Bursledon Parish Council

Draft Minutes

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MINUTES OF the Annual Assembly meeting of Bursledon Parish Council held on Wednesday 23 April 2008 at 7.30 pm at the Village Hall, Long Lane  Bursledon
 
Present :          

Cllr Millar (Chairman)
Cllr Moneypenny (Vice Chairman)
Cllr Allen
Cllr Clarke
Cllr Craig
Cllr Holes
Cllr Milne
Cllr Misselbrook
Cllr Ralph
Cllr Woodhouse                      
                                               
In attendance:  Mrs Jennifer Whittle (Parish Clerk)
                         13 members of the public


1.   Apologies for absence.
 
Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr House and Cllr Lippold.
 
2.  Minutes of the parish Annual Assembly held on 11 April 2007.
 
Cllr Moneypenny proposed, Cllr Allen seconded and all agreed the Minutes, which were duly signed by the Chairman.
 
3.  Presentation of certificateS of honour.
 
Cllr Millar said it gave him great pleasure as Chair of Bursledon Parish Council to present these certificates as had known each of the nominees personally for many years and was well aware of the good work they carried out within the community.
 
3.1   Ann Elliott – Cllr Millar thanked Mrs Elliott for all her hard work in Pilands Wood and said she did a magnificent job
.
3.2   Mike Elliott – Cllr Millar thanked Mr Elliott for all his hard work with the Pilands Wood Community Association.
 
3.3   Andrew Chesshire – Cllr Millar thanked Mr Chesshire for all his hard work throughout the Parish and said he was well known in the area for his continual voluntary work throughout the village.  Mr Chesshire thanked Cllr Millar for his kind comments and said he enjoyed doing voluntary work, as people’s expectations never seemed to be too high where voluntary work was concerned.
 
4.  To receive the report of the Parish Council
 
Cllr Millar said he had enjoyed his year as Chair of Bursledon Parish Council.  It has gone with out incident but on the whole, a very pleasant year.
 
He thanked the staff and the Councillors for their patience and cooperation.  As a new team at the start he felt Members had done a good job and worked well as a team, when dealing with the problems that came their way.
 
BPC have upgraded the CCTV in Lowford and is investigating the possibility of upgrading the CCTV in the Recreation ground with some good results.  BPC has now employed a replacement Assistant Grounds person, who is working well with Digger.
 
BPC had lost a few Councillors over the year, due to other commitments.  Fortunately it had managed to co opt new members to replace them.  So as a Council we are up to full strength again.
 
Under planning, BPC  justified their position with the determinations they had made, and have had some success with the results.  The one thing the Council didn’t plan for was the Clerk going on maternity leave, but the Council wishes her very well and hopes that all goes to plan.
 
The Chair would have continued as chair but for the Doctors recommendation to “Slow down”.  He once again thanked the Staff and Councillors for their support throughout his year in Office. 
 
5. To receive the annual statement of Parish Council accounts for the year ended 31 March 2007 together with the audit certificate for the year 2006-2007.
 
The accounts had been audited and the Certificate of the external auditors received and publicly displayed for the relevant period.  The Clerk introducing the Annual Report advised members of the public that the report was available for inspection.
 
6.  To receive the observations of the County and Borough Councillors for the Parish.
 
Cllr Craig advised that it had been a very busy year. 
 
Gravel Pits
An open meeting was organised by the LAC, which was attended by 300 people with some 21 reasons for objection being raised.  Another open meeting was promised at the next consultation stage. 
 
Mallards Moor
There were continuing concerns over the protection of the woodland.  An email had been received today from Enforcement at EBC who advised that they would continuously monitor this site to ensure no unauthorised works were carried out on site.
 
Planning Appeals
The Planning Appeals in relation to both Gulls Way and Fletchwood had been lost and as a consequence the LAC has requested EBC to carry out a full review of the Conservation Policy.
 
Land adjacent to Milkwood - this appeal had been refused.
 
Mallards Moor Showman’s Quarters – this appeal was still outstanding.
 
Grants
The LAC had made several grants to local organisations and charities throughout the year.
 
Bursledon Ecology Park
The footpath had been completed at the park, which concluded a circular route for walkers using the park.
Lionheart Way
A traffic study had been promised for the forthcoming financial year.
 
A27 Pedestrian Refuge
This project is moving slowly but the latest news from the County is encouraging. 
 
Long Lane/School Road
Cllrs have initiated further works on improving the traffic situation around Long Lane/and School Road, including monitoring vehicle speeds and parking issues on the junction of the two roads.  Cllr Craig advised they would keep the public informed.
 
7.  to receive a report from martin coulson, area
co-ordinator.
 
Martin Coulson introduced himself and thanked Members for inviting him.  He reported that the LAC had set aside £65,000 for a Multi Use Games Area on Pilands Wood.  The Community Association have consulted residents, a planning application has been made and the lighting of the area is being carefully considered so that it does not affect neighbouring property owners.  If installed there would be a cut off for the lights at 9 pm. 
 
The LAC had also made grants several grants, which included £31,000 for the Bursledon Windmill, a grant for BROWAPG for the production of an information leaflet being prepared by Walking Distance to include footpaths and amenities and a grant to Greyladyes Art Foundation for the refurbishment of their building.
 
Martin Coulson reported that the work on the A27 Pedestrian Refuge was still continuing slowly and EBC believed they now had sufficient funding.  HCC had now contacted EBC’s Traffic Engineers to advise they are now reasonably happy for EBC to proceed with this project.  However, there were still issues to be addressed, the main of which was the inadequate width of the road to allow wide vehicles to pass and in this regard EBC were looking at demountable signage and bollards, together with other options. 
 
8. To receive a report from patrick holdaway, Hampshire Constabulary.
 
Patrick Holdaway introduced himself and his colleague Mark Hanlon who present the report.  He advised that in general their statistics showed an improvement in crime.  20% of the crime in the Bursledon Parish took place within Tescos and the surrounding area.  There had been a 34% reduction in shop lifting through the Parish, which was largely due to the PCSO working closely with shop owners.  There had also been a 48% reduction in vehicle crime in the area, which was mainly due to undercover monitoring and observation, together with a purge on Crime Prevention. 
 
He did however report that crime in general was slightly up.  The Police had monitored these figures and it appeared that this was mainly due to damage to property and rowdy, inconsiderate behaviour by youths, but this was probably due to the fact that more crime was being reported, especially to the PCSOs and the public were becoming more vigilant.  The Police are currently working with young offenders to educate them and try to alleviate this problem.  They currently have two projects in Pilands Wood and Tescos which should also help.
 
Mark Hanlon then asked the members of the public if they wished to raise any questions.
 
One member of the public wished to thank the PCSOs Bob and Tanya on behalf of members of the community as they did a superb job.
 
Cllr Millar had received complaints about youths racing and screeching their cars late at night in the Tescos Car Park.  Mark Hanlon confirmed this matter was being addressed.
 
Cllr Craig had received complaints about cars speeding through the Pilands Wood Estate, which was a 20 mph speed limit.  Mark Hanlon advised that the majority of drivers speeding were residents from Pilands Wood.  He advised that members of the public should report these speeding cars to the Police on their non emergency telephone number 101.
 
Cllr Milne enquires whether any speed checks had been carried out in Long Lane and School Road yet.  The PCSO advised that random speed checks had been carried out whereby several people had been caught speeding on camera.  The implementing of “Kill your Speed” signs had been investigated but as yet there were not sufficient sign posts to attach these to.
 
Cllr Moneypenny commented that the number of drivers using mobile phones seems to be increasing, with many drivers doing so whilst driving along narrow dangerous roads.  She asked whether, if members of the public took offenders’ number plate and a note of the time, the Police would take action.  Mark Hanlon advised this was sufficient for the Police to take relevant action against offenders.
 
Aileen White and Tony Norton complained about cyclists using the pavements and public footpaths and riding too fast and dangerously.  Mark Hanlon advised that if these incidents were reported to the Police these people could be fined.  The Clerk raised the fact that she had raised this matter with the Police in conjunction with several enquiries received by her and had been advised that children could ride on the pavements, so long as they gave due consideration to pedestrians.  Mark Hanlon confirmed this was the case and that children up to the age of 14 years of age were exempt.
 
9.   Public session.
 
David Dunn, BPC’s Transport Representative had been in correspondence with HCC Cllr Thornber regarding the A27.  Matters raised by them in correspondence had been overtaken by events (reported earlier in these Minutes).  However, David Dunn kindly confirmed he would continue to pursue the implementation of the pedestrian refuge on behalf of BPC.
 
A member of public raised the matter of the clearance of the farmland along Hamble Lane.  Cllr Millar confirmed that Enforcement at EBC are monitoring this site and are trying to establish ownership.  They are waiting to hear back from the Land Registry.  If anyone can assist please notify Enforcement at EBC of the owners of this land.
 
Tony Norton raised the matter of the damage to verges being caused by the gas works on the A27.  Cllr Millar had raised this matter with EBC, who had confirmed the contractors are allowed 2 years to rectify any damage caused.  EBC have confirmed they will monitor this site.
 
The Chair, Cllr Millar had received a complaint about the demolished sign at the entrance to Pilands Wood, which he had investigated and had been assured would be replaced ASAP.
 
Aileen White commented on what a superb job the grass cutting contractors were now doing and asked whether a letter of thanks could be written to them by BPC.  Cllr Millar advised that this work had now been taken back in house and was being carried out by Direct Services.  Cllr Millar requested that the Clerk please write to Direct Services.  ACTION:  LOCUM CLERK.
 
Tony Norton complained about the state of the road surface on Portsmouth Road, near the junction of Redcroft.  Cllr Millar advised that he had reported this to Highways, who were going to carry out the necessary works.
 
The Chairman invited members of the public to remain following the meeting for refreshments.
 
The meeting closed at 8.26 pm.
 
 
 
 
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