MINUTES of the ANNUAL MEETING of the COUNCIL OF

MINUTES OF the ANNUAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF

SANDY LANE Parish Council

held on MONday 11 MAY 2015 in BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, SANDY lANE,

commencing at 7.30 Pm

Present:Cllr Simon Cropper

Cllr Alan Harris

Cllr Beverley Porter (Chair)

Cllr Malcolm Sykes

Clerk:Eve Haskins

In attendance:Four members of the public were present (including PCSO Mark Priestley and Thornton and Allerton Ward Officer Dave Horsman)

51/15Election of Chair and Vice-Chair

RESOLVED thatCllr Beverley Porter be elected as Chairman and Cllr Janet Turpin be elected as Vice-Chairman for 2015/2016; Declaration of Acceptance of Office duly signed by Chairman.

52/14Co-option of new parish councillor

RESOLVED that Simon Cropper be co-opted onto the Parish Council.

53/14Apologies consented to

Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Turpin, due to holiday.

54/15Declarations of interest - None received.

55/15Minutes of previous meeting

Minutes of previous meeting held on 13 April 2015 confirmed as true recordand signed by the Chair.

56/15 Public forum

1. Planning issue at Dalecroft Rise:

A parish councillor reported that some building works being undertaken on Dalecroft Rise are causing such a mess that it is detrimental to the surrounding area. Cllr Sykes stated that this building work was approved by the Planning Dept of BMDC last year, and assured all that he is currently looking into this as his role as Ward Cllr. PCSO Priestley reported that he is also investigating this property, due to the building work undermining the retaining wall: both to keep the Parish Council informed.

1. Flooding in Greenwood Park:

A member of the public expressed concern regarding the flooding of part of the pathway in Greenwood Park: Clerk to contact Parks Dept of BMDC regarding this.

1. Barbed wire on footpath at Monterey Drive:

A member of the public expressed concern regarding the barbed wire on the fence on the footpath leading up to Monterey Drive: Clerk to contact Rights of Way of BMDC regarding this.

1. Bradford West Coordinator’s Office restructure:

Mr Horsman reported that he is now the Ward Officer for the area following a restructure at the Coordinator’s Office. He stated that he is looking forward to working with the Parish Council for the benefit of the area and will try to attend as many Parish Council meetings as he is able.

1. Litter sweeper on Prune Park Lane:

A parish councillor expressed concern that the litter sweeper who cleans on Allerton Road does not turn onto Prune Park Lane down into the village but stops at the top of the hill. Mr Horsman assured the Parish Council that he would investigate this.

57/15Planning applications – None received.

58/14Ongoing issues

1. Crime in the area:

PCSO Priestley stated that he is attending the meeting to respond to concerns from the Parish Council that crime in the area is on the rise, explaining that the crime itself is not on the rise but awareness of crime is increasing due to OWL crime reports etc. The Chair expressed concern that the OWL reports do not include all crimes, only ones in certain categories, and Cllr Sykes expressed concern about the use of quad bikes in the area. PCSO Priestley stated that all quad bike sitings should be immediately reported to the police and Mr Horsman confirmed that there is a dedicated line for this.

1. War memorial:

Clerk updated all that she and Cllr Turpin attended a meeting with the Parks Department and the local stonemason in Greenwood Park on 20 April 2015,to discuss the site for the war memorial, as well as the village hall. The representatives of the Parks Dept confirmed the site and suggested that the memorial faces up/down instead of towards the road/park, and that a path could be placed in front of it for easy reach. Cllr Turpin and Clerk also attended Jacob’s Well for further advice from the Planning Dept of BMDC, who stated that a more detailed plan of the war memorial is needed before the planning application can be submitted. Clerk has requested this plan from the stonemason and is currently awaiting this before submitting the planning application.

1. Village hall:

Clerk updated all that the above meeting with the Parks Dept was also attended by a representative of the Cricket Club, to discuss the way forward for the village hall, and planning advice was also sought for this issue. The Planning Dept confirmed that planning permission would not be required for the village hall if the current building was refurbished and repairs carried out, but only if the building was replaced altogether (which would be unlikely to be successful due to parking issues etc.). Concern was expressed regarding the fact that the Parish Council do not hold the lease for this building or own the land on which it stands, which makes it incredibly difficult to obtain funding. Agreed that Clerk to contact Cricket Club to request a meeting to discuss this issue further, to ensure that a new building would be used as a community building, not solely for the use of the Cricket Club, and to determine who would be responsible for the administration/maintenance of the new building.

1. Traffic issues in village:

The Parish Council expressed concern regarding parking on pavements in the village, especially on Cottingley Road: PCSO Priestley confirmed that the parking is only classed as causing an obstruction if a wheelchair/double buggy cannot get past. The Chair also expressed concern about children riding skateboards down Prune Park Lane/the end of Cliffe View and the area further down the hill being obstructed by a parked car: PCSO Priestley requested that the registration number of the car be sent to him.The Chair also reported that there are problems caused by the school bus: PCSO Priestley confirmed that this was discussed at a community meeting earlier this year and was to be followed up by the former Ward Officer - Mr Horsman stated that he would check progress on this.The Parish Council also stated that there was a ‘rat-run’ on Grasleigh Avenue, that the ‘Keep Clear’ space at the bottom entrance is causing problems, and a one way system needs investigating: Cllr Sykes and PCSO Priestley stated that they would will pass these concerns onto the relevant parties at BMDC.

1. ‘Streetlife’ social media site:This item was deferred to a future meeting.

59/15Mandatory documents

RESOLVED that the Standing Orders, Complaints Procedure, Code of Conduct and Financial Regulations of the Parish Council are all confirmed and adopted.

60/14Asset Register

RESOLVED that Asset Register of the Parish Council is approved by the Parish Council.

61/14Bank mandate

RESOLVED that bank mandate of the Parish Council should be amended to include Cllr Cropper in addition to Cllrs Turpin and Porter and the Clerk, and to also remove the former parish councillors; Clerk to obtain forms to bring to the next meeting.

62/14Financial matters

RESOLVED that:

1. The following accounts were approved from payment:

1. Bradford Council for Clerk’s wages for April;
2. Clerk’s expenses (£136.84, including bus fares: £9.10, reimbursement for gifts:
3. Staples for Clerk’s stationery (£63.39);
4. YLCA for Clerk’s training (£57.50, 50% of training course);
5. Chris Hawkesley for internal audit (£100.00).

1. Annual Return 2014-15 approved by the Parish Council and duly signed by the Chair and Clerk; Clerk to send to external auditors.

63/15Correspondence received

• Email from BMDC re New Deal meeting on 5 May 2015: acknowledged;
• Email from Ward Cllr Dunbar re green dog walking scheme: acknowledged, Mr Horsman distributed dog walking scheme posters, stickers etc for Clerk to place on notice-boards;
• Email from Masood Gondal re litter picking in area and Community Chest grants: acknowledged, see item 66/14 below;
• Email from YLCA re Provision of Services Agreement: acknowledged, Provision of Services from YLCA duly agreed;
• Email from local residents re planning concerns on Prune Park Lane and Wilsden Road: acknowledged, see item 65/15 below;
• Email from YLCA re White Rose publication and training: acknowledged, see item 65/14 below;
• Email from Masood Gondal re changes to Bradford West Coordinator’s Office: acknowledged, see item 56/15/4 above.

64/15Refresher training for Clerk

RESOLVED that Clerk to attend Refresher Training on 5 June 2015, 50% of fees paid by the Sandy Lane Parish Council and 50% of fees paid by Harden Parish Council.

65/15Planning issues

Clerk updated all that two residents have been in contact recently regarding planning concerns with reference to Shay House Farm, Prune Park Lane and Upper Swain Royd Farm, Wilsden Road. The Parish Council agreed that they would have to wait until they are consulted upon the planning application for the windmill at the former before commenting (this is still in the pre-application stage), and Cllr Sykes stated that he is already in contact with Building Control of BMDC regarding the latter, as it is on green belt land.

66/14Community Chest grant

RESOLVED that Clerk to apply for a Community Chest grant towards the cost of the war memorial.

67/14Newsletter, issue 25

RESOLVED that the following should be included in the next newsletter, as well as the usual contributions from local groups: information on the OWL crime reports (to be sent to the Clerk by PCSO Priestley), information on the green dog walking scheme, introduction of new parish councillors and thanks to the former parish councillors, litter picking article and photographs from the primary school and information on changes to 615 bus service.

68/14Clerk’s appraisal

RESOLVED that Clerk’s appraisal to take place with the Chair on Monday 8 June 2015 at 7.00pm in Bethel Baptist Church, prior to the next Parish Council meeting.

69/15Minor items and items for next agenda

a)War memorial/village hallupdatesto be provided at the next meeting;

b)‘Streetlife’ social media site to be discussed at a future meeting;

c)Local Development Plan updates to be on the next agenda;

d)Traffic issues to be on next agenda, including discussion of problems on Grasleigh Avenue;

e)Funding for park equipment to be included in next agenda.

70/15To note the date, time and venue of next meeting

• Next Parish Council meeting to be held on Monday 8 June 2015at Bethel Baptist Church, Sandy Lane, at 7.30pm.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.00pm.

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