EASEBOURNE PARISH COUNCILMINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD Present: Mr D Warner (Vice-Chairman), Mr J Stringer, Mrs J Deacon-Ford, Mrs A Marchand, Mr D Pack, Mr P Rhodes, Mr J Dabson, Mrs E Hamilton, Mr B Gowar, Mr F Martin, Mr M Fay (CDC) and the Clerk. 06/07 48 Apologies for Absence were received from Mr I Heustice and Lt Col T Pemberton (WSCC). Mr D Warner chaired the meeting. 49 Declaration of Interest: None 50 The Minutes of the meetings held on 13th September and 26th September 2006 were signed as a true record. All in favour. 51 Matters Arising. There were no matters arising. 52 County Councillor, Lt Col T Pemberton, sent his apologies for absence and his written report was read to the meeting by Mr Warner.
53 District Councillor, Mr M Fay said that it had been hoped the planning application for King Edward VII Hospital would be discussed at the December meeting of the Area Planning Committee (North) but he was uncertain whether this would actually happen. He also spoke of the possible effects of the Local Government Re-Organisation White Paper, which amongst other things, could see the creation of Unitary Authorities.54 Finance: a) The following payments were noted (cheque numbers 800-)
b) The internal check of accounts for September and October 2006, by Mr Stringer, was noted c) The receipt of a VAT refund for the period 01.04.06 to 30.09.06 in the sum of £273.67 was noted d) The receipt of the Parish Council precept for the period 01.10.06 to 31.03.07 in the sum of £5750.00 was noted. e) The proposed budget for 2007/2008 was presented by the Clerk and following discussion, particularly about Election expenditure, Mr Warner proposed and Mr Martin seconded that the Parish Council Precept for 2007/2008 should be £12,500. All in favour. (copy of proposed Budget appended to the Minutes) 55 Planning: The following planning decisions were noted
06/02850/OUT: Longmeadows, Hollist Lane, renewal of 03/01803/OUT - EPC: No obj - CDC: Permit 06/03072/FUL: Water Supply works, Dodsley Grove, erect disinfection cabin - EPC: No obj - CDC: Permit 06/03611/DOM: Upperfield House, Upperfield, single storey rear extension & conversion of garage/workshop to playroom - EPC: No obj CDC: Permit 56 Reports from the Panelsa) Playground - the paling fence has been re-erected where necessary, but may need to be replaced in the near future due to decaying wood at the base. Mr Martin asked if the playground should be inspected on a daily basis but the Clerk reported that the current weekly inspections meet the RoSPA requirements and are all correctly logged. b) Burial Ground - everything appears to be in order c) Footpaths - erosion of the steps on footpath 1117 near to Winters Lane was reported and the Clerk will contact South Downs Joint Committee about this. It was also mentioned that the Easebourne sign at the entrance to the village from Midhurt is missing. The Clerk had already noted this and reported the matter to WSCC. A replacement sign has been ordered. d) Grants - a letter of thanks has been received from Midhurst Community Bus Association for the grant of £250, made at the September meeting. Mrs Deacon-Ford proposed and Mr Stringer seconded that a donation of £100 be made to the Royal British Legion following the supply of a poppy wreath for Remembrance Day. All in favour 57 Village Action Plan: nothing to report at this meeting.58 North West Frontier Forum, meeting held on 20th September 2006. Mr Stringer reported on this meeting which, amongst other things, discussed the future of St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester59 Midhurst Parking Study, Mr Martin, the Parish Council's representative on the Parking Forum Committee, spoke of the proposed changes to Midhurst parking. In order to accommodate the increased parking needed for the "Ruins' when it opens to the public in March 2007 and the fact that the North Street car park cannot be extended it is proposed to limit North Street to 'short stay' parking and the Grange to both "short stay" and "long stay". In order to manage this system it would necessitate charging and it is proposed to introduce charges from 1st April 2007. The suggested charges would be 20p for up to 2 hours, 60p for up to 5 hours and £1.00 for over 5 hours. Season tickets would be available.Parking for 30 additional vehicles is to be created, at the Grange, by reconfiguring the existing spaces. 60 Cowdray Heritage Trust, Mrs Hamilton reported that the "Ruins" (to be known as Cowdray) are still on schedule to open to the public on 31st March 2007. During January and February 2007 volunteers will be recruited and trained, to assist visitors to the attraction.There is the possibility that local people may be able to visit "Cowdray", in groups, prior to the opening. Mr Martin asked if local businesses could be advertised in some way at Cowdray, possibly on entrance tickets. 61 Cowdray Estate Shooting Ground, a visit was made by Mr Heustice, Mr Dabson and Mr Gowar, together with Mr Windle, to the shooting ground at St James Quarry. The visit enabled the Councillors to see the extent of the shooting facilities there and assess their possible impact on the local area. 62 Correspondence Letter received from Middleton Press who will shortly be publishing a book entitled "Cowdray and Easebourne". The Council was asked to comment on three points - a) The pronunciation of Easebourne which the Council agreed was Es-burn b) Should the spelling be changed accordingly - No c) Should all the houses have numbers to aid the emergency services - No (already discussed at previous Parish Council meeting) Letter from Countryside Alliance requesting the support of the Parish Council in the quest to save rural Post Offices. Clerk to write in support. The meeting closed at 9.30pm The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 10th January 2007 at 7.30pm, in the Refectory Mrs Carole Allan, Clerk to Easebourne Parish Council, Ashfield Cottage, 1 Ashfield Close, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9RP. Telephone: 01730 813374. |
| Back to top |