WHITTINGTON PARISH MEETING Village Hall, 20th June 2023, 1930 hrs.
Present: Fred Ackrill, Cathy Boyd, Giles Browne [chairman], Hetty Horton, Tom Metcalf, Bob & Carol White. Apologies: Wendy Taylor.
1] MINUTES: Were approved by the meeting.
2] MATTERS ARISING: Local policing. Chairman reported that nothing further had been heard from the Constabulary. The promised visit from the new local officer had not materialised, and there had been no noticeable increase in police patrols. No progress had been made with the suggested installation of a CCTV camera on the Old Shop. Landscaping. Thanks were due again to Scott and Jeab for maintenance of the flowerbed at the junction; to Ian Johnston for strimming; to Ian and to John Glover for keeping the library topped up and tidy; and to Roger Rowe for skilled pruning of the Ch. de Rivau Sue Danvers memorial walnut tree on the green.
3] ACCOUNTS Meeting approved the financial statement as set out on the agenda. Funds stood at £683 25p.
4] INDEPENDENT AUDITOR Sue Pinchen having been unable to attend the meeting, later signified her wish to continue.
5] CORONATION The accession of King Charles III had been proclaimed formally on the green by the chairman, and the coronation had been duly celebrated with a picnic party.
6] HIGHWAYS Chairman said he had written to the County Council about the poor condition of local roads both as to potholes and to general surface wear; also about the lack of junction markers at the A40 junction; also about the flooding at that junction.
Footpaths. The three stiles rebuilt by the Cotswold Wardens – two in Cowpasture, one in the Court carpark – had proved difficult for the less agile to negotiate. As the District Council had agreed that some of the Community Improvement Levy funds held by them on our behalf could properly be applied to improving them, the two in Cowpasture were replaced by self-closing pedestian metal gates [the Whittington Estate declining the offer of the third]. The gates were the Authority’s preferred option, and were supplied at a cost of £288 incl. VAT. Installation was carried out by Rob Costello without charge, aided by Jacky Marshall. The meeting passed a vote of thanks accordingly. The poor condition of the stile on the Sevenhampton path from the village carpark into David Barrett’s field was also noted. Chairman reported that the local authority was considering reclassifying Camden Lane, currently a Road Used as a Public Path, into a Byway Open to All Traffic. Meeting could see no valid reason for doing so, as the lane had seen no cars or motorbikes within living memory. Chairman to write.
7] PLANNING Chairman listed applications since the last meeting, including widening the Sandywell gates [listed], a 2-storey extension to no.13, biomass boilers with flues at Whalley, roofing the barn at Trenfield, also a ‘changing room’ and front gates there, cutting back dead ash at Court Farmhouse, ditto the church, refurbishment and loft conversion at the upstairs flat [no.2] at the Old Schoolhouse, a new orangery at Warren Farm [not actually in the parish], and work on sycamores at Puckridge.
8] AOB: [1] Fred Ackrill reported that Whittington House appeared to be being let on short term for parties, some of which were noisy and resulted in untidy parking on the lane. To be kept an eye on. [2] No news of a new parson, Colin having departed at Eastertide.
9]. CHAIRMAN: No-one else wanting the job, Chairman was re-elected.