WATERINGBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 1st May 2018
7.30pm Wateringbury Village Hall
Present
Cllr R Tripp (Chairman)
Cllr M Wells (Vice Chairman)
Cllr D Marks
Cllr L Simons
Cllr M Daly
Cllr F Fielding
Cllr D Mitchelmore
In attendance:
Mrs S Cockburn – Clerk to the Council
Cllr M Balfour – Kent County Councillor
Mrs T Bailey – Rostrum Correspondent
8 members of the public
The Chairman opened the meeting by reminding everyone in attendance the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed or otherwise reported and asked if any person present intends to make a video or audio recording of the proceedings. None
18/001 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Cllr Tripp put his name forward for Chairman and a vote was taken
2 in favour 3 against 1 abstention Not carried
Cllr Wells put his name forward for Chairman and a vote was taken
5 in favour 0 against 1 abstention Carried
Cllr Wells was elected Chairman and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
18/002 ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN
Cllr Simons put her name forward and a vote was taken
5 in favour 0 against 0 abstentions Cllr Simons was elected Vice Chairman
18/003 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from PCSO Wendy Stanley
18/004 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST/DISPENSATIONS
None
18/005 ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman referred to the resignation of Stephen Tickner and had agreed with his reasons stating he did not agree with the way he had been treated. Cllr Tripp said he felt the comments were a personal attack, saying the Chairman’s job was to advise Councillors, however advice given to Mr Tickner was not taken so he felt he had to stop further communications relating to insurance.
There followed discussion amongst Councillors who agreed the situation could have been handled better
The Chairman then suggested to Councillors a letter of apology be sent to Mr Tickner and suggest he considers re-joining Council.
Cllr Daly proposed a letter be sent and this was seconded by Cllr Simons
This was agreed
The Chairman reminded the meeting of the Annual Parish Meeting on Tuesday 15th May
18/006 REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR
Cllr Balfour congratulated the new Chairman and commiserated with the outgoing Chairman. Cllr Balfour said he had very little to report. He said the County Council had a good relationship with outside bodies. Cllr Balfour was told by a member of the public of a large number of potholes in Danns Lane and of another in Allington Gardens. Cllr Balfour asked the Clerk to email him the details.
The Chairman thanked Cllr Balfour who left the meeting at 7.45pm
18/007 REPORT FROM BOROUGH COUNCILLOR
Cllr Jessel was not present
18/008 CRIME REPORT
Crime reports attached – taken from Kent Police website and e-watch website. PCSO Wendy Stanley was unable to attend the meeting but had sent another report. – attached
18/009 MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 3rd APRIL 2018 TO BE APPROVED FOR ACCURACY
The Minutes having been read were approved by Cllr Tripp and seconded by Cllr Fielding and signed as a correct record
18/010 MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 3RD APRIL 2018
17/139 – Cllr Tripp said the bullet points agreed by Councillors had been sent to TMBC relating to the car park
17/140 – Friends of Wateringbury – It was agreed that a yearly limit of £75 be made available towards work/repairs to Parish Council owned property
17/140 – Pollution Monitoring Equipment – Cllr Tripp reported there had been no update
18/011 GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
It was reported that an amendment to the forthcoming Bill on the GDPR had been tabled suggesting Parish Councils be exempt from appointing a Data Protection Officer. It was agreed Council would wait to see if any amendment was voted through before taking any further action.
18/012 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
Finance & General Purposes – No meeting Annual Return year end 31/3/2018. Councillors had a copy of the Return and asked to agree Section 1 Annual Governance Statement. All Councillors agreed the answer to all questions was yes. The Return was then signed by the Chairman and Clerk and would be returned to the Auditor PKF Littlejohn
Planning – meeting to follow
Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association – Councillors discussed the lease with the Association that covered insurance, in particular, the pavilion. It was suggested a letter go to the WSRA requesting details of insurance cover. This was agreed, although it was also suggested a face to face meeting with John Ibbs might be better served.
Cllr Fielding had drawn up an article on dog fouling to go in the Rostrum magazine. All Councillors agreed with content.
It had been reported a child had had an accident by falling off a piece of play equipment. The child, aged 9, fell onto the grass and not the wet pour surface. Abacus reported the wet pour conformed to British Safety Standards. Councillors did not feel an emergency inspection was needed and agreed to wait for the annual inspection by ROSPA sometime in July.
Village Hall – Cllr Simons stated there had not been any meeting
Tonbridge & Malling Area Committee of KALC_– Cllr Wells said the next meeting was scheduled for 10th May.
Parish Partnership Panel – next meeting in June
Joint Parish Council Transport Consultative Group – no report
Kent Community Rail Partnership – no rep
Highways & Transportation-Speedwatch – No meeting Street Lighting – due to the lack of service and breach of contract by from SSE, the Clerk had approached four contractors to quote for a street lighting maintenance contract. Only one had been received from Streetlights and Councillors had a copy of their quote. Cllr Fielding stated that Nettlestead PC had been informed by SSE they would no longer maintain their street lights and Nettlestad had changed to Streetlights. It was also stated that East Malling & Larkfield PC also used Streetlights and were pleased with their work. Councillors agreed to accept the quote from Streetlights at a cost of £1500 per year which would include a regular night scout. Councillors also agreed that SSE be told that our account with them would be closed with immediate effect.
The Council had a received an update from Kent County Council on the proposed changes to the crossroads. The proposal would now go forward to the design stage and if agreed, and following a public consultation, work could start in the Autumn
Speedwatch report attached.
Allotments – One rent was outstanding. A communal shed which had been left by a previous holder for use by others was in need of some repairs to the roof, and the cost would be £37. The Parish Council had been asked if they would cover/or contribute to the cost. Councillors felt the as the Council did not supply the shed they were not responsible for the costs, and maybe those who used the shed could contribute to the cost.
Cemetery – nothing to report
Joint Flood Group – Nothing to report.
Cllr Fielding referred to the request from Teston PC to attend a meeting regarding the level crossing gates. Nettestead PC had no issue with automatic gates being installed and felt there was no need for them to be involved in a meeting or discussions with Teston
It was stated the signal box once no longer being used would be boarded up for safety reasons
18/013 PLAYING FIELDS – PROPOSAL FOR PAVILION
Councillors had a copy of a draft proposal drawn up by Mark Golding, Architectural Engineer, for changes to the pavilion. Mr Golding was present and put forward his ideas to improve the facilities at the pavilion.
Draft proposal attached. Mr Golding asked if the Parish Council felt the proposals were a good idea. Cllr Tripp stated the playing fields were designated Fields in Trust and there maybe restrictions under the terms of the Deed of Dedication. It was agreed a copy of the Deed would be sent to Mr Golding for information. Councillors agreed in principle to the proposals and suggested Mr Golding come back to the Parish Council later with further details.
18/014 FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT
Agreement of the Financial Statement was proposed by Cllr Marks and seconded by Cllr Mitchelmore All cheques were signed.
18/015 PUBLIC DISCUSSION
A member of the public referred to vehicles parking across his drive in Allington Gardens which made it impossible for him to get his vehicle out, and produced photographs taken.
Mr Dennis Stones referred to an email he had from Nicholas Heslop about the future of the car park. There appeared to be discrepancies between this and what the Parish Council had been led to believe. The Parish Council had been told it was TMBC’s proposal to make all its car parks pay and display. However, Mr Heslop had stated this was not the case. Any changes to the car park was not a priority for the Borough Council and would only take it further if the Parish Council wished it.
Mr Stones said the previous comment made by council that there were no free car parks in the borough was incorrect as details of free car parks was available on the Borough Council website. Cllr Tripp stated no comment had been made about no free car parks in the borough.
Cllr Mitchelmore left the meeting at 9.35pm
Mrs Sarah Hudson said she had met with Nicholas Heslop and confirmed what Mr Stones had said. Cllr Tripp stated that should pay and display go forward there would be public consultation first.
Mrs Hudson suggested consulting with local businesses and suggest their staff do not use the car park
The Council was asked about the field at the corner of Fields Lane and a rumour of possible building on the land. The Chairman said the Council had not had anything from TMBC on this, but had been assured by the Borough Council there would be no new building in the village until at least 2030
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 10.10pm