Present:        Mr C. Thompson, Mr C. Slaughter, Mr I. Robinson, Mr C. Jones, Mrs J. Gale plus the Clerk, Mrs L. Pennick and a member of the public, San Barto

1              Apologies – Mr R. Fudge  

2              Declaration of Interests – None.

3              Minutes of Meeting held on 18^th June2007 – agreed and signed.

4              Matters Arising 

4.1        IT Equipment - the clerk is having a few problems with the new software that has now been installed along with the new IT equipment. The suppliers will be coming to sort out the problems in the near future.

4.2        Square refurbishment – Mr Thompson reported that the Party in the Piazza fundraising event held in the Square in September raised almost £1500.00 and was deemed a success. Hampshire Villages Initiative has been approached by the Grayshott Square Group to provide architectural advice, together with a quantity surveyor and possible funding for the project. We are awaiting confirmation of our eligibility for the HVI scheme, which seems quite positive from the recent meeting held with Anna Longley, their representative. It is hoped that plans can be drawn up for presentation at the Parish Assembly in March 2008. A constitution has been drawn up and a bank account is being opened. Membership forms are being drawn up for individuals and organisations to sign up and show their support for the scheme. Mr Slaughter proposed a recommendation for GPC that the Parish Council take up membership of the Grayshott Square Group. This was seconded by Mr Robinson and agreed. There has been no success in respect of a meeting with the Co-op management yet but the GSG are hopeful of one soon, to discuss the forthcoming plans for the store.

The meeting was adjourned Mr Thompson proposed that, in consideration of the member of the public present, the committee would discuss item 10.7 on the agenda next. The meeting re-convened.

 10.7 Grazing Land – Councillors were notified of the recent sad demise of the Lessee of the grazing land. It was proposed by Mr Slaughter and seconded by Mr Thompson that the monies paid by the Lessee in respect of the remaining term of the current year be refunded to the Executors of the Lessee’s estate. This was agreed. Councillors were asked to consider the suggestion that some of the grazing land be returned to allotments. The first issue in this respect was that this may not leave enough land for grazing. Secondly, the ground is very stony at Beech allotments. There are currently 8 people on the waiting list, but there may be more people wanting a plot who feel it is not worth putting their names on a waiting list, as it is so long. Plot holders with more than one plot may be asked to relinquish a plot, if the waiting list increases. It was suggested that GPC could consider relinquishing some of the land to the Church for burial ground. As Beech Allotments is a charity, this would not be possible under the terms of the Trust. If Stoney Bottom allotment holders wished to change to renting a plot at Beech allotments, then the Stoney Bottom allotments could be gifted to the Church so long as there were sufficient allotments to satisfy the demand. This was something for future consideration. It was proposed by Mr Slaughter and seconded by Mr Robinson that 10 new plots be formed, incorporating the land at the end of the allotments. This was agreed in principal and the matter would be considered further on the agenda at the next R&A meeting and costs for 4’ post and wire fencing should be sought by the clerk.

5.            Accounts

5.1        2007/08 Accounts – Draft accounts were presented to the committee. Councillors were informed that the cost of cleaning the skate park was £10 per month but the charge for this had not yet been received from the GSFC this year. The clerk was asked to change the name of the Village Hall Refurbishment Account so that it showed correctly on the accounts. The Internal auditor should be contacted to ascertain when he will be coming in for his pre-audit visit.

5.2        Accounts 2006/07 – The audited accounts for 2006/2007 have been returned, signed and agreed by the Audit Commission. The clerk will display the notification on the GPC notice board. A letter had been received from the Inland Revenue confirming the overpayment of National Insurance contributions in respect of the Clerk during 2006/2007. It was proposed by Mr Thompson, seconded by Mr Slaughter and agreed that the proportion owing to the Clerk should be paid.

6.            Bank accounts – Bank Balances and reconciliations were reported as at 30^th September 2007. Noted.

7.      Beech Allotments – A letter from Lloyds TSB apologising for errors which occurred in the procedures for opening the new Charity account for Beech Allotments was made available to Councillors. It was proposed by Mr Slaughter that the £25 ex gratia payment into the Beech Allotment account by the bank is due to GPC for the additional admin. hours spent by the Clerk in sorting out the problems. This was seconded by Mr Thompson and agreed. The proposal would be made to the trustees of the Beech Allotment Charity.

8.      Budget - Mr Thompson explained that Grayshott is a unique Parish as we have a large number of retail businesses in the village, which do not contribute via business rates to Parish Council income. Councillors were asked to consider additional expenditure that may be required to be budgeted for in 2008/2009. Mr Robinson suggested a 5.5% increase on the 2007/2008 R&A budget figure but it was felt that more specific items should be highlighted and figures provided for the next P&R meeting on 3^rd December 2007.

9.      Staff matters - Leah Coney has fulfilled her probationary period and has signed her employment contract. The clerk reported that she and the assistant clerk were working well together and that Leah was very helpful and knowledgeable. Councillors were pleased with the assistant clerk’s progress in the position.

10.    Parish Council Policy Matters

10.1  Council logo – It was felt that a logo should be unique to the Parish Council  and should also be useable on Emails as this was now the format used for the majority of Council communications. It was pointed out that the “Grayshott” logo used for the Millenium sign had become the body corporate image for the village and should therefore be adopted by the Parish Council as custodians of Grayshott. Councillors considered the options provided by the Visual Assets design team and agreed that the words Grayshott Parish Council should be on the same line under the logo and in a font size halfway between the word Grayshott and the words Parish Council. The address as a footer should be changed to Grayshott, Hampshire and the btconnect.com email address be included. It was agreed that it was an unnecessary cost to have letter headed paper printed and the clerk could import the logo into a letterhead on the computer. Visual Assets should be asked to provide the artwork in a suitable format for this purpose.

10.2  Parish Council Information on www.Grayshott.com –Councillors had considered the proposal by Mr Thompson that Parish Council minutes should be displayed on the village website. Mr Robinson seconded it and all agreed. Mr Robinson had proposed that Councillors’ names, photos and contact details should be published on the site. This was also agreed and Councillors would be asked to make themselves available for photographing after the next GPC meeting.

10.3  Standing orders – the existing standing orders were published in 1974 with various amendments noted since that date. HAPTC had provided an up to date example of standing orders but these were more suitable for a town. The assistant clerk had drafted new standing orders relevant to Grayshott and these were made available to Councillors for consideration. Any views or alternative amendments for consideration should be emailed to the clerk before the next GPC meeting on 12^th November.

10.4   Expenses – this had been discussed at an earlier date but for the benefit of new Councillors, the rules are:

Mileage can be claimed at 40p per mile for journeys undertaken by Councillors, outside the Parish, on Parish Council business.

1 ream of paper and 1 printer cartridge per annum may be claimed by Councillors, if they wish, as most documentation is now being sent by email and there is a significant saving on printing and postage costs to the Council by this method. Councillors were reminded that not all emails needed to be printed.

10.5  Premises Licence – It was proposed by Mr Thompson and seconded by Mr Slaughter to recommend to GPC that when the Premises Licence is due for renewal, it should be amended to include all open spaces within the Grayshott Parish including the consumption of alcohol. This would then cover the Sports Field and also the Pavilion and save the GSFC from having a separate Licence. The Clerk was asked to discuss this with Mr Brian Archer and ascertain from the Licensing Officer whether streets were included in the Open Spaces specification.

10.6  Public Notice boards – these are becoming increasingly overcrowded including the GPC board in the centre of the village. Councillors were asked to keep an eye on posters displayed and remove anything which was not appropriate, i.e. not pertaining to Grayshott or relating to a business. The Square refurbishment will possibly include the provision of free standing boards and maybe an interactive electronic board as used by Kingston Borough Council who should be contacted to ascertain details of supplier. Mr Georgii had suggested to the Clerk a monthly A3 list of events in the village but this may be difficult to maintain and would need to be in a lockable section.

11     Council Office Letting Agreement – Councillors were informed that the rent paid to the Village Hall Management Committee for use of the Parish room was originally £1.25 per session in 1979 but had been reduced to £1 per annum and the balance of the monies paid by way of a grant. This grant has been increased annually by the rate of inflation. Had it been increased in line with other charges to hire the Village Hall, we would now be paying £2,000 per annum instead of the £820 in the 2007/08 budget. The original agreement was to use the room on Tues & Thurs mornings together with Mon & Thurs evenings for meetings. The office was used now more or less on a daily basis by the Clerk and/or assistant Clerk preventing the hire of the room by other users, other than the GVHMC, although the Clerk had made it clear to the Chairman and Treasurer of the GVHMC that should the room be required, she could be flexible if contacted. It was noted that the Grayshott Stagers paid rent of “one red rose” in lieu of rent for the storage facilities at the rear of the building. Any increase in the grant paid by GPC would impact on the precept and it was therefore agreed that this matter be discussed further at the budget meeting on 3^rd December.

As the meeting was likely to continue past 10.00pm, Mr Thompson proposed a half hour extension. This was seconded by Mr Slaughter and agreed by all.

12          Correspondence

12.1   A request for suggestions for possible use of Developers’ Funds in 2008/09 had been received from EHDC. Councillors noted that, should there be funds available in the future from the Philips House development, this could be used towards a bus lay-by in the area. The Clerk was asked to advise EHDC of the Square refurbishment scheme. The Clerk was also asked to remindWaverleyBCref. S.106 payments in respect of Cornerways, when the project commences.

12.2   The next East Hampshire Passenger Transport Forum is on10 October 2007. Noted. There were no volunteers to attend.

13.        Date of Next Meeting – the next meeting, primarily to discuss the 2008/09 budget will be 3^rd December 2007.

The meeting closed at 10.10pm

Signed: ………………………………………..        Date: …………………………………………..