Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Monday 15^th June 2009 at 7.45 pm at Amport School

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

2. Minutes of the Previous Meetings.
The minutes of the May meeting were approved and signed after, having been proposed by Sarah Hammer and seconded by Diana Preston

3. Matters Arising from the last meeting and Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest for tonight’s meeting.

4. Quarley Parish Boundary Review
30 letters were sent out earlier this year to residents in an area of the Parish which it had been suggested might like to move from within the boundary of Amport Parish Council to within the boundary of Quarley Parish Council. Responses were requested by June 1^st and were as follows

It was therefore decided that present that no further action should be taken regarding a boundary change in this part of the Parish.
Ian Morrison will write to Johanna Ferguson (Chairman at Quarley PC) and Mr and Mrs Walker informing them of the decision and this information will also be included in the next edition of the Parish Newsletter.

The Green and Amport Fen
In the absence of Ashley Smith, Charles Stephens gave a brief review of progress to date.
Section 106 money produced from within the Parish would most likely be available for project work on the Fen. The developer has yet to provide funds but they could be available in Aug/Sept.
Charles Stephens has written an article about the Fen and its history for publication in the Parish Newsletter.
A budget proposal for work on the Fen should be presented at the November meeting to allow Parish Councillors time to consider and approve any spending needed in the year 2010-2011. Ideally a 3- year plan would be presented to allow financial planning.
A request to take down the goal posts on the Green for the forthcoming fete was approved but after a vote it was decided to put them back up again during the summer.
Tanya Garman will ask Ron Moss if he can take them down before the fete and re-erect them afterwards.
Bill Gore reported that at present he would not be able to produce the benches for the Fen; however he had found a local craftsman at Weyhill who could make some. This will be considered again in July. Cllr Pat West commented that her discretionary budget had been reinstated and that she may be able to provide some finance for this project.
Ian Morrison had, before this meeting, approved £50 worth of work chipping tree cuttings on the Fen. This was ratified by the Parish Council.
The ROSPA report had been received by the Parish Council following the recent inspection of the play area, minor works are needed. Initially the report was passed to Tanya Garman to review. It will then be given to Ian Long for his recommendations on how the work needed can be achieved.

Footpaths and Highways
Bill Gore reported that the first cut of the footpaths had been completed and felt that the second cut could well take place on a ‘cut on demand basis’ with individual paths cut as needed. Parish Councillors are therefore asked to contact Bill Gore when cutting is required.
A post designed to stop vehicles going down the bridleway from Monxton Rd to the Pill Hill Brook has been torn up, and dumped on the Footpath behind the Amport Inn. Ian Morrison said he will ensure its return to the bridleway and will reinstall it as he has builders on site.
The uneven state of footpath 9 was again discussed and Ian Morrison said he would write a letter to Mr Hawkins-Byas asking him to make good his promise to improve the gradient on the path.
Mr Nolan, a resident who lives at the end of the track on the Green, has approached the Parish Council about the state of repair of the track. In the past TVBC has provided a grant to cover half the cost of the repair with 6 other interested parties (including the Parish Council) sharing equally the cost of repair. It has been almost 8 years since the last repairs were undertaken and it may well be that they are needed again. Mr Nolan has undertaken to obtain a survey and costing for repair work and report this to the Parish Council.
Sarah Hammer commented that the reflective bollards at the end of the Fyfield Road had all disappeared and the kerbs were being broken down as a result. Cllr Pat West recommended contacting Mr Kevin Fuller at Hampshire Highways in an attempt to get then replaced. Clerk/IM
The uneven footway along both sides of the Amesbury Road has yet to be repaired, the Parish Council has not received a reply to the letter it sent in July 2008 to TVBC, a further request for this work to be done will be sent Mr Terry Gilmour. Clerk/IM

Lighting
A survey of residents at Fairways was undertaken after the last meeting to ascertain whether residents wanted to keep the 3 street lights for which the Parish Council was responsible or have them removed. Responses indicated that out of 52 homes surveyed 31 voted to retain the lights, 5 wanted them removed and 16 failed to respond. The Parish Council accepted the majority decision and the lights will be retained and repaired. Ian Morrison will write to Mrs Knight a resident to let her know of the Council’s decision. Clerk \ IM to query estimate for next years lighting costs with HCC and approve outstanding repairs.

7. Planning Results

The following cheques were presented at tonight’s meeting

The cheques were signed by Ian Morrison and Charles Stephens.
These were approved by those councillors present.
A 3-month budget update was presented to the Parish Councillors, there were no questions.

10. AOB and Correspondence
Sarah Hammer asked that the Green be used for a social event for new Parents of Amport School on the afternoon of Sunday 13^th September clerk to inform Mr Welch.
Sarah Hammer further reported the delay in starting the new build at the school; this was due to missing legal paperwork.
The recent School Ofsted report was deemed as harsh as the criticisms were in areas over which the school had little direct influence.
Diana Preston had attended the recent TVAss of PC and urged villagers to use the local phone box or risk losing it.

The Meeting closed at 8.45 pm.
The date of the next meeting is July 20th at 7.45pm - Amport School.