SHERINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the meeting of Sherington Parish Council held on Wednesday 5th February 2020, at the Pavilion, commencing at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllrs Hindler, Shires, M Crabb, S Crabb and Readman, Parish Clerk Will Pike.
ALSO ATTENDING: 8 members of the public, 2 PCSO’s and Ward Councillors McLean and Hosking.
- RECEIVE AND ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Ward Cllr Geary. All apologies accepted.
- RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Shires should the pavilion come up.
- APPOINT A NEW CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
Cllr Hindler put himself forward for Chair and all were in agreement. Cllr Readman put himself forward for vice-chair and again all were in agreement.
- APPROVE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING
Minutes will be signed at the next meeting.
- RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS
Points were raised as follows:
- The issue of traffic calming was raised – this will be discussed later
- The issue of what to do with the sherington.org website was raised. It was decided that this did not fall under the Parish Council’s remit, but all were in agreement that it was a valuable resource for the village.
- It was confirmed that Will Pike and Jeff Charles will take over as contacts for the defibrillator by the Village Hall.
- Several ideas were mentioned for the celebrating of VE day in May. It was agreed that all groups interested will attend a meeting at the White Hart on the 29th Feb to discuss further and that the Parish Council will provide some funding towards the event.
- The school asked about help towards the upkeep of their grounds having lost funding for their caretaker. Jeff Charles said he will lookat what needs doing, and Cllr Hindler will look into the landscaping contract for any ideas.
- RECEIVE PCSO REPORT
Crime figures since previous meeting as follows:
2 Van Break-ins
Theft of a wallet from a vehicle
We were reminded that it was currently rural-crime week and that extra officers had been tasked with dealing with rural crime.
- RECEIVE WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT
Points were raised as follows:
- The HIF bid is still under consideration. Pressure is being put on to stop the bid.
- MK Futures consultation is open. Idea is to increase Milton Keynes from a population of 278,000 to 500,000 by 2050 but no boundaries have been set to define ‘Metropolitan Milton Keynes.’
- Proposals are being made to amend MKC’s budget. The proposed increase n Council Tax is 2.99%.
- There is a pilot scheme to introduce Wheelie bins to Milton Keynes being undertaken. Each property will receive 4 wheelie bins. The consultation runs until March 2021 and any recommendations will be implemented in 2023.
- Cllr Hindler asked if there was any update on the 5-year housing supply. MKC believe that they have 5 years supply, but the issue is still ongoing.
- RECEIVE REPORT ON ACTIONS FROM LAST MEETING
- Pavilion – Lights and Emergency lighting have all been sorted along with the disabled toilets.
- The solicitor will be chased to provide a letter outlining access to gardens for the pre-school.
- The plaque commemorating Phil Smith will be placed in. the coming week.
- An informal Council meeting will be held to further discuss S106 monies available to the Council.
- CLERKS REPORT
Several items were mentioned including:
The issue of mud on the roads from Barwood Homes and the quarry were mentioned. It was agreed to keep putting pressure on both to maintain the highway in the condition expected.
Two potential new councillors came forward – WP will place vacancy notices as necessary and update at the next meeting.
All the traffic lights in MK centre are being replaced over the coming months the Council had been told that delays are to be expected at times.
An invite to the Mayors reception had been received. Cllrs M Crabb and S Crabb agreed to attend if possible.
- NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN REVIEW
A sub-committee is now in place and are taking a watching brief at the moment.
A response had been sent from Chris Akrill, our advisor on planning matters, indicating that the current issues surrounding the 5-year housing supply were complex.
- PROJECT GROUP UPDATES
PAVILION:
Remedial work had now been completed.
New pricing was now in place distinguishing between local use and others.
It was mentioned that Slimming World had refused the increase and would not be carrying on with the hire. The Council agreed that this was a big loss in income but that in the interests of fairness to everyone it had to stand firm on the increase.
SHOP:
Potential planning issues with the new proposed shop are being checked.
A survey had been carried out on both the current and proposed shop. Results to be published on the website.
Current issues will be shared and discussed with the current tenants.
It was confirmed that the Post Office contract had been terminated due to issues surrounding the lease. The Parish Council were keen to point out that no contact had been made by either the tenants or the Post Office during the consultation to discuss or sort any issues. Options will now be looked at as to what to do with the Post Office now.
BIODIVERSITY:
Grant options are still being looked at and assessed. The Parish Council agreed to apply for approximately £10,000.
Plans are being constructed based on information supplied by Ecology By Design and the Historical Society.
At this point the issues of speeding / traffic calming were discussed.
A full list of issues had been submitted to MKC along with a note that a full response was needed prior to the meeting but none had been forthcoming without chasing.
The response was good in that it detailed all options but bad given the timing and that the deadline for funding was the following day.
There were several items that may qualify for grants / funding and these will be looked at as soon as possible.
- CARETAKERS REPORT
Jeff Charles provided a detailed report which will be made available on the website.
A meeting was being held on Friday regarding the placement and number of dog waste bins around the village.
- FINANCE
Current Account Balance: £6,300.44
Savings Account Balance: £57,019.10
Cheques Due for Payment: £4,900.04
Total therefore being held is £58,419.50
All cheques were approved for payment.
- PLANNING APPLICATIONS
- BARWOOD HOMES
No further update
- CONSIDERATION OF OUTSTANDING OR RECENTLY SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS
24 High Street – No issues with the new submission after the original was passed.
- CONSIDER CORRESPONDENCE AND NEW CONSULTATIONS
A villager had asked if the Parish Council’s insurance policy covered other groups using the Pavilion etc. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
- EXTERNAL MEETINGS
As point 12.
- COUNCILLORS ITEMS
None
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 4th March at 7.30p.m.