Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Monday 20^th July 2009 at 7.45 pm at Amport School

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

2. Minutes of the Previous Meetings.
The minutes from the June meeting were approved and signed having been proposed by Tanya Garman and seconded by Charles Stephens.

3. Matters Arising from the last meeting and Declarations of Interest
The post uprooted from the top of footpath 6 is still in Charles Stephens garden, Ian Morrison stated that he will get it replaced.
A letter of thanks will be sent to Mr Hawkins Byas with regard to the repair work completed on the surface of the footpath adjacent to the old watercress beds. IM
A reply has yet to be received regarding the footway on the Old Amesbury Rd.
Charles Stephens recorded an interest in the church planning application.

The Green and Amport Fen
Ian Long reviewed the ROSPA report, the report commented on the poor state of the signage urging dog owners to ‘keep it clean’. Mr Wareham will be asked to quote for updating the signs on the Green, if costs are received in August a decision will be taken via e-mail.
A further sign suggesting care was needed due to the presence of the Brook was called for in the report but councillors all felt that this was unnecessary.
Two medium risk areas were identified

1. Holes were in need of filling adjacent to play equipment.
2. Timber preservative needs to be applied to the wooden framework of the cradle swings, a teenager in the village will be sought for this task.

A discussion was held over the need for a safety surface under the cradle swings - if used correctly these swings do not require a safety surface. The older children`s swings do not have a safety surface. It was decided unanimously that for the time being the safety of both sets of swings was adequate for their use.
The butterfly sign has been erected in the Fen and thanks will be expressed to Colin Wareham and the School for their hard work on this project. A photo will be taken of the ‘opening ceremony’ for the Parish Magazine.
Ashley Smith asked that the hard work of Andrew Hinton be acknowledged, he has spent considerable time working on several projects at the Fen. A letter of thanks will be sent from the Parish Council.
Future expenditure on the Fen was discussed and Charles Stephens reported that costings to be considered for next years budget will be available in October. He also informed the Council that section 106 money from Amport was still in the pipe line and may be received by the end of the summer.
A request for funding will also be made to the Green Space Strategy.
The cost to the Parish Council of the Fen will only be with regard to general maintenance.

Footpaths and Highways
Bill Gore asked for any requests to cut the footpaths to be made to him. It was suggested that the end of the watercress footpath nearest the Green will need cutting in August.
Rose Wareham asked that the Parish Council write to Hampshire Highways to request reflective bollards be placed warning drivers of the deep ditch which has recently been dug to improve flooding by Waterloo Bridge. IM

Lighting
The clerk will check that the light at Fairways has been repaired

7. Finance

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 photocopy of the Audit document was distributed for Councillors to inspect before it was sent to the Audit Commission - there were no questions.
An annual risk assessment will be carried out at the budget review meeting in November.

1. The track on the Green
   Ian Morrison briefly reviewed the history of recent repair work to the track on the Green. It was last repaired in early 2002 and is now in a fairly poor state of repair. Brain Nolan, of 2 Woodside Cottages, has had the track looked at by a Civil Engineer. The resultant report would suggest a more thorough repair would cost in the region of £9,000.
   Any forward movement on this project would depend on several elements
   1. TVBC would need to check on the validity and suitability of the works proposed.
   2. All parties involved in the work to agree the need and approve the cost.
   3. The building work proposed at the school is finished.

Assuming that TVBC issue a grant for 50% of the cost, the remaining charge to each of the 6 users of the track would be a maximum of £800. These costs would be subject to several contractors tendering for the job. At this point the Parish Council will write to the users of the track and determine whether they wish to proceed in repairing the track and that they are prepared contribute financially.

2. Rural Settlements - Core Strategy
   A meeting was held recently at Thruxton Village Hall, this was attended by 6 local Parish Councils and TVBC Officers.
   The Officers explained that the Parishes will be covered by a Rural Action Plan; this will need to establish how settlements boundaries should be determined for planning purposes. The current ‘brown line’ arrangement has been identified as being too prescriptive and prevents infilling which in turn leads to a reduction in the vitality of villages.
   Ian Morrison asked the meeting to consider where infill might be acceptable, where in fact the brown line could be extended and even allow ‘piggy backing’.
   Councillors raised questions, Ashley Smith asked whether this would include affordable housing and Nicholas Hoare asked if there would be a defined density.
   There is a present no requirement for a certain number of houses to be built within the village but Parishes are being asked to define in loose terms where extra houses could be built within the existing village envelope.
   At present only the village of Amport was being considered, not the whole Parish.
   Maps of the village showing the ‘brown line’ were distributed to those Councillors present and Councillors were asked to consider where they might foresee extra development. Ian Morrison reiterated that the Council is not being asked to be over specific and that normal planning permission guidelines will still be used as and when applications are made.
   Everyone present felt that it was unreasonable to make a decision at this meeting and therefore the September meeting will start at 7pm to allow extra time for discussion. Correspondence via e-mail may occur during August to facilitate the decision process.
   It was also agreed to change the date of the meeting to the 14^th September.

9. AOB and Correspondence
Sarah Hammer said she was happy to attend the presentation ceremony at John Hanson School in November.
Ashley Smith asked whether there was currently any B&B within the village for his work experience students, if anyone knows of a room to rent could they please let him know.

The Meeting closed at 9.15 pm.