NEWTOWN PARISH COUNCIL
Hampshire
Minutes of a meeting of Newtown Parish Council held on
Monday 9th September 2024 at 7pm, Newtown Village Hall
Present: Meeting Chair: Tom Reseigh
Councillors: Jo Exelby, Karen Sirett-Kelly, Sean Curry,
In attendance: Clerk: Rebecca Cloke
1 member of the public
29. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr Thacker
Cllr Ward was absent
30. Declarations of Interest
None
OPEN FORUM
31. Approval and signing of the minutes of the meeting held on 15th July.
The minutes were approved by the Council and signed by the Chair. Proposed by Cllr Exelby and seconded by Cllr Sirett-Kelly.
Carried forward actions:
Cllr Reseigh to email the planning case officer to raise the issue of the road damage caused by construction vehicles at Newtown Court Farm. TR
Cllr Reseigh to organise the additional bylaw signage.
TR
Cllr Reseigh to pursue previous correspondence with B&D legal dept regarding out of date bylaw breach sanctions.
TR
Total number of Slow and 5mph speed signs needed to be established so the Clerk could order the signage.
TR / RC
Cllr Reseigh to obtain quotes for the post installation at Jonathan Hill to be carried out and to circulate a note to the residents outlining the planned work. TR
32. Report for “News from the Villages”
Cllr Reseigh committed to submitting a News from the Villages synopsis of the meeting including urging members of the public to report instances motorised vehicles on the common.
33. Report from borough and/or county councillor
Cllr Izett provided an update on changes to household waste collections commencing September 2026. [Fortnightly general waste collection]
Cllr Izett outlined current planning issues:
Abbotswood – Cllr Izett in touch with West Berkshire councillors over this planning
Threeways – Cllr Izett stated he had apposed the development on heritage grounds and proximity to the road.
Newtown Court Barn – Cllr Izett commented that the site was brown field.
Cllr Reseigh queried whether the council could request that Basingstoke and Deane apply conditions to any approval given, to ensure site traffic access the site on a specific path and path damage was repaired following any development. Cllr Izett advised Cllr Reseigh send photos and recommendations to the planning officer and he would support this.
ACTION: Cllr Reseigh to take photos and submit site recommendations to the Planning Officer (Jessica Sullivan)
Cllr Izett outline the impact of the Labour government methodology changes to the National Planning Policy Framework which specifically impacted rural areas. Basingstoke and Deane has seen an increase from 825 to 1128 properties each year.
34. Report from PCSO / CSPO
CSPO / PCSO / PC unable to attend meeting.
CSPO Drew Mechen committed to increasing the patrols in the area and offered for Councillor to accompany him.
ACTION: Cllr Curry to accompany PCSO on patrol to outline the issues of damage by motorised bikes and other issues.
PC Simon Denton provided the council with a written update of local issues. There had been seven instances of thefts from motor vehicles in the prior 30 days in the local area amongst other reported incidents. There had also been a reported burglary from Horris Hill, Newtown.
The clerk reported that she had received a response from Royal Mail about the post boxes stolen from Newtown, Burghclere and Woolton Hill. Royal Mail stated that the post boxes would not been replaced.
35. Highways and traffic issues
B4640
Cllr Reseigh summarised the ongoing correspondence between NPC, Hampshire Highways and the police regarding the speeding on the B4640. Recent correspondence would hopefully lead to a meeting between PC Martyn Evans and the Parish Council.
Cllr Exelby suggested a village gateway could be installed to help reduce speeding through the village.
ACTION: The Clerk to contact Hampshire Highways to establish the permission process for a village gateway and to enquire about animal crossing signs for the B4640.
C45
Cllr Reseigh briefed the councillors that Thames Water had returned and concluded the surface water was definitely spring water and not mains water. Cllr Reseigh has emailed Hampshire Highways and Cllr Thacker once more to press for a timeline for action to be taken.
36. Planning and development control
16/02230/FUL Hill Farm Erection of 8 dwellings No update
Withdrawn Returned (unlikely to be det.)
22/01781/LBC The Swan Inn Replacement of weathered and worn roof tiles Awaiting decision following bat survey.
23/01045/FUL (WB) Land South Of Abbottwood Retrospective change of use of land to a Gypsy / Traveller site PC oppose – Awaiting decision.
23/01585/OUTMAJ (WB) Warren Farm Outline for 360 dwellings PC opposed previous application – Awaiting decision
22/02754/OUTMAJ (WB) Land East of Newbury College Retail unit, Care home and 75 residences PC oppose – referenced Burghclere PC submission – awaiting decision
24/00290/FUL Land south of Threeways Erection of a detached dwelling. PC objection – awaiting decision.
24/00677/FUL Newtown Court Barn Conversion of barn PC objection – awaiting decision
24/01566/ROC Holly Cottage Remove redundant boiler chimney stack PC support – awaiting decision
37. Newtown Common
a) Update by Common Management Committee Chair
Cllr Curry updated the councillors on the Winter Work Plan that had been circulated for review prior to the meeting. Cllr Reseigh suggested that a reminder to residents suggesting they could be added to the email circulation list be added.
ACTION: Cllr Curry to add note as above and send to the Clerk for printing.
Cllr Curry briefed that the flailing work by Heathland Management would be carried out in October / November.
b) Bylaw update and summary signage – summary documents of the bylaws have been created and posted on the parish noticeboards. The summary and the full document are also available on the parish website. Signage to include a QR code to the full bylaws was approved at a previous meeting and can now be ordered.
ACTION: Cllr Reseigh to organise the additional bylaw signage.
Cllr Reseigh briefed the council of the further correspondence with Tola Otudeko, Legal Services, Basingstoke and Deane regarding the sanctions for a breach of the bylaws as current sanctions are inadequate and not indexed linked.
ACTION: Cllr Reseigh to pursue previous correspondence.
c) Additional signage quotes and track slow signs – as per the carried forward action, a total number of Slow and 5mph speed signs needed to be established so the Clerk could order the signage.
ACTION: TR to total number required so order can be placed.
d) Motorised bikes / damage to common – Cllr Reseigh to include a reminder in the News from the Villages contribution and Cllr Curry to meet with the CSPO to highlight the damage.
38. Lengthsman Scheme
Cllr Curry stated that some verge clearance work had been carried out by Hampshire Highways and the lengthsman would continue that work during their next work session.
A quote was also being sought for materials, to utilise the lengthsman hours to install ‘dragon’s teeth’ style posts at Jonathan Hill to prevent further cars parked in unauthorised areas.
39. Village Hall
Cllr Reseigh briefed the councillors on the ongoing work by the Village Hall committee and the increase in bookings. The VH committee had proposed holding an event for the residents local to the Village Hall as there were a few new residents.
40. Finance reports
a) To receive the report on the budget for 2024/25
The clerk summarised the main variances to budget, year to date, in the income and expenditure and summarised the reserves held. The Chair checked the bank balances to bank statements. Received and approved.
b) Approval of payments
To approve and ratify the following payments:
c) Review and ratify policies and risk assessments
The following policies and risk assessments were reviewed and ratified:
Code of Conduct
Complaints Policy
Financial Regulations
Grant policy and application
Health and Safety Policy
Retention and Disposal Policy
SID deployment risk assessment
41. Correspondence
The Clerk briefed the councillors that she had received the following correspondence:
Damage / nuisance to common caused by bikes – ongoing
Horris Hill donation – The Clerk briefed this had not yet been received
Post boxes stolen – A member of the public had queried if the boxes were to be replaced
Chief Exec of BDBC Paul Harvey offer to attend a meeting
ACTION: Clerk to invite to a future meeting
‘Save Enborne Action Group’ re Long Copse Farm
ACTION: Cllr Reseigh to email a response
BDBC Councillor Code of Conduct training available – 18th Sep / 15th Oct
42. Date of next meetings
Dates for the next meetings were set for:
11th November, 13th January, 10th March
The meeting closed at 8:20pm
Signed ……………………………. Date……………….
Appendix 1 – Summary of agreed actions
Newtown Court Barn – Cllr Reseigh to take photos and submit site recommendations to the Planning Officer (Jessica Sullivan) TR
Cllr Reseigh to organise the additional bylaw signage.
TR
Cllr Reseigh to pursue previous correspondence with B&D legal dept regarding out of date bylaw breach sanctions.
TR
Total number of Slow and 5mph speed signs needed to be established so the Clerk could order the signage.
TR / RC
Cllr Reseigh to obtain quotes for the post installation at Jonathan Hill to be carried out and to circulate a note to the residents outlining the planned work.
TR
Cllr Curry to accompany PCSO on patrol to outline the issues of damage by motorised bikes and other issues.
SC / RC
Clerk to contact Hampshire Highways to establish the permission process for a village gateway and to enquire about animal crossing signs for the B4640.
RC
Cllr Curry to add note to the Winter Work Plan regarding distribution as above and send to the Clerk for printing. Clerk to print for distribution.
RC / SC
Clerk to invite BDBC Chief Exec to a future meeting
RC
Cllr Reseigh to email a response to Enborne Action Group regarding Long Corpse Farm
TR