Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Norbury and Roston Parish Council held on Tuesday May 17th 2016 at 7.30pm in the Mary Clowes Hall.
Present: Mrs A Lewis (Chairman), Mr Kieron Lomax, Miss Anne Weaver, Mr Karl Davis, Mrs J Carrington, Mr Tony Morley (DDDC), Mrs P Fielding (Clerk)
There being no attendees for the Open Parish Meeting, the AGM of the Parish Council started straightaway.
Tony Morley, our new DDDC Councillor was welcomed to the meeting by the Chairman.
1. Apologies for Absence
None.
2. Election of Chairman
Kieron Lomax took the chair. Mrs Anne Lewis was proposed by Kieron Lomax, seconded by Anne Weaver and elected unanimously. Anne Lewis completed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
3. Election of Vice-Chairman
Kieron Lomax was proposed by Anne Lewis, seconded by Karl Davis and approved unanimously.
4. Register of Interests Review
No-one had any changes to make from last year.
5. Minutes of the Last Meeting
The minutes were approved unanimously and signed by the Chairman and the Clerk.
6. Matters Arising
Nothing.
7. Annual Return
A copy of the Annual Return, including theStatement of Variance and the Bank Reconciliation had been pre-circulated. All the financial dealings for the past year,including the Statement of Income and Expenditur,e as well as the Annual Return, had been reviewed and approved by the Internal Auditor. Section 1, the Accounting Statements, and Section 2, the Annual Governance Statement, were approved unanimously, and signed by the Chairman and the Clerk.
Action: Clerk to send Annual Return to Grant Thornton, External Auditor.
8. Authorisation of Payments
a) Community Lincs Insurance 2016/17 - £167.60 cheque no. 000240
b) DALC subscription - £96.18 cheque no. 000241
c) HMRC Tax on Clerk's Wages 2015/16 - £81 cheque no. 000242
d) Internal Auditor 2016 - £15 cheque no. 000243
e) FACT Donation cheque no. 000244
The total payment of tax due by the Clerk to HMRC for 2015/16 was £84. £3 had already been sent last September, hence the current payment of £81 for the year; the Clerk would refund this to the PC. The donation to Friends of Ashbourne Community Transport had been sent last November, but it transpired later that the cheque had been lost, and therefore stopped. It was agreed to send a replacement cheque. These payments were approved unanimously.
9. Planning Matters
16/00230 manège at The Shippen – no objections
16/00263 Old House Farm – replacement farmhouse, garage and annexe. The previous application for this had been withdrawn because of lack of justification for replacing the existing farmhouse. The new application addressed that; all other details remained the same.
The PC had raised no objections to the previous application a year ago, and saw no reason to change their view. However there was some disquiet about the new entrance, which it was felt was not entirely appropriate in a rural setting. It was proposed by Anne Weaver and seconded by Anne Lewis that the Clerk discuss this with the case officer and then with Tony Morley; this action was agreed by the majority.
Action: Clerk to talk to the case officer about the entrance.
10. Phone Box
The views of the village had been sought in the Flyer about the retention of the phone box; Anne Lewis had received many emails in support of this, and purchase of the box was agreed by the PC. The glass would be replaced by Openreach and their engineer would assess the damaged door to see whether they would repair that too. Ultimately, the box is 'sold as seen', and future upkeep is down to the PC.
Discussion followed as to the possible uses for the box, including the housing of a defibrillator. Tony Morley said that part of the cost of the latter, £200-£300, could come from his District Councillor's Discretionary Fund (£1000 for the District Councillor to allocate for community benefit by the parishes in his ward). It was agreed that suggestions for use should be sought from the village in the Flyer.
Action: Clerk to apply to buy box. Anne Lewis to put item in the Flyer.
11. Highways
Potholes: A big machine had been round the village today filling in potholes, at last!
Grit bins: the broken one on Squashley Bank has still not been replaced.
Action: Clerk to ask again for replacement bin.
Village Green: it was agreed that a free licence be applied for to enable some planting of low shrubs, which would help prevent the erosion of the corner of The Green.
Action: Clerk to apply for licence.
12. Appointment of New Clerk
Anne Lewis said she had received a letter of resignation from Pat Fielding, who had been doing the job for 16 years and now wanted more time to spend with her family. The letter was received at the end of March with 3 months notice given.
The post had been advertised in the Flyer, and athough one person had made enquiries, no applications had been received. However, the current clerk of Ellastone and Denstone had contacted the Clerk expressing interest. She would like to apply but could not do so until the beginning of July. It was felt that someone who 'knew the ropes' would be an advantage, and Anne Lewis proposed and Anne Weaver seconded that the Clerk ask Julie Sadler, Clerk to Ellastone and Denstone Parishes to apply.
Action: Clerk to contact Julie Sadler
13. Any Other Business
Tony Morley apologised for his absences from our meetings over the last year: he had been appointed to many committees which prevented him getting to know any of the councils within his ward. That was changing this year and he hoped to attend out meetings in future.
Neighbourhood Plan: these demand a lot of time and resources and take quite a time to complete. Once completed, however, they do have the force of law alongside the Local Plan. Anne Weaver said Karen Bown who had been involved with Doveridge's Neighbourhood Plan was willing to come and talk to us about their experience. Tony Morley said money was available to help pay for a consultant to help form the Plan. It was suggested that after meeting with Karen, she would help produce an item for the Flyer so that we could ascertain the interest among villagers for the idea.
12. Date of Next Meeting: to be fixed after date fixed for meeting with Karen Bown from Doveridge re Neighbourhood Plan.