PARISH COUNCIL OF NEWLANDS
MINUTES OF THE AMENITIES COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 30 SEPTEMBER
2021 AT NEWLANDS COMMUNITY HALL, NEWLANDS AVENUE, WATERLOOVILLE,
HAMPSHIRE, PO7 3BX COMMENCING AT 7.30 pm
Members: Cllr M Read (Chairman) (P) Cllr A Kirby (P)
Cllr L Price Cllr J Parry (P)
Also, present Cllr D Crichton – Chairman of the Council, Karen Seear, Clerk to the Council and Luke
Hayter, Amenities Parish Warden.
038/22A Apologies: Apologies were received from Councillor Price.
039/22A Declarations of Interest: Cllr M Read declared an interest as he was a Ward Member for
Winchester City Council.
040/22A Minutes: The minutes from the Amenities Committee Meeting’s held on 19th August 2021
were received. It was unanimously RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be
accepted as an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.
041/22A Public Session: The Chairman invited Cllr D Crichton to speak. He wished to make an
observation and an update on the adoption of the spine road. Progress had been delayed
due to an issue Winchester City Council had identified. The Chairman had been trying
to contact WCC representatives to find out more information. NOTED.
042/22A
a) Amenities Parish Warden Report: The Parish Warden gave a verbal update, he had been
liaising with Trash Busters, the local volunteer group. He had joined the group on a recent
litter pick and was disturbed to find lots of churned up shards of metal from tin cans and
plastic which had been shredded after grass cutting. They had suggested working with
the Council for future grass cutting making Trash Busters aware that the grass will be cut
litter picks could then be timed before cutting, which may ensure these dangerous shards
of metal are prevented. The Warden asked whether the Council would have access to the
schedules. Cllr A Kirby thought not at the present time, but once the Council adopt the
open space this may be a possibility. On the Berewood side of the development, it was
suggested to liaise with them for timing regarding their grass cutting. The Chairman
suggested that the Warden speak to WCC for more information regarding WCC
maintenance. NOTED.
New waste and recycling bins had been installed at Town Park. There had been a few
remarks from residents that these bins have been installed too close to the park benches,
meaning that if the bins are full of dog mess, it can be an unpleasant place to sit. During
the first week of installation. Litter was the worst it had been and a couple of the bins had
been vandalized. The Warden is working with both the local Police and Grainger with
regards to this issue. NOTED.
A discussion took place regarding the need for siting more bins in the future and also who
currently had the responsibility for emptying the bins currently in the development. The
Chairman stated that at present the only bins that we will shortly be able to manage are
the bins within the Wellington Park side of the development.
The Warden also wished to report on the skate park at Town Park. He mentioned that
skate park was still suffering with large amounts of litter and vandalism. The warden had
spoken to the local PCSO’s and Grainger in the hopes to ease this problem. Regular
skaters are keen to see the skate park looking nice and have even assisted the Warden with
litter picks as they enjoy the facility and want to see it look nice. NOTED.
b)
The Warden also spoke about liaising with Grainger and arranging meetings. Meetings
are planned for the future and there are hopes to continue forming a positive working
relationship. NOTED.
Christmas tree locations had been identified and the Warden ran through his suggestions.
Cllr D Crichton suggested contacting Waterlooville Events team to approach for ideas
regarding Christmas lighting. It was also suggested that the Warden contact Cllr A Berry
as he had assisted with previous Christmas trees for the Parish Council. NOTED. The
Warden asked if there was a budget for the Christmas decorations etc. This will be covered
in the budget item. NOTED.
The Youth Shelter had been ordered and will be installed week commencing 22
November 2021. The exact site will need identifying. NOTED.
The Warden had been on a walk around with the Council’s health and safety
representative, Cllr A Berry. The Warden was saddened to see lots of neglect in the area
and would like to work to rectify these issues. Cllr D Crichton ran through reasons why
this was the case. Adoption on the Havant part is a slow on-going process. The adoption
process between the Parish and WCC has been held up due to Covid but is now
progressing. NOTED.
Cllr J Parry was able to give an update on an area within Wellington Park which had been
neglected by a management company in the development. They had admitted that the site
they had responsibility for had been missed and would be managed from now on.
NOTED.
Areas of responsibility were discussed. The Warden would like to map the areas if
possible. It was suggested that the Warden speak to Cllr C Brook for further guidance.
Parish Warden Training: The Clerk ran through several options for training. She
suggested that both members of staff undertake risk assessment training at a cost of £12
per person. There are several options for health and safety training and the Clerk had
been researching this. At present there is not a training budget for the Warden, this will
need to be added to the budget for next year. NOTED. The funding of which will come
from monies received from the adoption of open space. The Chairman asked the Warden
if there were any relevant courses he could look into taking and report back with costs to
the next meeting and ensure this is included in the budget. NOTED. The need to take
this item to the next Finance and Personnel committee was discussed. Cllr D Crichton
felt that it may not be necessary to approve the immediate spend at the committee as a
source of funding for this money is already in existence. If this is deemed as acceptable
by the committee the funding could be taken from current funds and transferred back as
and when the allocated funds become available. It was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED
to provide costs for Warden training at the next meeting of full council for
consideration.
The Chairman asked if all items that had previously been identified as required had been
sourced. The Warden answered yes, they had, apart from mobile phones. The Chairman
stated that it is important to arrange the phones for staff use, as staff should not be paying
for Council telephone bills. NOTED.
043/22A Adoption of Open Space:
a)
b)
Requirement for a Solicitor: The Clerk had bought quotes to Council for consideration.
A budget for the work had previously been determined at full Council. A discussion
regarding the choice of solicitors took place. It was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to
appoint Sarah Humphrey as the Parish Council’s solicitor. The Clerk will write to
WCC once this has been confirmed.
The list of outstanding works had been completed as far as the representative at WCC was
concerned. The Chairman mentioned the need to set up an account in readiness to receive
the commuted sum. This had previously been discussed and is in hand. NOTED.
Community Litter Pick: This item had previously been covered. Trash Busters have been
invited to the Highways and General Purpose meeting to talk more about their work and
to hear about grants that may be available. NOTED.
044/22A Christmas Event: Grainger had been contacted with regards to what their plans were for
Christmas events and a list of planned events had previously been circulated. Grainger
are happy for the Council to contribute to the events. Cllr A Kirby suggested that a
Christmas light switching on event could be held at the hall, if it was available. The Clerk
reported that there had been an issue submitting the grant application. The Chairman
stated that he will ask C/Cllr P Stallard for some assistance. NOTED.
045/22A Amenities Committee Budget: The budget for last year was discussed. Cllr A Kirby
stated that last year £15k had been identified and there maybe some spend left from this.
Training needs to be added to these years. The majority of the spend for the Amenities
Committee will come from the section 106 commuted funds. Cllr D Crichton suggested
identify areas where this money may not cover spend. He also pointed out that there will
be a cross over with the Highways and General-Purpose Committee for items and the two
committees will need to work together to identify budget items. NOTED.
It is felt that any spend from the Amenities budget will not have a great deal of impact on
the precept for next year. The Chairman suggested that £1000 was put aside for training.
There was a query as to which committee should deal with budget requirements and it
would be best to keep training in one place. The Chairman suggested a budget of £12,000
for grass cutting/landscaping be budgeted for. NOTED. There currently is a budget item
for the shared costs of utility bills in the community hall building. This has been budgeted
for but at present the contribution amount has still yet to be clarified. It was suggested
that the Clerk chase this with Grainger. NOTED. The Chairman asked the Clerk if there
were any other items which may be required. She hi-lighted the need for a vehicle for use
by the Warden to travel around the development. An electric vehicle was suggested.
Constraints surrounding where to store and charge the vehicle were spoken about. The
Warden stated he would be happy to keep the vehicle at his home. The possibility of
leasing a vehicle was mentioned. Cllr A Kirby suggested various ways to finance and
plan for the vehicle. The Chairman suggested the vehicle be financed from the commuted
sum monies. Cllr D Crichton mentioned that the Pavilion once built there could be a
second area to store and charge the vehicle. The Warden was asked to research costs for
a leased vehicle and charging requirements. The Chairman asked the Clerk to contact
Grainger with regards to installing an EV charging unit at the community centre and bring
back information to the next meeting. NOTED. The amenities budget will be reconsidered at the next Amenities Committee meeting and will require finalizing before
the end of December. NOTED.
046/22A Land Registry: Making use of the Land registry had previously been discussed. It was
agreed this would be useful to the Council. The Clerk was asked to contact the registry
to find out more details, costs and the process involved. NOTED.
047/22A Other Reports: The Chairman mentioned the recent nature walks which had taken place
in the development. He felt that it would be useful if all members of the Council and staff
could take part in one of the nature walks. The Clerk was asked to contact Grainger with
regards to planning a walk. NOTED.
The meeting closed at 8.45pm.
The next meeting of the Amenities Committee is scheduled for Thursday 11th November 2021 starting
at 7.30pm
