Parish
Council meeting
Monday September 10 2007
Belmont Community Centre
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BELMONT
RURAL PARISH COUNCIL
Parish
Council meeting |
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Present: Mr. P. Edwards (Chairman) Apologies: Mrs. V. Gummer In attendance; Mrs. E. Kelso (Clerk) 112/07 Declarations of Interest As District Councillor, Councillor Phil Edwards declared a personal interest in all matters relating to planning applications and noted that comments expressed are preliminary views taking account of information currently available to BRPC whilst reserving final views for decision taking by District Council Planning Committee where all relevant and final facts can be available prior to making a decision. Councillor Edwards also declared a personal interest in one item for payment under agenda item 7, Payments and Receipts. Councillor Myatt declared a personal interest in a matter to be discussed under “correspondence” as the subject matter of the item related to land behind his home. 113/07 Minutes of the previous meeting The Minutes of the meeting held on 30th July 2007 had been previously circulated. It was agreed that the Chairman be authorised to sign these Minutes as a true record of proceedings at that meeting. (a) Litter bins There has been no further progress on this item. (b) Bench in Coppin Rise As instructed the Clerk has passed on comments regarding the possible relocation of the privately donated bench in Coppin Rise. Tony Featherstone, of Herefordshire Council, has commented that the donor address was someone from Coppin Rise. He suggests that if the Parish Council wishes, it can contact the donor to seek their thoughts but he notes that the cost of moving the bench could be in the region of £400.00 so there would need to be a substantial benefit in doing so to outweigh the cost involved. Councillor Edwards agreed to discuss the options with the donor of the bench. (c) Clerks pension arrangements The Clerk has written to the LGPS to seek guidance on contribution rates. No reply to date. (d) Northolme Community Centre Open Day A successful open day took place on 4th August. Further discussion on the Parish Council’s Parish Plan Review was addressed under agenda item 9, Minute 120/07. (e) Office Equipment The Clerk reported that there has been no response from HALC regarding “bulk purchasing” discounts for office equipment. West Mercia Supplies can provide small items of equipment (not computer equipment) and BRPC has had an account with WMS for some years although it was noted that some items are cheaper at the local superstore. (f) Hedges Some cutting back of hedges has taken place although there has been a complaint that the contractors used by Herefordshire Council have made a particularly poor job of the work and have damaged private property. Comments regarding the standard of workmanship have already been passed to Herefordshire Council. (g) Rubbish left out As instructed Herefordshire Council were consulted regarding black bags of rubbish left in the street on days when there is not collection. Richard Wood of Herefordshire Council has stated that when householders are reminded of the collection day and when bags can be left outside, the problem is usually solved. Councillor Edwards has already spoken to the resident concerned and thought it unlikely that the resident would be responsive to an informal approach. He noted that as Herefordshire Council has no local bye law to deal with litter left on the street options for resolving the matter are limited. (h) Abbotsmead Road Lampposts Herefordshire Council’s street lighting department have declined our request to repaint the lampposts in Abbotsmead Road stating that they were repainted two years ago and in their opinion are in a satisfactory condition. (i) Car Parking on Grass Verges Instances where cars are parking on grass verges have notified to Herefordshire Council although it was noted that there are still several instances where grass verges are being damaged by vehicles. Members of the public present were urged to request that any neighbour who does park on the grass verge not to do so. (j) Anti Social Behaviour The Clerk has written to the Licensing Manager at Herefordshire Council regarding sales of alcohol to youths and drunken adults. She has responded that recent test purchases at the local supermarket identified no sales to underage drinkers. Residents and police have the power to request a licence review but only if they are able to provide clear evidence that licence conditions are being breached and the results of the test purchase exercise are taken into consideration. The process does not appear to take into consideration disturbance to local residents from youths and adults purchasing alcohol or the increases in anti social behaviour clearly resulting from the increased availability of alcohol in the immediate area. On this subject, it was noted that Tesco has now applied to have the restrictions on their alcohol licence lifted so that they can sell alcohol during all their opening hours (i.e. 24 hours Monday 8am – Saturday 10pm and on a Sunday until 4pm + 30 minute extensions on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon). It would appear that only individuals can object to changes in licence restrictions – an observation on behalf of the residents by the Parish Council is not available. There was also some confusion as to completion of the standard form which appears to require those objecting to have a detailed knowledge of licensing legislation. The Clerk has requested clarification from Herefordshire Council but in the meantime it was noted that the submission of objections online was an option. (k) Smoking in public places In response to a query raised at the last meeting, the Safety Enforcement Officer at Herefordshire Council has advised that bus shelters and other public places which are substantially enclosed (e.g. have three rather than four sides) are considered to be public spaces and therefore subject to the legislation prohibiting smoking. This means that the bus shelter areas at the City Hopper Bus Station outside Tesco in the City are bound by the regulations and the Safety Enforcement Officer will be discussing the regulations with Tesco as owners of the walkway. 115/07 Report from West Mercia Police & Parish Watch PC Paul Greenwood, in attendance at the meeting, noted that one CSO has now returned to full duty whilst the second would return to full duty shortly. He then outlined some of the reports to police since the last meeting, including: · Damage to
the roof of Northolme Community Centre and damage to the Belmont Community
Centre Within the update from Parish Watch, Councillor Edwards noted: · Damage to
private and business fencing It was noted in particular that the number of these minor incidents had increased since 24 hour drinking had become permitted and members reported instances where adults were witnessed purchasing alcohol for under age drinkers at the local superstore. Finally, members of the public were reminded of the PACT meeting at the Belmont Community Centre on 24th September at 7pm. The Chairman adjourned the meeting for a period of public participation. Discussion generally related to items raised by Mr. Brian Hubbard under correspondence and are reported under agenda item 117/07. · Members noted a copy of a letter regarding grass cutting on public open space from Mr. Cottam wherein Mr. Cottam highlights issues relating to the restricted cutting of grass adjacent to his home and on land behind Dorchester Way. In attendance at the meeting, Mr. Cottam asked if the recent grass cutting was in connection with any surveying. Councillor Edwards replied that he was unaware of any surveying being undertaken within the Parish. · Letter from Mr. & Mrs. Hubbard regarding the funding application made by this Parish Council and the Parish Council presence at the Northolme Open Day. A copy of the letter had been included in Members agenda pack. Mr. Hubbard, in attendance at the meeting along with several residents of Dorchester Way, expressed their concern that the Parish Council had applied to the Lottery for grant funding for new children’s play equipment in and around the Northolme Centre, suggesting that the Parish Council were disregarding a parish meeting held some 18 months ago when some residents expressed the view that land behind Dorchester Way should not be used for play. Mr. Hubbard also felt that the Parish Plan Review that had taken place during the opening of the Northolme Centre had been carried out in such a way as to be unrepresentative of the views of local people. In this regard, Councillor Edwards refuted allegations that there was insufficient control of the process of seeking residents views, noting that the original Parish Plan process (which Mr. Hubbard had been party to as a Parish Councillor at the time) had been carried out in a similar manner which is recognised as a valid research method for Parish Planning purposes. Finally Mr. Hubbard criticised the proposal to provide local children with BMX cycle facilities within the Parish. There followed considerable discussion during which those present expressed a number of comments, which included: o There should be
no further children’s play areas provided within the Parish as these
will encourage underage drinking and anti social behaviour, although those
present wished it to be made clear they were not advocating closure of
existing play areas In response to these suggestions, the Chairman noted that the Parish Council had worked for many years to develop facilities for all ages and noted the designation of public open space within the Unitary Development Plan and prior to that the South Herefordshire Local Plan and the historical lack of public open space within the Parish. The provision of BMX facilities had been adopted as a project following a direct approach to the Parish Council by young people which had resulted in a working party being set up by former Parish Councillor Ian Robinson who had worked with children and their parents to identify ways in which facilities could be provided. Finally, in response to comments regarding the application for lottery funding for new equipment, the Clerk outlined the procedures, noting in particular that the application had been an outline application aimed at establishing whether such a project to replace existing equipment adjacent to the Northolme Centre might be favourably received by the Big Lottery. If a positive response was received, a full bid would be required – a process expected to take several months. There was further discussion on the Parish Plan Revisit under agenda item 9, Minute 120/07. · Letter regarding Flood Recovery Grant Scheme. It was confirmed that the only two properties known to be affected by the floods were 1 and 2 Newton Cottages. The Clerk has passed these details to Herefordshire Council. · Letter from Herefordshire Council regarding possible grant funding for activities aimed at supporting older residents to remain in their homes and stay healthy. It was agreed that details be passed to the two community centres within the Parish. · Letter from Herefordshire Council regarding the annual Funding Fair which this year is to be held at Aylestone School on 24th October 2007. · Letter received from Herefordshire Council’s Head of Legal and Democratic Services regarding charges for local elections. Members noted the advice that a reserve should be allowed for in precept requests to fund an election if requested as a result of a casual vacancy. For a Parish Council the size of Belmont Rural, potential election costs of up to £6,000 for casual vacancies has been suggested. (a) Payments Authority was given to make the following payments: Dawn ‘til
Dusk Printers MA Edwards South Wye Community
Association Mrs. E. A. Kelso Inland Revenue UHY Hacker Young Cash (b) Receipts None since the last meeting. (c) Balances Current account
£500.00 (d) Other financial matters · The external audit has been completed and the Annual Return signed by the Auditors without any matters they feel should be brought to the attention of the Parish Council. A copy of the notice of completion of audit has been posted on notice boards. · Members noted that confirmation has been received that the Parish Council has received a payment of £250.00 from the Inland Revenue for successfully completing the PAYE Annual Return online for last year. As a result, payments to the Inland Revenue this month have been reduced to take into account the grant, which has been paid into the Inland Revenue account. A similar payment of £150.00 for this financial year is expected. · The new bank mandate has been returned by Royal Bank of Scotland for further signatures. · The second instalment of this year’s precept (£12,500) is due on 18th September (a) Applications received since the last meeting Ref: DCCW2007/2509/F (b) Observations passed to Herefordshire Council since the last meeting Ref: DCCW/2007/2320/O (c) Notification of planning decisions received since last meeting DCW/2007/1782/F The Chairman advised that prior to the Northolme Open Day he had, as a volunteer, put notices through the door of every household in the Parish, advising that the Parish Council would be in attendance at the Northolme Open Day to Revisit the Parish Plan. On the day, he had been in attendance throughout the period, with the Vice Chairman and Clerk also attending and that visitors had indicated their preference on a map (as with the original Parish Plan consultation) and/or left comments in writing. A summary of the results of that exercise were passed to Members but not discussed and members were asked not to make the results public until after the Belmont Open Day. There then followed a discussion as to whether the exercise should be repeated at the Belmont Open Day. Given certain criticisms of the process by members of the public in attendance it was recognised that if a second consultation exercise took place, there could be criticism that the process allowed the same individuals to vote again. With no second consultation, it was similarly recognised that there could be an allegation that the consultation process was not sufficiently wide to represent the views of all the Parish. Given that all households were advised of the consultation prior to the Northolme opening, it was agreed that residents had received notice of the consultation and that no further comments or input to the Parish Plan Revisit would take place at the Belmont Open Day on 6th October. Finally it was agreed that data from the review would be discussed further at the next meeting. 121/07 Belmont Community Centre Open Day Following on from discussion on the previous agenda item, it was unanimously agreed that the Belmont Community Centre Open Day would provide an opportunity to publicise the work of the Parish Council and give residents an opportunity to meet their Parish Councillors. The following Councillors indicated their willingness to attend: Councillor Phil Edwards, Councillor Wendy Butler, Councillor Beryl Brown and Councillor David Cook and it was agreed that those not in attendance at this meeting be asked to provide help if possible. Those indicating a willingness to attend as representatives of the Parish Council agreed to attend a briefing prior to the day to agree attendance patterns etc. For the benefit of new Parish Councillors it was explained that former Parish Councillors Ian Robinson and Brian Hubbard had spent some time earlier in the year obtaining approval to plant an area of the junction of A465 and Northolme Road to prevent car sales on that land. The draft proposal was to plant some 60 or so, low growing plants on the land and it was generally accepted that the size of the plot would require a contractor to carry out the work. Conscious that the time for planting shrubs is the autumn, it was agreed that a working party consisting of Councillors Phil Edwards, Ron Loft and David Cook meet to consider tenders for the work and that the working party be hereby authorised to accept tenders up to a value of £400.00. Members noted that a member of the public has contacted Councillor Powell to request that a “no dog exercise” sign be erected on the small area of grass at the junction of Stanbrook Road and Oulton Avenue. The resident is concerned that a neighbour is exercising a dog there although he has stated that the dog owner does pick up after his dog. Herefordshire Council has indicated that if dogs are to be effectively banned from a piece of public open space, the restriction would normally require the provision of an alternative facility for dogs elsewhere, e.g. the dog walking area on KGV playing fields. It was also noted that there are no byelaws extending to the Parish to support the banning of dogs from one or more open spaces. Herefordshire Council’s view is that if the dog owner is acting responsibly, there is little to justify such measures. It was agreed that no further action is appropriate and the Clerk was instructed to advise Councillor Powell accordingly. 124/07 Atherstone Close Open Space Members noted that a resident has requested that a “no ball games” sign be erected on the small area of open space at the entrance to Atherstone Close. Herefordshire Council policy is that signs are only erected when a full community consultation has taken place of all the properties potentially affected and a clear overwhelming majority of those concerned are in favour. Such signs have no basis in law and if not adhered to there is no enforcement process. Usually, there has to be a clear case of constant damage to private property before a sign is erected. After some consideration it was agreed that Herefordshire Council be asked to consult residents on this proposal. 125/07 Parish Talk Grant Application The Clerk advised that a Parish Talk Grant might be available to support activities aimed at Parish Councils communicating with their residents. One example of the use of a Parish Talk Grant was to support publication of a newsletter and the Clerk has therefore partially prepared a grant application for this purpose, a copy of which was attached to Members agendas. It was agreed that the application as produced to the meeting be submitted on behalf of the Parish Council. Members noted that Herefordshire Council has purchased a number of Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) which can be loaned to Parish Councils. Details of the scheme were contained in a letter, a copy of which was made available Members. It was agreed that three locations be considered within the Parish for these devices, namely: Southolme Road, Northolme Road and Abbotsmead Road. The cost for deliver, setting up on site and removal at the of each loan period is £100.00 and there is a separate charge in the region of £400 to install a ground socket and post to support the SID unit, bringing the potential cost for three units/locations in the region of £1,000.00. Furthermore, certain criteria have to be met before Herefordshire Council will agree to site a SID and it is not clear whether Herefordshire Council will agree to the three locations either separately or at the same time. It was agreed that Members have insufficient information to agree expenditure at this stage although the general consensus was that this project should be pursued. It was agreed that the Clerk seek further guidance and, if possible, a site visit with Herefordshire Council engineers to clarify the outstanding points. (a) Councillor Cook asked for the status of the Jarvis Services contract, noting that the road in Yarlington Mill has not been swept for several months and the need for shrubs to be cut back at the entrance to Yarlington Mill from Waterfield Road on safety grounds. (b) Members noted information (via Councillor Veronica Gummer) on grants for tree planting. The Clerk was instructed to circulate the information to members. (c) Councillor Edwards reported on actions as District Councillor, including: · Requesting
repair of loose sewer covers in Abbotsmead Road and Wyedean Rise The next meeting will be held on Monday 15th October 2007 at Belmont Community Centre, commencing at 7pm. There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed. |