PARISH COUNCIL OF NEWLANDS
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 16th MAY 2019 AT THE
WELLINGTON VALE CARE HOME, DARNEL ROAD, WATERLOOVILLE COMMENCING
AT 7.30 pm
Members: Cllr O Barneveld (P) Cllr A Berry (P)
Cllr A Carden (P) Cllr D Crichton (P)
Cllr J Parry (P) Cllr L Price (P)
Cllr F Tingle (P)
Also present C/Cllr P Stallard, D/Cllrs C Brook, N Cutler and M Read, WCC Community Planning
Manager S Lincoln, HBC Community Officer K Bone, Tony Daniells, Clerk to the Council and 1
member of the public.
The meeting started with D/Cllr Brook in the chair
001/20C Election of Chairman
D/Cllr Brook invited nominations for the Chairman of the Council.
Cllrs Carden and Crichton were proposed and seconded.
A vote was taken by a show of hands.
It was RESOLVED by a majority that Cllr Crichton be elected as Chairman of the
Parish Council, for the municipal year 2019/2020.
Declaration of Acceptance of Office:-
Cllr Crichton read and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of the Office of Chairman
which was also signed by the Clerk to the Council
Cllr Crichton took the Chair and thanked those who had been involved in the formation
of a new Parish Council over the years.
002/20C Council Policy
Drafts of Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and the Code of Conduct were
previously circulated. No amendments to the drafts were requested.
It was RESOLVED by a majority to adopt
i. Standing Orders
ii. Financial Regulations
iii. The Code of Conduct
003/20C Election of Vice-Chairman
The Chairman invited nominations for the Vice-Chairman of the Council.
Cllr Carden was proposed and seconded.
It was unanimously RESOLVED that Cllr Carden be elected as Vice-Chairman of
the Parish Council for the municipal year 2019/2020.
004/20C Structure and membership of Committees
a) A draft paper had been previously circulated with a proposal to set up a Planning
Committee and a Finance Committee. An amendment to also include an Amenities
Committee to consider resident’s issues was not accepted.
It was unanimously RESOLVED that the Parish Council would setup committees
for Planning and Finance.
b) It was unanimously RESOLVED that all Councillors would be members of both
the Planning and Finance Committees
c) It was unanimously RESOLVED that
i. Cllr Barneveld would be Chairman of the Planning Committee and
ii. Cllr Tingle would be Chairman of the Finance Committee
005/20C Appointment of Parish Councillors
i. The Terms of Reference for the West of Waterlooville Forum had been
amended to give Newlands Parish Council two seats on the Forum.
It was unanimously RESOLVED that Cllrs Crichton and Berry would take
these positions.
ii. Membership to the Hampshire Association of Local Councils and the
Winchester District Association of Local Councils was held over to the next
meeting to allow for a better understanding of the commitment to these bodies.
iii. It was unanimously RESOLVED that Cllr Crichton would represent
Newlands Parish Council at the Southern Parishes meetings.
006/20C General Power of Competence
The Clerk summarised the requirements and benefits to a council of having this Power.
The prescribed statutory criteria required to qualify as an eligible parish council had
been previously circulated and met. Councillors asked about the use this Council would
make of the Power.
It was unanimously RESOLVED that Newlands Parish Council grant itself the
General Power of Competence and consider its use at the next meeting.
007/20C Vacancies on the Parish Council
The Council had drafted a Policy to be used when co-opting Councillors and this would
be considered for adoption at the June 2019 meeting.
Following an uncontested election in May 2019, there remained two vacancies on the
Parish Council.It was unanimously RESOLVED to advertise the vacancies and post
onto the Council’s website and on the noticeboard at the entrance to Newlands.
008/20C Schedule of Council Meetings
A schedule of meeting dates for the Full Council had been previously circulated. This
proposed monthly meetings.
In the discussion, the following points were covered
• Whether the Planning Committee would first consider any planning application
that went before the Joint Planning Committee and it was AGREED that the
Parish Council would discuss these and comment as required.
• If meetings for the Planning and Finance Committees were called as needed or
scheduled and cancelled if not required. It was AGREED that meetings should
be scheduled
• The frequency of Finance Committee meetings and it was AGREED that these
should be quarterly
• If Finance Committee meetings could be held prior to Full Council meetings
It was unanimously AGREED that the Clerk would update the schedule of
meetings to include the Planning and Finance Committees and bring the updated
schedule to the June 2019 meeting for consideration.
009/20C Apologies
Apologies were received from D/Cllrs Clear, Evans and Clementson for absence.
010/20C Public Session
The meeting was adjourned at 8.04 pm to allow comments from the public. The meeting
reconvened at 8.07 pm.
011/20C County and District Councillor Reports
a) C/Cllr Stallard advised that her Ward covered a large area and she tried to attend as
many Parish meetings as she could. Due to the local elections and the EU Election,
Councillors were in a purdah period and she was unable to give a full report.
She referred to the decision by Cllr Roy Perry to step down after 6 years as Leader of
Hampshire County Council. A new leader would be announced soon.
She finished by congratulating the Council on its formation and wished it every success
b) D/Cllr M Read referred to the recent elections and the change in the political balance at
Winchester City Council. Denmead Ward Councillors would continue with membership
of Committees. He would remind Portfolio Holders of previously agreed commitments.
He advised that a copy of the Local Plan would be valuable when considering planning
applications.
D/Cllr C Brook referred to an appointment by Taylor Wimpey of an individual to follow
through on highway adoptions. The elbow in Darnel Road was to be permanent. Some
coned off areas were in dispute as to what was needed to complete.
The Western Open Space had been adopted by WCC by open space at Phase 5 was never
offered to WCC
She congratulated members of the Shadow Council on getting to this point
D/Cllr N Cutler also congratulated the Council on its progress. His Ward covered four
Parishes and he would attend Newlands Parish Council meetings when he could.
Errors in the Electoral Register were almost resolved.
He was now Deputy Leader of WCC and Portfolio Holder for Finance.
012/20C Communications
a) i. Invitations had been received for the Chairman to attend the Mayor’s Sunday
Service and the dinner for the outgoing Mayor. Both had been declined for this
year. NOTED
ii. An invitation had been received to attend the Local Councils Conference on 18
June 2019 in Winchester. It was unanimously RESOLVED that Cllr
Crichton and Price, and The Clerk would attend as an approved duty.
b) Website: A website had now been setup and all Councillors have had the opportunity to
view it. It was hosted on a free site. Response times were reported as being slow and
this was likely to deter visits to the site. A sum of money had been included in the
budget for web hosting. Councillors referred to websites from other local parish councils
and the companies that hosted these. It was AGREED that the Clerk would contact
these and obtain estimates for use of their service and details of the service.
c) Social Media: Cllr Price had reserved some Facebook names for use by this Council.
The Chairman suggested us of Newlandspc as a FB page name. It was agreed that this
should not be progressed until guidelines and a policy on use of social media was
adopted. It was also suggested that use should be made of Twitter. It was agreed that the
Policy and use of social media would be considered at the June 2019 meeting.
d) A logo for the Council had been arranged by D/C Brook. It was agreed that this was an
excellent logo for use by this Council and D/C Brook was thanked for this. It was
unanimously RESOLVED to adopt use of the logo.
Further discussions took place on which typeface to use in headings. Samples had been
supplied. A typeface of Handel Gothic was suggested but held in abeyance until a social
media policy was adopted.
The use of a shared Whatsapp group or similar for use by councillors was also suggested
to make it easier to follow conversations between councillors.
013/20C Community Facility
In discussing the Community Facility, Council considered
• The current position with the lease and any financial commitment that would
be placed on Newlands Parish Council
• The cost to the Council of business rates and if rate relief ws available. It was
understood the Grainger may be applying for business rate relief.
• The need for storage, if a Health & Safety assessment had been completed, the
cleaning of the building and the use of shared areas.
• A draft lease was available and D/C Brook had drafts of risk assessments.
• Who was now going to progress these outstanding matters
It was AGREED that Cllr Berry was given the authority to work with Grainger
and others to get to a stage where a recommendation could be put to Council. It
was subsequently AGREED that Cllr Price would support Cllr Berry.
014/20C Planning Matters
There were no planning matters to be considered.
Finance
015/20C Bank Account
A current account was being setup with Lloyds bank. NOTED
The Chairman asked about income streams to the Council. He was advised that the
Precept was paid in two halves in April and October. The first half was being held by
WCC. The Clerk was asked to progress the transfer of funds held by WCC into the
account when operational.
016/20C Parish Council’s Insurance
Two quotes for insurance had been received and previously circulated. Concerns were
raised on both quotes and on insurance for the Clerk working from home.
Other points discussed was the need to notify an individuals insurers that they were
parish councillors and could use their own car on parish business. Attendance at a
meeting in Winchester had previously been agreed as an approved duty, but without
insurance, attendees would have to be reliant on their own insurance.
It was proposed to accept the quote from Zurich but it was AGREED to hold this
in abeyance until the next meeting when the issues raised could be answered.
017/20C Orders for payment: It was unanimously RESOLVED that the payments detailed on
the Orders for Payment (list 01) should be APPROVED in the sum of £434.00
including VAT and nil receipts are NOTED.
018/20C Internal Audit: Council considered the appointment of an Internal Auditor and two
companies were suggested. It was questioned if there was a need to appoint an internal
auditor as the Council’s precept may be below the level needed to make such an
appointment. The Clerk would clarify the position. It was noted that the adopted
Financial Regulations required such an appointment.
It was AGREED that the appointment of an Internal Auditor would be considered
by the Finance Committee.
019/20C Other Reports
Cllr Price suggested that financial reporting should be more frequent than quarterly.
020/20C Exempt Business
It was RESOLVED that in accordance with the Public Bodies (admission to
meetings) Act 1960 to exclude the public and press for discussions regarding
personnel matters where publicity might be prejudicial to the special nature of the
business
The meeting closed at 9.21 pm
The next meeting will be held on 20 June 2019
Parish Council of Newlands
Annual Council Meeting held on 16 May 2019
Former Councillor, Mr Lander-Brinkley was pleased to see the fulfillment of an initiative started by
him and Cllr Jim Watson of Southwick and Widley Parish Council. He also acknowledged and
thanked Stephen Whetnall for the advice given in the early stages of this project. He gave his best
wishes to the future of the Council
Mr Lander-Brinkley, as a representative of George Holingbury, MP for the Meon Valley, also
conveyed the best wishes of the MP to the Council. Newlands is part of the Meon Valley
constituency.