STINCHCOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
HELD ON WEDNESDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2007
AT 7.30PM IN THE VILLAGE HALL

Chairman opened the Meeting and noted that the County and District Councillors would be joining the Meeting after 8PM.

1-Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on 4th July 2007

The Minutes as circulated were accepted as a true record of the Meeting and signed by the Chairman. (107/07)

2-Matters arising from Minutes

-Gloucestershire Highways Clerk noted that following the Gloucestershire floods in July he had been notified that only urgent maintenance work would be considered. Under the circumstances he is delaying a new approach on the November letter until the a more normal state of affairs has returned. He also noted some changes in personnel. He will  raise the matter of Highway maintenance issues in the Parish at the forthcoming Annual Highways Maintenance and Transport Seminar. (108/07) Continuing Action-Clerk

-Bund at Clingre Farm-In Mr Sant’s absence no update was available on this matter. (109/07) Continuing Action-Mr Sant

-Fencing at Melksham Court The Retrospective Planning Applications have now  been approved. Clerk was asked to circulate copies of the Permissions. (110/07) Action-Clerk

-Street Lighting No further communication has been received from GCC on the subject. County Councillor did not think that GCC would implement any switch off without prior consultation with and notification of the Parish Council. (111/07)

-Facilities A Site Meeting has been held at the new access gate to Stragglers Field. This was attended by Officers of the DRFC and on behalf of the Parish Council by the Chairman and the Clerk. It will be necessary to move the Swings and Safety Surface Northwards by approximately 2m to clear the access track. It was agreed to arrange a further Meeting after the gate had been completed and the proposed line of the track marked out. Chairman will approach DRFC and arrange a date for the Meeting and Clerk will notify Councillors. (112/07)

The state of the footpath adjoining Stragglers Field will also be raised at this meeting.(113/ 07)Action-Chairman and Clerk

Community Safety No update on the break in at Taits Hill Road was available at the recent Community Safety meeting. Clerk will again raise the issue at the next Meeting.(114/07) Action-Clerk

The schedule of visits by the Mobile Police station remains in some confusion following personnel changes. (115/07)

3-Reports by County and District Councillors

-Mr Andrewartha  reported on a number of issues. The introduction of a sensible Waste Management Strategy is lagging and the performance on recycling is now well behind that of other Counties. Within the County SDC are leading the field. The matter needs resolution as the financial penalties for failure will be considerable.

Political moves are underway to reverse the decision to relocate the Tricall centre from Gloucester to Taunton. The recent floods had demonstrated the effectiveness of the Centre and its relocation would inevitably result in a reduction in the  quality of service. County Councillor asked Parish Councillors to support the online petition.

He finally noted that repairs to flood damage and the continuing increases in regulatory burden were placing heavy stress on financial resources and that the outlook on Council Tax was not good. (116/07)
-Mr Wride reported that a special Cabinet Meeting was being held to review the lessons learned during the July floods. A pilot scheme is underway to collect kitchen waste from 1700 households The results will then be evaluated. Responsibilities for the management of Car Parking within the District is being taken over by the District Council. As part of this the maintenance and reinstatement of yellow lines on road surfaces is underway. Finally the District Council is starting consultations with the business community on the proposal for the taxing of unused business premises. Results will be presented to the Council in November. (117/07)

4-Planning Matters

Current Planning Applications were reviewed. Clerk reported that the Application for Change of Use of the existing Garage and Stables at “Clovergate” would be treated under delegated powers The Crest Nicholson advertisement boards along Taits Hill Road have now been removed. (118/07)

5-Footpaths and Rights of Way

It was reported that the Bridleway between Oldhill Lane and the Industrial Estate was partially blocked. Clerk undertook to investigate (119/07) (Post Meeting Note-The Bridleway appears to be clear)

6-Highways

Mrs Shaw noted a number of visits by Gloucestershire Highways to Oldhill Lane and subsequent repairs of the surface. Highways management appears to be in some disarray Mr Andrewartha noted that the repairs to flood damaged roads, many of them in Stroud District, were expected to exceed £25M putting County budgets under severe stress.  The reallocation of budgets to flood damage repair remains unsettled. These matters will be raised at the forthcoming Highways Seminar. Mrs Shaw intends to attend the Seminar . Clerk will forward a copy of the Agenda. (120/07)   Action-Clerk 

7-Facilities

The issue has been discussed above under “Matters Arising”. Clerk noted that a letter had been received from RoSPA stating that no satisfactory explanation could be found for the failure to detect the decay of the swings in the course of the Annual Safety Inspection and that under the circumstances the invoice had been cancelled. (121/07)

8-Community Safety

Clerk reported  on the Meeting of the Dursley Cluster of Parishes held at Kingshill House on 13th September. Clerk had expressed concern on the large number of Burglaries (Non Dwelling) recorded in the crime statistics and the failure of the Police to achieve any detections. Such burglaries had taken place throughout the Parish. Clerk will again raise the issue with the Police at a later date. Under the circumstances Residents are strongly urged to be vigilant and ensure that garden sheds are kept locked and secured. (122/07)Action-Clerk

9-Correspondence

The current schedule of correspondence was circulated and is appended to the Minutes. (123/07)

10-Adoption of Gloucestershire Charter

A second edition of the Charter has now been received. Clerk noted that adoption of the Charter commit’s the County Council to consultation and information of Parishes on a significant number of issues. It also gives an opportunity to attend the Discussion Forum at Shire Hall. Clerk therefore strongly urged Councillors to adopt the Charter. Clerk was asked to circulate the document which will then be discussed at the next Meeting of the Parish Council (124/07)Action-Clerk

11-Financial Matters

Chairman expressed the gratitude of the Council to the Clerk for the successful closure of the Annual Financial Audit. (125/07)

The current Statement of Receipts Payments and Authorisations was approved and the Building Society Account verified.(126/07)

Mr Bartlam stated that no further payments for the support of the Newsletter by the Parish Council would be necessary this year and that further costs would be covered by advertising revenues. It was agreed that such payments would be made into the Parish Council Account.(127/07)

Chairman thanked the District Councillor for his generosity in covering the production cost of the next issue of the Newsletter.(128/07)

12-Reports by Councillors

-Mrs Shaw and Mr Bartlam had nothing further to report (129/07)

-Chairman reported that the Parish Plan had reached the stage where the Action Plan had been firmed up and consultations with the various Authorities concluded. A first draft will be considered at the next Meeting of the Parish Plan Steering Group.(130/07)

13-Dates of Next Meetings

-Wednesday 14th November at 7 30PM
-Wednesday 19th December  at 7PM
The Meeting was closed at 9 30PM

J Larroucau
Clerk to the Council                                                  ref min 204