SHERINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of Sherington Parish Council held on Wednesday 21st November 2018, at the Pavilion, commencing at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllrs Bush (Chair), Johnstone, Hughes, Selvey, Parish Clerk Will Pike.
ALSO ATTENDING: 11 members of
the public.
- RECEIVE AND ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Ward Cllr
Hosking – apologies accepted.
- RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
- CO-OPT BRIAN WATTS & EDWARD SHIRES TO THE COUNCIL
Cllr Bush
proposed that both be co-opted to the Council and Cllr Selvey seconded.
Cllr
Johnstone then raised concerns about Edward Shires and his reasons for becoming
a councillor.
Cllrs
Johnstone and Hughes then both offered their resignation.
Edward Shires
offered a reply to concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest around
his membership of the Council. He understands that there will be conflicts and
accepts that he will not be able to vote on these areas.
Cllr Bush
reiterated the point that, as the Council is short of numbers, whenever someone
volunteers from the role they cannot be turned away and personal opinion can
not sway a Council’s decision.
It was agreed
to co-opt Edward
and Brian to the Council and they were both signed in by Parish Clerk Will Pike.
At this point
Cllr Hughes left the meeting.
- APPROVE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING
Approved and
signed by Cllr Bush.
- RECEIVE WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT
As no Ward
Councillor was present no report was given.
- RECEIVE REPORT ON ACTIONS FROM LAST MEETING
WP confirmed
that cleaning of the chairs in the Pavilion is due to happen in the week
commencing 10th December.
WP reported
that, in regards to the Pavilion rent, we had been advised that the best way
forward is to arrange a meeting between the advisers of both sides in order to
sort the matter once and for all. WP to sort.
It was raised
again that deliveries were still being made to the shop early in the morning.
Cllr Bush advised that Ward Councillor McLean had taken this up with MKC and
Planning Enforcement to see what could be done.
WP mentioned
that the site manager for the Barwood Homes development had made contact asking
to report any issues with the site. It was mentioned that the road is still
being left in an unsatisfactory state after deliveries. WP will raise again
with the site manager.
- DISCUSS PLAN:MK AND THE MAIN MODIFICATIONS MADE AND
RECOMMENDED ALONG WITH THE TIE IN WITH MK FUTURES 2050
It was noted
that the consultation for this closes on 12th December 2018.
No changes
have been made to the ‘East of M1 development’ but it will allocate housing
around the ‘A421 development.’
It was
explained that the changes are trying to press the process into being more
active and purposeful.
It is
expected that the bulk of housing will be around existing areas such as Newport
Pagnell, Olney and Woburn.
Cllr Bush
proposed that we ask Chris Akrill to draft a response regarding these
developments as the matter is extremely complex. All were in agreement. WP will
ask Chris to reply.
Cllr Bush
mentioned that the Hanslope Parish Chair is concerned that the vision of MK
Futures is being imported without proper consideration.
Cllr Bush also
mentioned that the Neighbourhood Plan will also need to be revisited because of
these developments.
- CLERKS REPORT
WP mentioned
the following:
The website
is in the process of being transferred to the Parish Council for both hosting
and content. This will take a couple of weeks and then the website will be
updated as previously discussed once we have full control.
NPower have
reissued a previously overstated bill leaving us in credit with the Company. WP
asked if we would like to get the money refunded or left on account – it was
agreed to leave with NPower going forward.
WP advised
that we are just waiting for a date from BT to remove the phone from the Rev Box
on The Knoll. This should happen in the next few weeks but no definite time
frame has been given by BT.
WP advised
that SPC had applied for a share of the £100k landscaping fund being made
available by MKC but that a second proposal had been put forward by a group of
Parish Councils in order to use the fund to buy specific equipment for cleaning
and weeding around Parishes. It was agreed to show cautious acceptance to this
project whilst we await further details.
It was agreed
that WP will contact Phonebox magazine to get a copy of the current advert for
the Pavilion so that it can be updated for new pricing etc.
WP mentioned
that MKC are running a clean-up on December 3rd for all illegal
signage around the Borough. Any signs that need to be removed can be notified
to him or to MKC directly.
- PROJECT GROUP UPDATES
SHOP:
Two meetings
had taken place of the newly formed Shop Group. Cllr Johnstone provided a quick
update of matters discussed so far:
Cllr
Johnstone thanked Helen Sachdev for all of her input so far.
It has been
agreed that the size of building is appropriate.
The budget
will be ~£150k.
Some computer
generated images are to be provided to give a clearer view of what any
development will look like.
The surfacing
of the car park has been put on the back-burner for now until further decisions
have been made.
It was again
confirmed that Ward Cllr McLean is corresponding with MKC regarding the noise
issues at the current shop.
PAVILION:
As discussed
above the rent is being looked into by advisers from both parties.
BIODIVERSITY:
It was agreed
that, due to Cllr Shaws resignation last meeting, Edward Shires would take on
this role going forward.
- CARETAKERS
REPORT
WP confirmed
that Jim had provided a list of clothing required for the winter months and
will order shortly.
No full
report was given as Jim had been away on holiday.
WP will consult
as to wether we can purchase a hand mower for Jim to use in locations were dog
fouling has become an issue in order to keep the grass shorter.
- FINANCE
Current Account
Balance: £794.76
Savings
Account Balance: £47,681.43
Cheques Due
for Payment: £3,159.80
Total
therefore being held is £45,316.39
All cheques
were approved for payment.
- PLANNING
APPLICATIONS
UPDATE ON ‘THE BARN’ GUN LANE
Cllr Bush
confirmed that there was no objection originally but no support for the new
plans as they involve extending the current footprint. Cllr Bush will report
further as this progresses and will attend a Development Control meeting on
Thursday 22nd November.
UPDATE ON HAZELMEAD FARM APPEAL
Cllr Bush
confirmed that the appeal had been turned down.
UPDATE ON LATHBURY MINERALS SITE
Cllr Bush
confirmed that this had been approved in August and it would appear that
genuine concerns raised have not been listened to. Cllr Bush will communicate
with Jim Gardener to put these concerns across.
CONSIDERATION OF OTHER OUTSTANDING OR RECENTLY
SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS
None
- CONSIDER
CORRESPONDENCE AND NEW CONSULTATIONS
None
- EXTERNAL
MEETINGS
None
- RECEIVE
PUBLIC COMMENTS
A concern was
raised regarding asbestos removal at the development on Water Lane. Cllr Bush
confirmed that any removal will have to be carried out in a carefully
controlled manner.
Several
comments were made thanking Cllr Johnstone for his work as a Councillor
especially with regards to his work with the shop. He confirmed he will carry
on sitting on the Shop Committee.
Several
comments were made about conflicts of interest – Cllr Bush responded by saying
that ‘Councils will always be full of conflicts’ and again reminded all that
where there are vacancies on a Council they must be filled if a willing
volunteer comes forward.
The Council
were asked if they wish to have a Christmas tree on The Knoll again and all
were in agreement.
- COUNCILLORS
ITEMS
Cllr Johnstone
pointed out the latest SIDS data suggested that 89.5% of drivers were found to
be speeding travelling from Olney into the village and 40% were speeding
travelling away from the village.
It was agreed
to speak with Ward Councillor McLean regarding possible next steps as the data
could now not be more conclusive.
It was
mentioned that an ANPR (number plate recognition camera) costs around £5,000
and this would likely be a next step in enforcement of limits.
WP pointed
out that with Cllr Hughes’ resignation the Council was without a vice-chair.
Cllr Bush proposed that Brian Watts take the role and all were in agreement.
Cllr Selvey
raised the point about ‘emergency payments’ and the difficulty processing
payment for an emergency leak at the Pavilion. All were in agreement to look
into this further and WP will arrange a meeting with HSBC in order to look into
all available options.
- DATE OF NEXT
MEETING
The next
meeting will be held on Tuesday 4th December at 7.30pm at the
Pavilion.