Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 18th June 2007 at 7.45 pm in Amport School Hall.

1. Present
Mr I. Morrison, (Chairman), Lt Col Stephens, (Vice Chairman), Mr Bill Gore, Mrs Carolyn Mallam, Mrs Sarah Hammer, Mrs Diana Preston, Mrs Jean Arnell, Mr Ian Long and Mrs Suzanne Hoare (Clerk).
2 members of the public.
The village correspondent was absent.
Mrs Pat West - HCC cllr was also in attendance.
Neville Geake attended only to talk on the Tesco proposal and the VDS update.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes were agreed and signed, having been proposed by Bill Gore and seconded by Diana Preston

3. Matters Arising from the last meeting
Ian Long was asked if he would accept the role of The Green Officer and he accepted.
David Horne will be asked to attend most meetings to give a report on Amport Fen and also the maintenance of trees etc on the Green.
Councillors wished to ask Smith of Derby if they would extend the warranty on the clock by 2 years if we took out a 5-year maintenance contract with them. HAPTC will also be asked if other parishes have clocks and whom they use for maintenance Clerk
Ian Long gave his opinion that the new proposed flight path for planes descending into Bournemouth Airport would not significantly increase our current noise footpath. Other local aerodromes have more impact that this proposal. Ian Morrison to pass this general opinion onto Sir George Young.

The Green and Amport Fen
The second set of football posts will be taken down for sports day and the 2 fetes and replaced thereafter.
The cradle swing seats for the junior swings were chosen over the more modern design; the quote from Playground Services to supply and fit 2 new cradle seats was £337.80 excluding Vat. Cllr West suggested we contact Test Valley Leisure to discover if there is a cheaper alternative. Clerk
Test Valley Gardencare did not perform the clearance work discussed at the last meeting because overall the quote was felt to be too high. The work was completed very quickly by Clive Hutchinson at a cost of £500. The outstanding balance of work in hand (£160) with Test Valley Gardencare will be discussed further when David Horne attends the next meeting.
Clive Hutchinson could perform the recommended work on the Goat Willow adjacent to the children’s play area on the Green for a verbal estimate of £150; the necessary insurance will be verified before this work is commenced. IM/DH
Prior to the nettles being sprayed a warning notice will be displayed adjacent to the work area. The chemical used is not harmful to wildlife.
Charles Stephens read out a report compiled by David Horne.
The millstream is the first priority and the footpath in the fen will be the second priority.
The fen is currently being cut once a month; this is increasing the light and allowing diversity of plant and wildlife. The spoil from building work on Woodside Cottage was going to be used to cover the buried glass on the back of the Green; however it was found to contain rubble so this was not done.

Footpaths and Highways
The footpaths have just been cut, and it was reported that a tree has fallen down near the pumping station at East Cholderton.
Robin Aisher needs to be informed that 1 of the posts erected to deter fly tipping at the top of Footpath 6 (Green Lane) has been removed. IM
There has been no response from highways regarding the poor road surface at East Cholderton outside the White Horse.
The missing signs have been replaced at Thruxton /A303 Junction, our thanks to Phil Lashbrook for his help on this issue.
Monxton Road Amport is due to be surfaced dressed in July, the clerk will acknowledge this at Hampshire Highways and check our status with regard to the proposed pavement from Sarson Mill up to the Bridge on the Green. Clerk
Cllr West suggested Ernie Sage from Road Safety HCC be contacted regarding the overgrown hedges in Monxton Rd. Both sides of the road are bad, however it is hoped that once Little Bec is developed the hedge on that side of the road will be removed.

VDS
Having arrived at the meeting Neville Geake informed councillors that no further progress has been made with the VDS - this is ongoing.

Tesco Application
Neville Geake reported on the recent meeting of the action committee - the main Parishes involved at present are Abbotts Ann, Monxton and Amport.
The committee is focused on providing quick responses to the application and putting hurdles in the path of this development.
Abbotts Ann is responding to the traffic management issues of the application.
Rosemont are putting on a presentation for the Chamber of Commerce in Andover on June 28^th, one of the action committee will be attending.
Contact is being made with the Defence Estates with regard to their future expansion and how such a development might affect them.
Ian Morrison told the meeting that he had used his powers as Chairman to approve a grant of £150 to fund the printing of flyers to be distributed in the Weyhill Road area informing residents of the likely impact of the distribution centre should it go ahead.
Contacts are being made with local TV.
The next meeting of the Action Committee is July 2^nd.
Diana Preston commented on the response on the issue at the recent TVASS.of PC. They were on the whole very concerned at the prospect of the development, generally commenting that Andover needed more skilled jobs to raise the expectations of the local workforce. Ian Morrison thanked Neville Geake for attending the meeting after which Neville left.

Co- option of a new Parish Councillor
Several names were mentioned and Ian Long knew of 2 people who might be persuaded to join. It was decided to contact several people who live in the Sarson Close Area to see if anyone was willing to come onto the council. IM
All interested parties will be invited to attend the next meeting to seek co-option, could all names be forwarded to Ian Morrison so that invites can be made prior to the meeting on July 16^th Clerk /IM

6. Planning Results
None

7 Finance
Charles Stephens and Ian Morrison signed the following cheques at tonight’s meeting. These cheques were approved by all councillors present.

All the above cheques were approved by the Councillors present.
The 3 month budget update was presented, there were no questions.

8. AOB and Correspondence
Diana Preston commented that the salt bin at Fox is being used as a litter bin; it was thought there was very little the parish council could do about this.
Sarah Hammer asked if any progress had been made in finding a site for a play area north of the A303, IM to continue investigation.
Ian Long commented that he felt the wide hedges in Monxton Road were a safety problem for pedestrians; this is becoming a serious problem especially at this time of year. The school will be contacted to see if their School Travel Plan can be used to increase the effectiveness of our argument with Road Safety and Ernie Sage IL

Date of the next meeting: July 16^th 2007 at 7.45pm at Amport School
September Meeting - Sept 10^th at Amport School.

The Meeting closed at 10 00 pm.