Minutes– October 2023 Page 1 of 4
LIDDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting held on
Wednesday 4th October 2023 at 6:30pm in the Village Hall
Present: Councillors Aftelak, Bunney (Chair),Poppleton and Sturgess.
Also present: Laura Evans (Clerk), Ward Cllr G Sumner and two members of the public.
1. CO OPTION OF COUNCILLOR
Resolved: Cllr Aftelak proposed that Jake Sturgess be co-opted onto the Parish Council. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Poppleton and unanimously agreed.
2. APOLOGIES
Resolved: To approve Cllr Wilson’s reason for absence (attending to other Parish business)
3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Poppleton declared an interest as Treasurer for All Saint’s Church and item 8 of the agenda – Planning matters
4. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Resolved: The Minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 6th September 2023 were approved with an amendment needed to the misspelling of Purley Road and were signed as a true record.
5. MATTERS ARISING (10 MINUTES)
Playing field signage- Cllr Poppleton confirmed that the appropriate signage for the prohibition of BBQ’s and vehicles for Church Road and the entry signs to the playing field are now in place.
Website – continuing action- Cllr Aftelak has tried to contact the Chair of Wanborough PC numerous times but no response was received. The meeting agreed that if there has not been a response then to proceed looking at website providers again. Action- Cllr Aftelak
Footpaths- Continuing action – The Clerk contacted Ward Cllr G Sumner with the letter that stated LPC should receive £2,000 for footpath maintenance. Ward Cllr G Sumner sent to the head of Finance at SBC and is awaiting a response.
Medbourne Lane- Cllr Aftelak raised concerns that the hedge is now growing out into the road, Ward Cllr G Sumner confirmed that the rural verge cuts are in the process of being done.
Strimming of the banks on the brook – Cllr Bunney confirmed that the Contractor has completed the strimming and positive comments have been received from residents.
Plaque for viewing platform – Cllr Aftelak has received confirmation from North Wessex Downs for their preference of reference. A draft of the wording and graphics was circulated, one company suggested stainless steel with no colour as this is hard wearing with an approximate cost of £200. The meeting agreed that the website link on the draft should be removed, and Liddington Parish Council made larger but in the same font. Cllr Aftelak to obtain two quotes for the plaque with the above amendments. Action- Cllr Aftelak
6.
WARD COUNCILLOR REPORT (10 MINUTE)
Ward Cllr G Sumner gave the following updates;
20 MPH Scheme- still ongoing with the hope of it being delivered by the end of the Financial Year.
Gigabyte Fibre- Cllr Bunney raised concerns that Church Road and Medbourne Lane have still not been fully installed and works seem to have stalled. Ward Cllr G Sumner emailed Openreach and will forward the response once received. Once the works are completed residents in Church Road and Medbourne Lane will receive a letter/email saying the service is now active.
Minutes– October 2023 Page 2 of 4
Ward Cllr G Sumner left the meeting at 7:10pm
7. PUBLIC SESSION (15 MINUTES)
The All Saints Church Warden confirmed that SBC pay money direct to the PCC for the closed church yard grass cutting but wanted to make LPC aware that there are Yew trees in the closed church yard that require attention and that a tree survey would be required and wondered if LPC would help contribute to the cost of a tree survey.
As SBC pays for the closed church yard grass cutting are SBC also responsible for the maintenance of the trees within the closed church yard? The Clerk to gather more information regarding responsibility of these trees and report back once an answer has been established before considering the above request.
Action – Clerk
The resident, who sits on the Village Hall Committee, in attendance thanked the PC for the playing field signage and said that he would be purchasing one more sign to put in the entrance to the Village Hall.
8. PLANNING MATTERS (10 MINUTES)
(a)
To consider any planning applications:
Application: S/LBC/23/1058 (6th October)
Location: The Old Rectory, Church Road Liddington, SN4 0HB
Proposal: Erection of greenhouse within new walled garden, creation of sunken garden and creation formal gardens within existing garden and the removal of 2no. trees. (Amendment to previous application S/LBC/22/1635).
Resolved: Liddington Parish Council have no objections to this proposal.
(b)
To note any comments submitted between meetings:
Application: S/LBC/23/1051
Location: The Old Rectory, Church Road Liddington, SN4 0HB
Proposal: Removal of existing tennis court. erection of single-storey orangery to northeast elevation of existing dwelling. Erection of timber-framed cartshed. Replacement of existing window and doors to existing lean-to, addition of glazed roof, and re-roofing of part of the existing lean-to. Formation of WC (amendments to S/LBC/22/1102)
Resolved: Cllr Poppleton abstained from commenting due to declaring an interest. Liddington Parish Council have no objections to this proposal.
(c)
To note any decisions:
Application: S/TWC/23/0942/TIST
Proposal: Works to trees within a Conservation Area.
Location: 9 Lidenbrook, Liddington, Swindon, SN4 0HL- Granted.
9. FINANCE (10 MINUTES)
(a)
To approve payment of the following invoices:
Resolved: Cllr Poppleton 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 06 – £48.20
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Chairs Allowance – £75.00
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Community Heartbeat Trust – Annual support cost- £151.20
(b)
To approve payment of the following Standing Orders:
•
Adams & Watt – Annual grass cutting contract – October instalment- £665.36
(c)
To approve the following Direct Debits:
•
Three Mobile phone bill – £3.00
(d)
To approve payment of the following recurring payments
•
Unlimited webhosting – (18/09/2023- 17/10/2023) – £4.79
(e)
To ratify payments made between meetings
•
Salary September – £193.00
•
Expenses- A Poppleton- Signage- £75.49
(f)
To receive the monthly account reconciliation.
Resolved: The meeting noted that the accounts are in a good position. The Clerk confirmed that the VAT Reclaim from 1st April 2023 to 30th September 2023 had been submitted.
Minutes– October 2023 Page 3 of 4
(g)
Q2 Budget Monitoring
Resolved: The meeting agreed the budget is on track.
10. GROUNDS MAINTENANCE- ANNUAL WALKAROUND
To discuss what extra works need to be added to the Contract for 2024-25
Resolved: The meeting agreed to ask the contractor to add the below to the contract for 2024-25
i.
The Dell footpath to be cut twice a year
Any additional works identified on the walkaround to be quoted for and sent to the Clerk for circulation.
11. WEBSITE UPDATE
Discussed under item 5- matters arising.
12. VILLAGE MATTERS (15 MINUTES)
a)
Village clean up day – The meeting agreed to concentrate on the following areas on the clean up day
•
Playing Field – cleaning of equipment
•
Allotments- communal areas
•
General litter picking
b)
Quotation for the cutting back of the hedge Spinney Close path- see attached
Resolved: The meeting agreed to the quotation for the works to the hedge on Spinney Close path for the cost of £180 + VAT.
Cllr Bunney had received an email from the previous chair asking if the third Speed Indicator would still be installed, as this communication was received after the agenda had been published, the meeting could not discuss further without the relevant information. The meeting agreed for item to be added to the next agenda.
Action- Clerk
Cllr Wilson joined the meeting at 8:10pm
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 (AP & GW) – The first allotment committee meeting was held on 21st September 2023. Provision of water, maintenance of communal areas, bonfires and wood chippings were discussed.
The meeting agreed that another leaflet drop in Badbury Park be done just before the growing season.
Playing Field (CB) – Cllr Bunney confirmed that the fortnightly safety inspections had been carried out on 15th September 2023. Cllr Bunney confirmed that he still needed to attend the play inspection course.
Village Hall Committee – Cllr Sturgess agreed to be LPC’s representative on the Village Hall Committee
Town Advisory Engagement Group (GW) – Cllr Wilson attended the meeting. A group, Commission of Swindon Futures, has been set up to study the needs and benefits of the town centre. Prof Martin Boddy, UWE, gave a presentation of the history, culture, changes, developments and prospects that have taken place over the last 50 years. After Honda’s closure Swindon is now outpaced by Bristol, Milton Keynes although the population continues to grow. A review of the Town Fund projects, all 6 are progressing well. Some additional funding is being applied for from the National Lottery Fund and Historic England.
A Town Centre Engagement Group has been set up with some areas of focus being crime and antisocial behavior.
Swindon Local Council Forum (CB & GW) – Cllr Wilson attended the SLCF, Cllr Grant, SBC Cabinet Member for Communities and Joint Working, was introduced to the SLCF and its objectives as his main responsibility is to improve joint working between SBC and the parish councils where there is a need for a formal protocol.
Parish Chairs/Clerks Engagement Meeting – No recent meeting has taken place.
NEV Meeting – No NEV meetings have been held since one of the SBC officers, who ran these meetings, left.
14. PARISH MAGAZINE (5 MINUTES)
The meeting agreed to put the following into the Parish Magazine
•
Village clean up – Thank you
15. CORRESPONDENCE
The meeting noted that no correspondence had been received.
16. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION/FUTURE AGENDA
The following items to be added to the next agenda;
Minutes– October 2023 Page 4 of 4
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Speed Indicator Device
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Closed church yard- Yew trees
•
Feedback from the Grounds Maintenance annual walkaround
The meeting closed at 8:40pm
Signed…………………………………………………………………………………Date……………………………………….
