23/139. Public recess. No public

23/140. Approval of apologies given.

Absence with apologies:  Cllrs Jackson & Woodham have work commitments, Cllrs Rogers and Whitehead have a family commitment, Cllr Rawlings has a commitment with the Scouts.

Ward Cllrs Sumner, Hopkins and Elliott also sent their apologies.

A proposal was made to approve the apologies given. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/141. Co-option of Cllrs.  No candidates

23/142. Declarations of interest. None

23/143. Approval of minutes from 13th November 2023. No changes
A proposal was made to approve these minutes as an accurate account of the meeting with the above change. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/144. Action points from previous meeting.  Completed items in grey.

Clerk

23/29. Chase up Badbury hedge cutting and white line painting issues with Ward Cllr Sumner. PENDING. No update

23/114. Create a pro-active list of residents who can assist in a local emergency. Publicise the need on FB and Ridgeway Bell. Add a list of local businesses and services who can help in the event of a local emergency. DONE

23/129. Collate the Parish Charter responses and work with Cllr Kearsey to send them to SBC. DONE. Charter back at draft stage and will require further feedback.

Ward Cllr Hopkins and Elliott

20/16. Investigate end of Badbury footpath being blocked. Waiting for SBC officer update. No update

23/10. To find out the current situation with regards to public footpaths and maintenance after the Countryside Access talk that SBC did not attend. No update

Cllr Whitehead

23/115 Create a list of suggested PROWS that should be added to the definitive map.  Request item be added to a full council agenda for discussion and vote. No update.

23/145. Policy and Community report. Cllr Sunners
October crime numbers for Chiseldon, which include Badbury Park – 23. 8 crimes within our parish area.

The police held a open session on 29th Nov at the Pats pub carpark.  Overall attendance was low. The next PCSO meeting with Neighbourhood Watch is 9th Jan 9.00 at the Rec hall.

23/146. Ward Cllrs reports. (Received via email)

Ward Cllr Hopkins – the stuck lorry at Hodson was reported to SBC and reports continue to be made about the state of the road after the lorry was removed.

Overall the new recycling scheme has started well.  Problem with 3 lorries which are being addressed. Around 1000 outstanding collections across the borough. Leaflets and blue waste bags issue is being resolved for Hodson.

Ward Cllr Sumner – Continuing to work with officers from LLFA on Badbury flooding issues. Section 19 flood investigation was triggered due to recent flood events. He is liaising with residents.

23/147. To vote on whether to approve Cllrs and/or Chairs annual allowances. (This fund would come from the precept)

A proposal was made to not take the annual allowance for 2024/25. The proposal was seconded and the majority of Cllrs were in favour. 1 Cllr abstained from voting.

23/148. To vote on approving the draft Neighbourhood Plan document for a Regulation 14 consultation in Jan 2024.

A proposal was made to approve the current draft of the NHP plan, and approve the Jan 24 Regulation 14 consultation. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

Points for consideration on the current draft were:

  • Make sure in the opening pages that the current shopping facilities the parish has, are clearly mentioned. Cllrs felt this should be included early on in the document.
  • Add the Barbury Shooting School to the list of facilities currently available.
  • To note that the designation of “Area of Outstanding National Beauty” has been changed to “National Landscape” so this change should be referenced in the documents.
  • To see if more weight/importance for affordable housing can be referenced within the document to make it easier to take note of.
  • To consider whether the NHP can include a requirement that once a number of new houses was reached by a developer that a defibrillator should be placed within the development area by the developer at their own cost.

The Clerk will pass these points back to our Consultant for consideration as to whether they can be included within the draft plan.

23/149. FINANCE.  To approve costs of £508.76 for 2 new dog waste bins and installation by Allbuild. (Approved by EGPA committee but requires £58.76 unallocated funds to proceed)

A proposal was made to approve costs of £508.76 for 2 new dog bins. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/150. FINANCE. To approve £110 to purchase a new set of defibrillator pads. 1 set expires in Jan 2024.

A proposal was made to approve costs of £110 for new defibrillator pads. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/151. FINANCE. To approve £90+vat expenditure for repairing the external PIR lights outside the Chapel office.

A proposal was made to approve costs of £90+vat for lighting repairs at the Chapel. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/152. FINANCE. To approve an increase to £15.00 per hour for the handyman – self-employed contractor.

After a discussion, some of the council felt that market rate should be paid for the handyman, to show regard for his high level of work, flexibility and loyalty to the council and £20 per hour should be approved. Other Cllrs felt the request rate of £15.00 per hour should be approved.

There were 2 votes tabled:

A proposal was made to increase the handyman’s hourly rate to £15.00 per hour. The proposal was seconded and the majority of voting Cllrs were in favour.

A proposal was then made to increase the handyman’s hourly rate to £20.00 per hour and an annual review to ensure a market rate is paid. The proposal was seconded and a larger majority of Cllrs were in favour.

The hourly rate will rise to £20.00 per hour from Dec 23. The next review would be scheduled for Sept 24, prior to the next budget setting period.

23/153. FINANCE. To approve the national hourly salary increase for Clerk and RFO, to include a backpay to April 23 as per national standards.

The hourly increase for each member of staff is £1.00 per hour, with back paid amounts of £901.80 gross for the Clerk and £624.32 gross for the RFO.  The monthly increase is £112.73 gross for the Clerk and £78.04 gross for the RFO.  CPC pension payments would increase accordingly.

A proposal was made to approve these hourly rate increases and back paid amounts for the Clerk and RFO. The proposal was seconded, and all Cllrs were in favour.

23/154. To approve council policies.  None for December

23/155. PLANNING. Review and vote on any planning applications received by Swindon Borough Council after the agenda is published. There were none.

23/156. Option to Tax on Rec ground.

The council had been advised by HMRC to set the area currently application to the “Option to tax” rules.

A proposal was made for the full existing area of the Rec ground curtilage with all buildings to be included in the “Option to Tax” area. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

The RFO will hold a dated map of the area in question along with this minute reference.

23/157. Committee reports

A proposal was made to approve the November finance transaction report.. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.
The December 2023 transactions to date were noted, with no issues.

Finance – No meeting.

EGPA – No report.

Planning – Cllr Jefferies. Work is progress with the 2 laybys. The costs to SBC for technical approval and legal costs have been approved.

Risk Assessments – (Months are deleted from this report once all items are complete)

November assessments were:

Cleaner – Clerk to send to cleaner. DONE. No issues.

Xmas event – Clerk to do. DONE. No issues.

SIDs x 3- volunteers needed – Cllr Kearsey to do. DONE. No issues.

Millennium Wood – volunteer needed. Handyman completed. DONE. No issues.

General Fire Risk – Clerk to do. PENDING.

December assessments are:

Castle View Play area – Volunteer needed

Washpool Ponds – Clerk to do with WARP committee.

Trees owned by CPC – Volunteer needed.

Correspondence feedback for Cllrs – None

23/158. Items for next agenda.

Cllr Jefferies – whether to hold council meetings in December

Clerk to add the Parish Charter to the Jan 24 agenda for any updates

Clerk to follow up with SBC enforcement on the Earthline deadline to vacate the site.

Meeting closed 20.51

Actions

All Actions to be completed by the next Full Committee meeting unless otherwise specified.

Clerk

23/29. Chase up Badbury hedge cutting and white line painting issues with Ward Cllr Sumner.

23/148. Report back to consultant on NHP updates requested.

23/149. To arrange purchase and installation of 2 dog bins

23/150. To arrange purchase of new defib pads.

23/152. Advise RFO on increase to handyman’s hourly rate to £20 from Dec 23.

23/153. Advise RFO on increase to staff hourly rates and back pay.

23/156. Advise RFO on option to tax decision so a map of the site and the minute reference can be saved in the relevant files.

Ward Cllr Hopkins and Elliott

20/16. Investigate end of Badbury footpath being blocked. Waiting for SBC officer update.

23/10. To find out the current situation with regards to public footpaths and maintenance after the Countryside Access talk that SBC did not attend.

Cllr Whitehead

23/115 Create a list of suggested PROWS that should be added to the definitive map.  Request item be added to a full council agenda for discussion and vote.