YAPTON PARISH COUNCIL
17 January 2000 - At a meeting of the Parish Council held at Yapton & Ford Village Hall.
Present: Mr Fellows (Chairman), Mr Boxall, Mr Bryant, Mr Coe, Mr Found, Mrs Freeman, Mr Haymes and Mr Rowlandson.
Also present: County Councillor Mr Betteridge, District Councillor Mrs Goad, Mr Tansley (Clerk of the Council) and 4 members of the public.
Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Palmer, Mr Tompsett and District Councillor, Mr Matthews.
MINUTES
1. Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 November 1999 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.
MATTERS ARISING
Millennium Clock (minute 125/1999)
2. The Clerk reported that the new clock had been installed in mid December. Although subsequently there had been an electrical fault and some water ingress into the clock tower, these problems had been promptly rectified and the clock was now fully operational. The Council were disappointed to hear that their application for a grant from the Millennium Commission had not been successful. A reply was still awaited on the possibility of a contribution towards the cost of the project from Ford Parish Council.
Kickabout Area (minute 137/1999)
3. The Clerk advised that work on the Kickabout area was not now expected to start until after the start of the new financial year in April 2000.
COUNTY & DISTRICT COUNCILLORS' REPORTS
4. Mrs Goad reported that she had recently attended a seminar involving The Countryside Agency. The Agency apparently had funds available for grant-aid and they were particularly interested in assisting village halls with new build or extension projects.
REPRESENTATIVE TO SERVE ON THE GOVERNING BODY OF YAPTON C E PRIMARY SCHOOL
5. Resolved - That Mr Coe be nominated to serve as the Parish Council's representative on the Governing Body of Yapton CE Primary School.
CORRESPONDENCE
6. Receipt of the following correspondence was reported by the Clerk and action agreed as indicated:
a) Arun District Council - Arun District Local Plan Second Review: Deposit Draft. Officers from the Planning Department were prepared to give a presentation and discuss the contents of the draft Local Plan which was due to be placed on deposit on 28 January 2000. It was agreed that the Clerk should explore the possibility of a presentation being given on 24 January at 6.45 pm prior to the meeting of the Village Hall Management Committee meeting which was scheduled for the same evening.
b) Arun District Council - Towards a Community Strategy - Developing the Themes (copy attached to minute book). The Council considered the strategy document and felt that the following headings would be their priorities for improving the community: Safe & secure; Community spirited; Properly Planned; Properly housed; Well educated; Forward looking; Protected.
c) Clymping Parish Council - introduction of speed limit along Church Lane, Clymping. The Council agreed to write in support of Clymping Parish Council's proposal to impose a speed limit of 40 mph along Church Lane from the roundabout on the A259 to the entrance to the Sunday Market.
d) West Sussex Health Authority - application by Kingchem Ltd to open a pharmacy in Yapton. The Council noted that the application had passed the first stage but this stage was still subject to possible appeal. If no appeals were received within 30 days the application would be considered under the second stage, the "desirable" test. The Council agreed that the desirability of a pharmacy for the village should be given maximum publicity and appropriate soundings made and that the matter should be debated fully at their next meeting.
e) Arun District Association of Local Councils - future structure of the ADALC. The Council agreed with the proposal that the present constitution of the ADALC should be discontinued and replaced by three groups aligned to the Area Liaison Panel groupings of Parish Councils.
f) National Association of Local Councils - invitation to send delegate to the Annual Conference to be held at the Brighton Centre between 16 - 18 June 2000.
g) Requests for grant-aid:
i) The Samaritans, Bognor Regis & District - £75.00 grant agreed
ii) West Sussex Association for the Blind - £50.00 grant agreed
iii) Yapton Community Pre-School - application deferred until next meeting pending up-to-date information on financial position including outcome of other applications being made for grant-aid.
PLANNING
7. The Council had before them and received the minutes of meetings of the Planning Committee held on 18 November, 9 December and 30 December 1999.
8. Mr Bryant commented that in the draft copy of the Arun District Local Plan, mention was made of the preservation of the old canal and of the release of further land on the Ford Aerodrome site for industrial use but no reference appeared to be made of preserving the local gap between Yapton and Barnham and the surrounding villages.
PLAYING FIELD
9. Resolved - That the grass cutting contract for the 2000 season be awarded to Accord Southern Limited (formerly Groundcare) on the basis of their quotation dated 14 January 2000.
10. The Clerk undertook to arrange with Accord Southern Limited for the playing field to be rolled with heavy rollers prior to the first cut of the season.
VILLAGE HALL
11. It was reported that maintenance work on the electrical wiring was due to be undertaken next week. Quotes for upgrading the heating system were still being sought. A further meeting of the Management Committee was scheduled for Monday 24 January.
MILLENNIUM WORKING PARTY
12. Mr Haymes reported that despite the shortfall in numbers, the New Year's Eve Party at the village hall appeared to have been enjoyed by all those who attended. Overall there was a loss of £250.61 for staging the event and hiring the band which would be met by the Parish Council.
13. The artwork for the children's mugs was in hand. The outcome of an application to the Millennium Commission for grant-aid towards the cost of floodlighting the church was awaited. The series of events being planned for May Day on the playing field were outlined.
FINANCE
14. The Council had before them and considered a report prepared by the Clerk setting out the estimates of expenditure for the financial year 2000/2001 and the revised estimates for 1999/2000 (copy attached to minute book).
15. Resolved - a) That the Council precept for the sum of £27,500 to cover the estimated cost of maintaining existing services together with the additional items of expenditure as set out in section 4 of the accompanying notes;
b) That the contract with Mrs Gomersall for litter collection be renewed for a further year from 1 April 2000 and from that date the hourly rate be increased by 3% to £4.12 per hour;
c) That the financial statements for the months of October (as revised), November and December 1999 be adopted (copies attached to minute book).
16. The Council agreed that the Clerk should make contact with the District Council's Cleansing & Recycling Manager to see what could be done about the deterioration in the surface of the large car park caused apparently by the large vehicles which were used to pick up the recycling bins.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
17. Mr Haymes advised that the Bognor Observer had sent a photographer to take pictures of the new clock tower on the village hall.
18. Mrs Freeman reported two street lamps in Goodhew Close which needed attention.
19. Parking of vehicles partially on the pavement along Burndell Road, just past Noble Autos garage, was causing a problem for pedestrians. The Clerk undertook to report the matter to the Area Highway Engineer.
20. Mrs Freeman reported that amongst items discussed at a recent meeting of the Sussex Association of Local Councils were the County Council's proposal to introduce a cabinet style of government initially on a one-year pilot basis and plans to establish cyber-centres/e-mail bases in the villages throughout the County.
21. It was reported that the litter bin in the Twitten footpath was still not being regularly emptied by Onyx, the contractors responsible for litter collection in Arun.
22. The District Council's publicity noticeboard had been pulled out of the ground by vandals and dumped on the grass mound near to the village hall. The Clerk undertook to contact the District Council with a view to getting it moved as quickly as possible.
CHAIRMAN