Crowthorne parish council minutes of a meeting of crowthorne parish council held on

TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER 2015 AT THE PARISH HALL, HEATH HILL ROAD SOUTH, CROWTHORNE AT 7.30PM __________________________________________________________________________

Cllr J Bolton

Cllr S J Butterworth

Cllr J G Finnie

Cllr N R Kilvert

Cllr R M Price

Cllr C G Robertson

Cllr S E P Sever

Mrs A Swadling - Clerk

Mrs J Robertson - Assistant Clerk

2 members of the public

0 member of the press

Cllr Mrs C M McKenzie-Boyle

None.
MINUTE 559 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE PARISH Council MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held on 3 November 2015 as circulated, were taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record.
MINUTE 560 MATTERS ARISING FROM MEETING HELD ON 3 NOVEMBER 2015

1 High Street Planters (Min 544.1)

The planter outside the Crowthorne Inn was safely removed on 12 November 2015. Winter pansies have been planted and bark mulch added to tidy up the appearance of the remaining planters.

2 Morgan Centre Refurbishment (Min 544.4)

Oakleaf has produced the initial draft for the proposed internal alterations to the Morgan Centre which have been passed to the Property Working Group for comment. Any amendments and or comments will be notified, following which the building regulations drawings will be produced.

3 Legal & General (Min 545.1)

James Lidgate has confirmed that L&G are due to be appointing the design and professional team in the next fortnight and will therefore be in a position to provide a formal update in December.

4 Morgan Centre Signage (Min 545.2)

The new signs are scheduled to be in place by mid-December.

5 Town Centre Refurbishment (Min 554.2)

A request will be put to Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker in the New Year to provide CPC with an update on the progress of the town centre (Lexicon). Cllrs will be notified of the date once agreed.

Action: Clerk
6 Bank of Names (Min 554.3)

The MDPC are currently reviewing the CPC bank of road names. Any further suggestions should be forwarded to the Clerk.

7 Crematorium Services (Min 554.5)

To date only one request has been received in favour of a future presentation on this subject. Any other Cllrs interested in receiving a presentation, please notify the Clerk by 4.12.15.

Action: All Cllrs

8 Prince Pub (Min 556.1)

Cllr Price has contacted the Prince Public House with regards to re-displaying the pub history. A response is awaited.

9 Wellington College (Min 556.2)

The Master has agreed to attend a pre-meeting with members of the Parish Council on 1 March 2016 at 6:15pm for approximately 15 minutes as he has another appointment later that same evening. Pupils of Wellington will also be present to give a presentation on their Crowthorne Survey results.

10 4G Networks (Min 556.3)

A link has been provided on CPC’s website and Facebook page to the ‘at800’ information site, which gives information on the 4G mobile services affecting/disrupting the TV Freeview service. More information on which areas are affected can be obtained from https://at800.tv/ or by calling 0808 1313 800.
MINUTE 561 CLERK’S REPORT

1. 
   CCTV Package for the Morgan Centre
   

2. 
   Millennium Garden Refurbishment Works
   

The Clerk was thanked for her hard work in organising the refurbishment of the Millennium Garden.

3. 
   Contracts Working Group
   

4. 
   Draft Estimates 2016/2017
   

5. 
   Christmas Tree
   

6. 
   Community Project
   

7. 
   Meeting Minutes/Notes
   

• 
  Major Development Planning Committee – 24 November 2015
  
• 
  Contracts Working Group notes – 13 & 18 November 2015
  

8. 
   Parish Office Christmas Opening
   

9. 
   Reminder
   

1 Mr James Porter

Q Mr Porter enquired about the recent decision by Edgbarrow School to stop the public using the small hall at Edgbarrow Sports Centre during the day. He stated that many residents are unhappy about this unexpected decision and felt that they had not been consulted. He also enquired as to what was being done to provide sports facilities to replace these.

A: Cllr Bolton informed that the decision had to be made as Edgbarrow School is facing expansion in pupil numbers and as a result needs the extra room. Cllr Finnie further clarified that the sports centre was situated on school premises and therefore the school could decide on how it is used. Up until now it had been used by the public during the day, but this was never an ad infinitum arrangement. It is also up to the school whether the centre is hired out in the evenings.

None.

1 Consultation on Draft Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document

At the MDPC meeting held on 24 November 2015 members agreed the response to the above consultation, a copy of which was circulated. The response has been forwarded to BFC in time for the 30 November deadline.

2 Comprehensive Local Plan: Consultation on Scope of Document

At the MDPC meeting held on 24 November 2015, members agreed with the paper put together by Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle, a copy of which was circulated. Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle ran through his proposed response which will be forwarded to BFC in time for the deadline on 2 December 15.

3 5 Day Notice applications for trees

BFC has notified that the Planning Authority is normally given 8 weeks in which to determine Tree Preservation Order (TPO) applications. However there is an exception to this process in specific cases which is known as a '5 Day Notice'. This means that if urgent and necessary work to the tree is required to remove an immediate risk of serious harm, then tree owners (or their agents) must give written notice of their intention five working days prior to carrying out work. From this point forwards the tree administration team will be issuing a notification of 5 Day Notice application to the relevant Parish. This is for information only to enable Parishes to deal with any enquiries.

4 WBC consultation on scoping report for the sustainability appraisal of the Wokingham Borough Local Plan update

Wokingham Borough Council has agreed an updated 3 year project plan of planning policy documents that the authority expects to be preparing between 25 September 2015 and 24 September 2018. This new Local Development Scheme indicates that the authority will be producing a Local Plan Update which will refine the current Core Strategy from 2006 to 2026 to provide the strategy for the Borough from April 2013 – March 2036. The draft Scoping Report is available at: http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/consultations/

WBC is therefore seeking comments on whether the objectives chosen and the indicators for measuring the objectives are sufficient and relevant to allow the sustainability appraisal of the Local Plan Update to be undertaken. The consultation is running from 18 November until 23 December 2015.

No action was agreed.

5. 
   Drainage Improvement works
   

6 Information tables:

• 
  Planning applications for Crowthorne pending a decision by BFC
  
• 
  Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) applications for Crowthorne
  
• 
  A list of other planning applications received by BFC which do not require comment by CPC.
  

Council noted that Cllrs Finnie and Mrs McKenzie-Boyle, who are also Borough Councillors and members of the Planning Committee, may be present when any of the following applications are considered by BFC.

Although giving an opinion at the Parish Council meeting based on the information currently available, Cllrs Finnie and Mrs McKenzie-Boyle will reconsider any applications at the BFC Planning Committee meeting with an open mind, taking into account any additional information presented at this time.
The following planning applications were studied and commented on:

• 
  15/01054/FUL Recommend: Approval
  
• 
  15/01077/FUL Recommend: Approval
  
• 
  15/01097/FUL Recommend: Approval
  
• 
  15/01110/FUL Recommend: Approval
  
• 
  15/01144/FUL Recommend: Approval
  
• 
  15/01124/FUL Recommend: Observations (Cllrs Price and McKenzie-Boyle declared an interest in this planning application and took no part in the proceedings.)
  

Payments totalling £12,579.60 between and 4 November and 1 December 2015 were RESOLVED. See attached sheet for details of payment.

The existing IT contract with PC Paramedics for the provision and support of the Council’s IT equipment has expired. A specification inviting tenders was sent to independent local companies in addition to the existing contractor. The quotations received have been fully scrutinised by the Contracts Working Group and the recommendation below is now put to full Council for endorsement.

• 
  That CPC agrees to appoint BtL Communications as the preferred supplier of the office IT equipment at a cost of £3,145.69 (net)
  
• 
  That CPC agrees to appoint Electronic Frontier as the preferred supplier for 3CX phone system and equipment at a cost £1,485.83 (net)
  

The Parish Office regularly makes purchases which require immediate payment, such as domain name renewal and online purchases in order to obtain the best price. However, no facilities (ie credit card) are available to make these purchases and they have therefore been made using staff debit/credit cards and the monies reimbursed.

• 
  Open a Commercial Card account with HSBC Bank and HSBC Bank be authorised to issue a Commercial Card to the Clerk up to a maximum expenditure limit of £500.00.
  
• 
  That the Clerk and Chairman of the Council be empowered to sign the agreement on behalf of the Parish Council and deal with HSBC regarding any ongoing operational matters, which will be brought to the attention of Council at the earliest opportunity.
  

As part of CIL implementation, Parish Councils have been asked to put together a CIL Wish List. Members reviewed the circulated draft CPC Wish List as approved by the MDPC at the meeting on 24 November 15.

In order to produce a plan that reflects the views and wishes of the local community, the Three Year Strategy Plan Working Group would like to consult with local residents of various ages to obtain a balanced view.

The consultation will be displayed on the website, social media, noticeboards, inside CPC facilities and will also be distributed to local schools. It will run for a period of four weeks.
It was therefore proposed by Cllr Sever, seconded by Cllr Bolton and unanimously APPROVED to consult with local residents as part of the ongoing preparation of a Three Year Strategy Plan for Crowthorne Parish, as per the circulated consultation document.
MINUTE 571 TO APPROVE ADDITIONAL ROAD SAFETY MEASURES FOR LOWER BROADMOOR ROAD

At the meeting organised by the Police on 19 November 2015, local residents complained that Lower Broadmoor Road continues to suffer from speeding motorists, despite the new speed humps. In addition, the controlled red zone which extends from the zebra crossing is used as a drop off/collection point for students at Edgbarrow School. This causes traffic congestion, reduced visibility for motorists and pedestrians when approaching and using the crossing. Residents have asked if CPC could, on their behalf, lobby BFC to have the speed limit reduced and to have the zig zag lines extended.

1. 
   Cllr Price reported that he had attended the Broadmoor Stakeholders meeting at which members were updated on recent developments.
   
2. 
   Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle reported that a new Chief Executive (Carolyn Regan) had been appointed for the West London Mental Health Trust. He also reported that the recent Care Quality Commission report, undertaken on the whole Trust, had been very complimentary of the high security arrangements and care delivered in Broadmoor Hospital.
   

None.
MINUTE 574 MEMBERS INFORMATION ITEMS

None


MINUTE 575 ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON FUTURE AGENDAS

• 
  Neighbourhood Plan – Cllr Price
  
• 
  WWI Commemorative Plaque – Cllr Bolton
  
• 
  2^nd draft of preliminary estimates
  

Meeting closed: 8.50 pm

Signed ….…………………...……………..