Minutes of the Norton Bavant Parish Meeting held on Wednesday 14th October 2009 in Norton Bavant Village Hall at 7.30pm.

Present

Mr E Moore (Chairman),Mr G Evans ( Clerk),Mr G Connellan, Mrs H Connellan, Mrs A Williams, Mr J Williams, Mr M Wooldridge, Mr M Edgar, Mrs V Edgar, Mrs D Acworth, Mr J Acworth, Mrs S Middleton, Mr J Rendell, Mr J Parker, Ms C Parker, Mrs S Newman, Mr I Newman, Ms L Eijvergard, Mr A Lane.

PCSO Caroline Wright attended the meeting for the item on Neighbourhood Watch.

1 Apologies

Apologies were received from; Jane Wooldridge, Jo Evans, Jim Wilson, Annette Rumbelow, Geoffrey Frost, Pat Frost, and Rowena Lane.

2 Minutes of the meeting held on 22nd April 2009.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed by the Chairman.

3 Neighbourhood Watch

The meeting agreed to bring this item forward to enable PCSO Caroline Wright to return to her other duties.
Caroline asked if there were any matters which villagers needed to raise. Hilary Connellan asked if they ever patrolled up the Middleton area and Caroline said that she had been up there on a few occasions. She asked if there were any particular concerns and Hilary replied that there are occasionally problems with youths on scramble bikes using the plain, but that this is dealt with by the Land Wardens and the Military Police. It was accepted that there is much better contact with the police as a result of the higher profile Neighbourhood Watch Officers. Andrew Lane, speaking on behalf of Rowena, suggested that if people informed Rowena when they went on holiday she would keep an eye on the property.
Caroline was thanked for coming to our meeting.

4 Matters arising

Request for Horse and Rider Warning Signs

The Clerk reported that he has received a response from the Senior Traffic Management Technician in respect of our request for the erection of horse and rider warning signs on the B.3095 close to the junction of the unclassified road to Norton Bavant. The letter indicated that a preliminary survey has been carried out but clarification is required on where the horses are actually crossing the B.3095 so that the exact site for the signs, if considered necessary, can be found. The frequency and number of horse movements is also required. They asked for a contact address and indicated that the cost of the signs is likely to be in the region of £350. The clerk handed a copy of the letter to Jasper and Angela Williams and for their consideration.

5 Norton Bavant Website

Graham Connellan introduced this item and outlined the work that he and Hilary, Angela and Jasper and Lena and Jon have worked together to completely refurbish the Village Website. They distributed a flyer around the village, in August, publicising the launch of the new Norton Bavant Website. The new site has proved extremely popular and it now receives over 200 hits a week. Angela works hard keeping the site updated and she is now the first line of contact for inputting the site. There was a real sense of appreciation for the work which the team have put into taking this matter forward as the site is now a good working tool for the Village and is considered to be one of the best in the area.

6 The Telephone Box

The clerk was pleased to report that, after a considerable amount of negotiation, the Telephone Box is now secured in the ownership of the village. The telephone has been removed. The light has been repaired. It was decided that we will leave the light on and review the situation after we have received the first electricity bill. It was also decided that we will put a Village Notice Board in the phone box. We will give further consideration as to how the phone box is to be repainted and maintained. Recognising that there will be expenditure in respect of the maintenance and insurance of the phone box it was formally resolved; “that the ownership of the phone box should be passed on to the Norton Bavant Amenity Fund”. This was proposed by Jasper Williams, seconded by Graham Connellan and carried unanimously.

7 The Village Hall and Playing Field

The clerk reported that the village hall has been repaired and redecorated. The area to the side of the hall has been levelled and grassed and it is now being carefully nurtured by Andrew Lane. The playing field is being maintained in good order and it was the venue for another successful Field Day. The area around the Bus Stop has been cleared and grassed by the Parish Steward. This project left the coppice behind the bus stop exposed and vulnerable to fly tipping, so new fencing was purchased by the Amenity Fund and erected by John Parker. This project has made the bus stop a cleaner and more secure area, for the increased number of young people and elderly people who now use it. Jasper Williams thanked Gordon Evans for the work he had put into repairing and redecorating the village hall.

8 Core Funding

The Chairman questioned the use of the term “core funding”. The clerk explained that it relates to the funds required to meet running costs of village amenities. It has to be accepted that there is an expectation that these costs are met by the villagers who have opted to secure these amenities and who use them.

The clerk indicated that several villagers have already committed to making regular Gift Aided contributions and he indicated that he will be writing to everyone else inviting them to make a similar commitment, or to make a regular annual payment. Sue Middleton conveyed the view that it is only fair that the burden of the core funding should be shared by all the users of the facilities.

9 Fund raising events

The clerk reported on the successful Curry Supper which was held on Saturday the 10th October. The hall was full to capacity for this very popular event and everyone had an enjoyable evening. The next event will be the Fish and Chips Supper, to be held on the 28th November.

10 Any other business

Graham Connellan reported that the Parochial Church Council held a very successful “Open Gardens Day” on the 6th September and raised £560 for the Church.
Vivienne Edgar asked if there are any rules regarding having bonfires during the day. The chairman made reference to the appropriate legislation but suggested that the matter is better sorted out between neighbours.
The clerk reported that a new wooden finger sign is soon to be erected, by the highways authority, on the junction of the B.3095 and the unclassified road to the village. This was welcomed.
The clerk reported that the management of the land at South Farm changed in September. The arable land is now farmed by Matt Fry from Tisbury and the pasture land is farmed by Paul Hurd from Hill Deverill.

11 Date of next meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting will take place on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

Gordon Evans
Clerk to Norton Bavant Meeting.
16th October 2009.

Notes from previous meeting: 22 April 2009