THE FOLLOWING ARE UNAPPROVED DRAFT MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING AND SHOULD NOT BE COPIED, QUOTED OR ATTRIBUTED TO IN ANY WAY
in Westbury Village Hall on Weds 7th December 2011
PRESENT: Councillors E G Thomas (Chair), G O Davies, A Harvey, R Briscoe, P Williams,
W Onions, Miss C Pryce, Mrs A Royle, S Jones, M Mead from Shropshire Council, PC C Barrett and 25 members of the public.
APOLOGIES: L Hurdley, Mrs G Owen, Unitary Clr. D Roberts
476 MINUTES: Minutes 467 to 475 of the Meeting held on the 14th September 2011, having been precirculated, were approved.
477 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS: Mr Thomas declared personal and prejudicial interest in the planning application f. Miss Pryce declared a personal interest in items a. and c., also under planning.
478 COUNCILLORS REPORT: There was no report from councillors. Matthew Mead gave an update on LJC matters, saying that there was £8,500 left in this financial year, available for village projects, with the next meeting on March 11th. They would be discussing, inter alia, rural broadband speeds
479 PLAYING FIELDS: It was reported that there had been a brush fire at the Westbury area, started by children, and that some brush removal was probably advisory. Mr S Jones said that he would arrange a meeting on site with Westbury councillors. At Yockleton, the new bridge was looking good and the area was being well used. Mrs Royle was about to apply for a further grant for play equipment subject to some information from The Clerk, which was promised within a few days. The Chairman thanked all participants for their sterling efforts on these projects.
480 JUBILEE 2012: The Clerk showed samples of Jubilee mugs to members. It was decided to use a bone china mug, with the Lion and Unicorn on one side and Westbury Parish Council
on the other, target price £4.30 each. The Clerk will now confirm the number of children 16 and under in the parish, and then get the mugs on order. Other people would be able to purchase the mugs at cost.
There will be a village party in the grounds of the Village Hall during the Jubilee.
481 PARISH PROBLEMS
a. Highways There is still a flood occurring across the road at Vennington after heavy rainfall, The Clerk to report again. There is also a continuing problem of speeding in Yockleton and Constable Barrett said that he had already requested possible visits from the Safety Camera Partnership van at Westbury, and he would add Yockleton to the list.
b. Policing PC Barrett addressed the meeting. There had been 3-4 crimes in the last 2 months, relatively minor in nature, and no significant anti social behaviour in the last few weeks either. However, the problem of metal thefts continued nationally and locally; targeting old farm machines, gates, road signs, vacant premises (for copper and lead) and catalytic convertors (which contain small amounts of gold). Some perpetrators were thought to visit potential target houses in advance, wearing high viz jackets, and with a flashing orange light on a flat bed truck typically. The police, he said, were using a variety of methods including Vehicle ANPR and the Ways and Means Act, to target waste dealers and suspect vehicles. A member of the public asked about Smart Water, and PC Barrett said that all main police stations were fitted with SW equipment, and that either property could be marked or the stuff could be sprayed onto criminals in the act. The Clerk added that SW had a 100% conviction rate when used in evidence. Questioned by another member of the public about churches specifically, PC Barrett mentioned
that Crime Prevention surveys were another service available to the public and were free. Also, said the member of the public, certain insurance companies may grant aid better security expenditure. Finally, Constable Barrett reminded the meeting about the new 101 telephone number in the West Midlands, for non emergency calls to the police.
482 RECENT PROBLEMS IN WESTBURY VILLAGE The Chairman said that a recent article in the Westbury newsletter, which was well written, suggested that there were significant problems in the village caused by certain social housing tenants. There were differing views on this from members of the public present. One said that it was a false impression and, in the main, there was not currently a problem. However, another said that two particular families, possibly related, one at Wallop and the other in Broxtons Wood; had commenced a feud and general youth trouble (including the shot cat incident reported at the last meeting).
The old problem of housing allocation appeared to be the cause, particularly new tenants. Constable Barrett said that the problem family at Wallop had now been served with an anti social behaviour order, which would result in eviction if their children were not controlled. Matthew Mead added that all stakeholders work with the police and the Housing agencies, and monitor all reports, so the more reporting the better. Councillor Harvey was not impressed by this answer, as the Wallop problem had taken 6 years to sort out despite many reports and distress to the neighbour.
Another member of the public challenged PC Barrett on his crime figures, saying that per head of population they were actually higher than other Shropshire areas. Constable Barrett said that domestic incidents appear in the statistics often as violent crime, but are not representative of the area as a whole; recent trouble in Hinwood Rd and Broxtons Wood (including the recent helicopter search), had been triggered by domestic incidents. It was noted, with the help of a Marches Housing tenants representative present, that Severnside Housing looked after Hinwood Road, and Marches Housing were responsible for Broxtons Wood.
Councillor Jones said that much of the responsibility for this situation lay with Severnside and Marches Housing Associations, and he knew from previous correspondence by The Clerk, that they had had plenty of opportunities to attend meetings in the past. They should be invited to attend the next meeting in robust terms, and to send someone of substance. Other potential attendees would be Malcolm Price of Shropshire County Council.
Finally it was revealed that a Facebook page has been created purporting to represent the views of Westbury residents in these matters. Councillor Briscoe said that it was based on hearsay without evidence, and was not helping the situation.
483 COMMUNITY OIL INITIATIVE The Clerk gave brief details of the scheme which pools local heating oil requirements to get a better price from the suppliers. The coordinator of the scheme, Elizabeth Thain, would be at the next meeting, he said.
484 FINANCE Clerk’s Salary, 10 weeks @ £40 plus expenses, inc. £125 for new noticeboard, £533.20 Total; and accounts due for payment: Westbury Village Hall £12.00, n-power £147.64, and annual fireworks contribution £100, all proposed for payment by Mr S Jones, seconded by Mrs Royle and approved unanimously
485 PLANNING Councillors considered 11 applications and there were no comments. However the Jarvis scaffolding site at Yockleton is causing some concerns due to the corrugated iron fence, and The Chairman promised to look into this.
486 CORRESPONDENCE The Clerk read out various items and there were no matters arising
DATE OF NEXT MEETING Weds Jan 4th at 7.30 pm The meeting closed at 9.30 pm