Parish
council meeting
January 14 2008
Belmont Community Centre
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BELMONT
RURAL PARISH COUNCIL
Parish
council meeting |
| Present: Mr. P. Edwards Chairman Mr. D. Cook Mr.
R. Loft Apologies: Mrs. B.
Brown In attendance: Mrs.
E. Kelso Clerk
The following declarations of interest were made: · Councillor
Edwards declared a personal interest in agenda item 8, payments Councillor Edwards and Councillor Powell, as District Councillors, 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.
The following three candidates for the Parish Councillor vacancy were present and each provided a brief verbal presentation in support of his/her application: · Mark Schoffer
A ballot was then held and the results independently verified by Sgt. Chris Payne in attendance. Following the ballot, the Chairman declared that Mr. Mark Schoffer had been duly co-opted to the Parish Council. Mr. Schoffer signed a Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took his seat on the Parish Council. 03/08 Minutes of the previous meeting Minutes of the meeting held on 3rd December 2007 had been previously circulated to Members. It was agreed that the Chairman be authorised to sign the Minutes as a true record of proceedings at that meeting. (a) Litter Bins Members noted that Councillor Edwards has approached Amey Wye Valley to complete this project. (b) Equipment Clerk is in the process of obtaining firm quotations for a laptop and in accordance with authority given at the last meeting will refer quotations to the Chairman and Vice Chairman. (c) Smoking at Hopper Bus Stop The Clerk has confirmed that no smoking signs are visible at the Hopper Bus Station adjacent to Tesco in Bewell Street. 05/08 Report: West Mercia Police & Parish Watch Sgt. Chris Payne, in attendance at the meeting, advised on recent activity, including: · Test purchases
of alcohol from local stores in conjunction with Trading Standards which
resulted in no sales of alcohol to underage drinkers. It has been suggested
that adults and in particular parents may be responsible for some alcohol
purchases for underage drinkers. It was also noted that PC Paul Greenwood will be retiring shortly. There have been a number of applicants for his post. Following discussion on the power of Community Support Officers to issue on the spot fines for littering, Sgt. Payne noted that although CSOs do not have power to issue fixed penalty notices, Special Constables do have such powers and CSOs can call upon Specials if necessary. Reporting for Parish Watch, Councillor Edwards noted that the rear door of the Northolme Centre was damaged recently. Sgt. Payne stressed the importance of telephoning these incidents into the police so that a picture of activity can been drawn up and police resources targeted appropriately. Reporting incidents to the South Wye station was not sufficient to ensure adequate resources for this area. Other incidents reported by Parish Watch and members present included: · Several
incidents of graffiti on the Abbotsmead Road bus shelter and the electricity
substation in Northolme Road. Both had been cleaned off by volunteers. The Chairman invited members of the public present to raise matters of concern, during which the following items were raised: · A request
was made for the Parish Council agenda to be put on notice boards so that
members of the public can see which items are to be discussed and thereby
decide whether to attend A further period of public participation was permitted at the end of the meeting. There are no items of correspondence other than those relating to other agenda items and/or routine items distributed to Members for information between meetings. (a) Payments In accordance with financial standing orders, the Clerk reported that payments were authorised since the last meeting, being the Clerk’s salary for December 2007 and corresponding payment to the Inland Revenue. Authority was given to make the following payments: MA Edwards South Wye Community
Association Dawn ‘til Dusk
Printers Society of Local
Council Clerks Mrs. E. A. Kelso Inland Revenue Cash (b) Receipts None since the last meeting (c) Balances Current account:
£500.00 (a) Applications received since last meeting Ref: DCCW2007/3711/F (b) Observations passed to Herefordshire Council since last meeting Other than noted above, there were no other observations passed to Herefordshire Council since the last meeting. (c) Notification of Planning Decisions Notification has been received of the following planning decisions: Ref: DCCW 2007/2834/F Ref: DCCW2007/3002/F Ref: DCCW2007/3447/F Ref: DCCW2007/3458/F Ref: DCCW2007/3481/F HALC training opportunities for the next few months had been circulated to Members. It was agreed that Members be encouraged to attend HALC training and to advise the Clerk which courses they wished to attend within the next few days so that places can be booked. It was further agreed that the Clerk approach Hereford City Council with regard to sharing training costs for those Members on both bodies. It is was also agreed that an informal training session, be held on Monday 4th February, venue to be confirmed, starting at 7pm. Members to consider which, if any, items they wish covered in this session and advise the Clerk accordingly. 11/08 Public Open Space Survey Members noted that date for submission of survey to Herefordshire Partnership has now passed and results are awaited. The Chairman confirmed that he had spent some considerable time encouraging residents to complete the questionnaire if they had not already done so. It was noted that although a third quotation was awaited for this work, it has not been possible to find a quotation within the agreed budget. After some discussion, it was agreed that the budget for this work be raised to £800.00 and that the Chairman and Vice Chairman be authorised to accept a quotation on behalf of the Parish Council up to the budget figure, to enable work to commence as soon as possible. 13/08 Road Safety – Speed Indicator Device(s) It was noted that the application has been submitted to Road Safety Team at Herefordshire Council and a site visit to confirm the location for the device(s) is to be arranged between members of the working party and representatives from the Road Safety Team. Preliminary agreed locations are: Abbotsmead Road, Northolme Road and Southolme Road. 14/08 Funding Application – Northolme Community Centre Association Having declared a prejudicial interest in this agenda item, Councillor Powell left the room for this item. Members noted that this application from Northolme Community Centre Association is for a grant of £2,553 to cover an anticipated shortfall in income. The Clerk advised that although the Parish Council has no direct legislative authority to offer grant funding for revenue expenses, s.137 of the Local Government Act provides an opportunity and the amount requested was within the overall budget for this payment. Opening up this item for discussion, there was some concern that audited accounts have not been provided and some members were concerned at the principle of providing funding to cover an operating deficit. It was agreed that a decision on this be deferred to the next meeting, pending further information on the financial affairs of the Northolme Community Centre Association. Councillor Powell then returned to the meeting. 15/08 Funding Application – Belmont Kidz Club Members noted this application from Belmont Kidz Club to fund room hire for one year at Belmont Community Centre, amounting to £1,638.00. It if granted, this would be a s.137 payment. After some discussion, it was agreed to provide funding for the cost of room hire for Belmont Kidz Club up to a total amount of £1,638 for the year, to be paid directly to Belmont Community Centre on submission of monthly invoices covering the Kidz Club room hire charges at the Centre. Councillor Myatt declared a personal interest in this item and did not take part in the vote on this matter. 16/08 Application for Donation – Citizens Advice Bureau BRPC has made a donation of £100 to CAB in previous years and has received a similar request this year. It was unanimously agreed that a donation of £150 be made to the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Clerk was instructed to make the necessary arrangements. It was noted that the Parish Freighter service has been booked for 2008 but as dates get booked quickly, it was proposed that this service be continued for 2009 on the same basis as currently, that is, on the first and third Saturday of each month from 2pm – 4pm on each date. It was agreed that the Clerk be authorised to book the Freighter for 2009 on the basis of twice per month as at present, up to a maximum budget cost of £1,000.00 for the year. Councillor Edwards advised that there are now more than 11 people acting as volunteer litter pickers under the Pride in Parish scheme with the result that additional equipment is now required. It was agreed that 10 sets of litter pickers and safety gloves be purchased to support this scheme up to a maximum budget cost of £150.00. (a) It was noted that the road sign for Glastonbury Close was removed for repair some months ago but never replaced. The Clerk was instructed to contact Herefordshire Council to request replacement. (b) The manhole cover in Yarlington Mill has not yet been repaired. (c) It was agreed that consideration be given to a “welcome to the Parish of Belmont Rural” sign on approach to the Parish along the A465. (d) As District Councillor, Councillor Powell advised that Herefordshire Housing Skips were to visit Newton Farm and Hunderton over the next few weeks. (e) Concern was expressed at the litter emanating from Tesco, McDonalds and other fast food outlets within and just outside the Parish boundary. (f) Councillor Edwards gave brief information on his activities as District Councillor since the last meeting, including: · Working with Herefordshire Council Streetscene and Tesco to resolve issues of litter and unsecured trolleys · Working with Councillor Powell to facilitate the clearance of Newton Brook adjacent to Newton Cottages · Requesting relocation of the goal posts on the play area adjacent to the Northolme Centre as the grass has worn away at their current location · Arranging for the cutting back of overgrown bushes. In the final period of public participation, members of the public present raised the following items: · Terminology used earlier in the meeting when the wearing away of grass by the goal posts was referred to as “overuse” was disputed by a resident. · A question was raised as to how or if residents had been selected for a follow up visit in connection with the open space survey. The Chairman reported that he had visited some 60% of the Parish encouraging people to complete surveys if they had not already done so as he felt it important to represent the views of the Parish as a whole. · Details were requested about the AGM of the Northolme Community Centre Association. · Concern was expressed about Tesco delivery vehicles parking across the pedestrian crossing in Abbotsmead Road . The Chairman as District Councillor noted that he has been working with Tesco and Herefordshire Council planners to address these issues and the Clerk was instructed to pass information regarding vehicle parking to the police. · Referring to private correspondence from Herefordshire Council, a question was raised regarding a statement that items suggested on the open space survey had been requested by members of the public in the past. The clerk confirmed that the two items queried, the teen seat and a ball court, had been minuted as being raised previously. · A question was raised regarding to whom the survey responses were to be address and how was counting votes/comments. The Chairman reported that the Herefordshire Partnership, as the body with responsibility for public consultations on behalf of Herefordshire Council, was responsible for collating responses. The methodology to be used was not known. · Concern was expressed that a BMX track would generate additional traffic on the Estate. Fran White, in attendance at the meeting, reminded those present that the BMX track was a series of earth mounds for cycles to travel over and not a constructed skate park which many people seemed to imagine it would be. Skate facilities exist in other areas of South Wye and new play facilities created in areas such as Luard Walk had not created additional parking problems or attracted children from outside the area, but had simply provided facilities for local young people. Fears that were currently being expressed had similarly been expressed for other new developments but had proved unfounded in every case. · It was further commented by one member of the public that facilities exist for children within a 2 mile radius of the parish boundary which led him to believe that facilities within the parish re not required. · Finally a query was raised over past requests for “no ball games” signs on the smaller areas of open space within the Parish. In particular, the practice of seeking the opinion of those living in the immediate vicinity and not throughout the parish was questioned. Councillor Edwards reported that it is Herefordshire Council policy to consult with local residents in the immediate vicinity where the land in question represents very small amenity areas. The next meeting will be held on Monday 25th February 2008 at Belmont Community Centre, commencing at 7pm.
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