MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held in the School, Back Lane, Newburgh on Wednesday, 27th February 2008 commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT Cllr. Mrs J. Citarella, Chair.
Cllrs. Mrs C. Gillard, C.D. Moore, Mrs E.F. Pratt, Mrs R.J. Richardson, A. Sunderland and Mrs M.A. Turner.
Mr B. Howard, Clerk of the Council.
12/08.
APOLOGIES were received from Cllr. R.E. Porter, holiday and District Councillor, E. Pope.
13/08.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
None were declared.
14/08.
MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held on 23rd January 2008 were agreed and signed as a correct record.
15/08.
SERVICES, AMENITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
Welcome Pack.
The distribution update is attached.
PACT Surgeries.
A decision has already been made to support these surgeries undertaken by PC Hackney. The dates were noted and Councillors were asked to notify the Clerk of a date when they are able to attend, so that complete coverage can be achieved.
Best Kept Village Competition 2008.
It was RESOLVED to enter the competition.
Meeting with District Council, Grounds Maintenance.
It was agreed to offer some date options to Grounds maintenance at which meeting Cllrs. Mrs Citarella, Mrs Richardson and Mrs Turner indicated their willingness to attend.
Litter picking arrangements.
It was agreed that each councillor would again look after their allocated area and try to recruit neighbours to help.
A litter picking morning will be held on Saturday, 10th May 2008, meeting at the front of the Red Lion Hotel at 10am.
Footpath Leaflet update.
The details are being updated to reflect minor route changes and it was agreed to reproduce the laminated leaflet. The Clerk will investigate the availability of funds to help produce the document. Details of the route changes to be incorporated in the website.
Calor Village of the Year 2008.
It was RESOLVED to complete and submit the entry form, closing date being 30th June 2008.
Best Kept Garden Competition 2008.
It was RESOLVED to again hold this popular competition. Our Judge, Mavis Woods, has again agreed to officiate together with a friend who is a member of the Cottage Garden Society.
It was RESOLVED not to hold the Open Gardens event in 2008. This has been held two years running and Christ Church are holding a major fundraising event on 24th – 27th July 2008, under the heading of Flower Festival Exhibition.
It was agreed to include an item in the next Newsletter explaining that this year, the Parish Council will be supporting the Flower Festival instead of holding what might appear to be, a competitive event.
Maintenance of boundary fence between the Sports Field and adjacent Standish Estates owned field.
The Clerk explained the background of King George V Playing Field, which is now leased from the District Council to Newburgh Sports Club for football and cricket. However, this is still an open space to which the public have general access. In view of this, the Parish Council had accepted some responsibility for the maintenance of the boundary fence with expenditure coming from the current contribution provided by the District Council.
Some years ago, the Parish Council installed two gates to provide access for players to retrieve their balls from the adjacent field and therefore, eliminate damage to the fence. The resultant lease between the Parish Council and Standish Estates incorporates a requirement for the Parish Council to maintain the fence.
There is now some further damage to the fence and, at a meeting held with the Sports Club and Standish Estates; no conclusive decisions were reached regarding future responsibilities.
A bid has been made to W.L.D.C. under their Parish Council Capital Grants Scheme for the repair/replacement of the fence but they will not make a decision until April or May. In the meantime, it was noted that some parts of the fence could be dangerous to people walking along the footpath.
It was RESOLVED at this stage, to write to the Sports Club, Standish Estates and the District Council, asking them what they consider to be the purpose of the fence, other than to mark the boundary and whether they forsee any problems if the fence was removed completely.
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16/08.
PARISH PLAN UPDATE.
New Play Area.
A meeting has been held with the Church Authorities when it was indicated that they will have to appoint an Agent to help prepare the Heads of Agreement and as a result, a portfolio of documents is in the course of production. In this connection, an access agreement is being obtained from the School Governors.
In addition, the Church will need to seek approval from the Charity Commission who will set the level of rent but only after the lease has been completed. The grant providers have been advised of the delay and have formally agreed to a date extension. Evidence of commitment is being obtained from Douglas Valley Lions.
There is some concern about the unknown costs of both the Church appointed agent and their Solicitor and they have been pressed for an urgent realistic estimate of costs.
The cost/funding relationship is critical and any additional amount will place the equation out of balance. It was, therefore, RESOLVED to form a small Committee consisting of Cllrs. Moore, Mrs Citarella and Mrs Pratt to overview all the ingredients of the plan to ensure that they are sound.
SPID.
An agreement with Yates Playgrounds in respect of handling the equipment is now completed and subject to final agreement with the Contractor. The agreement includes a clause indemnifying the County Council against all claims and a copy of the document will need to be sent to them in due course.
17/08.
ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
The Meeting was adjourned to allow Mr Seargent, a resident of Acrefield, to raise the following issues: -
The Meeting was re-convened.
18/08.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Schedule of Correspondence, copy attached, was NOTED. The following were discussed: -
d) Nomination to Standards Committee.
No nominations were made.
i) Proposal to re-open the Skipton to Colne Railway.
The campaign was NOTED.
j) LCC Charter Seminar, 12th April 2008.
Cllr. Mrs Richardson indicated her willingness to attend.
19/08.
FINANCE.
a) Accounts for Payment.
It was RESOLVED to pass for payment those accounts included in the Schedule attached.
b) Financial Report to end of February 2008.
The Report, copy attached, was NOTED.
c) Internal Check.
Cllr. Mrs Turner reported that she had undertaken the financial check on a sample period and found everything to
be satisfactory.
d) Village cleaning arrangements 2008/09.
It was RESOLVED to approve the arrangements and payments for 2008/09. It was acknowledged that the Village
Assistant does an excellent job in keeping the village clean and tidy and it was RESOLVED to write to Mrs Shirley
Porter expressing the thanks and appreciation of the Parish Council.
e) School Hire charges.
The increase of charges from the £4.50 level, which has remained constant since April 2004, to £7.50 per hour
from April 2008 was NOTED.
f) Travelling and Subsistence Allowances Scheme.
It was RESOLVED to continue with the Scheme, copy attached.
20/08.
PLANNING.
Updates.
Appeal by Inglenorth Ltd. Wheel washing facilities, Round O Quarry, Cobbs Brow Lane.
The Inspector has upheld the Enforcement Notice.
2007/1495. 23, New Acres, single storey side extension and front porch. Granted W.L.D.C.
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21/08.
REPORTS.
Annual Parish Meeting format.
It was agreed to present “Local Living” as the theme for the Meeting. It is hoped that the School will do a presentation on their Green Initiatives and speakers found to discuss sourcing local produce. Funding for refreshments will be investigated. A possible date for the Parish Meeting is 7th, 8th or 22nd May 2008 depending on clashes with any major sports event.
Area Committee Meeting, 24th January 2008.
A verbal report was given including information from Ian Bond about a Design Workshop, Risk Assessment particularly in connection with village halls, the constitution of LALC and a requirement to check electrical appliances.
Council as an Assembly, 30th January 2008.
Cllr. Mrs Citarella attended on behalf of the Parish Council. The main event was the Ormskirk bypass development.
Risk Assessment Training, 12th February 2008.
It was agreed that this event was a valuable introduction to risk assessment and the next step is to use the framework provided to identify our risks and address these to eliminate or minimise their effect.
However, agreeing the Values and Visions objective was seen as the first step in the process and it was RESOLVED to hold a meeting to finalise these, date to be arranged.
22/08.
DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING.
26th March 2008 at 7.30pm.
One member of the public was present.
Meeting finished at 9.05pm.
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