West Knoyle Parish Council

Parish Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday, 18^th May 2021 at 7.30 p.m. in West Knoyle Village Hall.

Present:  Councillors Mrs. Alex Davies, Tony Davis & Marcus Randall.  Meeting convened at 19.40 p.m.

1. To receive Declaration of Acceptance of Office forms from Councillors – All Councillors attending signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office and agreed that those not present would sign their Declarations of Acceptance of Office as soon as possible.
2. To elect Chairman of West Knoyle Parish Council for 2021/22 and to receive the Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Cllr. Tony Davis nominated Cllr. Mrs. Brockway to the office of Chairman for the ensuing year.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Randall and carried with a unanimous vote.  As the Chairman was not present it was agreed that she should sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office as soon as practicable after the meeting.

3. To elect Vice-Chairman of West Knoyle Parish Council for 2021/22 and to receive the Vice-Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Cllr. Tony Davis nominated Cllr. Paul Yates to the office of Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Randall and carried with a unanimous vote. As the Vice-Chairman was not present it was agreed that he should sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office as soon as practicable after the meeting.

4. Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. Mrs. Brockway and for late arrival from Wiltshire Councillor George Jeans who was attending a Parish Council meeting in Zeals before coming along to this meeting.

5. To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests from Councillors on matters to be considered at the meeting.

Members are invited to declare disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests in items on the agenda as required by the West Knoyle Code of Conduct for Members and by the Localism Act 2011.

• None received

6. Public Session

• No public present

7. Minutes – RESOLVED to approve Minutes of Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday, 30^th March 2021

8. To appoint/re-appoint representatives to outside bodies/organisations:

9. To review bank accounts and signatory arrangements – it was agreed that the existing bank accounts should remain and that Clerk & Chairman would continue to act as bank signatories (two signatures required for each cheque transaction and the Clerk was authorised to make transfers between Council accounts.

10. To appoint/reappoint internal auditor – it was agreed that Mr. Derek Ward be re-appointed as Internal Auditor for the ensuing year subject to him being happy to continue.

11. To review and adopt the Standing Orders for West Knoyle Parish Council – the Standing Orders, having been distributed to members in advance of the meeting, were approved and adopted by the new council.

12. To review and adopt the Financial Regulations for West Knoyle Parish Council – the Financial Regulations, having been distributed to members in advance of the meeting, were approved and adopted by the new council.

13. To fix the dates and times of ordinary meetings of the Council for the ensuing year – the Clerk explained that it would be necessary to call a meeting in June in order for the Council to approve the accounting statements and to confirm whether or not the Parish Council meets the qualifying criteria to be exempt from a limited assurance review by the external auditor. It was therefore agreed that the Parish Council meeting would be called for Tuesday, 22^nd June at 7.30 p.m.  Other meetings would be held in September & November 2021 and March 2022 – dates to be decided.

14. Matters Arising
15. a) Update on agreement for Wessex Internet to lay fibre in village – the Clerk pointed out that she had contacted Wessex Internet to ask for an update on the current situation as it would appear that the issues with the property access agreement for the play area had not been followed up. The reply received from Wessex Internet as such that it seemed that they were trying to negotiate access the other side of the road which would mean that access through the playing field would not be required. However, this was back in April and no correspondence had taken place since.  Randall said that he was not aware that any activity was taking place at the moment and it was agreed to leave the matter in abeyance for the time being.

15. Wiltshire Councillor’s Report

Cllr. Jeans reported to members that they might like to inform the Village Hall Committee of a government re-start grant which is available but he was aware that time to apply was extremely limited.  Cllr. Randall said that he would inform Corinne Leonard and suggest that she contact Cllr. Jeans.  Cllr. Jeans also informed those present that there was a campaign in Mere to try and save the building at Fives Court which, as a Care Home, had recently been closed.  The campaign is to use the building as a Community Health Centre.  Members said that they would add their support to this campaign if it was needed.

16. Planning (All applications can be viewed on Wiltshire Council’s website http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/planninganddevelopment/planningapplicationssearchonline/planningsearch.htm  – and type in the relevant application number)

1. Applications to consider at the meeting:

The Clerk pointed out that a planning application had come through this morning for Banisters, West Knoyle

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Randall, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Davies and carried with a unanimous vote.

1. b) Applications considered/determined since last meeting:

17. Footpaths, Highways, Traffic & Transport
18. a) Highway and footpath issues for parish steward – Cllr. Davis reported that water is still coming out onto the road outside Manor Farm Cottages but no-one seems to know the cause of this problem. RESOLVED to ask Cllr. Jeans to pursue this matter with the Highways Authority as the Parish Council is aware that someone has come off their bike as a result of slipping in this water.  Elsewhere in the village is a ditch that has been rolled in by a tractor but Cllr. Davis said he is trying to get that resolved in the village rather than having to go through the council.

18. Play Area
19. a) Report on schedule to carry out actions identified in Annual RoSPA Play Area Inspection report – The Clerk and Cllr. Randall reported that parts have been ordered via Alvian, we are waiting for these to be delivered and installed. Randall said he was still waiting for the opportunity to do the algae removal as the weather conditions needed to be right.
20. b) Report on meeting held to discuss drainage and play equipment issues – Cllr. Randall said that a meeting was held and it was decided not to pursue the land drainage issue at the present time as it was not as wet as thought.

19. Finance
20. a) Assets/Insurance – To review Council’s asset register & insurance provision – RESOLVED that the details in the asset register were correct. The Clerk pointed out that she had recently been made aware that it would cost approximately £2500 to replace a telephone kiosk if it were to be knocked down and she had therefore taken the liberty of asking for a quotation for an additional premium on the insurance schedule to include for this increased valuation.  RESOLVED to include the increased valuation of the telephone kiosk within the insurance schedule on proposal made by Cllr. Randall and seconded by Cllr. Davis.

1. b) Payments – To approve payments as shown in payment schedule:

1. c) To seek authorisation for contact details and photographs of members for website – the Clerk distributed contact information agreement forms and members all agreed that they did not think it was necessary to have their photos on the Parish Council website.

20. General Items
21. a) Wiltshire Council’s Climate Strategy – Engagement with Town & parish Councils – there were no members able to attend the engagement meeting but members said that they would read subsequent reports on this with interest.
22. b) Community Governance Review – the Clerk reported that the Electoral Review Committee of Wiltshire Council had requested that all parishes within the council area be approached to see if there are any changes to their governance arrangements that they believe should be undertaken at some stage. This is known as a Community Governance Review. In short, changes to be requested can include amending the name of a parish or its wards, the total number of councillors, the amendment or creation of wards, changes to external boundaries of the parish, or creation/abolition/merger/grouping of parishes and other such changes.  RESOLVED that no changes to the governance arrangements for West Knoyle should be submitted.

21. Date of next meeting

NB It will be necessary to hold a meeting in June in order to sign off the Annual Governance & Accountability Return 2020/21 & Certificate of Exemption – it was suggested that Tuesday, 22^nd June should be set as the date to hold this meeting.

Members are reminded that the Parish Council has a general duty to consider the following matters in the exercise of any of its functions:  Equal Opportunities (race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status and any disability), Crime and Disorder, Health & Safety and Human Rights.

Meeting closed 8.42 pm