Dawn Lacey — Parish Clerk & RFO
claygate PARISH COUNCIL
caring for Claygate Village
Claygate Parish Council
Claygate Village Hall
Church Road
Claygate
Surrey KT10 0JP
☎ 07741 848 719
email: clerk@claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk
website: www.claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk
MINUTES OF THE CLAYGATE PARISH COUNCIL Meeting held on Thursday 5th December 2024 at 8.30pm
| Present:
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Chair: Cllr Holt
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| Council Members:
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Cllr Collon, Cllr French, Cllr Herbert, Cllr Moon, and Cllr Sheppard
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| In attendance:
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Dawn Lacey (Parish Clerk & RFO)
Six members of the public
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| 1.
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To accept apologies for absence.
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Apologies from Cllr Bingham, Cllr Bray, Cllr Coffey.
The absence of Cllr Freeborn was noted.
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| 2.
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To receive Declarations of Interest in items on the agenda.
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None.
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| 4.
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Actions from the previous meeting held on Thursday 7th November
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- Item 9: to organise a response to the letter from SCCllr Steve Bax – confirmed and agreed – Cllr Bray to write to him.
- Item 10, Item 11: both completed.
- Item 13: To discuss the movement of monies – taken under Item 19 of this agenda.
ACTION – Cllr Holt and Clerk
- Item 14: Completed.
- Item 15: To update on the proposed new CPC Website – taken under Item 13 in this agenda.
- Item 16: The Vision for Claygate – to send a two-page document to the officers at EBC for their meeting mid-Jan.
ACTION Cllr French
- Item 18: To purchase a First Aid book, fire extinguisher and First Aid Kit for our Clean-Up Days – this was proposed by Cllr Holt and seconded by Cllr Moon – carried unanimously.
ACTION – Clerk to organise the purchase of the above.
- Item 20: To update on the new Bench on the Parade – taken under Item 22 in this agenda.
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| 5.
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To answer any questions from the general public.
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- A. This year and last there were 13 Parish Council meetings; next year there are only eight scheduled. Why was this decision taken and why was it not discussed first at a public meeting?
- The Clerk explained that the timetabling of meetings is part of her role and she had decided to try and see if we could work with fewer meetings. It was pointed out that the Chair of the CPC can put in place extra meetings if required.
- B. Why, when a question was asked by a member of the public, was the reply not recorded in the minutes?
- The Clerk explained that the missing reply had been from an action from previous minutes which was why it said 'Completed'. She will, in future, list the reply in full.
- C. Did the Parish Council want more members of the public to attend the Green Elmbridge networking event? (The invitation to the public appeared on Facebook only the day before.)
- This was not a planned public event, but more for specialised people and groups. It wasn’t meant to be over-publicised.
- D. In previous years, the public has been able to see the reconciliations for the past month and the proposed budget for the forthcoming year.
- The Clerk explained that Appendix 5 was missing from the website because she didn’t have the bank statement in time to complete the reconciliation. The Clerk did have it available for the public at the meeting. In future, the reconciliations will be done three-monthly at the Main Parish Meetings to avoid this. Regarding the proposed budget, which was not, as yet, available because we are still waiting for the Tax Base. This will be circulated with the January papers for the January meeting.
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| 6.
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To receive a report of EBC’s Oversight & Scrutiny Committee and agree action as appropriate.
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No actions at this time. Cllr French informed the Parish Council that a car parking trial is currently taking place in Walton.
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| 7.
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To receive a report of EBC Audit’s and Standards.
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No update at this time.
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| 8.
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To confirm the meeting dates for the next two EBC quarterly meetings.
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These were confirmed to be Monday 3rd February and Monday 19th May 2025 at 10am.
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| 9.
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To receive a report from the Planning Committee.
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This was covered under Item 15 on the agenda.
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| 10.
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To receive a report from the EHT Committee.
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Cllr Holt reported on the following in the absence of Cllr Bray
- Green Elmbridge networking event – this was a great success
- Next EHT meeting Dec 12th – report on outcomes etc
- Friday Nov 29th – Zoom with Niamh Ryan SCC Climate Change Officer
- Dec 10th - SCC Webinar re enabling PC’s to establish Climate & Nature plans
- Greener Futures Group
- Kerb at west end of The Parade – this is bad for wheelchair users. Peter Whitehead raised it initially and I did not do him justice. Idea will be to ask Mark S to get it fixed if approved.
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| 11.
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To Receive a Report from the Shops and Businesses Advisory Committee.
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Leo is to organise an anonymous survey for the S & B committee; the findings to be reported at a meeting which is scheduled to be held in early February at the Foley Arms in Claygate.
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| 12.
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To Receive a Report from the Health and Wellbeing and Leisure Advisory Committee.
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This group haven’t met for some time but Cllr French informed the Parish Council that the Winning Horse project is still ongoing and they are waiting for funds. Elmbridge Council is organising a survey on how best to support vulnerable people.
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| 13.
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To discuss the way forward for the Parish Council's new website.
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There has been some debate on this subject amongst the parish councillors; a meeting was held to share their views. Cllr Bingham has already put in quite a lot of work for this and it was agreed that the best way forward would be to obtain quotes from three website developers.
To contact E-Mango, Hugo Fox & Aubergine.
This was proposed by Cllr Holt and seconded by Cllr Herbert.
Carried unanimously.
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ACTION – Cllr Holt and Cllr Bingham
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| 14.
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To approve the remit for the Planning Committee.
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The new remit was approved for adoption and for addition to the website.
Proposed by Cllr Sheppard and seconded by Cllr Moon.
Carried unanimously.
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ACTION – Clerk
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| 15.
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To discuss the way forward and strategies regarding the EBC’s Local Plan revision.
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The Planning Committee discussed the evolving situation of the Elmbridge Local Plan against the background of the new government housing policy. It was felt that we do not need a new strategy, merely some additional background information and perhaps clarifications of our policies in the light of the changing planning environment. It was agreed that Cllr Sheppard would table a paper to present at our January meeting, by which time the new NPPF should be published. It was also noted that the current Local Plan expires in 2026.
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| 16.
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Weeds in Claygate: To consider the approve Cllr Bray’s draft letter of reply to SCCllr Bax letter of 18th October 2024
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This was agreed and proposed by Cllr Sheppard and seconded by Cllr Holt.
Carried unanimously.
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| 16.
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To provide and update on the Vision for Claygate and proposed next steps.
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Cllr French will be working with Emma Curtis from the CTWF survey team to draft the Vision for Claygate based on the Claygate the Way Forward report.
ACTION: Cllr French
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| 17.
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To provide an update following the meeting with EBC on the Local Plan.
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It was reported that the Inspector has rejected the plan. Therefore EBC needs either to revise its current plan, for which it has a maximum of six months to complete, or withdraw this one and start again with a new plan. If they choose the second option, then they will probably have until 2026 (when the current Local Plan expires) to complete it. Clive Thompson from the Housing Working Group attended the meeting and had issued a list of possible sites (including some Green Belt areas) that may fall under consideration by EBC or by developers. It was noted that inclusion of a site in this list does not imply endorsement by CPC of development there. It was agreed that the Loseberry Farm field(s) next to the BT building should be classified as Green Belt, not Grey Belt. It was agreed that CPC needs to work very closely with our Ward Councillors.
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| 18.
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To agree a date for the Spring Litter Pick.
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The date of 26th April was agreed. Cllr Moon to organise the purchase of a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and first aid book, and to liaise with the Clerk.
This was proposed by Cllr Sheppard and seconded by Cllr Bray.
Carried unanimously.
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ACTION - Cllr Moon and the Clerk.
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| 19.
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To confirm the arrangements for agreeing the 2025-26 budget for the Parish Council.
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Cllr Holt and the Clerk to meet to discuss the budget and then to meet with all councillors to discuss the proposed budget so it is ready for presentation at the next meeting of the CPC council in December.
ACTION - Cllr Holt and the Clerk
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| 20.
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To agree on whether we respond regarding 'Enabling remote attendance and proxy voting at local authority meetings'.
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It was agreed that no comment would be made on this.
Proposed by Cllr Moon and seconded by Cllr Holt.
Carried unanimously.
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| 21.
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To update on the possibility of applying for a £1,000 grant from Elmbridge Community Fund towards the development of the ‘This is Claygate’ website.
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There is currently no update on this. To be carried forward to a meeting in the New Year once the CPC website has been finalised.
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| 22.
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Matters for Information purposes only.
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New Bench on The Parade: this is currently ongoing. Cllr Holt has emailed the owners of the Chemist to discuss the possibility of the bench being placed there.
ACTION - Cllr Holt
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| 23.
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Date of the next meeting.
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The next meeting will be held on Thursday 5th December at 8.30pm at Claygate Village Hall (Main Hall).
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