FOR the March meeting of Abbotts Ann Parish Council, held at Burghclere Dow, five of the seven members attended.

They discussed the following:

Red Post Lane — speed limit: Hampshire County Council had confirmed there was not a strong enough case for a speed limit on Red Post Lane.

Sports field: The chairman of the council, Cllr Andrew Hayter, had purchased the title deeds of the sports field from the Land Registry, proving the council owned the land and the pavilion.

Andrew Bulpitt, chairman of the sports field management committee, reported on a structural survey of the pavilion. It was sound, but needed repairs. Several groups were now using the pavilion. He thought that if the tractor were sold and space reorganised, there would be no need for a further storage container. The outside toilet could be redeveloped for storage.

The committee wanted to be a stand-alone organisation, paying a peppercorn rent to the parish council. He asked if a member of the parish council would join the committee. Cllr Tim Abram volunteered.

The chairman said legal advice would be needed if the sports field management committee were to own a building on parish council land.

County councillor’s report: Cllr Andrew Gibson reported that the county council had a new contractor for highways works. New technology would mean large areas of damaged road could be repaired, rather than one pothole at a time. He had cycled down Red Post Lane a couple of times and not met any cars, but agreed the road surface needed attention.

Test Valley Borough councillor’s report: Cllr Graham Stallard had arranged for the bus shelter at St John’s Cross to be cleared up.

Annual Parish Assembly: Up to £120 would be budgeted for refreshments at the assembly.

Correspondence: The clerk had been advised there was a new external auditor for parish councils. The chairman suggested changing the council’s own internal auditor also, as he did not seem to offer good value for money. Cllr Lorna Haigh asked who other councils used. Comparative costs would be obtained.

Hampshire Police and Crime Panel: The panel had asked for comments. Cllr Mike Doherty said there was no obvious engagement with the police in rural communities. Cllr Tim Abram said it was nice to see police about.

Housing white paper: Some councillors had not read the housing white paper received. The chairman thought landowners were causing problems by not building on land that had planning permission.

Countryside Group: The group had spoken to Lorna Haigh to query the lack of contact from the council. Mike Doherty asked what this group was. Lorna explained it had evolved from the Abbotts Ann Vision village consultation, and organised walks, among other things. Cllr Colin Teasdale felt people could organise their own walks, with a map.

Burial ground: Someone living just outside the village had applied to reserve a burial plot as he had relatives buried there. According to the council’s regulations, only parishioners could be interred in the burial ground. The chairman, who is also the chairman of the burial ground committee, commented that the space was filling up quickly and feared the consequences of forebears’ graves becoming a determining factor. After some debate, the chairman considered it was not a precedent, and the council approved the application.

Finance: The annual fee of payroll services provider was increasing from £68 to £81.

Next meeting: 6 April at the Abbotts Ann War Memorial Hall.

Rosemary Groves