MINUTES of the Annual Council Meeting held in the School, Back Lane, Newburgh on Wednesday, 21st May 2008 commencing at 7.50pm immediately following the Annual Parish Meeting.
PRESENT Cllr. Mrs J. Citarella, Chair.
Cllrs. Mrs C. Gillard, C.D. Moore, R.E. Porter, Mrs R.J. Richardson, A. Sunderland and Mrs M.A. Turner.
Mr B. Howard, Clerk of the Council.
46/08.
ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN 2008/09.
Cllr. Porter, Vice-Chairman, took the Chair for this item and called for nominations.
Cllr. Mrs Citarella was nominated and unanimously re-elected Chair for 2008/09 and duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
47/08.
APOLOGIES were received from District Councillor Pope.
The Chair announced that Cllr. Mrs Pratt had verbally tendered her resignation because she felt there were too many competing activities in her life, which did not enable her to give time to the role of councillor. She had indicated that she was willing to help with, for example, the Risk Assessment exercise.
The Chair said she was sorry to lose the services and special skills of Mrs Pratt, which she brought to the work of the Council. It was agreed to send Mrs Pratt a letter of appreciation.
The process to fill the vacancy is that a notice will be exhibited in the village announcing this and calling for nominations for an election. If after fourteen days, no interest has been shown, then the Parish Council should arrange for co-option for the remaining term of Office i.e. May 2010.
48/08.
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN 2008/09.
The Chair called for nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman.
Cllr. Porter was nominated and unanimously elected Vice-Chairman for 2008/09.
Cllr. Mrs Citarella thanked Cllr. Porter for his help and support during the last twelve months.
49/08.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr. Porter declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 8a in that his wife is included in the Schedule of Accounts for Payment in respect of village cleaning.
Cllrs. Porter, Moore and Mrs Citarella declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 8a in that they are included in the Schedule of Accounts for Payment in connection with re-imbursement.
Cllrs. Moore, Mrs Richardson and Mrs Turner declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 9, Planning, in that they are friends of the occupants of Hatherlow, Back Lane, who have submitted a planning application.
50/08.
MINUTES of the Parish Council Meeting held on 23rd April 2008 were agreed and signed as a correct record.
51/08.
APPOINTMENTS.
Planning Working Group.
Cllrs. Porter, Moore and Mrs Richardson with Cllr. Sunderland in reserve, agreed to continue serving on this Group.
Finance Committee.
Cllr. Mrs Citarella and Cllr. Moore agreed to continue serving on this Committee with Cllr. Mrs Gillard agreeing to become a new member.
West Lancashire Area Committee.
Cllrs. Mrs Citarella, Mrs Gillard and Mrs Richardson are current representatives but all felt that the Committee had lost any focus and attendance on a regular basis was not good use of their personal time. The Minutes and Agendas will continue to be sent to us and if there are important issues requiring our participation, then attendance would be arranged on an ad hoc basis.
Potentially, Area Committee is a good source of networking and for discussing important items of mutual interest, therefore, it was agreed that contact should be made with the Chairman of Area Committee to ascertain their ideas for making the quarterly Meeting more appealing and meaningful.
Lancashire Local.
Cllr. Porter currently attends Lancashire Local on behalf of the Parish Council. There is some uncertainty about its future and more information will be sought.
-935-
52/08.
Post Office Saved.
It was pleasing to note that Post Office Ltd. had decided to remove Newburgh Post Office from the list of closures. There has been no explanation given as to their u-turn but undoubtedly, much credit goes to the local people for the pressure exerted on Post Office Ltd.
The Postmistress is seeking ways of developing all three inter-related businesses and the next step for the Parish Council is to determine the best way to support this initiative and encourage more community use.
Save our Post Office Placards are currently being stored and it was agreed to consult the donor to see what should be done with them.
Welcome Pack distribution.
The update list is attached.
Meeting with Street Scene Management on 1st May 2008.
The Minutes of the Meeting, attached to the Agenda, were noted.
The promised litter pick by District Council staff in the difficult Back Lane/Deans Lane area, had not taken place and the white litter bags had not been delivered, again as promised.
Recently, an e-mail had been received offering help in the control of Japanese Knotweed. This problem has already been taken up with L.C.C. regarding the knotweed on public land i.e. Course Lane and Tabbys Nook. Advice on control had of course, already been received from R.M. Services Ltd. Burscough.
It was RESOLVED that the next steps are to chase up L.C.C. and discuss with private landowners the presence of knotweed on their premises, the dangers of mishandling this and the recommended method of control.
Dog Control Orders.
The Dog Control Orders, copy attached to the Agenda, were NOTED.
West Lancashire Local Strategic Partnership Annual Conference, 27th June 2008.
Cllrs. Porter and Mrs Richardson put their names forward for attendance.
Calor Village of the Year Competition.
It was RESOLVED to delay submission until 2009 when we can incorporate the Post Office Saved Campaign and the Celebrating Local Produce Presentation event.
Values and Visions Statement.
The Statement has already been distributed to Councillors and contained initial timescale priority ratings. However, it was clear that outstanding action items contained in the Parish Plan were not necessarily included in the Values and Visions Statement.
It was, therefore, REOLVED to: -
Following this process, the exercise can be finalised and details issued to local residents. The objectives contained in the document will then form the basis of a risk assessment.
This led to a brief update on the Parish Plan. Recently, dimensions of the Play Area have been provided to the Church Agent. The solicitor for the Church is now being pressed to progress the preparation of the Lease. The role of the Charity Commission in this process has yet to be determined.
The Lancashire Environment Fund is holding its 10th Anniversary Conference on 26th June 2008 and Cllr. Porter said he would consider attending.
It was agreed to discuss two further urgent items, although not on the Agenda.
Footpaths Leaflet.
The newly issued Footpath Leaflet has to be withdrawn from circulation as the landowner has objected to the inclusion of a footpath, which is not definitive but has been used by members of the public for many years and is described in the Bluebell Woods Walk Section of the leaflet as “A well-trodden path leads off to the left by the wood.”
The landowner has apparently lodged a Section 31 Agreement, which in effect eliminates public access and unfortunately, he has already fenced off access to this area.
A L.C.C. representative and the landowner are meeting shortly to discuss matters and the landowner will be asked to consider re-opening the route. If this approach does not yield a satisfactory result, advice will be sought from the Ramblers Association on the best way forward to challenge closure of this route. Dalton Parish Council are similarly concerned and a joint action plan may be required.
Road works in Newburgh.
Advice about the implications of this current programme has been piecemeal with information being erratically supplied. The School and Newburgh Fair will be affected by the work planned for week commencing 2nd June 2008 when access to Back Lane will not be possible from the Post Office end. It is understood that the School will be advising parents of the difficulties and asking them to park elsewhere and walk the remaining distance to School, thus avoiding Back Lane. The Fair Committee has been asked by L.C.C. to speak to the Contractor direct to arrange delivery vehicles access to the School Field via the road works. It is anticipated that the work at the junction of Course Lane and Back Lane will be completed prior to the Saturday Parade and Fair.
It was agreed to write to L.C.C. asking them to examine their advice process to ensure a more comprehensive arrangement is in place for future.
-936-
53/08.
FINANCE.
a) Accounts for Payment.
It was RESOLVED to pass for payment those Accounts included in the Schedule attached.
b) Reserves/Balances year ending 31st March 2008.
The Statement, copy attached, was NOTED.
c) Annual Return year ending 31st March 2008.
It was RESOLVED to approve: -
The Chair and the Clerk duly signed these documents.
The Annual Internal Audit Report, Section 4, had been duly completed by our Internal Auditor, Michelle Rigby and
her Report indicating “No issues to report” was NOTED.
The Clerk was thanked for his efficient handling of the financial arrangements of the Council.
54/08.
PLANNING.
2008/0292. Hatherlow, Back Lane, replace existing tarmac and chippings to drive with block paving.
It was agreed to accept the recommendations of the Planning Working Group and raise no objection to this application but to ask W.L.D.C. whether they have adopted a national proposal that such block paving should be pervious.
55/08.
DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING.
25th June 2008 at 7.30pm.
No members of the public were present.
Meeting finished at 9.20pm.
-937-