Janice Bridger took the chair.
ACTION
1 WELCOME
Committee members present: Janice Bridger (Acting Chairperson), Jenni Collins, Rob Crispin, Zoe Fannon, Eric Friend, June Friend, Diana ffrench (Treasurer, who took the Minutes), Freda Hendel, Kirsti Murray, Jean Rush (Secretary), Kathy Titcombe, and Cyril Wood
2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Apologies for absence had been received from Nicholas Collins (Committee member) and Hilary Cole (District Councillor)
3 INPUT FROM NON – COMMITTEE MEMBERS None
4 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETING that was held on Tues. 14th October 2009 were read. Janice Bridger asked for ‘Curridge’ to be changed to ‘Chieveley’ in Item 10 line 2. With this amendment the minutes were agreed and signed as correct by Janice Bridger.
5 THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF NEW RESIDENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR
WELCOME AND DELIVERY OF HANDBOOK
Committee member to call at the house of new residents to welcome them, give them
A Handbook of Curridge and provide a point of contact for information about the village.
|
NAME |
ADDRESS |
PERSON WHO WILL DELIVER HANDBOOK |
|
|
The Lamb
|
Jenni. |
|
|
Frankie Smith’s old house Long Lane |
Rob |
|
|
Old Heatherpine Curridge Road |
Freda |
|
|
High Oaks, Curridge Road |
Jean |
Pass on details of new residents to Toby Crispin, Horticultural Society. Jean
6 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES:
THE PARISH PLAN UPDATE
Penny Tomkins, Dennis Butcher, Tracy Snook and Janice Bridger are putting in a lot of time to write the finished Parish Plan. When completed, the document needs to go to the Parish Council and then the District Council for approval before it can be launched. The plan will not be ready for the date of Chieveley Fete in June, but it is hoped that there can be a table there showing some of the projects arising from the Parish Plan results. This could also be done at an event in Curridge.
Raised later under A.O.B. was the fact that the improvement of outdoor recreational facilities emerged in the Parish Plan as a priority in Curridge. Kathy Titcombe is liaising with Peter Maherne, a governor of Curridge School, about how the plans for the provision of a playing field for Curridge School and the community can be taken forward and hopes to have a date in the diary soon to get together with the Head teacher, governors and a land owner to discuss details Kathy
THE CURRIDGE WEBSITE www.curridgevillage.co.uk
Jenni Collins now has the website up and running and has managed to set it up online for free. It was agreed by all to be a successful start and Jenni was thanked for all her hard work. She now needs more content, e.g. W.I. talks, Horticultural Society events etc.. There have been some teething problems and if you have any difficulties it would be helpful to Jenni if you could send the webpage to her so she can try and remedy the situation. If you have any problems, notice anything that needs amending, or have any suggestions for content please contact Jenni This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (there is an underscore between Jenni and Collins) All
THE W.I. HALL/SCHOOL CAR PARK LIGHTS
The car park is not lit at present as the lights have been broken. Katherine Andrews, Curridge School secretary, has been informed and she is looking into getting them fixed. There seems to be some confusion as to whether funding repairs would be the school’s or West Berkshire’s responsibility.
There has been some more recent antisocial behaviour in the area near the W.I. Hall in Curridge.
All incidents of criminal damage or antisocial behaviour in the locality of the W.I. Hall should be reported to the local neighbourhood police team on 08458505505 or to the Police Officer in attendance at the beginning of every Chieveley Parish Council meeting. All
THE CURRIDGE ROAD/OXFORD ROAD JUNCTION UPDATE
This junction is on the list as one of the Parish Council’s priorities as there have been a number of accidents there. West Berkshire Council has been asked to address this problem and have agreed to make adjustments to lining and signage and cut back vegetation. These measures were thought to be inadequate by the committee, and, if safety does not improve, further measures will be sought. Jean is keeping a log of accidents at the junction, so please inform her if you hear of any, even if you are not involved. All
RIGHTS OF WAY PILOT
The ideas for new links which came out of the parish plan have been accepted by the Mid & West Berks Local Access Forum (LAF) as an example project. There is to be a meeting organized by the LAF on 2 June to inform parish councils about the LAF, remind them of their powers concerning rights of way etc. If anyone is interested in going then contact Janice who has all the details.
7 TREASURER’S REPORT
CRA has a balance of £948:01
8 PROPOSED NEWBURY SHOW SOCIETY’S BUILDING ON NEWBURY SHOWGROUND
Rob Crispin and Eric Friend attended a liaison meeting with the Showground Committee on 5th January 2010 where the Agricultural Society presented their plans to build a building with a mezzanine level to house cattle, and a ménage which could be hired out for horse events. There was also an additional plan to build a new access route into the showground which would take traffic off the local roads. The society met a lot of resistance from residents to all these plans.
Janice enquired about lighting but this was not addressed at the meeting. There was also no proposal for a PA system.
9 OVERHANGING WEEDS ON MOD PROPERTY
Jean wrote a letter to the MOD and the problem has been resolved.
10 FENCING/BOUNDARY LINE AT MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
The fencing issue has been resolved. The CRA Committee itself did not have any part in challenging
the boundary and those involved were acting as individuals. The CRA Committee only informs residents of planning issues but does not fight, as a body, for or against them. It was reported that the residents of Magnolia Cottage felt that they were not welcome in the village. The Committee felt that this was a great shame as the couple involved had bought the plot in good faith. The individuals who raised objections were ensuring that the conditions of the planning permission approval were being met and were not against the family itself. It was felt that it is unfortunate that West Berkshire Council did not sort out the boundary issue when residents complained that the fence had been moved into the wrong place many years ago.
11. APPLICATION FOR A NEW SIGN AT CHIEVELEY MOTORS
The Parish Council saw no reasons to object to the planning as long as the lighting wasn’t too bright.
12 ITEMS FROM THE MOST RECENT PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
· There are more articulated lorries coming through Curridge trying to get to the plastic recycling at Rookery Farm. The Parish Council clerk has been in touch with the owner. It may be that the Sat. Nav. systems are sending the drivers through the village. They are investigating whether they can give the drivers a different post code which would take them another way.
· Stable View site in Oare. The Parish Council objected to the planning application to site caravan(s) and there were many objections from residents. West Berkshire Council declared it an invalid application
· Hilary Cole would like residents to report pot holes to West Berkshire Council so that they can be filled.
· In Marsh Lane a garage has been built beyond the boundary, on neighbouring land, covering some of the site of Curridge pond.
· Matt Meldrom, Minerals Officer West Berkshire is to attend the next Parish Council meeting to discuss the issues over the Grundon quarries.
· The Parish Council want give their support to the W.I. to make necessary renovations to the W.I. hall.
· The Parish Council are to find out the views of Curridge Park residents on street lighting, whether they want to reduce the brightness or duration.
· The W.I. Hall area and Curridge Playground were both found to be on the SHLAA, a map of land that can potentially be developed. They have now both been taken off. Other SHLAA sites in Curridge were not disclosed
13 CURRIDGE FOOTWAYS PROPOSAL
There was some concern as to how the decision to build the footpath joining Crabtree Lane to the newly built footpath was reached because the CRA committee were not aware of the proposal and some people wondered why alternatives had not been considered. An explanatory paper (composed by Janice Bridger, Jean Rush and reviewed by Rob Crispin) had been circulated to CRA Committee members before the meeting along with a list of queries raised by residents. Eric Friend explained how he had put the idea forward for a Members’ bid. This idea was put forward by Hilary Cole, District Councillor, for future funding by West Berks Council. In October 2009, a sum of money was made available for a list of 10 projects. However, as the funding would not cover them all, the Parish Council had to prioritise. Most of the projects were based in Chieveley so it was decided to fund five projects there and the footpath project in Curridge, which was an expensive project, and would take up a large proportion of the funding.
West Berkshire Council needed reassurance that residents wanted the proposed new footway so in January 2010 Chieveley Parish Council delivered a copy of the proposal to all households in the village seeking a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. The results are available in section 5.02.10 of the Minutes of the Chieveley Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 9th February 2010 which are published on the Chieveley website www.mychieveley.co.uk
On behalf of Chieveley Parish Council, Rob Crispin provided written answers to the queries raised by residents
14 FUTURE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CRA AND CHIEVELEY PARISH COUNCIL
It was felt that, in future, communication to the CRA Committee of Curridge issues raised at Parish Councils meetings should not rest solely with Rob Crispin and Eric Friend. Therefore it was agreed that Zoe Fannon and Kirsti Murray be sent the Parish Council minutes on a monthly basis and they should pass on anything relevant to Curridge at CRA meetings. Rob and Eric agreed to clarify any points that may arise. CRA members are, of course, welcome to go along to Parish Council meetings themselves or refer to Parish Council meeting agendas and minutes on the Chieveley website
www.mychieveley.co.uk Zoe/Kirsti
15 FUTURE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRA AND CHIEVELEY PARISH COUNCIL
CRA members commented that the CRA and the Parish Council both have similar goals in that they both care about the community of Curridge and want the best for its residents. The PC members are elected to make decisions on local issues and the CRA should aid this process by being a forum for local views and by publicising planning issues so that the PC has a greater feedback from residents as to whether they are popular or unpopular. The CRA has been involved in many issues since the 1980s and is there to continue to protect and enhance our village environment in the future.
To avoid misinterpretation of anyone’s actions it was agreed that members should make it very clear as to whether they are acting for themselves or on behalf of the PC or the CRA and that all-round communication needs to be improved. It was also felt that the website could be a good way of facilitating better communication. All
16 AOB
· It was pointed out that Curridge Playground was looking untidy at present due to some trees being felled and not taken away. Rob Crispin, as one of the trustees of Curridge Playground, said he would look into it. Rob
· There was concern about lorries stopping overnight under the motorway bridges by Chieveley Services, churning up the ground and knocking down lighting. If residents want to complain they need to contact Mark Edwards, head of Highways and Transport. All
· There has been a request made on the website for information on when Curridge House used to be a home for naughty boys. If you have any information please let Jenni know. All
· The suggestion by Rob Crispin that all the CRA Committee meetings should be held in the W.I. Hall instead of in members’ homes was not supported.
17 DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING
The next meeting will be held at 8pm on Tuesday 15th June at The Chapel, Long Lane Curridge. All
