CORBRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THE 27 MAY 2015
1. PRESENT. Councillor J M Hodgson, Chairman of the Council in the Chair, together with Councillors, Mrs J B Fearon, D Walton, Mrs P Proud, C G Curry, D Burnett, M Stone and A Jenkins.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – Cllrs Mrs G Dickinson, K Windebank and P H Kenny.
3. MINUTES. It was AGREED to take as read the minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting held on the 28 May 2014. There were no matters arising.
4. PARISH COUNCIL - CHAIRMAN’S REPORT. Cllr J M Hodgson presented his report on the work of the Council during the past year, a copy of which is attached to this minute.
5. COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT. Cllr Mrs J B Fearon gave a brief report on her work as a County Councillor. She advised that all the committees at NCC had changed. Cllr Mrs J B Fearon is still a member of Central Planning Committee however the West Area Planning Committee no longer existed. She is now a member of the countywide Planning and Rights of Way Committee. Cllr Mrs Fearon’s member funding had assisted this year with the repairs to the Parish Hall boundary wall and the Riggs play area. This year’s funding will be used to purchase the new cooker in the Parish Hall and the improvements to the riverside path.
6. RESOLUTIONS. There were no resolutions to consider.
7. THERE being no further matters raised for discussion, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7.25pm.
______Chairman
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 27 APRIL 2016
6555. PRESENT Councillor J M Hodgson Chairman of the Council together with Councillors: D Walton, C G Curry, Mrs J B Fearon, Mrs G Dickinson, Mrs P Proud, M J Stone, A Jenkins and M Horn
6556. Apologies for absence – None
6557. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Mrs J B Fearon declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 9 as a member of Northumberland County Council’s Strategic Planning Committee and Planning and Rights of Way Committee.
6558. MINUTES. It was proposed by Cllr D Walton, seconded by Cllr Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED the Minutes of the meeting held on the 23 March 2016 having been circulated, be signed as a true record.
6559. MATTERS ARISING.
a) TYNE VALLEY RAIL COMMUNITY RAIL PARTNERSHIP. Minute 6545 refers. Cllr C G Curry had attended the event to to mark the change of the Northern Passenger Franchise. From 1st April Arriva Rail North will be the train operating company for the Tyne Valley Line and it is business as usual.
b) PLANNING TRAINING EVENT. Minute 6539b refers. Cllrs J M Hodgson, M Horn, D Burnett and C G Curry had attended the planning training event on 12 April and found it very informative.
c) ELECTION. Minute 6550 refers. It was noted that the Corbridge Parish Council by election would take place on 5 May 2016. There are two candidates; Jack Oldham and John Gelson.
d) FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES. Minute 6528a refers. It was noted that Cllr Mrs J B Fearon had not yet agreed the contribution to the Cricket Club. This was still going through the audit process.
e) PERMIT/DISC PARKING. Minute 6551 refers. Cllr Mrs J B Fearon advised that a community worker permit could be obtained by visiting the NCC website. The cost is £15 and it is valid for 2 years. An application form is available on the website and evidence is required of on call duty by way of an official letter from the body providing service e.g. NHS Trust; Primary Care Trust; Practice Manager. The permit can only be used on one vehicle and the following information is required; Vehicle Registration Document V5C, Lease agreement for the car, vehicle insurance certificate, company car letter from company.
f) LED STREET LIGHTING. Minute 6535f refers. A copy of the street lighting map is still to be obtained.
6560. COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORT. Cllr Mrs J B Fearon advised that nominations are invited for the Love Northumberland Awards 2016. This involves projects that are enriching the lives of the people of Northumberland. The award events itself will be held at The Alnwick Garden on Monday 20th June at 7.00pm. winning entries will receive £250 prize and runners up a £100 prize to be spent on something that will benefit the project or work.
6561. ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT. It was proposed by Cllr A Jenkins, seconded by Cllr Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED accounts on the list as circulated be paid.
6562. ACCOUNTS UP TO 31 MARCH 2016 and budget report for the period ended 31 March 2016 were presented to the Council. It was proposed by Cllr J M Hodgson, seconded by Cllr Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED to accept the Accounts and Budget Report up to 31 March 2016.
6563. TO ACCEPT AND APPROVE THE ANNUAL RETURN ENDED 31 MARCH 2016. This was deferred to the May meeting of the Parish Council.
6564. PLANNING DECISIONS. It was proposed by Cllr Mrs P Proud , seconded by Cllr Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED that the Council receive the details of Planning Decisions made by Northumberland County Council, in accordance with the list circulated.
6565. PLANNING APPLICATIONS. It was proposed by Cllr J M Hodgson, seconded by Cllr Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED to accept the decisions of the Planning Advisory Group in accordance with the list circulated.
a) Gladman Developments. A meeting had been held with the planners and Gladman’s. Straker are to be asked for a ‘community contribution’ towards perimeter parking, concentrating on extending the current car park by 50-60 spaces. Discussions have taken place with the Allotment Management Committee and Corbridge Youth Initiative over the possible use of suitable allotments/skate park. NCC Infrastructure team to come up with a design and costings which will need to include allotment refurbishment. NCC’s contribution needs to be identified and the Strakers asked for the shortfall.
Access arrangements continue to be discussed. The Parish Council will need to make sure that they can obtain the safest arrangements possible under the circumstances and hope to include a Traffic Regulation Order in the process to ensure traffic congestion problems are dealt with. Meetings are to continue with the residents, school, highways development team and infrastructure team to achieve this.
Section 106 discussions still continuing and hoping to complete shortly. It will include a £59500 contribution towards restoration work on Walkers Potteries in conjunction with Historic England and Tyne and Wear Buildings Preservation Trust.
b) Taylor Wimpey Sites. No further issues to report.
6566. CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence and information items received since the March meeting had been listed on the agenda and were noted.
6567. CORBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL. Historic England is considering the war memorial in Corbridge cemetery for addition to the list of buildings of special architectural of historic interest as part of their response to the centenary of the First World War. They are currently assessing the memorial and will be preparing advice for the Secretary of State.
6568. TYNEDALE FLOODING INITIATIVE. Guy Opperman MP had arranged a meeting on Friday 1st April 2016 from 4.00pm – 6.00pm at Hexham Community Centre to discuss the Tynedale Flooding Initiative.
6569. ACTIVE NORTHUMBERLAND. Active Northumberland are proposing changes to the provision of retail products at Tourist Information Centres in Northumberland. The proposals include a reduction in the level of retail provision.
6570. NEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES: AREA MANAGER. Temporary changes are being made in the Neighbourhood Services Management Team. Ray Wealleans, Area Manager is taking up a secondment to a temporary position. A temporary area manager is to be appointed however Greg Gavin is to be contacted for the time being.
6571. TYNE VALLEY COMMUNITY RAIL PARTNERSHIP. A drop in buffet lunch has been arranged at Hexham Railway Station on Friday 1st April from 11.00am to 2.00pm to mark the change of the Northern Passenger Franchise. From 1st April Arriva Rail North will be the train operating company for the Tyne Valley Line.
6572. COMMUNITY LED HOUSING. An event is to be held at Stocksfield Community Centre on 20th April from 1.00pmto 4.30pm to set out and stimulate interest in and promote the concept of developing Community Led Housing in rural communities.
6573. INFORMATION ITEMS.
· Community Action Northumberland - CAN eNews February 2016
· The Clerk Magazine – March 2016 Issue 47
· Clerk and Councils Direct – March 2016 Issue 104
· NALC – eNews March 2016
· Community Action Northumberland – David Francis Farewell Gathering
· Local Government Pension Scheme – Changes to National Insurance contributions wef 01.04.16
· Active Northumberland – Northumberland Residents’ Festival
6574. CURRENT ISSUES.
a) FLOODING – A useful meeting organised by Guy Opperman to establish the Tyne Flood Initiative. Locally permanent repairs have been carried out on erosion adjacent to the bridge plus the footpath leading into the wood beside the former boathouse. The boathouse area is due to be tidied up and work has already been carried out in the cemetery and Stanners Wood. Investigative work is to be carried out by the Environment Agency on the bank side downstream of the flood wall as more permanent repairs need to be carried out. The standard of protection is considered to be relatively high along the south bank after initial assessment but did conclude that future works at Well Bank may be feasible but needs to be looked at in more detail. Gravel management is being monitored and reviewed regularly, as a result of recent floods the model is to be updated to help better understand the situation to support future decisions on management of the islands.
JBA Consultants have been commissioned to review and update models for the rivers north and south Tyne involving comprehensive review and update on the hydrology used in the models as well as an assessment of specific issue in each community. This will take 10-12 months to complete. Once the models have been updated the Environment Agency will then review their assessments to see if specific schemes are feasible, based on the more accurate and up to date information.
Work is continuing on design of improved drainage solutions in Stanners/Station Road area.
Corbridge Flood Action Group continue to meet regularly. Mary Dhonau ‘Queen of Floods’ attended a recent meeting and interactive workshops being held by Durham University to try and build up a detailed picture of how flooding is understood by people who live in the area.
b) FORTHCOMING EVENTS – Plans are well under way for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations to be held in the Parish Hall on Sunday 12th June from 2.00pm – 6.00pm.
6575. WORKING/LIAISON GROUPS.
a) FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES. Minutes from the meeting held on 19 April 2016 had been circulated and were noted. It was proposed by Cllr Mrs P Proud, seconded by Mrs G Dickinson and AGREED to increase the Cemetery Fees and Parish Hall in accordance with the proposals. A copy of the 2016-2017 fees are attached to this minute. Any decision regarding contributions to the flood affected clubs had been deferred until more information was available on their financial circumstances.
b) PARISH HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. A meeting had been held with Melanie Francis, NCC to look at how best to deal with the storage problems in the Parish Hall. A meeting is to be held with Tommy Gibson, LED Lighting to discuss converting the Parish Hall to LED.
c) PLAY AREA IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE. It was noted that the fallen tree in the Riggs play area had been removed by a resident.
d) COMMUNICATIONS GROUP. The new edition of Corbridge Matters had been distributed. Unfortunately, this issue had been delayed. A meeting is to be held early May to discuss the next issue.
e) NCC HIGHWAYS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES LIAISON GROUP.
A meeting had been held earlier in the day and minutes will be circulated in due course. Discussions around dog fouling had taken place. Stencils will be renewed and further patrols in the area. The dropped kerb request had been passed to Richard McKenzie.
f) TOWN AND PARISH LIAISON GROUPS. The next Joint Area Committee with Parish Councils is to take place on 10th May at 6pm in the Hexham Mart. Cllrs J M Hodgson, C G Curry and D Burnett are to attend. This is an opportunity to talk to key County Council officers on subjects of importance.
g) CORBRIDGE IN BLOOM. Spring judging in April appeared to have gone well. Summer judging is to take place on 20th July with the Britain in Bloom judging on 4th August. The 2 Walkers Pottery glazed troughs are to be utilised as planters, possibly in the Coigns.
h) CORBRIDGE HERITAGE TRAILS. Historic Dilston Trail – the ground investigation and the design of the foundations and abutments will be completed this financial year together with the diversion orders required for the relocation of both footpaths. The overall programme will have slipped a year due to other pressing commitments resulting from the December floods. The objective is to complete the project by 2018. It is unlikely that the path alongside the river at Trees Please will be repaired this year.
i) VILLAGE SHOW. A meeting had been held during the Easter holidays and therefore the school representatives were unable to attend.