PC Agenda & Minutes Detail

Minutes of the Meeting of the Council
Date:	Monday 14^th December 2009	Time:	7.45pm
Place:	Community Rooms, Chineham Village Hall, Thornhill way, Chineham
Present:	Cllr. C. Tomblin (Chairman)	Cllr. D. Thornton
	Cllr. M. Biermann	Cllr. R. Parkin
	Cllr. P. Miller	Cllr. M. Adams
	Cllr. G. Wright	Eunice Jones (Asst. Clerk)
	Cllr. L. Fryer
	It is with sadness that the death of Councillor Brian Sperring was noted. The Parish Council’s condolences are sent to Brian’s family.			*Action*
	Those present were advised of the fire exits and procedure for evacuation
1.	APOLOGIES
	Apologies were received and accepted from Karen Ross (Clerk), PC Charlton and County and Borough Councillor Elaine Still.
2.	DECLARATION OF INTEREST
	There were no declarations of Interest made.
3.	MINUTES OF THE MEETING
	The Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 9 November 2009 (with changes) were approved on a proposal by Councillor Parkin, seconded by Councillor Wright.
4.	EXTERNAL REPORTS
	Borough and County Councillors
4.1	County and Borough Councillor Elaine Still
	Cllr. Still submitted a report in her absence:
	I am pleased to inform you that Hampshire Action Teams HATS will continue and I will be the new chairman. I will send on to Karen our terms of reference in the new year. I was very saddened to hear the news of Brian. He was a great support to me and a good friend I will miss him. I hope to see you all in the new year. A very happy Christmas to you all and a happy and green new year
4.2	Borough Councillor Martin Biermann
	Councillor Biermann had recently attended a Licensing Committee meeting at the Borough where the Chineham DPPO (Designated Public Places Order) was recommended for approval by the full Council. This Order is not intended to disrupt normal activities where people are enjoying a drink and not causing a problem. However, the DPPO may not address the problem of drinking by under 18’s. Portsmouth City Council have a Good Practice Guide on enforcement of the Order whereby the police undertake to be more measured in the way they apply it and keep records of who they have approached. (As an aside, Councillor Fryer made it known that he had objected to the DPPO).At a recent Council Committee meeting the question was raised as to whether 25% of council tax should be applied to properties which have been empty for longer than 6 months. Discussion also took place at this Council meeting regarding rubbish collection and what constitutes a “full bin”. When the new scheme is introduced, only the rubbish in the bin will be collected - there will be no extra bags allowed.
4.3	Borough Councillor Paul Miller
	Councillor Miller reported that he had attended his first Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Committee meeting. A meeting to discuss long-standing anti-social behaviour reports is being arranged between representatives of the Borough together with the Chairman of Taylor’s Farm Residents Association and Coordinator of the Taylor’s Farm Neighbourhood Watch at the Basingstoke headquarters of Kingfisher HA. Councillor Miller will represent Councillor Still at this meeting and will report back to the Parish Council in due course.
4.4	Police
	The Police Report was noted and can be found as Appendix A Councillor Miller advised that there had also been a warning from the police regarding people, thought to be Eastern Europeans, flagging down motorists and claiming that their cars had broken down. In some cases, another person would be lying in a nearby lay-by. This scam should be noted.
4.5	Rapid Response Warden
	I am still finding a lot of cans and plastic bottles at the mini R/B at Reading Rd and Thornhill Way. The rubbish is always on the South East corner and perhaps a bin might stop this from happening. The path that continues on from the one that’s just been resurfaced by Four lanes School that runs into Cufaude Lane at the back of Tangway is very cracked and pitted. Its relatively short pathway but it is on the School run and could be a possible danger. Also along the pathway which runs along the East side on the School playing fields are quite overgrown by bushes and trees that are growing in the School grounds. I have found low levels of Graffiti on things like lamp posts and various rubbish bins and electricity boxes around Chineham. They might only be a tick or a Letter but it’s easy to just take them for granted but when you look there’s quite a bit. Because of this could a Blanche please supply some more Graffiti wipes as I am getting low? Whilst putting this month’s agendas I saw that the notice board in Richards Fields has still not got the Parish Council lettering on the top, as the other ones have. It was confirmed that the Clerk has auctioned these actions
5.	PUBLIC SESSION
	No members of the public were in attendance.
6.	FINANCE
6.1	The Current situation was noted and is attached as Appendix B. Clarification was requested of the Finance Committee for the amount of £16.03 to be paid to BT. The Finance Committee was also requested to clarify the costs for the Parish Council’s IT services to the next Parish Council meeting			Clerk

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a great new year. Once again I am pleased to report that crime and disorder have remained low this month. But there have been a number of key incidents worthy of note.

Firstly, there has been another ‘letterbox break’, this time in Kings Pightle. As usual, the thieves entered by inserting a tool through the letterbox and pushing down the internal handle to the front door. They stole bank cards and an I-Pod before taking the keys to two cars and driving them away. Fortunately both vehicles were recovered in Reading with just minor damage.

Please can I take the opportunity to remind all of you of the continuing risk of these types of burglaries. Make sure you double-lock your UPVC front doors by i) pushing the handle up to set the latches, ii) locking it with the key. Please also remember not leave the keys in the door or in view of the letterbox to ensure they can’t be ‘fished’ through the letterbox to steal your car/s and/or enter your home. Take your keys to bed with you every night. Some will argue that they would rather leave them by the front door in case of fire. But who says you will even be able to get to the front door, or even get out of your bedroom in a fire? It’s best to keep your keys on a bed-side table so they are within arms reach. Also, add a window key to them so you can open and escape if there was indeed a fire.

Secondly, a pair of thieves is using a distraction technique to steal cash and cards from the vehicles at shopping centre car parks. Lone females are targeted as they are loading or about to get into their cars after they have finished shopping. A male driving what’s described only as a dark grey/silver saloon stops behind the victims’ vehicle and beckons her over to his car stating that he is lost as asking for help. The male has a foreign accent and pretends not to speak or understand much English. Whilst the female is distracted, the males’ accomplice approaches her vehicle unseen and enters the vehicle and steals cash/cards from her handbag before making their escape.

The driver is described as either dark-skinned European or Middle Eastern in appearance, overweight, 5’8’’ to 5’9’’, mid 40’s to mid 50’s, shaved dark hair possibly receding, and unshaven.

There have been a number of incidents now, one of which occurred at the Chineham shopping centre, where this method has been used. If you are approached, politely decline to assist, get into your vehicle and lock the doors internally, and then drive off. If the male does not move his vehicle out of the way, call 999 immediately. But even if he does leave, ensure you report it anyway as we need to investigate all the incidents in order to give us the best chance of catching them.

The next residents briefing is to be held on Monday 15^th February 2010 at 20:00 at the village hall. Following up on the discovery of a cannabis factory in Minden Close, I will be giving a presentation on how to identify drugs factories in our communities, during which I will be showing a video taken of the factory in Minden Close. Furthermore, I have invited a magistrate along to talk about their role in the criminal justice system and to answer any questions you may have.

The briefing is run in partnership with Chineham Neighbourhood Watch, and is open to all residents, so please come along.

I hope that you all had a restful and enjoyable festive period. Good news on the ASB front, we have seen reports received falling again during the last few weeks.

It has been nice to see that a large number of local children and teenagers are making good use of the multi-use games area of the new community sports area. Although the weather has been wet and windy, the area is able to prove some shelter from the elements and allow a lit area so that they can continue to play sports after dark.

A number of local trouble makers remain on their Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and these appear to be having a positive impact on their involvement in ASB. I have be monitoring and working closely with BDBC and a further referral has been made for one male who has continually come to our attention over the past several months, Hopefully this contract will be in place very soon.

For those residents living along Reading Road that have experienced rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour late in the evenings with groups gathering in the bus stop. I am please to inform you that the seating has been removed and we have not received any further complaints. However we have seen the bus stop further along Reading Road has been used as a meeting point on a number of occasions. I will be monitoring this and ask any resident who witnesses any rowdy behaviour to report it to us.

I have continued to speak to stop and speak with groups who are loitering around the Chineham Shopping Centre in the evenings and although they may not be committing crime, it is important that they are aware of their actions and noise levels. Customers and staff at the centre have reported on numerous occasions that they feel intimidated, concerned and fearful of these groups. This is mostly due to the shouting and swearing and jumping and climbing over the raised flower beds. I would like to reassure everyone that should I witness this type of behaviour I will be speaking to the group or individual about their actions, They will be issued with a Street Encounter form (often referred to as a “yellow slip”) and a letter will be sent home to parents of anyone under the age of 18 yrs. This type of behaviour can and will be used as evidence when I submit a referral for an ABC or other intervention.

I am working with the schools in the village with a plan of attending the Parent Teacher evenings to be on hand to discuss any issues that parents may have about crime or anti social behaviour. I believe that it is important to allow the community every opportunity to come and meet with the Local Policing Team to inform us of their concerns. I will arrange a letter to be sent home confirming this closer to the evenings.