Minutes
WESTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of meeting held on Monday 5th August 2024 at Weston Village Hall
Commenced at 7.30pm
Present:- Cllrs, Dicks, Bellamy, Brotherton, Casson, Mews, Pennington, Pratt and the Clerk/RFO.
Apologies Cllr Ellis, Halgarth, Higgins.
Absent :- None
In Attendance:- Cty Cllr Gibson, Dist Cllr Sneath, seven members of the public.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, and informed those present that the meeting was being recorded and asked that everyone refrain from using their mobile phones. The chairman then made a public statement on the recent complaint made to the council. In light of current events the chairman asked that everyone treat everybody with dignity and respect. Rules and codes of conduct which have not been followed in the past will be followed in the future. The chairman apologised on behalf of the council to Cllr Ellis for any comments made in recent meeting that left her feeling uncomfortable or upset. Recommendations made in the investigation by Cllr Bellamy will be adopted and this brings a close to this matter from the council’s perspective. Should the complainant wish to pursue the matter he would need to do so through the monitoring officer at SHDC.
24.103 Declaration of interest in accordance with Localism Act 2011
Cllr Pennington re Outer Dowsing
Cllr Pratt re Land Agreements
Cllrs Brotherton, Casson, Pennington & Pratt re H22-0574-24
24.104 Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 1st July 2024
Minutes of the meeting having been circulated were taken as read by the Chairman and signed as a true record. Proposed JB, seconded AB, vote for six in favour (Cllr Pratt did not vote as he was not at the July meeting).
Minutes of the closed meeting having been circulated were taken as read by the Chairman and signed as a true record. Proposed AB, Seconded PM, vote for six in favour (Cllr Pratt did not vote as he was not at the July meeting).
24.105 Public Forum
A resident Marc Birdsall addressed the meeting on the matter of the complaint he made to the Parish Council saying that he was not happy with the outcome and planned to pursue the matter with the monitoring officer at SHDC.
A resident Alan Barnsdale spoke about traffic on Broadgate which continues to exit on to Beggars Bush, Graffiti in the parish and potholes in particular on Beggars Bush. A new sign has been installed on the exit from Small Drove to deter drivers turning left onto Broadgate while the meeting was told that work was scheduled for Beggars Bush.
Terence Murphy the treasurer for Weston Village Hall spoke to those present with regards the s144 grant application due to be considered at September’s meeting. He updated the meeting on their finances and requested that the application be considered before September but was told that Parish Council rules stipulated that it could not be considered until September as it was not an agenda item.
24.106 Matters Arising
Cllr Casson reported that enforcement officers from SHDC had attended Wimberley Close to ensure grass cutting was carried out. The bin was not the responsibility of SHDC to empty and if no one was prepared to volunteer to empty it then it might have to be removed.
24.107 Correspondence
(a) email from LCC highways informing the Parish Council that Broadgate would be closed when required by Anglian Water from 19th to 23rd August 400m north of Old Fendyke Road.
24.108 SID/CSW
Cllr Bellamy reported that she continues to work with the supplier on getting the SID up and running again. The Chairman said that the CSW continues to be active in the parish and that double yellow lines are now in place at the junctions of St Johns Road and Carisbrooke Way with Broadgate. Cllr Brotherton asked if banners similar to those at Shepeau Stow might be put up in the parish to help deter speeding. It was reported that Jan Whitburn the local CSW organiser might have some signage.
24.109 Allotments
Those present discussed changes to the tenancy and land agreement and the charges proposed.
Cllr Pratt left the room while the Land Agreement was discussed. Cllr Brotherton proposed minor changes to the land agreement seconded by AC, unanimous vote in favour. An increase in the rent from £200pa to £235pa was proposed by AB, seconded by AC, unanimous vote in favour. Cllr Pratt then returned to the room.
It was agreed to increase the rent on the one acre allotments from £60pa to £110pa in 2025 rising to £160pa in 2026. Proposed by AB, seconded by PM unanimous vote in favour.
Changes to the garden allotment agreements were discussed. Cllr Pennington asked that an amendment be made for the crop rotation of potatoes of one in six years. It was then resolved to accept the new agreement, proposed by AB, seconded RP, unanimous vote in favour. It was agreed to increase the rent for the garden allotments from £15pa to £30pa in September 2024. Proposed by AB, seconded by JB, six votes in favour, one abstention (IP).
The Tenancy agreement was in contract until 2027 but those present agreed to increase the rent from £65 per acre pa to £115.00 per acre pa in September 2025. Proposed by JB, seconded by PM, unanimous vote in favour.
24.110 Weston Playing Field
Cllr Bellamy presented her proposals and the quotes for CCTV cameras at Weston playing field. After discussions it was resolved to accept the quote from Ark Solutions at a cost of £4,854.34+vat plus £1k for the electrical connection. There will be four cameras, the quality of which will be sufficient for police prosecutions. Ongoing costs of approximately £160pa for the sim card and £250pa for service charges will need to be budgeted for. Proposed by PM, seconded RP, unanimous vote in favour.
Cllr Bellamy then presented the proposals for the first phase of play equipment at Weston playing field. The cost will be approximately £49k+vat with the funds coming primarily from Ashwoods s106 contribution and some from Persimmon. First to go in will be the zip wire but considerable work will need to be done to the site in preparation for the installation of the play equipment. Ultimately some bushes may need to be removed and the skate board ramps moved to a different location.
24.111 Weston Hills Playing Field
Cllr Bellamy informed those present that Kompan would be installing the next phase of play equipment at Weston Hills playing field in the next five days.
The Clerk presented quotes from three companies for work on the trees at the playing field with four options available. It was resolved to accept the quote from ARB-CORE for £2,850.00+vat to remove all the trees that border St Johns church together with the dead tree in the field. Proposed by AC, seconded IP, unanimous vote to accept.
24.112 Planning Matters
Notification of application for consideration available via SHDC website:-
H22-0349-24, Flamingo Flowers Ltd, Stonegate. Approved by SHDC
H22-0599-24 Broadgate Barns, 694 Broadgate No Objections
H22-0570-24 8, Pentelow Way Weston No Objections
H22-0574-24 Weston Consolidated Charity *No Decision
*Not enough councillors were present to be quorate following declarations of interest.
24.113 Finance Report
The financial report to 31st July 2024 (Please see accompanying report) having been circulated was taken as read and its contents noted. Proposed JB, seconded AB, unanimous vote in favour.
24.114 Outer Dowsing, National Grid & Solar Farm Projects
Cllr Pennington reported that a meeting had taken place with the local MP, Councillors and members of the public at the site of the proposed Weston Marsh substation.
Cllr Bellamy reported that in order that comments are received by the relevant authorities that correspondence needs to come from the Parish Council email address. It was agreed that Cllr Bellamy would draft a standard response document for invited consultations, the Parish Council being an invited consultee in the process.
Due to time constraints the Chairman stated that he was going to defer agenda items 14, 15 & 16 until a later meeting.
24.115 PC Support Policy for Local Organisations
Those present discussed the need to support local organisations and how the Parish Council might go about this. It was agreed to discuss this at a later meeting with one suggestion being made that a sub-committee might be formed consisting of councillors with no pecuniary interests on outside organisations who would consider applications in the first instance.
24.116 Items for Discussions
Cllr Brotherton spoke of the plans for a “Peoples Wood” at Delgate Bank and how the Parish Council might support it.
Cllr Mews spoke of his concerns about the bins near the Crossgate junction. Cllr Casson said this had been a problem for many years, McDonalds Restaurant own the bins and should empty them daily but this is not always enough.
The chairman reported that there had been an incident of graffiti on four of the bus shelters, a crime report had been submitted to the police and the council will look at options to remove the graffiti.
24.117 Date of Next Meeting
Monday 2nd September 2024 7:30pm at Weston Hills Village Hall.
Any Other Business.
There being no other business the chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9:50pm.
Chairman …………………………………………………