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Berwick St James Village Meeting |
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Minutes of Village meeting 28th January 2010 Notes of the Berwick St
James Parish AGM held on 28th January 2010 No. 30 33 present plus councillor Ian West, Chairman Richard Brasher and
Secretary Jacqui Webb. 1. Wiltshire Council Update Ian West reported that refuse collection, car parking charges and
planning applications are soon to be harmonised (the new local government
buzzword). The Airman’s Corner
Stonehenge Visitors Centre has been approved.
Stephen Bush asked individuals to send letters of support for a Traffic Regulation
Order banning four wheel drive vehicles on certain local byways (for further
details see village notice board). As a
result of a unanimous vote, Chairman to write letter to support ban. 2. Apologies for Absence Frank & Lou Whiting, Henry & Sophie Colthurst, Bill Hiscocks, Peter & Gabrielle Smith, Will & Sophie Simpson Gee, Jean Hibberd, David Street and Ann Hughes. 3. Minutes of Last Meeting The statement that Chris Lange will chair the 2010 Fete Committee was
incorrect. 4. Precept for 2010 and current Bank Balance Bank balance just over £608. Precept
(portion of council tax rates paid directly to parish) of £750 has been
requested (same as last year). 5. Planning Applications i) Gryphon cottage – plans not yet submitted but available to inspect
at meeting ii) The Black Barn outbuildings and decking – Diana Gifford Mead and
Michael Mertens objected to
proposals on grounds of disturbance of natural habitats. Chris Lange has sought advice of English Nature, they reported that the
proposed work should not upset the local
eco-system. iii) Caravan
Park -application to permit 25 extra caravans.
Many objections voiced including the
following: Steven Bush asserted
the site was an eyesore, spoiling the view from many vantage points. Jane Rowe would like
the number of tents to be limited George Campbell-Johnson
felt that the development flies in the face of Rural Stewardship Scheme of Practice. Chris Lange expressed a
counter argument that expansion would benefit local businesses. William Grant, the applicant, stated that he had spent a considerable
amount of money contouring the land and planting trees to hide the site. He also felt that caravan owners are
responsible people who will not have a negative impact on the community. A vote was taken and passed proposing that
the Chairman should write to the planning authorities objecting to the change
of use of the land at the site. 6. Relocation of Playground The Guinness family have turned down the request to donate land behind
the Guide Centre for use as a playground on the grounds that road access is
dangerous. 7. Adoption of Telephone Kiosk The kiosk is listed so does not need to be adopted. A letter has been written to BT to request
that the telephone be kept in working order. 8. Wylye Valley Association Eight village chairmen, Ian West and Karen Linaker attended. Chairman reported that speeding through
villages, the lack of police presence and planning applications were the main
discussion topics. 9. 2010 Village Fete All present wanted a fete. Sarah
Humphreys agreed to take on the role of fete committee chair, providing more
people joined the fete committee to share the burden. Janey Campbell-Johnston, Rosie Gairdner,
Chris Lange, Ian Fisher, Tim Marchant, Ailsa Bush and Gill Brasher agreed to
help out. The fete will take place on 12th June 2010 and the Duck race
on Sunday 13th June. The
Committee will put forward a proposal for distributing fete profits. 10. Any Other Business There have been two recent incidences of heating fuel thefts. People should watch out for tankers which may
be taking, not delivering fuel. There
have been incidences in nearby villages of thieves posing as policemen. 11. Next Meeting Thursday 15th April 2010 River Till water level will be discussed with representatives from the
Environment Agency and Wessex Water. The next Village meeting will be held on Thursday 14th January 2010 at 6.00pm Agenda
The last meeting was held on Wednesday 15th October 2009 Here are the minutes Notes of the Berwick St James Parish AGM held on 15th October 2009 No. 29 Apologies for Absence George Campbell-Johnston, Jean Hibberd, Ian West, Gabrielle Smith, Margaret Mustill, Ken Woodford. Minutes
of the Last Meeting Minutes were read, approved
and signed. Matters
Arising Wilts Council have stated
that 40mph speed limit signs between the village and Stapleford would probably
be superfluous – careful drivers will observe them, others may not. The regulations which apply
to Restricted Byways state motorised vehicles should only use them for access
and will be printed in the parish magazine. Appointment
of Clerk/Secretary Tina Woodford who has
retired after 12 years as Clerk/Secretary was thanked her for the excellent
service. Jacqueline Webb was proposed
and seconded as replacement. Planning
Applications Three applications for
cutting down trees were discussed.
No-one expressed any objections to: 1.
The Woodford’s application to take down a tree
which is destabilising a wall. 2. Diana Gifford Mead cutting down an acacia which is
rotten and dangerous. 3. The Marchants cutting down a tree which they have
been advised cannot be pruned. The fourth application concerned
the Simpson-Gees’ wooden fence. The planning officer has indicated that the
application would be disallowed. The
family’s original planning application had been to build a wall but this was
rejected. They have therefore planted a
hedge along the boundary and erected a temporary fence to protect the hedge,
prevent egress by their small children and to provide privacy. A letter has been sent to the planning
authorities to support the application to retain the fence. Ian West (local County
Councillor) and Richard Brasher intend to meet Brad Fleet, head of the Wilts
Council Planning Department, about concerns held by many villagers about
planning decisions. Relocation
of Playground Lou Whiting reported that
she had obtained a quote for £3000 to move the playground equipment to an
alternative venue and that the idea of moving the playground from the cricket
field to the pub garden seemed less attractive than when first discussed. Even if Wadworths agreed there is no
guarantee that a future landlord would continue the arrangement and considerable
expense would be incurred moving the equipment again. Ian Fisher stated that SWAG (South Wilts Area
Grants) would be a likely source of funding for the move but they would only
make funds available if the venue was permanent. Stephen Bush said the best
spot for the playground (the venue next to the churchyard having been turned
down by the land owner) was behind the Guide Centre on Guinness Family Trust
land. Lou Whiting to write to the
Trust to ask if they would donate the land to the village. Sarah Humphreys suggested that Lou write
direct to some Guinness family members who use the shoot facility and are no
doubt familiar with the village. Lou Whiting reported that
the cost of replacing one of the children’s swing seats at the existing
playground with a support seat suitable for toddlers would be up to £250. It was agreed that the Local Amenities Fund
be made available. Pumpkin
Run Report Lou Whiting was thanked for organising such a successful event (profit c
£460). Lou thanked Charles and Village Fete and Duck Race
Report Chris Lange said, and all
present agreed, that the event had been a fantastic success this year (profit
£2300). He thanked the Humphreys for use
of their garden and said that there was a full list of people to thank on the
village website. Chris agreed to head up
the team running the fete next year but said it was a lot of work and hoped
there would be more volunteers next year.
He will arrange a meeting in January. Wylye Valley Association A meeting will be held in
the Reading Rooms at 6 o’clock Tuesday 3rd November 2009 for chairs
of the villages. It was agreed that low
water level in village rivers and streams should be discussed. Neighbourhood
Policing Ian Fisher stated there was
nothing to report. Any
Other Business Community Account Fund For administrative ease the account has been
set up in Chris Lange’s name but subtitled Village Community Fund account. The village marquee (purchased from the
proceeds of past fete) has been borrowed four times, donations have been paid
into this fund as has £519.29 of the fete profit. The only money debited from the account
during the year was £100 for signs for the fete. Stephen Bush commented that
if the proposed move of the playground does not go ahead the village may find
that it has too much in the fund. Chris
Lange reported that it was prudent to have a substantial sum in the fund
because project funding organisations often ask for match funding and the money
could be spent any way that the villagers saw fit. Tina Woodford mentioned that, for example,
funds were needed to renovate the Cricket Pavilion. Low Water Levels Richard Brasher stated that he had followed
up a suggestion at an earlier parish meeting to contact the Environmental
Agency and Wessex Water about the lack of water in rivers and streams. Wessex Water had told him that the water level
was due to a dry winter and empty aquifers. It was agreed that
representatives from Wessex Water and the Environmental Agency be invited to
the next Parish meeting. A mutually
convenient date for the organisations to attend in January or February 2010
will be arranged. Diana Gifford Mead
will invite Peter Hayes of the Fishery’s Association so that he can share his
expertise on the matter and chairs of surrounding parishes will also be invited
to the meeting. Asserton
Signpost The signpost needed
repainting. Richard Brasher will follow
up. Garbage
Bins There was a complaint that
bins were left outside some of the terraced houses in the High Street. A request to put bins out of sight will be
put in the parish magazine. Village
Website Chris Lange reported that
the website gets hundreds of hits. Rotas
for locking up the church, church cleaning and church flowers to be on the
site. There is now a facility for anyone
who lives in the village to have a web name on the village website. Contact christian@berwickstjames.org.uk
for more information.
Here are the minutes of the meeting was held on Wednesday 24th September 2008 at 6.30pm Berwick St James Parish Meeting 24th September 2008. Speeding. Rumble strips were not approved by Highways authority. A303. Ian West and Colin Mills proposal to dual the A303 in conjunction with the plans for the new Visitor Centre for Stonehenge by 2012 was heartily approved and a letter signed by the meeting will be sent to Stonehenge Planners asking to please not treat the Visitor Centre as a separate issue as the traffic chaos will only increase especially when they close the A344. Ian West attended the meeting and read a most negative letter received from Robert Key which says that a dual carriageway will never be approved and that we should not hope for one. Unitary Council. Top Tiers of the new council already appointed. Elections for councillors will be June 2009. Vesting Day is 1st April 2009 when all councils’ property devolves to the new council. Salisbury’s Area Committees will become Area Boards sited at Salisbury, Devizes, Trowbridge and Chippenham. It is hoped that the draft proposals for Planning will be agreed by 31st October 2008. Council tax bands will be “harmonised” throughout the county and as ours is the lowest it will be harmonised in an upward direction. Berwick St. James Fete. A great success especially the Dog Show and the Duck Race. We had a professional judge for the dog show and it felt just like being at Crufts! After expenses, including the purchase of a marquee, we made £1009.00 which is split between the church and reading room. Many thanks to the Fete Committee for all their work. R2 Money. Our anticipated R2 Money is about £1,583.02 and as before has to be spent on outside recreation facilities split between adults and children’s facilities. Suggestions put forward are A baby swing, more rubber matting, Cricket Pavilion maintenance after vandalising, cricket nets and ambitiously, a tennis court. If you have any suggestions (or land) please let the parish clerk know. Planning Application. We have only one application for a wildlife pond in Washpool Field. Water table is high so river level will not be affected. No objections. Marquee Hire. Our marquee is available to for village hire for a donation. Chris Lange is the contact point. Dog Fouling. Can we ask villagers to clear up after their pets.
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Agenda
Please contact Richard Brasher or Stephen Bush if you wish to include items under 'Any other Item' - Alternatively go the contact us page and any message will be passed to them |
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