Minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on
Tuesday 8th March 2022 at 7.15 pm in the Jubilee Hall.
Approved and Adopted 14th June 2022
Present: Cllr Jeff Ligo (Chair), Cllr Eddie Cole, Cllr Jo Jolly, Cllr Steve Lloyd, Cllr Keith Rayward and Cllr Steve Ridley.
In attendance: Nicola Duke (Parish Clerk), Mr Mike Manson (Chairman, Bratton Recreation Ground Committee), Wiltshire Councillor Suzanne Wickham and one member of the public.
Open Forum
Members of the public were invited to make representations to the Council on any matters relating to the work of the Council or to raise any issues of concern: None.
Village updates:
• Police report – PCSO Alice Moore had sent apologies for absence.
• Wiltshire Council and Westbury Area Board – Cllr Suzanne Wickham reported the following:
o Roadworks on Westbury Road – the traffic light system had failed on 7th March and neighbouring residents had expressed concern at the impact of the traffic management generally on entering and exiting their properties. It was confirmed that the road works had now been completed and the traffic lights had been removed.
o Area Board Pollinator Project – Cllr Wickham outlined the project, information about which had been circulated to members and it was noted that the proposal would be discussed during the agenda. The involvement and support of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Wiltshire Council was noted. It was clarified that the ongoing maintenance of any planted areas would be the responsibility of the parish, post installation. Cllr Wickham would publicise the project locally to encourage residents’ involvement. In response to a question Cllr Wickham confirmed that involvement of local schools and organisations would be for the Council to decide on. Cllr Ridley stated the importance of making sure that verges and junctions were kept clear for health and safety reasons.
o Wiltshire Wild – WC had launched a scheme to enable local people to suggest areas in their locality which could be ‘re-wilded’. Information on this scheme was expected to be sent to councils shortly.
o Hills Waste strike – operatives were on strike and had picketed one of the depots. Blue bin and black box collections had therefore been suspended by WC for a fortnight.
o Mr Manson reported that the Recreation Ground had established a wilded area on the eastern side of the ground and would therefore be able to link into the pollinator project.
AGENDA ITEM
2021/78 Apologies for Absence and to consider the reasons given
Cllr Kew due to personal commitments, accepted.
Cllr Goode due to work commitments, accepted.
Cllr Whitaker due to work commitments, accepted.
2021/79 Declarations of Interest and Dispensations to Participate
None.
2021/80 Minutes of Council Meetings
The minutes of a meeting of the Parish Council held on 11th January 2022 were approved for accuracy and adopted (proposed Cllr Ligo, seconded Cllr Rayward).
2021/81 Committee, Clerks and Council representative reports
a) The Chair of the Bratton Recreation Ground Committee had provided a report, which had been circulated to members and is appended to the minutes. Mr Manson further reported that the pitch remained in a good condition; although whether this was attributable to less rain or the drainage measures was not yet clear. The last meeting had discussed options to improve the drainage further and forced air would be drilled into the ground to cause fissures in the clay, which should provide benefit for several years. Football would cease at Easter at the latest so that the out ground could be prepared for cricket. Mr Manson also spoke to the financial position (information on which had been included in his report), which was showing a deficit. It was noted that this was mainly due to unpaid invoices, which were being chased. The reserve balances were noted to be in a healthy condition.
b) The Chair of the Jubilee Hall Management Committee had not been able to attend the meeting and the Chair read out a report, which is appended to the minutes.
c) Cllr Rayward had circulated a report on CATG meetings and projects, which is appended to the minutes. Further information on the overhanging tree on the B3098 entering Bratton was tabled, with it being confirmed that the landowner had agreed to cut the trees back and advice from Wiltshire Council on traffic management for the works had been sought. Cllr Rayward suggested that he could arrange a meeting of interested parties to discuss the options for progressing this work, which would require Council input and asked for members to agree the way forward. Cllr Ridley suggested that the issue should be referred to CATG on highway health and safety grounds. The Clerk reported that, as the PC had no responsibility for the land or tree in question and, given that the land was outside of the parish boundary the Council would be unable to incur any costs on this matter although it could act as facilitator. Cllr Wickham confirmed her understanding that the responsibility for dealing with the tree lay with the landowner and reported that CATG would not be able nor willing to look at this work under its jurisdiction. Following debate, it was agreed that the PC could not take this any further but could refer it to Edington PC. Cllr Rayward reported he had organised a Highways meeting (15th March 2022) to update villagers on highway matters and outline processes for dealing with highway issues. This was agreed to be a splendid initiative.
d) Cllr Kew on the emerging local Climate Group – Cllr Kew had sent apologies.
e) The Chair reported the following regarding event planning for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations:
a. A meeting of voluntary organisations had taken place and meetings would take place regularly.
b. There were a number of initiatives being explored and a few events being organised.
c. Cllr Lloyd reported that the mugs discussed at the last PC meeting had been purchased and were on sale. To date 51 mugs had been sold. A potential sale of 100 mugs had been forecast however, should this not occur the group were seeking support from the PC to meet the shortfall between income and expenditure. Cllr Ridley referred to the decision taken at the January 2022 meeting, which had not supported the purchase of the mugs. The request to fund any shortfall was therefore not granted. It was agreed that the Jubilee working group would therefore need to consider this issue further at the next meeting.
d. Cllr Lloyd responded to a query on the article in the Parish News, which had stated that a beacon would be lit prior to any permission being granted. He reported that he had spoken to the landowner and Natural England and matters had now been resolved. Cllr Rayward expressed the view that communication needed to be improved.
f) Cllr Cole reported on the status of the Neighbourhood Plan for Bratton:
a. Grant funding from Locality had been obtained in the amount of £1,000.
b. An online call with Place Studio had taken place to go through the progress of the plan to date.
c. A desktop review on material was now being carried out and a date for a meeting with the Steering Group was being arranged (likely to be 29th March) to receive feedback and advice from Place Studio. It was confirmed the meeting would be in person and would take place at the Jubilee Hall.
g) The Clerk reported on the below listed matters:
a. Bus shelter Castle Road – an insurance claim had been filed. Members confirmed they wished for a replacement shelter to be sourced and the Clerk would keep members informed.
b. Allotments – a request for an allotment had been received. An audit of the allotments would be required before the request could be responded to and the Clerk asked whether any member wished to take ownership of the allotment portfolio, in terms of monitoring tenants and plot. It was agreed to explore the option of establishing Allotment Associations and it was further agreed to invite current tenants to the Annual Parish Meeting. The Chair agreed to check whether any allotment plots were currently available and the Clerk would send a list and map through.
c. Potential bid to the Area Board for grant funding – the Clerk reported that, at this stage, it did not appear any PC project was advanced enough to merit a funding bid. The Chair reported on a recent grant application from the Jubilee Hall, which had been received too late to be discussed at the meeting. The Chair informed Cllr Wickham that an application to the Area Board may also be forthcoming.
2021/82 Area Board Pollinator Project
Cllr Wickham reported on the Westbury Area Board funding of her Councillor led initiative – ‘Pollinator Friendly Areas’ project (with a £4000 grant) and members were asked to consider the identification of suitable areas of land in the parish for submission to the Area Board. Following debate, it was agreed to list the area of land at the Recreation Ground referred to by Mr Manson and review the suitability of a parcel of land at the allotments adjoining the Orchard. Cllr Lloyd referred to another area of land adjacent to the Jubilee Hall, which might be suitable; although it was noted that this was currently taken care of by a local resident and might be too small for the project in any case. Cllr Jolly suggested an area of land on the Stradbrook stream could be suitable. It was resolved to put forward the 3 areas as listed above (proposed Cllr Ligo, seconded Cllr Ridley).
2021/83 Planning applications and consultations
PL/2022/01597 and PL/2022/01364 – 1 Melbourne Street, Bratton, Westbury, BA13 4RN – Demolition of existing timber conservatory and erection of new single storey rear extension, conversion of existing brick outbuilding into garden studio – No comment (proposed Cllr Ligo, seconded Cllr Cole).
To receive and consider planning applications received after the issue of the agenda (where the response time falls outside of the meeting schedule and an extension cannot be obtained). None.
2021/84 Financial Reports (previously circulated)
a) Schedule of payments and receipts February 2022 – noted.
b) Bank reconciliation and Financial Position Statement as at 28th February 2022 – noted.
c) Budget Report and Consolidated Financial Position Statement as at 28th February 2022 – noted. The budget reporting system for the Recreation Ground was noted.
2021/85 Parish Council Accounts Year Ending 31st March 2022 (report previously circulated)
Members addressed administrative tasks relating to the preparation and submission of the accounts year ending 31st March 2022 including:
a) Appointment of the Internal Auditor – it was resolved to appoint Mr Simon Pritchard as Internal Auditor (proposed Cllr Ridley, seconded Cllr Rayward).
b) Confirmation of scope of Internal Audit was approved as circulated (proposed Cllr Ridley, seconded Cllr Rayward).
2021/86 Governance Reviews Year Ending 31st March 2022(documents attached)
Members carried out reviews of governance documents for year ending 31st March 2022 including:
a) Review of the Risk Registers – noted and adopted, with one adjustment to reduce the risk level of emergency communication given the processes established by the Council during the Covid pandemic (proposed Cllr Ridley, seconded Cllr Rayward).
b) Review of the Fixed Asset Register – noted and adopted with two adjustments a) to add the land at Reeves Orchard at a community value of £1 and b) to remove the Christmas lights, which were no longer in existence. It was agreed to add a review of the Christmas lights to a future agenda. Cllr Lloyd undertook to liaise with the Recreation Ground and Tidy Bratton to review equipment held by both groups and report to the Clerk accordingly (proposed Cllr Ligo, seconded Cllr Cole).
c) Review of the Council’s Earmarked Reserves – the list of reserves was reviewed and confirmed (proposed Cllr Jolly, seconded Cllr Cole).
d) Members considered establishing a policy regarding filming at Council meetings and the Clerk was asked to obtain a copy of the national model policy. Cllr Jolly undertook to draft a Media Policy for consideration at the next meeting.
e) Members agreed that the review of policy and governance documents, including Standing Orders and Financial Regulations should take place at the Annual Council Meeting in May 2022.
2021/87 Annual maintenance contracts
Members considered the recommendation from the Chair and Clerk that the current contracts for grounds maintenance and play area inspections were renewed for 2022/23 (same rates to apply). Following debate, the current contracts were duly renewed for a further year in line with the provisions made in the 2022/23 budget (proposed Cllr Ligo, seconded Cllr Ridley).
2021/88 Wiltshire Council Pension Fund
The Parish Clerk reported that the PC had now joined the Pension Fund and WC had requested a start date for the pension contributions. It was confirmed that the PC’s budget had provided for pension contributions in the amount of £2,293.00 per annum. Following debate, it was resolved that the start date would be submitted as 1st April 2019, subject to WC’s confirmation that this was appropriate (proposed Cllr Ridley, seconded Cllr Jolly).
2021/89 Councillor reports
Cllr Cole – asked members to consider the use of the telephone kiosk for an information point for walkers and visitors (email previously circulated). Following debate, it was agreed that this was a good idea and the Chair would arrange a meeting for interested parties.
Cllr Lloyd – provided a report, which is appended to the minutes and was noted. It was asked whether the new CCTV cameras on the Jubilee Hall covered the telephone kiosk and Cllr Ligo reported that he did not believe so although there was limited anti-social behaviour involving the kiosk. Cllr Lloyd expressed his wish to stand back from the management of the SID unit. Cllr Ridley and Cllr Cole offered to take over the management of the SID unit and the Chair expressed concern at the insurance liability this would represent. It was therefore confirmed that any work undertaken on the SID unit would be at members own risk. Members were asked to consider establishing a contract for the relocation of the SID unit every two months; a quotation had been received from Idverde in the amount of £116.40 per visit; £698.40 annually (plus vat). Members noted that the Council’s play area inspector was qualified to move the SID unit and the Clerk would obtain a quotation and discuss with the Chair.
Cllr Rayward – referred to a recent incident with the Air Ambulance, which had had to land in Gales Ground paddock and queried whether there was a designated landing site for the air ambulance. It was reported that there was no fixed site for landing; and the air ambulance would decide on the appropriate landing site on each occasion.
Cllr Rayward reported that a meeting of the website group was being planned and asked members to send as much information through to him for loading onto the site as possible.
In response to a question, it was confirmed that Census information was not sent directly to the Council., but would be available via the Census website from July 2022.
Cllr Rayward also highlighted that he thought some recent tree works had not been sent to the Council for consideration. The Clerk confirmed that all applications were sent through and the weekly list checked. Cllr Rayward reported that missing information also related to road works.
Cllr Rayward also reported that the PC copy in the Parish News had been light. Cllr Jolly reported that had taken this over from Cllr Ligo and there had been little to report as the Council had not met in February. Councillor Jolly emphasised that she needed to receive information to be published from the members.
Cllr Ridley – reported that the chestnut tree by the war memorial had a split in it and the Clerk was asked to report this to Wiltshire Council for investigation.
2021/90 Correspondence
None.
2021/91 Date of next meeting
Annual Parish Meeting – Tuesday 3rd May 2022 at 7.15 pm in the Jubilee Hall.
Annual Council Meeting – Tuesday 10th May 2022 at 7.15 pm in the Jubilee Hall.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.20 pm.