Minutes – February 2023 Page 1 of 4
LIDDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on
Wednesday 1st February 2023 at 7pm in the Village Hall
Present: Councillors Aftelak, Lomax (Chair) and Wilson
Also present: Laura Evans (Clerk)
1. APOLOGIES
Resolved: To approve Ward Cllr G Sumner’s reason for absence (unavailable), Cllr Murphy’s reason for absence (unavailable) and Cllr Bunney’s reason for absence (unavailable)
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Lomax reminded Members that at the start of the meeting they should declare any known interests in any matter to be considered, and during the meeting if it comes apparent that they have an interest in the matters being discussed.
3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Resolved: The Minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 4th January 2023 were approved and signed as a true record.
4. MATTERS ARISING (10 MINUTES)
Trees – Cllr Lomax explained that there is currently not enough space to add additional trees to Spinney Green. The meeting agreed to wait until Winter 2023 and to reassess the health of the current trees in situ before any more are planted.
Clay Pigeon Shoot- Cllr Aftelak, despite chasing, is still awaiting a response from the Rights Of Way Officer at SBC. Action- Cllr Aftelak
Liddington Hillfort- Cllr Aftelak emailed the Landscape Trust to follow up on the phone call received from the Chair of the trust prior to Christmas, asking if another application form is required. No response has been received. Cllr Aftelak to chase again in 3 weeks. Action- Cllr Aftelak
Renovation of the old Speed Monitor – Cllr’s Wilson, Lomax and Bunney met to discuss the installation of the box required for the leads. Some modifications to the box were required. The box should be complete and installed by mid-March.
5. WARD COUNCILLOR REPORT (10 MINUTE)
As Ward Cllr G Sumner could not be in attendance, the Ward Councillor Report was sent via email and forwarded to all Cllr’s prior to the meeting.
The potholes in The Street filled again and although not perfect there are no large ones open at present.
The request to meet someone from Highways and await an agreement to do this with Parish Council to discuss The Street road repairs.
The flooding at the bottom of Purley Road has been reported and the flooding on the junction of Ham Road and Bell Lane have now been sorted.
Pack Hill is due to re-open 17/2 and Wanborough Road close again until mid June
Awaiting final dates from Openreach for the Gigabit fibre to the West of the village which is subject to additional poles and civils work. Upcoming closure in The Street to finalise fibre – this is between Spinney Close up to the B4192 from 1st Feb for up to 3 days. Resident access maintained at all times.
6. PUBLIC SESSION (15 MINUTES)
As no members of the public were in attendance or had made representations, the Parish Council continued with the meeting.
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7. PLANNING MATTERS (10 MINUTES)
(a) To consider any planning applications:
The meeting noted that no planning applications had been received.
(b) To note any decisions:
Application: S/LBC/22/1635 & S/HOU/22/1634
Location: The Old Rectory, Church Road Liddington, SN4 0HB
Proposal: Erection of greenhouse within new walled garden, creation of sunken garden, creation formal gardens within existing garden and the removal of 2no. trees -Granted
8. DEVELOPMENT OFF MARLBOROGUH RD S/RES/21/1026
To discuss the email received regarding the request for street name suggestions for this site.
Resolved: A resident of the Village had put forward two naming suggestions that had ties with families from the Coate area, the meeting had concerns with using family names due to lack of information on the backgrounds of the names. Cllr Aftelak suggested Hillfort View and Liddington View, which was unanimously agreed. Clerk to respond to SBC with the name suggestions. Action- Clerk
9. FINANCE (10 MINUTES)
(a) To approve payment of the following invoices:
Resolved: Cllr Lomax proposed approval of the invoices, standing order, recurring payment and ratification of the payments made between meetings. Cllr Aftelak seconded the proposal and was unanimously agreed.
• HMRC- Tax Month 10- £31.20
• Chairs Discretionary Allowance- £75.00
• Clerks Expenses- Postage- £3.80
• Adams & Watt Ltd- Moss clearance and noticeboard- £582.00
• Adams & Watt Ltd – Broken gate works – £338.40
(b) To approve payment of the following Standing Orders:
• Adams & Watt – Annual grass cutting contract – February instalment- £604.87
(c) To approve the following Direct Debits:
• Three Mobile phone bill – £3.00
(d) To approve payment of the following recurring payments
• Unlimited webhosting – (18/01/2023- 17/02/2023) – £4.79
(e) To ratify payments made between meetings
• Salary January- £201.40
• Friends of the Ridgeway Annual subscription- £15.00
(f) To receive the monthly account reconciliation
Resolved: The meeting noted that the accounts were in good order.
10. ALLOTMENT INVOICES
To discuss sending the invoices for Allotment plots in late March for payment in April (the growing season).
Resolved: Liddington Parish Council unanimously agreed to submit invoices for the Allotment plots in late March for payment in April 2023. Action- Clerk
11. WEBSITE
A resident had emailed the Chair regarding the website and to highlight a spelling error and out of date information especially The Village Inn which is temporarily closed. The Clerk to highlight this to the website administrator. Action- Clerk
The meeting also agreed that it would be beneficial for residents to be able to send articles or events to the administrator of the website that can be uploaded. Cllr Lomax to consult with the administrator for the website.
Action- Cllr Lomax
12. VILLAGE MATTERS (15 MINUTES)
a) Clay Pigeon Shoot – discussed under item 4.
b) Football club – The Contract had been re-submitted to the Football Club, the Secretary replied stating that the Football Club do not hold Public Liability Insurance and only hold Personal Accident Insurance as do all Football Clubs. LPC to respond requesting Public Liability Insurance as the Football Club are responsible for any of their negligence and are not, and cannot, be covered by the Liddington Village Parish Council insurance as LPC have no insurable interest which is the basis of all insurance policies linking the insured and owner of the policy. Clerk to respond to the Football Club.
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The issue of parking was also raised by the Football Club as Arkell’s will not allow the club to use the Pub car park. LPC suggested an email is sent to Ward Cllr G Sumner requesting that SBC create a parking lane down towards Hillside. This would provide parking for the club while also slowing down the speeding traffic.
Action-Clerk
c) Road Surface- The Street – discussed under item 5.
d) Kerbside Responsibilities- Contact has been made with the Specialist Services Operations Manager at SBC who confirmed that a street sweeper will be sent through the village to unblock the gullies. The maintenance issues of the pathways is still ongoing. The meeting agreed for the Clerk to send the Transfer of Services Agreement which outlines that Pathways are the responsibility of SBC. Action-Clerk
e) Litter – An email had been received from Chiseldon Parish Council on behalf of a resident regarding the amount of litter at Liddington Crossroads B4192. The meeting agreed that this had become an issue since SBC placed the hard standing at the crossroads where vehicles can park, this also encourages fly tipping around the area and believed that littering is a problem for SBC to deal with. The meeting agreed for the Clerk to report the fly tipping and to highlight the problem of litter. Action-Clerk
Cllr Aftelak suggested that this area be included in the Village Clean Up day.
13. COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS (10 MINUTES)
Councillors who have attended meetings on behalf of the Parish Council or who are responsible for local schemes, amenities and projects will have the opportunity to provide an update on progress made.
Allotments (LH)- No update provided.
Playing Field (CB) – No update provided.
Village Hall Committee (JM) – No update provided.
Town Advisory Engagement Group (GW) – No recent meeting has taken place.
Swindon Local Council Forum (DL & GW) – No recent meeting has taken place.
Parish Chairs/Clerks Engagement Meeting (DL) – No recent meeting has taken place.
NEV Meeting (DL) – No recent meeting has taken place.
The Clerk gave an update from the recent Clerk’s Forum. SBC are asking for the Parish Council’s help to aid with the national campaign regarding Voters ID. All voters will need to take photographic ID to Polling Stations to be able to vote ie Driving Licence, Passport, Bus Pass. Local residents can still use their photo ID if it is out of date, as long as it is still a likely representation of the person who appears on the ID. The name on the form of ID should be the same name which was used when registering to vote. Anyone who does not have an accepted photo ID can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate, before 5pm on 25 April. Applicants must be registered to vote and will need to provide their date of birth, National Insurance number and a recent photograph with their application.
There are several ways to apply:
• Apply online at GOV.UK
• Call the Council on 01793 445500 to request a paper form
• Go in person to Reception at Civic Offices (SN1 2JH) on any working day between 9.30am and 4pm
Postal voters will not be affected by the voter ID changes and will be issued with their postal ballot papers as usual. If a resident chooses to vote by proxy, then the person who is trusted to vote on their behalf will have to take their own identification to be issued with a ballot paper.
14. PARISH MAGAZINE (5 MINUTES)
The meeting agreed to put the following into the Parish Magazine
• Reminder of the Village Clean Up- 25th March 2023
• Voter ID from SBC
• Allotments
15. CORRESPONDENCE
The meeting noted that no correspondence had been received.
16. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION/FUTURE AGENDA
No items were raised for information or future agenda items.
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The meeting closed at 8:20pm
Signed………………………………………………………………………………………..Date……………………………
