BISHOP MONKTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Bishop Monkton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 29th November 2016 in Bishop Monkton Methodist Church Schoolroom at 6.00pm
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Members Present
Cllr J Fowler (Chair), Cllr E Oates, Cllr A Garnett, Cllr R Harper, Cllr S Verrill, Cllr Harland, County Cllr M Harrison and four members of the public.
1 Apologies for absence
Apologies received from District Cllr I Galloway.
Following this The Clerk reminded all those in attendance of the rules regarding meetings with parishioners in attendance as advised by HBC. He also drew the meetings attention to the fact that “Public Time” could be included on the agenda for a fixed amount of time.
Cllr. Fowler asked the members of the public whether they were in attendance for any specific items on the agenda. Mr and Mrs Shaw indicated that they were attending to observe the discussion regarding item 7.1 regarding the Cherry Tree opposite Cobblers Cottage. There were no other responses.
2 Declarations of interest
Cllr Oates declared an interest in item 8.2.4 – single storey extension at The Old Cowshed.
3 The minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 20th October 2016
These were proposed by Cllr. Oates and seconded by Cllr. Garnett as a true and correct record and passed unanimously. They were signed by the Chairman.
4 County Councillors Report
County Cllr Harrison reported as follows:
· The culvert on the Burton Leonard road has been repaired.
· He requested a photograph of the flooding near Halfway House on the road, which Cllr Oates would provide.
Action: Cllr Oates
· Obscuring of crossroads sign on Knaresborough Road approaching from Ripon: Cllr Oates would report online and photograph.
Action: Cllr Oates
· County Cllr Harrison reported that there was nothing he could do regarding the mole on the verge near St John Baptist unless it affected the highway. The Clerk would make enquiries with Farm & Land Services to see if they could assist.
Action: The Clerk
· The Allerton Park facility would commence taking waste from Harrogate next year. The chimney currently visible is the high point of the establishment.
· The Strategic Highways Plan included a potential relief road for Harrogate for which there were 3 or 4 options. The intention was that it would be a northerly route and would also include a bypass for Killinghall.
· There was still a need for NYCC to make savings with a reduction in the annual budget from £500m to £360m.
· Cllr Harper asked what NYCC’s latest position was on mobile phone signal coverage. County Cllr Harrison responded that it was a commercial decision and that NYCC would work with the operators as closely as possible.
5 District Councillors Report
Owing to the absence of District Cllr Galloway there was no report.
6 Finance
The Clerk reported that, considering the cheques that were to be signed off tonight, the Parish Council had a total balance of £17,052.18 in their accounts and that they were performing well against budget. It was proposed by Cllr Fowler and seconded by Cllr Harper that the report be accepted. This was passed unanimously.
The Clerk had received a request from HSBC regarding the completion of a self-certification notice for the Parish Council. Cllr Fowler reported that she had had a conversation with the bank earlier in the year and, as we were a Parish Council, there was no need for us to complete the paperwork. The Clerk would write to HSBC accordingly.
Action: The Clerk
The draft budget had been circulated for discussion prior to the meeting with a recommendation that the Parish Council request a precept increase of 3% (£8,085 in total). Cllr Fowler stated that we needed to form a view on covering our expenditure on an ongoing basis. We currently subsidise our expenditure from our reserves, but should we not be able to continue to do so, we would need to look at reducing our contributions to many worthwhile causes. After further discussion, it was proposed by Cllr Fowler and seconded by Cllr Harland that we request an increase of 2% (£8,007 in total). This is believed to be the equivalent of a few pence per household and was agreed by a majority vote.
Action: The Clerk
The following accounts were passed for payment:
V A Forbes (Web Services) £33.25
Clerk’s Salary Q3 £396.60
HMRC £86.40
Age UK (Christmas Lunch Donation) £60.00
7 The following items of correspondence had been received:
· A letter had been received from Mr and Mrs Shaw regarding a large cherry tree opposite Cobblers Cottage that needed urgent pruning. In addition, there is a large gap in the rows of trees fringing the beck beside two large conifers. They wondered whether a replacement cherry tree could be planted to follow the line of the cherry trees from St John Baptist. Mr and Mrs Shaw also offered to contribute towards the cost of this tree. During discussions there was also concern raised regarding the two large conifers in the same location and whether they should be removed due to the possible damage to the beck side wall and whether cherry trees could be planted to continue the line towards the St Johns Way junction.. It was agreed that Cllr Harper would discuss the matter with Alan Gilleard at HBC and discuss the possibility of conducting a review of the trees in the Village.
Action: Cllr Harper
· A letter had been received from Mr Richold highlighting several areas where he was dissatisfied with the Parish Council. This had been copied to District Councillor Galloway and the Monitoring Officer at HBC. In addition, an email had been received from Mr Ayliffe regarding the co-option process that the Parish Council had undertaken. This had been copied to the Head of Legal & Governance at HBC. The Clerk had been in both conversation and correspondence with the Head of Legal & Governance at HBC and she was considering the matter. Consequently, he was unable to comment further until he had received further advice. However, he could comment on Mr Richold’s request regarding villagers being aware that they can attend Parish Council meetings and the posting of minutes on the noticeboard. The agenda for the current meeting had included, in two separate places the phrase “The Public and The Press are cordially invited to attend”. He had also received advice from HBC confirming that there is no requirement under law to display the minutes on the noticeboard and that publishing them on the website and making them available for inspection is sufficient. The Clerk intended to place a permanent notice on the notice board detailing where minutes can be inspected, should any parishioner require to do so.
Action: The Clerk
· An email had been received from Mr R Wilson regarding the HBC Local plan and the potential risk of increased flooding in the village. Cllr Garnett responded that there was a larger, evidence based document that went into greater detail. He would draft a letter to Mr Wilson addressing his concerns.
Action: Cllr Garnett
8 The following planning applications were discussed:
16/03159/FUL: Land to west of Sunnyside Cottage – approved.
16/04286/FUL: Southlands Farm-approved
16/03997/FUL: Hall Farm – Pending; the Parish Council has objected
16/04192/FUL: Milner Hill Farm – Pending; The Parish Council has objected
16/04034/FUL: The Old Cow Shed – Pending – Cllr Oates left the room whilst this application was discussed. It was agreed unanimously that there was no objection to this application.
16/03489/REM: Field House – Application withdrawn
9 Ongoing Issues
The following were discussed:
Harrogate Local Plan: Cllr Garnett noted that the Parish Council had not put forward sites or commented to HBC. However, he noted that whilst three sites had been identified in Bishop Monkton, there were none in Burton Leonard and only one in Staveley. He was interested to understand why Bishop Monkton had been chosen. After a general discussion, it was noted that there was an ongoing public consultation, details of which had been posted both on the website and the notice board. Cllr Fowler noted that she felt the Parish Council would be consulted once a planning application has been made. Meanwhile she felt it was our responsibility to let residents know about this ongoing consultation by HBC. To this end, the Parish Council has placed an item on the BMPC website, notice boards and forwarded information to Richard Field for the BM Today website.
Mr Richold asked why he hadn’t been excluded from the meeting during the discussions, owing to his involvement with several sites. The consensus was that, as the Parish Council were not making any decisions or discussing any matter that was confidential, that there was no need.
Cllr Oates reported that she had obtained three quotes for Christmas Tree lights and that these had been ordered for £760 and were arriving on 30th November. The Clerk had made HBC aware so that they could arrange with Cllr Oates to put the lights up.
Cllr Garnett reported that he had received three quotes for new noticeboards for Boroughbridge Road and by the Mechanics Institute. Cost would be £505 + VAT each and £100 to install both. It was proposed by Cllr Garnett and seconded by Cllr Harland that the Parish Council go ahead. This was agreed unanimously.
Action: Cllr Garnett
Dead Tree by the Beck. Cllr Harper reported that he was in communication with Alan Gilliard at HBC and hoped to have a response within the next fortnight.
Action: Cllr Harper
Willow Tree Overhanging the Ford. Cllr Verrill would contact Land Registry to ascertain ownership of the land where the Willow Tree was situated.
Action: Cllr Verrill
The Mechanics Clock: the cost of servicing the clock would be £224+VAT and would be performed by Smiths of Derby. It had last been serviced in November 2012. Should the striking hammer be serviced? This was a matter of the owners. Cllr Garnett would send details to Cllr Fowler.
It was noted that all the Green Spaces that the Parish Council had put forward for HBC’s Local Plan had not been included.
Cllr Garnett reported on the status of replacing the stiles around the village: to summarise, Cllr Garnett stated that the Parish Council were, in conjunction with NYCC, trying to improve footpaths around the village to provide three loops for dog walkers. Unfortunately, there had been some incidents of sabotage on some of these footpaths. The latest had been to My Ayliffe’s gate, of which the Parish Council strongly disapproved. On the footpath from Boroughbridge Road to Ings Lane the stile was to be replaced with a Kissing Gate. There was a question of who owned the Ashbrook Farm stile; this was being investigated and once this was ascertained it would be replaced. There were two stiles adjacent to Hall farm: the first had been replaced, but the second, belonging to Mr Ayliffe, had not yet. There was a right of way that ran through the stile itself, not the adjoining gate. Three meetings had taken place with Mr Ayliffe but no agreement had been reached on a suitable replacement. Cllr Garnett also noted that the new hen shed at Littlethorpe, which had originally encroached on the footpath, was no longer impinging on it.
Cllr Harper had been in contact with Don Mackenzie at NYCC regarding mobile phone signals and would summarise progress in a document that would be put on the website.
Action: Cllr Harper
10 Report from The Village Hall Committee Representative
Cllr Harper reported as follows:
· It was noted that Kebbell Homes had expressed an interest in installing underground storage tanks at the end of the hammerhead. It was planned to put a Boules Court on top of them. Cllr Harper wanted to see copies of the plans for the underground storage tanks. No such plans are available yet. It was agreed that we would respond to this once we are approached by Kebbell Homes. This raised questions regarding legal fees, liability and insurance.
· The original drain that ran from Kebbell’s development area towards and beyond the tennis courts was inadequate and needed to be replaced. It was planned to extend the path over the drain.
· Cllr Verrill would like sight of the deeds and the lease covering the agreement between the Parish Council and the Village Hall Committee: this was being investigated by Cllr Fowler and The Clerk.
Action: Cllr Fowler / The Clerk
· The Village Hall Committee had been offered a skateboard ramp but had declined the offer.
· It was noted that there was no telephone at the Village Hall and mobile reception was poor.
· In case of a village emergency a “Battlebox” will be installed at the Hall.
· The Village Hall committee had discussed the Parish Council suggestiontobuild a decorativefence preventing dogs accessing the field and advised that thiswas aParish Council matter. Theysuggested that welcome packs for new residents could emphasize that dogs should not be exercised on the field.
11 Election of Second Village Hall Committee Representative
It was proposed by Cllr Fowler and seconded by Cllr Garnett that Cllr Harland be the second Village Hall Committee representative on the committee. This was approved unanimously.
12 Clerk’s Contract and Job Description
This had been circulated and agreed by all. It was signed by Cllr Fowler and The Clerk.
13 Grit Trays
It was agreed that Cllr Verrill would ascertain where the trays were and the state of them. The Clerk would ascertain where we purchase grit from, for how much and whether we needed to break up the grit currently in the trays.
Action: Cllr Verrill / The Clerk
14 Dates of Next Meetings
10th January: 18:00
7th February: 18:00
7th March: 18:00
Signed...... Date......