Baydon Parish Council Meeting of 7th September 2009
There were only three councillors present at the Parish Council meeting on 7th September. Chairman Mr Tony Prior said that 3 new councillors were urgently needed, as was a new Clerk.
The Community Area manager Ms Alison Sullivan introduced herself and her work for the Department of Community Services. Issues that have not been addressed by the Parish Council or Highways can, said Ms Sullivan, be raised at the Area Board meetings or on the website www.wiltshire.gov.uk/marlboroughareaboard .
Grants were available for certain projects in the community. The next meeting, said Ms Sullivan, is about Health Issues and will be held at Marlborough Town Hall on September 23rd. Mr Prior thanked Ms Sullivan for her input.
The minutes for the last two Parish Council meetings were approved and signed.
In the ‘Public Question Time’ Mrs Janet Rees said that 7 lime trees needed cutting back as they impaired the use of Bridleway 11. Mrs Rees also reported the sign on Bridleway 29 had been knocked down and stuck in the hedge, signage for Bridleway 24 was missing and at Bridleway 27 a lot of debris from motorbikes and cars had been dumped.
Mrs Rees also pointed out that the drains on the bend in the road near Becketts had become blocked with mud and needed attention.
Mrs Rees also said that the village had 6 listed buildings not 1 as stated in the Village Plan document.
Mr Prior thanked Mrs Rees for her information.
Chairman Tony Prior said that after a great deal
of effort on his part,
A letter had been received from the Air Ambulance asking for Charity Clothing bins to be sited in the village. Mr Prior said he was aware that the school already collect clothing as part of their fundraising. It was agreed to discuss the matter at a later when the new owner of the Red Lion is in residence, as the bin will have to be sited there.
Planning:
It was noted that an appeal is to be heard on 8th
October 2009 at the Aldbourne Memorial Hall concerning the application at Dacre,
The Parish Council was unable to respond to the
Wiltshire Council’s letter concerning street lighting in the
The councillors considered the application for
two residential units at the
Mr & Mrs Whale passed to the councillors a pre-application for a ménage on land behind Walronds Close, for their consideration. It was agreed that the matter be put on the next agenda, or if necessary to call an extra meeting.
Mr Prior said that he had received all the Parish Council’s documents from the ex- Clerk, and that he would pick up the Clerk’s duties for the time being.
It was agreed that Cllr Michael Edmonds would deal with any financial matters.
The advertisement for a Parish Clerk was approved and would be put on the village Notice board and the village website.
It was agreed to leave the External Audit report and all financial documents on the Baydon village website for a year.
Three quotes for Traffic Calming Gates ranging from soft wood unpainted at £608 to hardwood and painted at £1,496 were viewed. It was agreed to defer the decision until Cllr Tamsin Witt was back from holiday. As part of the Traffic Calming Working Group (TCWG) she may have more information. Amendments to the Working Group Policy document were agreed and approved, as were the amendments to Terms of Reference of the TCWG.
It was agreed that Cllr Michael Edmonds write to Timbercraft about the possibility of providing a waterproof panel to the Village Notice Board as suggested by the Village Steering Plan Group, using funding from the Village Plan project.
Two letters had been received from the same person following the newspaper notice regarding the allotments. It was agreed to send a holding letter and Mr Prior would investigate the specific items in the letters before replying in full.
No letters had been received in response to the notice in the village magazine concerning the Play Area project. It was agreed that the Parish Council would discuss the project at the next meeting and make a decision then.
Finance:
Some issues concerning Sections 1 & 2 of the 2008 Annual Return had been discussed with both internal and external auditors, but the Parish Council were not prepared to sign the document until further investigation was completed.
The payment of the Clerk’s salary was delayed until issues concerning back pay had been resolved. The Parish Council had received a letter from Wiltshire Council stating that an offer of a ½% rise had been rejected and that the final offer of 1% with provisions was still being discussed.
It was agreed to pay £36.66 to Mr Mark Austen for payment towards Heart Internet charges for providing the web-space used for the Baydon village website.
Cllr Alison Tomkins suggested that householders either side
of
The meeting closed at 9.15pm.
By Barbara Furber
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