Quarley Parish Council Minutes - December 2008

Minutes of the Quarley Parish Council Meeting held on 9th December 2008 in the Quarley Village Hall at 7.30pm.

WELCOME. Cllr Mrs Ferguson welcomed everyone to the meeting.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr Mrs J Ferguson declared an interest in the Quarley P.C.C.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
Cllr Mrs Ferguson signed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record. Matters arising from those minutes :-

FLOODING UNDER THE A303 - The Parish Council were disappointed that nothing seems to have been done to sort out the problem of flooding under the A303 Bridge.

Cllr Mrs P West stated that Cllr Mr P Lashbrook has done a lot of investigative work on this issue and has relentlessly chased the various agencies to sort out the drainage under the bridge. Water running down the bank from the A303 is not helping the situation, this has been raised at a recent Highways meeting and will be forwarded to the Highways Agency. Cllr Mrs West stated that Hampshire Highways will carry out repair work in the 2009/2010 financial year on the drainage under the bridge, until this work can be carried out remedial pumping out of the drains will carry on.

ROAD MATTERS - It was reported that work has been carried out on the road to Grateley, the problem with the silt on the bend has been sorted out, however the opposite side of the road has a bank of silt that needs to be cleared, it was felt that the contractor could have done this when he was in the vicinity. Cllr Mrs West stated that to most folk it would make common sense, but due to rules and regulations in the work place the contractors could probably not have done the work without authorisation.

It was reported that there were three separate accidents on this corner on the Saturday Night prior to this meeting due to black ice. The Police were called and will be speaking to the Road Safety Team at Hampshire County Council. It was reported that there is a large pothole on this corner that needs attention. The quality of the repairs was questioned and it was felt that it will not be long before they will need attention again.

It was reported that many of the ditches need clearing on the roads leading in and out of the village. The Parish Council pay Mr Brian Pearce to clear the ditches within the village.

Cllr Mr T Southern stated that this is the landowners responsibility and suggested that the Clerk email Mr Walsh at Highways on this matter, sending him a copy. The drain that has been causing problems on the corner in Park Lane will also be reported in the email.

BOUNDARY CHANGE - The Chairman reported that the Parish Council had had an informal meeting with Mr I Morrison, Chairman of Amport Parish Council and the Clerk Mrs S Hoare to discuss a possible Boundary Change. Amport Parish Council will be contacting their residents in the area concerned to ask their opinion before this matter is taken any further.

PAVEMENTS IN ETWALL - The pavements in Etwall have been marked out prior to being repaired, there is no indication of when this will occur.

PLANNING. There were no Planning Applications to discuss.

PRECEPT 2009/2010.
The Clerk produced a Budget Sheet showing the estimated results for the year ending 31/3/2009 and the Budget for 2009/2010, each item was explained. The Parish Council discussed the budget and all agreed that there will not be an increase. The Precept for 2009/2010 will be £2,250.

CLLR MRS P WEST’S REPORT.
Cllr Mrs West reported that Hampshire County Council have purchased new Gritting Equipment and are now using the wet salt system, which is more efficient, Cllr Mrs West will email the gritting route to the clerk for the Parish Councils records.

Cllr Mrs West spoke about the Street Lighting P.F.I. scheme. The Clerk looked at this several years ago and for the three street lights it did not seem viable to join, Cllr Mrs West suggested that the Clerk look again at the scheme as it has been widened to include smaller parishes. The Clerk thanked Cllr Mrs West for this information and will follow it up.

Cllr Mrs West reported that Hampshire County Council have received the lowest grant from the Government in the Country and are busy discussing their budgets for 2009/2010. It is hoped that any increase will be below 3.5%.

CLLR MR T SOUTHERN’S REPORT.
Cllr Mr Southern spoke about the recent decision by Test Valley to approve the development on the Andover Air Field for the Tesco Distribution Centre. Along with many of the surrounding villages Cllr Mr Southern is disappointed with the decision and feels that it will not bring the reported prosperity to the area that has been reported.

COUNCILLORS REPORTS

CLLR MR W MARSHALL - Reported that the Church lights looked wonderful - a real asset to the village. Everyone agreed.

CLLR MRS FERGUSON - Reported that the new Station Car Park at Grateley is now open and at the moment there are plenty of places, a great addition to the station. Its nice to be able to park at the Station to catch your train.

CHEQUES ISSUED IN DECEMBER 2008

CLOSE OF THE MEETING.
Cllr Mrs Ferguson wished everyone a Happy Christmas and thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.

DATES FOR THE 2009 MEETINGS.
17^th March, 23^rd June, 22^nd September, 8^th December.