EVERLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council held at Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall on Tuesday 10th December 2024
Chair: Cllr D Bottomley.
Present: Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows (vice Chair), Cllr A Earle, Cllr H Waight,
Cllr P Evans and Cllr L Wheeler-Mallows.
In Attendance: Ms H Boulton (Parish Clerk);
Cllr C Williams (Wiltshire Counci)
PC J Kinge (Wiltshire Police)
- Chair’s Opening Remarks. The Chair announced that the main effort of the meeting was to set the budget and precept for the next financial year, FY 2025-26.
- Apologies for Absence: Cllr T Martin.
- Declaration of Interest in Items on the Agenda. None declared.
- Co-option. None. There are currently no vacancies.
- Minutes of Previous Meetings.
- Minutes of Parish Council Meeting 22nd October 2024. The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting on 22nd October 2024 were signed by the Chair as a true record. Action: Clerk
- Matters Arising. There were no matters arising.
- General Public. No members of the public were present.
- Wilts Cllr Report. Wilts Cllr C Williams briefed the Parish Council on the following key points:
- The consultation for the Wiltshire Council Local Transport Plan 4 (LPT4) takes place from Thursday 28th November until Friday 24th January 2025. LTP4 covers the period 2025-2038 and will set the strategic direction for all transport in Wiltshire.
- Insp Caroline Ralph has taken over as acting Tidworth/Amesbury Area Insp
- Local elections for Wilts Council and Town and Parish Councils are due to take place in May 2025 and funding for these elections should be earmarked.
- The next Tidworth Area Board meeting takes place on Monday 10th March at 7pm at the Ludgershall Memorial Hall.
- Wilts Police Report. The Ludgershall and Rural Neighbourhood Police Team (NPT) reports for October and November 2024 had been circulated to Parish Councillors. Activities relating to Everleigh:
- Two incidents of hare coursing in the vicinity of West Hill Farm.
- Theft from a parked car by smashing a rear window and stealing a rucksack.
Wilts Police have also conducted two local operations:
- Op SELL: 3 people arrested in connection with thefts of power tools from vans.
- Op SCEPTRE: advice on knife crime and crime prevention has been given to local retailers.
- Correspondence.
- Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC). The Clerk gave feedback from a SLCC
training day held on Friday 8th November. This was a useful forum for town and
parish clerks to exchange views and information. Membership of SLCC costs £5 to
join and then there is an annual membership fee of £80. After discussion on the
benefits of membership for our parish clerk, Cllrs RESOLVED to defer the matter
until the next meeting. Action: Cllr Bottomley.
- BT Poles. Cllrs noted Openreach concerns about miniature Christmas trees
attached to BT poles in The Street and RESOLVED to monitor the situation.
Action: Cllrs Earle and Bottomley.
- Local Government Training and Development Academy (LGTDA) Courses 2025.
The LGTDA Course schedule for on line courses in 2025 was noted, These courses
cover minutes and report writing, finance and chairing effective meetings.
- Forecast of Events. After reviewing the latest Forecast of Events Cllrs RESOLVED to:
- Defer a decision on a date for a village event to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day 8th May 1945 until the next meeting.
- Consider merging the village Summer Party with a VE Day commemoration.
- Conduct a Walk the Parish Boundary event on Saturday 7th June.
- Change the July Parish Council meeting from 8th to 1st July.
Action: Cllr Bottomley.
- Planning. Planning Applications as received from Wiltshire Council:
11.1 PL/2024/10610 – Lower House Farm. Following a Wilts Council decision to refuse
planning permission, a revised planning application has been submitted
retrospectively for conversion and rebuild of 6 barns into a single dwelling house
with a swimming pool, gymnasium and garages, as constructed now, After
discussion, Cllrs RESOLVED to raise no objections. Action: Cllr Bottomley.
11.2 PL/2024/04371 – 6 Pigleaze Cottages. Full planning permission for the
extension of the existing house at front, side and rear, resulting in 2
independent dwellings. Wilts Council have granted permission for this planning
application on 4th October 2024 subject to conditions, including:
“7. Before the dwelling hereby permitted is first occupied/brought into use the landing/stairwell window on North East side elevation shall be glazed with obscure glass only and the window shall be maintained with obscure glazing in perpetuity.
12. The dwelling hereby approved shall not be first occupied until the 1.22m (4ft) high fence has been erected along the North East boundary of the site as shown on the approved plan (ref: 2312/02_104) and shall be maintained at that height in perpetuity.”
11.3 PL/2022/02731 – Lower House Farm, Change of use and refurbishment of
existing agricultural barns for commercial use B8 (Storage and
Distribution) and B2 (General Industrial) and repositioning of access.
Wilts Council gave permission for this planning application on 6th July 2022
subject to 17 conditions, one of which (Condition #6) states:
“Before the development hereby approved is first brought into use, the existing access shall be stopped up in accordance with the approved details; and the new access will be relocated and completed in accordance with the approved drawings. The sole
means of vehicular and pedestrian access to the site from then on shall be as shown on the plans hereby approved.”
A new access track has now been constructed.
- Property.
12.1 Grass Cutting. Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows reported that the invoice for £400 for grass
cutting south of the A342 road will be forthcoming shortly. Cllrs RESOLVED that
the budget for this part of Parish Council grass cutting is to remain at £400pa.
Action: Cllrs K Wheeler-Mallows
12.2 Play Area. Cllr Earle reported that the play area remains in good order.
- One of the goal posts is prone to collapsing and requires replacement in the next FY. This will be factored into the budget plan.
Action: Cllrs Bottomley and Earle.
- The annual RoSPAs Playground Inspection took place on 24th October 2024, resulting in an excellent report, with equipment in good order. Only minor remedial work is required and will be conducted on the next playground work party on Saturday 19th April. Action: Cllr Earle.
12.3 Streetscene Minor Works and 15.3 A342 Road Safety. Cllrs K Wheeler-Mallows
and Bottomley hosted Ms Grish Lohani, Wilts Council Maintenance Engineer, on
Thursday 28th November. Outcome:
- Drainage Sump Pond – Lower Everleigh. The drainage issue on the sump pond in Lower Everleigh will be resolved as a joint Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA)/Wilts Council effort.
- A342 Road Safety.
- The damaged 50mph speed limit sign on the A342 western gateway has been replaced.
- Additional roundel markings are not required as there are 6 x 50mph repeater signs between the western and eastern 50mph gateway signs.
- Repainting of “SLOW” road markings is not required.
- Replacement of chevrons on the Goa Balti bend is not required.
- Repainting of roundel and countdown markings on the eastern 50mph gateway is still required.
- The repair of a double bend sign 100m east of the 50mph eastern gateway is still required.
- Marlborough Road.
- Repainting of road markings at the junction of the A342/Marlborough Road is required.
- The grips on the verge of Marlborough Road near the Linden Farm entrance need repair.
- Damage to one of the Summerdown Farm bend chevrons on the Marlborough Road has been reported on the MyWilts App.
- General Streetscene Matters.
- The Pigleaze Cottages sign in The Street is in need of repair. Cllr Earle volunteered to fix it, with costs expected to be minimal. Action: Cllr Earle.
- Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows agreed to investigate the procurement of signs for The Street, Marlborough Road and High Trees. Action: Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows.
- Finance.
13.1 Current Liquidity State and Bank Reconciliation. The Parish Clerk
submitted a bank reconciliation to date showing £6294.53.
13.2 Authorise cheques for payment and those cheques issued since last
meeting or presented for payment:
13.02.1 21.10.24 Ducis Hall Hire Hall £48.00
13.02.2 30.10.24 ICO Data Regs £35.00
13.02.3 30.10.24 Dobbies Fertiliser £55.93
13.02.4 30.10.24 Roses Fireworks £720.00
13.02.5 04.11.24 Playsafety ROSPA £132.00
13.02.6 14.11.24 Cardnet CC Device £49.00
13.02.7 18.11.24 Amazon Xmas lights £58.77
13.02.8 18.11.24 Amazon Xmas Trees £137.94
13.02.9 04.12.24 Ducis Hall Hire Hall £12.00
13.02.10 04.12.24 Courier Flyer Firework night £40.00
Cllrs RESOLVED to authorise the payments.
13.3 To note payments received.
13.03.1 29.10.24 Cardnet BBQ income £4.91
13.03.2 04.11.24 Cash dep BBQ income £307.65
13.03.3 04.11.24 Cash dep Donations £1117.96
13.03.4 05.11.24 Cardnet BBQ income £0.98
13.03.5 06.11.24 Cardnet BBQ income £191.58
13.03.6 11.11.24 Cash dep Donations CD cricket £150.00
13.4 Card Reader. The new Parish Council card machine was successfully used at
the Bonfire Night on Saturday 2nd November 2024. Action: Cllr Evans and Clerk.
13.5 Parish Council Fixed Asset Register. After discussion, Cllrs RESOLVED:
- To review Fixed Assets insurance cover during the property audit in March 2025.
- To adopt the Fixed Asset Policy and Register as circulated previously.
Action: Cllr Earle and Clerk.
13.6 Bonfire Night 2024: Financial Reconciliation and 13.7.3 Legacy. The Bonfire
Night yielded an event surplus of £1611.92, of which £1267.96 was raised in
Donations which included a £150 contribution from the Collingbourne Ducis
Cricket Club. After discussion, Cllrs RESOLVED to make a donation of £600 to the
Salisbury Hospice Charity and to allocate the balance of proceeds to future
village events and Everleigh Enhancement. Cllr Evans agreed to liaise with the
Salisbury Hospice to arrange a presentation of a cheque. Action: Cllr Evans.
13.7 Everleigh Enhancement. Updates:
13.7.1 Flower Planters. Cllr Earle reported that all was well with the planters.
13.7.2 Christmas Trees. Cllr Earle reported that small Christmas trees have been
procured for The Street, together with a main Christmas Tree in the vicinity
of The Crown bus shelter. Action: Cllr Earle.
13.7.3 Bonfire Legacy 2024. See Item 13.6.
13.7.4 Future Enhancement Aspirations. Proposals for the next FY:
- Planters – Spring and Autumn plants – £350 (Cllr Earle)
- Flagpole vicinity Crown Bus Shelter £329 + £65 VAT (Cllr Earle).
13.8 Budget FY 2025-26. After discussion, Cllrs RESOLVED to defer the consideration
of the budget and setting of the precept for FY 2025-26 to an Extraordinary
Meeting on Thursday 19th December at 7pm at the Ducis Village Hall.
- Village Events.
14.1 Bonfire Night Saturday 2nd November. The Bonfire Night was a great success
with superb fireworks, a record attendance and refreshments provided as a joint
venture with the Collingbourne Cricket Club. A review of the event has been
circulated and will be considered for next year’s event (Saturday 8th November).
14.2 Christmas Carol Service – Saturday 14th December. Planning for the Everleigh
Christmas Carol Service is on track. The Service will follow a traditional format
with 8 carols and 6 readings. Action: Cllr Bottomley.
Afternote: The Carol Service was a really enjoyable and successful community
event, with a high turnout of 60+. This was a great opportunity for the village to
get together, to sing traditional carols and to enjoy delicious refreshments.
15 Highways and Footpaths.
15.1 Footpath Right of Way (RoW) 8. The cattle pen has been opened up but we
continue to await further developments on the provision of stiles and signs.
Action: Cllr Bottomley.
15.2 Footpath RoW 15. An ISO container remains at the front entrance of the
former Everleigh Household Recycle Centre (HRC). The RoW Officer is still
exploring options for clearing the permissive path for RoW 15 around the
outside of the site. Action: Cllr Bottomley.
- Road Safety Enhancements A342. See Item 12.3.
16. Digital Voice Changeover and Broadband.
16.1 Cllr Evans reported that BT Openreach intent remains to complete the plan to
upgrade phone lines from the old analogue system to a new digital system by
the end of 2027. The local information session held on Tuesday 29th October at
the Pewsey Library was well conducted and attended.
16.2 On broadband, Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows announced that the Openreach plan to
roll out fibre optic broadband to 90 properties within our community, less
Marlborough Road, should be complete in the near future.
Action: Cllrs Evans and K Wheeler-Mallows.
17. Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) Signs. The Everleigh NHW Co-ordinator continues to
consider options for the deployment of NHW signs in light of restrictions on
utilizing certain poles within the village.
Action: Cllr K Wheeler-Mallows to liaise with the NHW Co-ordinator.
- Date of Next Meeting: The date of next meetings were confirmed as an Extraordinary Meeting to consider the budget and set the precept on Thursday 19th December and the first meeting of 2025 on Tuesday 4th March. Both meetings will take place at 7.00 pm at the Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 9.15 pm.
Signed: date:
Name:
Chairman
