WATERINGBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 4th October 2022 7.30pm
Wateringbury Village Hall
Present
Cllr M Wells (Vice Chairman)
Cllr R Tripp
Cllr L Simons
Cllr G Owen
In attendance
Mrs S Cockburn – Clerk to the Council
Mrs C Byron – Rostrum Correspondent
David Merry – Speed Watch Co-ordinator
Mark Little – Village Warden
5 Members of the Public
The Vice Chairman opened the meeting by reminding everyone in attendance the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed or otherwise reported and asked if anyone present intends to make a video or audio recording of the proceeding – None
22/050 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr Gregson Cllr Fielding Cllr Hudson
22/051 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST/DISPENSATIONS
Non
22/052 ANNOUNCEMENTS
There would be a Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting on Tuesday 15th November to discuss the first draft of the 2023/2024 Budget
BT telephone box in Bow Road had been removed
22/053 REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR & BOROUGH COUNCILLOR
Cllr Hudson was not present
22/054 CRIME REPORT
From Kent Police website – Violence & Sexual behaviour 5 – Anti social behaviour 2 – Other theft 1 – public order 1
22/055 MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6th SEPTEMBER 2022 TO BE APPROVED FOR ACCURACY
The Minutes were approved by Cllr Owen and seconded by Cllr Simons The Minutes were signed as a correct record
22/056 MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6th SEPTEMBER 2022
Street Light 169 Old Road – order to carryout work has been given to Ken Bonner and resident had been advised. The engineer visited the site that day.
Annual Inspection on Cableway – quote received for £1483 plus VAT This included cutting back overheard branches, which the Parish Council would get its own contractor to do. Removing this item from the quote gave a total of £733 plus VAT. Acceptance of quote for £733 plus Vat was proposed by Cllr Owen and seconded by Cllr Simons. All voted in favour
The work to supply and fit 25 new posts on the playing field fencing had been completed
The Football Club lease held until sight of an insurance policy
The work on 4 new cameras for the pavilion was due to start on Friday 30th but had been held up due to illness
The Clerk had sent a formal notice of retirement on 30th November to the Chairman
22/057 REPORTS ROM COMMITTEES & OTHER BODIES
Finance & General Purposes – No meeting.
Parish Clerk Vacancy – Councillors agreed a figure of £14 to £20 per hour be given to applicants. It was agreed 15 hours per week would not be sufficient owing to the increase in the job description document and time to settle in. Hours to be left flexible between the interviewers and successful applicant. Interviewers to put their proposal to full council for ratification.
The Clerk stated that to date no CV’s had been received. It was not known which Councillors would be assisting in interviews but Cllr Owen said he would be prepared to assist if interviews were in the evening. Councillors agreed.
Car park/Goal Storage Area – Cllr Gregson had stated the information to insure the goals was with an insurance broker and as soon as this was in place the lease could be signed. Cllr Gregson had stated he could not find any damage to the inner fencing. A previous photo had been taken by the tenant of Drayhorse Meadow which showed the damage but the tenant had since made a temporary repair. The tenant had also said she had not been informed when work was to be done in the lower car park so she could move her horses away from the noise. This was not a complaint but a comment.
Cllr Gregson had stated leaving the gates open had encouraged sensible parking and informal feedback from residents of Phoenix Drive showed it had helped. He would not support locking the gates unless anti-social behaviour became a problem.
The main concern Councillors had was there was no insurance in place as stated in the lease and that the football club were allowed to carry out work in the lower part of the car park without permission or authorization in writing from the Council.
It had been reported cars using the car park had got stuck in wet ground. It was stated the ground was permanently wet due underground springs. It was suggested putting ballast down would not improve the grip but just be pressed into the soil.
Cllr Owen suggested why not add the overspill car park as a whole to the WSRA lease.
Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association – Cllr Tripp, Chairman of the Trustees, reminded Councillors the lease requires the fields to be managed “for the benefit of all the residents of Wateringbury”. A change of name is likely, to emphasise the Charity manages the field and is not responsible for the sports teams that use it. As a guideline, organised events should occupy only half the field except in special circumstances such as the Football Festival and the Village Fete on 13th May and 11th June 2023. As the football club has expanded there is now more demand for space than capacity on the field. The Pavilion is now 30 years old, no longer fit for purpose, and will likely need rebuilding. Council noted the report without
Highways –Highway Improvement Plan – Email received from a new team at KCC (Community Engagement Team) inviting council to an online meeting of introduction. Councillors would prefer to meet face to face as in the past. It was agreed to suggest a meeting in the village hall.
Councillors agreed to Highways Committee meetings being resumed, usually every two months.
Cllr Wells stated that although the speed limit on the A26 Canon Lane had been reduced to 40mph satnav’s were still showing 60mph
Speedwatch – report attached.
T&M Area Committee of KALC – Next meeting Thursday 13th October.
Cemetery – Jubilee Garden – Cllr Tripp said due to other commitments he could no longer take his on. Cllr Simons agreed to take it further but would need help from other councillors.
Allotments – nothing to report
Village Warden – reports attached. John Ibbs would be moving to Sutton Valence and councillors agreed he stay on as part time warden and to monitor for any future problems
22/058 FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND CHEQUES FOR PAYMENTThe Financial Statement was approved by Cllr Owen and seconded by Cllr Simons and all cheques were signed.
22/059 PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Nothing raised
There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.43pm