BARTON-ON-THE-HEATH PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF AN ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL on 21st May 2010-05-21 at 7pm
Present: Councillors: Brigadier J F Rickett (Chairman), Lt Col J B Henderson (Vice-Chairman), Mrs G Cathie, Mrs L Hayman-Joyce, Mrs D Pelczynski
Clerk: Mrs H Seymour-Smith
Hon. Treasurer: Capt J Castle RN
Internal auditor: Mr J Shipton
Public: Mr J Matthias, Mr D Poulsom, Mr M Hughes-Hallett, Mr J Hayman-Joyce,
Mrs C Henderson, District Councillor S Gray
1. No Apologies
2. The Minutes of the Ordinary General Meeting on the 19th February 2010 were approved and the Chairman signed them. Matters arising:
a) Lt Col J B Henderson raised with Councillor Gray the dirty state of all road signs in South Warwickshire. Councillor Gray replied that it was a County Council matter, but that he would try to nudge them.
3. Parish Council Election 2010 – the Chairman stated that the deadline had been missed, so this had been deferred until next month. He said he would put up a notice when the date was known. Having an election would cost £500; otherwise the cost would be £100.
4. Accounts – these were covered at the AGM, which followed this meeting.
5. Planning applications – none.
6. Best Kept Village Competition 2010 – the Chairman announced that he was preparing an entry for the Environmental Section – and invited suggestions for inclusion.
He also suggested entering the Communication Section, which Linda Graham was dealing with.
A Community Heroes Section was also mentioned, and the Vice-Chairman suggested entering (name withheld). After some discussion it was decided that, although her contribution to our village life was second to none, this wasn’t quite what the Community Heroes Section of the Competition was strictly about. Everyone present agreed that in any case thanks should be passed on to her for her much valued input.
The Village Clean-up was discussed, and it was agreed that as the tidying up of paper, the drains, the village signs and the telephone box were all already being dealt with, there would be no need for a Village Clean-up day as such this year.
Mr Julian Matthias raised the question of how verges should be dealt with. The Chairman said we should leave the cow parsley. Mrs Cathie raised the issue of safety / visibility. The Vice-Chairman mentioned that we cut the verges and charge the District Council, who reimburses £233 of the £300 cost. He further stated that Roger Smith was due back to cut the verges on Wednesday 26th May; the Chairman asked that the cow parsley should not be cut.
Mr Poulsom mentioned that the framed Best Kept Village Competition certificates had disappeared, and Captain Castle said it was intended that the certificates be put in a display book. The Vice-Chairman said this was a Village Hall Committee matter, and Mrs Seymour-Smith agreed to raise it at the next Village Hall Committee meeting.
7. Best Kept Churchyard 2010 – Mr Hughes-Hallett, Mrs Hanks and Mr Cathie currently look after the churchyard, and the Vice-Chairman said that the Parish Council was entitled to make a financial contribution to churchyard maintenance. Mr Hughes-Hallett said it wasn’t necessary, and the Chairman thanked him on behalf of the village.
8. Village Website – the Chairman reminded everyone again that input from the village was urgently required.
9. Any Other Business:
a) The question of whether Barton should have bins for dog messes had been raised by Mrs Linda Graham. This was discussed but rejected by the majority of those present.
b) The Vice-Chairman asked for the two designated air ambulance landing zones to be noted:
1: grid reference 253/323 – Brigadier Rickett’s field facing the telephone exchange.
2: grid reference 254/324 – Mr Hughes-Hallet’s field south of Mr Christopher Fance’s house.
c) The Vice-Chairman stated that the cottage formerly owned by Janet Dwyer had been bought by Susan Townsend, who had sought permission from Stratford District Council to cut the Leylandii trees, and that there were no objections.
d) Captain John Castle, as a member of the public, advised the Council that he had completed training as a voluntary First Aid Responder to assist South Warwickshire Ambulance Service in stabilizing patients in the local area until an ambulance arrives. He stated that he was in a team of four people, formed and funded by Little Compton to give as much “on call time” coverage as possible. Little Compton had funded and purchased equipment, totalling nearly £5,000 and he asked if the Council would make a small contribution of £50 a year to the group, to help with running costs for a mobile phone/pager, which is held to call out a Responder.
The Chairman said this was a valuable community activity which might well save life or reduce the more serious consequences of accidents. Council members agreed and voted to make this contribution of £50 per year to the group. The Hon Treasurer was authorised to make the payment accordingly.
e) The Hon. Treasurer said that he and the Internal Auditor had completed all the necessary paperwork for clearance of the annual report – so if this could be added as item 3a to the agenda of the AGM following, the next meeting on the 25th June would not be necessary. This was agreed unanimously.
f) Councillor Gray stated that he had been elected Leader of the District Council. He further stated that the District Council would be issuing a newsletter in conjunction with the County Council and that this would be coming out next month.
1. Date of next meeting: Friday 15th October 2010