St Mary Bourne Parish Council

Ruth Widén

AT the January meeting of St Mary Bourne Parish Council, with seven councillors and the clerk in attendance, the following topics were discussed:

Neighbourhood Plan 2015-2029: The draft plan was presented in outline for comments. The council will consider the plan at a special full council meeting on 5 March. Cllr Bridget Culley commented about the scarcity of proposals to meet the recreational and social needs of the parish youth. The chairman, Cllr David Peart, expressed thanks to Andrew Shegog, Cllr Tony Styles and all the members of the Long Term Planning Group for their work on the plan to date.

Affordable housing: The council had received Fowler Architecture and Planning’s amended plans from Hyde Housing. The design approach was now focused towards the domestic cottage character of the rural area. The chairman understood from a conversation with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Cllr Graham Falconer that this planning matter would now be considered by the borough council’s development committee on 25 March.

Black Garden: Correspondence had been exchanged between the clerk, the chairman and the agent representing the owners of Black Garden concerning the possibility of a Community Right to Bid. The agent was asked to update the council when he had received instructions from his clients.

Defibrillator:There had been correspondence between the clerk and the chairman of St Mary Bourne United Charities Trust concerning the possibility of funding assistance for this project.

A defibrillator and its housing cabinet had already been purchased by the council and the clerk was investigating CCTV matters and likely location on an outside wall of the Village Shop. Batsford — Sovereign Housing – Car set-down/pick-up on currently-overgrown area: The clerk had attempted to get a response from Sovereign with no success. Jo Strong (representing the school) wanted to liaise with the council about this area. The chairman had raised the matter with Basingstoke and Deane Association of Town and Parish Councils (BDATPC) in respect of the borough council’s “Neighbourhood Management” initiative concerning the maintenance of land owned by housing associations. BDATPC had now been asked to contact Sovereign Housing on behalf of the parish council in order to move the matter forward.

Public conveniences: No communication had been received from the borough council since the the parish council’s response to them in November 2014.

Post and pole fencing along hardstanding / recreation ground: It had been noticed that the poles and posts needed attention. The council agreed that three quotes should be obtained for possible refurbishment.

Finance — Budget proposals for the 2015/16 Financial Year: Precept and general grants request for the 2015/16 Financial Year. A precept request of £21,000 (including the council tax support grant of £1,494) was proposed by Cllr Bridget Culley and seconded by Cllr Colin Henderson, and was carried unanimously.

Footpaths: Cllrs Colin Henderson, Tony Styles and Philip Jeffery would arrange an audit of the condition of footpaths and stiles before the spring and report back to the council.

Flooding and Emergency Group: Clem Jones and Sarah Cooney had provided a detailed report which showed that ground water levels were much lower than last year and there had been much less rain. There had been a meeting with Environment Agency and HCC representatives and various action points had been identified. A report from the meeting would be available when completed.

Highways: The clerk was asked to request a site meeting with Hampshire Highways in order to walk through outstanding issues.

Litter pick: Fiona and Patrick Foote would lead on this and volunteers are welcome – 14 March, 10am – noon. The clerk would arrange for bin bags and litter pickers to be made available.