MINUTES of the Meeting of WING PARISH COUNCIL held on Tuesday 25th November 2003 at 8.00pm in the Small Hall, Wing.
PRESENT:- Cllr Mr D V Gibbons (Chairman); Cllrs Mr H Ayris; Mr G N Beattie; Mrs M Crutchfield; Mr P De Lusignan; Mr M Shrubsole; Mrs A Wheatley; Mr S Naghi; District Councillor Mr N Glover and two members of the public.
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:-
Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Mr P E Weight; Mrs F Bickell; and County Councillor Mrs B Jennings.
2. MINUTES:-
The Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 28th October 2003 were approved by the Council, subject to amendments and signed as a true record.
3. MATTERS ARISING:-
3.1 BUS SHELTER
The suppliers of the new bus shelter had informed the Council that they were not prepared to supply a shelter without any back panels. The shelter being replaced was not a Queenbury shelter but in their view would have had panels/glazing when originally built. The Clerk was authorised to look for an alternative shelter.
3.2 3 VICARAGE LANE WING - SIGNAGE REQUEST
The Parish Council’s letter of the 24th May had just been acknowledged by Highways Traffic Department and was being dealt with urgently.
3.3 SPEED INDICATOR DEVICE
It was confirmed that SID would be operating in the village during the next two weeks.
3.4 ROAD SIGNS LEIGHTON ROAD
The work was still outstanding, in particular the restoration of the 30mph sign. Both sides of the road now need attention. Clerk to chase up with Highways.
4. PLANNING:-
4.1 APPLICATIONS:-
The following application were considered:-
2003/02785 - 66 Dormer Avenue, Wing - Erection of 2m boundary wall with infill fence.
No objection.
4.2 DECISIONS:-
The following had been notified:-
2003/02443 - Land to rear of 25 Church Street, Wing - erection of one dwelling and detached garage.
Permission granted subject to Conditions.
2003/00519 - 37 Prospect Place, Wing - site for dwelling.
Application refused.
2003/00871 - 7 Stewkley Road, Wing - Erection of a detached dwelling and garage.
Permission granted subject to Conditions.
As this decision was contrary to the views expressed by the Parish Council, the Development Control Manager had written a letter explaining how the committee had arrived at their decision. This letter was read to the meeting.
5. FINANCE:-
5.1 Payment of the following accounts was unanimously authorised:-
Antonia Blake Litter Picking to 27.11.03 £90.00
John Suggers Dog Warden to 29.11.03 £180.00
Patrick Sleight Road cleaning to 30.11.03 £208.00
J A Spires Salary - November (£357) £420.12 And Expenses (£63.12)
Wicksteed Leisure Spare Parts for Equipment £280.47
AVDC Dog Bin Emptying £648.88
BT Telephone Account £62.69
Aylesbury Mains Street Light Repairs £73.78
Kal Kwik Printing Wing Brochures £958.83
TXU Energy Street Lighting by direct debit £277.37
5.2 The Clerk reported that he had received the grant of £1500 from Buckinghamshire Community Action on behalf of Age Concern. Arrangements to be made for presentation of the cheque.
5.3 Bank Balances were as follows:-
Business Premium Account £17,730.14
Business Reserve Account £19,379.22
5.4 It was unanimously agreed that the bill for Kal Kwik be paid in full by the Parish Council, although the original decision was to contribute £500 only. A contribution of £250 had been received from Ascot House and a further £200 (approximately) was due from other sources to make up the balance. The bill was, however, addressed to the Parish Council and to delay payment until the other monies had been collected would reflect badly on the Parish Council. For this reason it was decided to settle the account and the Clerk was asked to chase up the remainder of the contributions.
6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:-
There was a general discussion about SID and its operation.
7. COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT:-
There was no report from County Councillor Mrs B Jennings.
Cllr Netta Glover gave some information about an organisation known as Furniture Aid which recycles and repairs unwanted furniture. She also advised that the District Council’s Benefit’s Office was behind with its workload as a result of changes to the system. Normal service was hoped to be resumed very soon.
8. PARISH PLAN:-
Cllr Weight had prepared a document setting out his suggestions for the next steps to be taken towards a Parish Plan together with a letter from the Countryside Agency on the subject of grants. It was decided to defer discussion of documents until the next meeting when Cllr Weight would be present. In the meantime, the Clerk was asked to copy them to each Councillor.
9. CORRESPONDENCE:-
The following letters were considered:-
(a) Letter from Mark Watson LLB of 6 Rothschild Road, Wing, expressing an interest in the Parish Council vacancy. The Clerk to reply and explain the co-option procedure which the Council would be following.
(b) Crime statistics for October provided by the Police. It appeared to some Councillors that some incidents had been omitted from the list and the question was raised as to what the criteria was which determined what incidents were listed. The Clerk was asked to arrange for police attendance at the next meeting, if possible.
(c) Letter from Aylesbury Vale District Council offering Annual Inspection of the Council’s Play Area for a fee of £53.00 plus VAT. The Inspection would include an assessment of compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act which comes into force in October 2004. Inspection would be carried out by the National Playing Fields Association and the Clerk was instructed to take up the offer for next year in lieu of an inspection by Wicksteed.
(d) Letter from Fultons solicitors enclosing Notice of Application for transfer of the Licence relating to the Queen’s Head public house. No objection or comment.
(e) Letter from Cook & Sons, Solicitors, enclosing copy of an Application for transfer of the Licence of The Dove public house. No objection or comment.
(f) Letter from Aylesbury Vale District Council giving further details of the Parishes Forum to be held on the 1st December.
(g) Letter from Thames Valley Police Authority giving details of their Annual Budgeting procedure and questionnaire which was available on the internet.
10. RECREATION GROUND:-
Repairs to the boundary fence were now urgently required. Clerk to obtain competitive estimates as soon as possible.
Enquiry about the solid base to be provided for the bottle bank etc at the District Council’s expense. Clerk said that he had sent a price to the District Council for their approval and was awaiting authority to proceed. Quote was for either a slab base or a solid concrete base and Councillors expressed a preference for a solid concrete base.
Reported that there was graffiti on the Football Club Pavilion. Club to be asked to have it cleaned off as soon as possible.
11. JUBILEE GREEN:-
There was offensive graffiti in Jubilee Green and the Council authorised Cllr Naghi to arrange for its removal.
It was decided to move the concrete bins from Jubilee Green to the Recreation Ground. Clerk to obtain two quotations.
There was evidence that drugs were being used in the Green and it was decided that the Clerk should write to Antonia Blake about the dangers in picking up needles.
Complaints had been received about the maple tree at the rear of 31 Redwood, it was overgrowing the boundary fence and the garden. Also chestnut trees near the rear boundaries of 21 Prospect Place were very overgrown. Clerk to consult Mr Ian Hopcraft, the Aylesbury Vale Arboriculturalist for approval of the necessary work.
There was a further discussion regarding the need to remove the undergrowth along the boundaries with the Prospect Place properties and it was suggested that the Clerk ask Mr Malcolm Slade of Cottesloe Close to give a price for the work.
The entrance to the playground area, through the gate, was uneven - there was a step down and it was agreed that this should be looked at.
It was reported that the lights in Jubilee Green were again receiving attention from the vandals. The Clerk was asked to see whether anti vandal paint could be applied to the upper parts of the columns.
12. TRAFFIC CALMING:-
The document prepared by Cllr Shrubsole had been circulated to all Councillors. It was decided to form a sub-committee to examine the various options. The sub-committee to comprise Cllrs Shrubsole, Beattie, Crutchfield and Wheatley.
Thanks were expressed to Cllrs Beattie and Shrubsole for supervising the use of the speed indication device in the village during the past two weeks. This had been very successful.
13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS:-
(a) Reported that Broadband was coming to the village at the end of January.
(b) There had been complaints about scaffolding being used at the development at 25 Church Street encroaching onto the pavement. Contractors had been approached and had tried to rectify the problem. Situation to be monitored.
(c) The Clerk was asked to approach the Highways Authority with a view to having white lines painted at the entrances to Moorhills Road, Cotes Way and Woodland Close.
(d) There were complaints that the dustmen were not returning the wheelie bins to boundaries of properties as they should do. The Clerk was asked to get in touch with Contract Services at Aylesbury to see whether anything could be done about this.
14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:-
Tuesday 6TH January 2004 at 8.00pm.
Chairman