THE March meeting of Thruxton Parish Council was chaired by Cllr Charles Milner-Williams, with Cllrs John Davis, Mike Windsor, Ray Bradbury, and Janet Graham together with Test Valley Borough Cllr Pam Mutton and Kate Phillipson (who is was to talk on the Neighbourhood Plan), in attendance.

The following topics were discussed:

Trees: The residents at Curlew Cottage were not satisfied with certain tree work that had been carried out in proximity to their property. This work had not been effective as far as they were concerned. The chairman asked the clerk to follow up on this.

Mike Windsor had had a meeting with a tree surgeon. It was noted that many trees had huge amounts of ivy attached to them. It was agreed that in April a voluntary working party would be called to deal with this.

Grit bin: The council are still waiting for a replacement grit bin following serious damage caused last month by a ‘visiting’ lorry. The clerk will also follow up on this.

Sports field car park: Ray Bradbury reported on quotations to repair the car park. The sum of £45,000 has been quoted and this was far more than the council could afford from their own resources. External aid would need to be got.

Neighbourhood Plan: Kate Phillipson gave her update. Terms of reference for the planning group had been updated and the chairman’s proposal that these be adopted

got unanimous approval.

Tribute was paid to Mike Windsor for the hours of work he had put in producing draft objectives, which would form the basis of the next consultation document. This would be circulated to all households in the parish with the March issue of the Thruxton Times.

The chairman gave enthusiastic thanks to Kate and her group for all their hard work.

HGV signs: John Davis reported on a meeting with one of the borough council’s highway engineers concerning the aftermath when a very large vehicle mistakenly entered the village and caused damage in trying to get back out. It was agreed that four signs be erected at village entrances giving clear restrictions on HGVs. These should be in place by June.

Village gated signs: This subject was again pursued. There was a lively discussion

on how to bring the scheme to fruition: not least the question of paying for it.

It seemed that Hampshire County Council were not keen to provide funding, though Mike Windsor was sure that they had indeed promised to do so. The chairman said they could consider taking money from their own reserves. However, he was quite prepared to write to both the county council and their MP. It was noted that Ray Alborough, the Highways Engineer, had agreed to help.

Investments: In view of miniscule interest rates currently on offer, John Davis had looked into the possibility of putting some of the council’s money into Premium Bonds. However it transpires that these can only be held by individuals, and not corporate bodies. He will continue to look for better investment returns and report to the April meeting.

Borough councillor’s report: Pam Mutton confirmed a rise in council tax. There are also some changes to ward boundaries due to be announced. This is unlikely directly to affect Thruxton but it looks as if, in future, they shall have only one borough councillor instead of two.

Potential development: An approach had been made concerning land to the east of Lambourne Close with a view to building houses there. Given the potential for controversy surrounding this it was agreed, with suitable publicity, to alert the public to a presentation at the April council meeting.

Sports field: The chairman mentioned the hedge alongside the Sports Field as being in need of cutting, and a road sign there was still wrong, although this had been properly notified.

Devolution: The chairman was trying to get the county council to send someone to talk to the council about current thinking on devolution but so far there has been no response. He will continue to press for this.

Next meeting: 5 April at 7.30pm.

John McKenzie