Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of the Council

Date:

Tuesday 22^nd May 2018

Time:

7.30pm

Place:

Bramley Room, Bramley Village Hall

Present:

Cllr Durrant (Chair)

Cllr Capel

Cllr Bell

Cllr Ansell

Cllr Flooks

Cllr DiMascio

Cllr Marshall

In attendance:

Maxta Thomas (Clerk)

4 members of the public

Cllr Rowland (Borough)

Cllr Vaughan (County)

PCSO Fisher

PCSO Johnson

Apologies:

Cllr Tomblin

Cllr Whorton

Cllr Robinson (Borough)

1.

Chairman’s welcome

The Chairman opened the Annual Parish Meeting of Bramley Parish Council by welcoming guests and parishioners on behalf of the Council.   

2.

Apologies

As noted above.

3.

Chairman’s report on parish councils year

Cllr Durrant presented his report for the previous year (see appendix A)

4.

Parish Councillor of the Year

Cllr Durrant announced that the Bramley Parish Councillor of the Year for 2017 is Cllr Malcolm Bell, and presented Cllr Bell with the Annual Shield.

5.

Summary of Accounts for 2017/18

The Clerk presented a brief update on the accounts (see appendix B)

6.

Borough Councillor report

Cllr Rowland presented her report (see appendix C)

7.

County Councillor report

Cllr Vaughan presented his report (see appendix D)   

8.

Allotments & Burial Ground report

Cllr Ansell presented his report (see appendix E)

9.

Clift Meadow Trust report

Cllr Capel presented the report on behalf of the Clift Meadow Trust (see appendix F)

1. Bramley Youth Club report – Roxy Mills presented her report (See appendix G)

10.

Village Hall Trust report

Cllr DiMascio presented the report on behalf of the Village Hall Trust (see appendix H)

11.

Bramley Church and PCC report

Malcolm Knowles presented the report (see appendix I)

12.

Police and Neighbourhood Watch report

PCSO Richard Fisher and PCSO Nath Johnson presented their report (see appendix J)

13.

Closure of meeting  

The Chairman brought the meeting to a close at 9.00 pm.

Appendix A

Chairman’s report – presented by Cllr Tony Durrant

We have had a very busy year.

We welcomed Cllr Whorton to the council – the rest of us have been around a while!

We also welcome our County Councillor Rhydian Vaughan who has just completed his first year.

Whilst Bramley is a very quiet and good place to live we have had our challenges.

Development continues in Bramley Parish and apart from the Surgery Extension there have not been any positive infrastructure changes to support the increasing population and traffic. However, the growth in population will hopefully bring new ideas and new volunteers to promote and support the various societies, clubs and other activities. Working with developers in “reserved matters” applications we have been able to influence the appearance of new properties such that the visual impact is more in keeping with our fast diminishing rural setting. I remind everyone that the developments we are now experiencing were granted permission by the Borough Council before our Neighbourhood Plan was in place.

Sadly, the meeting cannot ignore the challenges raised by unlawful encampments, fly-tipping and incidents of anti-social behaviour. Whilst the PC has absolutely no authority to resolve these issues we have been liaising with the police, Borough and County Councils and landowners by communicating resident’s concerns. We have also promoted the reporting, by residents, of any incidents to the authorities. In addition, we have worked with landowners and local authorities to “protect” particularly vulnerable sites from future possible unlawful encampments and reduce anti-social behaviour in affected areas. Most notably the work at Yew Tree Close has seen a marked reduction in ASB incidents. We also have a CCTV system at Clift meadow along with sturdy replacement barriers/gates at the Village Hall and Clift Meadow.

Following our earlier flood risk and traffic flow studies we have introduced air quality monitoring near the level crossing. The flood and traffic studies proved conclusively that the concerns raised by the Parish Council and many residents of the impact of development the local councils are ignoring them – the not invented here syndrome!!

We need a few months’ data from the air quality measurement before we will take the results to the authorities.

Through the giving of grants we have continued to support Clift Meadow and the Village hall. We have funded the youth workers, and other specific grants awarded to community activities include the local Citizens Advice Bureau who support residents of Bramley.

We have had to dip deeply into our reserves to fund the above-mentioned activities. To maintain our efforts to make Bramley a safe and secure place to live we had to increase our precept charge this year. Following our 25% reduction 6 years ago and without increases in the intervening years we were compelled to make this increase.

We happy band of volunteers will continue to work hard for and support the community.

Our meetings are currently on the third Tuesday of each month with the exception of August.

We encourage residents to attend and receive updates on the activities and challenges facing our community.

With that I have one more task to complete before I hand over to Maxta Thomas, our Parish Clerk

During 2017 we decided to begin a process of recognising those in the community have, over a number of years, given unselfishly of their time to support the community. This will continue and the brass plaque will be replaced by an “Honours Board” which will be updated as required. In addition, we decided to introduce an annual award for Councillor of the Year.

It is not easy to decide on just one of my fellow volunteer Councillors because work at the Burial Ground and allotment has transformed the area, and we have a Neighbourhood Plan in place which was a huge team effort.  Every Councillor gives freely of their time across a range of topics to support this community and give Bramley a voice at Borough and County Council levels. However, during 2017 a nomination was made and it received unanimous support from the Council.

So, without further ado I ask Cllr Bell to accept the award or 2017/18 for his leadership of and outstanding effort in getting a Bramley Neighbourhood Plan in place. There is no prize (and hopefully no long tear filled acceptance speech) but this trophy recognises your tremendous dedication to this community. 

Appendix B

Accounts – presented by Maxta Thomas (Clerk and RFO)

Income has remained steady in 2017/18, but the Council has needed to use a good deal of its reserves in the last year.  As well as the usual outgoings on village maintenance, there have been various grants for both Clift Meadow and for the Village Hall, and the installation of air quality monitoring equipment at the level crossing.  There have been two major areas for expenditure – one is the LIF Road Safety project, and payments here have been offset by receipt of the LIF grant from the Borough Council.  The other area for significant expenditure is the defence of the more open areas in Bramley against unauthorised encampments.

With this in mind, the Parish Council has increased the precept by 16% for 2018/19.  This is the first rise in precept since 2012/13, and equates to an average increase of £6.00 per year per household.  This increased funding will enable the Council to continue maintaining and protecting the Parish, and also to continue assisting our community facilities.  More information on the precept increase can be found on the Parish Council website.

The annual return figures will be published on the Parish Council website in the very near future.

Appendix C

Borough Council – presented by Cllr  Venetia Rowland

The year that was

The last municipal year saw a number of key milestones for Bramley from my perspective.

The Neighbourhood Plan was made on the 30 March 2017.  With this in place it has become more important for developers to discuss the proposed plans with the Parish Council – sometimes coming to a reasonable compromise and other times seeing applications being called in to the Development and Control Committee at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.  It has been my pleasure in “calling in” such applications and providing a 4 min speech to the Councillors on that committee – there have been successes which I think we are all aware of without going into details.

The neighbourhood Plan provides me with a blueprint by which I can provide feedback to Planning Officers who seem to have a momentary lapse of memory on the fact that it is there!

In the coming month we will see appeals on planning applications on Cufaude Lane.  These applications have been refused by BDBC on substantial grounds The Hearing into these appeals are to be held in the Council Offices, London Road, Basingstoke, commencing at 10.00am on 26 June 2018.

Inspector Papworth has been appointed by the Secretary of State to determine this appeal. Any owner or occupier of property in close proximity to the site may attend the Hearing (personally or through a representative) and may, at the Inspector's discretion, give their views.

I have been pleased to see Meridian TV highlight the issues at Bramley Level Crossing and the pollution risks especially with this being a key route to school for our community.  I am hoping that the signs installed about cutting engines will help but there must be more we can do?  I would support any such initiatives that come forward.

On safer routes to school and considerate parking – I donated the 3 kiddie signs to the Bramley School to launch the considerate parking initiative at least in one place some months ago.  The Headmaster has only through the last month found some parent volunteers who would like to be involved – I have requested a date for myself and the BDBC officer to meet with all of them – I still waiting at the moment for this to be confirmed.

Lastly with the summer sun out – I would like to end on an uplifting note… Basingstoke Live – now renamed  - BLOVE is a summer music festival created for the love of live music.  It is to be held in War Memorial Park on 7 July and 8 July 2018 and the event is the climax of the Basingstoke Festival. This year a small charge has been introduced – which allows the smaller bands who previously did not get paid to perform – to actually get a fee.

Appendix D

County Council – presented by Cllr Rhydian Vaughan

What is Calleva Division?  This consists of 12 Parishes in the northern most part of Hampshire. There are 10’273 Electorate and it is part of North East Hampshire Parliamentary Ward.

My job is to a) get the best services for the electorate of the Division and b) fulfil the statutory duties at Winchester.  I am a member of 8 Panels/ Committees and a member of the Hampshire Fire & Rescue Authority. Please see Hantsweb.

The main focus this year has been the £140 million that we are required to save by 2019. As a County Council we are legally not allowed to run a deficit.  Contrary to various predictions, Armageddon has not happened and by good husbandry we have started to make savings. For instance, greater use of electric vehicles and converting to LED lighting all make significant savings.

We have had to raise the Council Tax by 5.99% but Hampshire is still the second lowest council tax in the Country. 3% of this increase is ring fenced to help pay for our greatest cost, Adult and Child Social care. This costs us £1million per day. In addition, 8,000 more Hampshire residents reach the age of 80 every year.

I continue to lobby to save the 14 bus route in some shape or form. HCC subsidize this route to the tune of £127K per year, it is underutilised but I am well aware that for some it is a vital transport link and rural transport links should be preserved where possible.

We have recently employed 100 more people at Winchester. Through our Integrated Business Services we have sold our County Council services to Oxford CC, the Police and Fire Services of Hampshire and 3 London Boroughs which provides a good revenue stream.

Upper Tier Funding; this is a per head amount provided to local government across the country and the levels are widely different. As an example, Manchester gets £503 per head, Hackney gets £ 455 per head and Hampshire gets £155; this represents a wide gap and HCC is lobbying the Hampshire Members of Parliament to try to get a better deal for us.

Roads; I drive through the same potholes as you; the roads are in a poor state and this frankly is a result of 20 years underfunding by Governments. The bad weather in early 2018 didn’t help and in concurrent terms will cost us £10million and put the repair plan back by 12 months. The Government has given us an extra £3million but as there are 5,400 miles of roads in the County, that may not go very far. Repairs are being carried out (not as fast as I would like) but there is a backlog. A programme of surface dressing will commence shortly in this part of Calleva.

There are several diversions and road closures in the area at the moment. It is worth pointing out that under the New Roads and Street Works act 1991, Utility Companies do not have to seek permission from HCC to do work on the highway. Of course they are required to liaise with us and to return the highway to its former state.

Hampshire continues to be an excellent county to live in and in Calleva we enjoy a wonderful rural setting. 75% of Hampshire is deemed rural. Thanks to our two ports in the south, Hampshire is a vital hub for the rest of the UK and we will continue to attract investment for the benefit of the County.

Cllr Rhydian Vaughan

Member for Calleva Division

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

07774 681516

fb.com/tellrhydian

Appendix E

Allotments & Burial Ground – presented by Cllr Bruce Ansell

Appendix F

Clift Meadow Trust – presented by Cllr Liz Capel

2017 - 2018 at Clift Meadow has been notable for both positive as well as less positive reasons. Fortunately the positives outweigh the negative, so I shall deal with the negative straight away.  Vandalism has been on the rise in and around Clift Meadow. Unfortunately this is not confined just to Clift Meadow but is endemic across the village. Clift Meadow has for a while been a focal point for the youngsters to gather at and that has placed is at the heart of the issue. To date we have seen 4 benches ripped from their concrete bases, the CCTV has been attacked, the car park lights shattered by a catapult, the metal gate that surrounds the children’s play area has been ripped off its hinges and further damage has been inflicted on Brocas Hall.  The group that corals there has grown to about 15 and as the nights get longer and warmer we expect further damage to happen, but it is important to put this into perspective and remember that the vast majority of the village do not share the same characteristics as these disruptive few. Thanks to the PC there is action being taken to identify and address the perpetrators and word shall get out that there are repercussions to unacceptable behaviour.

Moving now onto more positive territory, Clift Meadow is becoming more technologically aware with wifi, a new website, a fully functioning projector and speakers and a facebook page with over two hundred followers. The general state of the Halls is good, and with the PC support we are addressing the storage options via a new shed which is currently with the buildings regulators at Basingstoke & Deane. We have a core of regular users who enjoy the facilities but are without a significant anchor tenant which means we are greatly impacted when we lose just one of our users. The number and breadth of user groups has grown slightly since last year however the casual users such as children’s parties, has seen a good rise over the last year.  We believe this is down to the footballers that come throughout the winter and see the Halls as a possible children’s party venue. The aim is to have all monthly expenses met through the commitment of regular users and the casual users deliver us any excess revenue for investment. While we are not yet at that point, there have been signs of improvement and through careful cost management and significant effort in event management from the Trustees the accounts are in reasonable order. Brocas Hall despite its more modern feel still does not attract as many users as was initially expected.  We suspect this is due to the larger space but, smaller and less capable kitchen, which we shall look to address. Nevertheless it has been put to good use and I was delighted to see so many Councillors attend our inaugural Wine Tasting which we shall be repeating again in October.

Developing activities is a crucial part of Clift Meadow’s role to the community and it has been hugely encouraging to see how popular junior football has become.  We believe that it is our role to enable such activities as best we can and in a cost effective way. We charge the footballers a very modest amount because we want to see this sort of participation in Bramley.  Football is played there from October to the end of April. Following some lengthy discussions with Old Basing Cricket Club we have now turned our sights on how to reinvigorate cricket in the village. While we don’t see this as being as popular as football, nevertheless if it can be a quarter as popular as it is in Old Basing we should be delighted. The cricket season runs from May until September which means that there will be sport being played on the meadow all year round, thus fulfilling the Clift brothers’ legacy. Plans are in place to encourage Bramley school children to start participating in village cricket and if we can develop a bedrock of interest we know that other age groups will start to be drawn in.  While I don’t see all the aforementioned disruptive individuals joining in, if one of them did attend then he or she may encourage the others to have more respect for the facilities.

We were delighted with the turnout at both St George's Day and the Easter Egg Hunt. Preparations for the 2019 Fete will start in soon and our considerable thanks go the Parish Council for their continued financial support.  We estimated close to 2000 people came to the Fete this year and the Committee is dealing with a very different proposition, in terms of numbers, than we thought was the case 4 years ago.  Demand for more activities, stalls and entertainment have increased and we need to decide whether we chase this or settle for something less ambitious. 

Clift Meadow have also been in touch with the School and we have offered our support in assisting them to manage a Fireworks evening at the school.  While we would love to do this at Clift Meadow we are agreed that the management of the site at the school is much easier. Fireworks in the village has not happened for a couple of years so it will be a major positive to bring this community event back to the village.  There is a lot of support to attend such an evening and we are keen to ensure it happens.

As always we have had some changes at Clift Meadow.  Helen Wallace has stepped down as caretaker and cleaner and we are hugely grateful for all her support over the years. Come rain or shine Helen has always been on hand.  While they are big shoes to fill her replacements are already up and running. Similarly we have had some new enquiries to join the Trustees who will be welcome additions to help manage the increasing list of responsibilities.

We shall continue to adapt and refine the events calendar.  Having added Wine Tasting last year that looks to be a firm favourite for a few years to come. The Fete and Easter Egg Hunt are becoming permanent fixtures in the village calendar.  We have some refining to do with our Christmas event and are excited about the forthcoming Fireworks night. We still have ambitions for the Pavilion as a venue not just for parties and weddings but also for corporate off sites which requires a thorough business plan and a major marketing push.

In conclusion the Trustees remain ambitious for Clift Meadow and in turn the village and we are looking forward to the next 12 months.

Appendix G

Bramley Youth Club – presented by Roxy Mills

Bramley Youth Club – The Overview - Another year and another year of success. For those who are unaware, Bramley Youth Club (BYC) is located in the centre of Bramley on Clift Meadow Park in the Brocas Hall every Thursday throughout the year. This once little youth club has grown, not only in numbers, but also in popularity with the young people in Bramley. We now see anywhere from 30-50 young people on a weekly basis. Too say we are well known within this community is an understatement. BYC is more alive and as vibrant as ever, providing that fun filled safe zone trusted by both the young people and their families.

This past year has seen a few structural changes; starting with the departure of and severely missed youth worker, Lee Goreham, who jumped ship and has taken on a career within the building industry, too the new employment of Bramley’s very own Colette Bibby. We have also developed and implemented a Young Leader Programme, giving some of our older members that responsibility and work experience to help with their own personal development, while staying within the youth club they care for. And finally, the increase of admissions to £2 for the evening, to which we now provide free squash or hot drinks (season dependant) for the young people of BYC.

Looking towards the future of BYC, discussions will need to be had regarding the club especially with the recent increase of participation, the age restrictions and the development of potentially an older youth group for those who are aged 14 plus. The future will also look into recruiting local volunteers, progressing the Young Leaders Programme further and provide more activities for the wider community.

None of this could have been achieved without the support of the Bramley Parish Council, who not only supported another year of funding for this project, but also donated a further contribution towards the youth club to purchase new equipment, resources and helped with the develop a greater identity for BYC. We are extremely thankful for all donations from our supporters and look forward to another awesome year with BYC. For more information and too see the club in full swing please head over to our Facebook page @BramleyYouthProject.

April 2017 - April 2018 - Since the takeover of BYC by Lee and Roxy in April 2016, the club has advanced and grown, with that bringing in more activities, keeping on trend with all the crazes and celebrating the youth club at various different points throughout the year. Let us begin with the attendance;

Young People - The youth club now accommodates for those who are aged 8-13 (school years 4-8). This age selection all seem to get along and we very rarely have issues between the young people. There is a concern with some of the language from the older members of the youth club around the younger members; however, they are aware of the consequences of their actions if they are caught discussing inappropriate conversation around the youth club. Currently, we have 166 young people registered to the youth club, many of which are now too old to join in the activities, however all details are kept encase of the development of an older youth club, or if they choose to join the young leader programme. We see on average around 40 young people a week in BYC and this is growing weekly with popularity and since the St Georges Day Festival.

Activities - All of our activities are planned three months in advanced and flyers are handed out to all the young people who attend the club. These activities are a selection of outdoor games, arts and crafts and party celebrations throughout the year. Many of the weekly activities utilise the equipment already purchased or we hire the equipment free from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. We run 48 weeks out of the year and during the summer holidays, we attempt to open up the summer programme to siblings, cousins, family members and friends of our young people to help generate more interest and raise additional funds during this time. We also participate in the local community activities as well, like the scarecrow festival. For more information on our activities program, please see our Facebook page @BramleyYouthProject.

Marketing and Social Media - Speaking of our Facebook page, we now have 136 followers. We aim to post weekly on our Facebook page and based on the insights tool provided, our posts reach between 50-80 people each week. We get many interactions, comments and regularly receive enquiries regarding the youth club through the messenger application. Due to a number of requests from the young people, we asked our followers (mainly parents of the young people), if they felt an Instagram page was relevant. The feedback from the poll came back as no; they felt this was not necessary so we have left this additional social media platform for now. We once again represented BYC at the St Georges Day Festival 2018 and we raised £150.80 for the youth club, and since have seen a spike in participation with new members joining each week.

Finances 2017-2018

As you can see from the above figures our profit as decreased throughout the year, as we have since spent the donations received from the Parish Council and all other additional donations. We have purchased two brand new TV’s which accommodate all gaming consoles. We also purchased a second hand XBOX 360, XBOX 360 games, Wii games and all replacement equipment, like footballs, basketballs, rackets, stationary etc. Since February 2018 we have increased the admissions from £1 to £2 per person and due to this the pot of money for resources or equipment has begun to increase again. We are now making more money weekly compared to our expenditure. All admissions, tuck money and donations contribute to the running of the youth club, hiring of the venue and replacement tuck.

Future - The future for Bramley Youth Club is a great one. Our reputation has expanded and so has our little youth community. The future has so much potential and the availability to increase into a second, possibly a third, youth club to accommodate the young people of Bramley. Before we take a step into the development stages, the next big focus for BYC will be a big volunteer drive to recruit local members of the community to assist with the youth club. If the number’s continue to increase, potentially funding for a third member of staff and finally supporting and recruiting new Young Leaders.

We will be continuing to use Facebook as a means to communicate with the parents and the young people on a weekly basis. We will also continue to use this platform to advertise more for the wider youth community in Bramley, highlighting all the local agencies and support for both parents and young people in and around the Basingstoke and Deane area. In addition, we will be continuing to support the local Bramley traditions and participating in the annual events.

The most important thing for BYC is to continue to support these young people, provide fun filled activities weekly in a place they feel safe and support the local community. 

Appendix H

Village Hall Trust – prepared by Phil Lewis

Charity Trustees for the Year 2017 - 2018:

• Philip Lewis - Chairman
• Jane Matthews - Vice Chairman (H&S)
• Jo Whatley - Secretary
• Richard Beale – Treasurer
• Tony Walton - i/c Maintenance
• Jenny Begent
• Arthur Silverton
• Sarah Hodnett (PCC Representative)
• PC Representative

Activities and Events - There are 19 current clubs, societies and activities which take place on a regular basis.  They are:

• Little Apples of Bramley Pre-school 
• The Petite School of Dancing
• Country Music
• Bramley Badminton Club
• Bramley Short Mat Bowls Club
• Bramley Guides
• Bramley Brownies
• Bramley Rainbows
• Bramley Women’s Institute
• Zumba with Gisella
• Thames Valley Tango
• Music with Mummy
• The Bramley Show
• Dinky Disco
• Pilates for Runners
• Kick Boxing
• Caterpillar Music
• Pound Fit
• Little Learners

The Bramley Room is also used by Bramley Parish Council for their monthly meetings.

From time to time social events, organized by the Trustees and other volunteers, are held for the entertainment of villagers and friends and to raise funds for Bramley Village Hall. 

April 2018 saw the return of the annual Art Exhibition which took place over two days. This was the fourth Exhibition held at the Village Hall and was very well attended with over fifty artists exhibiting and over 200 visitors. A profit of £800 was raised.

During the year the regular Film Nights have been reinstated using the new Parish Council owned equipment in the Bramley Room. Films shown have included Dunkirk, Darkest Hour and Murder On The Orient Express. These evenings have a good following of regular attendees and we are often seeing full capacity which enables the Village Hall to ensure that there is a small profit each time a film night occurs.

​The fourth Mistletoe Fayre was held on 25th November 2017 and was great success with over thirty stalls spread throughout the whole of the Village Hall and approximately 250 visitors. A profit of just over £800 was raised. This year’s Mistletoe Fayre will be held on 24^th November 2018.

Administration - Mrs. Hayward was been re-appointed as Event and Administration Coordinator for a further year (2017/18) with the Village Hall contributing 60% of costs and the Borough 40% using the last year of the three year grant of £30,000 made available by the Borough Council’s Local Infrastructure Fund. This grant ceased on 31^st March 2108. Mrs. Hayward was re-appointed for the year 2018 – 2019 and will be paid directly from the Village Hall’s finances with no further assistance from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Careful analysis of the Village Hall accounts ensured that this was financially possible. Mrs. Hayward maintains the booking diary using the Hallmaster computer program. She is also responsible for organizing and running a variety of Village Hall events and has recently become involved in major fundraising. The appointment continues to be very successful.

Maintenance - This period has been particularly busy for maintenance activities at the Hall.

Routine maintenance associated activities for the Caretaking/Cleaning and the Grounds Maintenance are covered by formal contracts and there are informal contacts for Fire, Security Alarms, Plumbing, Gas and Electrical activities on an as needed basis. In addition a general property maintenance person has been identified and is carrying out both planned and unplanned repairs and renovations on an on-going basis both inside and outside the building.

With respect to Fire Protection of the building there has been a comprehensive updating of the fire alarm and emergency lighting system. Additionally new Fire Exit doors have been installed for exiting the Bramley Room and the main kitchen. These were funded by the Parish Council. New improved security gates have also been installed which were also funded by the PC. Thanks are due to them for both of these infrastructure improvements.

Improvements in the grounds include removal of potentially unsafe tree branches, reduction of the side and front hedging (on-going) and removal of trees adjacent to the electricity pylon at the rear of the property (this by SSE).

Work to improve the car park area is on-going.

It is noted that there has been, and continues to be, increasing repair and renovation work in the building and on the fabric as several areas, particularly the toilets, require more attention.

Finance - Awaiting the results of examination of accounts.

Development - In 2013 a Feasibility Study into ways to increase access to the Village Hall amenities was instigated. This has now been finalised and plans and details can be seen on the Village Hall website www.bramleyhampshire/village-hall . Clicking on the relevant link on the right-hand side of the page will take the viewer to these plans and details. Trustees have considered how these plans might be realised and quotations from two firms of architects have been received. Stanhope Wilkinson Associates (SWA) of Eynsham has been commissioned to draw up plans and submit them to B&D BC Planning Department with a view to obtaining Planning Permission. Applications for grants to cover the cost of the project are being made to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council. If enough funding is made available it is hoped that work will begin in early 2019. The Trustees expect to hear the results of the bids in September 2018

Legal - Efforts were made during last year to register the Village Hall with the Land Registry to legitimise legal ownership. This has been hampered by the loss of the original Conveyance and Trust Deed. Three Basingstoke firms of solicitors involved in previous work for the Village Hall have been consulted about the document’s whereabouts and it cannot be found. A subsequent submission has been made to the Land Registry for Possessory Title and the Trustees are awaiting the results of this submission.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks go to all the Trustees and Volunteers who have contributed to what has been a very successful year.

Appendix I

Bramley Church and PCC – presented by Malcolm Knowles

The PCC has just held its annual meeting.

The Church has recently had a quinquennial report on the fabric of the church itself – the building is in good shape going forward.  Some minor maintenance is required.  A fire inspection report been carried out, and Cross House needs some work in this area.

We have an enthusiastic PCC who are keen to reach out to the community.

We are growing the Sunday 9.00 service, but the Sunday 10.30 service numbers are dropping.

With the development in Bramley we are welcoming new people coming into the parish with a welcome pack, which is going to every new household in Bramley. 

The Church and PCC do a lot of work with the School – book reading held every day to help understand the Church and the Bible.

Appendix J

Police and Neighbourhood Watch – presented by PCSO Richard Fisher and PCSO Nath Johnson

May 2017 – May 2018 statistics:

Action fraud – 4                                 Arson – 2                                             ASB Community – 81             

ASB Environmental – 17                    ASB Personal – 35                               Assault – 56    

Assault Police – 1                               Blackmail – 2                                       Burglary Dwelling – 7

Burglary non Dwelling – 18               Concern for Safety – 14                      Custodial (arrest warrant) – 1

Damage – 49                                      Dispute – 10                                        Domestic Dispute – 21

Driving complaint – 27                      Drug offences – 4                                Exposure – 1

Fraud – 1                                            Going equipped – 1                             Harassment – 5

Immigration Crime – 1                      Impaired Driving – 3                           Lost/ Found Property – 3

Making off w/o Payment – 1             Malicious Communications – 3          Mental ill Health – 6

Missing Person High – 1                    Missing Person Med – 3                     Missing Person – Low – 1

Offensive weapon – 1                        Other Crime – 17                                Public Order – 33

Road related incident – 7                  Road Traffic Collisions – 21                 Suspicious Incidents – 90

Tampering with motor vehicle – 2    Theft – 32                                            Theft from Vehicle – 12

Theft of vehicle – 6                            Taking without consent – 2                Vehicle seizure – 2

TOTAL 603.

93 increase in incidents for 2017-2018 compared to the previous year. 28 increase in ASB. Assaults are the same. Burglaries are down, damage incidents are down. Not all of these incidents are a crime, some are classified as non-crime but still fell within the authority of police to deal with. As most of these incidents are ASB/ Suspicious incidents, most of them would not have received police attendance.

Current Financial Picture and Resources

The force had to find £80m of savings from its budget by April 2015, which it did by designing and implementing a new policing model.

Hampshire Constabulary's policing model still remained based around neighbourhood policing.

The rural team did not lose any establishment as we changed to this new model.  The team based at Tadley still have two sergeants, five PCs and an establishment of 10 PCSOs.  However, we are currently 3 PCSOs short and there is no PCSO recruitment at this time.

We are supported by 24 hours a day response teams, CID and custody based in Basingstoke; the Roads Policing Unit based in Whitchurch; and other specialist police teams that will assist with serious incidents or pre-planned operations. We also work very closely with the Safer North Hampshire Community Safety Team.  There are also two Country Watch PCs and based at Tadley.

Further budget cuts are now required - overall, we need to save £21m by 2021. We have already found 40 per cent of the savings we need to in 2018/19 from non-staff costs.

The £12 increase in local council tax is so important because, as you will know, the force is underfunded massively compared with others.

If we did not receive this increase in local funding we would have had to cut our teams even further. The headlines would not just be about cutting some of the specialist teams, they would be about reducing a range of other policing services as well.

At present – Neighbourhood Teams have not been cut but we are waiting to see what further budget cuts are on the horizon in 2019/2020.

Communications and Intelligence

Many of you will have already receive regular contact from your local officers. The team also use 'Hampshire Alerts' which is a very quick method of circulating messages relevant to local communities including NHW schemes. If you are not already registered on this system online I would encourage you to do so if possible - https://www.hampshirealert.co.uk/

Please also make note of our team email address - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

One of the challenges of today remains the gathering of rural intelligence. A new free mobile phone app is available called Self Evident. It is really good and very easy.  The app report is submitted to the police’s postmaster mailbox, which is monitored 24/7 in ‘slow time’. Call handlers are happy to accept this as a way of reporting incidents, but not for emergencies.

Please report any suspicious activity to us – every report is read locally and if there are any potential links to crime or other intelligence then further enquiries do take place.