CARLTON AND CHELLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of meeting held 7th April 2008 Carlton Village Hall – 8pm

Present: Cllr L Benson (Chair), Cllrs D. Jenkins, Jane Tusting, R. Davis, T. Coles,

L. Dempsey, A. Geerts, E. Devine, Jim (V) Brandon (arrived 8.15pm)

In attendance: 8 parishioners

1. Apologies for absence: apologies received from County Cllr P Gershon.

2. Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held 26th April 2007: approved as a true record of the meeting.

3. Matters arising: Clerk updated current situation on Police (PCSO Allan Taylor – now has to cover the whole of the SNT area from Carlton to Riseley).

4. Chairman’s report: Les Benson read out his report for the past year. Copies were available for everyone present.

5. Financial report: a copy of the parish council accounts was presented to councillors and parishioners present at the meeting.

6. Playing Field report: read out by Cllr A. Geerts on behalf of Emma Simpson.

7. Guest Speaker – Julia Mackie, Rural Housing Trust. Julia explained the background of the R.H.T. and their role in helping villages to accommodate local housing needs. R.H.T. have been looking at various sites around the village, but everything is still in the early stages. No definite site has been decided and the Parish Council and parishioners will be fully consulted before any future development. The Chairman thanked Julia for her informative talk.

8. Guest Speaker – PCSO 4647Allan Taylor. Allan explained his role as a PCSO covering working with the Community, Parish Council, Schools and Emmaus. During the period 2007/08 there was 12 crimes in Carlton – 9 burglaries and 3 criminal damage. As from 1st April 2008 the Safer Neighbourhood Scheme has been launched. Ringmaster scheme, Pub Sage, Farm watch, and School Watch have also been introduced. Regular police surgeries are held at Emmaus. Speed checks have been carried out on a regular basis. The Chairman thanked Allan for attending the meeting.

9. No Cold Calling Scheme: all in favour of getting this scheme in place throughout the village. Speeding: Peter Planterose and other parishioners are very concerned about speeding within the village. Parish Council to liaise with Highways and Police – this will be on the agenda for the next Parish Council meeting.

10. War Memorial Monument: discussions took place for/against the reasons for the proposal of a War Memorial Monument in Carlton. The village hall is actually a building erected post war in remembrance of those who have died in past wars. Plaques are erected inside the building in the entrance hall. A vote was held as to whether a War Memorial Monument Committee should be formed to take this proposal further – 10 yes, 6 no. Resolved to form a committee, headed up by Jim Brandon. This was proposed by Les Benson and seconded by David Jenkins. The Parish Council agreed to fund the hiring of the small front room for up to 4 meetings.

11. Village matters: Concern about rural Post Office closures, the P.C. will follow this up and have on the agenda at the next meeting. Concern over the Bridgend ditch/railings – the PC. will be following this matter up with the local authorities and the Highways Department. Concern over general village tidiness – Billy Crammen will be asked to sweep the Gannick and rubbish bins around the village need regular emptying. Highways need to trim the grass verge along the Harrold road, from Bridgend along to the Bridge.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10pm.