Skelton cum Newby Parish Council

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting in the Village Hall

Thursday 27October 2016 at 7pm

Welcome

The Chairman called the meeting to order andwelcomed everyone.

Present

Councillor Peter Greenwood (PG), Councillor Brian Derry (BD), Councillor Jane Mosley (JM), Kath Rayner, Clerk (KRR) and 6 members of the public.

1.Apologies– Councillor Brown and Councillor Windass (received by email during the meeting.

2.

  • 2.1 Declaration of Interests – None.
  • 2.2 Applications for Dispensation– None.

3.ApprovaloftheminutesoftheOrdinary Meeting held onWednesday 27 July and the Extra Ordinary meeting held on Tuesday 16 August 2016 - The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman.

4.Reports from Councillors– None.

5.Ongoing Issues

Information was received on the following ongoing issues with further action being agreed where necessary:

  • 5.1 Speeding:

oNewby have no objection to signs being put up near the school car park. However, it was agreed that having a 20-mph sign near the school and a flashing 20-mph sign in the village would have more benefits. KRR to contact North Yorkshire Highways Agency to investigate whether this is possible.

oCouncillor Mosley advised that a boundary map was due to be received from Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) by 31 October 2016.

oThree residents have volunteered to assist with the Community Speed Watch programme. The minimum number required is five. KRR to check with North Yorkshire Police whether the village is able to join the scheme with only three volunteers.

  • 5.2The pondproject:

oThe drainage problem has been fixed. However, the drain needs connecting but there is no urgency for this to happen.

oThe gate has been hung.

  • 5.3 The bank account transfer from Yorkshire Bank toHSBC:

oDetails of the complaint response from HSBC were given. By way of a goodwill gesture, HSBC have provided the Parish Council (PC) with a food hamper. The PC agreed to donate this to the church for them to raffle at the upcoming wine quiz.

oThe authority letter to close the Yorkshire Bank account was signed in accordance with the Yorkshire Bank mandate.KRR to forward to Yorkshire Bank.

  • 5.4TheSkelton Combined Commuted Sums May 2016:

o£431.48 received (natural and semi-natural green space) towards the wood for the pond project.

oA response is still awaited from HBC as to whether they will fund the disabled access for the play area. A decision whether to claim the £776, available under the outside sports facilities section,will be made once HBC’s response has been received. KRR to chase HBC.

oAs commuted sums cannot be used to cover maintenance costs, the £615available under the amenitygreenspace andgreen corridors section cannot be used towards thetree surgery for the chestnut trees on Main Street.

oA response is still awaited from HBC as to whether they will fund the disabled access for the play area. A decision whether to claim the £44, available under the provision for children and young people section, will be made once HBC’s response has been received. KRR to chase HBC.

oAs commuted sums cannot be used to cover maintenance costs, the £497available under the cemeteries sectioncannot be used to provide a grant to the church for the upkeep of the churchyard. KRR to ascertain whether the sum can be used towards the cost of redirecting the drain in the churchyard to prevent flooding.

  • 5.5 Newby will arrange for the tree obscuring the street light outside the farmhouse on Main Street (opposite the old vicarage) to be lopped when they carry out other tree surgery in the village.
  • 5.6 The garden at No. 6 Main Street still requires weeding. PG to action.
  • 5.7 The replacement of the Neighbourhood Watch sign at the Ripon end of the village is still to be investigated. KRR to action.
  • 5.8 Some weeding of the verge in front of the Post Office has been completed by Councillor Mosley. KRR to remove the additional weeds that have since grown.
  • 5.9 The mowing of the allotments is still to be completed. PG to action.
  • 5.10 The pavement outside No. 1Crowgarth still requires repair.PG to make contact with HBC.
  • 5.11 The fence around the play area still require repair. KRR to chase HBC.
  • 5.12 Councillor Mosley has removed the ivy around the sign at the junction of Boroughbridge Road.
  • 5.13 Newby will arrange for chestnut trees on Main Streetto be lopped once the leaf canopy has fallen. PG to action.
  • 5.14The hardware is now in place for the village to have access toSuperfast FibreBroadband. Out of approximately 115 homes, 50 are not currently able to access fibre broadband because of an error in BT's installation. Jim Spillings has a list of the housesaffected and is working with Superfast North Yorkshire to fix the problem.
  • 5.15 Following the appointment of Thirsk Payroll as administrator of the Council’s payroll, the PC will move to quarterly payroll with effect from 01 January 2017.

6.Financial Matters

  • 6.1 Payment of the following accounts were ratified:

othe purchase and delivery of the wood for the pond walk way;

oClerk's salary 01 July to 31 July 2016; 01 August to 31 August 2016; 01 September to 30 September 2016 (£313.94 including additional hours worked);

othe Finance Training course attended by the clerk (£115.00);

othe printing of the defibrillator training flyers;

othe purchase of Excel and Word programs for the PC’s laptop (£119.99);

oAutelaLtd payroll charge01July to 30 September 2016; and

oPAYE for period 06 July to 05 October 2016 (£107.00).

  • 6.2 Payment of the following accounts were approved:

oClerk's salary 01 October to 31 October 2016;

oClerk’s mileage expenses 01 October 2016;

oClerk’s additional 27 hours worked 05 August to 17 October 2016; and

othe half yearly Reading Room rent.

  • 6.3A bank reconciliation to 05 October 2016, which had beensigned and dated as correct by Councillor Mosley on 24 October 2016, was presented to the meeting for approval. A budget comparison to 05 October 2016 was discussed and approved.
  • 6.4 The Financial Regulations (England), including the amendments made following the last meeting, were adopted.
  • 6.5 A budget forecast for the 3 years ending 31 March 2020 was received and discussed. KRR to action suggested changes and resubmit for approval at the next meeting.
  • 6.6 The setting of the Precept for the year ending 31 March 2018 was discussed. As the final instalment for the village hall repairs of £2,500 is still to be paid to Newby, it was agreed that the precept needs to increase by at least this amount. A decision will be made on the final precept amount at the next meeting. KRR to include an additional £2,600 to cover the amount owed to Newby in the budget changes under item 6.5 above.
  • 6.7The Chairman stated that a clean annual audit had been received from PKF Littlejohn LLP.

7.Other Items for Consideration

  • 7.1Information was received from Councillor Derry on theConsultation on Statement of Principles for Gambling 2016-2019.Councillor Derry stated that the general principleswithin the statementappeared reasonable but would not address the rapid growth of Internet gambling.
  • 7.2Information was received from Councillor Derryon theHarrogate District Draft Local Plan.Part of the plan is for HBC to identify what is required by way of housing and business units for the next 20 years. Whilst Skelton is not affected directly, Councillor Derry estimated that Boroughbridge would acquire an additional1000houses, based on the assumed housing density figures in the Draft Local Plan. This wouldequate toatwo-thirdsincrease in the current population of Boroughbridge.By comparison, Ripon would similarly acquire an additional 2,500 houses, increasing its population by about a third. HBC is required by Government to identify land for at least an additional 11,000 houses but had actually identified 18,000. Any new houses proposed as a result of the plan would still be subject to normal planning approval processes. The Parish Council had nothing to add to its earlier response to Draft Local Plan, namely there are significant infrastructure impacts that must be addressed now, notably on education, health and social care services, and on transport. There are various dates for the public to view the draft plans.KRR to publish these on the village noticeboards and website.
  • 7.3 The planning application to remove the telephone box had been responded to by the PC stating that ‘The Parish Council does not object to or support the application but wishes to make comments or seek safeguards. Comments: 1. The Parish Council has adopted the kiosk. We are content for BT to remove the payphone but should expect them to make good after doing so, leaving the kiosk in a state suitable for public use as a local information centre.’ Councillor Derry has written to BT advising them that the PC believe they own the telephone box but have not been able to locate any paperwork to prove this. If the PC do not already own the box, then they would wish to opt to purchase it for the stated £1. Councillor Derry has received two holding responses from BT.
  • 7.4 Susan Gibson has expressed an interest in becoming a Councillor. The co-option will be considered at the next meeting. KRR to provide Susan with the necessary paperwork for completion.
  • 7.5 Communication between Councillors and Councillors and residents in-between PC meetings was discussed. It was suggested that an insert could be placed in ‘Beyond the Pews’ updating residents on village issues. PG advised that Newby would print this if required. It was suggested that the PC should offer to sponsor an edition of ‘Beyond the Pews’ as a thank you for allowing it to include the PC insert. Sponsorship is thought to be £25 per annum. KRR to confirm the sponsorship amount and obtain the distribution schedule for ‘Beyond the Pews’.
  • 7.6 Managing Planning Applications that arrive between scheduled meetings was discussed. It was agreed that for planning applications affecting our parishor that may in some way impact the village i.e. motorway services, etc., a meeting would be called and/or an extension to the closing date for responses requested from HBC.
  • 7.7 The frequency of PC meetings was discussed but no decision was made. This will be considered further at the next meeting. KRR to add to the next meeting agenda.
  • 7.8 Councillor Mosley offered assistance to the Chairman should he wish to delegate any of his current or future actions. The Chairman thanked Councillor Mosley for the offer.

8.Date of Next Meeting – Thursday 12 January 2017 at pm in the village hall.

The meeting closed at 9pm.

Minutes submitted by: Kath Rayner, Clerk

Approved by: Peter Greenwood, Chairman

Signed Date:

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