Baydon Parish Council Meeting of Monday 19th May 2014

News report by Barbara Furber

 

 

The Parish Council AGM was held at the BYPA Hall on Monday 19th May 2014 with Mr Andy Knowles in the chair. All councillors were present. County Councillor James Sheppard joined later in the evening having first attended a meeting of Ramsbury Parish Council.

 

Mr Knowles was re-elected as chair, and Mr Tony Prior as the Responsible Finance Officer (RFO). The position of Vice Chair is still open.

 

Minutes for the meetings of 31st March and 7th April 2014 were approved with slight amendments.

 

In public time Mrs Furber again raised the matter of a handrail for the entrance to the right of way from Manor Lane to Baydon House.  Mr Knowles agreed to find three quotes for the work and submit the details to Wiltshire Councils Path Improvement Grant Scheme (PIGS).

 

Mrs Sue Harris also pointed out that the pavement alongside of the new chicane is very overgrown making the pavement very narrow and hazardous. Mr Prior agreed to clear it.

 

Cllr Tamsin Witt will also check with Highways about the matter.  The councillors reported receiving many emails, letters and phone calls some of which were quite aggressive, concerning safety in Manor Lane during the road closure. All comments were taken on board and passed to Highways. However the traffic calming measures are for the long term good of the village as requested in the Village Plan.  Although the Councillors put in a request for the chicanes the actual siting and construction was down to Highways, said Cllr Witt. Monitoring strips were placed in Manor Lane before the work and also after the work to assess any impact on the Lane from the chicanes.  It was agreed that the disruption was minimal during the installations and the work was completed very quickly. The chicanes are now awaiting electricity for the overhead lights.   Cllr Knowles said that he was disappointed that no one from Manor Lane had attended the meeting.

 

Planning:

 

The Parish Council had received no notification concerning the planning notice on the field in Aldbourne Road (between Becketts and Turf Run) but will be contacting Planning with comments. Cllr Alison Tomkins said that two three bedded dwellings was in line with the Village Plan.  Cllr John Cockcroft raised concerns about the narrowness of the road at that point which might cause trouble during construction.

 

Cllr Tony Prior reported that the Baydon Allotment Association (BAA) had met and agreed to pay the water bill for the last two years, a total of £45. He had also ordered a Beefy bag at a cost of £64 and suggested that one more would be needed.

It was noted that plot 14b was still vacant.

 

Three quotes had been received concerning the Grass Cutting contract. It was agreed to use Pittams again at £1,875 plus £325 VAT.

 

It was agreed to maintain a one year contract for the Church clock servicing, but look for quotes from other companies for next year.

 

Cllr Prior suggested that the Council seek another bank because of in-efficiency and poor location of the existing bank.  He also asked about payment on line as some services now no longer took cheques.   A lengthy discussion ensued. It was finally agreed that Cllr Prior investigate further both the change of bank / location and internet banking options.

 

The suggestion of a mobile phone for the Clerk was rejected but it was agreed to monitor the situation.

 

Finance:

 

Cllr Prior reported that the Treasurers account held £27,590.34 and the current account held £2,904.04 which included the Allotment rents.

 

The Annual Returns were approved and signed.

 

It was agreed to publish the approved 1, 2, 3 and 4 quarterly budget accounts on the website.

 

Cllr Prior said that due to an error £79.08 needed to be paid back from the previous clerk and that there had been some sort of mix up with Paines Fireworks. The company had suggested crediting the Council with £72 towards next year’s order.

Cllr Prior is awaiting a formal letter explaining the situation.

 

It was agreed to include the Event Tent on the Asset Register.

 

Payments were approved for; Wiltshire Association of Local Councils £229.80; Insurance £475.78; Baydon PO Stores (Parish Assembly wine) £36.00; Cllr Prior expenses £20.56; Postage stamps for Clerk £3.72; Pittams £282.00; Internal Audit £40.00; Beefy Skips £64.00; and BYPA for hall hire for the previous year £80.00.

 

Cllr Knowles reported that sadly the Cricket Club has had to fold due to lack of support. Some assets had been sold and it was agreed that the Council hold the monies to be used at a later date. It was agreed to put it into the Treasurers a/c, ring fenced until such time that it was needed for a new club or young peoples activity.

 

It was also reported that Brydgette Byron-Edmonds had no funds to pay for the last copy of the Baydon Scene. No one has volunteered to take over therefore Brydgette could not justify sending invoices to advertisers.  Cllr Tomkins asked if the Council should fund the last copy.  It was agreed to pay Brydgette the £40 short fall from previous copies and to put the matter on the next agenda when more information concerning costs had been received.  It was also agreed to put out a flyer asking for volunteers to produce the magazine in the future.

 

The Parish Councillors agreed a £50 donation to the School and Church Fete in June.

 

The meeting closed at 9.55pm.

 

 

 

Click here to return to the main Homepage