Woldingham Parish Council

MINUTES of a Meeting held at Woldingham Village Hall, Woldingham on 26 June 2008 at 7.30pm.

Present: Greg Meekings (Chairman) Andrew Barton Alistair Pirie Rodney Fuller
Bobby Johnson Karen Newman (Clerk)

1. Apologies: Cllrs Marks, Cohen and Myers
Non-Attendance: Cllr Howe

2. Minutes.
The Minutes of the meeting held on the 29 May had been circulated and were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

3. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Meekings - Owner of the domain Woldingham.com
Cllr Barton - Craigmyle Glebe
Cllr Johnson - Company Secretary of Woldingham Magazine

4. Matters arising
The Action list was discussed and will be updated for the July meeting with the following:

Slines Oak Island: The Clerk advised that the grass had now been sprayed and will need 14 days to kill of the grass and weeds. The brickwork will then be repaired and then new top soil and planting will take place.
Improved Signage: Jeff Jeffery is in communication with the Downsland Project and will report back to the Clerk when he has costings.
Overgrown Hedges Woldingham Golf Course: The Clerk contacted the golf club and a reply was received that the Club had purchased its own hedge cutting machine and had already cut back the hedges. Cllr Fuller will chase up the Golf Club as it was felt that the hedges had not been cut back enough.
Dead Beech Tree: The Beech Tree had still not been cut down so Cllr Fuller will chase.
Footpaths: The Chairman and Cllr Pirie had been separately to inspect the pathway along North Down Road towards the junction bend with Gangers and The Ridge as a request had been received by Lynda Boland asking for a continuation of the existing tarmac strip. Cllr Marks has asked SCC whether this is a job the Community Gang could do.
The Chairman raised the pathway from Park View Road to the Station re loose paving stones. It was agreed that a letter will be sent to Surrey Highways.

5. Planning Matters:
A copy of Appendix A was circulated to all members before the meeting. Cllr Johnson read through Appendix A. The Council voted to ratify the recommendations of the Planning Group.

40-42 Hilltop Walk - Cllr Myers submitted a letter on behalf of the Council and all Cllrs voted to approve and send.

Peddlars Wood - plans were discussed and agreed that the Council had no objection.

b. Infringements: Cllr Pirie had circulated the infringement report to all Cllrs before the meeting. Land adj to Ferrers: The Chairman asked Cllr Pirie to contact Matthew Barks to chase whether there are any enforcement conditions.

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6. Finance:
a. Payments: The payments as Appendix B were signed and approved.
b. End of Year Accounts: The Clerk advised that the End of Year accounts had to be signed by the Chairman and the Clerk. The Council voted and clarified the Annual Governance Statement in Section 2.

7. Highways & Rights of Way:
a. Highways Monitoring and Reporting:
Cllr Fuller advised the meeting that TDC are going around the Village clearing drains. Cllr Johnson mentioned that each Cllr used to be responsible for checking 3 roads each to report any potholes. Cllr Fuller will email the link to the Chairman for reporting potholes so that a link can be put on Woldingham.com website.

8. Reports:
WAG: Cllr Pirie advised that he had attended Westerham Parish Council meeting to update them on the situation at the Quarry. Westerham PC advised that they are going to write a letter to TDC. At the Tandridge Local Committee no decision was made on Chalkpit and another meeting will be held in July. It was agreed that WAG need to put in another strong letter and a meeting will be arranged.

The Chairman advised that he had started to contact other Chairmen of the various organisations around the village and has received positive feedback.

9. Miscellaneous Matters:
a. Airports: The Clerk read out a summary received from Alan Simmons. Bromley Council appear to have decided that the existing airport lease is "not fit for purpose" and propose to enter into a new one. This could be an opportunity for the current restrictions to be further relaxed which could be detrimental to all surrounding neighbourhoods - including Woldingham. Flightpath is intending to seek views from the new Chief Executive of Bromley Council as well as Boris Johnson.
Biggin has reapplied to build a 50 bedroom hotel at the airport and is also due to apply for a 100 bed hotel shortly.
Flightpath is updating its strategy statement opposing the expansion of the airport.
b. Station Car Parking: Cllr Barton had issued before the meeting a summary of the situation and it was agreed that a meeting would be arranged to move this forward. The Chairman asked for a letter to be sent to Stephen Weigel regarding the broken ticket machine and traffic order.
c. School Parking: The Chairman advised that he had spoken to the Chairman of the Govenors Charles Bradshaw regarding using the Crescent as a drop off point and have a walking bus to school and the turning circle in the grounds. Charles Bradshaw advised that the Board of Govenors were supportive but no monies were available. It was agreed that Cllr Barton and the Chairman would investigate the cost of an in and out circle and whether it would be feasible.
d. Speedwatch Nothing to report on this to be taken off agenda.
e. Village Event: Nothing to report to be taken off agenda.
f. WAG: covered above.
g. Adoption of Model Code of Conduct including Paragraph 12 (2)
The Council voted to adopt the Model Code of Conduct Including Paragraph 12 (2) and this will be added to the standing orders.
h. Cold Calling: The Clerk advised that she had spoken to the Trading Standards and that they had advised that PC Harris Ross had been in contact. A discussion took place over whether there is a need to have such a scheme in Woldingham and whether the Council would support more signage around the Village.
i. Barrier At Viewpoint: Cllr Fuller advised that he will provide the barrier at the viewpoint to stop dumping.
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j. Liaison Meetings: Cllr Johnson advised that she has been asked to reintroduce the liaison meetings between the PC and the WA. It was agreed that meetings should only take place when there are issues and Cllr Johnson suggested involving the WA in the school and station parking situation. Cllr Johnson will arrange a meeting with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the WA to see how the liaison meeting will go forward.

10. Meetings to attend:
Planning Group 16 July

11. Correspondence:
Correspondence received during the month was circulated to all Councillors during the meeting.

12. Any Other Business:
a. Diary: All Councillors completed diary dates for July 2008.

Meeting ended at 9.50
2 members of the public present part of the time

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