MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE NEWBOLD VERDON PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 7th APRIL 2014 AT THE PAVILION, ALANS WAY, NEWBOLD VERDON.

PRESENT: Mr. M. W. Preston, Mr C. Petcher, Mrs D Finney, Mr R Watson, Rev C Fox, Mrs J Crooks, Mr J Finney, Mr J Cooper, Mr W Crooks and Mr R. Bell (Clerk).

Guests: Mrs R Camamile (Borough/County Council), PCSO Guy Norris.

Parishioners: 3

867. APOLOGIES:

Apologies were received and accepted from Mr J Cartwright.

Mr W Crooks sent apologies saying he had a prior meeting at Borough Council and would attend if possible. Mr Crooks joined the meeting at 7:45 pm.

868. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS AND DISPENSATIONS:

Mrs J Crooks declared an interest in item 874a.

869. MINUTES:

Resolved - The Minutes of the meeting held on 3rd March 2014 were approved and signed.

870. MATTERS ARISING:

·  The Bus Shelter 50% match funding had been received from LCC.

·  Volunteers from Newbold Verdon Cricket Club had refurbished the pavilion function room and commenced re-painting the exterior doors etc.

·  A food hygiene inspection of the pavilion kitchen area had been performed by HBBC with no problems highlighted.

·  Mr Crooks informed the meeting that the Parish application for funding towards the defibrillator from the initiative fund had been successful. The exact amount was not yet known however formal confirmation should arrive shortly.

871. PARISHIONERS’ QUESTION TIME:

A question was asked regarding parking at the top of Brascote Lane opposite Constable Cottage by the newly formed lake. This was not only damaging the land but was extremely hazardous as the cars pulled on and off the land due to the sharp bend. County Councillor Mrs Camamile agreed to speak to the highways department to see if anything could be done.

A question was asked regarding any update from the Libraries Consultation briefing. The Chair confirmed that he had attended the meeting and would give an update during Chairman’s questions agenda item 880.

872. ACCOUNTS:

a)  To receive and approve payments as detailed in the schedule.

Resolved – To accept the accounts for the previous month and make payments as detailed.

b)  To approve the annual accounts for internal audit and posting of the notice of appointment of date for the exercise of electors rights.

Resolved – The annual account were unanimously accepted with no queries. Section 1 of the annual return was duly signed by the RFO and the Chair and permission was granted to send the accounts for internal audit.

873. POLICE REPORT:

PCSO Guy Norris was present to confirm the report as per below and take any questions.

Police Report for Newbold Verdon Parish Council for the past 28 days from 06/04/2014

Total= (Detected crime shown for this period = 0)

Burglary Dwelling= x 0

Attempted Burglary Dwelling= x 0

Burglary OTD= x 1

·  Theft of sit on lawn mover from shed along Mill Lane in Newbold Verdon. This happened on 31/03/2014.

Theft of Motor Vehicle= x 0

Theft from Motor Vehicle= x Theft of diesel from a car along Dragon Lane in Newbold Verdon between 30/03/2014 and 31/03/2014.

Damage to Motor Vehicle= x 0

Theft= x 3

·  2 thefts from stores along Main Street Newbold Verdon which happened on 20/03/2014 and 21/03/2014.

·  Theft of milk along St Georges Close in Newbold Verdon which happened on 15/03/2014.

Damage= x 0

Other= x 5

Mrs Crooks asked PCSO Norris to confirm what the “5 other” referred to. He replied that these were non recordable incidents such as domestic disputes.

An email had been received from PC Sean Hannigan asking for correspondence regarding the questioning of crime figures for Newbold Verdon to be included in the minutes. An informal discussion took place however PCSO Norris was not aware of the events and it was therefore though it would be better discussed at the next meeting when PC Hannigan has stated that he would be present.

At this point PCSO Norris left the meeting.

874. CORRESPONDENCE FOR DISCUSSION

a)  Newbold Verdon Community Action Group – Summer Festival – For discussion.

Resolved – There were no planned events by the council however Mrs Crooks informed the meeting that the main aim of the action group was to have a single list for all events in the village which would hopefully avoid any major clashes. The council also agreed that the Dragon Lane Recreation Ground could be used for a proposed Fun Day.

b)  B Halpin – Right of Way Complaint – For discussion.

Resolved – There is no formal right of way access to the public footpath that runs from the top of Alan’s Way to the bottom corner onto the Alan’s Way playing field except at either end of the footpath. The clerk was requested to reply to Mrs Halpin explaining the above.

c)  G Seller & Co – NAMM safety inspections make good quote – For discussion.

Resolved – The clerk to request that Barsby’s proceed with the repairs ASAP

875. BOROUGH AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT:

Mrs Camamile gave an update on Borough and County matters.

Relating to Newbold Verdon it was reported that as part of the Libraries Consultation briefing papers had been issued.

There was to be a Stepping Stones stakeholder meeting which Mr Crooks confirmed he would be attending.

876. PLANNING

a)  Proposed Wind Turbine Newbold Heath – Possible projects for Newbold Heath.

Resolved – It was proposed by Mrs Crooks and seconded by Mr Cooper that a special meeting should be convened to discuss and put forward plans for any future funding that may come from the green energy projects. This was passed on a majority with meeting date to be set.

b)  Dragon Lane Development possible expansion – Feedback from meeting with Bloors.

Resolved – As many councillors had attended the informal meeting hosted by Bloors it was decided to take no action until formal plans were proposed.

c)  Planning Application 14/00159/HOU – 14 Gilberts Drive Newbold Verdon – Extension and alterations to dwelling

Resolved – No comments or objections

d)  Planning Application 14/00133/FUL – Lindridge Farm Desford – Installation of Wind Turbine

Resolved – No comments or objections.

877. CEMETERY

Memorial Garden Centrepiece. Quotes for a centrepiece had been received from Barsby’s.

Resolved – The quotes were thought to be more than the council wished to spend. Some discussion took place on either a sundial or a statue centrepiece however it was decided that the clerk should investigate the possibility of stone centrepiece with a flat side on which a plaque could be mounted.

878. ALAN’S WAY

The clerk and Cllr R Watson met with Dave Stock from Leicester and Rutland Sport. He was very impressed with the facility and agreed that a further extension to the pavilion would be an asset. He did advise that the greatest chance of success would be if there was a partner club with a junior section for winter sports as well as the Cricket Club who used the facility. He agreed to contact the relevant FA and RFU associations to see if there were any clubs locally who were looking for facilities. He also said that a project plan needed to be put together as part of any application for funding and agreed to send some examples through.

879. PARISH CLERKS MONTHLY REPORT

A reminder that parish documents were due for review at the Annual parish Council meeting in May and also re-election of sub committees which were Finance, Planning, Complaints, Parks and Open Spaces.

880. CHAIRMAN’S QUESTION TIME:

·  Mrs Finney asked if anything could be done about the rubbish at the back of Stathams Shoe Shop which backs onto Bramble Drive as this was becoming and Health and Safety issue. Mrs Camamile said that she would contact the environmental health officer at HBBC.

·  Mrs Crooks reported that residents of Lord Crewe Close had asked if it would be possible to have any trees on the land at the end which border Arnolds Crescent. The council agreed that they would support this. The clerk to contact HBBC for permission. To contact stepping stones to see if there was any funding available and to also obtain prices from Barcham Trees.

·  Mrs Crooks reported that lots of bagged dog waste was being deposited by the kissing gate on the footpath that leads from Main St, opposite the Church into Hall Farm field. She asked if it would be possible to have a council funded dog bin placed by the gate. The clerk was asked to arrange for this to be done.

·  Mr Petcher reported that the drains along Bagworth Road between the Saw Mill and Newbold Heath were all blocked. Mrs Camamile agreed to speak to the highways department.

·  Mr Watson reported that residents of Alan’s Way had asked why the barrier at the entrance to the public footpath had been re-sited. The clerk was not aware of why this had been done and neither he nor the chair had been contacted prior to any work. The clerk was asked to investigate further.

·  Mr Cooper asked if an agenda item could be added to future meetingsregarding Newbold Verdon Community Action Group (NVCAG) update. He reported that he had attended their last meeting and it was felt by both sides that the Parish Council and the NVCAG were not working well together. Representatives of the Parish Council, John Cooper and Bill Crooks had agreed to attend regular meetings of the NVCAG as recorded in the minutes of the Parish Council meeting of 3rd March. Mr Cooper had asked that the action group reciprocate by attending council meetings.

·  Mr Preston reported that he had inspected the area at the corner of Dragon Lane Recreation Ground bordering 26 Dragon Lane where some form of grease had been coated on both the hedge and the parish fencing resulting in some schoolchildren turning up at school with grease all over their clothes. The police were aware and although this hedge was not the responsibility of the council it was felt that approx. 3 fence panels along the border would cure the problem of people trying to access the playing field this way. Councillors were asked to take a look for themselves and the clerk would get some prices for fencing.

·  Mr Preston gave an update on the community libraries briefing that he had attended at LCC. He reported that the 4 main points to come from the meeting were –

1.  16 Libraries would remain open with reduced hours.

2.  36 would only stay open if they were manned by volunteers. Newbold Verdon was in this group.

3.  There may be an alternative for the Parish to fund any shortfall to keep the library open. An amount of £10k per year had been suggested but not confirmed.

4.  The on line 24/7 availability of the library facility had contributed to the reduction in local library use.

It was though that Newbold Verdon did warrant a special case treatment as it did have one of the few “Friends of Newbold Verdon Library” groups attached which did ensure the library was well used. Also the library had been funded with lottery money and was a relatively new building.

There was a consultation event planned for Newbold Library on 19th May 2014 at 7:00 pm.

881. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:

The date of the next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Mon 12th May 2014 at the Alan’s Way Pavilion at 7.30 pm.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE CHAIRMAN DECLARED THE MEETING CLOSED AT 8:42 pm.

1