Present: Harvie Steele (Chairman), Neil Longson, Estelle Warriner, Celia Rayner, Peter Knowles, Ken Line, Roger Watts, Jonathan Trees and Isabel Butcher

Also in Attendance: Pat Arculus (County Councillor), Tony Thomas (Clerk), 2 members of the public and one from the press.

Michael Jackson, Pietro di Marino, Dennis Tyler and Paul Royce.

It was proposed by Roger Watts, seconded by Neil Longson and resolved to approve the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 8^th November 2005 as a correct record of the meeting. The Chairman signed the Minutes.

3. MATTERS ARISING

Ken Line thanked Roger Watts for the new gate on the allotments.

Minute 8.iii) 8^th November: Peter Knowles reported that a borehole was dug in November in the car park at Monkmead Woods to carry out a topographical survey to alleviate flooding in the area.

The Clerk reported payments and receipts since the previous meeting covering the period 1^st November 2005 to 31st December 2005.

It was proposed by Ken Line, seconded by Roger Watts and agreed to approve the list of payments made from 1^st November to 31^st December 2005 totalling £6814.63.

The members had been presented with a copy of the Minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting held on Thursday 15^th December 2005 to consider the budget proposals for the year 2006/7 commencing 1^st April 2006, and provisionally set the precept for the Parish.

Following the resignation of the Clerk at the end of June 2005 a new Clerk was appointed who was contracted to work an average 30 hours per week, 5 more than the outgoing Clerk. The cost of the Clerk had therefore risen due to the following factors:- extra 5 hours per week, increased National Insurance contributions and an increase in the rate paid following the completion of the six months probationary period. These extra costs resulted in the salary costs for 2005/6 being £3400 higher than budgeted.

It was agreed by members that the previous Clerk, Peter Evans, had worked more hours than those for which he was paid and that the current increase more fairly reflected the hours and responsibilities of the position of the Clerk.

Other non-budgeted expenses of £1600 in legal fees in relation to the lease and operating licence of Church Meadow to install the toddlers’ playground will result in an expected overspend against budget for 2005/6 of £2274. Savings have been made in respect of not repairing the skateboard ramp and pavilion furnishing, but utility costs continue to rise.

The members discussed the figures and the Chairman said that following several years of keeping the increase in the precept to below or at the rate of inflation it had been decided by the Finance Committee that it was necessary to set a higher than inflation increase for next year to allow necessary repairs to be undertaken to the children’s playground, skateboard ramp and tractor shed to prevent further deterioration leading to additional costs.

The consensus of the members was that the community had expressed a wish for the quality of services; buildings and equipment to be maintained to ensure the village remained a pleasant place to live.

The Clerk pointed out that the increase proposed in the precept would still leave West Chiltington as the 9th lowest of the 32 Horsham District Parishes. The proposed increase would be equivalent to a £2 increase on a Band D property.

5. ADJOURNMENT

To allow a member of the public to speak the Chairman adjourned the meeting.

Mr Pat Tinworth presented a paper to the members with a list of 8 bullet points, which highlighted the increase in the Clerk’s salary costs, increased administration costs, repairs budget seemed to have dropped and other maintenance and cleaning costs had dropped and that the reason for the precept increase was due to the increase in the Clerk’s salary. A discussion then took place with the members on the issues raised. Because of the late submission of the points it was not possible to answer them in detail but answers had already been given in writing of the reason for the increase in the Clerk’s salary cost and why additional expenditure was necessary to maintain the services expected. The members expressed their satisfaction with the performance of the Clerk and agreed the salary reflected the responsibility of the position and the workload created by mounting bureaucracy. The members did not accept Mr Tinworth’s suggestion that any increase in precept should be kept to the rate of inflation or below, recognising that the rate of inflation related more to household expenditure covering food and clothing rather than business expenditure of salaries, utility bills and repair costs. Copies of Mr Tinworth’s papers, previously submitted letter and the council’s response are available from the Parish Office.

The Chairman reconvened the meeting and a vote was taken with a show of hands as to whether the proposed budget for 2006/7 and the Precept of £48000 be accepted, equivalent to a charge of £22.60 on a Band D property. The members accepted the figures unanimously. The Clerk was requested to submit the Precept request to Horsham District Council.

The Parish Council have been asked to provide a dog waste bin in Church Meadow but the Clerk said because the land was not owned by the Parish Council it may be difficult to have it installed and emptied by Horsham District Council, he will make enquiries.

Concerns have been raised by a resident of Mill Road about vehicles speeding past the village hall and why roundels showing the speed limit were not painted on the road as in other places in the village. The Clerk would request County Highways consider marking the road near the village hall.

Letters had been received from two residents concerning the lack of parking at the station during the day as all the spaces were taken up by the commuters, the Parish Council were asked to request more spaces be provided. The members agreed there were problems and said that a local committee including Pulborough Parish Council was already investigating and trying to find a solution. Public transport to the station was difficult with buses running only every hour and a late return was not possible. An alternative could be ‘Bus 4 U’ which provided a pick-up and drop-of service anywhere in the area from Petworth to Steyning at a cost starting at £1. Details are available from the Public Library and on Notice Boards.

i) Peter Knowles raised the dumping of garden refuse in the Monkmead Woods car park. The Clerk pointed out this was fly tipping and punishable with a £5000 fine and/or imprisonment. If anyone witnessed dumping please take the registration number of the vehicle and report the incident to the Clerk.

ii) Celia Rayner reported the flooding at the bottom of Nyetimber Lane due to blocked drains. The Clerk had seen workmen trying to clear the problem drains but it seems it is linked to the inadequate drainage in the area which is being investigated.

iii) Neil Longson reported that motorists were still speeding along Harborough Hill despite the roundels painted on the road. The Clerk reported that the police were waiting to see if the roundels were having any effect in reducing speed before taking further action. The Clerk is still awaiting details of the Speed Indicating Device that has been purchased for use in the parishes.

iv) Pat Arculus mentioned the next County Council Local Committee meeting would take place on the 23rd January 2006 in Henfield village hall to discuss community safety including police and fire services.

Tuesday 14^th March 2006 at 7.30 pm in the Reading Room, Church Street, West Chiltington.

There being no further business the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 9.10 pm.