Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Monday 10th December 2007 at 7.45 pm in Amport School Hall.

1. Present
Mr I. Morrison, (Chairman), Lt Col Stephens, (Vice Chairman), Mrs Sarah Hammer, Ian Long, Mrs Diana Preston, Mr Bill Gore, Mrs Jean Arnell, Mrs Carolyn Mallam, Mrs Tanya Garman and Mrs Suzanne Hoare (Clerk).
Apologies, Tim Southern, Pat West, Nicholas Hoare and David Horne
1 member of the public and the village correspondent were present.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes were agreed and signed having been proposed by Sarah Hammer and seconded by Tanya Garman.

3. Matters Arising from the last meeting and Declarations of Interest
5 young people from the Parish - 2 girls and 3 boys have been accepted by Lains Farm to undertake the shooting course in the New Year.
A letter has been sent to Strutt&Parker expressing interest in their offer of a play area near Fairways, a reply is awaited.
Ian Morrison declared an interest in the Planning Application at Fleur de Lys.

The Green and Amport Fen
David Horne’s letter was read out as he was unable to be present.
David Horne had contacted the Community Service thanking them for another successful visit, Hampshire Wildlife trust are due to visit the Green and Fen this month and an update will be available at the next meeting.
The problem of green waste/rubbish on the Green has been cleared.
2 sections of the Mattas safety surface are loose near the play house and this will be investigated and appropriate action taken IM/Clerk

Footpaths and Highways
The 2 new posts to prevent fly tipping have been installed at the top of Green Lane on footpath 6.
Disabled access onto public footpaths is going to cause many problems, hard surfaces making the abuse of footpaths more likely; therefore the Parish Council does not at this stage intend to pursue this current initiative.
Concern was expressed about the alarming increase in HGV Lorries seemingly being directed through the village and through Monxton by SAT NAV systems. Potential accidents are a cause of concern and Councillors are asked to take details of vehicles that are using the roads ignoring weight restrictions.
The Bus Shelter at Weyhill Fairground Roundabout has been rebuilt and is in use again.
Ivy has been cleared from the Bus Shelter outside the Amport Inn.

VDS
All Councillors were presented with a printed draft of the VDS.
David Bibby has stated that the VDS will become a Subsidiary Planning document this month, help with printing costs is available from TVBC and this will be followed up.
5 years ago the draft vds was started and comments are invited from Councillors on the content to ensure it is error free and up to date. Comments to Charles please
Charles and Neville Geake were thanked for all their hard work over the past 5years+ on this project, which is hopefully nearing completion.

Tesco Application
During the first week of February there will be a final public meeting to ensure the local community is aware of the implications of the proposal.
February 21^st is the new date suggested for the Northern Area planning Committee to meet and decide the application.
Highways are currently said to be concerned over the traffic figures.
The petition has 4,500 signatures but more would be an advantage – all are asked to sign if they haven’t already done so.

7. Finance
A draft budget for 2008/9 had been circulated prior to this meeting and after discussion Jean Arnell, Responsible Finance Officer, proposed a precept of £11,000 for the forthcoming financial year. This was approved by all councillors present.
The finance sub-committee had reviewed the clerk’s salary and recommended the national increase for local Parish Clerks plus a 1 point spine adjustment making the increase for the year £124.44. This was confirmed by all councillors present.
The following cheques were presented for signature by Ian Morrison and Charles Stephens - all were approved by those councillors present.

8. AOB and Correspondence
A member of the public brought the problem of overgrown hedges to the attention of the Parish Council. Several hedges close to the school are spilling into the road and their owners will be contacted IM
A hedge bordering Monxton Rd below Mount Pleasant is thought to be owned by Testway Housing, the clerk will write to confirm this and ask them to cut it back.
The west bound exit slip road on the A303 and immediate junction after were commented on as being dangerous – Thruxton PC will be contacted regarding this problem.

Date of the next meeting will be January 21^st at 7.45pm at Amport School.

The Meeting closed at 9.20 pm.