MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held in the School, Back Lane, Newburgh on Wednesday, 26th January 2011 commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT Cllr. R.E. Porter, Chairman.
Cllrs. Mrs J. Citarella, Mrs C. Gillard, C.D. Moore, Mrs J.M. O’ Keefe, Mrs R.J. Richardson, A. Sunderland and
Mrs M.A. Turner.
Mr B. Howard, Clerk of the Council.
004/11.
APOLOGIES were received from Borough Councillor E. Pope and County Councillor D. Westley, prior Meetings.
005/11.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr. Porter declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5a in that his wife is included in the Schedule of Accounts for payment in respect of village cleaning. He also declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 10, Planning, in that he is a near neighbour of 5, Woodrow Drive and Agenda Item 9d in that he is a member of the Royal British Legion.
Cllr. Sunderland declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5, “Erection of bollards on the canal bank, Spencers Bridge” in that he resides at that location.
Cllr. Mrs O’ Keefe declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 10, Planning, in that she resides close to the Farm Shop, Course Lane site.
Cllr. Mrs Gillard declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 “Travel for elderly and disabled people, survey” in that she has direct involvement with the section of the survey “Free travel on community transport like Dial-a-Ride”.
Cllrs. Mrs Richardson,Mrs O’ Keefe, A. Sunderland and Mrs Turner declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 5 “Travel for elderly and disabled people, survey” in that they have been issued with one of the facilities deemed “Extra options” in the survey.
006/11.
MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held on 8th December 2010 were agreed and signed as a correct record.
007/11.
MINUTES of the Special Parish Council Meeting held on 19th January 2011 were agreed and signed as a correct record subject to a minor change to Minute 003/11, delete the last fifteen words of the final sentence of the paragraph following that numbered 2.
008/11.
SERVICES AMENIITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
List of Properties For Sale/ To Let.
The updated list is attached.
Erection of bollards on the canal bank, Spencers Bridge.
Cllr. Sunderland left the Chamber at this point.
It was RESOLVED to forward the following response to residents who have been expressing concern about this issue.
“When the Parish Council became aware of the bollards being erected on the canal towpath, a communication was sent to British Waterways asking for their observations. A satisfactory response was received and the Parish Council accepted that, in their capacity as guardians of public safety, it was their right to erect safety bollards.
Any further questions you may wish to raise should be taken up with British Waterways. However, it should be noted that the bollards and associated notices are of a standard design employed by British Waterways in various other locations along the towpath.
Residents who make a private agreement with British Waterways for access to park a vehicle is not the concern of the Parish Council and there is no requirement for us to be notified.
Therefore, these matters are of no concern to the Parish Council and will not feature in any future Agendas.”
The Meeting was adjourned to allow the member of the public present who resides on the canal bank at Spencers Bridge, to comment on the above response.
The resident thought that the response was appropriate.
The Meeting was re-convened and Cllr. Sunderland returned to his seat in the Chamber.
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008/11 (continued).
SERVICES, AMENITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (continued).
Civic Service.
It was RESOLVED to advise the Vicar of Christ Church that 15th May 2011 was an acceptable date for the Civic Service. Councillors were asked to place the date in their diary.
Newburgh News.
It was agreed that the next edition should be published by the end of February 2011. Councillors were asked to submit input to the Clerk by 18th February 2011.
Four members of the public, with a known interest in Bollards on the canal bank Agenda item, arrived at this point.
RoSPA Safety Inspection Report, Play Area, Back Lane.
The Report has been received and the Inspector has indicated that all is in order with the equipment meeting the required standard. A copy of the Report has been placed in circulation and an extract has been sent to the Play Area Management Committee for information.
Carols on The Green.
It was RESOLVED to hold this annual event on Thursday, 8th December 2011, subject to confirmation from the Vicar, Christ Church and the availability of Coppull and Standish Brass Band.
Travel for the Elderly and Disabled People, survey.
Cllr. Mrs Gillard left the Chamber at this point.
It was RESOLVED to submit the survey to WLBC, as agreed.
Cllr. Mrs Gillard returned to her seat in the Chamber.
Parish Council Charter Review.
It was RESOLVED that Cllr. Mrs Richardson and the Clerk would undertake the review required by WLBC and submit comments, as appropriate.
009/11.
WORK PLAN UPDATE.
The Values and Visions Statements are still being reviewed but it is anticipated that a paper would be available for discussion at the next Meeting.
Councillors were reminded to submit any amendments to the website as a matter of urgency.
010/11.
ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
The Meeting was adjourned to allow members of the public to raise issues of concern.
Residents who were interested in the erection of bollards on the canal bank asked for an update.
Cllr. Sunderland left the Chamber at this point.
The Chairman said that this subject had already been discussed and a response approved by the Parish Council prior to the late arrival of the interested residents but as a special case, he would reiterate what had already been agreed.
He read out the agreed response, shown under Minute 008/11 above.
Residents responded by making a number of comments concluding that they were not happy with the response and would be taking the matter to the Standards Committee.
At this point, the four residents concerned left the Meeting.
Cllr. Sunderland returned to his seat in the Chamber and the Chairman re-convened the Meeting.
011/11.
FINANCE.
a) Accounts for Payment.
The Chairman left the Chamber at this point and handed the Chairmanship to the Vice-Chairman, Cllr. Mrs Citarella
It was RESOLVED to pass for payment those Accounts included in the Schedule attached.
The Chairman returned to the Chamber and resumed Chairmanship.
b) Minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting held on 13th January 2011.
The Minutes of the Finance Committee were noted.
In regard to holding an Open Garden Day during the summer, it was RESOLVED that enquiries would be made in
the village to assess interest from residents. A decision on whether or not to hold such an event would be made at
the 23rd February 2011 Parish Council Meeting.
c) Budget and Precept 2011/12.
It was RESOLVED to agree a budget of £10545 and raise the precept for the same amount, which is approximately
A 5% increase over the previous year.
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O11/11 (continued).
FINANCE (continued).
d) WLBC Capital Funding.
It was RESOLVED that there were no schemes suitable for submission under these arrangements.
However, a communication from GrantScape has just come to hand and there may be a possibility to submit a bid
for funding in conjunction with the Sports Club, which could incorporate improvements to the boundary fence and
flagged path.
It was RESOLVED to urgently discuss opportunities with the Sports Club as the deadline for submission is only a
few weeks away.
e) Members Allowances Scheme.
It was RESOLVED to continue with the present Travelling and Subsistence Allowances Scheme, the rates to
remain as agreed in February 2008 by the WLBC Panel.
It was noted that Councillors only claim the travelling allowances element of the scheme when using their private
vehicles on Council business bur then only on rare occasions.
012/11.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Schedule, copy attached, was noted and the following were discussed: -
d) Great Poppy Party Weekend, 10th -12th June 2011.
It was RESOLVED to pass details to the Fair Committee for them to evaluate whether there could be any
involvement, by for example, The Royal British Legion, in the Newburgh Fair event.
f) Face the People Event, 2nd March 2011.
Cllr. Mrs Citarella said she would be available to attend.
013/11.
PLANNING.
New Applications.
2010/1393/FUL. 5, Woodrow Drive, part two-storey/part single storey extension to front and side.
The Council supported the recommendations of the Planning Working Group to raise no objection to this application.
2010/1476/COU. Forest View Nurseries, Back Lane, change of use, vacant office building to self-catering holiday
accommodation.
Concern was expressed that if this application is successful, eventually an application would be submitted for change to a residential property. In view of this, further investigation will be undertaken to determine the Parish Council view when the original application for office use was made.
2011/0026/FUL. Rotholme, Course Lane, revision of application 2010/0657/FUL to use Acme Eternit Red Smooth tiles in the porch.
It was RESOLVED to raise no objection to this application.
Updates.
2010/1215/COU. Change of use of Farm Shop, Course Lane.
This application was refused at appeal but certain comments in the report led to this further application, which addresses the issues raised by the Inspector.
A Parish Council representative spoke at the WLBC Planning Committee emphasising the concerns of the Parish Council and local residents. However, as the issues raised by the Inspector had been addressed in the new application, the Planning Committee had little choice but to approve the application.
08/10/0241 and 08/09/1141. Round O Quarry, variation of conditions to allow continuation of working until 2020.
A Special Edition of Newburgh News has been delivered throughout the village encouraging residents to submit their objections to the offer made by Mainsprint to Lancashire County Council by 3rd February 2011. To the residents most affected by the environmental impact of quarry HGVs, Cobbs Brow Lane, Ash Brow, Ranleigh Drive and Clovelly Drive
a pro-forma has also been delivered, which it is hoped, will facilitate them making their objections.
The LCC Development Control Committee will be dealing with these applications at their Meeting on 16th February 2011 and arrangements are in hand to obtain a copy of the Officers Report to Committee, which it is understood, will be available on 8th February 2011.
It was RESOLVED to approve the Parish Council response to the Mainsprint offer. This maintains our objection to the applications unless agreement can be reached to eliminate all HGV movement through Newburgh Village.
Newburgh Housing Needs Survey.
The Survey was noted at this stage as the data will be linked to our own demographic information in due course.
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013/11 (continued).
PLANNING (continued).
List of Housing Decisions Made.
A copy of the summary for 2010 is included with the material in circulation. During the year 17 applications were considered by the Parish Council, of these 14 decisions made by WLBC coincided with our view.
We disagreed with 3 decisions made by WLBC Planning Committee i.e. Farm Shop, Course Lane, Mushroom Farm, Course Lane and Boundary Fence Enforcement.
We are involved in 1 County matter, Round O Quarry extension of working. We continue to oppose this application, which is still being progressed.
It was RESOLVED that a brief summary of planning applications received and outcomes be included in the Parish Council Annual Report.
Planning Application Validation Check List.
A consultation document has been received from WLBC, which is intended to clarify requirements for applications. It should ensure: -
The check list will include the introduction of a standard application form plus national requirements for validation and a local list of specific requirements.
It should streamline the process and avoid prolonged communication between applicant and planners.
This is an extremely long document and the Planning Working Group felt that they were not sufficiently qualified to offer comments except to applaud an attempt to clarify the planning process for applicants.
014/11.
REPORTS.
PACT Meeting, 10th January 2011.
This Meeting had a better attendance. Crime statistics were discussed revealing an over all reduction of 9% in this area. Details of the Police re-organisation are not yet available.
A Presentation was made by Help Direct.
Area Committee Meeting, 21st January 2011.
Unfortunately, Newburgh Parish Council was not represented at the Meeting, however, subsequently the Conservation Areas Advisory Panel Annual Report has been received and a copy was placed in circulation.
In addition, copies of the West Lancashire Three Tier Forum guide and nomination papers have been received. The guide explains a complex and onerous communication system between the one Parish Council nominated representative and all the other Parish Councils in West Lancashire. This arrangement caused considerable concern and it was RESOLVED to make no nomination until the lessons have been learned from the three pilot areas in Lancashire.
015/11.
DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING.
23rd February 2011 at 7.30pm.
Five members of the public were present, four of them for part of the Meeting only.
Meeting finished at 9.15pm.
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Schedule of Correspondence.
a) WLBC Posters, promoting their website.
b) CVS Training Programme 2011.
c) LALC Training Event.
d) The Great Poppy Party Week-end, 10th – 12th June 2011.
e) Parish Council Celebration Event and Open Day, 4th February 2011. (Chairman & Clerk will attend).
f) Invitation from WLBC to Key Partners to attend the Face the People event on 2nd March at 6.30pm.
The following were placed in circulation: -
LCR Winter 2010.
Three tier Forum, LCC Pilot Schemes.
CPRE Fieldwork, December 2010.
LALC Newsletter, December 2010.
NALC Briefing “The Localism Bill”.
Planning Decision Summary 2010.
West Lancashire Heritage Association 2011 Programme.
Clerks & Councils Direct, January 2011 and Year Book.
The Clerk, January 2011.
RoSPA Play Area Report.
Schedule of Accounts for Payment.
BT Payment Services Ltd. IT and phone £ 86.43 retrospective
Mr B. Howard, January salary and expenses. £431.22
Mrs S. Porter, village cleaning. £ 58.00
Mr B. Howard, re-imbursement, stationery & photocopies. £ 15.45
Mr B. Howard, re-imbursement, computer installation and security. £ 94.99
Petty Cash. £ 30.00
Play Safety Ltd, Inspection Back Lane Play Area. £ 77.56
West Lancashire Heritage Association Membership Fee. £ 5.00
Mr B. Howard, re-imbursement, photocopies and stationery. £ 15.74
Mytechie, printing Newsletters. £ 41.28
Receipts.
VAT repayment £939.49
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