STORRINGTON & SULLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Recreation and Property Committee held in The Chanctonbury Room, The Parish Hall, Thakeham Road, Storrington, on Wednesday 4th February, 2009, commencing at 8.00 p.m.

Present:  Mr. C. Mason in the Chair, Mr. R. Carter, Mr. R. Dawe, Mr. A. Head, Mr. D. Roper, Mrs. L. Wheatley and Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese.

72.    Apologies for Absence.  There were no apologies for absence.

73.    To Receive Declarations of Interest from Members.  Mrs. Wheatley declared a personal interest in agenda item 11 – Cricket Club as her husband was a member.

74.    To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Last Meeting held on the 12th November, 2008.  The minutes were duly APPROVED as being a correct record of the proceedings thereat and were signed by the Chairman.

75.    To Approve, Adopt and Sign the Minutes of the Meeting of the Recreation and Property Working Party held on the 17th December, 2008.  The minutes were duly APPOVED as being a correct record of the proceedings thereat, were duly ADOPTED and signed by the Chairman.

76.    Matters Arising.  There were no matters arising.

77.    To Consider the Inspection of Play Equipment Reports.  A report had today been received from H.D.C.  It had been reported that there were sharp edges in the centre of the slide.  This would be checked urgently.

    Discussion ensued with regard to the play equipment that was behind the Cootham Hall.  It was AGREED :-

    To write to the Trustees of the Hall stating that the Council would either sell them the play equipment for £1.00 or have it removed.  A copy of this letter should be given to the Nursery School.

78.    Documents for Councillors to Read.  There were no documents for Councillors to read.

79.    To consider the Sullington Play Project.  Mrs. Wheatley reported that some Members had queried with her whether this project should go ahead in the current economic climate.  However, she had met with Proludic and Monster Play and these companies would be providing plans.  With regard to matting for the football wall, apparently matting was no good with a clay soil, and tarmac had been mentioned.  The sum of £67,000 was available for this project and if this did not proceed the Council would lose £55,000.  Currently it was proposed to have one area for toddlers/smaller children and another area for the older youngsters with a new youth shelter.  There was a need for a quotation for an extra C.C.T.V. camera to cover the equipment.  Mr. Dawe Proposed; Seconded Mr. Mason and Vote In Favour 6; Against 0; Abstentions 1 it was AGREED :-

        To proceed with this project.

80.    To Consider H.D.C’s Terms for New Lease Agreement for Play Area, Meadowside.  The Clerk advised that H.D.C., had now installed the footway from Meadowside to the play area.  Following discussion Mrs. Worthington-Leese Proposed; Seconded Mrs. Wheatley and Vote: In Favour 5; Against 0; Abstentions 2 (Mr. Dawe and Mr. Mason) it was AGREED :-

    To advise H.D.C., that the Council had given this matter great thought, the previous Lease had run out very many years ago and they had done nothing about it, therefore, the Council had decided that they did not wish to renew this Lease.  It would cost approximately £1,500 to put the existing equipment in good order and the Parish Council would be prepared to do this, at which point H.D.C., would need to take over responsibility for maintaining it.  Currently H.D.C., did not maintain any play equipment in this parish, whereas it did in other parishes.

81.    Allotments.  A response to the Council’s letter to SAGA following the meeting in December had now been received.  Their responses to the questions raised were as follows :-

    1.    SAGA would accept the grant outlined for 2009 and 2010.
2.    They support the Council’s desire to provide as many allotments as possible and felt demand would affect the required number of plots, and they would endeavour within reason to satisfy the actual demand.
3.    There should be two lists, one for each site.  Applicants with no preference should be offered the next available plot on either site.  They would manage the Amberley Road list with records available to the Council.  They suggest the Council and SAGA co-operatively managing the list with no preference until Ravenscroft was under self-management.  The Council should continue to manage the Ravenscroft list.  They would be happy to discuss further.  Once Ravenscroft was under self-management SAGA would expect to handle the complete waiting list.
4.    Mr. Read would meet SAGA to discuss proposals for Ravenscroft.
5.    They wished to know when the bushes would be available for planting.
6.    They requested contact details of all Amberley Road allotment holders in order to send them a letter inviting them to a general meeting in February.  They did not feel it would be necessary to serve notice to plot holders as the current agreements finished at the end of March, 2009.

They requested a final draft of the lease with a rental cost of £50.00 p.a. so they could send this to NSLAG for approval.

It was noted that SAGA were largely disinheriting themselves from Ravenscroft, there was no mention of how many plots they would make at Amberley Road, but they had dropped any mention of having non-allotment holders as members of SAGA.  There was a problem with them having the waiting list because the names and addressed were protected by the Data Protection Act.  To provide this information would entail the Council writing to everyone and obtaining their written permission to pass on the information.  SAGA had not made any mention to the point that there should be a maximum plot size by 2011 and it was felt that this point should be included in any lease.  There was concern amongst Members that SAGA wanted the status quo at Amberley Road which was not considered acceptable.  There would be a need to go back to them quickly in response to this letter if agreement was to be reached before 1st April, 2009.  It was UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :-

•    Notice should be given to all present allotment holders, but they would have automatic transfer as member of SAGA as of 1st April.
•    There should be regular meetings with SAGA to keep in touch with everything that was happening on the allotments.
•    A letter should be written to SAGA stating that the Council wanted to go ahead, advising them that the Council was giving notice to everyone.  They should be advised that the Council would like them to take over management of Amberley Road Allotments from 1st April, 2009 with the wish to maximize the number of plots by 2011 and telling them that this point would be included in the agreement. 
•    The Council would want to see their final proposals for the making of smaller plots bearing in mind the Council was talking abut one-third size plots.
•    The waiting list should be held by the Parish Council and SAGA kept advised of the total number on the waiting list.  When there is a vacancy the Parish Council will write a letter to the applicant, with a copy sent to SAGA but with the address blanked out, advising that if they have not responded by a certain date that the plot would be offered to the next person on the list.
•    It will be necessary to call a meeting of allotment holders to explain what is happening and this could be combined with the AGM of SAGA.  Transition arrangements would have to be organized between SAGA and Parish Council, e.g., letters, envelopes and postage.
•    Regarding Ravenscroft, it was felt this must be dealt with by the end of this month.  Contact should be made with Tony Read to ask what was happening, if he confirms that he is liaising with SAGA he should be advised the Council would like to know within two to three weeks exactly what the proposals are so that from 1st April, 2009 the vacant plots could be let.
•    The initial area available would be all except the area in the top left-hand corner.  There was a need to know how this would be divided up.

82.    Rent Review Storrington Football Club.  Currently the rent was £600.00 p.a., inclusive of V.A.T.  Mr. Head advised that the rent had been £600.00 p.a., sixteen years ago.  The Council was fully behind the Club and valued the work they did for the children of the parish.  Long discussion ensued following which it was AGREED :-

    The Clerk should work out, as near as possible, what the costs of running the Pavilion and fields was in order that the Committee may take that into account in making a final decision as to the proposed increase.

83.    Rent Review Storrington Cricket Club.  Currently the rent was £600.00 p.a., inclusive of V.A.T.  Mr. Head advised that the rent had been £600.00 p.a., sixteen years ago.  The Council was fully behind the Club and valued the work they did for the children of the parish.  Long discussion ensued following which it was AGREED :-

    The Clerk should work out, as near as possible, what the costs of running the Pavilion and fields was in order that the Committee may take that into account in making a final decision as to the proposed increase.

84.    Problems with light being left on at the Football Pavilion – to consider changing these to be either infra red detector or timer controlled.  It was AGREED :-

        That something needed to be done and that this would be looked into.

85.    The Glade.   Storrington Conservation Society had written stating that they understood the concerns of the Council in relation to the possible cost of managing the site in the longer term.  Regarding the management of the site in future years, they feel it important that the small-scale phased tree thinning of approximately 10 – 20 trees per year to promote structural diversity within the site should be undertaken.  They had identified a team of BTCV forestry/horticultural trainees who would be able to undertake this work.  The current charge for this work would be £300.00 per day and it was estimated that the work would take one or two days a year plus the need to hire a chipper to chip and cut material.  They estimate a total cost per annum of £1,000.00.  Following discussion it was AGREED :-

    That Mr. Mason and Mrs. Worthington-Leese should meet the Storrington Conservation Society on site in order to be shown the trees they are talking about and discuss the letter with them.

86.    To Consider quotation from Kestrel Alarms to extend the access control system.  A quotation had been received in the sum of £894.00 plus V.A.T., to add the bar door to the system.  Following discussion it was     AGREED :-

    A letter should be written to the Football Club reminding them of the terms of the Lease and advise them that should they require any additional functions they would have to pay the going rate for the premises and they must book such functions well in advance.  The Club should be advised that the new Burglar Alarm would be activated should any door on the system be entered.  This was important as it would cost the Council money to have to call out Kestrel to re-set the system.   

87.    To note that the quotation from Pickerings Lifts to repair the lift at the Football Pavilion was accepted in the sum of £411.00 plus V.A.T.  This was duly NOTED and AGREED.  The Members were extremely concerned about the number of problems being experienced with this lift and felt that should anyone accidentally overload it that it should not function and hence they did not understand who it should keep malfunctioning.  The lift was not considered to be fit for purpose.  It was AGREED :-

    Pickerings should be invited to site to discuss the problems being experienced in order to ascertain exactly why this was a constant problem.

88.    Health and Safety.  No health and safety matters were raised.

89.    Chairman’s Announcements.  It was reported that Portsmouth Football Club were to once more do football training for youngsters in February.  The Parish Council had not been asked for permission to use the facilities.  The Clerk should make urgent contact with Portsmouth Football Club.

90.    H.D.C. Snack Wagon.  H.D.C., had requested permission for the Snack Wagon to visit the Storrington Recreation Car Park for a further six week period.  Permission was duly granted.

91.    Chanctonbury Leisure Centre had supplied copies of the plans for alterations to their offices.  There was no objection thereto.

92.    Additional Work, Cricket Field.  Garden Care had submitted an estimate for the works required as per the report provided.  They had allowed for an extra cut per week for half the season and four weekly cuts of three and the additional cost would be £1,750.00.  The ground maintenance budget had only increased by 6% therefore, should the Cricket Club require the grass to be cut over that amount, they would need to pay for it.

93.    Gliding Club.  Members asked that a letter of congratulations be sent to the Gliding Club for purchasing the gliding field.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.50 p.m.