MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING OF SHIPLAKE
PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE MEMORIAL HALL,
MEMORIAL AVENUE, SHIPLAKE ON
TUESDAY 20th APRIL 2010 at 7.30 P.M.
1. PRESENT
Mr C R Dean (Chairman), Mrs.A.Law , Dr P Skolar, Mr M Leonard, Mr Ryder, Mr G Thomas and Mrs J Arnott, Mr T Taylor & Mr R.B.Head. An apology for absence was received from, Lord F Phillimore
In addition there were 8 members of the public present.
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming the members of the public and the Guest Speaker, Mr G Davies.
2. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 23rd APRIL 2009
The Clerk said that the Minutes had been approved by the Parish Council at their meeting on 11th May 2009 and asked that they be taken as read and be approved. This was accepted by the meeting and unanimously approved on a motion from Mr Parr and seconded by Mr M Leonard.
3. MATTERS ARISING.
None were raised.
4. POLICE MATTERS.
WPC Barbara Taylor and PCSO Kathy Brooks attended and answered questions on Crime and traffic parking
Crime statistics for the area (inc Sonning Common) show that overall crime is down on 2009 549 incidents cf 521 up to Feb 2010.Violent Crime is up 1 4 to 5 There has been a decrease in vehicle crime 19.7 down to 14 However Burglaries have shown a sharp rise 2 up to 20 .WPC Taylor urged all residents to be particularly wary and conscientious in securing property. Criminals want easy access and easy get away .Distraction Burglaries continue to be carried out again caution was advised when answering doors to strangers.
WPC Taylor asked about speeding issues were there any local problems. Memorial Avenue was cited as a problem. Dr Skolar explained about the issues along the A4155.
On the question of School Buses and parents parking at the top of Station Road and at Mill Road WPC Taylor asked whether there were alternate sites in the village to alleviate this problem .Mr Dean explained that although there are no immediate sites that come to mind Council would consider the suggestion. The question of yellow/double yellow lines was raised and Dr Skolar agreed to set up a meeting with Mr Ronald to re-review this issue together with the police
5. GUEST SPEAKER: Mr Gregg Davies ,Headmaster ,Shiplake College spoke on the history of the college and the involvement of the college within the local community
· Shiplake College had its 50th Birthday last year 2009so is described as a young college
· Bought and Founded by Alexander Everett who could not find a school in the locality for his grandson.
· The main building Shiplake Court was purchased from Knight Frank & Rutley for £17.5k in 1958,sale included Boat House,3 cottages an island and land.
· 30 pupils attended on May1st 1959 Headmaster was Mr Everett. The school aimed to help children with special needs (dyslexia) as there were no other schools addressing these needs in the area.This is now much less of a focus.
· One of the original pupils, Alexander Baron, attended the 50th Birthday celebrations describing the school experience as a Boy’s Own Adventure.
· Mr Everett left to travel to America and his place was taken by Mr D Skipwith who faired little better He was followed by Mr Jack Eggar who between 1963-19 established the school on a
Professional basis pupil numbers rose from 15- 320 during his time. He was followed by Mr Peter Lapping from Loreto School in Edinburgh and he was responsible for additional buildings thus reducing 12 boys per dormitory to 4.
· The same architectural company which was responsible for the original building and early extensions were also used for the very recent additions.
· Mr Nick Bevan, Mr Davies’ predecessor, was responsible for the introduction of Girls into the Sixth Form and the original 29 has now risen to 36.
· Mr Bevan was elected to the Headmaster Conference and this honour has also been bestowed on Mr Davies
· Shiplake College is a registered Charity owned by the Charity Commission: education is a charitable purpose
· Turnover is £7million and therefore is a significant business as well as a school .64% of income goes on salaries, so employing the right staff is crucial to the success of the school.
Shiplake College being a small school enjoys benefits e.g. the Headmaster knows every single boy but with only 350 pupils it cannot produce as big a surplus as day schools of 600-800. The School is very selective and all pupils after year 11 (5th Form )have to apply to go on to 6th Form .The class sizes are much smaller than a State school Mr Davies’ Brother in Law works in a 2000 pupil state school with average class size of 34 pupils. The School encourages boys to enjoy all life’s experiences and to enjoy play as well as academia Mr Davies believes Single sex education enhances this learning process as there is less pressures on relationship building with girls as per co-ed schools.Mr Davies is working hard on changing image of the School . One pupil has been accepted to Harvard and the percentage extra time for exams is on a par with schools such as Radley College. Another Pupil, with Cerebral Palsy hope to be accepted for Oxford
All staff, teachers, office and maintenance and pupils dine together and there is a huge sense of community.
Mr Davies encourages involvement of the pupils in the local community by such initiatives as Community Service, Litter Picks, Gardening, Respite and Residential Care. There are strong links between the Primary School and the College and there are strong elements of Pastoral Care. The recent inspection by ISI found that the school is excellent or very good in all educational aspects.
Mr Davies then took questions from the floor:
Mr Dean asked if there were any restriction on the Curriculum .Mr Davies replied that there are restrictions e.g. Law and Psychology is not offered
A question was asked about Foreign Students and whether there had been a change in policy.
Mr Davies explained that the policy has not changed there are less students as education in developing countries has improved hence there is less need, Foreign Nationals are accepted at the School, there are currently six, the focus in teaching is Church of England and any pupils wishing to be excused on religious grounds must justify their reasons in person to Mr Davies.
Mr Taylor asked what the Community can do for Shiplake College.
Mr Davies responded by saying ongoing dialogue he is keen to ensure students have every opportunity for all sorts of experiential learning , e.g. at half term students created glass coasters as part of a fundraising project for year 7.There has been cooperation with Queen Anne’s School in producing a concert with two choirs. The local churches are invited to Sunday services at the College and this is mutually beneficial .
6. ANNUAL REPORT OF SHIPLAKE, HARPSDEN, DUNSDEN AND PEPPARD SICK POOR FUND.
The secretary /treasurer Mr Paul Robinson had submitted a very brief report which the Clerk read out.
The fund has spent £660.46 on 14 hampers at Christmas 2008.Fund balance at 31st July 2009 stands at £4041.42
7. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT.
Mr. C R Dean gave his report. Copy attached. Appendix
8. OPEN FORUM SESSION.
Mr D Parr thanked all Councillors for their efforts on behalf of residents and said it was ,yet again, disappointing to see such a low public turnout.Mr Parr stated that he was disappointed to see the Planning Process is being streamlined .Mr M Leonard(DC) explained the revised process and stated that it is on trial for one year.Mr Parr asked that if there any large scale developments within the village that the developers should be requested to supply facilities for children within their development proposal .
9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
There being no further questions or business the Chairman thanked the members of the Public for attending and closed the meeting at 9.14pm.
R.V.Hudson
Clerk to the Council.
27th April 2010
APPENDIX
Shiplake is a special area and trying to protect it while ensuring it remains economically active and socially vibrant is a key planning challenge for us. At a strategic level there are two large potential developments that have concerned us. Firstly Reading desire to develop its transport infrastructure which looked like it could have very significant impact in the Playhatch area and would have had a knock on effect to the infrastructure in our area. These plans will not be going ahead as the funding for such planning and development is withdrawn. The second major threat to the area is for the area of gravel extraction to be expanded from the Sonning area up more or less as far as Shiplake College. This would not only have a large environmental impact but there could be considerable heavy traffic movements associated with it. This remains one of the options in the County Council strategic plan and we will continue to raise the problems and issues if they pursue this option. There has been scares that there might be significant development around the village with two sites off the 4155 firstly the old Wyevale and green Farm site and secondly on the land beyond Townlands. We need to remain vigilant on these kinds of developments and have liaised with the District Council to ensure that any development proposals are properly thought through. I think it unlikely that any development on the site beyond Townlands will take place due to the poor access. On the Wyevale site there certainly could be approval for another retail style use but residential development is unlikely as it is outside the village envelope.
Commenting on planning applications remains one of the highest volume activities and most contentious topics for us. I am greatly appreciative of all the time and effort Joy Arnott and the planning working party do in reviewing all the applications to have an informed and well-researched opinion on these controversial matters. We of course are not executive to planning matters at the end of the day it is the District Council that makes the decisions. Over recent years there has been a trend to streamline the planning processes and try and get quicker decisions. We support this but it cannot be at the expenses of the quality of the decision. Some of the recent streamlining has been introduced on a trial basis and we have made it clear to District that we will have no hesitation in pointing out and objecting if bad decisions are made justified by expediency.
During the year we had one small success on Highways managing to keep the 30 mph speed limit all the way through the village rather than having a 40mph section. We have continued to try and improve highways ensuring that drains and gullies are cleared and potholes repaired. We have appreciated the support of the County Council in doing this.
For Highways and Planning matters particularly but for many other things we rely on good links with the County and District Councils to get things done. We are very fortunate to have County and District Councillors who work so well and hard with us to get things done, were appropriate steering us through their organizations, or on other occasions helping us cut through their bureaucracy. I am deeply grateful for all the help, support and advise from Peter Skolar our County Councillor and Malcolm Leonard our District Councillor.
Ensuring that we have some good communication mechanisms in the area are vital to ensuring we build a sense of community. With the Newsletter and the website we have tried to do this. We are indebted to Ann law, Pam Hudgell and Bob Partridge for their work on these. Taking on the editorial responsibility for the newsletter involves a great deal of work but it has certainly brought us some interesting insights into activities past and present in the area.
The importance of good governance has obviously received a lot of publicity nationally. For us this really has two aspects making sure that .we spend your tax money wisely and account for it properly. The fact that we have been able to reduce the precept demonstrates our prudence and the clean internal and external audits show our accounting has been good. The second arm is to ensure that where a Councillor faces any potential conflict of interest this is accurately recorded, made public and then managed in accordance with the procedures laid down. This has received considerable focus over the last year and I am confident we can say we manage these situations with uncompromising integrity. I am indebted to Francis Phillimore for his work through the Finance working party to ensure an ethos of good governance is a pervasive value in the Council.
As I said we have reduced the precept this year. One area we have spent money is giving grants to charities where they are acting for the benefit of people in the parish and typically are charities that don’t get funds nationally. We remain committed to doing this and if you are aware of charities that should be supported they should submit their request to us together with a set of accounts .They can submit their request anytime but we will decide which charities to support in the October/November timeline.
I would like to thank my fellow Councillors for their support and hard work. Shiplake is fortunate to have a group of Councillors who bring a wide range of interests and skills and we have recently had an intake of new Councillors who are bringing great energy and enthusiasm.
On a personal note I would like to thank Eddy Ryder who I can always rely on for sound well-considered advice.
Lastly but by no means least I would like to thank our clerk Roger Hudson. Roger is the man who really makes things happen we decide on things but Roger ensures that it is converted to action. We rely on him for the smooth running of the council. On behalf of all the Councillors I would like to thank him for his commitment and support.
We meet the second Monday of each month in this hall at 7.45 and you are all welcome to come and give us your inputs.
Thank you.