d. Letter from Mr Gordon Arnott requesting that the Parish Council consider providing a bus shelter on the south side of Broad Street. It was felt that the expense and difficulty of finding a structure which would be appropriate in the Conservation Area were not justified.

e. Wrington Bowling Club – invitation to enter a team in their Open Day on 20th September. It was agreed to enter a team.

f. Letter from the Tennis Club requesting that the Parish Council consider submitting the planning application for the new Tennis Club lights. It was agreed that the Tennis Club should submit the application, enabling the Parish Council to retain the right to comment on the application at a later date.

g. Information from NSC on a consultation process in relation to its lettings policy. It was agreed that information should be obtained by the Clerk and circulated to members. Discussion to take place at the next meeting, so that comments can be submitted by the deadline of 30th June.

h. The following forthcoming events were noted:

- Sustainable Communities Conference – 26th June
- Affordable Housing Open Day (NSC) – 21st May
- Patient-Practice Partnership meeting – 22nd May

6. Reports

a. Police Report: the report provided by PC Tacchi was received. Several incidents of possession of cannabis were noted.

b. Clerk’s Report and Financial Report - received. Payments of the following items were approved:

2007/08 Financial year:

     Prism Office Supplies £28.08

1st Call Fire Protection £137.83

G Wilson – travel & postage £67.36

Memorial Hall – balance of grant £3,881.98

EDF – street lighting 4th quarter £888.99

Dickensian Fayre - Christmas tree £40.00

S Arrowsmith - village orderly £108.00

E Wrest – village orderly half year £425.00

Connaught Environmental £61.10

2008/09 Financial year:

     Local Councils ‘Update’ sub £65.00

Aqueous publishing – newsletter £268.00

Connaught Environmental £61.10

Southern Electric - street lights £638.49

ALCA membership £572.79

Redhill Church – grant £100.00

All Saints church – grant £1,000.00

Cyber room – photocopies etc. £42.86

Clerk’s salary (April) – to be calculated

c. Working Groups

i. Airport – Cllr Matthews reported that a meeting had taken place with airport personnel on 14th April. It was noted that there will be changes to the access areas at the airport terminal. There was some debate about what exactly this would involve in terms of access for vehicles – Cllr Matthews is requesting clarification on this. The next meeting will be in three or four months’ time.

ii. Environment – in the absence Cllr Bigg, it was agreed that the Chairwoman would request an update on progress towards printing the Parish Plan.

iii. Finance – Cllr Gallop said that a meeting is to take place during May to discuss projects for the current financial year.

iv. Highways – Cllr Matthews reported that a meeting of the link road volunteer group is to take place on 17th April. All members of the Parish Council are welcome to attend, especially if they have a particular area of interest. The aim is to determine by the end of May whether there is a strong case against the road.

v. Standing Orders – Cllr Thorn said that a meeting is to be held on 30th April to finalise the Standing Orders so that the document can be presented at the next Parish Council meeting for adoption.

d. District Councillor’s report

Cllr Yamanaka was not present at the meeting, but her report had been circulated previously, and this was received.

7. Shared Space

Cllr Matthews reiterated the basic principles of Shared Space, and said he thought the main question was whether the Parish Council felt that the issue is one which is worth pursuing – are there enough positive aspects to justify spending the time and effort that would be required. Cllr Berkley felt that the overall concept should be considered fairly benign in principle. Cllr Ledbury felt that the Parish Council needed to look at the ‘how’ issues before adopting the concept. Cllr Glynn said he felt that the presentations on Shared Space had not presented the whole picture.

The following proposals were then put to a vote:

i. That the Parish Council supports the principle of the Shared Space concept.

ii. That the first stage to be progressed in detail should be the implementation of four village gateways and a 20 mph central zone.

iii. That detailed consultation should take place on possible Shared Space solutions within the central zone.

Proposed amendment to (iii): ‘…… and that an in-depth study is made of the parking implications’

iv. That the Parish Council should write to North Somerset Council indicating our wish to develop the concept with them and the other relevant authorities.

The result of the voting was:

i. 8 in favour, 2 against

ii. 7 in favour, 2 against, 1 abstention

iii. (including amendment) – 3 in favour, 7 against

(unamended) – 10 in favour (unanimous)

iv. 8 in favour, 2 abstentions

The following proposal by Cllr Glynn was withdrawn:

‘In recognition of the potentially significant implications for Wrington, its businesses and its residents, this Council resolves not to make any public statement of commitment to Shared Space or any related or major traffic calming scheme proposed for the village, nor to indicate any such commitment of support to any external organisation, until all the village residents have been consulted and their views considered. Similarly, should there be any resulting proposal at any time for dedicated expenditure above the current level of the highways-related budget, the Council resolves not to make any expenditure commitment in the precept until all the residents of the parish have been consulted and their views heard.’

However, Cllr Glynn reiterated that residents should be consulted on matters relating to Shared Space.

8. Annual Parish Meeting – 23rd April

The Chairwoman outlined the plans for the meeting, and requested that all councillors attend if possible, especially the ‘informal’ session at the beginning of the meeting, which was a new feature. The meeting had been well advertised, and it was hoped that there would be a better attendance than was usually the case.

9. Review of Working Group system

The Chairwoman asked whether members felt that the system had proved helpful. It was generally felt that the groups work well, and help to make Parish Council meetings more efficient. The Chairwoman therefore proposed that the system should be continued for a further year, and this was seconded by Cllr Dunn Morua. All were in favour. Cllr Matthews suggested that a list of the members of each group be circulated to see whether anyone would like to change to a different group. Cllr Ledbury asked how the Shared Space issue would now be pursued – Cllr Matthews thought that a group should be set up for this purpose. This was agreed, and it was also felt that it may be helpful to co-opt members from outside the Parish Council.

10. Open Forum

* Cllr Gallop raised the issue of consultation on licensing applications. The Parish Council had not been informed of the recent application for a change to the licence at Redhill Village Club, as it is not currently the policy to include Parish Councils. It was agreed to write a letter to the appropriate person at NSC to request a change of policy.

* Cllr Dunn Morua reported that residents in South Meadows are still concerned about the state of the road surface. The Clerk said that information is expected imminently from NSC on the road surfacing programme for the new financial year.

* Cllr Ellis suggested that copies of minutes of Parish Council meetings might be made available in local shops – for example Amors and Jewells – the Clerk to look into this.

* Cllr Berkley said that some residents had asked whether a pedestrian crossing could be sited at the bottom of High Street. Cllr Glynn said that Cllr Yamanaka had investigated this in the past. Members agreed that it is an issue, but it was very unlikely that a crossing could be obtained.

There being no other business the meeting was declared closed at 9.39 pm.