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South Marston Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting held on 17th
December 2013
Present: Mr S Young (Chair) Mr C McEwen
Mrs S Brown Ms S Blair
Mr B Thunder Mr K Millard
Mr A Leathart Mrs A Burchell (Clerk)
SMRA guests arrived at 20.30hrs:
Mrs A Newton (SMRA Chair) Mrs J McEwen
Mrs M Case Mr R Harley
190/13 APOLOGIES
John Haines
191/13 OPEN 10 MINUTES
Members of the public present: Mr Adye Goodenough, Mrs Anne Featherstone
AG stated he was aware of a meeting that has been scheduled to take place on the 7th
January 2014 between the
Developers, SBC & Oxfordshire County Council regarding traffic movements and trip generation numbers on the A420.
It would be beneficial for SMPC to be represented at that meeting, if possible.
Action SB: Contact Sam Howell to request a presence at the meeting.
192/13 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
- Members are requested at the start of the meeting to declare any known interests in any matter to
be considered, and are reminded that any such interest should be declared at the start of the item
or during any discussion of the matter concerned
BT declared an interest in the Allotments
SB declared an interest in one aspect of the response to SBC regarding the new development: specifically the
existence of the new road and the proximity of SB’s property. However, it was agreed that, because the route of the
road affects everybody in terms of traffic flow, it is a common interest.
193/13 TO APPROVE AND SIGN THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, 19th
NOVEMBER 2013 AND FORMALLY CLOSE ACTION POINTS
Approved and action points updated and closed.
194/13 CLERK’S REPORT – DECEMBER 2013
Change of Account from RBS to Unity Trust Bank – Update
A copy of the re-signed account closure mandate was sent to Unity Trust for them to forward on to RBS. I spoke to
RBS on Friday, 13th
December. The account closure has not been actioned as they claim SB’s signature does not match
the signature they hold on file. They may need a further mandate to be signed, but will confirm this on Monday, 16th
December.
They have also offered a figure of £150 by way of compensation for the failure to administer the SMPC accounts

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correctly (confirmation letter from RBS to follow). This would be in full and final settlement of any claim against them.
Does the Parish Council wish to accept this? If the Council do not wish to accept it, further representation will need to
be made to the Banking Ombudsman regarding our complaints.
Action Clerk: To write to RBS upon formal receipt of their offer and put in a counter-request for the sum of £250. It
was felt that £150 did not adequately cover the inconvenience caused over the 7-month complaint period.
Budget 2014/2015
The budgeting process for 2014/15 has been underway since November. A copy of the draft budget is included with
the Finance Statement. Please note the following:
1. Allotments:
Currently, the Allotment financial year runs from January to December. It would be far more practical to
bring this into line with the Parish Council financial year, which runs from April to March and would allow us
to record the allotment income and expenditure within the same accounting period. Allotment contracts
would need to be renewed in April, rather than in January. For next year (January 2014), in order to manage
the transition, it is proposed we write to all allotments tenants explaining the change and granting them a
three-month ‘payment holiday’ until the end of March 2014. New contracts would then be issued in April
2014.
Proposed: CM
Seconded: SB
Agreed: All
It has also been agreed to include a £200 nominal administration charge for the Clerk’s time within the
Allotments budget.
Proposed: CM
Seconded: BT
Agreed All
2. Quarterly Reporting
SB and AB are working on a number of options for quarterly reports for the new financial year. It is hoped to
present these for discussion at the February Parish Council meeting.
3. Vanguard Money
It is anticipated we will close the books for PC village expansion expenditure to date at the end of January
2014, and reclaim this from SBC in February 2014. The pot held by SBC stood at £1418.13 at the end of July.
Since many of the costs relevant to this money have already been paid from this year’s revenue fund, this
income has carried forward into assumed income for the 2014/15 budget, to underwrite ongoing expansion
activity.
Proposed: CM
Seconded: BT
Agreed: All
195/13 Correspondence received to 16th
December 2013
Summary (not in date order)
No. From: Reference
1 Borough of Swindon Pride of Swindon Awards

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2 Department for Communities and
Local Government
Notes on Neighbourhood Planning
3. Swindon Borough Council*** Formal Consultation of Primary, Infant to Junior Admission
Arrangements and Secondary Co-ordinated Admissions
Scheme and Education Transport Policy for 2015-16:
a) Introductory email
b) Consultation Poster
c) Consultation Response Form
***The Consultation Documents are very large, so I have not been printed them and included with this pack. If
anyone would like a hard copy, please let me know and I will print them as required. Otherwise, they are available to
view online at the address given on the poster and introductory email.
Item 1:
Action Clerk: Advertise Pride of Swindon Award posters around village and on the website.
Action All: To consider any nominations the Parish Council may wish to put forward for an award.
Action Clerk: Agenda item – January 2014 meeting
Item 2:
SB noted that Tom Walker had moved on.
CM stated that the overall turnouts were interesting in that it appeared that less than 15% of the population had
voted for their neighbourhood plan.
Item 3:
CM stated that the consultation did not concern this area as it was for central Swindon only.
196/13 FINANCE Statement and Cheques for Approval and Signature – 17th
December 2013
Bank Account Statements Received
RBS High interest Account at 31st
October 2013 10601.73
RBS Business Account at 30
th
October 2013 1037.12
Julian Hodge Bank at 9
th
December 2013 48994.62
Unity Trust Bank at 8th
December 2013 6643.12
Total: 67276.59
Expenditure: Cheques for Approval and Signature
Cheque
Number
Payment VAT Amount
300021 Mecure Hotel – Refreshments Renewable Energy Project 4.42 26.50
300022 St Margaret’s PCC – Tower & Tap Copying 45.00
300023 St Margaret’s PCC – Tower & Tap Copying from January 2013
(Invoice had not been sent to SMPC – see letter from W. Hiscocks)
123.75
300024 Colporteur: 6 x T&T Front & Back Covers (Colour)
Solar Farm Leaflets
Developer’s Exhibition Leaflets
(to be reclaimed from David Lock Associates – see Inv 118)
112.50
45.00
45.00
202.50
300025 Stratton Garden Contractors – November 2013 319.72
300026 Colporteur: PC Leaflets for Developer’s Meeting

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(to be reclaimed from Vanguard Money) 20.00
300027 Tony Leathart Expenses – Archive Storage Boxes 27.00
300028 Clerk’s Salary – November 2013
Agreed overtime: Renewable Energy Project (8 hours)
487.25
74.76
562.01
300029 Clerk’s Expenses – November 2013 78.12
300030 Stratton St Margaret PC – Dog Waste Services 16.00 96.00
300031 IQ Playgrounds – Car Park Markings
(half reclaimable from school – see Inv 119)
110.80 664.80
TOTAL 131.22 2165.40
Income: Invoices Raised to 16
th
December 2013
Invoice To Amount
115 Carriers Arms (T&T Advertising) 55.00
116 Conway & Laker (T&T Advertising) 140.00
117 SMRA (Cross-charge for Play Equipment Inspection paid by PC October 2013) 20.00
118 David Lock Associates (Leaflet printing, distribution and T&T Advert) 66.50
119 South Marston CofE Primary School (50% of car park markings cost) 277.00
TOTAL £558.50
South Marston Parish Council Precept and draft budget 2014/15
Formal notification has to be given by 31 Jan 2014 to Swindon Borough of the Parish Council precept requirement for
2014/15, to be levied through Council Tax.
The Finance Working Party met in November to review spending to date, estimated spend to end of 2013/14 and new
requirements for 2014/15. Decisions were also made at the November PC meeting which increased the hours of the
parish clerk to 15 hours per week plus 4 hours per week for Tower and Tap production to better reflect the scale of
the work. These have been incorporated into the overall projected costs for 2014/15. The annual cost of the
proposed switch to parish council email addresses has been included. Additional allowances have been made for
further leafleting as a result of the housing expansion and for training for the parish clerk and any new councillors.
Some items will attract non-precept income, and the amounts assumed are shown on page 4. Note that we still have
a balance of Vanguard monies with SBC which have been assumed to come in during 2014/15. The draft budget
shown overleaf also rationalises some budget headings, so direct comparison with the ongoing parish Council budget
monitoring for the current year is not possible.
Highlighted items are where one-off expenditure is anticipated, and it is suggested this comes from accumulated
funds, rather than the revenue budget. The exception is the cost of elections, where we should be budgeting an
annual amount to cope with a significant cost every 4 years.
The decision on the level of precept required for 2014/15 will be informed by the estimates of non-precept income to
be received during 2014/15, as outlined on page 4. In general, this Council has always adopted a view that the
precept amount per household should not vary significantly year by year, with small increases levied when necessary
to meet reasonable budget requirements. The precept level has not increased significantly in recent years, unlike
those of many other parish councils.
There are a number of items where information is still outstanding and estimates have been used. The tenders
received for open space maintenance should be available by the January meeting and decisions are awaited from the
review of the parish council mobile phone. We have now received information from Swindon Borough on the number
of ‘Band D equivalent’ households on which the parish precept calculations is based (336.5 compared with 335.5 for
the current year). This does not take account of any future SBC decision on passporting a proportion of the

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government’s council tax grant to parishes and we are unlikely to hear the result of this before the end of January, so
an estimate of the additional income from this has been estimated at this stage.
The parish council is requested to review the proposed budget in the light of the precept impact shown on page 4 and
agree a draft proposal on the budget and precept level required, to be confirmed at the January PC meeting.
Sylvia Brown, Vice Chair
South Marston Parish Council
A general discussion took place regarding implementing an uplift to the South Marston parish precept which is
collected from residents. There has been no increase for the past 3 years; however it was felt that the Parish Council
would now need to initiate a small increase.
CM proposed a 5% increase for the next financial year.
Proposed: CM
Seconded: SB
Agreed: All
197/13 South Marston Parish Council Planning Sub Committee
Plans received to 12th
December 2013
1. Outline Planning Application Number: S.OUT.13.1555
Proposal: 2380 new homes, mixed use centres, education and community facilities including sports pitches,
green infrastructure and transport and drainage infrastructure
Location: Eastern Villages – Land North of A420 South Marston and Rowborough
Comments by: 31
st
December 2013 (extended from 6th December by SBC)
Action SB: To formulate the formal PC response, with input from all Councillors, and forward to Sam Howell
2. Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report: S/EIA/13/1770 (sent to all by email)
Proposal & Location: Proposed development at Lotmead Farm, Wanborough Road, Swindon
Comments by: 27th
December 2013
No comments
3. Additional application from the Bodleian Storage Facility: S/13/1627
Proposal & Location: Installation of 50kWP Sunpower ground mounted photovoltaic panels located on the
land to the south of the building
Comments: No adverse comments. However, as the Bodleian are in breach of the landscaping requirement
from their initial build application of 5 years ago, it is requested that no new application should be granted
until previous conditions have been complied with.
Grant of Planning Permission
1. Planning Application Number: S/13/1571/HC
Proposal: Installation of cable route from Sevor Solar Farm to Honda UK Manufacturing
Location: Public highway from Sevor Farm – Nightingale Lane – Old Vicarage Lane – Highworth Road – Honda
UK Manufacturing
SMPC Comment: No adverse comments
2. Planning Application Number: S/13/1602/TB
Proposal: Erection of a first floor side extension and conservatory to rear.
Location: 11 Manor Park, South Marston, Swindon SN3 4RR
SMPC Comment: No adverse comments

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198/13 Item 9: 20mph Speed Limit Initiative – Update from Colin McEwen
CM stated that the Developers had agreed for the Parish Council to have a separate stand at their exhibition and
consultation event on the 16th
December, to show the latest ideas for a village 20mph speed zone. CM and TL manned
the stand and invited attendees to give any comments. Overall, there were 42 people in favour and 1 against. CM had
a conversation with Nick Duckworth, who stated that he would be willing to reimburse the cost of the scheme if it was
put in place before the development trigger point had been reached. CM has spoken to Sam Howell at Swindon
Borough Council, who has agreed to look into this. Brookbanks is going to provide a costing for the scheme that was
on display at the exhibition on the 16th.
SB asked if it was possible for the Parish Council to pay up front for the scheme to be put in place, if there was a
guarantee it would be reimbursed by ND.
CM stated that there was also the possibility of other funding – he would report back when these had been looked
into.
199/13 Item 10: Village Expansion
• Working Group Report
• Developer’s Exhibition
• Developer’s Planning Application – PC Response
SB confirmed that the Working Party had met with the Developers and had had two very good meetings. The last date
for responses to Swindon Borough Council is the 30
st
December 2013; however this is likely to be extended as the
Developers are expecting revisions to be made to their plans. It may be this would warrant a new application being
submitted and therefore additional consultation time would be granted for any new application. Sam Howell sent
official confirmation that public responses will still be counted if received by the 30th
December.
The notes of meetings with the Developers have been circulated to Parish Councillors, which details the Working
Group’s objections to specific areas of the application.
CM stated he was disappointed that not many volunteers had come forward to distribute the leaflets throughout the
village.
TL stated that he did not volunteer as he did not agree with the leaflet being produced. His view was noted.
SB stated she did not see any harm in producing the leaflet. It was a summary of the main points which came from
the meeting with the Developers. It would have been extremely difficult for individual residents to trawl through the
considerable amount of documentation that had been produced for the application – it was felt reasonable by the
Working Party, which is made up of Councillors and residents, to produce a concise statement of areas the Working
Party felt were of concern.
SB also stated that between now and June, further meetings will need to be held with the Developers regarding the
village centre design, but until the issue of the location of the link road is resolved, we should be recommending
refusal of the application.
SY felt that is was of concern that the Developer’s did not appear to be recording the number of people who attended
the exhibition, nor did they appear to be recording the comments made.
200/13 Item 11: Reports from Working Parties and Representatives from Outside Bodies
BT stated that RCD had cleared away 90% of their materials and equipment today. Some roads will not be renewed
until January. BT confirmed that RCD had done some good work at the allotment site, and that the school footpath
should be tarmacked by the end of this week.

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SY asked if AEE were still in existence as this was unclear from the notes. CM and BT confirmed that Eneco UK has
bought out the subsidiary of AEE that owned the project, so it is now wholly owned by Eneco UK. AEE will give up all
responsibility for the Sevor Farm site in February 2014.
Action Clerk: To add to February meeting agenda – chase up Hazel Developments for work at original solar farm site.
TL stated that he had attended a Neighbourhood Tasking Group with Wiltshire Police. At the meeting, one inspector
had wanted to give up on the question of HGVs going through the village, but agreed to continue chasing companies
on the South Marston Industrial Estate regarding this.
TL also stated that it is only the administrative support that is moving from Gablecross. Uniformed police numbers and
core functions will not change.
SB stated she had attended the Swindon Area Committee meeting. With regard to rural broadband, there were a
number of high-level BT executives present who are now beginning to put pressure on Swindon Borough Council to
act.
SB also stated that the Examination in Public of the SBC Local Plan may be put back a couple of months. It may be that
SBC may decide to determine the Developer’s application by saying it is premature, rather than run the risk of running
out of time. It would be more beneficial for the Developer’s to put further applications forward, which are then open
for discussion.
201/13 Item 12: Matters brought forward by or with consent of the Chairman
Spitfires Football Club – Container
The SMRA has written to the Parish Council to request permission for the Spitfires Football Club to place a container
on the recreation field, similar to the one already there, for storage of their equipment.
AN requested it be minuted that, if and when they have finished with unit, the container will remain in place and may
be offered to the SMRA to purchase.
A general discussion took place as to whether the container would need formal planning permission or not and
whether the Parish Council should deal directly with the Spitfires Football Club or through the SMRA as the managers
of the field. JM confirmed that the Parish Council gave itself planning permission for the existing container to be sited
on the recreation field. On that basis, KM stated that if the container were to be donated to the SMRA, the PC could
give planning permission for this.
CM stated that there was no problem in principle with having another container on the field, and no problem in
principle with Spitfires Football Club owning it. It was felt that there may be a potential issue with regard to moving
the container if this needed to happen in the future due to the village expansion and extension of the South Marston
primary school. CM requested that an agreement be put in place as to how this would be managed.
AN stated that the SMRA may look at taking on a new container themselves as there was a need for more storage.
MC confirmed that the existing goalposts and nets (at the Mercure end of the field) were owned by the SMRA, and are
currently kept in the toilets at the moment due to lack of storage.
CM stated that it may be possible for the SMRA to apply for a grant to help with the purchase of a new storage
container. KM agreed that there may be some funding available by way of a Localities Grant.
JM agreed to check with Spitfires Football Club first as they may be in the process of applying for a grant themselves.
Action JM: To contact the Spitfires Football Club to clarity if they have applied for any grant funding for a new
container.
Action Clerk: To enquire with SBC whether formal planning permission is required or not.
Village Planters

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SY stated that the Parish Council has asked the Clerk to write to AN confirming that the Parish Council are happy with
the proposed locations and design of the planters, but would request that any advertising is discreet and from village-
connected companies only.
202/13 Item 13: SMRA Trustee Committee – Memorandum of Understanding
Members of the South Marston Recreation Association joined the meeting at 20.30hrs.
SY formally welcomed the representatives of the SMRA to the meeting and introductions were made around the table.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding was proposed by SBlair in its current form.
Proposed: SBlair
Seconded: KM
Agreed: All
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by all parties.
The proposal put forward by the SMRA for the annual grants to be formally enacted was proposed by KM.
Proposed: KM
Seconded: TL
Agreed: All
The proposal was agreed and will be attached to the Memorandum of Understanding as Schedule A
Meeting closed at 21.20hrs