24/170. Approval of apologies given.

24/171. Declarations of Interest.  None

24/172. Public recess. No public

24/173. Approval of minutes 18th November 2024.

A proposal was made to approve these minutes as an accurate account of the meeting. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

24/174. Action points from previous meeting.

Clerk

23/185. Complete PROW forms and send to SBC. PENDING.

24/155. Investigate costs for solar lighting for Dec meeting. DONE

24/164. Complete the application for the National Lotteries Heritage Grant – £15,000. Paperwork to be amended by WARP and re-submitted in Jan/Feb.

24/165. Advise RFO of allotment cost increase plus statement on lease for those who may have difficulties in paying.   DONE

24/175. Parishing Progress. Review and vote on action to take with regards to Allbuild’s increased grass cutting and hedge cutting costs for 2025 year and onwards.
Reducing the amount of cuts as follows was discussed:

  • Cemeteries – 14 to 12 cuts per annum
  • Public verge areas – 16 to 12 cuts per annum
  • Rec field – 18 to 16 cuts per annum

A proposal was made to decrease the cuts as stated above which will bring the grass cutting costs down to around the same amount as the 2024 year.  The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

The Clerk will write a piece for the next Ridgeway Bell to advise on this, and add the council Facebook page and website and link to our recent survey on parish appearance. The Clerk will also remind Allbuild that staff should wear the “Chiseldon” logo hi vis jackets provided when in the parish working.

24/176. Parish appearance and safety.  To review the results of the parish appearance survey and decide on next steps to take.

To summarise:

  • 141 respondents.
  • 61% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the parish appearance.
  • 82% wanted to see more removal of weeds at gutters and road verges
  • 56% wanted to see more street and road sign cleaning
  • 46% wanted to see more pavement cleaning.

The Clerk will ask Allbuild for a route map of their current litter picker route that they do monthly, along with the schedule.

The item will be added to the Jan 25 agenda and more analysis will be done of the comments received.

24/177. Parish appearance and safety.  To review the road sweeping results.

The road sweeper is booked for 7th and 8th Jan.  Cllr Howlett will take “before” and “after” photos for the Jan EGPA meeting. The Clerk will issue the list of roads to be swept prior to the work commencement date.

24/178. Parish appearance and safety.  To vote on what option to take with regards to the light column at Draycot Foliat not being to BS Standards.

A proposal was made to approve the option to have Prolectric replace the light column at their own expense. The proposal was seconded and all Cllrs were in favour.

24/179. Parish appearance and safety. To review costs for solar lighting and vote on any next steps.

Due to the costs per light there was no proposal to go ahead with the purchase and installation of any lights at this time.

24/180. Building and amenity priorities. Football Club report. No report received

24/181. Building and amenity priorities. Tennis Club report. No report received.

24/182. Building and amenity priorities.  Pavilion. No items

24/183. Rec Hall, ground and carpark.  To look at quotes for further repairs for the rec hall roof.

This item is now on the Jan 25 full council agenda so it was decided to hold the discussion at that meeting.

24/184. Chapel, Museum and graveyards.  No items

24/185. Community Priorities. To review any progress on the  National Lotteries Heritage Grant for re-grading the main track and providing proactive drainage solutions to the area. Washpool to apply.

Feedback was received on the first submission, and WARP were encouraged to make changes and re-submit in early 25. The WARP Committee will work on this project.

24/186. Allotments.  No items.

24/187. Vulnerable People. No items.

24/188. Youth Provision.  No items.

24/189. Castle View Play area.  No items

24/190. Items for next agenda.  Cllr Stevens mentioned the problem with grass verges being damaged by vehicles. The Clerk advised that there is an agenda item with planning to discuss this.  The item can have further consideration with the EGPA committee if required.

Meeting closed 20.37

Actions

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

Clerk

23/185. Complete PROW forms and send to SBC

24/164. Complete the application for the National Lotteries Heritage Grant – £15,000

24/175. Add article to Ridgeway Bell, FB page and website ref grass cutting changes linked to recent survey.

24/175. Remind Allbuild to wear their hi-vis jackets.

24/176. Ask Allbuild for a route and schedule map for litter picking

24/176. Add parish appearance survey results to Jan EGPA agenda for further discussion.

24/177. Issue a list of roads to be covered by the sweeper.

24/178. Contact Prolectric with our preferred option for the column.

Cllr Howlett.

24/176. Provide further analysis of the results of the parish survey comments.

24/177. Provide “before” and “after” sweeping photos to the Clerk for the Jan EGPA agenda.