MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held in the School, Back Lane, Newburgh on Wednesday, 24th January 2007 commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT: Cllr. R.E. Porter, Chairman.
Cllrs. Mrs J. Citarella, Mrs C. Gillard, C.D. Moore, Mrs R.J. Richardson, A. Sunderland and Mrs M.A. Turner.
Mr B. Howard, Clerk of the Council.
01/07.
APOLOGIES were received from Cllr. Mrs E.F. Pratt, unwell and District Councillor, E. Pope.
02/07.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr. Porter declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 10a in that the Schedule of Accounts for Payment includes an item in respect of his wife for village cleaning.
Cllr. Moore declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 10a in that the Schedule of Accounts for Payment includes an item of re-imbursement.
03/07.
MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held on 6th December 2006 were agreed and signed as a correct record.
04/07.
SERVICES, AMENITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
Welcome Pack.
The updated statement is attached.
Round O Quarry Issues.
Mud on the road continues to be a problem on Cobbs Brow Lane with at least three recent road accidents being recorded by the Police. A number of complaints have been submitted to L.C.C. and their Enforcement Officer has sent a strong letter of complaint to Inglenorth and now awaits their response. If a satisfactory reply is not forthcoming, it is understood that an Enforcement Order will be served.
It was RESOLVED to take the following action: -
· Log details of complaints received by the Parish Council.
· Include L.C.C. and Police contact details in the next edition of Newburgh News and ask residents to forward their complaints with details and evidence.
· Prepare a special communication to be delivered to residents on Cobbs Brow Lane asking them to monitor the situation and submit any complaints direct to L.C.C. copy to the Parish Council, as appropriate. Include the Maharishi School and Parbold P.C. in the communication.
· Ask L.C.C. to re-convene the Liaison Meeting with Inglenorth.
· Challenge the statement in the L.C.C. letter dated 12th December 2006, which says that they will not consult on any planning matters similar to the circumstances that have allowed the left turn out of the Quarry and thereby encouraged HGV movements through Newburgh. Also draw their attention to the current climate of effective engagement with local communities.
Civic Service Arrangements.
This will be held on Sunday, 13th May 2007 at the 10.30am Service in Christ Church at which Rev. D. Towler will be available to officiate.
Cllrs. Mrs Citarella and Mrs Pratt were asked to contact the uniformed organisations for which they have responsibility inviting them to attend and present their flags, as appropriate.
Open Gardens.
This will be held on Sunday, 8th July 2007. It was agreed to start the process by inviting interested garden owners to a meeting at the home of Cllr. Mrs Turner on Tuesday, 20th March 2007 at 10.30am. An item will appear in the next edition of Newburgh News, which will include an invitation to any resident who wishes to be involved.
Provision of a Police Community Support Officer.
The communication from Lancashire Constabulary about the appointment of a Rural Support Officer and the lack of available transport was NOTED. This appointment was welcomed but the suggestion that local Parish Councils provide funds for the purchase of a car for Police use was met with considerable scepticism. Parbold/Dalton Parish Councils have suggested a meeting should be held with all concerned to discuss the issues and it was RESOLVED to support this.
Village Assistant.
The report from the Assistant tabled at the Meeting was NOTED.
05/07.
PARISH PLAN UPDATE.
Pedestrian Safety.
A letter has been sent to L.C.C. asking them about the position on outstanding matters, which have been referred.
-844-
05/07 continued.
PARISH PLAN UPDATE (continued).
Speed Device (SPID).
A communication has been received from L.C.C. indicating that they have no powers to allow members of the public to handle highway equipment such as the SPID. Only the Police are able to handle these. L.C.C. has now been asked if they are in discussion with the Police to resolve the handling issue and also to check, as previously requested, the suitability of the selected lamp posts for displaying the SPID.
The matter has been discussed with the Police Inspector, Skelmersdale who has stated that the handling of the SPID is labour intensive and difficult to resource. It is worth noting that the SPID manufacturers have said that they have encountered no problem with volunteers undertaking the task elsewhere.
New Play Area.
Two grant applications have been submitted: -
The Parish Council financial resources will cover the further cost of the project but a submission has also been sent to W.L.D.C. Capital Fund and an expression of interest has been made to the Aggregates Fund and the Big Lottery.
Cory Environmental Fund requires a third party to pay them 10% of the value of the bid. The Fair Committee transferred £3500 to the Parish Council as a contribution to the provision of a community amenity. They have agreed to provide the required 10% from money, which will be returned to them by the Parish Council.
It was RESOLVED to accept the arrangements required by the Cory Environment Fund.
A planning application has been forwarded to W.L.D.C. including a Design and Access Statement.
Considerable help has been given by a resident, Paul Jenkinson with the preparation of the planning application, the drawings in particular. This task has been undertaken on a voluntary basis and has saved the Parish Council a considerable amount of money in professional fees. It was, therefore, RESOLVED to: -
· Send a letter of thanks to Mr Jenkinson.
· Purchase two family cinema tickets, approximate cost £35 and forward these to him as a gesture of appreciation.
One resident has continued to express concern over the siting of the new Play Area on the basis of noise from children playing and aesthetics. He will be able to make his feelings known in response to the planning application notification.
It was RESOLVED to write to: -
· Yates Playgrounds Ltd accepting their quote of £27,920 plus VAT.
· Records Playgrounds Equipment Ltd thanking them for their quote, which was unsuccessful.
Website.
The “What’s on “ page is now included and Councillors were asked to examine the site and identify other events which were suitable for inclusion. There have now been 6,800 hits on the site.
The Parish Council offered sincere thanks to Cllr. Moore for all the work he has undertaken in progressing the many and varied Parish Plan issues.
06/07.
ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
There were no members of the public present but Mrs Brown, Ash Brow asked for the following to be raised: -
07/07.
VALUES AND VISION STATEMENTS.
The documents, which were attached to the Agenda, were NOTED. It was RESOLVED to produce a revised version for discussion at the next Parish Council Meeting, taking into account observations made by Councillors.
08/07.
COUNCIL OF THE YEAR COMPETITION.
It was RESOLVED to enter this Competition and based on the analysis of activity/successes during the past twelve months, a supporting statement of about 1000 words will be produced. It was noted that the closing date for the submission of entries is 25th May 2007.
09/07.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Schedule of Correspondence attached was NOTED and the following were discussed: -
e) Affordable Housing Review.
The pro-forma was examined and it was concluded that there was no firm evidence of demand and it was,
therefore, felt that we were unable to satisfactorily complete the document. However, it was RESOLVED to
respond by letter to this effect but suggesting that, to identify real need, the public require clear information on
choices available to them.
-845-
09/07 continued.
CORRESPONDENCE (continued).
h) W.L.D.C. “At Home” event, 8th February 2007.
Cllr. Porter agreed to attend and as two places are available, anyone else who would like to attend is welcome to
do so and should advise our Chairman accordingly.
o) W.L.D.C. Design Guide Focus Group, 8th February 2007.
Cllr. Sunderland agreed to attend on behalf of the Parish Council.
10/07.
FINANCE.
a) Accounts for Payment.
It was RESOLVED to pass for payment those accounts included in the Schedule attached.
b) Minutes of the Finance Committee held on 10th January 2007.
The Minutes, copy attached to the Agenda, were NOTED.
c) Budget and Precept 2007/08.
It was RESOLVED to adopt the spending plans and set the Precept at £9741 for 2007/08.
11/07.
PLANNING.
New Applications.
2006/1403. 5, Clovelly Drive, part two storey/part first floor extension and conservatory at rear.
2006/1445. Sunnyfield, Course Lane, first floor side extension.
It was RESOLVED to support the recommendations of the Planning Working Group and raise no objection to these.
Updates.
2006/1194/1195. Listed Building, Lowes Farm Barn, Cobbs Brow Lane, conversion of barn to two dwellings.
Granted W.L.D.C.
E/2006/0060/0061. Mug House Stables, Felldale Stud, planning appeal lodged, informal hearing arranged.
12/07.
NEWBURGH NEWS.
The next edition will be distributed during week commencing 19th February 2007, input from village organisations required by 13th February 2007.
13/07.
REPORTS.
Newburgh CE School Meeting, 10th January 2007.
The Report attached to the Agenda was noted. Some progress has been made: -
United Utilities Meeting at Hoscar WWTW, 17th January 2007.
No report available.
14/07.
DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING.
28th February 2007 at 7.30pm.
-846-