NORTH NIBLEY PARISH MEETING WAS HELD ON MONDAY 4 APRIL, 2011, IN THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 7.00 PM

Present: Mrs. E A James (Chairman)

Mr D Purnell

Mr K Brown

Mrs A Hale

Mrs. P Kelly

Mr D Palmer

Mrs K Glancy

District Councillors: Mrs J Cordwell & Mr P Smith.

County Councillor: Dr. J Cordwell

Clerk: Mr R Symons

There were 11 parishioners in attendance, including some who were there as representatives of local organisations.

Introductions. The Chairman invited all Councillors present to introduce themselves to the parishioners.

1. Apologies. District Councillor A O’Connor and Mr D Earle.

2. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held in 2010. The Minutes had previously been displayed on the Parish Council notice boards and on the websites. The Chairman asked for the Minutes to be approved and it was agreed that the Minutes should be signed as a correct record. The Minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.

The Clerk provided the Meeting with a written Update on matters arising from the Meeting. (See aside).

The Clerk also informed the Meeting that he had received complaints about car parking in the Street (in the vicinity of the School) at the start and end of the school day. Following discussion it was suggested that the only action open to the Council was to request County Highways to paint “Keep Space free” lines on the road, although it was recognised that such arrangements are not legally enforceable. During discussion an objection was made to this suggestion and an observation made that there were no reasonable alternative parking solutions for parents collecting their children; and that such parking was limited in duration. No decision on future action was taken.

3. Mr David Palmer, Chairman of the Parish Plan Group provided a written Update (see aside). The Plan has been printed and distributed to all households. Mr Palmer emphasised the importance that individuals and groups responsible for progressing matters need to keep the Plan up to date.

The Chairman invited questions. There were none.

4. Mr Roland Brown and Mr Paul Findlay (North Nibley Recreation Field Trust) were invited to give the Meeting an update of Pavilion Project. Mr Brown (Secretary of the Trust) reported that the Project was now complete and that the Committee were pleased with the outcome. The total cost was £83k. There had been a good attendance at the official opening on 26 March. There were still a small number of additional jobs to complete including the erection of a gate to control use of the car park; and some levelling of an area of the ground around the pavilion.

Mr Findlay (Chairman of the Trust) thanked the Parish Council for all their support and for raising a loan to enable the project to be completed.

In response to questions Mr Brown confirmed that the pavilion is available for community groups to hire and they have already received a number of approaches. Mr Brown emphasised that the Trust were not in competition with the Village Hall, as the type of events using the pavilion are more likely to have a sporting context and/or be based on using the outside spaces. FONNS have booked the facility for a Village Day on Friday 29 April.

The Clerk informed the Meeting that the Parish Council loan of £35k, plus reclaimed VAT meant that the Council had contributed £41,125 towards the total cost of the pavilion.

The Chairman thanked Messrs Brown and Findlay and the Recreation Field Trust Committee for all their hard work in building the pavilion.

5. Mr Ken Brown was invited to address the Meeting about the Community plans for purchasing 14 acres of land at Nibley Knoll.

Mr Brown explained the possibility of the community purchasing this parcel of land on a number of occasions over the years. The Parish Council had previously considered this possibility, but due to requirement that public bodies like the Parish Council could only pay the valuation rate for land, this had not been possible.

The land has been on the market for several months and, although an offer had previously been made by a local resident on behalf of a community group, it was thought that a sale agreed in late 2010 had been concluded. However this sale fell through in March 2011 and the community group were suddenly offered the land at a price of £45k. The group were then faced with the need to raise £50k (purchase price plus legal fees) in a matter of a few weeks.

Mr Brown wanted to encourage parishioners and other people interested in saving the Knoll for the benefit of the community, to consider contributing towards the appeal. He reported that good progress was being made and he was reasonably optimistic that they would be able to progress with the purchase.

He went on to explain that it was the intention to establish a Trust to own and manage the land. It was expected that the Trust would work closely with the Monument Trust and the Parish Council who also own land on the Knoll and therefore have a common interest in the future management of the Knoll.

6. The Clerk Reported back on the Parish Council land at Breakheart Hill. Since last year’s Parish Meeting the Council had taken back possession of the land in May 2010. The land has now been fenced and a new gate erected. The land has been subject to speculation as to archaeological interest about the mounds on the field. As a result the Clerk and Mr K Brown had met with Mr Armstrong from Gloucestershire CC who has subsequently advised that one of the mounds has an archaeological interest and must be left untouched. He has also agreed that the Council can level the land, subject to any archaeological remains being exposed when the work would have to discontinue.

The Council now planned to level the field; re-fence the bottom field boundary; and reseed the field.

7. The Clerk was invited to provide an overview of how the Parish Council spent its Budget in 2010/11.

A written statement (see aside) was issued at the start of the Meeting. The Clerk explained that the main source of income for the Council comes from the Annual Precept. In 2010/11 this was increased to £12k in order to meet the additional costs of repaying the loan. The Precept for 2011/12 has been maintained at £12k.

The main reasons for the increase in the Council’s expenditure in 2010/11 were caused by the printing costs of the Parish Plan; repayment of the Recreation Field Loan; Council Audit costs; and the Clerk’s salary.

8. The Chairman introduced the Reports produced by herself and members of the Parish Council. The Reports were made available at the start of the Meeting. (See reports aside).

The Chairman invited questions. There were none.

9. District Councillor Mr Paul Smith was invited to present his Report, on behalf of the three District Councillors. Mr Smith’s Report was made available at the start of the Meeting. (See aside). Mr Smith read out parts of his Report.

In response to a question Mr Smith restated the amount of Stroud DC budget committed to the Canal project.

The Chairman thanked Mr Smith for his report and for the contribution which the District & County Councillors make in support of the Parish Council and the Community.

10. The Chairman invited parishioners to raise and discuss matters.

There were no issues raised. The Chairman took the opportunity to invite Mr Richard Belliss (Village Agent) to explain his role and the arrangements for the funding of his post. Mr Belliss provided a leaflet for those parishioners present.

11. The Chairman invited County Councillor Dr. J. Cordwell to present his Report. The report was made available at the start of the Meeting. (See report aside).

12. The Chairman brought to the attention of the audience the forthcoming elections of the Parish Council; one District Councillor; and the Referendum on Parliamentary Elections.

Nominations for the elections had closed on the day of the Meeting. The Chairman encouraged everyone to use their vote at the forthcoming elections.

13. The Clerk presented a verbal Report on North Nibley Cemetery. He explained that Mrs King continued in the role of Burial Clerk and he wished to record his thanks for the work she continued to do. In 2010/11 the Parish Council had maintained their fees at the same level as 2009/10. There were no plans to change these fees although the new Council would need to review the matter following their election.

14. During 2010/11 a number of works were carried out to the hedges, trees and footpaths. Further work to spray the paths to reduce moss was planned for this Spring.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and invited them to attend future Parish Council Meetings and next year’s Parish Meeting.

The Meeting closed at 8.10pm.