Pateley Bridge Town Council s1

48/2012-13

PATELEY BRIDGE TOWN COUNCIL

The Council Chamber, King Street

Pateley Bridge, HG3 5LE

Tel: 01423 755628 Email:

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2012

Present:

Cllr I Skaife, Mayor (Chairman)

Cllr H Jefferson, Deputy Mayor
Cllr A Brown
Cllr C J Hawkesworth
Cllr S Hesselden
Cllr M Holt
Clerk: Sarah Adamson
/ Cllr J Leggett
Cllr S Lumley
Cllr N Scott
Cllr C Skaife
Cllr J Wardman

1 Apologies for Absence: none

2 Parishioners’ Representations: none

3 Councillors’ Declarations of Interest: Cllr Hesselden, Min. 6(d)

4 Minutes of the Meeting held on 2 October 2012: it was proposed, seconded and agreed by all that the Minutes be adopted as a true record of the proceedings, and the Minutes were signed by the Mayor. Later in the meeting, during the Exchange of Information (Item 9), Cllr Wardman asked for the following amendment to be made to the Minutes: Min. 7 with reference to the garage roofs on Lupton Close – amend ‘lower level’ to ‘upper level’.

5 Matters Arising

(a) Min. 5 (b) Signage for Millennium Green and Glasshouses Play Area: the cost of the signs had been estimated at £75 + VAT per unit, but the Clerk had not placed the order as the Annual Inspection Report by HCB of the Glasshouses Play Area had been received, recommending that Emergency Contact details should be included on signage. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that this was not appropriate for the play area, as any emergency would require a 999 call rather than a call to the Clerk or to any councillors.

(b) Min. 8 (c)(ii) Response from Police re. parking of cars at Glasshouses: Inspector Thorpe of NYCC Police had asked Sergeant Tiffany to respond to the Clerk’s letter re-iterating the extreme disquiet felt by the Council about the ongoing parking situation, and the danger it would present when the winter weather arrived. Sgt Tiffany had telephoned the Clerk to say that he would visit the site again with PC Hickson, to see if a resolution could be found, but that as no specific traffic regulation was being infringed, and mindful of the need for consistency in the Police’s treatment of on-road parking in the Dale, there was little that could be done.

(c) Min. 10 (b) HBC Planning Department - Electronic consultation process: the Dept of Development Services at HBC had now clarified the process, and confirmed that the Clerk would receive an email for each new planning application within the Parish, containing a link to the relevant documents, history and key dates.

(d) Min. 10 (c) Remembrance Day Parade: the Clerk confirmed that the Crown Inn were happy to provide refreshments after the parade, even though the 11November fell on a Sunday, one of their busiest days. The cost would be £2 per head for refreshments and the Clerk had agreed that they would provide this for approximately 50 people.

(e) Min 12 (b) Emergency Plan: as the Clerk had unexpectedly been away for several days, the planned meeting with the Clerk to Bewerley Parish Council had been postponed. However the Clerk had received a reply from the Estates Dept at HBC about an enclosed storage facility for sandbags on the Pateley Bridge side of the river; they had said that the converted garages behind the old council offices were now fully let, but there was a possibility that there would be room at their storage facility at the Cemetary. The Clerk was asked to contact them and enquire about available space in the Warden’s Hut at Southlands.

(f) Min 12 (c) Draft SO Amendment: Cllr Leggett had spoken to the Chief Officer of the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations (YLCA), who had stated that the Council was entitled to draw up its own Code of Conduct as long as it complied with statutory requirements. She was taking the query about the dual dispensations Pateley Bridge Council wished to include in the amendment to their Standing Order No.1, to the national body, and a response was awaited.

Cllr Leggett also wished to include two further items under Matters Arising.

(g) He had received a letter from a former Chair of Britain in Bloom who had been kind enough to provide very useful historical information about the Bandstand and its seats and the Clerk was asked to acknowledge this.

(h) Cllr Leggett had also consulted YLCA about the comment from a Parishioner (Min. 2. on 2nd October refers) that a member of the public had a legal right to have an item for discussion placed on the Council’s meeting agenda. Their Chief Officer had confirmed that this belief was erroneous and therefore Cllr Leggett had drafted a reply to the Parishioner for approval by the Council, which was proposed, seconded and agreed by a show of hands.

6 Planning Matters

(a) Applications to Harrogate Borough Council: DCPARISH 6.49.637.D.FUL 12/03588/FUL Erection of detached stables at Bishopside Barn, Madge Hill Farm, Fellbeck, HG3 5EW, for Mr S Rawson. No objections.

(b) Decisions by Harrogate Borough Council: the following were noted:

(i) Application No. 6.49.675.FUL Erection of stables to replace agricultural buildings at Crag View, Fellbeck, HG3 5EN for D Pullan. Granted subject to conditions.

(ii) Application No. 6.49.674.FUL. Erection Of 2 dormer windows at 13 Bishop Close, Pateley Bridge, HG3 5LJ for Miss J Makin. Granted subject to conditions.

(iii) Application No. 6.49.605.A.FUL. Erection of replacement dwelling at Barn Farm Cottage, Bishopside HG3 5ET for Mr C Sibley. Granted subject to conditions.

(iv) Application No. 6.49.40.C.FUL. Erection of 2 dwellings at Crossing Cottage, Glasshouses, HG3 5QH, for Mr & Mrs Goodliffe. Granted subject to conditions.

(d) Appeals: APCWNOTY 12.00103/REFPP 6.49.126.G.FUL Appeal by Mr and Mrs Edwards, The Old Vicarage, Wath Road, Pateley Bridge in respect of the Council’s refusal of planning permission, starting date: 21 September 2012. This appeal had been submitted to the Secretary of State, and the Council, having had no objections at the time of the original submission of the application, had no further comments to make.

7 Correspondence

(a) Email from HBC Dept of Corporate Policy re their Council Tax Benefit Consultation http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/surveys/ctb_consultation/ctb_consultation.htm?id=Qwd6S as the questionnaire was targeted at individuals, and as Councillors might not take a corporate view, it was agreed that individual responses to this important consultation should be made.

(b) Invitation from Rural Action Yorkshire to an event on the issue of Fuel Poverty in Nidderdale, to be held in Darley on Friday 19 October. District Cllr Lumley explained that such a scheme was already operating within the farming community in the Upper Dale, but this event was targeted at householders. Cllr Hawkesworth said that he would attend if he could.

(d) Letter from the Returning Officer at HBC enclosing a Notice of Election for the North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner on 15 November, to be put on Parish Notice Board no later than 8 October. This had been done within the time frame.

8 Council Business

(a) Completion of Annual Audit by Mazars: the certified Annual Return had now been received and copies would be available to local government electors on payment of £5. The Auditors had commented that local councils are only required to account for fixed assets at their purchase cost, and if this was not known, then a proxy cost (eg insurance value) could be substituted, but whatever valuation basis was adopted, it should be consistent, and the book value should stay constant until disposal. This was noted, although it was agreed that the Finance Sub-Committee should look at this, as it appeared to contradict previous advice, and had never been recorded in this way.

9 Exchange of Information

(a) Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS) – Events Diary for October and The Funding Bulletin. Noted.

(b) Fence at the BMX track: this had been vandalised and it was agreed that this repair should be added to the Caretaker’s monthly tasks and that Cllr Jefferson would contact him to let him know.

(c) Britain in Bloom: the response to the appeal in the last Council newsletter for new volunteers to join this group had not been huge, with the result that there was a strong possibility that no planting would take place in the Spring. Cllr C Skaife knew of two possible recruits and would pass those names on to the Committee.

(d) Bus Shelter: Cllr Brown reported that the guttering had been damaged and the Clerk was asked to report this to NYCC.

(e) Lights at Lupton Springs: Cllr Wardman reported that these had been out for three weeks and although he had reported it to HBC, he had been told that it was the responsibility of NYCC and the Clerk was asked to follow it up.

(f) Meeting of Finance Sub-Committee: this was confirmed as 6.00 pm on Tuesday 30 October.

(g) Reclaim of grass-cutting money from HBC: the Clerk was reminded that this should be done following receipt of the final invoice from Archway Landscapes.

(h) Scot Gate Ash Quarry: a local resident had emailed the Clerk and the Manager of the Nidderdale AONB to register concern about the increase in water flowing from under the holding wall of the reservoir above the quarry, and whether this would lead to further erosion of the bank and possible collapse. The Clerk had followed this up with the Environment Agency who had said that as this was not a registered reservoir (ie 25,000 cubic metres or more), it did not fall within their remit; with advice from one of the County’s archaeologists, Paul Burgess of the AONB had informed the Clerk that although work to the reservoir would not necessarily be frowned on, any work would need to be carefully planned to avoid harm to features of archaeological importance. He also mentioned that the work might possibly be eligible for grant funding through the Environmental Stewardship scheme, and he strong recommended further discussion with the NYCC archaeologists. The Clerk was asked to ascertain the owner of the reservoir and report back.

(i) Granting of Arms to Nidderdale Council: the Senior Building Services Engineer at HBC had contacted Cllr Lumley to let him know that during clearing of the building services offices, a cabinet had been discovered containing a document granting arms to the Nidderdale Council. They would arrange for it to be displayed in the Council Chamber and the Council expressed their interest and thanks.

10 Parishioners’ Representations

(a) The Mayor had been informed by a Parishioner that the flags at Glasshouses were slippery due to growth of moss and weeds, and it was agreed that CllrJefferson would contact the Caretaker and ask him to add this to his duties this month, and treat the area with Jeyes Fluid.

(b) The same Parishioner had pointed out that there were a couple of rotten patches in the wood of the bus-shelter; however it was agreed that it was not vital to carry out this repair at the current time.

11 Dates of next meetings

(a) The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 November 2012

(b) The following meeting of Council will be held on Tuesday 20 November 2012.

The meeting closed at 8.35 pm.