Aldbury Parish Council Meeting

ALDBURY PARISH COUNCIL

ALDBURY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Held on

Monday September 11th2017 at 8.15pm

in Aldbury Memorial Hall

Minutes

Present: Cllrs Brady, Juniper, McCarthy, Moore, Page and Pearce, the Clerk, Borough Cllr Mills and 5 members of the public

17/185Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Eggar and Tollinton due to holidays and were accepted by the Council.

Cllr McCarthy suggested that the reason for absences were recorded in future so that parishioners know why Cllrs are unable to attend the meetings.

Cllr McCarthy said that he had been contacted by Cllr Eggar regarding his possible non-attendance at future meetings due to other commitments, at least up until March 2018 and possibly longer. Cllr McCarthy said that if a member fails to attend a Council meeting for 6 months they would automatically cease to be a Cllr unless the Council has accepted their absence. Cllr Eggar had asked the Council to consider approving his absence for an extended period. Cllr McCarthy said he thought the Council could either 1) refuse the request as Cllrs are in their role to discuss and debate issues at the Council meetings; 2) accept the request and give Cllr Eggar a dispensation or 3) delay the decision. Cllrs discussed the valuable input Cllr Eggar brings to the Council not just in the meetings but outside of them. They also discussed the current workload and the possible benefit of having a new Cllr gaining experience over the next six months. Cllr Juniper proposed that a decision was delayed until December; this was seconded by Cllr Pearce.

17/186Declarations of Interest

Cllr McCarthy declared an interest in item 17/199 as Chairman of HAPTC

17/187Minutes of meeting on 7th August2017to be signed as a true record

Cllr Juniper proposed that the minutes of 7th August were accepted as a true record; this was seconded by Cllr Pearce. The minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.

17/188Review Actions List

Cllrs reviewed and updated the actions list following the previous meeting.

The garage at Stoneycroft was discussed. A resident kindly agreed to store the salt at their property temporarily. It was agreed that the Clerk would see whether Herts Highways wanted the salt back. Alternatively it would be offered to residents. It was agreed that the Clerk would arrange a date for Cllrs to clear the garage so that the lease could then be terminated. (Action)

17/189Cllr Vacancy

Cllr Pearce said that following the last meeting he had met with Peter Moore, along with Cllr Brady. Cllr Pearce proposed that Peter Moore be co-opted onto the Council; this was seconded by Cllr Brady.

17/190Aldbury Pond

Cllr Juniper addressed the meeting on behalf of the Pond Working Group (PWG). An update had been circulated to Cllrs reporting progress against all the resolutions passed at the previous meeting.

Cllr Juniper said the PWG were waiting for a response from Dixons on the best way to use the remaining £2.5k of the contract. It had been suggested that they drag as much of the vegetation and silt to one end of the pond to dry out and then remove it from the site. The PWG were unsure at the moment how much they would be able to remove for the money but it was felt that this would improve the look of the pond. Cllr Page said the waste would probably need to drain for a week or two as the pond was already quite dry. Cllr Juniper said that they needed to judge whether this would be value for money when they had heard back from Dixons on potential quantities. Cllr Pearce proposed that the Council authorise the PWG to make the decision about how best to use the remainder of the Dixons money, on behalf of the Council; this was seconded by Cllr McCarthy.

Cllr Juniper said that one of the actions had been to look into investigative work in the pond to establish what is underneath the liner. He asked the Council’s view on asking Dixons to dig a trench as they would be using a mechanical digger to move the vegetation and silt. Cllr Pearce asked what about the situation in the pond after a trench had been dug. Cllr Juniper said that a trench would need to go through the liner and would make the leak worse but would give the PWG more information to inform future decisions. He also added that it might be more cost effective to ask Dixons to dig the trench as they were already on site with a digger. Cllr Pearce said his concern was that the trench is dug and then for whatever reason the Council can’t do further required remedial work then the situation would have been made worse. Cllrs Page and Juniper confirmed that if this was the case, the trench could be filled and a new liner put in and the pond would be in the same state as it was in originally. Cllr Pearce proposed that the Council give authority to the PWG to make the decision about digging the trench after further discussions with Dixons; this was seconded by Cllr Juniper.

Cllr Brady said he had been looking into grants. Cllr Pearce had approached DBC regarding funding and had been provided with some useful contacts from recent work done by DBC at the Water Gardens in Hemel.

Cllr Juniper said the approach for flood funding from Herts CC had been a non-starter as Aldbury doesn’t have a river running through it. The PWG were in contact with Herts Highways regarding clearing and positioning of the drains and gullies and would be asking for these to be cleared regularly. Cllr Brady said that further investigation into the role of Herts CC in the clearing of the silt traps was needed. Cllr Juniper commented that he had come across historic evidence in the 1950s that Herts CC had taken some responsibility for clearing out the pond after an agreement with the Parish Council. There was also evidence that Herts CC had in the past accepted responsibility that silt drains off their highways into the pond. Cllr Juniper said he was still going through historical minutes relating to the pond. He noted that the minutes have frequent reference to problems associated with the pond; the new liner was installed in January 1988 and was reported as leaking by February 1988.

Cllr Juniper had drafted an article for the next edition of Outlook which he had circulated to Cllrs and had received comments back. It was agreed that the full version would be published in the next edition.

Cllr Juniper had also drafted a briefing document on the pond situation as agreed at the last meeting. This had also been circulated to Cllrs and comments received. The final version would be saved to Dropbox and would be available on the website.

In the pre-read circulated to Cllrs, Cllr Juniper had asked about considering the use of volunteers to help with the pond. It was agreed that this would be discussed at a later date.

The issue of Barley End was raised. There is currently heavy machinery at Barley End and Cllr Juniper asked whether the PWG should approach the contractors and ask whether they could clear the ponds at Barley End which are known to have an impact on the Aldbury Pond. The Council agreed that this would be a good idea.

The Council thanked the PWG for all their efforts to date.

17/191Repair of Stocks

Cllr Juniper reported that he had spoken to Mark Battram about the conditions for the refurbishment of the Stocks and was happy they were reasonable. These had been circulated to Cllrs. Cllr McCarthy proposed that the conditions were accepted and the Planning Officer informed; this was seconded by Cllr Pearce.

Cllr Juniper reported that some groundworks would be needed and a quote of £200 + vat had been given. It was agreed that the conditions given by planning meant that the work didn’t exactly fit any of the three options previously quoted for. It was agreed that Cllr Juniper would get a new quote for the work. It was agreed that a site meeting would take place.

17/192Playground

Cllr Page reported that one of the posts supporting the sign at the entrance to the playground is broken and needs replacing; the vehicle gate needs repairing and a gate in the deer fence at the top of the allotments needs repairing. It was agreed that the Clerk would speak to Martin Walters about these repairs and the Council agreed the Clerk could authorise the work if it was under £100 in line with the Council’s Financial Regulations. (Action)

Adjusting the swings shackles was outstanding. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact Cllr Eggar about providing a ladder to support Cllr Page. (Action)

Cllr Brady said he still needed to treat the benches in the Millennium Orchard.

17/193Allotments

Nothing to report

17/194Footpaths

The Clerk reported that quotes for the work to footpath 68 were needed in order to apply for the P3 grant. Cllr Page agreed to give the Clerk a number for someone local who may be able to carry out the work. (Action)

Cllr Brady reported that the Percy Crow footpath was overgrown in places. The Clerk said that if it was overgrowth from the residential side this was the responsibility of the landowner. Cllr Brady agreed to speak to the landowner. (Action)

17/195Pedestrian Safety and Parking

Cllr McCarthy informed the meeting that the draft report had been received. It was agreed that the Pedestrian safety and Parking working party should consider the options and report back to the Council at the next meeting. It was agreed that Cllr Moore would join the working party.

17/196Diocesan Leases

Cllr Pearce informed the meeting that the Council would shortly be receiving the final lease to sign. He proposed that the Council approve the conditions of the lease and give the Clerk authority to sign the lease as long as it is the same as the one seen by Cllrs; this was seconded by Cllr McCarthy. Cllr Pearce expressed his and the Council’s thanks to Clare Juniper for all her help with the lease.

17/197Award of West Midlands Franchise

Cllr McCarthy reported that the West Midlands franchise has been awarded to West Midlands Trains Ltd which is a consortium of Dutch firm Abellio and Japanese partners. The franchise will run from 10th December 2017 until March 2026. Cllr McCarthy said that it was clear the Tring Station Working Party should continue in order to target the new franchise holders. He also said that other local Parish Councils had expressed an interest in further open meetings. It was agreed that the Working Party would meet soon to discuss access issues at Tring Station and links with other Parish and County Councils on the subject.

17/198Planning Matters

1. The following applications were discussed:

4/02084/17/FHA – 32 Stocks Road

Replace existing garage and summer house with outbuilding to provide non-habitable annex with garage and non-commercial art studio

Concerns were expressed by both Cllrs and the neighbours about the height and additional footprint of the proposed building. It was also noted that the description of the work didn’t accurately reflect the exact nature of the plans which included a washroom and gym. The Council agreed to OBJECT to the application on the grounds of its size, inappropriateness in a conservation area and because the application isn’t a true reflection of what is being proposed. The Clerk would also mention to the planning officer that the neighbours didn’t appear to have been consulted.

4/02062/17/MFA – Newground Farm, Newground Road

Part demolition, part conversion and new build to create 10 dwellings

It was noted that the property is in Wigginton Parish. The Council had NO OBJECTION to the plans but wanted to highlight to the planners the impact of additional traffic on the area.

4/02133/17/FHA – Ivy Cottage, Station Road

2 Storey rear extension (amended scheme)

It was agreed that the Clerk would submit a ‘NO COMMENT to the above application as they did last time. The Clerk would also comment that the amended scheme didn’t appear to address the comments of the planners when the original scheme was rejected.

2. Planning Decisions made by Dacorum BC:

4/01197/17/FHA 4 Toms Hill Road, Aldbury

Single storey rear extension

GRANT

4/01756/17/FHA 15 Stoneycroft, Aldbury

Single storey rear extension

GRANT

4/01428/17/LDP Rose Cottage, Stocks Road, Aldbury

Replacement windows

GRANT

4/01615/17/ROC Applegarth, Stocks Road, Aldbury

Removal of condition 4 (granny annexes) attached to planning permission 4/02269/04/FUL

REFUSE

The Clerk had contacted the planning enforcement team about Applegarth being used as a business and was waiting for a response.

3. Cllr McCarthy reported that Ashmei had responded to the Clerk that they met the conditions of deemed consent for the placing of their advertising sign. Cllrs McCarthy and Pearce had felt these conditions hadn’t been met and followed up with the planning officer who had passed the query onto the enforcement team. Cllr McCarthy was waiting for a response.

17/199Finance

Payments Made

L Bancroft (SO) / £390.60 + £390.60 / Clerk’s salary for July & August
DBC (DD) / £55.20 / Rent for Garage
EON (DD) / £53.06 / Street Lights - power
Cllr McCarthy / £15.75 / Expenses – attending HAPTC meeting
DBC / £26.00 / Cost of DBS check
M Walters / £370.00 / Parish Mowing –July

Receipts

Interest / £0.24 / Interest
Allsworth / £14.00 / Allotment Rent
Newland / £7.00 / Allotment Rent
McClarnon / £7.00 / Allotment Rent
Kent / £14.00 / Allotment Rent
Barr / £14.00 / Allotment Rent

Bank Balances at 31stAugust 2017

Unity Trust a/c 20382083£27,113.09

NS a/c£33,809.51

Cllr Juniper proposed a resolution to make the following payments; this was seconded by Cllr Brady

M Walters / £390.00 / Parish Mowing – August
BDO LLP / £240.00 / External Audit fee
Bidwells / £800 / Rent for Recreation Ground (29-09-17-28-09-18)
Bidwells / £275 / Rent for Allotments (26-03-17 – 29-09-17_

Funds available going forward:£60,552.60

• Chiltern Society Membership –Cllr Pearce proposed a resolution to renew membership of the Chiltern Society at a cost of £30; this was seconded by Cllr Juniper.
• Annual Return – The Annual Return had been received back from the External Auditors with no issues of concern raised. Cllrs viewed the External Auditors Certificate and approved the content of the Annual Return. The Clerk would put the appropriate notices on the boards and the website. (Action)
• New Unity Trust Account (online banking) –The Clerk said that from this month she would be making the payments online. The process for making online payments had been agreed in the reviewed Financial Regulations in May 2017 and the Clerk reminded Cllrs of these. Cllrs agreed they were happy for the Clerk to proceed with online payments as per the Financial Regulations.
• APC Grants 2017 – The Clerk informed the meeting that she had received applications from St John the Baptist Church, Citizens Advice Dacorum, the Aldbury Memorial Hall and the Aldbury Peace Memorial Hall. The closing date for applications is Friday 15th September. The Clerk has saved the relevant documents in Dropbox for Cllrs to view and will send out a summary of the applications following the closing date. The applications will be discussed and grants decided at the October meeting.
• Training –The Council approved the expenditure for the Clerk to attend the HAPTC Budgeting workshop (£50) and the Grants & Funding and Meet the External Auditor course (£40). The amount will be split with Tring Rural Parish Council. The Council also approved the expenditure for Cllr Pearce to attend the Grants and Funding and Meet the External Auditor course.
• HAPTC Data Protection Training October 25thIt was agreed that it probably wasn’t necessary for Cllrs to attend the training as briefing documents would be available.

17/200Parish Warden Vacancy

The Clerk reported that she had met with the new Warden the previous week and had checked his form and documentation for the DBS check. This had now been sent off to Dacorum. The Clerk had walked round the village with the Warden and explained the areas that would need to be checked and reported on. The Warden planned to attend either the October or November Council meeting to meet the Councillors. The Council agreed that it would be a good idea to have a dedicated day on which the Warden was present in the Parish. Cllrs said that they didn’t mind which day and the Warden could decide.

17/201Village Christmas Tree

Cllr Juniper confirmed that a local resident and tree surgeon was happy to help erect the tree and bring his chainsaw. It was agreed that the Clerk would order the tree and that Cllr Moore would take responsibility for organising volunteers to put the tree up. Cllr Juniper said he would check where the tree lights were stored. (Actions)