Littlethorpe Parish Council

Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 15th May 2013

Venue: Littlethorpe Village Hall

Present: Cllr. Curtis, Cllr. Laker, Cllr. Edmonstone, Cllr. Winterburn, Cllr. Fay

1.  Apologies

There were no apologies.

2.  Declarations of interest

Cllr. Edmonstone declared an interest through his connection with the Village Hall Committee and the Serjeanstone Trust.

Cllr. Laker and Cllr. Winterburn declared an interest in the Stud Farm planning application.

3.  County Councillor’s report

Cllr. Michael Harrison introduced himself and informed the meeting that he intends attending as many meetings as possible. He will send a report if he is unable to attend. He also told the meeting that N.Y.C.C. had held its A.G.M. today and that there was no change in personnel. He is very keen for residents and Parish Councils to understand the policies being applied to Highways.

4.  District Councillor’s report

There was no District Councillor’s report.

5.  Correspondence

5.1  A letter from Cllr. Ian Galloway was read to the meeting.

6.  Planning

Pending consideration: - Morrisons – Erection of Class 1 superstore, 60 bed hotel, 5 office blocks (Use Class B), 3 Class B2 blocks, 1 showroom, conversion of existing Class A1 superstore to DIY store with outside garden centre with associated car parking, landscaping and alterations to vehicular access. Cllr. Curtis informed the meeting that he had ‘phoned the planning office and had been told that they are still negotiating the 106 agreement and a decision is expected soon.

Stud Farm, Pottery Lane, Littlethorpe – Retention of the use of agricultural building for

the storage of highway repairs vehicles.

Permissions granted: - Thorpe Farm – Erection of replacement single storey extension.

Green Oaks, 6 Little Crossing - Erection of single storey rear extension and front porch.

Whitcliffe Hall – Erection of extension to animal feed storage. Prior approval not

required.

5.1 Enforcement – Stud Farm. Cllr. Winterburn and Cllr. Laker left the room. H.B.C. had informed the Parish Council that following an investigation by them, a planning application had been submitted (as above). This application was then discussed with the applicant who was present at the meeting.

Grange Farm – A letter had been received from H.B.C. stating that an investigation was

taking place and that the Parish Council would be informed of the outcome.

7.  Public Time (15 Minutes)

Liz Tite asked what the outcome would be if wheelie bins caused an accident on the public highway. She was informed that all bins should be placed close to the highway but not on it.

8.  Village Hall report

Only one meeting of the Village Hall Committee has taken place since the last Parish Council meeting.

There are only 2 major items to report:

·  The financial situation regarding the extension is as follows:-

Donations (as at 16th April) £9 391

H.B.C. Community Chest £3 000

Bernard Sunley Trust £2 000

N. Yorkshire Police Disposal of Property Fund £500

H.B.C. Commuted Sum re Racecourse Marina (for £11 996.82

TOTAL: £26 887.82

Taken together with the Village Hall Committee’s reserves, this is sufficient

to fund the extension work which is due to commence late June/early July.

·  The Village Hall Committee’s A.G.M. will take place on 22nd May at 7p.m. for 7.30p.m. Drinks and nibbles will be available.

9.  Ripon Neighbourhood Plan

Cllr. Edmonstone informed the meeting that he had recently visited the Ripon Council website where it claims it works alongside neighbouring parishes which the Parish Council disputes. It was unanimously agreed that a letter be sent pointing this out and also re-iterating the wish not to develop south of the bypass.

ACTION – Cllr. Edmonstone and Clerk

10.  Broadband improvement in Littlethorpe

Cllr. Laker informed the meeting that a slight change had been made by BT to the proposals for high speed broadband. Originally they promised a speed of 25 MB for 90% of customers and a speed of 2MB to the other 10% by the end of 2014. The aim is now to provide a higher speed of 10MB to the 10% by 2017. When Littlethorpe is due to receive the increased speed, the Parish Council would inform villagers.

11.  Ripon City Quarry – Restoration and aftercare meeting report.

Cllr. Laker and Richard Tite attended this meeting. They reported that the bridge would be in place from Autumn 2013 until Spring 2014 and Canal Field would be progressively restored.

12.  Commuted sums and grant – Present situation

Cllr. Laker gave a list of commuted sums and grants which were discussed.

13.  Littlethorpe Lane/A61 – Parking

As the landowner has no issue with this, no further action is needed.

14.  Builder’s Yard, Mankin Lane

The current state of the yard was discussed and as it is a mess again, a letter would be sent to Pat Costar at H.B.C. asking him to have a look.

ACTION – Clerk

15.  Pottery Lane/ Knaresborough Road – Sign post

The sign post at this junction is still unrepaired and as it is over 3 months since the last correspondence with Area Transport, it was agreed that a further letter be sent. The Parish Council would make the offer to fit the sign if they could provide it.

ACTION – Clerk

16.  Litter in Littlethorpe

The on-going problem of dog litter along Littlethorpe Lane and Littlethorpe Road was discussed. Cllr. Winterburn proposed and Cllr. Fay seconded that a further two bins be purchased. This was agreed unanimously and Cllr. Laker offered to erect the bins and Cllr. Curtis would empty them.

Cllr. Edmonstone reported that litter has already begun to appear since the last

litter pick. He proposed and Cllr. Laker seconded that another litter pick take

place later in the year. This was unanimously agreed.

17.  2011 Littlethorpe Census Profile

The Parish Council had recently received a copy of this profile and it was agreed to share it with parishioners.

The link would be put on the website.

ACTION – Cllr. Fay

It would also be included in the next Parish Council item in Roundabout offering parishioners the opportunity to view the Parish Councils copy by contacting the Clerk.

ACTION – Clerk

18.  Railway route through Littlethorpe

At a recent meeting, attended by Cllr. Laker, Ripon’s Cllr. Bernard Bateman had requested that research be carried out into the possible linking of Ripon to the National Network. Cllr. Harrison explained that the electrification of the Leeds to York (via Harrogate) link was under consideration as it is very well-used. A link to Ripon is unlikely as it would be much more difficult due to it having to be started from scratch.

19.  Serjeantson’s Trust

As six months has passed since it was agreed to bring this to a close and the Parish Council has had no further communication with Hutchinson & Buchanan, it was agreed that a letter be sent requesting a response within 28 days.

ACTION – Clerk

20.  Dates of next meetings

Tuesday 16th July 2013

Wednesday 28th August 2013

Meeting closed at 9.45p.m.

Clerk: Mrs. Sandra Roberts, The Hollies, Pottery Lane, Littlethorpe, Ripon, HG4 3LW

E-mail:

Phone: 01765 601276