Upchurch Parish Council Report - June 2016

The Draft Minutes of the MEETING of the Upchurch Parish Council held in Upchurch Village Hall on Thursday 2nd June 2016 at 7:30pm

Present: Cllr Sara Tucker (Chair), Cllr Tyrone Ripley (Vice-Chair), Cllr Gary Rosewell, Cllr Alan Horton, Cllr Pamela Denny, Cllr Stephen Hunt, Mrs Julia Cura (Clerk) and 7 members of the public including Kent County Cllr Mike Baldock and Ward Cllr John Wright.

Apologies: Cllr Peter Masson and Cllr Gerry Lewin.

Minutes of the meeting held on 7th May 2016 – Cllr Lewin had contacted the Clerk prior to the meeting to request the following amendments be made: to Public Time (vi) ‘below the minimum amount stipulated on the enforcement notice’ was replaced with ‘regarded as a de minimus and did not warrant enforcement. 10 (i) ‘is of little interest to the area of’ was replaced with ‘this does not cover’ and 20 (i) the following sentence was added ‘ Cllr Lewin reminded the Council that during the last few years it had reviewed all activity it was undertaking and ceased those for which it was not responsible for. The request was therefore against that objective’. It was proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Ripley that the minutes be accepted as a true record and all agreed. Cllr Tucker signed them.

**************************************************************************** 

Public Time 

i) Planning – Ward Cllr John Wright reported that two large applications had recently been refused by Swale Planning, one at St Mary’s View and the other at Pond Farm. The Pond Farm application has gone to appeal, the date for this has currently been postponed.

ii) Bearing Fruits – Ward Cllr John Wright reported that the Inspector had found the methodology of selecting the sites in the Local Plan to be correct and following this very little development has been recommended for Upchurch and Newington for inclusion. Cllr Tucker asked what bearing this would have on the Gladman proposal and the Jubilee Fields application. Ward Cllr John Wright stated that although the proposed sites are not recommended within the consultation, this does not prohibit developers putting plans forward. He requested that the Parish Council encourage residents to respond in a positive way to the consultation which will be online at Swale Borough Council on 16th June 2016.

iii) Neighbourhood Watch – Ward Cllr John Wright reported that the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is functioning well in Hartlip. Due to the new Government legislation which will reduce the time period for comments on planning applications, Hartlip Parish Council are intending to incorporate raising awareness of current applications in this scheme. He recommended that Upchurch consider this for the future. 

iv) Bus Shelter – Kent County Cllr Mike Baldock reported that the forms have been finalised for the bus shelter grant. He had spoken to the Clerk prior to the meeting regarding the ongoing situation with the Licence application and will assist the Clerk with progressing this.

v) Active Travel Strategy – Kent County Cllr Mike Baldock advised that the Active Travel Strategy survey, which is a scheme to help reduce traffic by car sharing, cycling and taking the 

bus, is now running and he will forward the details onto the Clerk. The survey can be accessed via: www.kent.gov.uk/activetravel

vi) Road Closures – A resident requested that road closure notifications be forwarded to him in order that these can be placed on Upchurch Matters. Cllr Tucker stated that all those received are forwarded on, but unfortunately she and the Clerk do not appear to be receiving all of the notifications from KCC.

vii) Mierscourt Road – A resident reported that despite a large number of objections regarding infrastructure the planning application to build 138 homes on Mierscourt Road had been approved. Ward Cllr John Wright advised that as Medway currently have no Local Plan and therefore no five year housing supply in place, this unfortunately opens the door to developers.

The meeting re-opened at 7:55pm 

*************************************************************************** 

Declarations of Interest - None

Correspondence 

i) Letter from Gabriel requesting use of the Paddock– The Clerk reported that she had received a letter from the owners of Gabriel requesting the use of the Paddock for parking on 30th July 2016. Cllr Tucker reported that it had been agreed last year that the Paddock would no longer be used for parking. Following discussion, the Clerk was asked to respond stating that the correspondents are welcome to use the Recreation area for parking on 30th July 2016 instead. 

ii) Request for a donation from the Citizens Advice Bureau – The Clerk reported that she had received a request from the CAB for a donation. It was agreed by all that, in keeping with previous years a £65 donation be made on behalf of the Parish Council.

iii) Clean for the Queen – The Clerk had received a response from her letter to McDonalds following the amount of litter found from their restaurant during the Clean for the Queen weekend. The letter had been distributed to the members prior to the meeting. 

iv) Fete Committee – The Clerk reported that she had received confirmation from the Fete Committee regarding their plans to stay overnight in the Paddock on Friday 17th June 2016 in order to ensure the safety of the equipment. All agreed that permission should be granted. The Clerk will respond to the Fete Committee. 

Planning 

i) 15/510595/OUT Land off London Road, Newington- Notification had been received of an appeal made by Gladman Developments – It was agreed that the Council had no further comments to make on this application. 

ii) 16/503680/FULL – The Paddock, 76 Horsham Lane – Use of land for the stationing of a mobile home - Following discussion, it was agreed that the Clerk should contact Swale Planning to clarify whether the resident of the mobile home is an employee of the public house. It was agreed that if the resident is an employee, the Council would have no objections but would raise concerns regarding the placement of further caravans in the future and would like the views of neighbouring residents of Woodruff Close taken into consideration. 

iii) 16/503808/FULL – Greenacres, Holywell Lane – Application for the removal of condition 1 and condition 4- Following discussion it was unclear as to why the removal of these conditions had been requested. It was agreed that the Clerk contact Swale Planning to clarify the reasons for this before comments are submitted. 

iv) 16/504128/FULL – Gore Pumping Station, London Road, Upchurch – Minor material amendment to application – It was agreed that the Council had no objections to this application. The Clerk will report this to Swale Planning. 

Any other Planning

i) Street Naming – Following consultation with Street Naming and historians, the Council had submitted relevant names to the Street Naming department. The Clerk had received confirmation of the names for the site which are historically related to the brick making firms of Upchurch. The names are to be – Quilters Yard, Woods Edge, Butchers Green and Eastwood Meadow. The members were agreeable to the outcome of this consultation. 

ii) 15/509058/FULL - Beckenham Park Update - Cllr Tucker reported that this application was discussed at the GPC on the 18th May 2016 and although the plans submitted had been found to be inaccurate, no planning reasons to object were found.

iii) Planning Training session – Cllr Tucker reported that Cllr Masson had attended a session on the updates to the Local Plan, Housing and Planning Bill on 12th May 2016. It was suggested that due to Cllr Masson’s absence the Clerk place this on a future agenda for discussion.

Finance 

i) Annual Audit Return to approve section 1 – A copy of the return was circulated to all members present. Section 1 – It was resolved to approve the Annual Governance Statement 2015/16, which was then signed by Cllr Tucker.

ii) Annual Audit Return to approve Section 2 – It was resolved to approve the Accounting Statements for 2015/16, which was then signed by Cllr Tucker. 

Administration 

i) General Purposes Committee (GPC) – a copy of the notes taken from the meeting held on 18th May 2016 had been circulated and agreed.

ii) Arrange date for APM 2017– It was agreed that the date for next year’s APM be 27th April 2017 in order to avoid the Easter Holidays. Cllr Tucker suggested that following the APM in 2017, future APM’s be organised by the Village. Cllr Horton advised that the meeting in May 2017 may require a change of venue due to elections being held on the first Thursday of the month.

Allotments 

i) Unattended Fire – Cllr Tucker reported that she had sited an unattended fire at the allotments on the evening of 17th May 2016. Cllr Tucker reported this to number 101 and a fire crew attended at 11.30pm. Cllr Tucker requested that the Clerk place a notice at the allotments reminding tenants that fires are not permitted to be left unattended at any time.

ii) Vacant Plots– The Clerk reported that she had attended the allotments with a prospective tenant, but had found the vacant plots to be in an unworkable state. The Clerk requested permission to get these plots cleared in order to rent them out this year. The Clerk also advised that the majority of plots are no longer numbered making it very difficult to show prospective tenants around. Following discussion it was agreed that the work required would be too costly in comparison to the income generated from the allotment rent. Cllr Horton proposed that any prospective tenants be advised that the first year’s rent will be waived in recognition of the work required during the growing season, Cllr Ripley seconded the proposal and all agreed. 

Paddock and Recreation Ground

i) Play Area Resurfacing– The Clerk presented three quotations that had been received to remove the remaining tarmac and fencing and lay soil and grass seed in the area of the Paddock that the play equipment had previously been removed from. The members considered all three quotations and agreed on the cheapest quote which had been submitted by a local contractor. The Clerk was requested to obtain a copy of the waste removal certificate from the contractor and to clarify how the grass seed will be protected once laid. Due to the Village Fete taking place in the Paddock on the 18th June 2016 and the question as to the best time to lay grass seed, the Clerk was requested to check with the contractor with regards to dates for the works to commence. 

ii) Recreation Ground Quotations – The Clerk presented two quotations to replace the rotten fence posts and wire on the boundary of Chaffes Lane. The members discussed the quotations and it was agreed that further details were required with regards to the specifications. It was agreed that the Clerk would place this on the GPC agenda on 15th June 2016.

iii) Recreation Ground parking area– The Clerk presented two quotations to place diamond fencing around the parking area of the Recreation Ground to prohibit access to the grass area. The members discussed the quotations and it was agreed that a site meeting would be necessary in order that the Council could ensure that the correct specifications were requested. It was agreed that the Clerk would place this on the agenda for the GPC on 15th June 2016. Cllr Horton and Cllr Ripley agreed to review the quotations.

iv) Procedures for Quotations – Due to the content of the discussions on the quotations received for works to be carried out it was agreed that the procedures for quotations should be reviewed. Cllr Tucker raised the issues of ongoing confusion over the discussion of quotations in public and the correct procedures that should be followed. Cllr Horton suggested that the Clerk, Chair and Vice Chair should discuss any quotations received and put forward a matrix for decision by all members. It was agreed that the Clerk should place this on the GPC agenda on 15th June 2016 for further discussion.

Burial Ground and Churchyard 

i) Church Clock– The Clerk reported that she had written to Gillett and Johnston stating that the Parish Council would no longer be using their company for annual services. The Clerk stated that she had received confirmation from both The Cumbria Clock Company and Smith of Derby stating that they would be willing to attend the clock for repairs when required and had both confirmed that this could be done without a contracted annual service. 

Environment

i) Bus Shelter – The Clerk reported that she is chasing KCC Highways department daily regarding the licence for the Bus Shelter. 

Highways

i) Street Lights– Cllr Arnold reported that there are currently no faulty street lights.

ii) Highways – Cllr Arnold reported that Windmill Hill is due to be resurfaced but no date has been provided for this work yet. 

Reports from representatives 

i) Village Hall – Cllr Tucker reported that after much deliberation she has resigned as the Chair for the Village Hall. Cllr Tucker also stated that she would like to stand down from her role as Trustee which she took on as representative for the Parish Council. No other members expressed an interest in replacing Cllr Tucker in this role and it was therefore agreed that the Clerk write to the Village Hall to advise them that regrettably, the Parish Council would not have representation on the Village Hall committee for the foreseeable future. This will be kept in mind and a trustee appointed at the next annual meeting if not before.

ii) PCSO – Cllr Rosewell reported that he has spoken with PCSO John Cork and that he will be the contact between the members and the PCSO. For future meetings the PCSO has agreed to provide Cllr Rosewell with a report which will be forwarded to the members prior to the meeting. The PCSO will hold his next surgery in Snaffles on 29th June 2016. 

iii) Twinning Group – Nothing to report.

iv) KALC – Nothing to report. 

Matters arising not yet covered – Cllr Tucker requested that the Clerk place the position of Clerk vacancy on the GPC agenda as the closing date for applications is 13th June 2016.

Next meetings – Confirmed as being 4th August 2016 and 1st September 2016 in the Village Hall. (There will not be a meeting in July) 

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting closed at 9:40pm

A confidential session followed the meeting. 

The full draft minutes can be seen on the Parish Council website.

Julia Cura, Clerk to the Parish Council

Tel: 01634 363906
Email: clerk@upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk
Website: www.upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk
space