Harmston Parish Council

NOTES OF HARMSTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT HARMSTON MEMORIAL HALL.

Tuesday 17th January2017 at 7.30 pm

Meeting 5 of the 2016/17 year

Present

Cllr F Mannsåker, Chair

John Martin-Hoyes, Vice-Chair

Jonathan Chaplin

Iain Edgar

Anita Fox

Gail Dixon, Clerk to the Council

1 / Open Forum
No members of the public attended the meeting
Note: It was subsequently discovered that some members wished to attend to talk about street lighting, but had been misled by a date error in the Council letter, for which the Council apologises.
The Council meeting opened at 7.35pm
2 / Apologies
Apologies had been sent by Cllr B Hamilton & Cllr M Jones
3 / Police Report
No police report had been received, however Cllr Mannsåker had received correspondence from Inspector Gee and PC Hanson regarding the traffic issues within the village. She would report in traffic matters. (Agenda item 8b)
4 / Reports from County and District Councillors
No Cllrs attended the meeting. Cllr Mannsåker commented that with the new arrangements made from the boundary commission she would write to enquire who is now representing the council from the County and District offices.
5 / Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The notes of the previous meeting (15th November 2016) had been distributed to Council members. Cllr J Chaplin, seconded by Cllr I Edgar, proposed that they be accepted as Minutes. Agreed.
6 / Actions undertaken since the previous meeting
  • Following the appropriate consultations, the Council has not been required to establish a pension scheme for its employee(s) at the present time. The Chair, as the formal point of contact, submitted the required Statement of Compliance to the Pensions Regulator by the deadline specified.
  • The Chair has written a letter of support on behalf of the Parish Council to Mrs Wright with regard to a possible new village sign
  • The Clerk has confirmed that the Council would support to removal of the unused BT payphone on Vicarage Lane.
  • The Council’s suggestions for a memorial to Edward Hennell have been passed to his daughter, but no definitive response has been received.
  • The Council’s responses on the Council Tax Support Scheme were submitted to NKDC.
  • A positive response on the proposed new constituency boundary was submitted to the Boundary Commission.
  • The Chair has been in correspondence with NKDC over the status of the field earmarked for the new play park, seeking clarification on whether planning permission is needed, and received a helpful response. She will report further under agenda item 8[c]
  • A thank you letter was sent to Father Christmas for doing an excellent job at the Christmas light switch on
  • A response expressing the Council’s strong objections was sent to NK planning regarding the application by Harmston Quarry for extending its operational timescale by five years. Update at the meeting: The Quarry application has been approved. Cllrs shared their disapproval & commented that the quarry was already not operating within their terms of licence. Cllr JM Hoyes suggested a complaint against the planners.
  • The Chair has written a strongly worded letter to Inspector Gee relaying residents views from the last meeting, and has received a response. This will be discussed under agenda item 8 [b].
  • An advertisement for a new maintenance contractor has been put on the website and booked into the Graffoe Link. The Clerk has also consulted other clerks over arrangements at other Parishes. Clerk will update Councillors at the meeting
  • SID has been set up on Blacksmiths Lane
  • A consultation letter has been sent to residents over the street-lighting in the old village. Several responses have been received; this will be discussed under item 8[a].
  • The clerk has clarified that the PC provides lighting as a power NOT as a duty. No response has yet been received from EON with regard to lowering costs by reducing the number of street lights and burning times.
  • The website has been updated

7 / Financial Matters
a)The current statement of account
Together with a bank reconciliation was noted.
b)List of outstanding invoices requiring payment
A list of invoices requiring payment were presented at the meeting:
EON - £345.15
LALC - £27
Reinbursement to clerk for Anti – virus for the PC lap top & printing paper £27.97
A letter from All Saints Church requesting the PC’s annual contribution towards the upkeep of the Church yard for £420 Agreed.
Cheque payments made since the previous meeting were noted:
12.12.16 / EON / £138.02
14.12.16 / Grant Thornton / Audit / £120
22.12.16 / HMRC / PAYE Q3 / £58.20
28.11.16 / G Dixon / Clerks Wages - November / £217.24
22.12.16 / Acorn / Maintenance man Q3 & Q4 / £785
28.12.16 / G Dixon / Clerks Wages - December / £217.24
30.12.16 / Salvation Army / Donation to SA Band for Christmas / £100
c)The Petty Cash report;
The clerk provided a Petty Cash report. As she had used £191.43, she asked that it be replenish back up to £200. All agreed.
d)The annual review of effectiveness of the internal audit.
The Council is required to annually review the effectiveness of both its systems of
internal control and internal audit. Following discussion and assessment of the current internal control systems and the introduction of the extended audit programme in 2010, Cllrs are satisfiedthat the systems in place are effective and meet requirements.
The current internal auditor Alan Humphries has informed the clerk that he wishes to retire from the post. The Council wished to offer thanks to Alan for his long service to the Council. A new internal auditor will now be sought by the clerk for this year. As thenew audit system will be in place for 2017/18 council Agreed to start looking for an accountant to audit the accounts. The clerkwill look into it.
e)Precept for 2017/18
Cllrs were reminded that the draft budget considered at the November meeting indicated that to set the precept at the 2016/17 level would not wholly cover projected costs. The Clerk produced financial calculations demonstrating the outcome of a 0%, 2% and 5% rise in precept as a basis for discussion. It was noted that while there was a slight increase in the tax base used to calculate the precept, the direct grant was again reduced.
Though reluctant to agree any increase, Cllrs were concerned over rising costs, and in particular likely future costs such as renewing street-lighting, increased costs of maintenance, and supporting services ceased by NKDC as its funds came under pressure. After much debate, they decided it was prudent to increase the precept for 2017/18, noting that a 5% increase would amount to £2.05 per household. Cllr I Edgar, seconded by Cllr A Fox, proposed such an increase, which was passed by 4 votes to 1, and therefore Agreed.
8 / a)Street Lighting in the old village
The Chair expressed thanks to residents for their responses towards the letter requesting views on the adequacy and development of the street lighting in the old village, in particular the care, thoughtfulness and detail in some replies. She summarised the feedback:
  • There was little support for any reduction in the lighting on Blacksmiths Lane, which was noted as being not well distributed
  • There was little support for turning off the lights at midnight, given the needs of residents leaving events at the Hall and the pub
  • The lack of lighting by the bus stop at the top of Vicarage Lane was of major concern
  • The lighting needs of each lane were different and must be considered separately
  • The lights on Harmston Hill must be maintained for the safety reasons
  • Views on the style and nature of the lights varied
  • Most respondents felt that adequate lighting for pedestrians was significant
The responses would help formulate a strategy for future replacement and development.
For the Council, the increasing costs of maintenance and supply were on-going worries, as were the age and condition of the lights. There was also concern about the condition of the fitments. The Clerk provided costings supplied by Eon for replacement part-night photocells and LED replacement lights. Both would be energy saving long-term but the initial costs to change and update the lighting would be substantial. Cllr Mannsåker proposed that the Council commission an independent expert to survey the state of the lights and fittings so a plan can start to be formalised. Agreed.
On the immediate issue of the unlit bus stop, the clerk will write to LCC Highways to enquire if the light next to the bus shelter can be reinstated.
b)Traffic Matters
As agreed at the last meeting, Cllr Mannsåkerhad again written to Inspector Gee over the use of the village lanes as a rat run for commuters.
He has replied assuring the Council that he is taking the matter seriously and the Harmston traffic issue has been adopted as a priority for the Cliff Villages Police Community Panel. PC Hanson has also written to Cllr Mannsåker, to say that he will resume surveying the traffic when the lighter evening makes the task lass dangerous, and noting increased positive liaison with RAF Waddington Police. He has written to RAF Waddington formally to request a notice of the penalties which might be incurred, including a £100 fine and 3 points on the licence by anyone caught abusing the enforceable Access Only signs, be placed on routine standing orders. Cllr Mannsåker commented that she was pleased that the police were taking the traffic problem seriously.
c)Play Area
Cllr Mannsåker has received a letter from NK Planning advising that no planning was required for the proposed new play area as it can be defined as permitted development under Schedule 2, Part 12, Class A of the Town and Country General Permitted Development (England) order 2015. The field is protected as public open space through a Section 106 Agreement, under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990. Cllr Fox and Cllr Mannsåker can now move forward withfunding applications.
d)Harmston Day
Another Harmston day has been proposed for 25th June 2017. Again this will be a joint venture between Harmston Memorial Hall Committee, the Church Committee and the Council. Cllrs gave their support to the event.Cllr Mannsåker will attend the first planning meeting later this month.
9 / Planning Applications during the periodSeptember - November
Applications for planning:
Tree Works
12 Cockburn way – no objections from PC
West Lodge, Station Rd – no objections from PC
Planning
Ref: 16/1467/FUL Grange Farm, High St - no objections from PC
Ref: 16/1563/HOUS Pendle, Blacksmiths Lane- no objections from PC
Ref: 17/0007/OHL Tower lane – replace telegraph pole – no objections from PC
Quarry Update – All applications have been approved
10 / Correspondence received
A schedule of correspondence received from November- January had been distributed to Cllrs.
11 / Matters to be raised at the next meeting
Streetlighting
Play area
12 / Date for the next meeting
Tuesday 21st March 2017
The Chair thanked all who attended and closed the meeting at 8.25pm
Chair / Date