Draft Minutes of the meeting of Sherington Parish Council held remotely on Wednesday 13th June 2020, via Zoom, commencing at 7.30pm
PRESENT: Cllrs Hindler (Chair), Readman, Shires, McNeil, S Crabb, M Crabb and Meldrum
ALSO ATTENDING: 4 members of the public and Ward Councillor Geary.
- RECEIVE AND ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Ward Councillors McLean and Hosking
- RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Shires should the pavilion come up.
- APPROVE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING
Approved – to be signed at the next physical meeting.
- DISCUSS THE POSITION OF CHAIR
Since the previous meeting Cllr Hindler had handed in his notice of resignation from the position of Chair. He then reversed his decision after comments and conversations with fellow Councillors and intends to continue as Chair.
At the meeting he gave a brief explanation of his decision making and reasons. He stated he does not wish to be Chair but will accept the continuation of the role for now.
All Councillors thanked Cllr Hindler for his work so far and hoped to continue.
Cllr Shires stated that he was particularly pleased that Cllr Hindler had changed his mind.
It was stated that the Council as a whole was a good group and mix of people.
Cllr M Crabb apologised to Cllr Hindler if any of his comments, made via private communication, had led to Cllr Hindler’s original decision.
- RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS
Points were raised as follows:
- Soul’s Field – The Council had received a request to offer help with ongoing maintenance of Soul’s Field which was felt to have become an important part of the Village. It was agreed to make contact with the owner’s in the first instance in order to open up a potential conversation.
- Correspondence had been received regarding the poor condition of some of the reinstatement work carried out around the Barwood Homes development. At the moment the Council weren’t being asked to get involved but were being made aware. It was agreed to write offering support should it be needed and to be kept updated with any further conversations.
- RECEIVE PCSO REPORT
No PCSO was present so Cllr Hindler gave a short update, provided prior to the meeting, giving updated crime statistics which will be placed on the website in due course.
- RECEIVE WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT
(Occurred later in the meeting but placed in the minutes to match the Agenda item number). Points were raised as follows:
- Milton Keynes Council were meeting to remove the closure of Newport High Street which had been ‘over-zealous and not needed.’
- A request had been received for S106 funds from Community Action MK, with the intention of using the money to support MK as a whole. The Council were asked if they were happy to endorse, given that the money would be spent outside of the village, all were against this as the feeling was the money is for the good of the village not MK as a whole.
Further discussion then took place around the subject of S106 money and its uses. It was agreed that Cllr Meldrum would have the main role of sorting through this area.
- RECEIVE REPORT ON ACTIONS FROM LAST MEETING
The action log held was reviewed and several items removed as complete. Others were added including providing a full contacts list along with a calendar of important dates going forward. Other points wer mentioned at other points during the meeting.
- CLERKS REPORT
WP confirmed that a new door for the shop was on order after the break-in suffered. The doors have to be custom made and combined with Covid-19 had caused delays in the supply chain.
Other points were covered during the meeting.
- PROJECT GROUP UPDATES
PAVILION:
It was agreed to extend the furlough period for the Pavilion cleaner until 31st July
It was also mentioned that she no longer wishes to deal with bookings and invoicing etc. at the Pavilion. We will look for someone else to take this role on.
Several areas of maintenance were looked at including replacing the current heating with a more efficient system. A slideshow was provided by Cllrs S Crabb, M Crabb and McNeil. It was agreed to review and make a decision at the next meeting.
Other maintenance was set to take place over the next few weeks including replacing the lighting with more energy efficient LED bulbs and providing mains power to the lock-up/store next to the Pavilion along with a full electrical survey.
No date has yet been provided for the possibility of reopening.
SHOP:
The committee is due to meet next week to discuss next steps in order to move the project forward.
BIODIVERSITY:
No real update due to Covid restrictions.
Grant application is in progress and a meeting will be scheduled once Covid restrictions are relaxed further.
LANDSCAPING:
Again, no real update was provided due to ongoing Covid restrictions. We are waiting on information regarding several blocked drains and ditches around the village some of which may require major work to clear properly.
- CARETAKERS REPORT
Jeff Charles provided a detailed report which will be made available on the website.
It was agreed to provide new dog bins and waste bins in certain places at a cost of circa £800 for the waste bins and £700 for the dog waste bins.
A key point mentioned in the report was the general state of the drainage around the village. A site visit from MKC will be requested.
- FINANCE
Balances at as 31st May were as follows:
Current Account: £68,045.18
Savings Account: £Nil
Payments Due: £2,037.99
Total Cash in Hand: £66,007.19
- PLANNING APPLICATIONS
None.
- CONSIDER CORRESPONDENCE AND NEW CONSULTATIONS
None.
- EXTERNAL MEETINGS
Shop Committee
Pat & Peter Souls
- COUNCILLORS ITEMS
All had been dealt with during the meeting but further discussion took place surrounding S106 funding possibilities and options.
A late item was mentioned by the public regarding the path heading towards Newport Pagnell. This will be looked into further.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 8th July at 7.30 p.m. with the hope of being back at The Pavilion.