Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council, which took place on Monday 14 March 2011.

Cllrs Humphreys (Chair), Cripps, England, Hallett, Rowswell, Sarker, Wakely, Walshe, Messrs P Robathan & K Ronaldson (District Councillors) and Mrs A Larpent (County Councillor).

Cllr Hawkins, PCSO Rachel Napper.

The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed and signed.

No interests were declared.

Cllr Humphreys wondered why the parish portion of the Council Tax had increased by .1% when the Precept was unchanged. Mr Robathan said the population of the village may have altered slightly but he will enquire. Mr Robathan spoke about the Localism Bill, which would give parishes more influence regarding new development.

Ann Larpent was asked to report that, when recent pothole repairs were carried out, the spoil was thrown onto the banks and into gardens. The Clerk will ask how the mobile library service will be affected by the County Council cutbacks.

A cheque was drawn for the Clerk’s salary of £1,880.

No objections were raised to an application to erect two storey side extension to form annexe at Leeward House, Lambrook Road.

Cllr Cripps said the Lottery Fund had allowed £1,500 towards the Cowleaze Launch on 21 May, to be reclaimed as a lump sum afterwards, and the Parish Council agreed a temporary loan to cover this. The possibility of purchasing a mower is being looked into.
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The Parish Council agreed to extend the Lease on the Recreation Field to the year 2087. Gratitude was expressed to Branstons for their most generous donation of £7,500 towards new play equipment, which is being installed after Easter.

The PCSO had considered the position where the Fish & Chip Van parks and did not consider this to be an obstruction. He would, however, be willing to move along if anyone asked him to.

The County Council Strimmer Project, for which Cllr Cripps has been trained to cut vegetation on rights of way, will be continuing.

Children at the School were invited to design posters to help raise awareness of the dog fouling problem. The response was very good with some excellent posters being produced and these will be displayed around the village. Congratulations go to Bethany and Elspeth for producing the winning designs.

It was decided to offer sponsorship for school children to receive mugs to commemorate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The meeting closed at 10.00 pm.