YAPTON PARISH COUNCIL

 

 

8 November 2004 - At a meeting of the Parish Council held at the Yapton & Ford Village Hall.                  

 

Present:    Mr Fellows (Chairman), Mr Andrews, Mrs Barnes, Mr Caiger, Mr Coe, Mr Faulkner,

Mr Haymes, Mr Jones and Mr Taft.

 

Also present:  Mr Tansley (Clerk of the Council) and 14 members of the public.

 

Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Parish Councillor Mr Tompsett and County Councillor Mrs Freeman. The Chairman undertook to write to Mr Tompsett to establish whether he wished to continue as a councillor in view of his difficulty in attending meetings on a regular basis over the last 12 months.

 

 

 

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

221.  Members were reminded to make any declarations of personal and/or prejudicial interest that they may have in relation to items on the agenda.  

 

 

MINUTES

 

222.    Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2004 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.               

    

  

MATTERS ARISING

 

 

Planning Application Y/35/04/ (minutes 184/2004)

 

223.  The Clerk reported that the applicant had appealed against the decision of Arun District Council to refuse the application for planning approval.  The appeal would be determined by the Planning Inspectorate on the basis of written statements coupled with a site visit.  The Parish Council had submitted representations to the Planning Inspectorate.

 

Felling of diseased elms in Church Road and area adjoining the large car park (minute 185/2004)

 

224.   Planting of the car park area with pyracantha shrubs had been completed.  Mr Caiger was thanked for his efforts in overseeing the work of the community service workers and Mr Jones was thanked for supplying sandwiches for the team.

 

Provision of gas-fired central heating/hot water system for Village Hall (minute 187/2004)

 

225.  The Clerk reported that the SITA Environmental Trust had, following the submission of further information, agreed to increase its grant from £11,000 to a maximum of £25,000.    A decision on the grant application to WSCC was not expected until March 2005.  County Councillor Mrs Freeman had written to the relevant Cabinet Member in strong support of the application.

 

226.  A further quotation, based on the original specification, had been received.  The same contractor had suggested an alternative approach which would involve installing direct fired gas heaters in the main hall, second hall and club rooms instead of radiators.  The contractor was in the process of preparing an alternative quote on this basis. 

  

Damage to play equipment (minute 188/2004)

 

227.  The Clerk reported that compensation had now been received from the parents of the two boys who had caused the damage.

 

Cinders Lane development (minute 163/2004)

 

228. Mr Haymes updated the Council on events following the last meeting.  An application for a Certificate of Lawfulness for use of the site as a woodyard had since been submitted to the District Council.

 

Sports Equipment Store (minutes 194 and 212/2004)

 

229.  The Chairman reported that following the last meeting, contact had been made with Middleton Parish Council who had installed a container on their field to house sports equipment.  Middleton had had experienced problems with youths “drumming” on the container and causing a nuisance to neighbours. 

 

230. The Council agreed in the circumstances that an alternative suggestion of making adaptations to a storage area behind the club room in the village hall so that it could accommodate goal posts should be explored.

  

The Old Post Office premises (minute 195/2004)

 

231. The Council noted that a planning application for conversion of the existing retail unit into five cottages had recently been submitted to the District Council.

 

Comet Corner junction - highway improvements (minute 196/2004)

 

232.  Mr Haymes reported on a meeting he had attended with highway officers from West Sussex County Council.   Three possible schemes were being considered and costed, two involving the installation of traffic lights at the junction and one a roundabout.   A decision on Government funding for the project was expected in December 

 

 

CORRESPONDENCE

 

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

 

a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – enclosing consultation documents on (i) a model code of conduct for Local Government Employees and (b) a review of the regulatory framework governing the political activities of Local Government Employees.

 

b) WSCC Planning Services – enclosing for consultation a copy of the West Sussex Waste Local Plan 2001-2016 Revised Deposit Draft.    The Council agreed that the documents should be referred to the Planning Committee for consideration.

 

c) WSCC Highways – advising that following representations from the Parish Council it had been decided to install  a 30mph “repeater” traffic warning sign along North End Road outside St Mary’s Vicarage.

 

d) Arun DC – enclosing for consultation a copy of the 2004 Arun Crime and Disorder Audit and accompanying questionnaire.   The Council agreed its order of concern for the priority areas listed (copy of completed questionnaire showing priorities attached to minute book).

 

e) Loss Prevention & Compliance Manager, Southern Co-operatives Ltd – Yapton Community Partnership.  The Council had before them a considered a paper which outlined proposals to establish a community “drop-in” centre at the local Co-op Store together with various other measures aimed at improving security in the village (copy attached to minute book).  The proposals were warmly welcomed by the Parish Council.  The Chairman indicated that a meeting was planned with Mark Hammond, the new local Inspector of Police, together with the Management of Southern Co-operatives Ltd to explore ways in which the ideas set out in the paper could be further advanced.   

 

                                                                                                                     

COMPETITION “A CALENDAR FOR YAPTON 2005” 

 

234.  With reference to minutes 206-208/2004, members had before them a draft Press Release prepared by the Clerk giving details of the winners of the Calendar competition which had been judged by the Chairman together with the Managers of the local Co-op Shop and Bilsham Stores.    

 

235.  The Chairman showed members a copy of the first proof for the calendar which had just been prepared by the printers.  The Chairman explained that the judges had had a difficult task with some 90 entries to consider.   After careful consideration the judges had finally decided to include the winning 12 children’s entries on the months of the year and the front and year covers of the calendar would feature the adult winning entries.   A list of the names of all those who had submitted pictures for the calendar was being included on the rear cover. 

 

236.  Resolved -

 

 a) That the draft press release be approved (copy attached to minute book);

 

 b) That the Calendar for Yapton 2005 be priced at £2.00 each or 3 for £5.00.

 

 

PARISH COUNCIL NEWSLETTER (YAPTON NEWS & VIEWS)

 

237.  A proof copy of the November/December 2004 issue of the newsletter was circulated at the meeting.    The Clerk commented that if the advertising revenue was maintained at the present level, the cost of producing the newsletter could be contained within the budget provision even though, following the change to an enhanced colour publication, production and printing costs had increased.  

 

238.  At the Chairman’s suggestion, it was agreed in view of the two parishes’ close ties, to incorporate news about Ford and change the title of the newsletter to “Yapton & Ford News & Views”, should Ford Parish Council wish to participate in producing a joint newsletter.

 

 

PLANNING COMMITTEE

 

239.  Mr Haymes declared an interest because of his membership of the District Council’s Development Control Committee and temporarily left the meeting taking no part in the consideration of the Planning Committee’s report. 

 

240.  The Council had before them and received (a) the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 17 September 2004 and (b) details of planning decisions made by Arun District Council in September/October 2004 (copies attached to minute book).

 

 

PLAYING FIELD

 

241.  Further problems with moles were reported.   3 concrete posts had been removed on the southern perimeter of the field to allow easier access for the fairground vehicles.  The posts were to be replaced by Michael Kennedy with the cost being charged to Bill Cole, the fairground owner.

 

 

ALLOTMENTS

 

242.  At the suggestion of Mr Caiger, the Council agreed that in future the allotments rentals for the forthcoming year should be determined at the January meeting of the Council rather than in March. This would enable the bills to be sent out in January and allow more time before the start of the growing season for any newly vacated plots to be re-let.

 

 

JOINT DOWNLAND AREA COMMITTEE

 

243.    Mr Taft reported on the matters discussed at the meeting held on 11 October 2004.

 

244.  The issue of further housing development on Ford Airfield linked to proposals to address some of the transport issues in the area had been raised in a report presented to the Committee by County Councillor Harold Hall.   This had caused concern amongst the parishes affected by the proposal as there had been no prior consultation.  It was suggested that a joint meeting of Ford, Clymping and Yapton Parish Councils might be arranged at some stage to discuss the proposals although it was recognised that the scheme was not currently part of the County Council’s formal policy.   It was noted that the officers of both the County and District Councils had been asked to report back to the next meeting of the JDAC on how the proposals might be considered as part of the existing planning and transport plans for the area.

 

 

UNITY COMMITTEE

 

245. Mr Taft had been unable to attend the meeting of the Unity Committee held on 2 November 2004.

 

 

FINANCE

 

246. Resolved -

 

(a) That the financial statement showing the payments and receipts covering the period 1 September – 31 October 2004 be adopted (copy attached to minute book);

 

(b) That the summary of income and expenditure over the various budget heads for the period 1 September – 31 October 2004 be received (copy attached to minute book).

 

 

DATES OF MEETINGS OF THE PARISH COUNCIL IN 2005

 

247.  The Council confirmed its practice of holding its meetings normally on the 2nd Monday of every other month, the meetings to start at 7.30 pm.

 

248.  The following programme of meetings for 2005 was agreed:

 

10 January;      14 March;      9 May (preceded by Annual Parish Meeting);      11 July;                    12 September;       7 November.

 

 

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 

 

249.  The following matters/concerns were raised by members of the public present at the meeting:-

 

a) litter was reported in the highway verge along Church Road.

 

b) faulty street lamps were reported  in Cherry Avenue and North End Road.

 

c) a question was asked as to whether there was any news from WSCC about when the potholes in Hoe Lane would be repaired.

 

d) concerns had been expressed by local residents about the development taking place in Kings Close at the rear of the Co-op Store.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN