Chalfont St Peter Parish Council Minutes - April 2008

155.   PRESENT
Cllr R Allen (Chairman), Cllr B Allen, Cllr Mrs Bacon, Cllr Beane, Cllr Mrs Brooke, Cllr Mrs Darby, Cllr Mrs Harper, Cllr Heath, Cllr Nowell, Cllr B Smith, Cllr Quigley, Cllr Warder and S Moffat (Clerk)

156.   APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Cllr Adams and Cllr Mrs Smith.

157.   DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
None were declared.

158.   MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
Minutes of the last meeting held on 17th March, 2008 were considered and signed by the Chairman as a true record after amending Minute 140, cheque number 101680 to 101684 ‘Community Leaders Fund’ and Minute 153 to read ’Oxford and Bucks Joint’ Mental Health Foundation Trust.

159 REVIEW ACTION ITEMS
Actions Arising from the Council meeting on 17th March, 2008 were noted and shown below.

160. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Cllr R Allen had attended an assembly at Chalfont St Peter Church of England Middle School which was a fund raising exercise for promoting a water supply for a school in Kenya.

161. CORRESPONDENCE

• Cllr R Allen circulated two newspaper articles regarding:-
•  research claims residents of Buckinghamshire enjoy the best quality of life in Britain and;
•  Chiltern in Bucks has the highest percentage of adults in the area where over-indulgers live due to its affluent society.
• Booklets for borrowing:- CSP Parish Magazine for April, Chiltern View- community

newsletter from the Chiltern Society, Countryside Voice from CPRE, In Focus from Bucks Community Action, ‘Calling Time’ on the harms caused by alcohol in Buckinghamshire 2007-2010 from Buckinghamshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team.

• Minutes from Denham Aerodrome Consultative Committee – Noted.
• Threat to Chiltern Villages from the Chiltern Society with reference to threat of post office

closures. It was agreed to refer this to Amenities and Planning Committee to consider action to be taken.

• The Parish Church – reference Feast Day. Regret for not having it this year due to lack of

volunteers to organise the event. The Church is hoping to have one in 2009.

162. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
Amenities and Planning on 25th March, 2008
Reports and recommendations were proposed, seconded and accepted as a true record.
Amenities and Planning on 14th April, 2008
Reports and recommendations were proposed, seconded and accepted as a true record.
Amenities and Planning on 7th April, 2008
Reports and recommendations were proposed, seconded and accepted as a true record.

 163 ACCOUNTS – CHEQUES FOR SIGNING
CHEQUES SIGNED OUT OF COUNCIL END OF MARCH 2008 BY Cllr Mrs Darby and Cllr Beane

CHEQUES FOR SIGNING IN COUNCIL
The following accounts were examined and, upon being found in order, cheques were signed on the proposition of Cllr Mrs Darby, seconded by Cllr Mrs Brooke:-

164. TO ACCEPT THE BANK RECONCILIATION AND BUDGET FOR 2007-08
The bank reconciliation and actual budget spent in 2007-08 were accepted by Council.

165 TO CONSIDER THE INSTALLATION OF A LOOP SYSTEM FOR THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING ROOM
Concern was raised regarding the necessity of having a loop system and the risk of purchasing one and the technology becoming out of date. It was agreed to delegate to the Chairman and the Clerk to find out if there is new technology  being developed and the cost of maintenance of a loop system.

166 TO APPROVE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE MARKET SIGN PROJECT FUNDED BY
BG ALLEN
Still waiting for information so deferred to the next Council meeting.

167. TO REVIEW THE CANCELLATION OF THE ‘ST PETER’S FEAST DAY’ EVENT THIS YEAR
After receiving the letter from St Peter’s Church noted under correspondence, the Feast Day will hopefully take place next year.

168. TO CONSIDER ALLOWING THE MINUTES AND INFORMATION FROM THE VILLAGE APPRAISAL GROUP TO BE ATTACHED TO THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WEB SITE
It was agreed to defer this decision until the recommendations have been made from the Working Party reviewing outside bodies.

169. TO RESPOND TO THE CONSULTATION ON ‘TERMINAL CONTROL NORTH PROPOSED CHANGES TO AIRSPACE’
It was agreed to defer making a response until the next Council meeting in order for councillors to attend the meeting on this subject at 7.30p.m. on 9th May in Chalfont St Peter’s Church Hall.

170. REPORTS FROM PERSONNEL/HR COMMITTEE AND WORKING PARTIES
The terms of reference for the Human Resources Working Party have been circulated. These were proposed, seconded and agreed by Council.
A paper on the key objectives, scope of review and methodology of the Working Party to review Standing Orders and Committees has been circulated. Recommendations for the amendments to Standing Orders will be presented at the next Council meeting.

171. COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS
Cllr R Allen
Cllr R Allen had attended the Local Area Committee meeting where matters were discussed with
Bucks County Council’s Officers. The main which arose were as follows:- Bucks County Council has
revised its budgets to ensure money was available to repair potholes properly. Utility companies
guarantee the repair work of potholes for up to two years. The problems associated with the use of
SatNav are being looked at by Government. It was the unanimous views of the parishes present that
there should not be any interference to these meetings and what they achieve. If there are four Local
Area Forums in Chiltern to replace this committee as being proposed by GC2C, it would be more
complicated and costly. There was also a possibility these meetings would take place in the afternoon
when there would be limited attendance.

Cllr Quigley
Cllr Quigley had carried out a mini survey and found many vehicles were parking for long periods of
time in the Precinct car park and this should be monitored more closely. Also the surface in the car
park is in a poor state and the drainage needs improving as there is flooding when it rains. Everyone
he has spoken to advocates for the one hour free parking in Church Lane car park. At present seven
shops in the village centre have closed.

Cllr Mrs Harper
Cllr Mrs Harper informed the Council that Waitrose may be opening up in Gerrards Cross.

Cllr B Allen
Cllr B Allen informed the Council that a resident has complained to the owners of the precinct about
the lack of compliance to disabled parking under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Cllr Nowell
Cllr Nowell  informed the Council that he was pleased the River Misbourne was flowing by the Tennis Club and the
Greyhound PH due to the weeds in the river and lack of upkeep. Cllr Mrs Harper responded that
she has joined the Environment Group and will find out more information about this.

Cllr Heath
Cllr Heath raised issues regarding the damaged sign.

Cllr  Mrs Darby
Cllr Mrs Darby updated the Council that the Chamber of Commerce and CSP Village Association have
agreed to pay the cost of implementing one hours free parking in Church Lane car park if it goes
ahead.

Cllr Nowell
Cllr Nowell reported on the Hospital Trust Board Public Session. The Trust will be giving a
presentation during the summer regarding its future proposals. It would appear these may include
selling off half its site  at High Wycombe Hospital  and Bucks PCT will be considering the long term
issues of Gerrards Cross and the Chalfonts Hospital.
Cllr Mrs Bacon commented that this hospital may become a Community Hospital for South Bucks.

Cllr Mrs Darby
Cllr Mrs Darby reported back on the meeting she attended with BALC. SatNAv and Quality Status was
discussed amongst other things.

Cllr B Smith
Cllr B Smith reported he had found a stand-by speaker for the Parish Council Annual meeting, being
the owner of the Village Hall Public House. He is willing to speak about the problems facing small
public houses.
Also, there was trouble at the Fun Fair last Saturday night on Gold Hill Common which upset quite a
few elderly people who live close by.

172 CLERK’S REPORT
Noted.

No other business being raised the meeting closed at 9.40 p.m.