Annual Parish Meeting papers
We look forward to the Annual parish Meeting this evening.
The Minutes from the Last Meeting in 2019 are below or can be download at APM Minutes May 2019
The Slides for the Charvil Annual Parish Meeting 2021 can be downloaded for use at the meeting
CHARVIL PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 15th May 2019 in the Village Hall
Present: Cllr. Jim Gillett (Chairman), Cllr. Jackie Jeffery, Cllr. Paul Mundy, Cllr. Pat Sutlieff, Cllr. Cllr. Greg Elphick, Cllr. James Bell, Cllr. Daljit Ryatt, Cllr. Jane Hartley, Cllr. Adrian Keward and 26 residents and Borough Councillor Emma Hobbs.
Apologies: Cllr. Claire Andersen
The Parish Clerk formally opened the meeting by welcoming the residents and the press, and introduced the Chairman of Council, Jim Gillett.
1. Minutes from last year were approved
2. Chairman’s opening remarks
The Chairman, on behalf of his fellow Councillors, welcomed residents to the meeting. He introduced all the councillors, and he thanked the clerk, the assistant clerk, the Village Warden and Roger Burns for their efforts around the village. He thanked the residents present for showing an interest, by coming this evening.
3. Chairman’s report
The Chairman ran through the purposes and format of the meeting. First and foremost it is a legal requirement, but it also an opportunity for the Council to inform residents of activities over the past year and to present proposals for plans for the forthcoming year. In addition, it is an opportunity to invite residents to attend the monthly meetings and a time when councillors and residents can socialise and get to know each other. He introduced the Councillors, highlighting the changes in councillors and staff since last year, and the two main committees being Amenities and Planning, Environment and Highways. He then moved on to the Council’s main remits which are to manage the Village Hall (a popular well-kept facility) and other local amenities, and to be consulted by Wokingham on issues such as Highways, Planning, and schools.
The Chair also explained that Charvil supported three local charitable trusts: The Sonning Education and Welfare Trust with Cllr. Jeffery being the Council’s representative, The Almhouses Trust ably represented by Gary Brooks for the last 10 years, and the Poor’s Land Charity, with Lauren McCann representing the village. He thanked Gary for his work on behalf of the Parish and appealed for anyone who would like to volunteer for the vacant role.
4. Reports
Following his report, the Chairman introduced his fellow Councillors. Each in turn gave their reports on the year’s activity in the area in which they take a lead role: –
Adrian Keward, Amenities
Cllr. Keward ran through what the Amenities Committee does, what its remit is and recent successes and challenges. The main question was what does the village need? The Council had recently conducted a Survey Monkey Poll on the need for a new pre-school, but there were insufficient responses to really gauge public opinion but given that the village was due to receive Community Infrastructure Levy more than £100,000, the Council would be glad to hear of any ideas to improve the village. The main idea at the moment is a possible redevelopment of the Pavilion – this would require borrowing and would be the most ambitious project the Parish Council would have undertaken.
Jane Hartley, Chair of Planning, Environment and Highways
Cllr. Hartley introduced herself and explained that the Council had recently modified its Committee structure and that this was a new Committee. She ran through the aims of the Committee; to improve the environment of Charvil; to increase resident engagement; and to consider the needs of ALL residents. As part of trying to find out what residents would like, they were invited to write ideas on post-it notes after the formal part of the meeting.
On Planning, the Local Plan is the main issue, and at this point the call for sites is taking place. The view at present is that WBC may be looking at two large development sites, including Twyford/Ruscombe, and the Parish Council view is that we need the right houses in the right place, without destroying the Green Belt. Borough Councillor Hobbs said that the Borough is looking closely at Grazeley, and if this went ahead, it would take the pressure off the rest of the Borough.
A more local issue is the proposed development of Jubilee Hall. Currently there is a plan for five houses. There are concerns about the parking proposals in the application, and the Parish Council thinks four is a more reasonable number.
On Highways, bicycle racks are planned got both the hall and pavilion and are due to be put in place soon. The Council continues to monitor speeding in the local roads with the Speed Indicator Device – it will move around the village to monitor more than one spot. The Council is liaising with the Borough on things like hedge cutting and are still trying to see if Pipistrelle Way could be adopted. Councillor Hobbs thought this extremely unlikely to succeed because of funding.
On Environment, the Borough is now collecting food waste, and are still hoping to find a suitable site for a bottle bank. The Council had surveyed residents near possible sites, and they were concerned about mess and noise. Some of the Council had been actively involved in the Veteran Tree Association and had been mapping the trees. This still has some way to go. There had been great support for the Annual Litter pick, with between 60 and 70 residents taking part, which was a record. Dog fouling continues to be a problem – the Council is running a competition to design some new signs, and the winning designs will be developed. The Council hopes to get some pink spray paint to highlight the poo on paths, to highlight the problem.
Jim Gillett, Social Media, and Charvil Village News
Cllr. Gillett explained that this was now managed by the assistant clerk, and that she would welcome new contributions. The magazine is popular, but it is recognised that Social media is becoming increasingly important.
James Bell Chairman, Finance
Cllr Bell ran through the financial position of the Council, explaining that the main source of finance is the Precept, supported by income from the hall. Main areas expenditure are the staff who fulfil statutory duties, and manage the facilities, as well as keeping the village neat and tidy; and the upkeep of the facilities.
Open Forum
This year, there was no official open forum, but a more informal approach instead. Ideas to come out of this included a foot/cycle bridge to link Charvil with Twyford as there used to be, agendas to be placed on Facebook, reducing pavement parking, cutting the grass behind the hall more often, better lighting at the Village Hall and Village gateway signs.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.42 p.m.
Signed …………………………………Chairman of the Council Date.
