CouncillorsParish Council - Meetings minutes
4 September 2008 - 7.30PM
Minutes of the Meeting of the Council
held at 7.30pm on the 4 September 2008
in the Small Village Hall.
Present: Chairman: Anthony Sheppard
Councillors:
Audrey Cartwright, Carol Manley, Shirley Round, Jimmy Cartwright
Jehan Master
In attendance: Parish Clerk: Freda Collins
59. Apologies for Absence
None
60. Declarations of Interest in Items on the Agenda
Cllr Cartwright declared that he is a Borough Councillor and a Trustee of the Village Hall.
Cllr Parks declared that he is a member of the Group Council for the Scouts, a member of Claygate Recreation Ground Trust, a member of the YC Committee and a Governor of Claygate School.
Cllr Huddart declared that he is a member of the Village Hall Committee, President of the CVA Committee and Acting-Chairman of the Claygate Conservation Area Committee.
Cllr Herbert declared that he is Chairman of the Youth Club Committee.
Cllr Charlwood declared that he is Vice-Chairman of the Youth Club Committee.
Cllr Manley declared that she is a member of the Claygate Allotment Holders Association, the Claygate Flower Show Committee, a member of the Claygate Conservation Area Committee and a member of the Committee of Claygate in Bloom.
Cllr Audrey Cartwright declared that she is a member of the Group Council for the Scouts.
Cllr Round declared that she is secretary of the Village Hall Committee, and a member of the CVA Committee and the Claygate Flower Show Committee and a Trustee of the Friends of Capelfield.
Cllr Master declared that he is a member of the Group Council for the Scouts, a Trustee of the Village Hall, a member of the Committee of Claygate in Bloom and on the Committee of the CVA
61. Confirmation of the Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of the meeting of 24 July 2008 were confirmed and signed.
62. To report on the actioning of items from the last meeting
Re AP6- Cllrs Sheppard, Round, Cartwright and the Clerk to look into the role of the RFO-the Clerk to set up a meeting.
Re AP18- John Swingler's plaque- this has been re-set into the Firs verge by Cllr Parks. The meeting thanked him.
63. Report from the Chairman
63.1 At the meeting in May there were no volunteers to join the Audit & Standards Board, so Cllr Sheppard remained on the Committee pro tem. Cllr A Cartwright subsequently volunteered. The EBC lawyers, however, decided that two Parish Council members were needed as there are now two Committees. Cllr A Cartwright is the lead representative, with Cllr Sheppard available as required.
63.2 Cllr Shepard attended the site meeting about the proposed bus shelter in
Cllr Well is aware that opinion is divided over the provision of this shelter. Members of the Claygate Centre will find it useful, but there may be problems with the youngsters attending the Youth Club. It is important to get the correct design. It will be preferable to have a design without sides or back.
If a shelter is to be erected then the seat will have to be moved. EBC have agreed to move the seat if CPC provide the concrete base.
63.3 The Village of the Year competition results will be announced this Saturday. Jim Collins and Cllr Herbert will attend at 2pm, and Cllr Sheppard will go from about 3pm.
64. Report from the Parish Clerk
64.1 There is a nil return on entries in the Hospitality Register.
64.2 A card has been received from Dave the Station Ticket Clerk who recently retired. He thanked the Parish Council for his gifts.
64.3 A cheque for £260 was recently received from
65. Confirmation of Committee remits
Environment- the remit was amended to include:-
To respond to public consultation on environmental issues which affect Claygate.
This was AGREED.
Highways & Transportation-the remit has not yet been discussed. It is unlikely that there will be any alterations. It was agreed that unless there are any major amendments, any small variations will be AGREED.
Planning- the changes to the remit have been previously AGREED.
66. Finance Report
37.1 A copy of all receipts and payments from the start of the new financial year for both accounts, all payments made since the last meeting and a detailed Income & Expenditure by budget was circulated prior to the meeting. Different coloured papers were used to denote the different data.
66.2 Cllr Manley asked what the cheque number 501038 was for. This was reimbursement to Vanessa Relleen for the Flower Show display. The payments were approved.
66.3 Bank Reconciliations for all months since the start of the financial year have been prepared by the Clerk and signed by the Chairman.
66.4 The Clerk has paid the Tiscali bill from her own personal account and has been reimbursed by cheque in agreement with Resoltion3 of the meeting on 20 Jan 2005 and Financial Regulations.
67. To Review Expenditure for the Year
A comparison of actual income/expenditure against budgeted income/expenditure for the Council and each Committee was carried out and the following noted:-
i. Communications – to be discussed during the report
ii. Highways & Transportation- this Committee is underspent and this is likely to remain so as projects such as footway repair and tree pruning have not taken place.
iii. Environment- by the end of September 60% of the budget will be spent.
iv. Planning- £200 is in the budget. This will be spent as it has been agreed to post the planning letters. A supply of stamps and envelopes has been bought and given to Cllr Round. The VDS is starting to spend the allocation. The biggest expense will be the printing of the questionnaire. Cllr Hebert will need to submit detailed figures for the VDS. It was noted that no funding has been received from Cllr Bennison. If necessary, a resolution for more funding can be put to the next meeting.
v. Other budget items- it was noted that there is still money left in the Youth account, but the Youth Club will need this. The money allocated to the Festival Weekend will not be required, so this money can be moved by virement to another code if needed.
68. Communications Budget
The Communications Working Party have reviewed the Communications budget for this year and ask the Parish Council to note that, as compared to the current Net Expenditure Budget of £4300 (Gross Print Budget of £7100), total expenditure on design, layout and printing will amount to £3625. This allows for two 8 page Couriers, the Village Directory and budget for an emergency 4 page leaflet. There will be no advertising revenue this year. There is no need to revise the budget, as the Working Party is not seeking to exceed the existing budget.
The revised expenditure estimates are given below.
|
|
2 x 8 pp |
1 x 4 pp |
Directory |
TOTALS |
|
Layout |
960 |
240 |
0 |
1200 |
|
|
1600 |
500 |
325 |
2425 |
|
TOTALS |
2560 |
740 |
325 |
£3,625 |
|
Web site |
|
|
|
200 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
|
|
|
£3,825 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
69. Lighting at Capelfield Surgery
A report on this matter was put on circulation, but not all Councillors have seen it.
There have been problems at the Surgery with vandalism; it is minor but irritating. The surgery has had CCTV for some years, but the images are not good enough to be able to use for prosecutions and the light source needs changing frequently which means using a long ladder. New cameras are proposed which give sharper images and use integrated LED lights will obviate the necessity for constant bulb changes. The estimated cost is about £1,700; the equipment costing £500 and the rest will be the fitting.
Cllr Round proposed the following resolution-
Resolution 1.
It is RESOLVED that Claygate Parish Council provides a grant of £500 to the Friends of Capelfield Surgery to enable them to update the closed circuit television system surrounding the Capelfield Surgery.
PROPOSED by Shirley Round
Local Government and Rating Act 1997 s31
SECONDED by Ken Huddart
A discussion took place and the following points made:-
i. £1,700 is very reasonable
ii. Capelfield is commercial, profit making enterprise and they should be able to afford their own lights. It is a partnership and so the Profit & Loss account is not available to ascertain how much money the surgery makes.
iii. Although the Friends of Capelfield are proposing this project, the surgery is a business. Why should CPC support a business?
iv. The Friends of Capelfield do provide extra benefits for the patients.
v. There is a problem in that area because of the Youth Club.
vi. The lights do convey a communal benefit as they illuminate the Claygate Centre as well.
vii. The CCTV in the Parade was provided by the traders and CPC as vandalism is a community problem.
A vote was taken and the resolution AGREED with 7 FOR, 2 AGAINST and 1 ABSTENTION.
70. Use of funds granted to CVA
Earlier this year a grant of £2,000 was awarded by CPC to the Music Festival. The grant was used to pay for the performances during the early part of the Festival. The subsequent performances during the second week of the Festival then produced an unexpected surplus equating to the grant amount of £2000. So the CVA at its April meeting resolved to get the PC's blessing to use what appeared to be the unused grant amount towards the Christmas Lights for the 2008. Otherwise, the arrangement is for the surplus to be accumulated in the Music Festival fund, and for this to be returned to the Parish Council (up to the limit of the grants made) in the event of termination of the series of Music Festivals. It should be noted that agreement to the resolution reduces by £2000 the amount potentially returnable to the Parish Council.
Resolution 2.
It is RESOLVED that the Council has no objection to the CVA re-deploying the Council's £2000 grant for the Music Festival to the 2008 Christmas lights.
PROPOSED by Jehan Master
SECONDED by Ken Huddart
A discussion took place about this resolution and the various point made:-
i. In future any funding for to the Music Festival can be given as a pre-payment to pay the performers at the beginning of the Festival, but it should be done as underwriting and not a grant. Thus any surplus can be paid back.
ii. There is a sum of £1,500 in the budget for the Christmas lights.
iii. The lights may cost in the order of £3,000 this year.
It was agreed to caution the CVA that if the resolution is granted, then the sum of £1,500 in the budget will not be given automatically. If they need extra funding they must be prepared to make a case for it.
A vote took place; AGREED UNANIMOUSLY.
71. Telephone Bills
As the accounts were being prepared when Cllr Sheppard was tasked to carry out this research, he was only able to see one quarter’s bills. He found:-
i. CPC is a small customer. Any business plans offered by the telephone companies need to have a call spend of over £250 per year.
ii. The majority of our calls are local, with a few to mobiles.
iii. A comparison of various companies revealed that small saving of about £7 per month could be made by going over to Tiscali.
iv. Usually changing suppliers causes disruption.
The conclusion he drew from this information was that it was best to remain with the status quo. This was AGREED.
72. Marquee for the Flower Show
At the last meeting it was suggested that, rather than having several small gazebos for the CIB. CPC and CVA displays, the Parish Council could purchase one large marquee to house all the displays. This would make for easier access for the public and allow the displays to be more readily viewed. There could also be a few chairs to allow people to sit and chat to the representatives. The Clerk carried out research into the cost of large marquees and put this on circulation. She also made enquiries as to whether the CVA and CIB would be interested in the scheme.
The CVA has not yet had a meeting, so it was agreed to defer this item until the next meeting. It was agreed to stress to the other organisations that there would be no loss of identity. Even if the CVA do not want to join in this venture CPC could purchase a large marquee which would house CPC and Neighbourhood Watch and make it more inviting for visitors to move around the displays. We will need to make enquires if a large marquee will alter the cost of the pitch.
73. Financial Regulations
At the March meeting this year a resolution was passed to amend the CPC Best Value policy. This meant that Financial Regulations need to be amended too. Cllr Sheppard has circulated suggested amendments which follow the wording of the resolution:-
All members and Officers are responsible for obtaining value for money at all times. An officer issuing an official order shall ensure as far as reasonable and practicable that the best available terms are obtained in respect of each transaction, usually by obtaining three or more quotations or estimates from appropriate suppliers, subject to any de minimis provisions in Regulation 12 (1) below. Where there is justification, such as the need to continue working with a satisfactory supplier who has delivered value for money, the Chairman or Chairman of the budget-holding Committee or Working Group, has the right to waive the competitive quoting requirement for orders worth up to £1000, subject to the decision being ratified at the next meeting of the Council and further subject to the provision of 12.1 (a) (iii) below.
and
for work to be executed or goods or materials to be supplied which constitute an extension of an existing contract by the Council, subject to the proviso that a contract for supply of goods and services may not be renewed more than twice in any 3 year period without re-tendering.
The amendments were AGREED.
AP22 The Clerk to amend Financial Regulations.
74. Guidelines for Public Speaking
This item arises from recent requests for public speaking at the application for floodlights for CLTC. The Clerk would like formal guidelines. It was agreed that, as public speaking usually arises at planning meetings, this subject should be debated at Planning and their conclusions brought back tot h full Council. This item was thus deferred.
75. The Planning Committee Report
All minutes of the Planning Committee have been circulated.
Cllr Herbert gave a verbal report to the meeting.
75.1 The application for the Foley Arms is expected soon. It has been agreed to hold a public meeting and invite Young’s to give a presentation. A date is yet to be set for this meeting. The purpose of the meeting is not to make comment, but to inform the residents of Claygate. The event will be publicised using the A boards.
75.2 There is a Town Planning Users Group meeting on 1 October 2008. Cllr Herbert will attend.
75.3 The Clerk wrote to EBC to find out what is happening about the use of the front room at 109,
AP23 The Clerk to action
75.4 An email has been received from an applicant disappointed with the comments from CPC. It was agreed that Cllr Sheppard will send a courteous response to say that CPC is not the Planning Authority, we can only comment, the time for comment has passed and any points should now be taken up with EBC. He will copy this email to the Clerk and Planning Committee.
AP24 Cllr Sheppard to action
76. The Highways & Transportation Committee Report
The Committee met on 17 July and the minutes have been circulated. The meeting scheduled for 14 Aug was not held, so the previous report was considered at the July meeting.
Cllr Huddart circulated a report prior to the meeting which covers matters which have arisen after the minutes of the last PC meeting.
76.1 Cllr Steve Wells has completed a survey of
76.2 The Ward Councillors are developing a proposal for a 20mph zone covering the roads bounded by and containing
76.3 The survey revealed a blocked gully at
76.4 There are continuing views for and against the bus shelter in
76.5 Cllr Huddart circulated a note on on-street parking issues. The H&T Committee will set up a working party to discuss these informally. On request, it was copied it to David Archer, and he wants it sent to the Elmbridge task group members. It has no formal status in CPC.
76.6 The Vehicle Actuated Sign in
76.7 There has been various copy correspondence, including our MP’s involvement, regarding the recent South West Trains proposal to severely reduce the opening hours of ticket offices and hence station facilities. It is believed that there has not been a formal response from SWT.
76.8 Cllr Huddart has submitted pieces for The Courier.
76.9 Cllr Huddart has asked Graham Banks about the possibility of using the old tree pit at
76.10 Cllr Parks is concerned with the attitude of SCC who he considers incompetent and arrogant. Despite the length of time and several request, the road marking have still not been repainted in
It seems that we continue to raise points which they ignore. They replace streetlamps but do not take the old ones away. We asked for reinstatement of the markings in
AP25 Cllrs Sheppard and Parks to action.
77. The Environment Committee Report
All minutes of the Environment Committee have been circulated.
Cllr Manley did not attend the last meeting so gave a verbal report.
77.1 CIB received a Silver Gilt. Of the other 7 places in the same category (small town), there were 3 Silvers and 4 Silver Gilt. The winner of the category was
AP26 The Clerk to action.
78. Communications Report
No edition of the Courier was produced in June/July. Alan Charlwood has now resigned from the Working Group, because of unforeseen personal commitments. The rest of the team, augmented by Anthony Sheppard, has organised the production of a Courier, including the Annual Report, for distribution in early September. This will be accompanied by a revised edition of the Claygate Village Directory, funded by the Parish Council.
Tim Wilson, a resident of Claygate and the publisher of LivingWithin, has been hired to do the layout of the September Courier. We are very pleased with the results.
The difference between two colour and full colour printing costs is now so little that we have decided to print in full colour, while maintaining the current 'brand identity' of Courier and the PC. As a result of this decision we have re-tendered for printing.
We plan a further Courier in March, but it will not be possible to produce Claygate Life this year with the resources currently available. The distribution team will in any case be handling the VDS Questionnaire in late October/early November. We are considering a review of Courier design for the next edition.
We understand that the existing requirement for Quality Status of four publications per year will be amended to take into account websites. When the new rules are finalised we will have to review the number of publications each year.
79. Website Report
There was no report
80. Youth Liaison Report
Cllr Parks circulated a report prior to the meeting.
i. Recreational Ground Trust.
Unfortunately there has been a recent bout of vandalism with damage being caused to the roof of the pavilion. Damage has also occurred in the play area where one of the protective floorings has been damaged.
The application for funding the improvements to the pavilion has been lodged and a decision is awaited. There is also a strong possibility that a further source of funding the multi sports may soon materialise.
The question as to the future structure of the CRGT has been raised and the possibility of some sort of partnership with CPC. This may vary from just co-operation between CRGT and CPC to a full take-over by CPC. Talks are on-going.
The ground is well-used by many different clubs and it is getting to the point where it is over-used. Talks are on-going with the Rugby League Club, the Cricket Club and Claygate Royals about use of the sports ground in
ii.
Being the summer break, there is not much news since the previous report. It is pleasing to see the SAT results have shown another good year.There is a full intake for the new year which began today.
By law all schools have to provide before and after school care facilities by 2010. The start of term will mark the introduction this facility being provided be a very experienced third party organisation.
Cllr Parks spoke to the Head teacher about the new pathway. The old gate from the Recreation Ground is open and being used.
iii. Youth Club
Cllr Herbert gave a verbal report to the meeting.
The field trip organised by Jazz was a success. Many of the parents would like to see another similar trip. It is known that a formal ‘thank-you’ will be sent to CPC.
Notice has been given to all the users of the Foley Hall, so it may be that more hirers will use the Youth Club premises. It may be worthwhile approaching clubs such as Probus, the Boxing Club etc.
Not all the allocated funds have been spent, but it expected that they will be used before the end of the year.
81. Neighbourhood Watch Report
Cllr Herbert gave a verbal report to the meeting.
The new co-coordinator Ross Prideaux recently held a brain-storming session at the Youth Club for the coordinators.
82. Police Liaison Report
Cllr Herbert gave a verbal report to the meeting.
Insp Paul Yearwood had at last identified a suitable officer to be the temporary NSO for Esher and Claygate while PC Danny Bond recovered from his illness. PC Mick Sleet was due to start on the 24th August.
Unfortunately, PC Sleet broke his leg just before he was due to start. It is a serious break and he will be off work for several months. Insp Yearwood is trying to identify another suitable officer that can fulfil this role and will try to get them in post as soon as possible. In the meantime, Esher and Claygate will continue to be policed by PCSO's, Jazz Reed and Jan Aldogan who will receive regular support from the other NSO's and the Neighbourhood Tactical Team.
It is not expected that PC Bond will be back on duty before 2009, so it was agreed to keep up the pressure on Insp Yearwood to try to find a replacement.
It was agreed that Cllr Herbert would extend our regrets over PC Sleet but ask for a replacement as we do not want to be seen to be able to manage without an NSO.
AP27 Cllr Herbert to action.
84. Village Design Statement
The printer for the questionnaire has been decided, so Cllr Round will arrange for the printing which will take about a week. It was agreed that the questionnaire looks very good. Congratulations were given to the team for formatting the questions and Cllr Round for the appearance.
Cllr A Cartwright asked Hugh Gostling if we can borrow the Scout boxes, but has had no reply. She will try again.
AP28 Cllr A Cartwright to action.
84. CCTV Report
No report has been received from the operating centre. Cllr Cartwright will ask at EBC for a report on crime numbers and manning levels.
AP29 Cllr Cartwright to action
85. Matters for information only
85.1 Power has been granted to Parish Councils to change their names. The name of the Council is a question in the VDS questionnaire. The results of this question will be noted and this subject discussed at a future meeting.
85.2 Cllr Manley will re-circulate the HGS project documentation as there were problems opening the original emailed version.
85.3 Cllr Charlwood reported that the glass in the Millennium sign appears to be broken. Cllr Herbert will assess the situation and repairs arranged if necessary.
85.4 A Brainstorming session has been arranged for 30 Oct at 8pm at 102, Hare Lane, the home of the Cllrs Cartwright.
86. Date of next Meeting
The next meeting will be:-
Thurs 6 November 2008 at 7.30 pm in the SVH.
Signed…………………………………………………as a true and fair record of the meeting.
Date…………………
Please note: Agenda items and resolutions need to be sent to the Clerk two weeks prior to the next meeting.
Apologies Cllrs J and A Cartwright for the next meeting as they have a family engagement.