there were still some funds available for use on Calcot recreation ground. Mrs Gardner suggested that the footpath from the end of Glamis Way onto the recreation ground is very muddy and could be resurfaced. Although this piece of land is owned by West Berkshire Council, it would be of benefit to residents of the parish who use this footpath to cross the recreation ground to go to Sainsbury’s.