BARKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of meeting of the Barkham Parish Council held on 12^th December 2006

in Barkham Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.

Present: Mrs P. Stubbs (in the Chair), Mr. M. Clark, Mr F. A. Scott, Mr.J.Shepherd, Dr. R. Loader,

Mr. P. King, Mr. R. Newman, Mr. F. Postlethwaite, four members of the public and the Clerk.

Apologies: Mr. S. Goldring (work commitments) and Derek Oxbrough (work commitments).

06/877 Minutes of meeting held on 14^th November 2006 were approved and signed as a true record.  The Planning Meeting which was due to be held on 28^th November was cancelled due to a lack of planning applications.

06/878 Matters arising

06/874  Clerk reported that she had spoken to Mrs Firth and she has agreed to take on the role of co-ordinator for the Veteran Tree Project for Barkham. She did say that she was currently busy with other projects and would only be able to devote a limited amount of time to it. 

06/871  Reply received from Sarah Duckworth, The Tree Preservation Officer at WDC regarding the protection of the trees along School Road on land which is on potential development site 1BR 102.  The letter states that the Tree Preservation Dept are liaising with the Development Planning Team regarding this site in order to find out more information on the possible future threat to the trees.  This is one of a few sites throughout WD that have been identified for future redevelopment and it is hoped to one day be able to survey the key trees to include the most significant in tree preservation orders.   Our concerns on the health and safety of some of the trees has been passed over to the tree Inspector who will investigate their ownership and decide on any necessary Health ad Safety works.  A copy of the reply had been sent to Dr Firth who originally brought the matter to the attention of BPC. 

Mr Shepherd informed the Council that Sarah Duckworth would be visiting Barkham Manor with a view to serving tree preservation orders on an additional 38 trees within the grounds, there are currently 22 TPOs at Barkham Manor.

06/870  The temporary repairs to the pot holes in Langley Common Road have now been repaired properly.

06/857  Mr. King reported that he had been contacted by Jenny Skilton the Police Community Support Officer regarding the parking in The Lilacs, Ash Way and Thorn Close she will be keeping an eye out for any problem parking and issuing tickets where appropriate.  Clerk to write a general letter to the residents of these roads asking them to be aware of the issues of parked cars blocking the roads and hence preventing the emergency vehicles gaining access to properties.

06/879 Public Session

None

06/880  Youth Workers Report

No report has been received.  It would be useful if Louise Morris could supply the Parish Council with a short written report on the progress of the new youth club for the information of BPC.  Clerk to request this each month.

06/881 Planning

Mr Newman (Chairman of the Planning Committee) reported the planning issues of importance:-

F/2006/9218                           Land Rear of 143 – 153 Barkham Road                                                              Proposed

                                                Proposed erection of 6 detached dwellings with garages with

                                                vehicular access and landscaping.

                                                Adjoining Parish Consultation

Clerk to write to WDC opposing the plans to narrow the width of the Barkham Road at the proposed new access road to the development, this proposal is to improve the site line at the proposed new junction.  Barkham Road is a very busy road which is barely adequate to take the traffic at present without any narrowing measures being

introduced.

F/2006/9281                           Land at Junction of Park Lane & Hogwood Lane , Finchampstead              Proposed

                                                Proposed erection of temporary changing facilities including

                                                canteen, dining area, gym, physio area and relaxation room,

                                                new press room facility, relocation of existing groundsmans store

                                                and inclusion of new groundsmans workshop.  Alterations to car park.

Clerk to write to WDC stating that these new plans would appear to be identical to the original plans submitted in June 2006 (F/2006/7772), the reason for refusal by WDC was “The proposal does not secure appropriate mitigation of the service, amenity and infrastructure needs which would result from the development”, these issues do not appear to have been addressed.  The addition of 5 new players hardly warrants all these proposed new facilities which are in addition to what is already there.  Mrs Stubbs has been asked to “list” this application for discussion at the next meeting of the Development Control Meeting.  If this application is passed the buildings are to be temporary buildings which should run concurrently with the existing buildings which have already been there for two years.

06/882 Highways

The drains are blocked along the Bearwood Road from Sandy Lane travelling down the hill and on the opposite side of the road north of Hayes Lane , Clerk to request that they are cleared.

It was noted that numerous areas of road have been marked for repair in Elizabeth Park but only some have been carried out, Clerk to check with WDC when the remainder will be repaired.

Speeding along Bearwood Road is still an area of grave concern, residents of Elizabeth Park have expressed their fears, it would appear that the flashing sign is being ignored, BPC have been told that the road surface is particularly noisy and hence it gives the impression that traffic is travelling faster than it actually is.  It was decided to ask the police to carry out a survey, to be paid for by BPC for one week, this is to be in term time. If BPC fund the survey then all the information will be returned to us to analyse.  Clerk to contact Sergeant Michael Cull to request this survey.

A letter had been received from Mr. French (see Correspondence letter A) regarding the junction of Church Lane and Barkham Street , the visibility is very poor with overgrown hedges blocking the site lines.  It was agreed to first write to Mr. Philip Seal, who is the owner of the field adjacent to the village hall to request that he cuts back the hedge between his field and the road.  Clerk to write to his son Mr. Don Seal of Model Farm, Barkham Ride to seek his help, if this is not forthcoming then BPC to write to WDC.

06/883 Finance

R. Newman – postage of VDS documents                                                       49            £11.84

PC World – purchase of a new mouse for computer                                      50            £19.99 (£17.01 exc VAT)

WDC -  1 skip at The Junipers & 1 refuse lorry for November                     51            £259.68 (£221.00 exc VAT)

SLCC – annual membership                                                                               52            £85.00

SPISE – annual donation                                                                                    53            £30.00

Standing Order for Clerk’s salary for December                                                             £485.76

Standing Order to Royal Bor. Windsor – Pension Fund for Clerk                               £89.76

for month of December  (Employee & employer contribution)

To date 815 books have been sold, an income of £4272.24, thus leaving 185 unsold, and the Council is now in credit to the amount of £306.57.

06/884 Village Design Statement

The view of BPC was that this was an excellent document, Mrs Stubbs congratulated the VDS team on producing a most impressive final draft so quickly.  86 documents were sent out for consultation to local builders, developers, estate agents, architects etc., the deadline for comments is 15^th December.  BPC fully support the document subject to a few minor changes.

06/885  Unitary Authority Councillor's Report

Mrs Stubbs reported that WDC were now discussing the Council Tax for next year with a view to keeping it as low as possible without a loss of services.

06/886 Correspondence

i)                     Direct Communication

ii)                   Meeting with clusters of parish Councils

It is proposed that the Conference meet annually each October to provide a forum for all town and Parish Councils to meet collectively with WDC.  The conference will be a forum where local cluster groups can report their work over the previous year, share good practice and establish a programme for the coming year.  The facility to ask formal questions will no longer be a standing agenda item, Parish Councils can ask questions of WDC at any time via the relevant officer, if they are dissatisfied with the standard of response or want to formally ask a question of WDC this can be done in writing via the Democratic Services office.

BPC have been placed in a cluster group with Finchampstead and Wokingham Without.  BPC feel most strongly that clustering parishes by geographical location is not the right move, Barkham has nothing in common with Finchampstead.  Clustering should be done by issues that effect parishes and they should not be fixed.  WDC plan to meet with the cluster groups twice per annum and will be represented by a senior officer.  Each Parish Council will be able to send a minimum of 4 local representatives in place of the current 2.  Clerk to reply to WDC stating that they do not want this system and do not wish to be placed with Finchampstead.  Under this new system district wide issues cannot be discussed.

NALC LCR Paper November 2006.

WDC Staff Bulletin Issue 23.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Planning Committee on 29.12.06.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Council on 30.11.06.

WDC Minutes of  Committee Meetings for the period 27.9.06 – 15.11.06.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Executive on 30.11.06.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 13.11.06 – 17.11.06.

WD Veteran Tree Minutes of meeting held on 13.11.06.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee on 5.12.06.

WDC Minutes of Southern Parishes Area Youth Committee 15.11.06.

Thames Valley Police – Parish Council PCSO Briefings.

WDC Consultation of Proposed Changes to Social Care Services.

WDC Staff Bulletin Issue 24.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 20.11.06 – 24.11.06.

WDC Environment Bulletin No. 15.

Arborfield News Issue 54.

SPISE News Winter 2006.

WDC – Wokingham Statement of Community Involvement.

Councillors Forum

It was noted that the best way to communicate with the residents is via the BVRA magazine, and hence if there are planning issues of importance such as the proposed 4000 homes then this is by far the best mechanism for communications.

At a recent BALC meeting, it was noted that the budgets are currently being set for next year, but there has been a 15% drop in the electoral roles in Berkshire .

The residents of Elizabeth Park are suffering a spate of power cuts, this is due to the sub station in The Lilacs being overloaded.  Clerk to write to SEB expressing concern that an adequate service is not being provided and requesting that their equipment is upgraded to cope with the demand.

It was brought to attention of BPC that the admissions procedure for school entry had been altered in that it was not guaranteed that a sibling would be granted a place at a school where an elder brother/sister was.  This could potentially cause chaos for families.  Mrs Stubbs to investigate.

Meeting closed at 9.20 p.m.

Next meeting of full Council will be held on 9^th January 2007 at  8 p.m.

Next meeting of Planning Committee will be held on 23^rd January 2007 at 7.30 p.m.