Baydon Parish Council Meeting of 19th April 2010
The Parish Council meeting was held in the BYPA Hall in
Planning:
A two-storey rear extension, a front porch and an extension to the
front boundary wall at 30 Downsmead received no objections from the Parish
Council.
A Street Lighting plan for
The Enforcement Officers report, said the clerk Mrs Rowan
Cockcroft, was a little ambiguous. Mr Prior said that close attention should be
paid to the development.
Finance:
Payments made between meetings were approved, as was the Bank fund
reconciliation for April 2010. Main account £13,860.71; Recreation account
£8,359.59; Allotment account £699.00.
Thanks were given to Cllr Michael Edmonds for keeping the accounts
up to date, they were now ready to proceed with the Annual and Audit reports.
The 2009 /
2010 accounts were approved and the Quarterly Monitoring reports were accepted
and approved.
The final Water Pipe invoice of £1,267.72 (inc
VAT) was presented. Extras requested by Thames Water, plus the connection
charge brought the total to £1,855.14. However a grant of £619.00 had been
received leaving the net cost to the Parish Council at £1,236.14. All costs
were approved.
The repair work carried out on the water pipes due to criminal
damage was £80 (labour) and £5.18 (parts). This payment has been approved, but
not until each councillor had expressed their dismay and disappointment
concerning this criminal damage. Cllr Tony Prior added that as the Council had
used a local contractor the damage had, fortunately, been repaired quickly.
The Council are to write to Wiltshire Young Peoples Opportunities
Fund to ask if monies given to the Baydon Resource Group for the cycle track
could be re-allocated and used for the Play Area.
The Clerk’s expenses of £26.20, incurred whilst training, were
approved.
In a report from the Traffic Calming Group, Cllr Tamsin Witt asked
for £12 + VAT, the cost of post and packing, to be added to the cost of the 30
mph stickers. This additional cost was approved and the clerk agreed to order
the stickers.
Cllr Witt said that the 6 Village Gates would arrive within the
next 10 – 14 days, ready to be painted. An additional £37.48 was agreed as the
original quote had been increased.
It was reported that the Downsmead Notice board had been
weatherproofed and was in use.
Cllr Prior gave a report on the progress on the Play area. The
next stage, he said, was consolidation and to this end a meeting with the
school children will be arranged.
An extra £5,000 grant had been received from Playbuilder,
thus the project now had £23,000 towards its goal.
It was noted that the Parish Assembly was now on 30th
April in the BYPA Hall at 7.45pm. This change has been caused by the ongoing
building work at the School.
Cllr Prior gave a report concerning the damage to the water
pipeline in the Parish Field. All councillors again voiced their dismay at such
criminal damage. Cllr Edmonds said that he was concerned that a group of
individuals had the impression that they could hamper the work of the council
in such a way.
Cllr Prior reported that it had taken a whole morning to discover
the extent of the damage as the pipes had no only been cut, but foam had been
inserted and was clogging the filters. The police, he said, were conducting
enquiries.
Mr Prior then listed a whole catalogue of events such as water
being let out of water butts, stolen vegetables, wooden supports broken and a
seat stolen.
Mrs April Dukes reported that bolts had been removed from the
wheel of the trolley that she uses to carry water and tools to the allotment,
causing the wheels to fall off as she crossed the main road.
Cllr Alison Tomkins said the pattern of pre-meditated criminal
sabotage was appalling.
Cllr Prior asked for the incidents to be minuted
and said that it was totally unacceptable as a protest against the allotments,
or the Parish Council. The Allotments would continue to exist, and the water
pipe will remain, he added. Mr Prior went on to say that as a councillor he
expected criticism from time to time, however recent
exchanges have gone beyond acceptability. Mr Beverage, of Willow Track, had
said in front of witnesses, that he held Mr Prior personally responsible for
the sprain that his daughter had incurred whilst walking in the track. He was
also verbally very abusive and unreasonable.
A notice had appeared in the Post Office shop window, which was
entitled a Public Notice. All councillors were concerned about the content,
some of which was thought to be libellous. The clerk said that as it was not
dated nor addressed to the Parish Council it did not need a reply.
Cllr Tomkins added that it was not an appropriate way to approach
the council, and that any grievance should be through the proper channels.
It was agreed to do nothing about the letter and Mrs Debbie Moxom had agreed that no such letters would appear in her
shop window again.
It was agreed that the water trough be sited at the top of the
field. The Baydon Allotment Association. would purchase a pipe and fill the trough when necessary.
The water meter had been read and from now on the responsibility
for payment of water would be with the Baydon Allotment Association.
It was noted that all allotment holders had paid their rent and
thanks were extended to them for prompt payment.
The clerk announced that arrangements had changed for the plastic
and cardboard recycling skips. The next skip would be on Wednesday 28th
April, but from May they would be monthly at 9am. A request for an earlier time
had been refused.
The Beating of the Bounds is to be led by Mr Prior on Monday 3rd
May leaving the Red Lion car park at 10am.
Cllr Tomkins remarked that the Village Green looks excellent just
now thanks to the condition of the grass and the daffodils in bloom.
It was noted that the village website was not being updated at the
moment as Mark Austen was stranded in
The AGM will be held on 10th May 2010.
The meeting closed at 9.50pm
By Barbara Furber
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