MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE GREAT WOLFORD PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON WEDNESDAY 11th MAY 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. There was one member of the public present.
MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting held on 9th March 2016 were approved and signed.
There were no matters arising.
VILLAGE COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATOR: The Chairman reported that a grant of £300 had been donated by Stour Valley Lions, an anonymous contribution of £250 had been received and the proceeds of a quiz night at the pub organised by the Village Fund had been promised which, together with the £500 already allocated by the Parish Council and donations from other sources, including the result of an application for a Link grant, would cover the costs. Warm thanks were recorded for all contributions to this project. It was noted that Little Wolford Parish Meeting had been approached to gauge interest in a similar plan in Little Wolford but had decided against this. Councillor Riley reported that negotiations with BT ref the use of the existing public telephone kiosk to house the defibrillator were reaching a successful conclusion with final paperwork to be cleared, and it was agreed that an extraordinary Parish Council meeting be called when all the necessary arrangements were complete and ready to be formalised.
PLANNING: (a) Wolford Lodge, Gt Wolford Road: following a site inspection and on-going building work, it was agreed to contact SDC Planning Enforcement again to check progress on the new application
(b) It was confirmed that the following application had been considered since the last meeting and no representations had been made:
2 The Leys: proposed front porch, two front dormer windows and removal of hedge.
(c) The following application was considered and it was agreed to make no representations:
Christmas Cottage, Nethercote: re-positioning of oak framed garage and garden workshop with useable loft space.
(d) On-going building work at Wolford Lodge, Gt. Wolford Road.
CORRESPONDENCE: The following were reported and noted: (a) Notification from WWMALC that request for payment of membership fees had been delayed this year (b) Notice of meeting on 6th June of Stratford Area of WWMALC (c) Consultation document from SDC on main modifications to the Stratford on Avon District Submission Core Strategy 2014 (d) Other general correspondence and non-essential circulars were noted/tabled and would be circulated to all Councillors for information.
FINANCE: (a) The following payment was unanimously agreed, proposed by Councillor Mathias, seconded by Councillor Duck: £197.74p to Aon UK Limited (annual insurance).
(b) The Parish Council accounts for the year 2015/16 as accepted by the Annual Meeting were formally approved, proposed by the Chairman, seconded by Councillor Green.
(c) It was reported that Mr. Marcus Lymbery had kindly agreed to act as Internal Auditor.
CELEBRATION OF HM THE QUEEN’S 90TH BIRTHDAY: It was noted that Village Fund and Village Hall plans were currently under discussion.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Village pub: the Chairman confirmed that following the decision made at the Annual Parish Meeting an application in the name of the Parish Council would be made to SDC to enter the village pub on the Community Asset Register.
DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: It was agreed that the date of the next meeting would be Wednesday 13th July 2016 at 8.00 pm in the church.
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of Great Wolford Parish held on Wednesday 11th May 2016 in the church at 7.30 pm.
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. There were twenty-one members of the public present.
The Chairman welcomed all those present.
The Minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting on 11th May 2015 were approved and signed.
The Chairman’s Report: The Chairman thanked all the Parish Councillors for their valued work over the previous year.
Seven Parish Council meetings had been held in the previous year. Six planning applications had been considered during the year.
Other main issues covered during the year had been:
A large number of national, WCC and SDC consultations, policies, local plans, etc were considered including SDC Core Strategy on-going consultation, Healthwatch Warwickshire, SDC’s Members’ Code of Conduct, Warwickshire Minerals Plan, Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities, Stour/Shipston Community Forum etc. Superfast broadband was now available and thanks were recorded to “broadband champions” George Shilling and Chris Dyer for their efforts. The village website (thanks to Charles Pearmain for maintaining it) and the bulk buying scheme for domestic oil (co-ordinated by Lynn Mathias) were both operating successfully, and a regular newsletter was delivered, principally by email and also available as hard copy. Efforts to improve local mobile phone reception by phone operator EE had foundered. Safety and privacy issues surrounding the use of drones had been investigated. Two continuing problems, dog fouling and the poor condition of local road surfaces, were given regular attention, and action continued to deal with the water discharging on to the side of the road down Currell’s Hill. A £400 churchyard maintenance grant had been approved to the parish church. A public access defibrillator, funded by various grants, was to be sited in the existing public phone box in the village centre (installation co-ordinated by Paul Riley). Training sessions, possibly to include basic first aid instruction, would be arranged.
Financial Report: The Clerk presented copies of the 2015/16 accounts for circulation. At 31st March 2016 the balance in the Parish Council’s bank account was £2,621. It was proposed by Councillor Mathias, seconded by Councillor Green and unanimously agreed that the accounts be accepted.
Any other business: (i) Residents were encouraged to add their email address to the mailing list for the parish newsletter.
(ii) The Chairman reported on representations made to the Parish Council regarding the village pub and in particular the uncertainty surrounding its opening hours and its meal services. The possibility of applying to list the pub on the Register of Community Assets (held by SDC) had been raised and the Chairman outlined the significance of such action. Strong concerns were expressed that the pub and its current owner/licensee (present at this meeting) were not fulfilling the generally accepted role of village pub and that no information was publicly available on opening times or meals. It was suggested that the intention was to run down the business towards an eventual transfer of the building into a dwelling. The owner/licensee equally strongly refuted this scenario and claimed that local residents were not supporting the business. A vote was taken on whether to proceed with an application, which for practical reasons would be in the name of the Parish Council, to register the pub as a Community Asset: present: 27, those in favour: 9, those against: 6, abstentions: 5. Accordingly, an application would be submitted.
No further matters being raised, the meeting closed.