MINUTES OF MEETING OF BRILL PARISH COUNCIL
March 15th, 2022
with comments & questions from members of the public
7.45 - 9.45 PM IN BRILL MEMORIAL HALL
Present: Cllr Dickinson (Chair), Cllr Tuffley, Cllr Hulme Hunter, Cllr Slater, Cllr Springs, and 1 member of the public.
022/239 To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from Cllr Keeping
022/240 To receive any declarations of interest.
No declarations were received
022/241. To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2022.
Cllr Springs proposed and Cllr Tuffley seconded and unanimously approved as a true record of the meeting
022/242. Planning applications
22/00440/ACD
6 High Street Brill Buckinghamshire HP18 9ST
Demolition of existing single storey rear extension
Deadline for comments 15/03/2022
PC decision No objection
22/00439/APP
6 High Street Brill Buckinghamshire HP18 9ST
Householder application for demolition of existing single storey rear extension. Erection of rear extension, internal changes including to basement and amendments to roof and amendments to rear windows and front door
15/03/2022
No objection
22/00424/APP
30 Temple Street Brill Buckinghamshire HP18 9SX
Householder application for Demolish brick shed. Conversion of outbuilding/garage to form home office/gym and form access drive and parking area
22 March 2022
No objection
022/243. Policies & Procedures
Cllr Springs updated that the amendments proposed in February have been made to the Complaints procedure. The procedure was adopted by the Council unanimously.
022/244. The Common
Cllr Dickinson proposed passing the Chair over to Cllr Tuffley for this item.
During the discussion Cllr Dickinson stated that in his experience all decisions and actions were voted on either in meetings or via emails due to the urgency of the matter and done in a timely manner. As the Chair, he had a number of conversations with monitoring officer to check that the correct procedure has been followed throughout. In Cllr Dickinson's opinion, no actions taken by the Parish Council could be considered in breach of civil law And that all legal costs were avoidable if BVCH had responded to communications made to them by Cllr Turner and Chair. Cllr Dickinson therefore considered that it would be irresponsible to pay the legal fees from public funds.
Cllr Hannah Hulme Hunter said that should this become a legal matter, the costs would escalate and we had no immediate guarantee that these would be covered by our insurance. This matter has already taken up a disproportionate amount of council time and caused a lot of distress and acrimony. If this situation is not resolved, more time and more money and more distress would be caused and this would be detrimental to community relations and to the future efficacy of the council. The time has come to call a halt.
Cllr Springs said that following the previous discussion in October 2021 where the Parish Council voted against paying the legal costs, the costs have now increased significantly and if the matter is delayed further these costs will only increase further. It would therefore be sensible to end the matter now rather than prolonging this further and incurring further costs. Cllr Springs felt that the previous PC mishandled the complaint made by the bvch and failed to resolve the issue in a timely manner. Cllr Springs felt that this also highlighted the importance of having a complaints procedure for the Council to follow which could have resolved this matter sooner without the need for legal action.
Cllr Slater quoted from the letter of apology from Cllr Turner written after the initial comments. Following these comments and the subsequent actions by the Parish Council, it would be the responsible and fair thing to do to pay the legal costs asked.
Following discussions the Cllrs voted on whether to settle this matter by paying the proposed legal costs. Cllrs Hulme Hunter, Springs and Slater voted in favour, Cllr Tuffley abstained and Cllr Dickinson opposed and the motion was passed. Following the vote, it was also expressly stated by the Council that this payment was one of good will and not an admission of fault from the Parish Council.
Cllr Hulme Hunter proposed the following wording: As a gesture of good will to bring this matter to a close, the Parish Council will pay the Legal costs of BVCH and resolve that this matter is now settled. The Parish Council will no longer engage in any further correspondence on this matter. Cllr Tuffley seconded the wording and it was adopted unanimously by the Council.
After the vote and agreed wording Cllr Dickinson tendered his resignation from the Council with immediate effect stating; that on principle he could not reconcile serving on the Parish Council following what he considered a misuse of public funds.
022/245. Gigaclear Inspection Chamber
The clerk updated that following communication from residents, the clerk has written to Gigaclear explaining that the chamber, on the Common adjacent to Waterloo House, is not in the agreed location and will need to be moved. The clerk agreed to update the residents and Cllrs as soon as further information was received from Gigaclear
022/246. Community Speedwatch
Cllr Hulme Hunter to propose Council investigate joining the Community speedwatch project. The clerk to contact Lee Turnham to invite him to a future Parish Council meeting.
022/247. Tree Officer
Cllr Springs proposed Cllr Slater to be the Tree Officer for the Council. This was seconded by Cllr Tuffley and the passed unanimously.
022/248. Brill Church
It was confirmed that Section 137 grants cannot be used for the general maintenance and fabric of the church. Given that the Churchyard is still open and burials continue to be carried out, the responsibility of this lies with the Parochial Church Council (PCC) not the Parish Council.
Cllr Tuffley however, proposed granting money towards the repair of the church clock as a community asset. Cllr Hulme Hunter seconded and was agreed by the Parish Council. It was also agreed for Cllr Hulme Hunter to visit the church to explain the statutory duties and limits of the Section 137 Grant.
022/249 Community Clean-up Day
Cllr Hulme Hunter to update via email a new date for the Village Clean up which will also incorporate the Scouts and Cubs. Rather than being a particular day it may require a covering a number of days to include the different scout / Cub days and a day for the general residents. Cllr Hulme Hunter will liaise further with the Scouts and others and update the council as plans firm up
022/250. Annual Parish Meeting and Report
Cllr Hulme Hunter proposed an evening in May for the Annual Parish meeting at the Sports & Social Club. Cllr Tuffley to contact the Sports & Social club to identify a possible date.
022/251. Council Records
Cllr HH proposed storing the old minute books up to the year 2000 at the County archives in Aylesbury to preserve and safe keep the physical records to ensure they are available for future residents and historians. Cllr Tuffley seconded and unanimously agreed. This was seconded by Cllr Slater and agreed unanimously by the Parish Council. Cllr Hulme Hunter to contact the Bucks archives and arrange for these to be delivered.
Cllr HH proposed binding all minutes from the year 2000 to be stored in the County archives. Cllr Tuffley seconded and this was agreed by the Parish Council.
Cllr HH proposed using a dropbox facility to store all Parish Council files. Cllr Slater seconded and this was adopted by the Parish Council. The Council agreed to spend up to £100 for a Dropbox account. The clerk to create the dropbox account.
022/252 Receipts and Payments
March Payments
Aspire {grass-cutting} £528.00
BT (Feb 2022) £52.74 (DD)
N Power {street lighting} (Feb 22) £110.78 (DD)
Buckinghamshire Council {waste} (Feb 22) £27.40 (DD)
Clerk salary - Bobs Damerell £529.60
HMRC PAYE £132.40
Hannah Hulme Hunter (comms expenses) £90.00
February Receipts
Interest £0.84
Date of next meeting: Tuesday 19 April at 7.45 in Brill Memorial Hall.
Appendix : Questions and comments from the public
Brill Environment Group (BEG)
BEG outlined the following proposal – Due to the loss of Pete Davis the group wanted to plant a commemorative tree. It was agreed to tie this in with the Jubilee and apply to the Queen’s Green Canopy via the Woodland Trust for 70 trees which could then also commemorate each year the Queen has been on the throne.
The hope is to include as many people as possible planting the trees. Funding is to be partnered with the woodland trust to meet the cost of trees. BEG is enquiring if the Parish Council would support the proposal.
How would there be engagement with the parish?
Two up to date maps are being produced to identify potential sites. These would be put on display in the hall for residents to come and view along with a list of possible specimens.
When does the application process start?
The opening window will likely be in March. To apply grid references will be needed along with the land owners approval. An article will be placed in the Bernwode news and displays at the Community Market.
How would the trees be maintained once planted?
The idea would be to divide the trees to individuals or groups eg the School, the Scouts etc.
Would BEG plot the trees?
Yes this is the plan.
The Parish Council expressed its support in principle for the idea.
MUGA update
The MUGA is up. There have been a few delays. There have been a few concerns over the contractor. However work is continuing and the lines will be marked out in the next week or so.
The area between the school and the MUGA will be seeded. The path to the Scout Hut was due to have a hedge planted, however there has been a suggestion to seed this to ease on mowing. This would be added to the March Agenda.
King George V playing field
In light of the upcoming weed-and-feed the Council asked who currently carries out the work. It was agreed to place this on the March Agenda.