Gaydon Parish Council

Minutes of an Ordinary Meeting Of Gaydon Parish Council Held at Gaydon Village Hall, Gaydon, Warwickshire On Tuesday 4th June 2019 At 7.30pm

PRESENT: Parish Councillors: CLLR DAVIES (Chair), CLLR BOURNE, CLLR CLAXTON, CLLR HILL, CLL LEADBETTER, CLLR LEWIS and CLLR MIDDLEDITCH

IN ATTENDANCE: Eleven members of the public, CLLR C KETTLE (SDC) and MR I WILSON (Clerk).

Appointments

The Parish Council agreed by a majority (with two councillors abstaining) to appoint CLLR Claxton as Deputy Chair and that the new clerk, Ian Wilson, will also be the Relevant Financial Officer for the Parish Council.

Apologies

No Apologies were received from Parish Councillors. However, CLLR C WILLIAMS (WCC) had sent apologies..

Declarations of interests and consideration of dispensation requests

CLLR Hill declared an interest under items 10 and 11

Public Participation

It was noted that the Millennium Group and Kids of Gaydon have jointly applied for one of the County Councillor’s community grants towards a table tennis table. A member of the public thanked the Parish Council for their support regarding on planning permission at the cattery and it was noted that work would soon start

A member of the public raised a query regarding planning enforcement, who have k been notified of breaches to previous permissions at Old Warwick Road. It was noted that the applicant was likely to put in retrospective planning permission and the meeting was reminded that the parish council can register their disapproval and also notify planning enforcement of any breaches. The meeting then discussed Tree Preservation Orders in the Parish and it was agreed that the clerk would write to SDC to obtain details of these.

Several issues for Orbit Housing were raised by members of the public along. These included a 50% increase in rents and issues of access and parking at St Mark’s Close, which was causing damage to the green space as residents didn’t usually the garages for car parking and there were problems for larger vehicles such as refuse lorries accessing properties.. CLLR Kettle (SDC) reported that he had recently met with senior managers at Orbit to discuss some of these issues and that if there was any evidence that businesses were being undertaken on Orbit premises these should be raised with Orbit. It was agreed that the clerk would also write to Orbit. CLLR Kettle had also spoken with the refuse contractor about vehicles damaging the green spaces.

Several members of the public raised issues around parking in the village, including overnight parking. CLLR Davies particularly noted the parking by the bus stop, which he had raised with WCC Highways through CLLR Williams. Councillors agreed that if there were specific parking problems causing traffic accidents in the village these should be highlighted in the parish magazine. However, the parish council agreed to continue to monitor parking throughout the parish as part of a wider road safety strategy

Acceptance of Minutes of Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the Ordinary meeting in May 2019 (already circulated) were considered and it was agreed that councillors would forward their suggested amendments to the clerk so that these could be finalised.

Arising from these minutes CLLR HILL asked that all Parish councillors provide their contact details for the website. CLLR Claxton asked about recording meetings and confirmed that the parish council could do this. The clerk was asked to explore this further.

Matters Carried Forward From Previous Meetings

St. Marks Play Area Ownership

Discussions are continuing with Orbit regarding the ownership of the site. The Parish Council are looking at possible leasing and new equipment options. Stratford District Council have been contacted regarding the historic leasing arrangements. It was agreed that the Parish Council should establish ownership of the site before committing money to it, but in principle they would look to develop this site in conjunction with the village field, in accordance with best practice and value for money.

Village Field Change of Use

It was noted that the Parish Council planning application for Change of Use from Agricultural to Recreational use for the village field is now out to consultation by SDC. Deadline for responses is Monday 24th June. The Parish Council agreed to support this application, with 2 councillors abstaining from the vote. It was agreed that the basis of this support would be the initial planning application and councillors should forward any additional information to the clerk ahead of the submission.

CLLR Lewis suggested that councillors started to consider the pros and cons of using the village field for recreational use and Councillors Lewis, Bourne, Claxton and Davies briefly worked through a good practice checklist produced by Play England.

It was noted that the Council would consider this detail further once the change of use application had been considered by the District Council, this would also include any surveys required as a condition of planning and any further public consultation.

Councillor Training.

CLLR Davies was due to attend training for new Parish Council Chairs provided by Warwickshire Association of Local Councils (WALC). Parish Councillors were encouraged to take up WALC and SDC training opportunities when they were able.

There was a discussion on current policies, including standing orders and councillor code of conduct. Councillor Leadbetter would provide the clerk with suggestions on councillor behaviours related to the code of conduct for future consideration.

Parish Tidy Up

CLLR HILL had identified a problem with litter at the JLR bus stop and asked whether this could be raised through the JLR/Gaydon Liaison group, with the possibility of a bin provided by JLR suggested.

CLLR Claxton would identify estate agents boards outside of

property boundaries and fly posters which needed removing and the clerk would then write to the agents asking for the boards to be removed.

It was agreed that Police and Crime Commissioner be thanked for the help provided by individual officers at the travellers site. CLLR Hill would also look at the broken fence at the site. Councillors also commended the district council contractors on the clear up of the site.

Councillor Responsibilities; It was agreed that CLLR Bourne would take on the planning portfolio, with the exception of JLR planning matters.

Reports from Ward Representatives of Warwickshire County Council and Stratford District Council.

CLLR Kettle (SDC) had been re-elected and will continue as Chairman of the District Council. Local focus is on opportunities for business, with environmental sustainability and tourism. He also reported that the new pavilion has been opened in Stratford and efforts continued to support tourism across rural Stratford district.

CLLR Kettle (SDC) reported on several local issues, particulary that continuing HS2 development which would impact on road closures until well into 2020. He also referred to his discussions with Orbit housing and continuing discussion with NHS managers regarding the Horton hospital plans. The meeting noted the planned call by SDC for traveller sites, as the council was required by the government to do.

CLLR Leadbetter asked CLLR Kettle about the council’s plans for reducing carbon heating in homes and how the core strategy could support parish council environmental schemes. CLLR Kettle referred to national government work to minimise impact across the country and SDC work with Coventry and Warwickshire Local Economic Partnership and West Midlands Combined Authority.

CLLR Williams (WCC) had sent a report which the clerk would circulate.

Planning

Several councillors had recently visited the old Old House site. The Parish Council will provide comments to District Council Planners, particularly around the boundaries to each plot. It was noted that permission had been refused for the Esso service station, but councillors would expect further applications in future.

Correspondence

The list of correspondence attached at Appendix A was noted for information. The clerk would forward further details of the Emergency Planning Checklist and Mental Health Consultation. Councillors also noted the Community Forum planned for 27^th June.

Internal Audit Report

Councillors received and agreed the internal audit report for 2018/19

Certificate of Exemption

Councillors received the certificate of exemption from external audit approved by the internal auditor. The clerk explained that because turnover in Gaydon was less than £25,000 the Parish Council was not subject to an external audit review. This certificate confirmed this and needed to be sent to the external auditors by 1^st July 2019.

Councillors agreed to forward any comments on this to the clerk before it needed to be sent to the external auditor

Annual Accounting Statements

Councillors received the annual accounting statements approved by the internal auditor. CLLR Hill confirmed that this matched the annual receipts and payments that councillors had previously agreed. The clerk explained that the statements needed to be made available for public inspection, by 1^st July 2019 at the latest. Councillors agreed to forward any comments on this to the clerk before it needed to made available for public inspection

Governance Statement

Councillors received the annual governance statements approved by the internal auditor. The clerk explained that this confirmed that the Parish Council had the expected governance and financial controls in place, this statement would be made available for public inspection with the Accounting Statements. Councillors agreed to forward any comments on this to the clerk before it needed to be made available for public inspection.

Financial Administration

See Appendix B for accounts agreed for payments

MEETING CLOSED 22:45

Appendix A

Correspondence

Hayward Developments – Contribution to traffic calming measures

Emergency planning – guidance from Warwickshire County Council (WCC)

Chairmanship – Warwickshire Association of Local Councils (WALC) training event

Warwickshire minerals plan – WCC consultation

Engagement over mental health services – WALC consultation

Appendix B

Financial Administration

Passing of accounts for payment:

(a) WALC – Update on current issues; £30.00

(b) WALC – Chairmanship skills; £30.00

(d) Grounds maintenance – C.Pickering, grass cutting etc; £982.39

(e) Street lighting - E-ON; £485.16