Agenda
Waltham Parish Council
EST. 1894
Website: https://waltham-pc.gov.uk
TO: ALL MEMBERS OF WALTHAM PARISH COUNCIL.
Councillors are hereby summoned to attend the Ordinary Meeting of the Council on Tuesday the 2nd of April 2024 commencing at 7.30 pm at Waltham Village Hall for the transaction of the business described in the following Agenda. Supporting documents can be found in an Agenda Pack on the Parish Councils website. Members of the public may make representations, answer questions, and give evidence in respect of the business on the agenda during item 4 – Public Session.
AGENDA
- To resolve that members of the public be excluded from the meeting for Item 11 on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
- To receive any apologies for absence.
- To receive Declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Other Significant Interests.
- To approve the minutes of Motions and Resolutions of the meeting held on the 5th of March
- Public Session: To receive representations questions and evidence from members of the public .
- Chairman’s Report: To receive an update on current issues:
- Progress on the filling of the councillor vacancy.
- Notice Board.
- Annual Parish Meeting
- To receive reports: from County and City Councillors.
- Finance Report:
- To note year to date receipts and payments.
- To receive a preliminary report on the 2023/24 Accounts
- Payment Schedule: To approve payment transactions for March 2024.
- Policies and Procedures: To review WPC’s Grant Awarding Policy.
- Exclusion of the public and press: To discuss confidential matters relating to Governance of the Authority.
- Dates of meetings:
- The Annual Parish Meeting will be held at 6.30pm on Tuesday the 16th of April 2024
- The next Annual Meeting of the council will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 7th of May
Clerk to the Council.
WPC/asm/28:03:2024
Minutes
Waltham Parish Council
EST. 1894
https://waltham-pc.gov.uk https://clerk@waltham-pc.gov.uk
Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council held on the 2nd of April 2024 at Waltham Village Hall
In line with the Transparency Code all public documents relating to the meeting are published in an agenda pack on the parish council website. Please note that the minutes remain in Draft form until approved at the next meeting.
Present: Parish Councillors John Barry (Chair), Jane Robinson, and John Hockley.
In attendance: Ward Councillor Mike Bland and Locum Clerk Tracey Block
The meeting commenced at 7.30pm with a welcome by the Chairman. It was unanimously resolved that members of the public should be excluded from the meeting for Item 11 on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
24/25.001 Apologies for Absence:
Apologies for absence had been received from parish clerk Tony McCord. Belated apologies were received from Cllr Yolande Barnes due to illness.
24/25.002 Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests:
There were no declarations of DPI or OSI’s.
24/25.003 Approval of Minutes:
The Chairman invited comments on pages one to three of the minutes. It was Resolved to approve the minutes and the Chairman signed the document as a correct record. Action: Clerk
24/25.004 Public Session:
There were no members of the public present at the meeting.
24/25.005 Chairman’s Report:
- Progress on filling the councillor vacancy. A notice of co-option to the councillor vacancy has been displayed on the Parish Council noticeboard. A copy will be posted on the website, on Facebook , and to the editor of PAWNews for publication. Action: Clerk
- Notice Boards Digital photographs of the three cracked glazing panels had been sent to the supplier with a request for replacement under warranty. If successful WPC will need to arrange installation via a contractor or volunteer. Action: Clerk
- Annual Parish Meeting . To be held on 16th April at 6.30pm, The agenda was confirmed, refreshments will be provided at the Invitations to be circulated. Cllr John Hockley will take notes of the meeting.
Action: Councillors and Clerk
24/25.006 Reports from County and Ward Councillors:
City Cllr Mike Bland explained that the consultation will continue after the Local Plan. The Local Plan is under review and it was agreed that the coalition would look into the original consultation
responses and have considered these. A Local Plan Review Group was set up and this group worked well together. We are pleased with the all-party agreement of this review.
This Ward does not have much that will affect it as it respects the Natural Landscape (previously AONB). There are economic developments on existing sites. This Ward is not expected to respond on housing developments, this impacts other areas. We encourage you to respond to other strategies, i.e. introduction of a bus first strategy as it should provide improved bus services to the villages. The main routes will be strengthened, including Canterbury to Ashford services which will include Sunday services.
The sustainable transport strategy needs responses and we would encourage people to respond. The rural perspective requires representation as their needs are often not heard. Often, after-school clubs are not adequately served and Hospital visits are not met by bus services for more elderly people. The needs of the rural area are diverse and we cannot negate cars being used.
There is a strategy on Open Spaces talking about uses of open spaces in the district, see if it meets any needs of Waltham.
There are some additional elements of design standards that might be of interest. The consultation is still open for another 10 weeks. All documents will be available on the City Council website, only one submission can be made per person.
There is a boundary change consultation for the Boundary Commission, this is on their website. This consultation shows some boundary changes, this Ward is affected. Currently the Ward draws in Chartham and the rural areas plus some homes in Nackington and also includes Harbledown, Upper Harbledown and the London Road estate. The latter 3 will be lost and Thannington will be included. The number of City Councillors will increase to 3. The consultation closes relatively soon, please consider responding.
The Clerk has circulated both of the documents noted. Action: Members
24/25.007 Finance Report 1st April 2023 to 27th of March 2024:
A year-to-date interim finance report had been circulated with the agenda pack and it was noted that the carry forward balance into 2024/25 will be £7,150. Some points were raised about the structure of the report leading to concerns about accuracy. Action: RFO
24/25.008 Payment Schedule:
Members noted the schedule and resolved to approve payments. Authorised by Cllrs John Barry and Jane Robinson. Action: Clerk
24/25.009 Grant Awarding Policy:
Members discussed the draft policy which had been revised as a result of legislative changes in section 8 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (2023) concerning powers to fund works to property relating to affairs of the Church. It was resolved to approve the draft subject to correction of two typographical errors. Action: Clerk
24/25.110 Confidential Matters relating to effective governance of the Authority:
Members discussed communications from the Clerk to a Member as it was felt that the tone of an email had been counterproductive. It was noted that governance issues had been partially resolved and support arrangements would be offered to deal with email issues. It was stressed that the priority was for all Councillors and the Clerk to work well together, and a Performance and Development review was regarded as a positive way forward. Action: Members and Clerk
24/25.111 Dates of Meetings:
- The Annual Parish Meeting will be held at 30pm on Tuesday the 16th of April 2024
- The next Annual Meeting of the council will be held at 30pm on Tuesday the 7th of May 2024.
The meeting closed at 9.10 pm.
Chairman’s Signature: 7th of May 2024
