Annual Parish Meeting of the Electorate - Meeting Minutes
Monday 7th April 2025
Introduction
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING OF STOKE POGES PARISH COUNCIL HELD AT 7.00PM ON MONDAY 7 APRIL 2025 IN THE MAIN HALL AT THE VILLAGE CENTRE, ROGERS LANE, STOKE POGES, BUCKS, SL2 4LP.
Present: Cllr Carter (Chair), Cllr Bassi, Cllr Cox, Cllr Crocker, Cllr Finan, Cllr Moore and Cllr Webster
In Attendance: Mrs J Simmonds (Clerk)
Also Present: 4 members of public
Absent: Cllr Flower
Agenda Items
1. Apologies and Acceptance for absence
APOLOGIES were received and accepted for Cllr Bagge, Cllr Knox-Scott and Cllr Pritchard.
2. RESOLVED to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2024 which were signed by the Chairman.
3. Chairman’s Annual Report.
Cllr Carter welcomed everyone to the meeting. Cllr Carter thanked all of the Councillors for their work this past year and to the co-opted members on the planning committee. Special thanks were given to our two Unitary Councillors Cllr Bagge and Cllr Egleton as County Councillors for their work.
A report was read out by Cllr Carter as below:
What we have Saved:
Precept:
23/24 Precept was reduced by 5%- £202,336.54.
24/25 Precept was reduced by 10% - £182,102.89.
25/26 Precept was kept the same as the 24/25: amount - £182102.89.
Total reduction since 2021 is £30,882.94.
Spends: £37,380:Plough Lane had a walking path installed with the aid of a grant of £15,000 from the Beeches Community Board, so the actual cost to the parish was £22,380. Cllr. Carter thanked the Community Board for their support and said that there was positive feedback from users.
£1857: Bug hotels: (Central Infrastructure Levy) CIL money. Cllr. Carter explained.
What CIL money is.
£2350: Pond drainage works were completed; over the winter we saw that this seems
to be working well.
£7150: Footpath and Fence repairs in Bells Hill Recreation Ground. The path was estimated to be at least 40 years old.
£19434.00: Play Equipment for Bells Hill and Plough Lane Recs. not yet fitted
due to winter weather.
Pavilion:
£19181: Solar Panels on Pavilion from Covid 19 Funds
£400: extra chairs for Pavilion from Covid-19 Funds
£20,000: Pavilion refresh including landscaping the rear of the building to make the storage more accessible.
Bus Shelter:
£13500: CIL money.
Other News:
Planning has been challenging with complex applications. We expect to see more of
these applications.
Neighbourhood Plan:
Work continued on finalizing the Neighbourhood Plan which passed external
examination. We are now waiting for Buckinghamshire Council to comment. With
the introduction of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) it was even
more important to have a Neighborhood Plan. The next step is referendum if all goes
well, this could happen in June.
Conservation Area:
£11000: It was agreed to extend the Stoke Green Conservation Area. This may help
to protect the land associated with Duffield House. Buckinghamshire
Council (BC) have agreed to the review, but the Parish Council will need to pay for
the work to be done, which will be in 2026.
SPN/ Communication
Stoke Poges News (SPN) continues to thrive under the 2nd year of editorship. Cllr.
Carter thanked the editor. Looking at communication and how the PC can better
communicate with villagers, they have produced a specific questionnaire to see what
thoughts there might be in starting an electronic noticeboard. The consultation ends on 30th April.
Improvements are currently being made to the website to make navigation easier.
Cllr. Carter thanked the webmaster.
Community Cohesion
There have been two markets held at the Village Centre (VC) in partnership with the
the Trustees. All proceeds from the stall pitches and refreshments will go to the Village Centre Charity. A third market will be held in September.
Carols on the Green was another success despite the weather, we had to cancel the
Procession for the first time in 15 years. Despite the weather, villagers attended so
it was a success.
Upcoming: 8 May 80th anniversary VE Day: lighting of beacon.
15 August 80th anniversary VJ Day: lighting of beacon.
11 Nov: Remembrance Day
Conclusion:
The PC is in good shape financially, we have managed our precept well and are very conscientious when spending money and will always look to do some of the work ourselves in an endeavor to spend efficiently and save money where possible.
Cllr. Carter thanked the councillors, for their work over the past year, and pointed out that we are volunteers that give our time freely.
4. General Discussion and Question Time.
One member of the public thanked both villagers, helpers and the Parish Council for the work carried out over the past year. It was mentioned that Councillors cannot do right for wrong sometimes and put up with lots of negative behavior but felt that the village are lucky to have such a committed group of volunteers.
The same member of the public has asked if CIL money can be used to improve access in Brockhurst Woods as it is a route from Stoke Poges to Farnham Common. Many interesting features along the route. Also, the final 300 meters of Rowley Lane needs a footpath to Black Park and is currently dangerous. The suggestion was that we could collaborate with Wexham Parish Council and Farnhams Parish Council. Cllr. Carter suggested that this may be something that could be investigated. A Unitary Councillor mentioned the officer at BC that might be able to help or advise.
Cllr Carter thanked this member of public for their help with the Neighbourhood Plan and walking every footpath in the village for mapping out.
A Parish Councillor asked how we might be able to communicate with Unitary Councillors after the May 1st elections. Cllr. Carter suggested that it probably be dependent on who those Councillors are we will need to agree a way of working together.
Another member of the public (Unitary Councillor) mentioned that planning objections will no longer be published on the Planning Portal.
Meeting ended at 7.34pm