Little Totham Parish Council
Minutes of Meeting, Tuesday 3rd October 2023
The Parish Council met on Tuesday 3rd October in the Evangelical Hall, at 7.30 pm.
PRESENT
Chairman N. Lawrence
Vice-chairman J. Hughes
Councillors: T. Gritton, A. Philpott and S. Venton Parishioners: 1
23.71 Apologies for Absence: Councillors V. Hare and R. Siddall sent apologies.
23.72 To invite Councillors to declare an interest in matters on the Agenda. None were declared.
23.73 Minutes 05/09/23
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 5th September 2023 be approved and confirmed.
23.74 Update for parish newsletter
Councillor Hughes had written September’s update paragraph which had been published. Councillor Lawrence will provide the text for October.
RESOLVED Councillor Lawrence to send paragraph to the Clerk.
23.75 a) Planning applications
No applications received.
b) Planning decisions
23/00366/FUL Retrospective application for the change of use of land to domestic at Willowbrook Farm, The Street – Refused.
23.76 Common land
a) Communication with Richard Mabbitt
Councillor Hughes had contacted Mr Mabbitt following discussions at last meeting but was awaiting a response.
RESOLVED Councillor Hughes to contact Mr Mabbitt.
b) Cutting
Councillor Lawrence reported that he had been surprised to see the common being cut recently after only 6 months or so. This is being arranged and paid for by Mr King. Councillor Lawrence had spoken with the contractor about the possibility of getting it cut more regularly to improve the quality of the grass so that it could be cut and baled. Councillors discussed the pros and cons of this idea, with concerns being raised about needing to spray the ragwort and restrict access after spraying. Councillors expressed preference to topping rather than full cutting this area.
RESOLVED Councillor Hughes to make enquiries with legal at MDC and other contacts to seek further advice.
23.77 Local Authority Treescape project
ECC has confirmed with Councillor Siddall that Little Totham’s application for trees has been successful and planting will take place week beginning 15th January 2024. ECC will be recruiting some of the volunteers for the planting.
Councillor Venton has still not received the report from the pond survey which was organised through this initiative despite sending chasing emails. A parishioner present at the meeting who lives next to the pond reported that she is concerned about the overgrowth and weeds penetrating her fence from the pond area.
RESOLVED Councillor Venton to assess the extent of clearance work that is needed at the pond.
23.78 Play equipment repairs and maintenance
Councillor Venton reported that the play equipment survey identifies that some of the timbers on the swings are rotting and need replacing.
RESOLVED Councillor Venton to obtain quotes for the work.
23.79 Events
a) Village tidy up
This will take place on Saturday 7th October and had been promoted in the last newsletter.
RESOLVED Clerk to add reminder to the Parish Council website.
b) Remembrance service
Councillor Siddall usually organises the service and pays for the wreath so this will need to be done differently this year.
RESOLVED Clerk to find out about cost and source of wreaths.
c) Christmas
Councillor Lawrence suggested that it would be nice to get a donated Christmas tree to display on the green area outside the houses opposite The Swan, like some other parish councils do in their villages. All councillors agreed with this idea.
RESOLVED Councillor Lawrence to approach companies for possible donation of Christmas tree.
23.80 TCWG and speedwatch
Tru Cam patrols had been carried out on four occasions during August and two drivers were caught speeding.
23.81 Invoices presented for payment
LT Evangelical Church hire of hall £20.00
Autela payroll services £44.98
Michelle Gardiner 2nd quarter wages £540.80
HMRC Tax £180.20
23.82 Correspondence
The Clerk had circulated all correspondence. There is an opportunity to attend a talk about climate crisis by Professor Jules Pretty organised by Wickham Bishops Parish Council on 26th October. There is funding available for defibrillators, so possibly could have another for the village to be located at the Evangelical Church.
RESOLVED Clerk to investigate eligibility for defibrillator grant.
23.83 Update from District Councillors
Councillor Hughes reported that there are ongoing discussions about re-locating the council offices and about whether or not to review the Local Plan at this stage and where future development should be located.
23.84 Public questions
No further questions from the public as the pond issue had already been discussed.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 8.38pm
After the meeting, Dennis Ivey from the Evangelical Church informed councillors that the resident had objected to siting the proposed noticeboard adjacent to the fence in the car park. Councillors would like to know the dimensions of the noticeboard before alternative locations are considered. Dennis agreed to provide an image and dimensions of the board.
Signed by the Chairman…………..…………………………
ITEMS FOR NEXT MONTH’S AGENDA
Remembrance Sunday