THE COMMON PARISH COUNCIL OF SUTTON & BARLAVINGTON
APPROVED MINUTES OF A MEETING OF
THE COMMON PARISH COUNCIL OF SUTTON & BARLAVINGTON HELD ON
TUESDAY 7th SEPTEMBER JULY 2010 AT 7.00 PM SUTTON VILLAGE HALL
Present:
ACTION
Cllrs. Gordon Owen, Anthea Pratt, Jeremy Pontin, Anna Gillam, Norman Young and Joy
Mayes.
In Attendance:-
Louise Collis (Clerk to the Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington).
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington Meeting commenced at 7.00pm.
68.10 Agenda item No. 1 - APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
None
69.10 Agenda item No.2 - CODE OF CONDUCT - DECLARATION OF INTEREST
by Councillors on any of the agenda items
The Clerk reminded Councillors of their duty to declare personal and prejudicial interests.
No new or altered Declarations were made.
70.10 Agenda item No.3 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13th JULY 2010
The Minutes of the meeting held on 13th July 2010 were declared correct and accepted as a
true record, and Council
AGREED that they should be signed following completion of the
meeting. Cllr. N.Young
PROPOSED and Cllr. Gillam
SECONDED the motion.
71.10 Agenda item No.4 – CO-OPTING A NEW PARISH COUNCILLOR
Terry Johnson put himself forward as a candidate for the role of Parish Councillor. Cllr
Gordon Owen
PROSPOSED the motion that Terry Johnson be elected as a Co-opted Parish
Councillor. Cllr Pratt
SECONDED the motion.
Terry Johnson was duly elected as a parish councillor and signed all the relevant forms.
72.10 Agenda item No.5 MATTERS ARISING
a.
Broadband update / Grant applications – – The WSCC bid for Rural
Development Programme for England (RDPE) funds to enable the three non-ADSL
exchanges has passed the first hurdle and we are now into the second (and final) bid
phase. The result will be announced in mid-November. If WSCC are successful in
the bid, a decision that may need to be made at a later date is which service
provider to go for or the Parishes may wish to set up their own.
b.
BT Kiosk competition – The Parish Council is still awaiting the £100 awarded by
BT towards the project.
c.
Grit Box – The clerk was directed by WSCC Highways to purchase any grit boxes
from Glasdon. They recommend a box that takes up to 200lbs of salt and must be
sited off the highways. Prior to installation must inform WSCC Highways. The cost
of the larger box is £167 exc VAT but includes delivery costs. At the last Parish
council meeting
C.Cllr Brown recommended the delay of purchasing any grit boxes
due to the discussions that took place at the now Summit in June 2010. It has been
agreed that WSCC will be in contact with the Met office and the Met office will
give the Highways Office 24 hrs notice re bad weather. During the day of the
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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anticipated bad weather WSCC Highways will deliver sacks of grit to strategic
areas. Milland Parish Council (Hants) has been the guinea pig of this grit provision
programme. The clerk has contacted Lorraine Grocott, clerk to Milland Parish
council. The Chairman of the Parish Council does not want grit boxes throughout
the Parish and WSCC have agreed to deliver sacks of grit during bad weather,
however they have concerns re who puts the grit on the road (timing issues and how
much – Who is responsible to ensure the road is not damaged), how does the parish
council prevent the general public taking it for their own drives etc. The local rural
parishes around Milland are meeting on Wednesday night and Milland Parish
Council are meeting on Thursday night. The clerk of Milland Parish Council will
update the clerk on Friday. Please see New Correspondence – Agenda item 14a)
below.
Clerk
It was
AGREED that 2 additional grit boxes would be purchased by the clerk. One
will be located and the grass verge near Greenfields and the other near the pub.
d.
Barlavington Fingerpost – The total cost of the restoration is £890 plus VAT. The
Parish council has received £178.00 from WSCC being 40% of the grant awarded
to the fingerpost restoration. (Total grant from WSCC is 50% of the costs namely
£445, the remaining £267 will be paid on completion of the work). The clerk has
submitted the grant application to CDC for up to 50% of the cost of the fingerpost
estimate.
e.
Website – Outstanding
f.
To discuss any matters arising not dealt with elsewhere on the Agenda - None
73.10 Agenda item No. 6- COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
i) Chief Executive of WSCC has been removed due to lack of Confidence by the members.
One of the senior directors has been appointed on an interim basis. He has already removed
8 senior employees saving the WSCC £1.8m per year.
ii) Area Cost adjustment issue – Michael Brown and Louise Goldsmith had a meeting with
Bob Neil, government minster. He neither throughout or support any of the demands made
by C.Cllr Brown. However actions from government since the meeting are not promising.
Examples
a) Concessionary Bus Scheme (run by District and Borough Councils)for the over 60’s
which receives £12.2m per year from central government will be reduced to £8.6m
when it transfers to County Councils next year.
b) Cost Adjuster – In the past there has been a positive floor to the cost Adjustment
calculation. This year it increased by 1.5% increase, compared to an RPI was 3%,
therefore resulting in a real reduction. Dorset 7.9%, Lancashire gets 11%. The floor
is being abolished, therefore in the future they will be able to claw back funds.
iii) Horncroft – This has been delayed until additional information has been submitted.
C.Cllr Brown is keen to meet with the Steering Committee to discuss the WSCC Planning
meeting.
iv) Speeding Cuts – Following the spending review there will be substantial cuts. The cuts
will be between 25-40% cuts to the Government grants. WSCC working on a 35% cut which
is £90m spread over 4 years, taking affect from 1 April 2011. In the Year 2011/12 looking to
take out £50m. Trying to front load the cuts.
74.10 Agenda item No. 7 - DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
CDC Financial Review – CDC have an all day meeting on 30 September to discuss the
necessary financial cuts. There are ways to make money by building houses but then the
infrastructure is not there to support the housing.
Red Bins – Will be able to use the red bins for glass from 2011.
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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The Grange – The possible loss of the Day Centre at the Grange is not a popular move by
WSCC. CDC has committed themselves to contribute to the rebuild of the Grange. A
number of parish councils are against the rebuild of the Grange. 5 out of 6 of D.Cllr’s Parish
Councils in his area. The D.Cllr’s idea is to divert the promised funds from the Grange
project to community centres. Community centres should be able to provide sport facilities
including indoor bowls, and meals for the elderly, meeting rooms for tele-medicine, a stage
for productions . It brings the communities together.
Grants – Although there is no money at present, CDC (Wellbeing) are logging interest for
any projects that would need funding. One quote is required to be put on the list for projects
75.10 Agenda item No. 8- Local Development Framework
Nothing to report - Item to be removed from future Agendas.
76.10 Agenda item No.9 – Highways and Footpaths
FOOTPATHS –
i) The clerk is to obtain clarification from Graham West on who is responsible for the
Clerk
upkeep of the surface of the footpaths and cutting back the vegetation (namely
WSCC or landowner).
ii) The Croft – Cllr Owen will write a letter to the owners of The Croft requesting them
G.Owen
to trim back the hedge on the corner opposite the letterbox.
The Parish Council has received notification of the temporary closure for one
footpath in the parish.
1.
From 6th September 2010 Public Bridleway 748 (Horncroft to Sutton) re
Clearance work (closure for 21 days and s further closure notice will follow)
77.10 Agenda item No.10 – Horncroft
WSCC are still awaiting information from the Agents of the Barlavington Estate. Once this
information is received it is likely that another public consultation will follow. There are two
WSCC Planning Committee meetings in November, 2nd and 30th. And then the next planning
committee meeting is 17 January 2011.
78.10 Agenda item No.11 – REVIEW OF STANDING ORDERS – To be postponed
until the November meeting
79.10 Agenda Item No. 12 – Name of Council
At the Parish Council meeting in March, Cllr Owen has raised the issue of possibly changing
the name of the Parish Council to The Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington. The clerk
contacted Peter Buglass at CDC, who having had a quick look at the Parish
Council/
Community Governance Review document sent the following email
.
“In 2007 the respective charges to Parishes were Barlavington £126 and Sutton was charged £141 (both as uncontested Parish elections)
If this were one parish (unwarded) the charges would be reduced to approximately
150 - this would be based on an increased electorate but a reduced cost for notices
and returning officer fee.
I'm attaching (a rather lengthy) document produced regarding Community
Govenance Reviews. Briefly, if the request comes from electors (less than 500
registered Electors) 50% of the electorate would need to petition the District Council
to carry out a review. This would be considered by the Boundary Review Panel and
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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ultimately the District Council would decide whether or not to allow any changes to
be made and it would also need to create an order to implement any changes -
create/abolish existing Parishes set number of Councillors etc. If the request comes
directly from the Parish Council then the District Council will need to consider if a
review is necessary and take the request forward. In any case, if the review goes
ahead the DC <<Guidance on community governance reviews.pdf>> needs to
create a procedure which will involve consultations and reports to and fro…. (The
usual sort of thing) with further consultations etc etc.”
Cllr Owen has reviewed the document and extracted the relevant section. His interpretation
of Section 4 part 106 – 111, allows the Parish council to change it’s name.
The Clerk has contacted CDC again and Peter Buglass is no longer at Electoral Services. Jo
Timms is now looking into the issue. CDC has not had a change of name for a Parish
Council and therefore she will talk to a neighbouring District Council to find out the
mechanics. She believes that the process will take at least a year. The clerk said that the aim
of the exercise was to remove the financial burden of having 2 parishes and making one
parish council. The clerk gave an example of that the name may change from The Common
Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington to The Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington.
The name change is possible, however it is a long process and will result in the Parishes of
Sutton and the Parish of Barlavington being dissolved and a new Parish of Sutton &
Barlavington being created. A petition will need to be submitted to CDC showing that at
least 50% of parishioners on the electoral role for each parish agree to (i) the change of name
and (ii) the change from a warded parish to an unwarded parish. On receipt of the petition
the District Council would convene a meeting of the Boundary Review Panel to discuss the
review, a recommendation would then go to the Full Council meeting to resolve that the
review be undertaken by the Boundary Review Panel.
Depending on when the Council received the petition and when a meeting of the Boundary
Review Panel was convened the next Full Council meeting that it could go to would be the
December meeting. If Full Council resolved to undertake the review, the District Council
would have 12 months to complete the review from the date of the resolution.
It was
AGREED that the clerk would prepare a petition, that the chairman would ask
parishioners is anyone would like a public meeting to debate the issue and that the
councillors would circulate the petition.
80.10 Agenda item No.13- NEW PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION
OF RECENT DECISIONS
a) Planning appendix
b)
Delay in response by CDC Planning department leading to an appeal being
triggered – Update from Cllr Pontin re his letter to CDC. Cllr Pontin has sent a letter J.Pontin
to CDC, however he has not yet received a reply. He will chase and forward a copy
of the original letter to the clerk for circulation.
c)
Other issues – D.Cllr Elliott provided an update on the enforcement issue at The
Croft. The family located in the stables are awaiting to vacate the property. The
building in question should be a rest room for the groom. D.Cllr Elliott to check if
D.Cllr Elliott
the Enforcement Officer and the Ratings Officer have been to visit the property.
81.10 Agenda item 14- NEW CORRESPONDENCE
a)
WSCC Winter service: Guidance on preparing a Local Winter Management
Plan – following the Snow Summit one of the outcomes was to review current
winter service arrangements and explore how WSCC could better support local
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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communities. To this end it is recommended that local councils prepare their own
winter management plan. A pack has been provided which is targets at more rural N.Young
settlements. As part of the winter Management plan the parish council is asked to
provide key locations where we think grit bags should be located as well as
details as to how we would manage the salt locally. WSCC will consider all
requests.
b) West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service – draft Service Plan 2011-12
consultation – deadline 8/10/10. Cllr Young to review and submit comments
82.10 Agenda item No. 15 - FINANCE
a) To approve accounts for payment:-
Hall Hire - Parish Council meeting -
Sutton Village Hall
7/9/10
£17.00
£17.00
b) To approve the Clerk’s salary, and expenses
Salary for September 2010
LCP 1 Scale 23 (per SALC payment Schedule)
£10.498 per Hour
Number of weeks in month (4 weeks and 2 days)
4.29
Total number of hours Contracted to work in September 2010
17.14
Salary in September 2010
£179.97
Salary for October 2010
LCP Scale 20 (per SALC payment Schedule)
£10.498 per Hour
Number of weeks in month (4 weeks & 3 days)
4.43
Total number of hours contracted to work in October
17.71
Salary for October 2010
£185.96
Expenses for September 2010
Date
Details
Reason
Cost ex
VAT (£) Cost Inc
VAT (£)
VAT (£)
13/7/10 Baby sitting
Parish Council
24.00
meeting 13/7/10
24.00
Cllr. A.Gillam
PROPOSED and
Cllr. A.Pratt
SECONDED the motion (15 a&b)
c. To approve Income & Expenditure Reports, bank reconciliation and the
Actual v Budget overview for the period ended 31 August 2010
d. Bank Mandate – Per discusses at the last meeting the Bank mandate has been
completed for the following Parish Councillors to become/continue to be
signatories on the NatWest Bank accounts:-
Gordon Owen, Norman Young, Anthea Pratt, Joy Mayes and Anna Gillam
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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83.10 Agenda item No. 16 - DATE AND TIME OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL
MEETING
The next Parish Council Meeting will be
TUESDAY 9th November 2010 at 7.00 pm, in
Sutton Village Hall.
CLOSURE OF MEETING
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington meeting closed at 8.45pm.
Signed:
APPROVED AT MEETING ON 7/11/10 & SIGNED BY THE CHAIRMAN
Cllr G.Owen Date: 7/11/10
Chairman of The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington
18th October 2010, Louise Collis, Clerk to The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington
The Common Parish Council of Sutton & Barlavington – 7th September 2010
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