Minutes of the meeting of Chipperfield Parish Council held in The Small Hall, The Common, Chipperfield on Monday 8th February 2010 at 7.30pm

Present Cllr Mrs S Sims (Vice-chairman), Cllr Mrs M Anson, Cllr Mrs S Fowler, Cllr S Gruselle, Cllr D Nobbs, and Cllr Mrs P Southworth

Also present Clerk Mrs J Deacon

Meeting started at 7.30 prompt __________________________________________________________________________________

Public Participation – PCSO Agallili attended the meeting. He reported the following crime figures for Jan 10:-

Dwelling burglary 2 Burglary other 2 Theft from Motor Vehicle 2

Theft of Motor Vehicle 1 Damage 1 Other crimes (incl, drugs/harassment) 3

Robbery/assault 0 Nuisance 0 Street assault 0

Mark Jarrad, representative from the Liz Holliday Memorial Fund attended the meeting to request the final selection of the replacement memorial bench (see item 061/10)

MINUTES

Clerk confirmed that due to the absence of the Chairman the Vice Chairman would act as Chairman for the purposes of this meeting.

033/10 CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Chairman announced details of the arrangements in case of fire or other events that might require the meeting room or building’s evacuation. Noted

034/10 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllr Bradshaw, by reason of holiday and Cllr Joseph due to work commitments All agreed

035/10 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

A personal & prejudicial interest was registered by Cllr Nobbs and a personal interest was registered by Cllr Southworth for item 041/10 Allotment rent review. Noted

036/10 MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

It was Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 11th January 2010, be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Proposed Cllr Anson, seconded Cllr Nobbs All agreed

037/10 MATTERS ARISING FROM THOSE MINUTES None

038/10 REPORT FROM BOROUGH/COUNTY COUNCILLOR None

039/10 COMPLAINTS RECEIVED – RELATING TO EITHER HERTS COUNTY COUNCIL (HCC), DACORUM BOROUGH COUNCIL (DBC) or CHIPPERFIELD PARISH COUNCIL (CPC) None

FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSE

040/10 FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSE REPORT

A brief report was given on current issues. (Appendix 040/10)

041/10 SPENDING VS BUDGET 3rd QTR RESULTS

Clerk circulated copies of the spending vs. budget papers for the 3rd Qtr. Clerk confirmed the budget appears to be on target. It was to Resolved to accept the papers as an accurate record of expenditure

Proposed Cllr Bradshaw, seconded Cllr Southworth All agreed

042/10 ALLOTMENT RENT REVIEW

Cllr Nobbs left the meeting during this item due to his declared interest. Council has undertaken a thorough review of Allotment operating costs and revenues which showed costs had significantly exceeded rents. Figures have been circulated to Council based on revised rents to achieve a revenue neutral position. After discussion regarding the figures, it was agreed that in order to achieve a revenue neutral position ,with minor contingency, the appropriate rent rise would be £33 Full plot & £16.50 Half plot.

It was confirmed that the tenants had already been made aware of the review and were given illustrative figures of up to £50 per plot (as per other UK areas). Tenants were also made aware that the costs used in the review did not include costs for the Boundary Hedge Restoration Programme and that all figures would be transparent for the tenants. After discussion it was Resolved to increase the allotment rents in Oct 2010 to £30 Full plot & £15 Half plot, to be reviewed annually in January, to confirm that figures remain revenue neutral.

Proposed Cllr Fowler, seconded Cllr Anson All agreed

043/10 GRANTS APPLICATIONS 09/10

It was recommended that CPC allow the grant request, received from the St Paul’s School Parents Association to help cover some of the costs incurred during their successful carol concert on the Common in December. It was Resolved to forward a grant payment of £50

Proposed Cllr Sims, seconded Cllr Fowler All agreed

044/10SAFE CUSTODY

It was reported that CPC currently hold certain documents in their Bank’s safe, until this date no charge has been made for this service, however notification has been received that payment of £25 is payable, after negotiations CPC have been reimbursed this money, however a decision is required to continue with the safe, at a future cost of £25 pa. It was agreed to continue with this service @£25pa.

Proposed Cllr Nobbs, seconded Cllr Gruselle All agreed

045/10 CONSULATION REPLIES

To discuss the recommended response to:-

a) Post Office Consultation – After discussion it was agreed not to reply to this consultation

b) Sustainable Communities Act – After discussion it was agreed not to reply to this consultation

c) Hertfordshire Forward Draft Community Cohesion Strategy Consultation – After discussion it was agreed not to reply to this consultation

d) Joint Hertfordshire Local Training –- To decide if we wish to request HAPTC to deliver training – After discussion it was agreed that training would not be required

046/10 ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT

It was RESOLVED that accounts amounting to £ 2,827.39 + transfer from reserve account of £2,000 to current account to cover payments for March, be authorised.

Proposed Cllr Southworth, Seconded Cllr Anson All agreed

PLANNING

047/10 PLANNING REPORT

A brief verbal report was given on current issues. (Appendix 047/10)

048/10 PLANNING APPLICATIONS & RESULTS

All of the following recommendations given by the Planning group were accepted by Full council, unless otherwise stated.

4/02034/09/FHA Mulberry, Chapel Croft Single storey rear extension and loft conversion Chipperfield with rear dormer (amended)

Chipperfield Parish Council supports this application. As you are aware we objected to a previous applications, due to its bulk, the size of the rear dormer, namely road facing velux windows, however it was approved by DBC. We are pleased that the applicants have requested improvements to their plans, i.e. the view from the road is unchanged and the dormer is now proportionate in size and the impact on neighbours is now slight.

04/02124/09/LDP Farthing Hill, Langley Road Single storey rear extension

Chipperfield

We are aware that we are not qualified to give an authoritative view on this application however we would like to comment that we are happy with this modest side extension which does not appear to adversely impact on the neighbouring properties or the environment.

04/0117/10/FHA 30 Tower Hill, Chipperfield Single Storey Rear extension

Although we feel that a rear extension is appropriate here particularly as the rear of the property is hemmed in by extension either side, however we feel it would be a retrograde step to replace a tiled lean-to extension with a large flat, green felted, roof extension which is contrary to our Village Design Statement recommendations.

04/00130/10/TCA 5 Queen Street Works to trees

Chipperfield

Whilst we are aware that this application is for our information only, we write to offer our comments for file. Although full details were not available at the time of the meeting it was confirmed that CPC had not received any neighbour comment and were not aware of any contentious issues.

049/10 LOCALLY LISTED BUILDINGS

It was reported that the formal consultation on this important documents had now gone out to residents, via Chipp News and DBC website. It was recommended that although CPC have already had a major input into producing this document that we should formally respond. It was agreed to forward the circulated response.

Proposed Cllr Sims, seconded Cllr Southworth All agreed

050/10 PAPERLESS PLANNING

DBC has asked Parish Clerks to check with their councils on their views about the feasibility of dealing with the process of consulting parishes on planning applications being dealt with entirely on line. It is recommended that we advise DBC that this would be impractical at present because:

i) Council does not have the means of displaying on-line information at its meetings

ii) It cannot always be assumed that a councillor’s PC will be available to show local residents wanting to see how applications may affect them.

iii) PC screens are poor substitutes for hard copy. It is difficult to measure the size, of extensions, images are small and difficult to read, you often cannot see the whole of a drawing at a time and it is very hard to compare one drawing with another.

iv) Our experience to date in comparing hard copies we have received with the same ones on line is that the latter do not always have the complete set of documentation for an application. It was agreed to forward our response to DBC

Proposed Cllr Southworth, seconded Cllr Sims All agreed

HIGHWAYS, ROAD SAFETY AND TRANSPORT

051/10 HIGHWAYS, ROAD SAFETY AND TRANSPORT REPORT

A brief report was given on current issues. (Appendix 051/10)

052/10 VAS

It was reported Herts Highways have now met with the contractor and it is now proposed that the VAS is moved to the agreed location by the end of March, Highways group to monitor. Noted

053/10 MAP OF HOUSE NAMES ON THE COMMON

It was reported that a request had been made to provide a map of all of the house names around the Common to assist local organisations deal with delivery enquires. Clerk explained that the edited version of the electoral role would indicate most house names around the Common, Clerk to investigate.

054/10 ROAD SURFACES

It was reported Herts Highways are currently implementing their annual “winter recovery programme”, however due to the extreme weather they are deluged with road erosion problem, so in order to deal with this they are partially repairing to make it safe and then revisiting during quieter times, rather than completely repair the problem in the first instance. They acknowledge this is not an ideal situation and in order to assist, Highways group will check Chipperfield and report individual pot holes to expedite the repairs. All agreed

055/10 ROAD REPORT

It was Resolved to adopt the previously circulated final draft Road Report 2009 in its entirety and forward copies Dave Bowman@Herts Highways, Cllr Roberts and John Woods, Head of Herts Highways.

Highways group were thanked for their hard work in producing this valuable document. A meeting to be arranged with Herts Highways to review this in March

Proposed Cllr Nobbs, Seconded Cllr Gruselle All agreed

056/10 VILLAGE WELCOME SIGNS

It was confirmed that a quotation had been received based upon the previously agreed design of a domed sign, either wooden or metal, with green background with the CPC logo in black with black writing stating “Welcome to Chipperfield”. It was recommended that a consultation takes place to see whether residents 1) liked the design, 2) Want a separate panel ”Please drive carefully”.

It was agreed that in line with financial standing orders, 2 further quotations are obtained based on this design and it was agreed subject to funding, that all 4 signs would be purchased at the same time in order to achieve the best discount available .Clerk to liaise with Herts Highways for permission to change and install signs.

Proposed Cllr Anson, seconded Cllr Southworth All agreed

OPEN SPACES AND ALLOTMENT

057/10 OPEN SPACES AND ALLOTMENT REPORT

A brief report was given on current issues. (Appendix 057/10)

058/10 POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR USE OF THE COMMON

Further to its adoption, it was con firmed the CPC policy for dealing with events/requests for the Common will now be implemented, any requests will be referred to the Common Management Plan. Noted

059/09 ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE COMMON MANAGEMENT PLAN- SUBMISSION FOR 2010

It was confirmed that all relevant documents have now been submitted ready for the Green flag judging in June

060/10 FOX PROOF BINS- THE COMMON – REPLACEMENT

It was reported that after the success of the trial fox proof bin on the Common, DBC has offered to replace the bins with a further 6 no fox proof bins. Clerk has forwarded a list of bins in priority order, as agreed by the Warden. It was agreed to accept DBC’s offer to replace these.

Proposed Cllr Nobbs, seconded Cllr Sims All agreed

061/10REPLACEMENT MEMORIAL BENCH

It was reported that there had been three options for the bench, agreed by DBC and CP. Chepstow, Cavendish and Georgian, however the fund found them either unsuitable or too expensive, as they wanted to divide the current funds in 50/50 for a bench and a donation to the Choral Society’s new bursary in memory of Liz. Mark Jarrad requested that CPC consider the purchase of a similar design to the Georgian, namely the Victorian, Clerk confirmed that DBC were happy with this selection. After discussion it was agreed that CPC would purchase the bench and plaque “Remembering Liz Holliday 1946-2009 who so loved this common (not forgetting Pip and Muffin)”, on behalf of the fund for approx £771 (incl delivery, installation by DBC and fittings), Mark undertook that the fund will cover the final invoice amount. Clerk to bank cheques, settle the invoice and the balance made payable to the Choral Society. Clerk confirmed subject to invoicing this would take place either March or April.

Proposed Cllr Gruselle, seconded Cllr Southworth All agreed

062/10 CRICKET NETS

It was reported a letter had been received from a member of the cricket club, indicating that the cricket nets were due to be replaced shortly and requested CPC’s permission to move the nets to the far side of the Common next to the cricket pitch car park, in order to achieve more light for a longer playing time. It was agreed that a formal request needs to be made from the cricket club explaining their full intentions before any firm decision would be made, however it was indicated that at present this request would be not be supported. Clerk to write a response. Proposed Cllr Gruselle, seconded Cllr Nobbs All agreed

YOUTH AND EDUCATION

063/10 REPORT FROM WORKING GROUP CHAIRMAN

A brief report was given on current issues. (Appendix 063/10)

064/10FUTURE OF HEMEL BIRTH UNIT AND RELATED MATERNITY SERVICES

It was reported that a further meeting/discussion group had taken place to discuss the above and it was still indicated that to re-open the unit would be too expensive. A final decision will be made later in the year. Noted

065/10 CORRESPONDENCE –

Clerk report that the standard training had advised Councils that a new Code of Conduct will be issued in May, to be adopted within 6 months and signed by each Councillor within 2 months of adoption Noted

Clerk confirmed that the Ranger has successfully completed PA1 or the course and was due to complete PA 6 of his Pesticide application training by the End of Feb Noted

066/10 NEXT AGENDA ITEMS

Local shops

067/10 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is Monday 8th March 2010 @ 7.30, The Small Hall, The Common, Chipperfield

068/10 PART 2

To consider that under Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 that the Public and Press should be excluded during item 069/10 the agenda of this meeting in view of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.

069/10STAFF REVIEWS

Clerk reported that a successful review had taken place with the Warden and Ranger, and as agreed with CPC their pay rise will be implemented with effect from Feb. Noted

Meeting ended at 9.20pm