Minutes APM – 7 July 2014
MINUTES OF THE CRAWLEY ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD AT CRAWLEY VILLAGE HALL MONDAY 07 JULY 2014 at 7pm
- ATTENDANCE
Mr T Anderson
Mr F Fratter
Mrs C Phillips (Chairman)
Cllr Mrs H Stewart
Dr T Willsher
Sandy Frewin (Clerk)
- ALSO PRESENT
Cllr C Horrill, Winchester City Council (WCC), Councillor P Bailey Hampshire County Council (HCC), Alison Carey, Neighbourhood Watch, PCSO Matt Cable and SC John Wilding, and 21 members of the public.
Guest speakers: Carolyn Endicott and Susie Blight
- APOLOGIES
David Barnard, Cricket Club Warden
- MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 April 2013 were agreed and duly signed as a true record. Proposed CP seconded FF.
- CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The Chairman thanked the members of the Public for coming and welcomed the guest speakers. She thanked all the councillors for their contribution to the Parish Council and gave a brief resume of what the Parish Council had been doing over the last year. The Chairman’s report is attached as Annex A.
- DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORT
The Chairman welcomed Caroline Horrill the new district councillor for Winchester following the retirement of Keith Woods. Caroline is the warden for Sparsholt, Headbourne Worthy and Crawley. Caroline is new to her post as she was very recently elected in May. WCC has some significant decisions to make over the next year, which include:
Silverhill development: This project is 12 years old and the plans are currently being re visited as views and opinions differ now from 12 years ago when the application was first submitted. The retail and housing requirement for Winchester has changed.
Barton Farm: The infrustructure has commenced and part of Caroline’s role is to be involved in the discussions to ensure the facilities are as good as they can be and that the developer fulfils their promises.
Leisure centre: No firm decision has been made for the future for leisure facilities in Winchester as yet. She will be representing the views of the parishioners and welcomes any views you have on what effects Crawley. CP noted that the skate park is being renovated in Winchester and asked if this was part of the overall plan for leisure? Caroline does not know the full extent of the plans for leisure, but said when WCC make a decision, she will inform us.
Budget: The council tax was frozen again this year. WCC have tried to look at where they can generate income so they don’t have to increase for next year as well.
Flooding: Winter 2013/14 was a huge issue for many parishes, many roads were closed due to flooding and WCC are working closely with HCC to try to avoid this for future years. The fire service helped moving sandbags and WCC are grateful for their help. Any one needing to have work done on septic tanks due to flooding should contact WCC as they have agreed to finance this.
- COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT
Phil Bailey gave a brief report from HCC over the last year. Their biggest responsibility is roads and highways. They had issues with flooding just before Christmas in the local vicinity and this caused lots of problems within Hampshire. Lots of sand bags were required and help was needed in many parishes. All those financial problems were not in the budget and caused huge financial problems for HCC. Hopefully the government will help with this but HCC are looking to recover money from elsewhere within the budget. They are responsible for the lengthsman project and Phill is a huge fan of this scheme. It works well as Parishes can prioritise jobs in their own parish. Potholes are a huge problem, parishioners can go onto fixmystreet.com and log the problem direct with HCC, highways can then respond quicker. Vegetation and growth are a constant issue and the countryside and access wardens are busy trying to keep the footpaths open. If there are particular routes that are inaccessible, please report them to Phil Bailey who will see if they can help clear it.
- NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH and HAMPSHIRE CONSTABULARY
Alison introduced herself to the Parish. She asked the public if they were happy with the e-mails she sends out or if anyone was unhappy with the amount of e-mails they have been receiving. She said she only e-mails when something is of relevance; i.e. if there is a burglary everyone should know about. She advised that it is important to report cold calling to the police, you should get their vehicle registration number and report them to 101. Alison thanked Kerry Croutear who does so much for the village. If anyone is going away on holiday you can let Alison know and she can keep an eye out on your property for you. Heather mentioned that the area in the village that seems to get more problems with thefts is around the Pond/Littleton Road area. This is because it is open and properties and gardens are a little more exposed. PSCO Matt Cable said that most burglaries are opportunistic in that when an unlocked door or open door is seen. Please lock outbuildings and put up security lighting. Heather asked if a camera would help? PSCO said yes if the council were prepared to put one up it would help see anything suspicious and it would act as a deterrent. Matt gave an overview of the force. There are 4 officers that cover the local area and they work from the Alresford Office. There have been budget cuts and what that will mean when police officers retire is that they may not be replaced. With the remaining officers that are left, their patch will increase and they will have more areas to patrol. The crime rates are v low in Crawley and main priorities are suspicious vehicles and non-dwelling burglaries. If you see anything, please report it, however small it seems. Phone 101 with any info you have. It does help. One parishioner advised there are a lot of pedal cyclists going through the village. He said they come through in groups and have v bright lights, which are blinding. He said they are allowed to use the road and unless they are behaving in a dangerous manor there is nothing the police can do. If they are riding into you, you can report them and the police can talk to them and ask them to be more considerate. If there is a problem, call 101 and the police will do what they can. A report is also attached as Annex D
- OTHER REPORTS
- Finance and Planning: Fred advised that the income last year was little under £16000, the Parish Council receive income form the precept and from the burial ground. The expenditure is equal to the income. Mowing is the biggest expenditure for the parish with the recreation ground plus bits and pieces around the village. The parish spends money on fixing trees and maintaining the pavilion. The precept was increased by £250 this year, a little under 2% and the budget will increase by the same amount to keep up with inflating prices etc. The parish council will be looking to spend money on the playground this year. A parishioner asked if the mowing went out to tender or not? Fred advised that the work done by Scandor was tendered but that the small areas that Rob Smith looks after was not tendered this year, but that this would be put out to tender in the next year or so. Someone asked if Scandor cut Hacks Lane? It did not seem to be cut very often. It was confirmed that this area is cut by WCC and Caroline advised she would ask WCC to look into the frequency of the cuts and report back to the Parish Council.
A parishioner asked if the Church path could be tidied up, as it is slippery, Fred agreed to look at the path in the autumn to make sure it is treated and to talk to the Church Council in the near future to ensure it is safe for the winter.
Planning is v quiet in Crawley, not many applications were received in this year. Of the applications received, most are extensions to current houses and tree applications.
- b. Recreation Ground: Tom Willshire confirmed that a qualified contractor on the playground does an annual inspection. The recent report highlighted equipment with a need for repair or replacement. The Parish Council is looking at a staged development this year to replace and update some of the equipment to bring it up to date. The parish council is looking at grant funding to help with this project. A parishioner asked if we had approached Viola as they do fund matching? Tom has already approached Hampshire Parks first and also the Lottery Fund and you can only apply to fund match one company. As soon as the funding has been allocated the project will start. Fred advised that the health and safety of the playground has still scored ok and that it is still safe to use although in need of updating.
- Buses, Signs and Highways: The Clerk read the report prepared by Cllr Stewart which is attached as annex B. A parishioner asked who was responsible for the Island on the Stockbridge Road, as it needs cutting? Carole confirmed that it is Hampshire Highways; Tom agreed to chase this up.
- d. Grounds maintenance and Footpaths: Carole advised Rod Smith has a contract with the PC to cut the smaller areas in the village 8 times a year but if any of these areas look untidy in-between cuts, further funds can be used if needed. The contract with Scandor is to cut the recreational field for a certain number of cuts and that the Cricket Club have agreed to pay for additional cuts on top of what the PC pay for if further cuts are required. The local farmers cut the footpaths, however they are currently overgrown and due attention. We are fortunate to have the farmers who look after them and that we do not have to find the money in the budget to pay for this upkeep.
- The Pond: The report is attached as Annex C
- Tree Warden: No report given
- Cricket Club No report given
OPEN FORUM
Various comments were made by parishioners, which include:
Website – This was generally considered as a good idea. Street Club is an online notice board for the community, which the PC may be interested in promoting. Carole agreed to look at this for the Website. Broadband is very limited in Crawley, could we not borrow some from Arqiva? Fred advised that they have been asked before and the answer is no. He mentioned the Faster Broadband project; Crawley is not part of the programme until after 2017 and areas covered after this time is not yet decided. Tom advised that BT is not the only option for broadband and you should Google companies such as Tooway and Avanti to get better services.
Fracking – Carole said there is a meeting in Stockbridge to discuss this with the local oil companies. The Pigs in the fields are moving away after Harvest time.
Crawley Fest – Tom gave an outline of what Crawley Fest was all about with a view to support the Cricket Club. It is not organised by the PC. The date is 30 August, 2pm until 11pm. There will be music, tea, and cake, classical music played by Winchester Scholars College. There will be a tug of war and games on the filed with various stalls. This will be advertised soon.
- GUEST SPEAKER:
Carolyn Endicott and Susie Blight gave a very interesting speech on Higher Level Stewardship and the Dairy.
Chairman…………………………….. Date………………………………