Minutes of the Maresfield Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 18^th December 2007 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall, Fairwarp

Present:         Cllr R Street (Chairman), Cllr J Gutteridge, Cllr J Handley, Cllr D Finch, Cllr Mrs J Penfold,

Cllr H Fry, Cllr Mrs V Taylor, Cllr C Stevenson, CCllr F Whetstone and Clerk T Allen.

A.        Public Session – None.

B.        Election of a Chairman for the meeting – Cllr Street was elected Chairman for the meeting; proposed by Cllr Stevenson, seconded by Cllr Gutteridge and agreed by all.

1350.   To approve apologies for absence and to note other non-attendance - Cllr K Ogden,

Cllr W King, Cllr R Galley, Cllr A Clarke, Cllr D Barlow, Cllr P Harris, DCllr Mrs S Martin, DCllr N Buck, DCllr M Hoy, CCllr T Reid,

1351.   Declarations of Interests – None.

1352.   Minutes of the previous meeting held on 20^th November 2007:-

1.            For adoption – It was noted that the last paragraph on page 2 was repeated at the top of page 3; the repetition to be deleted. The minutes were approved, as amended.

2.            Matters arising from these minutes – Re. Item 1344, Cllr Fry reported that his review of the Fire Authority’s Risk Management document was ongoing.

1353.   Reports by and questions to:-

1.            County Councillors – CCllr Whetstone reported that ESCC will be spending £400k on a review of road conditions and traffic speeds. With a new definition of what a ‘village’ is, 266 settlements were appraised by ESCC and scored according to KSI statistics (perceived danger will not be a factor); Forest Row Division scored highest, with Buxted & Maresfield Division in third place; Nutley did not score high enough to be included in this project which will start next year. A lowered speed limit of 50mph is expected to be implemented in the Herons Ghyll area on the A26 early in the New Year.

Cllr Stevenson noted that the approach seemed un-coordinated and that ESCC should have these issues under constant review in liaison with SSCP. CCllr Whetstone stated that ESCC is not funded to allow this

2. District Councillors – The Clerk read out the following report from DCllr Mrs Martin:-

“WDC Budget

WDC are unable to finalise the budget for 2008/09 due to the Government’s late announcement to Councils and therefore this item will be brought to a special Cabinet meeting.”

“Communications Strategy

WDC are proposing to improve communications with the general public by featuring their recognisable natural assets such as the High and Low Weald, the Downs and Ashdown Forest.  Included will also be the introduction of a new WDC logo, new car park signs and updating refuse vehicles etc. and all this will be phased over a long period to ease the economic budget for such steps.”

Cllr Stevenson questioned the cost of such an exercise; the Chairman suggested that Cllr Stevenson may wish to raise this with DCllr Mrs Martin.

“Cats Protection at Chelwood Gate

In 2004 the Cats Protection successfully applied to Wealden DC to build an access road from their site at the Isle of Thorns, Chelwood Gate onto the A275 rather than using the Laundry Lane access off Beaconsfield Road.  The Cats Protection are one of the largest employers in the WDC area, employing some 125 people on this site.

Both the Board of Conservators of the Ashdown Forest and the Trustees of the Cats Protection have agreed a solution to the disputed 22 sq metres of land immediately abutting the entrance on to the A275 whereby the Cats Protection will pay an annual licence fee of £2,500 p/y plus £1,800 p/y based on an increase in the rateable value once the road has been completed.

The Cats Protection will probably start work on the road in February 2008 and hope to complete the work within three months.  This has come as a great relief to the residents of Laundry Lane (now Isle of Thorns) and Beaconsfield Road.  On completion, the present entrance would be closed to Cats Protection traffic except for emergency vehicles.”

 1354.   Council bodies:  Actions, minutes and reports by, and questions to, Chairmen:-
1. Environment – The Clerk stated that the draft minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 5^th

December, gave a good outline of current activities.

Cllr Finch reported that the Nutley bus shelter, near the Church, had been repaired by Nutley Hall at its

expense.

Cllr Fry stated that he is conducting the weekly inspections at Maresfield Recreation Ground play area,

and is sending reports to the Clerk of outstanding items that need attention. The Clerk confirmed that

these reports are acted upon when received.

            2. Finance & Administration:-

                        I.          Month 8 Financial reports – Cllr Street reported that in general budget

expenditure is on-track, and expects end-of-year outturn to be as estimated.

II.            Approval of Budget and Precept for 2008/09 and S.137 payments – To supplement the new budget breakdown information circulated with the meeting papers, Cllr Street circulated a report giving an overview and further details in relation to the construction of the 2008/09 budget and precept proposal before Councillors, and explained the calculations.

It was noted that the proposed budget included reserves at the full level required by the auditors, i.e. £30,000. The Clerk confirmed that applications for grants and donations had been vetted using the new application process.

Cllr Fry proposed that Council should review the proportion of total expenditure that is allocated to staff costs. It was noted that:-

·         This matter had been put before Council by Cllr galley fairly recently

·         Any change would impact on current working arrangements

·         The commitment by the Council in this area was a key factor in obtaining Quality Status

There was no seconder for Cllr Fry’s proposal.

Cllr finch stated that the amount allocated to rent for the Parish Office of £4,000 should be £4.400 if the agreement with Nutley Social Club goes ahead as planned. Cllr Street stated that this amount can be funded from reserves if required.

Cllr Street stated that the proposed budget for 2008/09 is £84560.00, representing an increase of 0.94% over the current year, and that the proposed precept request to WDC for 2008/09 is £77533.00, representing an increase of 1.43% over the current year, and within the target of a maximum increase of 1.5%.  Cllr Stevenson proposed that the budget, precept and S.137 payments should be approved as set out and described. This was seconded by Cllr Handley and agreed by all, except Cllr Fry who abstained.

                        III.        Approval of temporary cover during Assistant Clerk’s maternity leave – The Chairman referred to the proposal on this matter circulated with the meeting papers, noting that using temporary casual help with meeting minutes would be efficient as the Clerk would be freed-up to work directly on actions from meetings sooner.

The Clerk explained that the amount of Statutory Maternity Pay paid by the Council to the Assistant Clerk was fully refunded by HM Revenue & Customs, plus a small additional ‘bonus’ amount, and that the costs of any temporary casual help would fall well within this amount.

It was agreed by majority that the Clerk should proceed and engage temporary casual help to deal with meeting minutes; (Cllr Fry and Cllr Finch abstained).

            3. Planning – Cllr stevenson stated that he had only one item to report in addition to the minutes of the Committee’s meetings held on 19^th November 2007 and 3^rd December 2007. Licensing Authorities can now sub-licence any Ordinance Survey data that they hold to Parish Councils. This would make planning meetings even more effective in relation to application sites, TPO’s, etc. ESCC is happy to provide this data but will raise an administration charge of £45 p/h to provide it. Cllr Stevenson stated that he will be talking to CCllr Reid about this matter and also seeing what data WDC has available.

It was noted that Cllr Gutteridge had not been shown as being present at the Committee’s meeting on 19^th November 2007.

            4. Strategy– The Clerk stated that the draft minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 10^th

December, gave a good outline of current activities; it was noted that these minutes are in draft form.

Regarding the reinstatement of a Post Office in Nutley, the Clerk reported that this issue is now being led by a Ms Caroline Hoare at Post Office Ltd. The intention is to bring a service back to the village as soon as possible. Ms Hoare is to speak to the Postmistress in Maresfield regarding staffing of a facility in Nutley, and is looking at suitable venues, including the Nutley stores where the Post Office counter set-up is still intact.

1355.   Outside bodies reports:-

            1. AiRS Health & Social Care Event 2^nd February 2008 – Cllr Mrs Taylor stated that she hoped to attend this meeting. ACTION: Clerk to re-circulate to Councillors and Mrs Mollie Smith.

            2. Forest Conservators – Forest Ridge Partnership Scheme – Noted.

            3. Ashdown Visitor Management Partnership meeting– Noted.

1356.   Working Party report re. renaming of Council and new logo competition – It was agreed to defer this Item until the next meeting of Council, in order for Cllr Harris to make his report.

1357.   Working Party report re. development of Parish Office:-

1. Approval of the extension of the Parish Office into the adjacent meeting room in the Nutley Social Club Ltd premises – Cllr Finch reported that discussions with Nutley Social Club Ltd were in the final stages when he looked more closely into what a fair rent for the Parish Office space should be. Information from an estate agent gave a range of £8 to £19 per sq. ft., depending on the quality of the space. Currently the Council is paying £23.33 per sq. ft for the existing Office space, and when including the adjacent meeting room this would be £14.33 per sq. ft, which is still considered a high rent for the space, bearing in mind that the Council pays its own rates and electricity charges.

Cllr Finch stated that in the light of this, further discussions and negotiations must be held with Nutley Social Club Ltd. This was agreed.

1358.   Chairman’s Report – None.

1359.   Clerk’s Report followed by questions to Clerk – The Clerk thanked Councillors for their help and support during the year.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Finch for arranging the very successful annual Council dinner, held on 12^th December 2007.

1360.   Payments to be made: for approval – the Clerk circulated a revised list of payments, as two additional invoices had been received since the Council papers were circulated. Payments totalling £3893.44 were approved.

1361.   Communications – The Clerk stated that articles for the Winter/Spring edition of ‘The Parish Matters’ were now being sought.

1362.   Date of next meeting – 15^th January (Nutley).

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20:30