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CHEPPING WYCOMBE PARISH COUNCIL
Report of the Council meeting held on Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 7.30pm at the Council Chamber,
Cock Lane, Tylers Green, Bucks HP10 8DS
Present: Cllr K Wood (Chairman) Cllr C Dodds
Cllr D Johncock (Vice-chairman) Cllr L Johncock
Cllr L Willis Cllr L Webb
Cllr R Wilks Cllr C Jordan
Cllr A Barron Cllr I Forbes
Cllr H Darch Cllr J Gurney
Also present: Mr M Humphries (St Peter’s Church) and Mr R Read (P&TG Residents Association)
FC/23/063 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received and approved from Cllr S Digby (holiday), Cllr J Herschel (family), Cllr S Herron (unwell) and Cllr S Barrett (meeting)
FC/23/064 Declarations of Interest and Code of Conduct
There were none.
Council was asked to welcome Mark Humphries from St Peter’s Church, Loudwater, who gave feedback on the work the church had been able to do and how the grant of £10,000 had assisted. Mark thanked the Council for the grant and advised how it had impacted on all groups of the community; specifically with the School Supplies project, lunch clubs, All About Me Boards for Remembrance Day, Christmas Lights Trail, Young At Heart tour of Oxford and surrounding areas, providing a Day Out to Warwick Castle and the Friday Club for primary school children. The next step will be a Community Café which is currently being trialled.
Mark thanked all present again for the grant and left the meeting at 7.38pm
Cllr Wood then asked for Standing Orders to be suspended to re-order the agenda; this was agreed.
FC/23/065 Memorial Plaques WW1 Trees, Tylers Green
Council was asked to consider a request from the Penn & Tylers Green Residents Association to take over the care and replacement of the plaques at the WW1 trees around the Common as they were getting damaged. Mr Read was in attendance and gave a short history of the trees and plaques and his involvement.
There are 30 plaques in total and to replace them all with the same plaque as the WW2 trees would incur a unit cost of £40 – £50, so the total replacement could be between £1,200 to £1,500.
It was RESOLVED that;
the Parish Council would take over the care of the plaques possibly with a contribution from the Residents Association and a small working group, to include Mr Read, would be set up to investigate possible replacements and decide on how to proceed.
Mr Read thanked those present and left the meeting at 8pm
FC/23/066 Council Minutes
Council was asked to consider the minutes of the Council meeting held on Tuesday, 19 December 2023.
FC/23/060 Questions from Members Cllr Dodds had asked a question about the interest rate from Barclays and the clerk advised that it was currently 1.5%. Alternative interest-bearing accounts would be investigated.
It was RESOLVED that;
The minutes of the Council meeting held on Tuesday 19 December 2023 be approved.
There was still an issue over the MVAS agenda item, however now that the project is no longer viable the minute stands
FC/23/067 Open Spaces Committee
Council was asked to consider the report of the Committee meeting held on Thursday, 11 January 2024.
Cllr Willis highlighted OS/23/045 Derehams project was moving forward and going for pre-planning advice.
It was RESOLVED that;
The report of the meeting held on Thursday 11 January be approved.
FC/23/068 Works & Services Committee
Council was asked to consider the report of the Committee meeting held on Thursday, 25 January 2024.
Cllr Dodds highlighted the following items;
WS/23/058 Vehicles – the Isuzu replacement was on further down the agenda for approval.
WS/23/057 FH Street Litter Bins – the bins were supposed to be changed over week beginning 12 February, however there was still no sign of them.
Cllr Wood advised that WS/23/063 the postbox at the top of Hammersley Lane hat been closed due to flooding. This information had been passed on from the Chairman of P&TG Residents Association.
It was RESOLVED that;
The report of the meeting held on Thursday 25 January 2024 be approved.
FC/23/069 Finance & General Purposes Committee
Council was asked to consider the report of the Committee meeting held on Thursday, 8 February 2024.
Cllr Johncock FGP/23/035 Legal – Mast Straight Bit, Flackwell Heath a request had been sent to Beacomms for a full disclosure of information however this had not been received. The planning application has been lodged and our objections have been uploaded.
It was RESOLVED that;
The report of the meeting held on Thursday 8 February 2024 be approved.
FC/23/070 Planning Meetings
It was RESOLVED that;
The reports of the Planning Meetings held on Tuesday 12 December 2023, Tuesday 2 January 2024, Tuesday 16 January 2024 and Tuesday 30 January 2024 be approved.
Council was also asked to note the schedule of applications from December to February, showing eventual outcomes of the parish council submitted objections.
FC/23/071 S137 – Payment of Grants
Council was asked to note that the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has notified the National Association of Local Councils that the appropriate sum for Section 137 (4)(a) of the Location Government Act 1972 for parish and town councils in England for 2024/25 is £10.81. The amount was a result of increasing the amount of £9.93 for 2023/24 by the percentage increase in the retail index between September 2022 and September 2023 under Schedule 12B of the 1972 Act as above.
Section 137 enables parish councils to spend a sum, per elector, on activities and projects not specifically authorised by other powers. Council is asked to NOTE that the current budget allocation for the new financial year of £5,000 was well below the aforementioned limit.
Cllr Webb queried whether the grant budget line should be more realistic taking into account the amounts involved.
FC/23/072 Grant Application – Tylers Green Middle School
Council was asked to consider the recommendation from the Finance & General Purposes committee to award £1,500 to the Tylers Green Middle School for rejuvenating their pond and the creation of an outdoor teaching space.
It was RESOLVED that;
The request for £1,500 as a contribution towards the pond and outdoor teaching space be approved.
FC/23/073 Replacement of the Isuzu 4×4
Council was asked to consider the recommendation from the Works & Services committee to trade in the current Isuzu 4×4, which we have had for 10 years, for a new one with an updated specification. The estimated cost for part exchange and after the local government discount would be in the region of £22,500.
It was RESOLVED that;
The replacement of the current Isuzu 4×4 be approved at the estimated cost of £22,500.
FC/23/074 January 2024 EMR Review
Council was asked to consider the recommendation from the Finance & General Purposes committee to make the suggested adjustments to the current Earmarked Reserves. These adjustments were a streamlining exercise that would free up some funds for the Derehams project.
It was RESOLVED that;
The suggested adjustment to the Earmarked Reserves be approved.
It was noted that the only change since the Finance & General Purposes meeting was the agreed movement of £10,000 from the Community Board EMR
FC/23/075 Amenity land neighbouring Knaves Beech Industrial Estate (Hedley Green)
Council was asked to note that Aviva had been back in contact relating to the above site with the following advice from their Fund’s valuer.
‘A site of this size should achieve in the region of £350,000 – £700,000 if sold on the open market with vacant possession and the benefit of planning permission for industrial or residential development. Obviously, the site is subject to a long lease to the Parish Council and does not benefit from planning permission, so the actual value of the land today would be heavily discounted accordingly. The Fund Manager is willing to consider any offer from the Parish Council.’
It was RESOLVED that;
The clerk contact Aviva advising that the Parish Council is happy with the lease as is, however would be happy to consider being bought out of the lease at a reasonable price.
FC/23/076 Biodiversity Project – Chiltern Rangers
Following the last Council meeting in December when,
‘It was RESOLVED that;
Further information be sought from Chiltern Rangers/John Shaw as to costs and terms of reference for this project together with information on the longer-term project.’
Council was now asked to consider the creation of a document setting out the long-term plans to tackle the challenges of biodiversity and climate change using green spaces.
The estimated cost for this would be between £2,830- 3,280 plus VAT.
It was RESOLVED that;
The creation of the document be approved along with a steering group.
It was noted that a meeting should be arranged with John Shaw, Chiltern Rangers and the attendees from the last meeting so that this could be progressed.
FC/23/077 Branch Road, Loudwater
Council was asked to receive a verbal update from Cllr K Wood about the land at Branch Road. This piece of land had been taken initially from the resident of the property on the corner of Branch Road and Queensmead Road for use as a compound when the building work on the other side of the road was underway. Once the work had finished it had been left and became a fly tipping area.
Cllr Wood advised that the plan had been to make the small patch of land into a Community Garden with the help of the Chiltern Rangers, however there had been no progress to date. It was felt that the land should be given back to resident.
FC/23/078 Skatepark Joint Project Update
Council was asked to receive a verbal update on the Skatepark Project from Cllr D Johncock, which is attached to this report.
The following statement is to be put into the public domain;
“Following an independent analysis and report on the findings of the recent “Consultation on Activities for Young People and Potential Provision of a Local Skate Park” Chepping Wycombe and Wooburn & Bourne End Parish Councils are pleased to publish the findings.
It is important to note that this survey is an early consultation with the community. It is not a referendum, nor is it a market research survey that is representative of the Parishes and wider area. At this stage it is only indicative of the community views rather than an expert opinion on the provision and possible additions.
No decisions have been made based on this analysis by the Joint Steering Group other than to consider the contents further over the coming months.”
Members present at the meeting were happy to put their full support to the wording of the statement.
FC/23/079 5 Year Plan
Council was asked to note the revised 5 Year Plan previously considered at the Finance & General Purposes committee.
It was noted that the Green Dragon Lane Car Park was now completed and therefore needed to be removed.
FC/23/080 Community Board Projects
Council received a verbal report from Cllr Barron which is attached to this report.
FC/23/081 Re-appointment of Internal Auditor
Council was asked to consider the re-appointment of Mr E Newhouse as Internal Auditor for the financial year 2023/24.
It was RESOLVED that;
Mr E Newhouse be re-appointed as Internal Auditor for the financial year 2023/24.
FC/23/082 Questions by Members of the Council
Cllr Dodds asked when the newsletter would be ready. The clerk advised that the boxes of newsletters had been received the day before the meeting.
FC/23/083 Public Participation
There were no members of the public.
FC/23/084 Accounts for Payment
Accounts for payment were circulated at the meeting for consideration by councillors.
It was RESOLVED that;
the accounts for payment be approved and cheques numbered 11253 to 11260 be signed and that the BACS payment to Payflow, direct debits to Barclays, Trade UK, NEST SSE, Triumph Technologies Ltd and Unicom along with Bank Transfers to Cutting Edge Garden Machinery, Speedy Fuels Ltd and Townsweb Archiving Ltd be also approved for payment.
The chairman thanked members for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9.01pm
Date and Time of Next Meeting: Tuesday 30 April 2024 @ 7.30pm