Yapton Parish Council Minutes

YAPTON PARISH COUNCIL

14 January 2002 - At a meeting of the Parish Council held at the Yapton & Ford Village Hall.

Present: Mr Fellows (Chairman), Mr Boxall, Mr Caiger, Mr Coe, Mr Haymes (for item 18 onwards) and Mr Ranceford-Hadley.

Also present: Mr Tansley (Clerk of the Council) and 3 members of the public.

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Bryant, Mr Haymes (who would be arriving late),
Mrs Palmer, Mr Rowlandson (Parish Councillors), Mrs Goad and Mr Matthews (District Councillors) and Mrs Freeman (County Councillor).

MINUTES

1. Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2001 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

MATTERS ARISING

New Children's Play Area/The Seagull Project (minutes 135 -137/2001)

2. The Clerk reported that following a meeting with Tony Hammond, Recycling Manager at Arun District Council, Mr Hammond had offered on behalf of the District Council to contribute a sum of £2,500 towards the resurfacing of the large car park in the current financial year. Once the tarmacing work had been completed Mr Hammond had indicated that consideration would be given by the District Council to the cost of funding the landscaping and screening of the bins.

3. Approaches for financial assistance from local businesses including The Body Shop Foundation and Tesco Stores Ltd as well as Ford Parish Council were still being pursued by the Clerk.

4. The Council noted that a first estimate had just been received amounting to just under £55,000 for the resurfacing work. The estimate allowed for the density of the tarmac to be increased to accommodate heavy vehicles but in view of the use to which the car park would be put and the small turning circle available for the recycling vehicles, the contractor concerned was not prepared to offer a guarantee on the work.

5. The Council also noted the contents of a paper (Appendix A) prepared by the Clerk in connection with the budget estimates which set out proposals for refinancing and increasing the Council's existing loan with the Public Works Loans Board to pay for the car park resurfacing. The paper had been prepared on the basis that the cost of the resurfacing work would not exceed £25,000 whereas the first estimate received was £55,000.

6. Following a wide ranging discussion, the Council concluded that in the circumstances they would now seek estimates for tarmacing of the car park to a lower specification and in future access would be available for cars only. Members had no objection to the recycling bins (appropriately screened) remaining in their present location but in future direct access by the District Council's recycling vehicles would not be available. To overcome this problem two possible solutions were discussed:

i) that the bins be wheeled to a convenient spot/layby along the highway for offloading into the recycling vehicle. It was understood that this was the practice in some other areas;

ii) that consideration be given to relocating the bins to a prepared and screened base on the playing field at the end of the hammerhead in the adjoining village hall car park. It was felt that at this location the collection vehicles would be able to more easily turn and access the bins.

7. Resolved -

a) That estimates for resurfacing of the car park be sought on the basis of in future allowing access by cars only;

b) That the Clerk be asked to explore the proposals set out in minute 6 above with Mr Hammond from the District Council and also invite him, if he wished to do so, to attend the next Parish Council meeting in March to discuss the matter further.

Draft Byelaws for the prevention of flooding (minute 150(f)/2001)

8. It was noted that the Planning Committee had had no comments to make with regard to the proposed byelaws although some minor drafting errors had been pointed out to the District Council.

The Old Post Office/Cabco (minute 151/2002)

9. The Clerk reported that a response was still awaited from the County Council concerning the checks they were making with HM Land Registry about the extent of privately owned land and publicly maintained highway outside The Old Post Office premises. A report on the operation of the Cabco taxi business was due to be considered by the District Council's Development Control Sub-Committee at a meeting on 22 January 2002.

The Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations - Commemoration Beakers (minute 156/2001)

10. The Clerk reported on the arrangements he had made for china beakers to be obtained at a discount from Norfolk China Ltd. A sample beaker was shown to members.

Dates of meetings in 2002 (minute 159/2002)

11. In view of a double booking for the small hall, it was agreed that the Council's meeting in November should be held on 4 November 2002 (instead of 18 November as previously agreed).

Proposed Village Fair/Fete (minute 160b/2001)

12. The Clerk reported that Mrs Freeman had advised that it was unlikely that the plans for a Village Fair to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in May would now go ahead.

QUALITY PARISH AND TOWN COUNCILS' CONSULTATION

13. With reference to minute 150(a)/2001, the Council had before them and considered a report prepared by the Vice-Chairman in which he set out in Appendix A his recommendations for a response to the consultation paper issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (copy attached to minute book).

14. Resolved - That the Council fully endorse the proposed response set out in the report and agree that Appendix A, together with the covering paper prepared by the Vice-Chairman which gave details of existing good practice in Yapton, be submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

CORRESPONDENCE

15. Receipt of the following correspondence was reported by the Clerk and action agreed as indicated:-

a) The Countryside Agency - enclosing a copy of the Public Consultation Report on the proposals for a South Downs National Park. Members were concerned about the proposed southern boundary shown at Section R on the draft map. They were strongly of the opinion that the route of the southern boundary for the National Park should throughout Section R be conterminous with the northern boundary of the present A27 road which ran just south of the town of Arundel itself. It was felt that this should ensure that there would be no conflict with the route of the proposed Arundel by-pass once this was determined. The Clerk undertook to pass on the Council's views to the Countryside Agency.

b) The Countryside Agency - enclosing a draft map of the area showing "open country and common land" for public consultation. It was noted that there were no areas designated as open country or registered common land within the parish boundary and as this accorded with the members' own understanding, the Council had no comments to make on the draft map.

c) West Sussex County Council - enclosing a copy of the Consultant's Report on the Downland Area Transport Study. It was noted that the report was due to be considered that same evening by the Downland Area Committee.

d) West Sussex County Council - enclosing for consultation a copy of the proposed Highways Works Programme 2002/03 and Forward Programme (copy attached to minute book). The Council noted the schedule of maintenance and other highway works planned for Yapton in the next financial year.

e) Arun District Council - enclosing a copy of the Government's Model Code of Conduct for Parish Councillors. It was noted that further information would be available at a seminar for Parish Councillors and Clerks which had been arranged at the Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton, on 21 January 2002.

Resolved - That the Model Code of Conduct be adopted without amendment by the Parish Council.

f) Arun District Council - Land Drainage & Flooding (copy attached to minute book). The Council nominated Mr Caiger as their local contact person. In addition to the three locations noted in the District Council's letter, other areas in the village which were prone to regular flooding were identified as follows:

Church Lane (outside Chestnuts)
Church Lane (outside Springfield)
Burndell Road (near Scrap Yard)
Bilsham Road (near mini-roundabout)
Church Road entrance (opposite Shoulder of Mutton and Cucumber Public House)
North End Road (outside Black Dog Public House)
Main Road B2233 (S bend as you leave the village heading towards Barnham)

g) Arun District Council - Clymping/Yapton Question & Answer Session - seeking information on local issues that might be raised at the joint session arranged on Thursday 11 April 2002 at Clymping Village Hall.
The following were identified by members as continuing matters of concern:

The state of The Old Post Office in the village
The operation of the Cabco Taxi business
The need for a greater police presence/bobby on the beat locally

h) Arun Co-ordinated Community Transport, Littlehampton - request for financial support. The request was deferred until the next meeting.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

16. The Council had before them and received (a) the minutes of meetings of the Planning Committee held on 19 and 27 November ,19 December 2001 and 7 and 8 January 2002 (copies attached to minute book) and (b) details of the decisions made by Arun District Council in November 2001 on planning applications for Yapton (copy attached to minute book).

PLAYING FIELD

17. Mr Coe reported that there were continuing problems with moles on the playing field and that the lock on the door of the storage accommodation had been broken.

18. The Council noted that Coles Fair had booked to use the large car park and a small area of the adjoining playing field for the period 14 - 18 March 2002. Permission had recently been given to a local resident to survey the field with a metal detector on the understanding that the football pitches were avoided during the playing season.

FINANCE

Year End Final Accounts for 2000/2001

19. The Council had before them and considered the final accounts for the 2000/2001 financial year.

20. Resolved - That, subject to audit, the year end final accounts as prepared by the Responsible Financial Officer be approved (copy attached to minute book).

Estimates of Expenditure and Precept for 2002/2003

21. The Council had before them and considered a report prepared by the Clerk setting out the estimates of expenditure for the financial year 2002/2003 and the revised estimates for 2001/2002
together with a paper (Appendix A) setting out proposals for re-financing of the existing loan with the Public Works Loan Board (copies attached to minute book).

22. Resolved -

a) That, having regard to the estimated cost of the resurfacing of the large car park, an approach be made to the Sussex Associations of Local Councils for a new loan sanction of £50,000 from 1 April 2002 repayable over a period of 13 years, with a view to re-financing the Council's existing loan with the Public Works Loan Board from that date;

b) That the Council precept for the sum of £30,000 for 2002/2003 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.

Expenditure for November and December 2001

23. Resolved - That the financial statements for November and December 2001 be adopted (copies attached to minute book).

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

24. The following matters/concerns were raised by Councillors and members of the public present at the meeting:

a) the need for extra street lighting in Loveys Road was highlighted following a recent car theft from the area;

b) the light from one of the street lamps along the Twitten footpath between Church Road and North End Road was being obscured by overgrown conifer trees;

c) there appeared to have been no response from the County Council following the concerns expressed about the dropped kerb outside no 6 Canal Road and the state of the footpath outside of The Old Post Office;

d) Mr Caiger undertook to dig out an elderberry bush which was encroaching onto the footpath near the Parish Council noticeboard;

e) Mr Haymes reported on his attendance at a meeting of the Downland Area Committee earlier in the evening.

25. It was agreed that follow-up action with regard to the matters raised should be taken by the Clerk as appropriate.

CHAIRMAN