Council Meeting – 13 November 2024

Minutes of the Meeting of Great Longstone Parish Council

held at 7.00pm on Wednesday 13^th November 2024

in Great Longstone Village Hall, DE45 1TB

Present: Cllr J Rigby, Cllr A Douglass, Cllr J Cox, Cllr C Briggs, Cllr Barrett

In attendance:  Simon Headington (Clerk)

In the absence of Cllr Long, Chair of the Parish Council, the Councillors present nominated Cllr Barrett to Chair the meeting.

110/24 Apologies for absence from members.

Cllr W Long.

111/24 Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest relating to items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest.

112/24 Minutes of the meeting of Great Longstone Parish Council on 11^th September 2024.

Cllr Douglass reported an error in Item 95/24 and that “Baslow and Longstone Ward” needed correcting to “Calver and Longstone Ward. Once this change had been made the Minutes were approved and signed by the Chair.

113/24                Session for public comments

There were no members of the public present.

114/24                Reports from official representatives

Written reports were provided by County Cllr A Sutton and the Police’s Bakewell Safer Neighbourhood Team

Cllr Sutton: Road works causing traffic issues in Bakewell. A request has been submitted for the traffic lights on Haddon Road, which are scheduled to be there until Wednesday 20th November, be removed over the forthcoming Bakewell Christmas Market weekend.

PCSO Boswell: No crime reported in Gt Longstone in period 11 Sept to 13 Nov 2024. The Safer Neighbourhoods team will continue to focus in the coming months on Road Safety issues.

115/24                Parish Council Annual Inspection of Assets on 29^th September 2024
Proposal: To accept the report and recommendations (Appendix B) following the annual inspection of Parish Council Assets on 29^th September 2024.

Approved. All in favour

The Clerk was instructed to carry out the following tasks:

1. Clerk to arrange for the area around Bus Shelter to be “Strimmed” as it is looking overgrown.
2. Clerk to ask owner of neighbouring property to cut back overhanging tree (around telephone kiosk)
3. Clerk to ask “general areas” contractor to clear out the leaves and compost from immediately behind the kiosk.
4. Clerk to add the annual clearing of the area behind the kiosk to the “Village Greens” tender.
5. Clerk to update Tender Specification to include removing dead branches from the ground, to cut back low branches and to remove epicormic growth on an annual basis. (ref Market Cross Green)
6. The centre tree (On Letter Box Green) is spreading across the roadway and needs cutting back. Clerk to obtain advice from Tree Officer at PDNPA.
7. Clerk to schedule the wooden bench (on West Green) for replacement in financial year 2026/27.
8. Clerk to arrange for path (across West Green) to have weedkiller applied, be scarified and the new gravel laid.
9. Clerk to notify owner of barn on southern boundary (of Recreation Ground) that old guttering is at risk of falling.
10. Clerk to obtain a price for a replacement “Birds Nest” sing (seat only).
11. Clerk to arrange for the noticeboard (beside play area) to be re-stained during 2025/26 financial year (get advice from carpenter who made it).
12. Clerk to check legal position with regards to trees and shrubs overgrowing onto a public footpath and, if appropriate, contact the property owners to ask that they take appropriate action.

116/24                Village/Neighbourhood plan and proposed changes to dates of upcoming meetings:
Cllr Douglas reported that the Community meeting held on Monday 4^th November (see Item 122/24, below) was a great success and as a result there is a strong case for moving forward with plans for either a Neighbourhood or Village Plan.

Proposals: That an additional meeting of the Council be scheduled for Thursday 12^th December 2024 and that the meeting scheduled for Wed 8^th January 2025 be moved back to Wed 29^th January 2025.

Both Approved. All in favour.

117/24                Recreation Ground

1. Playground – Birds Nest Swing Seat: This popular item in the playground is showing signs of wear, in particular the steel wire that gives it strength is starting to come through the rope out-covering. A replacement seat will be delivered on a Pallet and the Council will need to arrange separate disposal of the old seat and chains. A local resident has made a donation of £50 towards the costs.Proposal: That the purchase of a replacement “Birds Nest Swing” seat (1.2m diameter) from “Online Playgrounds” at a cost of £737 + VAT (includes £72 for delivery) be agreed in principle subject to being confirmed at the March 2025 meeting of the council, ready for payment and delivery at the start of the new financial year (April 2025).

Approved. All in favour

2. Tennis Court / MUGA: The current surface of the tennis court was laid in around 2006 with an expected design life of 15 to 20 years. The surface is now breaking up and around 20 bags of gravel were removed from the surface during a recent clean. The surface is now in need of replacement, if it is to continue to be available for safe use by parishioners.

Proposals: That recommendations made by Cllr Douglass in his report to the Council, dated 7^th November 2024 (See Appendix C), be accepted, subject to “lines for Basketball” be changed to “lines for 5-aside football” and:

1. 1. That the Clerk be instructed to obtain quotes for resurfacing the court, using the tender specifications in Annex A of the above report. To be returned before the December meeting.
   2. That the Council pledge a maximum of £6,000 from its reserves, towards the cost of this project, plus any recoverable VAT
   3. That funding applications be submitted for the full cost of the project so that Council reserves are only to be used as a “last resort”.
      Approved.  All in favour 
2. Tea Hut and Pavillion: The Clerk reported that negotiations regarding the transfer of ownership of Tea Hut and Pavilion from Cricket Club to Parish Council and on granting a 1972 LGA Section 127 compliant lease to Longstone Sports and Recreation Association (LASRA) are close to completion but were not ready for approval at today’s meeting.
   
   Proposal: That a decision on this be postponed until the December 2024 meeting.
   Approved: All in favour 
3. Recreation Ground Maintenance Agreement: The Clerk reported that he had received a final copy of the proposed Maintenance Agreement between GLPC and LASRA, shortly before the start of the meeting

Proposal: That a decision on this be postponed until the December 2024 meeting.

          Approved. All in favour

118/24                Village Greens and Other Areas Maintenance Agreement Tender for 2025/27

The following changes to the Draft Tender document (See Appendix F) were discussed.

• Item 1.a.ii to be clarified as “Anything that cannot be reached with the mower is to be strimmed.
• Item 1.a.iii to be changed to: any grass areas that abut a defined kerb are to be edged at least once per year.
• Item 1.b.i Add: “Fallen branches to be removed from Market Cross Green”
• Item 1.b.iii Add “Cut epicormic growth on lime tree on Market Cross Green annually”
• Item 1.b. iv. Add “Low branches to be kept above 1.8m above ground level.”
• Items 3b, 3c and 3d, which all relate to the Recreation Ground, be removed from this tender.
• Item 3f Add: “Clear leaves and mulch from immediately around the telephone kiosk once annually, between November and February each year.”

That the postal address for the Parish Council be changed to the new “Village Hall” address.

Proposal: To approve the Specifications for Tender of the “Village Greens and Other Areas Maintenance Agreement” for the period 2025-2027 (See Appendix F), subject to changes made in this meeting (and as detailed above).

Approved. All in favour

119/24                Closed Churchyard Maintenance Agreement Tender for 2025/27

The draft tender document (Appendix G) was discussed. The previous specification has been significantly amended to both help to reduce costs and to increase biodiversity. Cllr Douglass asked that more specific instructions be included for the successful contractor regarding the use and notification of the use of weed killers.

Proposal: To approve the Specifications for Tender of the “Closed Churchyard Maintenance Agreement” for the period 2025-2027 (See Appendix G), subject to more details about the use of weedkillers.

Approved. All in favour

120/24 Allotments

1. Rents for 2024/25: The Clerk reported that he has started to send out the allotment rental invoices for the year April 2024 to March 2025, to the allotment tenants.
2. Testing for the possibility of lead contamination: The Great Longstone area has a long history of Lead Mining and anecdotal information suggests that ground contamination may exist in parts of the Parish. Appendix H provides background information and makes recommendations for further action.Proposal: To accept the recommendations in the Report to the Council in Appendix H, and to instruct the Clerk to arrange for three soil samples to be laboratory tested, at a cost of approximately £100 per test.

Approved. All in favour

121/24 Section 137 Projects

1. Village Week 2025. (Sat 12th to Sun 20th July 2025). It was noted that the next meeting of the Village Week Co-ordinating Committee will be in the Village Hall on the evening of Monday 20th January 2025.
2. Remembrance Day Service Sun 10th Nov 2024: Cllr J Cox reported that he had laid a wreath on behalf of the Parish Council. Cllr Cox reported that the quality of the wreath had not been as good as expected. The first one supplied arrived “squashed” so RBL were asked to provide a replaced, which arrived promptly and in a slightly better condition.
3. Christmas 2024
   • Christmas Tree & Lights: The Clerk reported that following an inspection by John Fawsett it had been confirmed that a donated tree was available for the village green for 2024. Councillors agreed to aim to get everything up on weekend of 7/8 December.
   • Christmas Carol Concert: The PCC is not able to assist in the running of this year’s event so a new structure needs to be developed. Names were suggested for people who could possible lead the singing. It was agreed to try to only use battery powered amplification equipment. Event needs to be for around 30 minutes. Much longer and people start to lose interest, particularly if it’s cold and/or wet. Article to be put into UTE and an advert for help in the village shop. Event will go ahead subject to final confirmation at the December meeting.

4. Dog Poop Bag Dispensers: Cllr Barrett reported that dispensers and padlocks could be purchased for £38.16 per set.

Proposal:  To purchase two sets, at a total cost of just under £80. One to be sited near the playground, the other at the end of Edge View Drive, near to the start of the public footpath.

Approved. All in favour

122/24 PDNPA Local Plan Options Consultation – Village Meeting on 4^th November

A display and meeting had been arranged in the Village Hall on 4^th November. Around 15 to 20 people came between 5 and 7 to look at the displays. Some then left, others left and returned, and some stayed. Approximately 50 people were in the Hall for the main part of the meeting, which ran from 7pm until 9pm and which generated some lively discussions. The sign-in sheets showed that there were at least 49 people from Great Longstone, 4 each from Little Longstone and Rowland 2 people from Hassop. Details of the events were in Appendix I, with a summary of answers to the Options Consultation questions in Annex A to Appendix I.

Proposal: That the summary contained in Annex A to Appendix I, to this agenda, be submitted as the response of Great Longstone Parish Council to the PDNPA Local Plan Options Consultation.

Approved. All in favour

123/24 Planning Applications

1. Recent applications – for information
   • NP/DIS/0924/0912 –Church Lane Farm, – Condition’s Partly Discharged
   • NP/DDD/0924/1027 – Cluden Bank, Main Street. GLPC Response, following procedure in Standing Orders (Item 31 – Consideration of Planning Applications received between meetings of the Council – March 2024 version) was No Comment.
   • NP/TCA/1024/1121 – Longstone Hall – Conservation Area Tree Work – Approved.
2. New, for consideration in meeting
   • NP/DDD/1024/1063 – Thornbridge Hall – Siting of a framework made from metal tubes alongside existing cafe. The new structure has been designed to hold the approximate 40,000 padlocks recently removed from the Bakewell Weir Bridge. Although this part of the Grade II listed grounds are within the Parish of Great Longstone a request for comments has only been made to Ashford in the Water Parish Council.

As PDNPA authority had not consulted GLPC, it was agreed not to make a response.

3. Notification of Appeals
   • NP/DDD/0524/0534 – Change of use of The Old School to dwelling. The owner of the property has submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate (their ref: APP/M9496/W/24/3352304) against the decision by PDNPA to refuse their planning application of May 2024. Any comments made on the original application are automatically sent to the Planning Inspector. Additional comments, changes to comments or requests to withdraw previous comments must be made to the Planning Inspectorate by 10^th December 2024.

GLPC had considered the original application at a meeting on 24th June 2024 and resolved to object on a number of grounds.

The Clerk explained that the option at this meeting was one of the following:

• Withdraw previous objections
• Make no further comments
• Amend previous comments/objections
• Respond to “Statement from Applicant”

The Council discussed these options and made the following proposal:

Proposal: To respond to the Statement from Applicant and instructed the Clerk to prepare a reply that included reference to:

1. Accuracy of Information in the application and the appeal
2. Potential use of the building as a community asset
3. Use of a Residential Property as a Primary Residence V Use as a Second Home or Holiday Let
4. Parking /Highway issues

Approved. All in favour

124/24 Parish Council Postal Address

The Clerk reported that, in agreement with the Village Hall Management Committee, a letterbox has been fixed to the outside of the Village Hall. Going forward GLPC will use:

Great Longstone Parish Council
Village Hall
Church Lane
Great Longstone DE45 1TB

As the permanent postal address for the Council, rather than the home addresses of the clerk, as has previously been the case.

125/24 Council Administration

1. Ongoing Land Registration Projects
   • Fields, tracks and quarries. No updates
   • Recreation Ground. The council’s solicitor has submitted a request to correct the ownership title on this property.
   • Updating the Parish Council address on all property registrations: The Council’s solicitor has now submitted requests for all of the land registrations to be updated from the home addresses of previous clerks to the new “Village Hall” address.
2. Recruitment of Councillors: Not applications have been received but one potential applicant hopes to attend the next meeting.
3. Proposed changes to the Parish Council’s systems were detailed in a paper at Appendix J.

Proposal: That the Clerk be instructed to implement the following changes in the current financial year:

1. 1. Move using the DALC Internal Audit Service
   2. Switch to Scribe Accounts Online Finance System
   3. Switch to “Parish Online” web-sites services and set up a new web-site, start using a .gov.uk domain name, start using .gov.uk email address for councillors and staff and opt into the Parish Online mapping service.

And that the following changes be implemented by the Council during the 2025/26 Financial Year:

1. 1. DALC Membership – Move to Enhanced Membership option
   2. Clerk to obtain a Sim Card and set-up a permanent telephone number for the Parish Council
   3. Council to consider computer and data storage requirements for clerks in the future
   4. Council to establish a Staffing Committee

          Approved. All in favour

4. Training for Councillor and Staff: DALC Course – An Introduction to Neighbourhood Planning and Design Codes (Tuesday 19th November 2024 18:00-19:30) at a cost of £50.

Proposal: Clerk to be instructed to book a place on the course for Cllr Douglass.

Approved. All in favour

 126/24 Financial Matters

1. Bank reconciliations – as at 31^st October 2024.

Total cash available £23,045.95. (See Appendix K). Balances on bank reconciliations checked against bank statements by Cllr Rigby.

Proposal: To approve Bank reconciliations as at 31^st October 2024, contained in Appendix K

Approved. All in favour

2. Budget review / Two monthly Report
   The budget summary in Appendix L was reviewed.

3. Review budget for 2025/26 and agree precept
   The proposed budget (Appendix M) was reviewed and agreed. The Council decided to increase the Precept by 5% from £20,416 (2024/25) to £21,417 (2025/26).
4. The following payments, made since last meeting, were accepted and approved.
   • J Skelly                Sports Day Referee fee (KF22169)              £45.00
   • Universal Textiles Sports Equipment          (KF22183)          £29.08 (Credit Card)
   • CHT                De-fib annual fee (KF22180)                             £135.00 + VAT
   • Amazon Ref book (Arnold-Baker) (KF22181)                         £162.88 (Credit Card)
   • Amazon Printer paper (KF22182)                                                   £9.14 (Credit Card)
   • Clerk’s Expenses Various stationery items (KF22142)              £21.13
   • TW Cox                Repairs to pavilion roof (KF22184)              £150.00 + VAT
   • J Cox Pest Control Catching Moles on West Green                   £60.00
   • Royal British Legion Type B Wreath                                              £17.67 + VAT (CC)
   • Unity Trust Bank Bank charges July to September                    £18.00
   • DALC                DALC Day & AGM                                                  £60.00
   • W Brindley Churchyard and Rec Maintenance                          £739.30
   • Unity Trust Bank Bank charges October                                          £6.00
5. The following new payments were accepted and approved:
   • B Cardona Village Greens and Various Sites                            £2,150.00
   • W Brindley Churchyard and Recreation Maintenance              £739.30

127/24 Correspondence

Large volumes. Not listed.

128/24 Items of Late Correspondence
Cllr Cox reported that he had be notified that a caravan and 3 road vehicles were grouped together in a pull-in space close to the highest point on Moor Road.

129/24 Dates of forthcoming meetings

1. Parish Council meetings:
   • Thurs 12th December 2024 (Additional meeting)
   • Wed 29th January 2025 (instead of meeting scheduled for 8^th January 2025)
   • Wed 12th March 2025
   • Wed 14th May 2025
   • Wed 9th July 2025
   • Wed 10th September 2025
   • Wed 12th November 2025
2. Date of next Annual Parish Meeting – Wed 30^th April 2025

The Chair closed the meeting at 9.40pm

Simon Headington: Clerk to Great Longstone Parish Council
parishcouncil@greatlongstone.org                       Tel: 07968 295258