BISHOP MONKTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Bishop Monkton Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 10th January 2017 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 S Verrill, Cllr Brown (Harland), District Cllr M I Galloway and four members of the public.
Before the meeting commenced Cllr Fowler asked the public if there were any specific areas on the agenda on which they wished to comment on. Mr Ayliffe stated that he wished to comment on items 6,9.3, 9.5 and 12.1. Mr Richold stated that he wished he wished to comment on 7.1 and Mrs Banks stated the she was in attendance to listen to discussions on item 7.5
1 Apologies for absence
Apologies had been received from County Cllr Harrison as he was triple booked. Mr Richold queried, later in the meeting, why no apologies had been received from Richard Harper. The Clerk had clarified that this was not necessary, due to his resignation.
2 Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest. Regarding the Village Hall and Playing Fields, it was commented that Cllr Verrill may have an interest as he has a boundary in common and therefore may be perceived to have a bias: it was understood that he had no pecuniary interest.
3 The minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 29th November 2016
These were proposed as a true and correct record and passed unanimously. They were signed by the Chairman. Mr Ayliffe drew the meetings attention to the minutes of the 20th October, where he stated that he believed the minutes to be incorrect even though they had been unanimously approved and had been investigated by HBC and not found to be incorrect. The meeting noted his comment. He also stated that he did not believe the Milner Hill Farm Planning Application had been discussed.
4 County Councillors Report
There was no County Councillor’s report owing to the absence of County Cllr Harrison.
5 District Councillors Report
District Cllr Galloway gave his report in which he noted the following:
· The Boundary Commission Report was awaiting House of Commons approval and would come into force in May 2018. This would result in Bishop Monkton becoming part of the Newby Ward. District Cllr Galloway also noted that Burton Leonard would be included in the Claro Ward and Markington would join the Fountains Ward. There would be a reduction of District Councillors from 54 to 40. New elections, including Parish Council, would be held in May 2018 and every four years thereafter.
· He reported that there was a proposal to cut the Grounds Maintenance Grant and bottlebank and cans funding from HBC. This could be effective from May 2017. The Parish Council noted that support for putting up and taking down the Christmas lights in Bishop Monkton would be withdrawn after 2016/2017.
· He confirmed that the sites included in HBC’s Local Plan included BM2, BM3 and BM4. BM1 and BM5 had not been recommended. Even though sites had not been included there was nothing to stop landowners submitting planning applications to HBC. District Cllr Galloway also noted that there had been a challenge to a site in Knaresborough, which had been upheld by the Inspector. This had resulted in HBC’s inability to achieve their 5-year land availability target.
6 Finance
Prior to the financial report, Mr Ayliffe raised a question regarding how the budget calculations would be affected by the building of the new homes on the Kebbell Homes site. Cllr Fowler explained that Kebbell Homes had three years in which to pay the amounts due into Commuted Sums and consequently budget calculations for 2017/2018 were unaffected.
The Clerk then reported on the financial status of the Parish Council. It was initially believed that the balance in both accounts, after taking in to account outstanding cheques, was £14,986.71. However there had been a miscalculation in the amount due to CEF, for which the Clerk apologised. The correct balance was £15,486.76
The following accounts were passed for payment:
V A Forbes (Web Services) £28.50
CEF (Christmas Lights - amended) £707.98
Farm Land & Services £277.20
7 The following items of correspondence had been received:
· A letter had been received in response to two parishioner’s complaints from Jennifer Norton at HBC. Mr Richold interjected, complaining that Cllr Fowler had earlier stated in the meeting that no issues had been raised. The Clerk confirmed that the letter had detailed two issues, of the number that had been initially raised, that were worthy of comment. Firstly, it was acknowledged that, at the meeting of 20th October, a resolution should have been passed on the exclusion of the public for items 4 and 5 and it should have been explained fully to members of the public. The Clerk apologised to Mr Richold for correct procedure having not been followed and acknowledged that the Parish Council had considered this recommendation. He also noted that Jennifer Norton had decided, after consulting the Council’s independent person for standards that the allegation of the minutes of that meeting not representing a true record would not be referred for formal investigation. The Parish Council were reminded that this was a serious matter, if proven, and this had been drawn to their attention.
· The Clerk confirmed that he had written to the Chairman on December 13th resigning. There were several reasons for this: firstly, the workload of performing the role for three parish councils had proven more onerous than was originally anticipated. Secondly the Clerk was due to be out of the country for nine weeks between April and September 2017 and would struggle to fulfil the role. Finally, he had agreed to take on further duties from a charitable organisation outside of local government which would have a substantial impact on his spare time. This had been completely unforeseen at the time of his accepting the role of Parish Clerk: it would also affect his duties with the two other Parish Councils, both of whom had been informed of his decision. The Clerk also stressed that there had been no issues with his working relationship with any of the Parish Council members. Although he was contractually obliged to give a months’ notice, to aid a smooth handover, he had agreed to stay on until 31st March 2017 at the latest.
Cllr Fowler thanked the Clerk for his assistance and would place an advert on the noticeboards and contact the relevant authorities. Mr Ayliffe also thanked the Clerk from the floor.
Action: Cllr Fowler
· A quotation from Farm Land & Services had been received for grass cutting services for 2017. The Parish Council agreed that the Clerk should approach the contractor in Littlethorpe for an alternative quote.
Action: The Clerk
· A complaint had been received from a parishioner regarding the clearing of leaves by the beck on Boroughbridge Road. It transpired that it was not HBC who had performed the work. Cllr Garnett reported that he rectified the situation. It was noted that HBC had since cleared leaves from the roads in the village.
· An email had been received from David Banks regarding the need to prune the cherry trees on St John’s Road. Cllr Fowler reported that she had been in contact with Richard Harper who had established that the HBC Arboriculturist feels the area should be handled by the Housing Department. After discussion, it was agreed that the Clerk would contact Jenny Wood at HBC Housing and Alan Gilliard at HBC to progress and pick up on the replacement of the dead tree by the post box.
Action: The Clerk
· It was agreed that the “Battles Over” correspondence would be included on the agenda for the Annual Meeting
8 After discussion, it was agreed that Planning Applications would be dealt with as follows:
· All applications are received by The Clerk: he will distribute the header by email and all other documentation by hand.
· There will be discussion, as required, at the Parish Council meeting and a decision on how to proceed taken.
· Should an application need a response prior to the date of a meeting, the Clerk will apply to HBC for an extension.
The following applications were noted:
Decision notifications
16/04034/FUL: The Old Cowshed: Single story extension. Application Refused
16/04286/FUL: Southlands Farm: Application Approved
16/04443/FUL: 4 St Johns Road: 2 Storey Extension: Application Approved
16/04889/FUL: 8 Melrose Road: Retrospective Planning Application: Application Approved
District Cllr Galloway believed that application16/05622/RG3: demolition of garages and erection of 3 dwellings with associated car parking at 11-13 St Johns Way could be discussed. However, since the meeting it had been discovered that this was not the case: the planning application would be put on the agenda for the next meeting to be discussed and the Clerk would apply to HBC for an extension.
9 Ongoing Issues
The following were discussed:
Mechanics Clock: Cllr Fowler had forwarded details of the quote for servicing the clock to the owners and was awaiting a response. The Parish Council had agreed to pay for the servicing of the clock.
Replacement Stiles on Village Footpaths: Cllr Garnett noted that, following approval from the landowner, NYCC were hoping to replace the stile between Ings Land and Boroughbridge Road by the end of January.
Mobile Phone Reception in Village: it was understood that NYCC were doing what they could to improve reception and EE had plans to improve their reception over the next two years. Concern was raised regarding the lack of a public telephone for emergencies in the centre of the village: when were BT planning to bring back the phone box on Boroughbridge Road?
Cllr Garnett reported that he and Cllr Verrill had cleared foliage around the 30 mph signs on Ripon Road and Boroughbridge Road. The sign on Moor Lane was more problematic and he would forward a picture to County Cllr Harrison to enlist his aid in resolving the issue.
Action: Cllr Garnett
Cllr Brown had taken a photograph of the flooded culvert on the Burton Leonard Road and had circulated it. Mr Ayliffe commented that the flood posed potential dangers due to the lie of the road and cyclists having to traverse the flood on the wrong side of the road. Pedestrians were also in danger. It was agreed that the Clerk would forward Cllr Brown’s photograph to County Cllr Harrison to enlist his support.
Action: The Clerk
Regarding the damage caused by moles on St John’s Road, neither NYCC or HBC could resolve the issue. It was agreed that Cllr Oates would look at options of setting traps.
Action: Cllr Oates
10 Report from The Village Hall Committee Representative
Cllr Brown reported as follows:
· That it was understood by the VH&PF Committee that Yorkshire Water were to take responsibility for the maintenance of the proposed improved drain and water tanks.
· The “wish list” for Kebbell Homes was to include an electronic cricket scoreboard (for which planning would need to be applied for due to it being larger than 48 inches) and an emergency telephone to be situated by the defibrillator on the outside wall. This had been discussed as there were commuted sums available following the Kebbell development.
· It was agreed that the Village Welcome Packs should include a letter detailing what was expected of dog walkers on the Village Hall and Playing Fields Land.
Kebbell Homes Meeting:
There followed a discussion regarding the meeting that had taken place, facilitated by the Village Hall and Playing Fields Committee, to which Kebbell Homes and representatives of the Parish Council had been invited. Cllr Verrill wished to know why he had not been invited to attend that meeting or the one earlier with Hetheringtons, the Solicitors. Cllr Fowler replied that the Hetheringtons meeting had not taken place and was purely a phone call to establish where the Parish Council could obtain copies of the lease and plans. These had since been obtained and circulated to all. The meeting with Kebbell Homes had been by invitation. Cllr Verrill maintained he had been excluded. The discussion became heated and at this point (19:40) District Cllr Galloway made his excuses and left the meeting.
Points that were made during the discussion were as follows:
· Cllr Verrill suggested that as additional proposed housing sites had been identified in the draft Local Plan that might could cause more drainage issues: perhaps a more forward looking scheme should be looked at which could intercept water running down Moor Road and divert it away from Hungate. It was agreed that this was a good idea in principal, but as no planning application had been lodged for any of the proposed areas, it could not be considered.
· It was the solicitor’s view that Kebbell could not put a new drain in without a Deed of Easement being signed. This would protect the Parish Council until Yorkshire Water took over responsibility for maintenance of the tanks and drainage.
· It was noted that Kebbell Homes had offered to cover the Parish Council costs. It was further noted that the new drainage system would bypass the cricket field.
· Mr Ayliffe asked what assurances would there be for landowners with animals against contaminated water running off road tarmac into the beck and poisoning these animals, such as sheep. It was agreed to consult Kebbell Homes on the process of consultation and filtration proposed which would provide reassurance.