MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE GREAT WOLFORD PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 13th JULY 2016 IN THE CHURCH
PRESENT: Councillor Mrs. Lynn Mathias in the chair and Councillors Mrs. Jennifer Green, Mr. Steve Duck, Mrs. Lynn Bryan and Mr. Paul Riley plus the Clerk Mrs. Janet Piller. Also present was Councillor Mr. Stephen Gray. There were eight members of the public present.
MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting held on 11th May 2016 were approved and signed.
There were no matters arising.
FUTURE OF LITTLE WOLFORD PARISH AND PARISH MEETING: The Chairman referred to the paper dated 17th May 2016 from Mr. David Farman, Chairman of Little Wolford Parish Meeting (copy on file) and invited Mr. Farman to address the meeting. He reported that following his intention to stand down at the Annual Meeting in April 2016, no-one had been prepared to be nominated to take over. He had reluctantly agreed to serve for one further year during which possible ways forward (as advised by SDC) would be investigated including both this approach to Great Wolford Parish Council and also the possibility of a Community Governance Review. He hoped that the issue could be resolved by the October Little Wolford Parish Meeting. Great Wolford Parish Council was invited to consider the situation. After discussion, It was suggested that the views of Little Wolford residents be sought, by means of a hand-delivered questionnaire to every household, on what were seen as the three viable options (a) urgently pursue the search for a new Parish Meeting Chairman (b) some form of merger/grouping with an adjacent parish, or (c) the dissolution of Little Wolford Parish Meeting leaving the residents with no local representation. It was agreed that option (a) was preferred by the Great Wolford Parish Council but it was also agreed to follow up the questionnaire suggestion.
VILLAGE COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATOR: The Chairman reported that a total of £1,760 had been contributed through grants/donations etc to the total cost of the defibrillator of £1,644, the balance of £116 to be kept in reserve towards future running costs. All donors were warmly thanked for their support. It was noted that Ofcom regulations prevented the telephone kiosk being made available until a consultation period expired in early September 2016 following which the defibrillator would be installed and training sessions would be arranged. Councillor Duck kindly undertook to provide help with necessary electrical work. Councillor Riley was thanked for his work in co-ordinating this project.
VILLAGE PUB: (i) It was reported that following the decision reached at the Annual Parish Meeting in May 2016, an application had been made by the Parish Council to SDC to place the village pub on the Community Asset Register. It was made clear that this action was taken as an initiative towards preserving the community value of the pub. The owners of the pub recorded their disagreement with this action. A response from SDC was awaited.
(ii) There was full discussion on the present situation ref the pub and the main points made were (a):that information on opening times and availability of meals was not readily available either on site or online leading to a falling-off of customer numbers and (b) that a campaign was being waged against the current owners also resulting in fewer pub visitors.
(iii) The Chairman confirmed that the Parish Council disassociated itself completely from the current hostile attitudes.
PLANNING: (a) Wolford Lodge, Gt Wolford Road: following the resurfacing of the access track and on-going building work, it was agreed to refer the matter again to SDC Planning Enforcement.
(b) It was reported that approval had been granted by SDC for the following applications:
(i) 2 The Leys: front porch, two front dormer windows and removal of hedge, and.
(ii) Christmas Cottage, Nethercote: re-positioning of oak framed garage and garden workshop with useable loft space.
CORRESPONDENCE: The following were reported and noted: (a) Request from the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner to participate in his survey on a Police and Crime Plan (see www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk) (b) Notification of changes in personnel at WCC Hiighways (c) Consultation document from WCC on the revised Statement of Community Involvement (d) Notification of public consultation for Cotswold District Local Plan 2011-2031 (e) Progress Report 2011-2015 from Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull Local Biodiversity Action Plan (f) Other general correspondence and non-essential circulars were noted/tabled and would be circulated to all Councillors for information.
FINANCE: (a) The following payments were unanimously agreed, proposed by Councillor Green, seconded by Councillor Duck: £121.16p to Stratford on Avon District Council (annual charge for emptying dog bin) and £1,644 to Cardiac Science Holdings (UK) Ltd (defibrillator).
(b) It was reported that the annual audit form 2015/16 had been completed by the Clerk, then approved by the Internal Auditor and had been sent to the External Auditor.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS: (a) Councillor Gray reported that SDC’s Core Strategy had recently received final government approval.
(b) Road maintenance: it was reported that there were large potholes along the road edges on Barton Road. The Clerk to alert Highways Dept to need for repairs.
DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: It was agreed that the date of the next meeting would be Wednesday 14th September 2016 at 8.00 pm in the church.