Present:
Cllr C. Neville - Chairman
Cllr M. Herbert - Vice Chairperson
Cllr S. Carryer

None.

(a) Registration of all Parish Council owned land with Land Registry
(b) b) Consultation with HCC Rights Of Way Department on Footpath 6
Both these items to be carried forward to the next meeting as no progress yet made.

It was noted that a letter had been received from Cllr Sam James, Chairman of East Hampshire HAT (Hampshire Action Team) confirming that Kingsley had been included in the priority list of 39 areas for action in 2007-08. More details of how the project would now unfold are expected to be received later in the summer.

It had been decided to review the level of fees for the use of the Church and graveyard having received indication that the Church of England were considering fee increases of between 3% and 10% for 2008. Although the Church was a private building and cemetery, it was noted that the current level of fees for St Nicholas had not been increased since 2003. Councillors discussed the level of income received from fees over the previous two years and the costs involved in maintaining the Church, of which insurance was a major part. It was noted that the maintenance costs outweighed the income and therefore it was agreed to increase the fees by 10% with immediate effect.
This new fee levels would be:
- £33 for the right of burial
- £44 for the use of the Chapel
- £44 for interment
- £44 for erection of a headstone
Proposed: Cllr Herbert
Seconded: Cllr Carryer

This item to be carried forward to next meeting to allow more time to obtain quotations. It was noted that Cllr Carryer would attend a meeting on 5th July arranged by EHDC to find out about possible funding opportunities. The Clerk was also asked to contact Steve Proctor at EHDC to see if there was an opportunity to use the Developers Contributions for such a project.

The Annual Return now required that there should be a review of the effectiveness of the internal audit process as well as a review of the system of internal control and a risk assessment. These matters had been considered by the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Clerk at a meeting on 29th May 2007. Councillors had previously been circulated with a copy of a report prepared by the Clerk following this meeting which now needed to be considered by the full Council prior to completion of the Annual Return. Cllr Carryer had no matters she wished to raise and so it was agreed that the report should be accepted by the Council.
Proposed: Cllr Herbert
Seconded: Cllr Neville

Councillors had previously been circulated with a copy of the internal auditor's report. The following matters had been raised:
a) The valuation of the fixed assets using current values, based on insurance values. The Council acknowledged the internal auditor's view on this but also noted that it was following the guidance contained in the Governance & Accountability Practitioners Guide and that the external auditor had raised no issue last year.

b) The existence of fixed assets. The internal auditor's comment was acknowledged but it was felt that the existence of playground equipment could also easily be verified and that, together with St Nicholas and the bus shelters, this represented a substantial proportion of the overall assets.

c) The internal auditor had recommended an amendment to the presentation of the bank reconciliation which the Clerk had now made. It was agreed that all necessary actions had been taken as a result of the internal audit report and that the Council gratefully acknowledged the work undertaken by their internal auditor.
Proposed: Cllr Herbert
Seconded: Cllr Carryer

The Clerk read out Section 2 of the Annual Return for Councillors to consider their response. It was agreed that Questions 1 to 8 should be answered "Yes" and that the section on trust funds was non-applicable. It was agreed that the Clerk should be authorised to complete the return on this basis and arrange for Section 4 to be completed by the internal auditor before it was sent off to the external auditor by 30th July.
Proposed: Cllr Carryer
Seconded: Cllr Herbert

Councillors had previously been circulated with a copy of a request by BT Openreach to place two new telephone poles with overhead cabling on Lower Green and land adjacent to Footpath 6. A one-off payment of £1075 to the Council would be made if permission were granted. Cllr Herbert stated her concerns about ensuring any work necessary to trees on the land was properly supervised. She also wanted to establish whether a pole for telecommunications purposes could in future be used for electricity provision or not. Members of the public present at the meeting were invited to comment and questions were raised about why the cabling could not be laid underground. It was agreed to ask BT Openreach to attend a site meeting to discuss these matters.
Proposed: Cllr Carryer
Seconded: Cllr Herbert

F21066/020/LBC/SR Bakers Barn South, Oakhanger Rd, Kingsley. Refurbishment of roofing, roof-light, guttering and one additional roof-light
Kingsley Parish Council supports this planning application.

F27396/030/AGR/KO Agricultural Prior Notification for Hay Storage Barn at Old Park Farm, Kingsley
Kingsley Parish Council unanimously has no objection to this application. As government guidelines encouraged farmers to diversify, it would be very two-faced now to object to this planning application. Mr Blaber, the applicant, has diversified the existing barns and now needs a barn for storage.
It was noted that notification has since been received that Prior Approval is not required for this application.

Cllr Neville said he had received a request from a villager that the glass in the bus shelter is kept clean. He asked that a volunteer from the village step forward to help with this.

Cllr Herbert reported that Gary Marshall had cleared the overgrowth on Footpath 27 very promptly following a request raised by the footpath warden. In response to a question by Cllr Carryer about the responsibility of the landowner to clear footpaths, Cllr Herbert said that while the landowner had a responsibility not to obstruct footpaths, it was the responsibility of HCC's Rights of Way department to deal with overgrown surface ground although they had limited resources to do this effectively.

Cllr Herbert's husband had strimmed the nettles along the old road between Coldharbour and Bridleway 501 and together they would shortly remove overhanging branches which might impede horse riders. She had been unable to attend the meeting of the Kingsley Centre Local Committee on 4th June but had attended a training session on the new Code of Conduct with Cllr Carryer on 19th June.

Cllr Herbert had become aware by chance that the work planned by Defence Estates to restrict vehicular access to the Common was to be undertaken this week. While there appeared to have been satisfactory communication beforehand with the residents of Sandrock, there were some complications at Coldharbour where not all affected residents were notified and consequently the siting of the posts had to be altered to take account of mains water pipes leading to these properties. There had also been difficulties with service vehicles gaining access to Riverside Cottage but Cllr Herbert understood this had now been resolved and a barrier placed across the track to the Cottage had been unlocked and would be removed. As a result of Cllr Herbert meeting John Kindler of Defence Estates to discuss these matters, she had also been able to bring to his attention the concerns of the Parish Council about litter at Coldharbour, fly tipping and the dug-outs constructed in the middle of the Common. Mr Kindler had asked that Defence Estates be advised of any further clumps of Japanese knotweed growing on the Common as these needed to be sprayed.

Cllr Herbert reported that she planned to follow up with HCC's Heathland Project Officer to establish what maintenance work to control bracken was being undertaken arising from the original clearance work done as part of the Heathland Restoration Project.

Cllr Herbert reported that she and Cllr Neville had attended the North Planning meeting of EHDC on 21st June where the planning application concerning Oaklands Farm was discussed and approved after lengthy discussion.

Cllr Carryer reported that she had attended the training session on the Code of Conduct with Cllr Herbert. Otto Voce had given a concert at St Nicholas Church on 23rd June. She also noted that there was now new style bollards at the Sleaford traffic lights junction which she hoped might prove more robust. However, the 2nd filter arrow on the lights turning left at the junction when coming from the village was obscured by overhanging vegetation and the Clerk was asked to report this to Hampshire Highways.