MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL, SOUTH CERNEY
ON WEDNESDAY 19th MAY 2004.

Cllr Mr Stuart opened the meeting at 7.30pm.

Present: Parish Councillors Mrs F. Chapman, J. Harris, P. Jay, Mrs C. Pollard, D. Smith, T. Squire, M. Stuart, R. Webb, Cotswold District Councillors C. Bennett and Mrs A. Clark, Gloucestershire County Councillor S. Parsons, Police Sgt Steve Templeton and Police Constable Ian Ransford (Gloucestershire Constabulary), Major Ian Bruce and Sgt Steve Jelf (29 Regt RLC), Roger Edgar (Vice Chairman of School Governors) and Mrs J. Gardiner (Parish Council Chairperson (Retd)).

Eleven members of the public were in attendance.

Apologies were received from Parish Councillors Mrs E. Chubb, J Caunce and P. Nicholas and Mr B. Clifford (Chairman School Governors)


MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

It was proposed by Cllr Jay and seconded by Cllr Mrs Pollard that the minutes as published were a true record. The meeting was all in favour.


CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

2004 Parish Council Chairman's report

It is not until I sat down to prepare this report that I realised just how much this Parish Council has achieved over the past year. In fact, not only have we achieved so much in this year just gone by but also it should be recorded that virtually all the items on the “wish list” in the 1999 Village Appraisal have been achieved. That is no mean feat and I am pretty darned pleased to say the least.

Your Parish Council comprises of some 11 members, six of whom joined us last May. I was somewhat worried as to how the new set up would work especially as I had taken over as Chairman for the first time. As it has worked out, I shouldn’t have worried. The team has got together superbly and it has been a pleasure to be part of that team. Everyone has put in as much time as they could not only at routine meetings but to deal with all sorts of problems in the Parish. I feel that these days people are more inclined to ask Parish Councillors for advice and help more than they did a few years ago. I hope that is so.

Council has three committees: Planning, Finance and Playing Fields/Maintenance.

Planning has considered numerous planning applications but thankfully has not had any major controversial projects to debate as we have had in previous years. That is not to say that they have had it easy, oh no. We have the unrelenting march of the timber holiday lodges with the associated problems of tree felling and so on, the plans for the massive new hotel on the Spine Road and the new industrial park in Broadway Lane. Our hope is that the Cotswold District Council will at times listen to our objections and our constructive suggestions. Unfortunately our feeling is that the CDC Planning Committee only take notice of our views when may agree with them. We have had several pretty heated discussions with our District Councillors on this subject but I must say that I personally believe that of all the three Committees we have, Planning is the least effective through no fault of their own. Local concerns and points of view should have more effect on District Council decisions. Central Government rabbit on and on about the need for more input by more people but this does not seem to be heard by local district councils.

Thanks to the Planning Committee for all their hard work.

Maintenance and Playing Field Committee has been very active this past year. I am delighted to report that so much has been achieved that I haven’t time to detail everything. The main projects have been the Robert Franklin Way play area and the Upper Up mountain bike track. Both projects were a long time in the planning and financing stages but to see so many youngsters using both areas has made the wait well worthwhile. The cost of these two projects totalled in excess of £50,000 but would have been beyond our reach if the RFW equipment had not been donated by two separate sources and also if Cllr James Harris hadn’t done the construction work at Upper Up at a fraction of what other contractors had quoted. Great thanks to James for that and for the numerous other things he does for this village. Thanks also to Cllr Philip Nicholas and to Mr Simon King for the excellent work they did in conjunction with other parents in the planning and financing of the RFW scheme. The Glos Playing Field association supplied one lot of playground equipment and Ms Linda Lloyd of Le Spa, who so happens to live in the village, supplied the rest. Thanks to both for their generosity.

Other projects in the pipeline include the improvement of the public footpath between the end of Church Lane and Bow Wow. We are working with our friends in SCROWS and with Lady Fanshaw, the owner of the land. This is part of the nationwide scheme brought in by Westminster in the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000. Under the provisions of that Act, all authorities responsible for Public Rights of Way, footpaths to you and me, must attempt to improve as many footpaths as possible to such a standard as to permit people in wheel chairs, parents with buggies etc and disabled people, say with walking difficulties, to use those paths. There is no debate permitted as the law insists and I for one welcome it. We have also started discussions with GCC PROW to attempt to connect the pathway across the Upper Up playing field to the newly improved footpath leading to Keynes Park.

Still on footpaths, we have checked with GCC PROW to see when the Public Enquiry about the BSC11 is scheduled. Apparently, it is tenth on the list and that could mean it will take a very long time to be dealt with.

Although we had very little say in it, the resurfacing of High Street to the end of Station Road has improved the village and I do think that this Council’s nagging to anyone we thought had a say did assist in getting it done, especially the last bit at the far end of Station Road.

The Committee and full council have been much involved in the enlargement of the Churchyard. It is required by law that Parish Councils must provide land to bury their dead. We were again so very fortunate when Lady Fanshaw donated part of the grounds of Chapter Manor to the Parochial Church Council for that purpose. Parish Council have paid for the building of the Cotswold stonewall to enclose that land and a wonderful job has been done by the craftsman. If you haven’t seen it yet, do go and have a look.

Two other main jobs carried out by the Maintenance Committee are the supervision of the grass cutting around the village and the weekly inspections of the playground equipment. Unglamorous, tedious, thankless but needed!

That leaves the Finance Committee, and what would we do without them? It is a balancing act to get the money situation just so. To raise the required funds to keep our village going and to carry out the improvements and while doing so to keep the increase in our annual precept to an acceptable level is not easy but I suggest that this is done and done well. The total village precept for 2004-05, £51,065. This means that a D band dwelling pays £38.50pa towards village funding. That is an increase on last year’s total of £5.59pa or about 47p per month. I suggest we all get darned good value from these payments.

Some item that we all thought would attract a lot of comment and did not, was when we voted to take up the newly allowed financial allowances for Parish Councillors. Council voted for these to be available but it will be up to the individual Councillor to decide if they will take the money or not.

Parish Council meetings rarely finish before 10pm any and every month and all your representatives put in a lot more time than the hours spent at those meetings. Why? Probably because we have a great affection for this village and because we enjoy doing it.

Some other people who really must enjoy public service are our District and County Councillors. Cllrs Ann Clark & Clive Bennett attend almost all our meetings. County Councillor Shaun Parsons attends as and when necessary. Some do stay longer than others but again they have many other villages to visit every month and I take this opportunity to thank them all for their assistance over the year.

It is always good to be able to say thank you to people and I have already thanked several tonight but I must also say a very special thanks to our parish Clerk Maurice McKee. Last year this man gave not only himself a severe fright by having a heart attack just a couple of hours before the start of the Annual meeting but he very nearly caused me to have one as well because I came to that meeting not knowing if he would recover! Recover he did I’m so glad to say and he was back in harness far too soon to please his doctors but you can’t keep a good man down. As always, Maurice has been a tower of strength to this Council. He keeps up to speed on a myriad of new legislation rules regulations and procedures. His minute taking and recording are top class and he keeps us all on the straight and narrow at meetings. We are indeed fortunate to have this man as our Clerk. Thank you Maurice for all your efforts.

Well, that’s about it. I am sorry that I have gone on so long but you should have seen my notes before I edited them! Thanks to every one for coming tonight.


REPORT BY POLICE SGT STEVE TEMPLETON

Sgt Templeton illustrated his report with the following table which gives a breakdown of the type and number of crimes in comparison to a previous year.

As an INA we are pleased with the overall figures for the Parish of South Cerney, particularly in relation to violent offences (86% of which were detected), and in relation to nuisance offences such as criminal damage which have seen a significant fall. Burglary Dwellings have risen but 12 of the 23 offences relate to two locations.

More crimes have been detected this year. Of all crimes in 2002/2003 18% were detected, in 2003/2004 this had risen to over 32%.

There have been many changes in policing over the past twelve months including the introduction of PCSO’s. They are settled in now and are a great asset to the police force. They carry out enquiries and high visibility foot patrols to provide reassurance and support.

QUESTIONS

1. Cllr Stuart enquired how many people were involved in crime. Sgt Templeton replied that it was a national statistic that 10% of the people commit 60% of all crime.

2. Cllr Jay remarked that now 90% of Council Tax was being collected from second homes in the area these properties were no longer a drain on services. Cllr Bennett (CDC) pointed out that the tax collected was on behalf of central government and not directly by local government. Sgt Templeton commenting on the rise in burglaries of non dwellings pointed out that these were primarily committed during the construction stage.

3. Cllr Harris said that the mobile police station provided a contact for local people to have access to police and generally it was well received. He asked whether policing was pro-active or re-active to which Sgt Templeton replied that it was mostly re-active but patrols were available if and when time allowed. Currently there were more police in Gloucestershire than ever before although more were now used on clerical duties.

On completion of questions Sgt Templeton and PC Ransford left the meeting to return to duty.



REPORT FROM MAJOR IAN BRUCE, 29 REGT RLC

Major Bruce reported that regiment personnel from the South Cerney barracks were now serving in Iraq and the Balkans. In the past year the regiment had handled 150,000 metric tons of material and more than 21,000 people had used the camp as a transit stop on their way to other theatres. He was proud to report that one female soldier will hopefully join the Olympic squad. On 11 July there will be an open day at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks and everyone is welcome to attend. Major Bruce was pleased to report that the Silver Stars now have a new and quieter plane for making parachute descents.

QUESTION

1. Cllr Stuart enquired if there were more or less complaints since the introduction of the new plane. Major Bruce replied that there were more complaints from the Skyvan but this is a military aircraft and pleasingly complaints about the new plane had dropped off dramatically. Cllr Stuart advised Major Bruce to check the South Cerney Parish Council website regarding complaints especially from Coln Rogers.


REPORT FROM CLLR MRS ANNE CLARK (CDC)

This year I have served on the Executive Committee as well as the Planning Committee. Due to the increased speed of determining planning applications, the Government awarded an increased delivery grant of over £358,000. Over 3,000 applications were dealt with last year and it could be nearer 3,500 this year. Two major applications are due to start work soon, one the Leisure Centre on the Cattle Market site and the construction of the new cattle market off the Spine Road roundabout.

The new Information Centre run by the Cotswold Water Park Society on the Spine Road has now been opened, and is worth a visit, also to the Restaurant. The Cycle Path along the Spine Road will be fully completed in due course. Part of this will be carried out after the planning application for the new hotel has been determined.

The Council is now run on the Cabinet System with 9 members of the Conservative group being Portfolio holders, responsible for their particular part of the running of the Council. The Planning Committee will remain the same, and I will hand over to Clive Bennett who will report more fully on the Licensing Committee.


REPORT FROM CLLR CLIVE BENNETT (CDC)

Cllr Bennett informed the meeting that he was now Chairman of the Licensing Committee at Cotswold District Council. Reorganisation of the granting of licences meant that magistrates would no longer control this function. Individual licences would be granted for a 10 year period to premises being reviewed on a rolling scale every 3 years. Cllr Bennett quoted examples of types of businesses which would require licences including those selling alcohol, hot dog sellers, taxis and ice cream salesmen.

New collection points for recycling, especially plastics, were being made available from June 4th at Tesco (Kingsmeadow) and the Royal Agricultural College.

QUESTIONS

1. Cllr Smith asked if plastic for recycling would be available at the kerbside.
Cllr Bennett was not sure.

2. Major Bruce enquired who would manage the disposal of the plastic which he considered would be a considerable volume.
Cllr Bennett said that the District Council would be responsible for its collection and Gloucestershire County Council would dispose of it.

3. Cllr Jay pointed out to Cllr Bennett that there were considerable numbers of complaints over the introduction of the new car parking charges in Cirencester exacerbated by the insensitive promotion on the back of the car park ticket of cheaper parking for shoppers in Swindon.
Cllr Bennett defended the increase in charges pointing out that it was very good value for money especially if one was to purchase tickets on long term plans prior to their use.
Cllr Jay agreed that it was a cheaper way that to pay on the day but not everybody could afford to spend £250 in advance for parking fees.

4. Cllr Stuart complained to Cllr Mrs Clark about the numbers of retrospective planning applications now being submitted.
Cllr Mrs Clark was aware that this type of application was proliferating but admitted the procedure was within the legal framework although dangerous for the applicant especially if an application was refused permission.

5. Cllr Jay expressed his discontent with the procedure of applying for a Public Entertainment Licence. For example he said, the Village Hall had to apply every year for a licence which could take up to 6 months to grant. Venues were required to carry out safety inspections but these were required all at the same time and really should be staggered.
Cllr Bennett assured Cllr Jay that new rules will be in force in the future to avoid this.


REPORT BY COUNCILLOR SHAUN PARSONS (GCC)

Cllr Parsons informed the meeting that the County Council had introduced Cabinet System of control. Currently it was dominated by a Labour/Liberal coalition. Unfortunately there is no representation in Cabinet from the Cotswold District Council area which will inevitably mean an urban bias vis-á-vis a rural one. Council tax increased by 5.7% with an increase in staffing levels by 800 to a total of 9,352. The Tri-Service Centre at Quedgeley was working well but under threat of closure from central government. In the School Review program, Conservatives were not happy with the loss of 6th Form education, especially in Tetbury and in the Primary School Review, where a school has less than 100 it will be under a closure threat. He emphasised on mineral extraction, planning needs to be better policed with more feed back to District and Parish Councils. He reported that the Landscape Review of the Water Park was ongoing. Conservatives in the County Council were pushing for an increase in spending on road maintenance, doubling expenditure if possible. The adoption of Kingfisher Place in South Cerney was proceeding, albeit slowly. Engrossment was in process and all fees had now been paid.

Cllr Stuart thanked Cllr Parsons for his effort in ensuring the resurfacing of High Street and Station Road. Cllr Parsons was asked what progress could be expected on the Cycle Path from Cirencester Road to Cerney Wick which was part of the Sustrans route. Cllr Bennett interjected that land owners, Bathurst Estates and Richard Knight were currently disinclined to commit their land to this useful route. Cllr Stuart asked all three Councillors (Parsons, Bennett and Mrs Clark) to try harder to create this cycle path.


REPORT BY CLLR TONY SQUIRE ON BEHALF OF THE VICAR, REV J CALVERT

As there had not been an apology received from Rev J. Calvert, Church Warden and Parish Councillor T. Squire thanked the Parish Council for its contribution to the churchyard wall extension which was now complete.


REPORT ON ANN EDWARDS SCHOOL, WRITTEN BY STEPHEN RICHARDSON, HEADTEACHER AND READ BY MR ROGER EDGAR ON BEHALF OF MR B. CLIFFORD, CHAIRMAN OF SCHOOL GOVERNORS

Personnel
Before I started at the school in September I was involved in interviews to replace two established members of staff. Pam Nelmes and Tamsin Wallis. We appointed Vicki Mauler and Ben Stirling, an NQT, to our team at KS1. We have also taken on new learning support workers this year, Helen Bennett and Melanie Holling to replace members of staff who have moved on or to work in the school as part of our inclusion funding. Diana Goodinson left the school when the statemented child she was linked to left the village and the funding for her post was lost. We are in the process of appointing a replacement for Ellen Vincent who has been with the school for more years than anyone can remember. The governing body has seen changes also with the appointment of Brian Clifford as chair and Roger Edgar as vice-chair. Currently we have 278 children on roll and it looks as if there will be about 42 children joining us in September.

Curriculum and SATS
Our SATs results for 2003 were very pleasing, with excellent progress being made by children within the school pupils achieving well. The school continues to offer a good quality of education for its pupils and they receive a broad and balanced curriculum. We are a category 1 school within the LEA and our Investors in People status has just been confirmed for the next three years.

Other extra curricular school activities
The school offers a full range of after school clubs including for example, football, netball, tag rugby, cricket, rounders, cookery, gardening, Spanish, computer, chess, racquet skills, bug club. These are well attended by the pupils. We have held adult learning courses at the school working with the Family Learning centre and Parentline Plus.

Footsteps – Educating towards a more sustainable future
We have continued our link with the Joel Omino School in Kisumo and we have sponsored them to take part in the Commonwealth Tapestry Project which will result in the tapestries made by both schools being displayed at the Games when they are next held.

D.A.R.E. Project
P.C. John Smith of the MOD police 29th Regiment has again run the drug awareness programme for our Year 6 Pupils. Unfortunately this will be the last year that the course will run in its current format due to the funding being withdrawn.

Other projects
Our Year 4 children has been on a trip to the Wijderness Centre again this year. We have had visits from the Lifestyle Education Bus, various theatre groups, Nick Williams the Birdwise man and the children have visited SCOEC for 2 days. Pupils have taken part in the Dance Festival, schools swimming gala and played a number of sporting fixtures against other schools.


REPORT BY MRS A. STUART, SECRETARY VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

At the end of the 2002-03 year, we thought that we were in the final throws of the major improvements at our village hall, but these works continued into this year just finished. In fact, they are still on going! It’s a bit like the painting of the Forth Bridge. My big regret is that we still have to get the main Hall decorated but even that being delayed has resulted in our saving a lot of money – money we did not have in any case! We are hoping to have the work done by people on the Punishment in the Community scheme as and when there is a space in our calendar that matches one in theirs. All we pay for will be the cost of materials.

The most obvious change made since last year’s meeting is the removal of the old fixed stage. The extra floor space this released is amazing. So many users have commented on this improvement. The demountable staging is excellent and easy to use, not only by the Players, but also by anyone else who needs it. For example, the two Flower Shows have both utilised the staging as display tables to best advantage. We hope to purchase four more sections in the near future to make up the full size required by the Players.

Our heating system is now fully modernised with new quiet radiators supplied by a new state of the art condensing boiler. What a difference this has made to the comfort of our users this last winter.

Another major improvement to the comfort has been the arrival of fifty new upholstered chairs. Not a cheap exercise but well worth it. It might be coincidence, but since the arrival of these chairs, the numbers of people at the monthly cinema shows has increased quite dramatically.

The Cerney Cinema has had mixed fortunes in the past year but all in all, it is an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday evening and we have made a useful sum towards our funds. A major vote of thanks to Sarah and David Smith for doing so much to organise the events. Not only does Sarah deal with the advertising and the arranging of the events but also she drives many miles to collect the equipment all at no cost to us what so ever. David is the top man when it comes to setting up the equipment. Also, thanks to Hilary Thornton and Tommy Walker for the work they do in setting out the chairs, doing the teas and raffle and clearing up afterwards. A good team effort.

The final function that we organised was the Open Day last Saturday when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Brownies in South Cerney, albeit a year late. Whilst not many from the village came along the Brownies were well supported by mums and friends. It turned out to be an excellent afternoon. The hall was buzzing. The Brownies successfully took a number of their badges. Hilary and I had three excellent helpers with the food and drink as they took their hostess badge. Thanks go to all those who came along, Hilary for buying and helping with food and Mike Smith who negotiated what appeared to be a rather wobbly ladder to place the Brownies time capsule in the roof. Fortunately Mike (Chairman Village Hall Management Committee) was weighty enough to counter balance the ladder – he would, also have been a soft landing for Mike Smith!

So all in all a good year – here’s to 2004–2005.

COMMENTS

Cllr M. Stuart, Chairman of the Village Hall Management Committee praised the Committee for their commitment to the various projects which they organised and their enthusiasm and dedication to the management of the village hall.

A resident from Kingfisher Place was concerned that trees on the peninsula of Lake 16 may be removed when redevelopment takes place. Cllr Bennett (CDC) assured him that the site manager and Cotswold District Council were aware of the protected trees there and a schedule for their protection was being prepared although some would be removed the majority were to remain.

There being no further business Cllr M. Stuart closed the meeting at 9.45pm.