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Minutes of a meeting of the Parish
Council held on 24th September 2008 at 7.30pm There were present Roger Powell Chairman Chris Bell Valerie Knight In attendance Ian Andrews Parish Clerk Mr. Jason Mann The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and in particular Mr. Jason Mann who was interested in becoming a Parish Councillor.
Apologies for absence were received from David Reynolds and Richard Walsh. 95/08 Chairman’s notices There were none. 96/08 Declarations of interest There were none 97/08 Council vacancies The Chairman reported there were now only two people interested in the two casual vacancies. He invited Mr. Jason Mann to address the meeting and reminded members that Mr. Shaun Byrne who was unable to attend the meeting had already addressed members. Chris Bell proposed and Andrew Clarke seconded the co-option of Mr. Shaun Byrne and Mr. Jason Mann as members of the Parish Council. This was unanimously agreed by members. 98/08 Police matters There were none. 99/08 Minutes The Minutes of the meeting held on 27th August 2008 were approved as being a correct record. 100/08 Maters arising from the Minutes There were none. 101/08 Confirmation of actions from the previous Minutes Action 080827/1: The Chairman reported he had spoken to the Chairman of the Rugby Club to explain it was not possible to proceed with the building of a new pavilion. He further reported that he had contacted the Rugby Football Union and he expected further funding for the Rugby Club from the RFU in due course. Action 080827/2: The Parish Clerk had written to the owners of 3 Hollies Close, Bower Hinton about the Parish Council’s decision on the public bench. Action 080827/3: David Parris reported he and Richard Walsh had met Yeomarks Ltd regarding the white lining in the Recreation Ground Car Park and that the company would undertake the work for £380.00 + VAT. Members accepted this quotation. Action 080827/4: A copy of the Visitors’ Audit had been sent to all Parish Council members. Action 080827/5: Members agreed to meet Kim Sharp on Thursday 2nd October 2008 for a walk through from Hurst to Bower Hinton. Action 080827/6: Application 08/03179/FUL had been considered at the mid-month meeting of the Planning Committee on 10th September 2008. 102/08 Parishioner participation There was none. 103/08 Market House refurbishment Phase 1: The Chairman reported that Phase 1 was almost completed and that the outstanding work, comprising the oak screen opposite the White Hart and the toilets, would be undertaken together. He further reported on the unsatisfactory manner in which the contract had been carried out and that the option remained to terminate the contract with Ambience and for the Phase 2 contractor to complete the work, although the architect had not recommended this course of action. It was agreed that the architect should be asked to write to Ambience informing the company that they must finish the work by a date to be agreed by the Project Group or action would be taken to terminate the contract. Phase 2: The Chairman reported on the retendering
for Phase 2 and that Ellis & Co of Shepton Mallet had submitted the lowest
tender amounting to £184,462. The quantity surveyor and the
architect had recommended the acceptance of this tender. This was
accepted by the members. The Chairman reported that the design appraisal had been completed and that a small group had been formed from the Steering Group to consider the funding issues. On the recommendation of this group, the Steering Group had agreed to aim for a budget of £3.5 million, but this would be dependant on £1.5 million being raised from the “mYPlace” Lottery Fund. The Chairman and Claire Cruwys planned to meet with Lottery officials in October to ascertain whether an application from the MUCF project would meet their criteria and a bid of this magnitude could be funded. If not, the project would be postponed until other suitable funding sources could be identified. On this basis, the Steering Group would make a decision to proceed or otherwise by the end of October. In the meantime, the architect had been asked to amend the design to keep it within an overall cost of £3.5 million. Chris Price suggested that this budget should contain a significant amount of contingency. The Chairman also raised the need to conduct a proper feasibility study on sale and redevelopment of the Parish Hall, the Gospel Hall and the Youth Centre. A bid was planned to the County Council’s Market Towns Regeneration Fund to cover this. 105/08 County & District Councillors’ Reports Douglas Campbell reported on a meeting he had convened to consider a pre-school facility and that the next meeting of the group considering the matter would be held with County Council Officers. He commented on the paved area in the Precinct which needed replacing and that he was prepared to utilise some of the funds from his Local Initiative Budget for this work. He proposed the Parish Clerk should write to the Chairman of the County Council to recommend the Martock Charity Shop for a Chairman’s Award for work for the community. Action:080924/1: Parish Clerk Ann Campbell reported that the installation of new play facilities on Bracey Road recreation ground should be commence soon, and she and Patrick Palmer commented that South Somerset District Council was impressed by the way the Martock Parish Council undertakes its work. 106/08 Finance Committee 106.1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th September 2008 were approved as being a correct record. 106.2 Malcolm Heaven reported he was unable to ratify the accounts
for August as he was awaiting copies of the bank statements. He
undertook to ratify the accounts as soon as possible. 106.3 Parish Council 08/09 Budget: The Chairman of the Committee, Christopher Price, reported on the need to make certain virements to the Parish Council’s budget to meet a shortfall of £10,000 for the Market House Refurbishment and £17,000 for the completion of the Traditional Lighting project. The Chairman of the Council reported on the three tenders received for the work on Phase 2 of the Market House project, and that the lowest tender received from Ellis & Co was still in excess of the available budget. Ellis & Co had been asked to reduce their costs in relation to an amended specification, which deferred some of the work, however there would still be a shortfall of £30,000. To cover this shortfall, the Chairman proposed that £10,000 should be vired within the 08/09 budget and the remaining £20,000 allocated in the 09/10 precept. The Chairman of the Village Committee, Chris Bell, reported on the increased cost for traditional lighting to be installed in Church Street, including the removal of overhead power cables to some homes, and that the cost of services had not been included within the original budget. Hence there was a funding shortfall of £17,000 for the total project. After considering the list of proposed virements tabled by the Chairman of the Council, members agreed to the virement of £10,000 for Phase 2 of the Market House refurbishment, £17,000 for the completion of the Traditional Lighting project. They further agreed to include £20,000 in the 09/10 precept for the work on Phase 2 of the Market House refurbishment. There followed a discussion on the appointment
of Ellis & Co
to undertake Phase 2 of the work for refurbishment of the Market
House. Chris Bell proposed and Patrick Palmer seconded this appointment,
which was unanimously agreed by members. 107/08 Recreation Committee 107.1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th September 2008 were approved as being a correct record. 107.2 Rugby Club Juniors’ Area: The Chairman of the Council
reported on a request from Martock RFC to lay out a space closer
to the pavilion for the junior members of the rugby club. The Committee
Chairman, David Parris, agreed to speak to the Chairman of the
Rugby Club concerning this matter and raise the request at the
next meeting of the Recreation Ground Users’ Group. 107.3 Bellway Homes – Paull Court Play Area: The Chairman of the Council reminded members that he, along with SSDC, had been negotiating with Bellway Homes on compensation for the absence of a play area in Paull Court (a Section 106 planning requirement). Bellway Homes had agreed to pay £50,533 as the cost of the planned play equipment plus a commuted sum of £20,000 for maintenance. At the same time, they would lay out the green space in Paull Court in accordance with the previously agreed plan. This should result in lower maintenance costs being charged to residents. After discussion it was agreed that £40,000 would be allocated to provide an activity trail and multi-unit in the Recreation Ground play area, £24,000 to the skate park extension and the remaining funds to the MUGA project. 107/4 Cricket Club: The Committee Chairman, David Parris, agreed
to consider the payment of money allegedly owed to the cricket
club after work had been undertaken to the pitches. 108/08 Village Committee 108.1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th September 2008 were approved as being a correct record. 108/2 Precinct Project: The Chairman of the Committee, Chris Bell, advised that a meeting on the precinct project had been arranged at 6:30pm immediately prior to the committee mid-month meetings on 8th September 2008. 108/3 Traditional Lighting: The Committee Chairman reported he would arrange a walk round with Western Power and would be writing to the company urging them to reduce their costs. 109/08 Planning Committee 109/1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 10th September 2008 were approved as being a correct record. 109/2 Consideration of Planning Applications: The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Andrew Clarke, reported on the following planning application: 08/03646/FUL, erection of a single extension to dwelling – 17, Ashfield Park, Martock. Approved. At this point of the meeting Jason Mann declared an interest in
the next application and left the room. 08/03785/FUL, formation of vehicular access and hardstanding and
the erection of a The Parish Clerk reported that South Somerset District Council had approved the following planning application: 08/03246/FUL, alterations to form rooms in roof space and provision of dormer windows – 15, Broadway, Bower Hinton. 110/09 Flood Awareness Workshop/Presentations Christopher Price reported on Flood Awareness
and that Paull & Co
was prepared to have a sand bag store on their site. It was agreed
not to host a presentation in Martock, and Christopher Price agreed
to report further on progress at the next meeting of the Parish
Council. 111/08 Parishioner participation There was none. 112/08 Correspondence The Parish Clerk reported receipt of an invitation from South Somerset District Council to attend the Area North Community Forum on 23rd October 2008. Valerie Knight, Jason Mann, Andrew Clarke and Philip Jackson agreed to attend the Forum. Further to Action 080827/5 (see 101/08 above), the Parish Clerk had received a letter from Mr. Kim Sharp of South Somerset Area Highways Office confirming that he would be able to meet members for a walk through from Hurst to Bower Hinton on Thursday 2nd October. It was agreed that this would be scheduled for 12 noon and that Patrick Palmer, Chris Bell and Philip Jackson would attend, meeting in the Recreation Ground car park. 113/08 Notice of business for future meetings There was none. There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.30pm.
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