15/114. Declarations of interest.

None.

Public recess.

No public

15/115. Approval of minutes.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 September were approved by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Jefferies; all those at the meeting in favour.

15/116. Matters arising.

All covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Action points

  • Cllr Brady will email the Clerk with information on local support groups .
  • The village tea will take place on Saturday 21 November. Cllr Sunners sends his apologies but Mr Clarke will attend after football matches have been completed.
  • It has not been possible to obtain an alternate quote for speed bumps at the Recreation Ground but any work has now been delayed until the next financial year so the matter is not urgent (see budget discussion below).
  • We have missed this year’s window for a ROSPA inspection of the CVPA so would have to pay £218 for a dedicated trip. The clerk has found an alternative contractor who will charge £62.50 and will book an inspection with them in January. This was proposed by Cllr Jefferies, seconded by Cllr Brady; all those at the meeting in favour.
  • All other action points had been actioned.

15/117. Football matters.

Mr Clarke told the meeting that this year’s teams have all settled in and the Club is now running at full capacity. He apologised for the light that was recently left on in the pavilion. An extra storage facility would be appreciated when monies allow but there are no other issues at present. Mr Clarke was told that he could apply for a Jubilee Fund grant for the storage facility, by emailing the Clerk, and it would then be up to the Finance Committee to consider such an application.

15/117. Tennis Club.

There was no representative from the Tennis Club at this month’s meeting and no report had been received. The Clerk undertook to check with the Club and see if there were any issues / whether a representative could be expected next month.

15/118. Financial review.

The Clerk took the Committee through its year-to-date figures and the forecast for the remainder of the financial year. Points of note were as follows:

  • Both the Grounds work and Maintenance budgets are heading for an over-spend due to the work that has been required at the Recreation Ground. The Finance Committee can reallocate money to cover this spending but it won’t be possible to fund any further substantial work in this financial year.
  • Water rates have been very low so far this year and the Clerk will investigate
  • Electricity is heading for an over-spend but the Clerk has investigated and believes the bills are correct and the original budget estimate was too low
  • There is an additional £2000 in the budget for donations to BIOS. Cllr Sunners thought this should be £2500 and will find the service level agreement and pass it to the Clerk.

It was recognised that the work done at the Recreation Ground still represents good value for money as a result of the involvement of the Probation Service. The Committee was then asked to consider any additional projects that they would like to see funded for 2016/17, over and above the routine work of the Council, and to present their ideas to the next meeting in November. There was also a brief discussion about the availability of grants from bodies such as The FA and Sport England should we wish to pursue more ambitious plans for the Recreation Ground in the future.

15/119. Castle View Play Area (CVPA)/Teen area.

Covered under Action points

15/120. Pavilion.

Nothing new to report.

15/121. Recreation Ground.

Cllr Brady has met with an expert to discuss CCTV and quotes are being gathered. However, the onset of winter should reduce any problems with regard to anti-social behaviour so cameras and motion-sensitive lighting can be assessed as possible solutions next spring.

Cllr Sunners pointed out that any problems have, so far, been low-level and that an access barrier combined with improved signage might also be considered as a potential solution. Improved car park lighting using dedicated poles will cost £1531 according to the quote from S J S Electrical and this would need to be considered carefully. However, it is possible to improve the existing PIR lighting on top of the Recreation Hall itself, for a cost of £235. After a brief discussion the Committee agreed that this work was a desirable safety precaution so the sum was proposed by Cllr Brady, seconded by Cllr Jefferies; all at the meeting in favour.

15/122. Recreation Hall.

The Committee discussed possible work to improve the Hall and decided that improvements to the flooring were more important than painting. Both to be considered as part of the 2016/17 budget bid at the November meeting.

15/123. Youth Activities.

Cllr Sunners visited the youth MOBI this week and observed around 10 young people using its services. The new vehicle has sides which lift out so the capacity has been improved. A leader is currently being recruited and two GAP-year students are currently helping to deliver services. Cllr Brady asked Cllr Sunners to invite a representative from the project to the village tea. If a representative is not available then a report could be read out on their behalf, or literature distributed.

15/123. Youth Activities. (continued)

Cllr Brady also suggested strengthening the link between the MOBI staff and PCSOs and Cllr Sunners confirmed that he would encourage information-sharing.

15/124. Care of Vulnerable People.

Cllr Sunners told the meeting that Cllr Wright was attending the AGM of the Good Neighbours Scheme

15/125. Any Other Business.

The Clerk told the meeting that a resident (Mr Lusher) had contacted the Parish Office to suggest that a number of the events and fetes currently organised by various village groups could be combined into one larger event. Cllr Sunners suggested that there was some merit in independent groups organising their own activities but the meeting agreed to raise the idea at the forthcoming village tea to gauge the reaction of the Groups themselves.

The meeting closed at 8pm.

Summary of Action Points

Cllr Brady

15/116 Email information on local support groups to the Clerk

Cllr Sunners

15/118 Forward the service-level agreement re: BIOS to the Clerk

15/121 Engage S J S Electrical to improve the lighting on the Recreation Hall at a cost of £235

15/123 Ask the BIOS team if they would like to send a representative or some literature to the Village Tea

Clerk

15/116 Book a CVPA inspection for January 2016

15/117 Contact the Tennis club to see if there are any issues to report / whether a representative will attend the November meeting