Parish Meeting Minutes - 17 Apr 1978
Minutes of the Longwick-cum-Ilmer Parish Meeting on 17th Apr 1978.
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH HELD ON MONDAY 17th APRIL, 1978, IN LONGWICK VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT: Mr W.G. Underwood (in the Chair), Mr A.F. Bravery, Mrs P. Priestley, Mr T.G.T. Taylor. Twenty members of the public were also present.
MINUTES: It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 9th May 1977 would be circulated to those present and agreed and signed at the next Annual Meeting of the Parish.
The Chairman introduced the Parish Councillors and explained that the following Councillors represented the Parish Council in other activities: Mrs P. Priestley - Longwick School Manager - Village Hall Committee Mr A.F. Bravery - Playing Field Management Committee Mr T.G.T. Taylor - Council for the Protection of Rural England.
In addition, the Wycombe District Representative for the Parish, Miss J.H.C. Couper was also present.
The Chairman said that the Parish Council had regretfully accepted the resignation recently of Mr H.C. Restall who had resigned following his move from the Parish to the village of Cuddington. The Chairman thanked Mr Restall for the work he had done for the Parish and wished him well in his new location.
The Chairman then informed the meeting of a number of matters which had come before the Parish Council during the last twelve months:
Silver Jubilee: The Parish Council was grateful to the Jubilee Committee for their efforts in making the Parish celebration of the Silver Jubilee such a success. The Committee was chaired by Mr Perks with Treasurer Mrs Bellingham and Secretary Mrs Crumlish. £1139.17 was raised in the Parish to finance the days celebrations which consisted of a floats procession, sports, tug of war, sideshows etc., handicraft exhibition and flower arrangements, tea and box of food for everyone with a ticket, presentation mugs for all Parish children, aerial display and a dance in the Village Hall and at the White Horse. The balance of the sum collected, £380.00 was handed over to the Village Hall Committee to be used towards the cost of its renovation.
Bus Service: This commenced at the end of March 1977 with four buses per day through the village.
Village Plan: Mr S.B. Milan, Chief Assistant Planning Officer, Wycombe District Council spoke to the Parish Council in December 1977 on a possible village plan for Longwick. The Parish Council were told by Mr Milan that it was most unlikely that the District Council would support any further material development in Longwick and that this was not covered in the County Plan.
The Parish Council felt that its responsibility was, therefore, to make recommendations to the District Council in the event that it felt that certain amenities in Longwick were lacking. In particular, the Parish Council welcomed the views of the District Council concerning the possibility of providing accommodation by way of self-contained small units for elderly people. The reason
Village Plan contd..
for this being that in recent years there have been occasions where people wishing to retire in Longwick had either not been able to obtain accommodation they could afford or have had to move from Longwick. These suggestions were currently being examined by the Housing and Estates Department of the District Council.
Playing Field: The Parish Council gave a grant of £55.00 towards the cost of fencing the Playing Field. In addition, the Parish Council has extended its Insurance Policy to cover the liabilities of the Playing Field Management Committee arising from the use of the playing field and children's playground by third parties.
Planning Applications: The Parish Council was consulted on 25 applications during the period and had objections to 10 of these. The role of the Parish Council has become increasingly influential concerning planning application decisions.
Road Hazards: A new 'bend' sign was erected on the B. 4009 before the approach to the bridge in the direction of Chinnor.
The Divisional Surveyor had been asked to look at the junction of Stockwell Lane and the 'no through road' leading to Meadle as there is poor visibility at present for traffic turning right on to Stockwell Lane.
Radar police checks had been held during the year in an effort to keep the speed limit through Longwick to the required 40 mph.
Footpaths: The Bridleway at Green Lane, Ilmer was in need of maintenance and as a result Bucks County Council agreed to make arrangements to have the hedges cut back along the bridleway and also to harden out the various soft areas of the bridleway as and when labour and materials were available.
The maintenance of footpaths was extremely important and Parishioners were asked to inform the Parish Council where they were aware of paths being diverted or sealed off.
The footbridge on Footpath No. 22 from Meadle to Kimblewick had been repaired recently.
Road Signs: The Parish Council had asked for a road sign for Stockwell Lane because many heavy lorries tended to confuse the Meadle 'no through road' with Stockwell Lane.
Village Hall: The Parish Council gave a grant of £25.00 towards the cost of the renovations and extensions currently being carried out. A new Parish Notice Board was also to be provided.
Tree Planting: Trees had been planted around Meadle, Ilmer and near Longwick roundabout. It was hoped to plant some trees along the Bledlow road in the Autumn. The Parish Council was grateful to local farmers, the Vale of Aylesbury and the Young Farmers for their efforts. Volunteers were needed to maintain and water the young trees and any help would be welcomed.
Longwick School: The Parish Council gave a grant of £25.00 towards the cost of the open evening to celebrate the completion of the new extension to the School.
Review of Parish Boundaries: A Review was currently being undertaken by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. As a result, this Parish had been asked to comment on its boundaries and the Council had therefore asked those residents of Horsenden who live in the Parish, whether, in view of their proximity to Princes Risborough, they would prefer to be included in that Parish rather than maintain their historical links with this Parish.
Civic Amenity Area: The question of a civic amenity area for members of the Parish to dispose of their heavy rubbish was raised at the last Annual Meeting. Enquiries were made with Great Missenden Parish Council as they had looked into such a proposal but had found that the cost was £10.00 a lift. The Parish Council therefore decided not to the pursue the matter.
The Parish Council was grateful to the efforts of the children from Longwick School who recently helped to tidy Longwick as part of the 'Clean-Up Chilterns Week'. The Parish Council would be pleased to help elderly people who were unable to get rid of rubbish.
The Parish Council was concerned at the amount of rubbish in the lay-bye near the Longwick roundabout and would be contacting the County Council about the problem.
Motorcycle Racing at Armour Farm, Meadle: Following complaints from many residents of Meadle about the noise and inconvenience of this event on Good Friday, the Parish Council took the matter up with the District Council. It was discovered that such events do not require permission from the District Council and the Council will only ban them from taking place where a substantial nuisance is proved.
Finance: The Parish Council has asked for a Precept of £375.00 for the financial year 1978/9. The Council had tried to keep the figure required to a minimum but with inflation it would be difficult for the Council to undertake any substantial grants to local bodies during the year. The Parish rate was one of the lowest in the District.
Scout Pack: A new pack had been formed during the year. There had recently been a local controversy over the siting of the Scout Hut. The Parish Council approves and supports the provision of a Scout Hut in Longwick but had some doubts on the proposed siting.
The Chairman then concluded his remarks by informing the meeting that the Parish Council met every six weeks and members of the public were welcome to attend. If Parishioners had any queries they should not hesitate to draw them to the attention of the Parish Council. The Parish Clerk was now Mrs Gooch, Meadle, and would be pleased to receive enquiries on behalf of the Parish Council.
The Meeting was then thrown open for questions and the following points were raised:
Street Lighting: The Chairman summarised the current situation and said that the Parish Council felt that the position should be reviewed
Street Lighting contd..
every few years. The Parish Council would check the impact on the rates of the provision of street lighting to see whether the whole of the Parish would have to pay for lighting Longwick.
Road Hazards: The Parish Council was asked to take up the problem of the bend near the Red Lion, Thame Road, with the County Council as visibility was very poor indeed.
Similarly, it was felt that the bend on the Lower Icknield Way near the Duke of Wellington was still very dangerous.
Footpaths: The Parish Council agreed to report that parts of footpath 6 from Ilmer to Longwick were impassable and also that effluent was flowing into the ditch near bridleway.
Scout Hut: The Parish Council was asked to give further details of its attitude towards the siting of the Scout Hut. The Chairman said that the Parish Council supported the provision of a Scout Hut in Longwick but in view of the fact that it would be some two to three years before the Scout Hut could be built, the Council would prefer Wycombe District Council to defer its decision on the planning application submitted by the Scouts to build their hut on the old cricket field in order to give the Parish Council time to form a sub-committee of interested parties to look at possible sites for the Hut. The Parish Council felt that there might be alternative sites for the Scout Hut which might be more acceptable to local residents and which might also be nearer other community facilities. Such a sub-committee would look at the long-term needs of the community and would involve representatives from the Village Hall Committee and the Playing Field Committee.
It was agreed that the Parish Council would look at the need for community activities in the long-term together with the needs of the Scouts once the outcome of the planning application was known.
School Crossing: The Parish Council agreed to look into the matter of either employing a 'Lollipop' person or recommending the provision of a pelican crossing for children crossing the road to get to Longwick School.
As there were no further points, the Chairman thanked those present for attending and closed the meeting.
W. G. Underwood. 26.4.1979.