Parish
council meeting
January 26 2009
Belmont Community Centre
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BELMONT
RURAL PARISH COUNCIL
Parish
council meeting |
001/09 Declarations of Interest 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. Councillor Edwards declared a personal in agenda item 7, payments and agenda item 11, request for funding for The Big Event. 002/09 Minutes of the previous meeting The Minutes of the meeting held on 15th December had been previously circulated. It was agreed that the Chairman be authorised to sign the Minutes as a true record of proceedings at that meeting. (a) Repairs and Maintenance The Chairman asked for The Parish Initiative Defect Reporting Form with the outstanding items listed, to be circulated between Members so that general understanding of highway faults reported but not completed could be agreed at the next meeting. (b) Litter Bins No feedback received from any Member regarding litter bins requiring repair or replacement. However, two full bins and two tops have been ordered for existing repair requirements. (c) Training Details of training opportunities in the near future had been forwarded to Members and the Clerk reminded Members that requests for attendance at training sessions should be notified to the Clerk. Councillor Edwards had confirmed that he would be attending ‘The Power of Well Being’ training session on behalf of Hereford City Council. The Chairman and Clerk would also be attending The Clerks and Chairperson’s Informal Evening with Herefordshire Council on 17th February. (d) New Notice Board The order for the new notice board has not yet been placed but a detailed quotation is in the process of being prepared. Formal permission for the board is awaited from Herefordshire Council. (e) Grant to Northolme Community Centre Members will remember that authorisation of this grant was subject to sight of a second quotation for the proposed work. This has not yet been received so payment of the grant has not been made. Planning permission for the lighting column has now been granted. (f) Vehicles parking on grass verges Parks and Countryside Department are progressing action against vehicle owners who persistently park vehicles on public open space.
Sgt. Chris Payne, in attendance at the meeting, reported that Community Support Officers were now able to work from 7am – midnight; the extended period after 10pm being available whenever CSOs were working on a specific initiative. Current and planned initiatives include targeting cyclists without lights, those who do no clean up after their dogs, identifying untaxed vehicles and addressing the problems of vehicles parked on grass verges and public open space. Since the last meeting, there had been some minor incidents of anti social behaviour but no serious criminal activity. Under Parish Watch, the Chairman noted that there continues to be evidence of underage drinking at several locations and litter bins has been targeted by vandals, particularly along the CH7 footpath. The Chairman extended thanks on behalf of the Parish Council to the local West Mercia Policing team. There were no specific items raised by members of the public in attendance. There have been no other items of correspondence other than routine circulars or items discussed elsewhere on the agenda. (a) Payments Authority was given to make the following payments: MA Edwards Dawn ‘til
Dusk Printers South Wye Community
Association South Wye Community
Association Northolme Community
Centre Association Herefordshire Council South Herefordshire
Area Regeneration Partnership Cash (b) Receipts Since the last meeting the sum of £157.20 has been received as bank interest (c) Balances Current account
£500.00 (a) Applications received since the last meeting None (b) Observations passed to Herefordshire Council since the last meeting None (c) Notification of planning decisions since the last meeting Ref: DCCW2008/2101/F Ref: DCCW2008/2578/F Ref: DCCW2008/1685/F Ref: DCCW2008/2869/F A meeting was held of the steering group committee on 15th January which was attended by 5 people. Preparations are now in hand for the event to be held at the Northolme Centre and adjacent play area on 4th May and for a further consultation at the Belmont Centre two weeks later on 16th May. Volunteers to help arrange the larger event and help on the day are much needed. Posters asking for help will be put on notice boards and on the website but Members were asked to help on the day and to encourage others to volunteer. An application to Awards for All for £5,000 towards the cost of running the event, preparation, distribution and collection of a subsequent questionnaire, data analysis and final drafting and print of the plan, is to be posted shortly. The next meeting of the steering group was scheduled for 23rd February, which was acknowledged as clashing with the next PACT meeting. An alternative date and venue will be confirmed. 010/09 Request for Funding – Community First Responder Members noted an application from Mrs. Marie Robinson for a grant towards the cost of equipment for her use as a Community First Responder (CRF). Mrs. Robinson, in attendance at the meeting, advised that CRFs are trained volunteers who respond to emergency calls from within the Parish with the aim of arriving quickly and providing life support until the ambulance service or a paramedic arrives. CRFs are required to raise a set financial amount towards the initial cost of equipment and in some areas CRFs share equipment. In response to questioning
by Members, Mrs. Robinson advised that a previous CRF within the Parish
is no longer part of the service. It was further noted that other sources
of funding might be available to Mrs. Robinson but had not been pursued
at this stage. It was proposed by Councillor Newman that a grant of £2,500 be offered to the NHS/Community First Responders on behalf of Mrs. Robinson but with the proviso that should Mrs. Robinson no longer be able or willing to act as Community First Responder, that equipment purchased with the grant be retained for use within this Parish. The resolution was carried unanimously. 011/09 Request for funding – The Big Event Members noted a request from the organisers of The Big Event for a grant towards the cost of staging the event this year in early June. The Clerk reminded Members that a Parish Council has general powers to provide funding for any activity for which it could undertake itself and that funding must be used for the general benefit of the population of the Parish. It was felt that a direct link demonstrating benefit to the population of the Parish in attending the Big Event, if they so wished, might be difficult to establish. It was therefore agreed that in this instance no offer of funding would be made to the organisers of the Big Event. The Clerk was instructed to notify the applicant accordingly. The Clerk reported that there had been no response from Councillor Jarvis to the invitation to attend the Parish Council meeting to explain the increase in charges for the Parish Freighter from £38 per visit to £380 per visit with effect from this July. The Clerk was instructed to approach Councillor Jarvis again and request that he attend the next Parish Council meeting, or that he send an officer such as Richard Wood, to attend on his behalf. Members discussed briefly alternatives to the freighter service, such as a much reduced service, say once every two months, which members felt might lead to fly tipping. Some Parishes had stopped the service altogether whilst others were actively seeking an alternative. The Clerk has attempted to find an alternative service but drawn a blank so far. It was suggested that perhaps the furniture recycling charity Full House might continue to attend on a Saturday without the freighter. This did raise the concern that items not suitable for Full House would not be taken back by those attempting to dispose of the item, again leading to fly tipping .
It was noted that following on from the household survey which took place last year on the future of Abbey View Park, the provision of some natural footpaths and bridges over the Withy brook were very popular, being favoured by most respondents. Members agreed that it was important that some progress could be demonstrated within this financial year. It was resolved that the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Clerk be authorised to enter into discussions with Herefordshire Council with regard to the provision of footpaths and bridges to improve leisure facilities within the Parish and provide access to the Park throughout the year. It was further agreed that the working party report on their investigations at the next Meeting. (a) Trees and shrubs It was reported that the holly bush has been pruned in Westholme Road, and trees have been cut back as requested in Yarlington Mill. A tree within the Belmont Road privately owned hedge had fallen onto the verge. The Chairman, as District Councillor, has written to Tesco’s Chief Executive regarding the failure of the local store to maintain the Leylandii trees on the boundary of the site. (b) Repairs and maintenance A number of items for repair have yet to be completed, notably the hole in the roundabout with Waterfield Road and similarly the roundabout in Northolme Road. The Chairman, in his District Council role, has been pursuing outstanding repairs in Coppin Rise. Members noted a request from a resident for grass cuttings and leaves to be cleared in the spring. It was reported that grass cutting within the Parish is carried out by contractors for Herefordshire Council. (c) Belmont Community Centre Progress on the library extension is going well and there was press coverage about the extension in the Hereford Journal recently. It was noted, however, that although the contribution of several agencies had been noted in the Journal article, the support of the Parish Council was not mentioned. It was agreed that in future whenever the Parish Council provides financial or other support for any project, that we request that any publicity mentions the support of the Parish Council. Members were pleased to note that the swop shop recently run at the Community Centre was a resounding success. (d) Wheelie Bins It was noted that Herefordshire Council will be introducing a single wheelie bin per household for the collection of recyclables, starting in November this year. There is currently an opportunity for residents to opt for a smaller bin than the standard size although a recent newspaper article failed to mention how residents should express a preference but this had been better explained via the Herefordshire Matters publication. (e) District Councillor Report The Chairman reported on his activities as District Councillor, including: · Requesting
removal of the two grit bins which have been placed in Abbotsmead Road
and Whitefriars Road recently by Herefordshire Council. The Parish Council
were not consulted on the location of these ins which have already proved
to be a target for vandals The next meeting will take place on Monday March 9th at Belmont Community Centre, Eastholme Avenue, Belmont, commencing at 7pm. There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.30pm
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