Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held in
The Village Hall, Wixford on Tuesday the 11th of May, 2010 commencing at 7.30 p.m.
Present: Councillor Jack Fryer (in the Chair)
Councillors Angela Ballard, Colin Hales and Mark Sullens
Clerk: Karen Parnell
In attendance: District Councillors Kim James, Daren Pemberton and Brian Slaughter
Plus one member of the public
Apologies: Cllr Jon Haworth and County Councillor Peter Barnes
The Chairman opened the meeting by congratulating Cllr Daren Pemberton on his re-election to office. The high turn-out of Wixford residents in the election was also noted.
1. To Elect a Chairman for the ensuing Municipal Year.
Cllr Jack Fryer was elected as Chairman for the ensuing Municipal Year, and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
Proposed: Cllr Sullens Seconded: Cllr Hales.
2. To Elect a Vice-Chairman for the ensuing Municipal Year.
Cllr Colin Hales was elected Vice-Chairman for the ensuing Municipal Year, and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
Proposed: Cllr Fryer Seconded: Cllr Sullens.
3. Disclosure of Interests. Councillors are asked to declare personal interests in any items on the agenda. Councillors are reminded that the Code of Conduct that takes effect from 8th May 2007 provides that should they have a prejudicial interest in any matter under discussion they should withdraw from the room and not seek to influence a decision about the matter.
There were no disclosures of interests.
4. To appoint a Parish Council Representative to the Village Hall Charity for the ensuing Municipal Year.
Cllr Angela Ballard was elected as our Representative for the ensuing Municipal Year.
Proposed: Cllr Fryer Seconded: Cllr Sullens.
5. To appoint a Representative to the Wilcox and Allen Charity for the ensuing Municipal year.
Cllr Jon Haworth was elected to continue as our Representative for the ensuing Municipal Year in his absence.
Proposed: Cllr Ballard Seconded: Cllr Fryer.
6. Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 9th March 2010 and Parish Assembly of 13th April 2010 were agreed by the Council to be an accurate record of the meetings, and were duly signed off by the Chairman as such, after clarification of the recent co-option procedure.
7. Matters arising therefrom.
Repairs to the phone box
These were completed by Alcester Glass during April.
Traffic calming
WCC posters have now been installed at the 'Moor Hall' end of the village. Speed counts are currently taking place in the village.
Barbed wire by footpath
This was reported as a concern to WCC who were reluctant to take action, WCC have however asked for a stile to be removed from the footpath. Clarifications on the boundaries of Stone House have also been established.
Postal service in Wixford
Talks are ongoing regarding the relocation of the post box with the Collections manager in Redditch and due to utility information required for this to happen will take in the region of three months. Meantime the postman will collect any post when he undertakes deliveries and a poster will be displayed on the noticeboard to this effect. Some sadness was expressed at losing the old heritage box.
8. Comments from the public relating to items on this Agenda.
Siting the postbox by the telephone box was suggested.
It was questioned if repair works to the telephone box were likely to be an ongoing problem.
Generating a greater public turnout for parish council meetings was discussed. Dates will be publicised in the newsletter.
9. Planning:
None
10. Finance:
The internal audit was completed by Kenneth Dunn on the 14th of April 2010.
To complete the Annual Financial Return for the year ending 31st March, 2010:-
a) Chairman to sign The Statement of Accounts;
This was done and the RFO countersigned.
b) Councillors to complete the Statement of Assurance;
This was universally agreed by the Council.
c) Chairman to sign the Bank Reconciliation as at 31st March, 2010.
Done by both Chairman and RFO with the consent of the Council.
11. Accounts for payment.
Cheque No 335 Clerks Salary/Expenses £ 455.70
Cheque No 337Allianz Insurance PLC (AON) £ 451.79
Cheque No 336 WALC £ 70.00
Cheque No 338 Alcester Glass Centre £ 258.50
Cheque No 339 Viking Direct £ 48.43
Cheque No 340 Internal Auditor (Kenneth Dunn) £ 60.00
Cheque No 341 Wixford Parochial Church Council £ 360.00
Receipt 50% Precept from SDC £ 3000.00
Cheques Proposed: Cllr Ballard Seconded: Cllr Hales
Signed: Cllr Hales Seconded: Cllr Ballard.
12. To deal with any correspondence.
Request for payment from Bryan Knight, St Milburga's Churchyard.
Wixford Village Hall accounts 2009/10
13. Councillors reports. Kim James:
Kim congratulated Daren Pemberton on his election win. Daren received 1448 votes in a 69% turnout. 58 candidates contested 20 seats in the district council elections. Of the total 53 seats 31 are now Conservative, 20 Liberal Democrat and 2 Independent.
SDC are adopting a 'Scheme for Petitions', in accordance with the requirement of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. SDC is required to have a Scheme for Petitions in place by 15 June 2010 and a facility for making petitions in electronic form (E-Petitions) to the Council by 15 December 2010. Accordingly, it had been necessary to arrange a special meeting on 19/05/10 to formally adopt the Scheme. The scheme itself means that anyone who lives/is a home owner/business owner/works/studies in the District, including under 18's, can sign or organise a petition and trigger a response. Of the 1000 signatories necessary, only two need reside within the area.
At the council meeting which follows on 19/05/10 a new Chairman, new Leader and composition of committees will be established.
14. Questions from the public:
The criteria for the Village of the year competition was explained.
Hay bales creating blocked drains in Grafton Lane was discussed. Cllr Hales will assist regarding the drains and have a word with the likely culprit. If unsuccessful Karen will follow up in writing.
Extending the footpath to the church to form a circuit was again requested. No finance is available.
A Lengthsman scheme was again discussed. This was untenable with regard to insurance.
Meeting closed: 8.20 pm
Signed Jack Fryer - Chairman
13th July 2010
12th May, 2010