BARKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of meeting of the Barkham Parish Council held on 11^th July 2006

in Barkham Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.

Present: Mr. R. Newman (in the Chair), Mr F. A. Scott, Dr. R. Loader, Mr. S. Goldring, Mr. F. Postlethwaite, three members of the public and the clerk.

Apologies: Mrs P. Stubbs (meeting at WDC), Mr. D. Oxbrough (on holiday), Mr. M. Clark (family commitments) Mr. J. Shepherd (prior engagement)

06/818 Minutes of meeting held on 13^th June 2006 were approved and signed as a true record.  The Planning Meeting which was due to be held on 27^th June did not take place due to insufficient planning applications.

06/819 Matters arising

06/804 The trees which are growing out of the verge along the edge of the Bearwood Road desperately need digging out, Clerk to remind WDC that this area could be potentially dangerous.

06/812 The “ Langley Common Road ” sign has again been demolished by a car, clerk to request a replacement from WDC.

06/812 The pavement outside 69 – 71 Bearwood Road has not been repaired, it has a large dip in it where it was dug up by Thames Water. Clerk to write to WDC requesting action.

06/811 1 Feathercot, School Road .  This planning application – proposed conversion of existing barn to granny annexe stated on the application “fee previously paid” which would indicate that there has been a previous application which BPC are not aware of, Clerk to question this with WDC.

06/820 Public Session

A member of the public brought to the attention of BPC that a stable had been erected in the field adjacent to Sparks Farm, it is possible that this is a mobile stable and therefore no planning permission is required.  Clerk to ask the Enforcement Officer at WDC to investigate for us.

06/821 Planning

F/2006/7605                           Exmoor , Park Lane , Finchampstead                                                   Proposed

                                                Proposed raising of roof of dwelling with dormer                          No Comment

                                                extensions to form first floor.

                                                Adjoining Parish Consultation.

F/2006/6716                           18 Aggisters Lane                                                                                Appeal Lodged

                                                Proposed two storey side extension to dwelling and front           With Planning

                                                porch extension.                                                                                   Inspectorate

                                                BPC made no comment on the original application

F/2006/7439                           Maple Cottage, School Road                                                              Approved

                                                Proposed single storey rear extension to dwelling to

                                                form conservatory.

F/2006/7658                           56 Bearwood Road                                                                               Approved

                                                Proposed single storey rear elevation to dwelling to

                                                form conservatory.

F/2006/7665                           51 Sandy Lane                                                                                      Refused

                                                Proposed erection of a single storey wooden detached

                                                annexe to dwelling.

Reasons:-  The proposed granny annexe is not ancillary to the main dwelling and as such is tantamount to a new dwelling.  A new dwelling in such a location would represent tandem development that is piecemeal and out of character with the area.

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F/2006/6710                           32 Barkham Ride, Finchampstead                                                      Refused

                                                Proposed erection of 5 dwellings and demolition of

                                                existing dwelling.

                                                Adjoining Parish Consultation

Reasons:  The site is within 5 kilometres of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA).  The proposed development is likely to have a significant effect on this nationally and internationally protected site as it, in combination with other proposed developments in the area, would have the potential to significantly increase the visitor pressure on these sites.

F/2004/2751                           Greenfields House, Edneys Hill                                                         Dismissed At

                                                Proposed development of 32 dwellings.  Comprising 11 five       Appeal

                                                bedroomed houses, 8 four bed houses, 3 three bed houses

                                                and 10 two bed flats.

Reasons:-  The appeal site lies outside the boundary of the nearest settlement, there is some sporadic development in the immediate locality, the area is generally rural in character, predominantly farmland, interlaced by a network of narrow country lanes.  Local policies aim to protect the countryside for the sake of its character and beauty, the diversity of its landscapes, its heritage, wildlife and natural resources so that it may be enjoyed by all.  The proposal would not provide the type of housing which might be acceptable in the countryside.  The bulk of the site is greenfield land and development for housing would go against the thrust of recycling brownfield sites.  Full details can be seen in the Appeal Decision in the Distribution File.

06/822 Highways

The pavement along the Bearwood Road from Sandy Lane to Highlands Ave is still only half the width it should be as the verges have encroached on to the pavement.  Clerk to remind WDC that this area requires clearing back.

06/823 Finance

Expenditure

H. M. Revenue & Customs – Tax & National Insurance                               011          £49.95

WADE – grant                                                                                                     012          £250.00

Wokingham Volunteer Centre – grant                                                              013          £250.00

Keep Mobile – grant                                                                                           014          £250.00

California Football Club – grant                                                                        015          £250.00

Barkham Pre School – grant                                                                               016          £300.00

A.J. Harland – fee for internal audit                                                                  017          £199.75 (£170 exc VAT)

D. Tredwell – printing costs for VDS                                                                018          £25.00

WDC – charge for 1 refuse lorry at Old Village Hall & 1 skip                       019          £259.68 (£221 exc VAT)

for June.

Barkham Village Hall – hire of hall for Village Design Day                            020          £100.00

R. Newman – photographs for Village Design Day                                        021          £366.75 (£312.13 exc VAT)

Neat Ideas – stationery                                                                                       022          £41.07 (£34.95 exc VAT)

R. Newman – Village Design Statement expenses                                          024          £11.99 (£10.30 exc VAT)

D. Tredwell – Village Design Statement expenses                                          025          £52.96

Standing Order for Clerk’s salary for July                                                                        £485.47

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

for month of July  (Employee & employer contribution)

Income

£100 received from Allianz Cornhill Insurance Company in respect of the excess which was recovered from the third party insurers for the notice board at the junction of Sandy Lane which was demolished by a drunken driver.

To date 810 books have been sold, an income of £4247.24, thus leaving 190 unsold, and the Council is now in credit to the amount of £281.57.

06/824 The Barkham Sporting Endeavour Fund

Applications received from:-  £500 has been precepted for.

Charlie Burrows - tumbling

Liam Abrahams – trampolining

Ross Abrahams – trampolining

Sarah Bellis – tumbling

Louisa Bellis – tumbling

Tamsyn Pack – ice skating

Hayley Salmon – ice skating

It was decided after studying all the applications that Ross Abrahams and Hayley Salmon did not represent their country at a national level yet.  Clerk to write to them explaining that at the moment they did not fill the criteria and that we hoped to hear from them in the near future.  The other applicants will all receive a cheque for £100 which will be presented to them at the meeting on 12^th September.  Clerk to invite the press and Sam Hosgood to do the presentations.

06/825 Barkham Teenage Youth Club Project

Mr. Newman reported that he had a meeting with Richard Ferguson, the youth leader at WDC, Mr Ferguson confirmed that a new youth worker was nearly in post and there was a suggestion to provide a mobile youth provision in the area of Elizabeth Park, this would be for the older children, thus leaving the younger children the use of the village hall.  Mr. Newman will meet Mr Ferguson again in August.  It was agreed that a public meeting to invite the parents would be beneficial to gain their support and launch the youth club.  The youth club will be initially for one year as a trial.  Mr Newman has submitted the lottery application for £6000, the cost of the mobile provision would be met by WDC.  Mr. Newman also reported that the army had contacted him as they have a climbing wall which they are prepared to allow supervised groups to use it, this would be ideal for the youth club as the young people had expressed an interest in this sort of activity.  The young people would need to be insured by WDC and BPC would be required to make a nominal contribution to the army towards the upkeep of it.

Letter received from Councillor Malcolm Bryant confirming that he is delighted to see that Barkham are keen to extend youth facilities and he pledges to do all in his power to assist.  A copy of his letter has been sent to Nigel Shaw, the Officer responsible for Youth.

06/826  Report from the Boundary Meeting – Mr Newman

A meeting was held on Wednesday 21 June at Barkham Village Hall to discuss the anomalies of the parish boundaries.  Representatives attended from Arborfield, Winnersh, Wokingham Town Council and Finchampstead.  The thinking behind the meeting was to create a community which is not helped by the various anomalies with the parish boundaries.  The majority of Arborfield Garrison is actually located in Barkham which at the time did not matter as the residents were all military personnel, but now many of the houses have been sold to the private sector. The working buildings are in Barkham and the majority of the housing is in Arborfield with the exceptions of Venning Road and Valon Road where the boundary is down the middle of the road.  Likewise Sandy Lane has a boundary with Barkham and Wokingham down the middle of the road.  It was decided to write to GOSE to see if there are any guidelines.  It would appear from the meeting that Arborfield Parish Council would not be supportive of any boundary changes.  Therefore our interest is directed to the north east boundary, Bearwood Road where the boundary passes down the middle of Sandy Lane with a possible suggestion of moving the boundary to Highlands Ave.   Mr. Postlethwaite agreed to research the boundaries and report his findings at the meeting in September.

06/827 Report from The Coombes Meeting – Mr Newman   

A meeting was held on Thursday 22 June at Barkham Village Hall.  Attended by Mr. Newman, Rebecca Walkley from WDC Countryside Services and the Clerk, Arborfield PC were unable to attend.  Much has been achieved since the last meeting in February.  There is now a greater police presence, 2 motor bikes have been seized by the police, cost of recovery is £160, and this will be advertised as a deterrent to other riders. Four new signs have been erected stating “No Motorbikes”, Rebecca will liaise with Sergeant Cull regarding the posters which will be aimed at deterring the motorbikes.  A new gate has been installed which is big enough for a disabled person to get a buggy through. The way marking discs have been replaced and many paths have been resurfaced.  Mr Maslin has replaced the horse step and plans to install another higher up the path, he will also replant the hedgerow and plant trees.

Plans for the future are to produce a leaflet 2000/3000 copies this to be funded by Barkham and Arborfield PC contributing £200 each towards the cost.  WDC Countryside Services will produce the leaflet with possible funding from Mr. French which will promote his farm shop.  The leaflet (A3 size) will contain a small section giving the history of The Coombes, Mr Newman to contact Mr. French to write a small paragraph.  Also an input from the residents as to “why The Coombes is important to us”, hopefully this will come from the VDS open day questionnaires.  Plus some small photographs of a horse rider, a walker and possibly a disabled person all enjoying the freedom of The Coombes.  Mr Newman’s son will take the photographs for Rebecca on a sunny day.  The leaflets can be delivered to the houses on Elizabeth Park, Bearwood Road and Barkham Road .  Displayed in the Post Office and the shop at Arborfield and the local public houses.  Mr. Newman took the opportunity of speaking to Rebecca Walkley about the idea of the stewardship of The Coombes, she thought this was a good idea and urged us to pursue it but lack of funds at WDC prevented her from being able to assist us further.

Clerk to put up a poster a the Post Office requesting people to report motor bikes to the police by ringing 0845 8 505 505  and also to write to Arborfield PC updating them on the progress.

06/828 Village Design Statement Public Consultation Day – report from Mr. Newman

The Village Design Statement was displayed at the Village Hall on Saturday 8^th July for the public to view and comment.  It was an excellent exhibition with a steady flow of people, most spent at least an hour studying the photographs.  The general feedback from the visitors was very good and supportive.  Over the summer months the team will sort through the comments that were left at the exhibition.  The next stage will be to narrow it down and focus on what is to be protected and enhanced.  By the autumn the plan is to produce a paperback version with pictures.  The final document must then be accepted by WDC.

BPC wish to thank Robert Newman for driving this project and getting to this stage so quickly with his very able team of volunteers.  His hard work is greatly appreciated as without it this project would never have got off the ground.

06/829  Unitary Authority Councillor's Report

Mrs Stubbs was apologised for not attending the meeting as a couple of issues which affect Barkham were being discussed at the Transport and Highways Meeting at WDC which she was attending.  She did leave a report:-

“My main reason for writing is to publicly congratulate all the members of the Village Design Statement Team.  The exhibition here in the hall on Saturday was outstanding.  It brought home to me in a way that I had never appreciated before, just how diverse our village is.  I felt that it made me look again at individual houses and features instead of accepting the overall perspective that we have of our surroundings, without taking note of the smaller details.  I am very much aware of the tremendous amount of time and effort which has gone into this project.  I hope that the exhibition can be easily stored for future use so that more of our residents can really see the village in which they live.  My only regret is that so few people cared enough to make the effort to view the Design Statement Exhibition and actually input their own views.  Congratulations to the whole group for an excellent result.”

06/830 Correspondence

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Special Council Executive Committee on 22.6.06.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 5.6.06 – 9.6.06.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 12.6.06 – 16.6.06.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Executive 29.6.06.

WDC Minutes of Committee Meetings for the period 29.3.06 – 12.6.06.

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WDC Statement of Accounts 29.6.06.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Council 29.6.06.

WDC Waterford Times June 2006.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Planning Committee 5.7.06.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 19.6.06 – 23.6.06.

WDC Planning Applications Input & Decisions Issued for the period 26.6.06 – 30.6.06.

WDC Staff Bulletin Issue 13.

Appeal Decision  - Greenfields House, Edneys Hill, Barkham

Local Council Review July 2006.

WDC Agenda for Meeting of the Scrutiny Committee 17.7.06.

Minutes from Parish Council Focus Group held on 26.4.06.

Meeting closed at 9.50 p.m.

Next meeting of full Council will be held on 12^th September at 8 p.m.

Next meeting of Planning Committee will be held on 15^th August 2006 at 7.30 p.m.