Council Meeting – 10th September 2014

MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD
ON WEDNESDAY 10^TH SEPTEMBER 2014
IN GREAT LONGSTONE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30PM

Present: Cllr Wendy Long (Chair), Cllr Peter Thompson, Cllr Hugh Wright, Cllr James Cox, Cllr Caroline Briggs, Sarah Stokes (Clerk), 2 parishioners and UTE.

Public comments.

A representative from the History group reported that the history group will be doing another ‘video’ of life in the village, 10 years on from the last one done. The same topics will be covered, with the same format. The group are envisaging that more residents may contribute their own ‘videos’ to be included, as technology has moved on since the last one was formed. The whole thing could be put on You tube, as appose to videos being distributed to householders, as before. This would run from January  – Dec  2015.

PC asked what costs would be involved, as to a possible contribution from the PC.

History rep. The costs would be much smaller than last time, when a grant was sourced from the heritage lottery fund.

The Chair opened the meeting at 7.37pm

73/14 Apologies for absence from members.

There were no apologies.

74/14 Declarations of business interest.

Cllr Wright declared an interest in items concerning DCC.

The Chair closed the meeting at 7.45pm.

The Chair re opened the meeting at 7.47pm.

75/14 Minutes of the meeting 9^th July 2014.

The Clerk reported that Wardlow Parish Clerk had written to confirm that the ‘Wardlow Parish Meeting representatives’ referred to in the last minutes, were not Parish meeting representatives but Wardlow residents. The Chair duly amended the minutes accordingly. Wardlow Clerk had also asked how to obtain a parish boundary map. S Stokes had recommended they contact PDNPA, whom do maps for a small fee. The minutes were proposed by Cllr Long and seconded by Cllr Briggs.

76/14 Recreation ground.

76.1 Playground.

76.1.1 Notice board staining. Actioned.

76.1.2 Bolts on jumbolander. The bolts have been looked into, deemed no reason to change them.

76.1.3 Bucaneer ship. The Clerk had queried with Rospa, their comments on the ship. The inspector had stated that ‘no action is required on the ship’.

Cllr Wright reported that a slat on the jumbolander roof requires urgent attention. Clerk to contact contractor for urgent repairs. With all in favour.

76.2 Equipment for older children.

Cllr Long reported that the Trial began on Monday 8^th September, to be monitored for a 12 month period. All alterations were now complete. However the donated freestanding hoops had not been placed in the court, as school had felt they would be a trip hazard. Netball hoops to be looked into. A bench has been purchased to house the net. Regular meetings are to be held to discuss the trial, user groups have been notified of the start of the trial. Cllr Long reported that a letter had been received from a tennis club member, not being a member of the parish (a Bakewell resident) with the Cllr stating she would not answer any questions, questions asked on the letter have been covered at the meetings. The tennis club are happy with what has been achieved; one member has asked if there will be any lights.

The Clerk stated that the trial would be reviewed ongoing, with the 6 month review being at the March Meeting of the PC.

The Bakewell resident had looked into legal action regarding reimbursement. The Clerk had been advised by DALC that the person should have had a meeting with the tennis club prior to looking into legalities/sending the letter to the PC. Resolved for the Clerk to reply to the Bakewell resident confirming that there would not be any toilets also that there will not be reimbursement for the funds for the tennis surface, this being a PC decision.

Cllr Briggs enquired into outdoor gym equipment, which had been discussed some time ago. The project was still to be looked into, however the ‘trial’ had been actioned first. It had been advised by a professional however, that near to the play area is not appropriate. The concrete area near to the court had been discussed previously, as a possible location.

Cllr Wright spoke on behalf of the PC to thank Cllr Long, JW Long Engineering, Markovitz and John Fawcett for all their work on the project. Clerk to send letters of thanks.

The Clerk reported that the old sign on the court should be removed. A parishioner has kindly volunteered to remove this.

76.3 Maintenance.

76.3.1 Removal of fence panels. Work has been carried out.

76.3.2 Moss. It was resolved to ask a contractor to go ahead with the moss spraying on the court, also to strim and weed kill on the left side of the court.

76.3.3 Bench on court. Cllr Long reported that the old bench has been removed off the court and given back to its owner.

76.4 Access on to the rec from Spring Bank. The project is now complete, reported as a ‘beautiful project’.  Well done to Nick Smith for his hard work. Clerk to thank Nick and Markovitz (materials).

77/14 Village Greens.

77.1 Lease for bus shelter area. No letter to go out following the termination of the lease. The Clerk had sent an acknowledgment as requested. With the lease expiring on July 7^th 2015.

77.2 Chain around war memorial. Chains have now been painted.

77.3 Maintenance of benches. Work on the 6 benches around the village (prioritised) has now been completed. James Stokes donated the stain/paint for the benches/notice board/chains. New slats on some of the other benches was discussed, those on the rec being chunky slats, easily replaceable. Plastic recycled benches was also discussed, a local supplier was noted. Clerk to look into plastic benches.

77.4 Overgrown shrub on West Green. Work carried out.

77.5 Cherry tree on village green. Tree to be looked at on inspection of land.

78/14 Burial grounds. The Clerk reported that DDDC have received quotes for the wall and are looking into funding. Clerk to take wall off future agendas as PCC issue.

79/14 Footpaths/roads.

79.1 Verges. The Clerk reported that DDDC had actioned the strimming near to the allotments. Although they had stated that the usual means of cutting wasn’t possible due to the state of the wall. The two other verge areas discussed at the last meeting were at the bottom of Station Rd, opposite Thornbridge Manor and Moor Rd. The Clerk had chased both, with a representative from DDDC going out to physically look the following day of the meeting. The PC discussed the saplings growing from Longstone Bridge to The Willows area. Clerk to contact DDDC re this. A  letter of thanks to go to Vic Holmes with his drain clearing down near the Mires area, when there was a heavy down pour.

Longreave Lane/bridge area was discussed. There had been some improvement, less debris, since work had been carried out on the area.

79.2 PDNPA. Footpath/gate work. Work has now been completed by PDNPA with lots of new gates.

79.3 Street lighting/Parking/Speeding. School had sent a letter of reply stating that they had put parking in their last letter to parents and would be doing so in September for the next newsletter.

79.4 Grit bins. Clerk to check grit bins for further replenishment. Grisedale grit bin full. Supplies stored from previous years low. Clerk to look into costs for extra measures for snow clearance along with gritting. It was noted that snow clearance in the vicinity of Station Rd was very slippery if not gritted as well.

It was noted that the litter bin to the left of the bus shelter is hidden. Clerk to ask DDDC to move the bin forward towards the front of the shelter. The dog bin near the play area was noted to be very well used and emptying frequency was queried. Bin to be monitored.

Item 7.5 on the agenda, Spring Bank, to be discussed in a closed session at the end of the meeting.

80/14 Quarry. Work has been carried out on bracing/strengthening the gate. Thank you to Cox’s.

81/14 Council Administration.

81.1 Inspection of Council Owned land. Inspection on Sunday 28^th September at 10am. Rospa report to go through.

81.2 Clerk – Filing, archiving and land registration. The filing is ongoing. Clerk to look into registration of the village hall.

82/14 Financial matters.

82.1 Bank reconciliation for 31 July 2014

INCOME – none.

EXPENDITURE –        £5272.53

Closing balance on current  A/C £1000.00

Closing balance on deposit A/C £38,762.36

82.2 Bank reconciliation for 31 August 2014

No transactions. Figures same as for 31 July 2014.

82.3 To accept and approve payments:

S Stokes                      Admin                                      £706.40 (2 months)
S Stokes                      Expenses                                £70.48
S Mason                      Painting                                   £225.00
T W Cox                      Fence/benches/gate               £1,236.00
Grant Thornton           Audit                                        £150.00
W Long                        bench                                      £119.99

The payments were proposed by Cllr Briggs and seconded by Cllr Thompson.

82.4 Grant Thornton. Holmemeal and separate bank account. The Clerk reported that the audit was complete, however the auditors had noted a number of items, being related to the bank reconciliation (bank figure approx £33.00 higher than cash book), comments on actions of internal auditor’s actions and charity bank account. The Clerk would be looking further into the imbalance, so as not to have a repeat next year. The Clerk also requested that an internal auditor closer to home would be useful, face to face communication would be easier to solve any discrepancies. Clerk asked to ask local parishes whom they have used, tried and tested. The external auditor advised that the Holmemeal charity accounts be kept separate to Parish. The Clerk was asked by the PC to take no action on this.

82.5 Precept for year 2015/2016. The Clerk reported that last year’s precept was an increase of 3% on the previous year. Cllrs to consider for next meeting. Also to await grant information from DDDC.

82.6 Xmas tree. The Clerk reported that the White Lion have kindly offered to donate the funds for this year’s tree. Clerk to look into costs/transportation of tree. Tree to be put up early December, utilising the lights purchased last year.

82.7 Remembrance wreath. Clerk to ensure a wreath has been ordered and to look into delivery/distribution of wreaths/collection boxes, possibly via shop.

83/14 Planning matters.

83.1 Parish Council consultation. NP/DDD/0714/0781. Field House, Moor Rd. Alterations and extension of existing ancillary annex accommodation to Field House.

Pc comments – no objections.

83.2 Parish Council consultation. NP/DDD/0814/0848. Carreg Byw. Barn Furlong. Install 2no velux roof lights to existing roof on south elevation.

Pc comments – no objections.

83.3 Planning decision notice. NP/DDD/0614/0664. 12 The Meadows, Grisedale Rd. GRANTED.

83.4 Planning decision notice. NP/DDD/0514/0574. Proposed agricultural building, Five Acres Farm, Narrow gate Lane, Wardlow. GRANTED.

84/14 Police matters and neighbourhood watch.

There was no report.

85/14 Clerks report.

1. Contacted Rospa re. buccaneer ship.
2. Signs for tennis court actioned.
3. Sent letter of thanks to J W Long Engineering.
4. Looked into storage box for nets etc.
5. Let contractor know to go ahead with fence work.
6. Asked contractor to spray moss on tennis court.
7. Sent thanks to Nick Smith for his ongoing work and Markovitz for supplying materials.
8. Wrote to resident re: overhanging shrubbery.
9. Looked into area around bus shelter and responsibilities – PDNPA and DCC.
10. Asked contractor to stain benches specified.
11. Thanked Alistair Slack for the tree work.
12. Asked B Cardona to cut back shrub on West Green.
13. Asked DCC to trim back verge adjacent allotments.
14. Wrote to School re parking.
15. Asked contractor to do work to gate at Gilder quarry.
16. Sent further information to auditors.
17. Sent Blackrock charitable status information.
18. Wrote to personal trainer re using rec. It was noted that a resident had enquired why some are charged for using the rec and others not. The situation to be reviewed in January re. the personal trainer. There had been no sighting of the personal trainer using the rec to date by Cllrs.
19. Replied to DDDC re dog poo bin.
20. Replied to Bakewell children’s centre re use of rec.
21. Wrote to DCC re mobile library.

86/14 To report any items of correspondence received and agree any actions arising.

• 15/07/14 Longstone School. Parking. See 79.3
• 15/07/14 DDDC. Review of polling districts, places and stations 2014. Noted.
• 18/07/14 DDDC. Verge next to allotments. See 79.1
• 23/07/14 DDDC. Implementation of dog control order. Dogs running wild, guidelines and dog poo discussed.
• 23/07/14 DALC. General circular. Movement of Dalc to PDNPA offices.
• 23/07/14 PDNPA. Parishes bulletin July 14. Noted
• 29/07/14 Blackrock. Investment report for Holmemeal. Information to be passed to Trustees.
• 31/07/14 Wardlow Parish meeting. Minutes and planning application. See 75/14
• 31/07/14 DCC. Dog control order deadline. See above.
• 01/8/14 Bakewell resident. Tennis court. See 76.2
• 04/08/14 DCC. Attachments to street lighting columns. Noted.
• 15/08/14 PDNPA. Shop fronts and alterations and extensions adoption statement August 2014. Noted.
• 15/08/14 Resident. Various recreation ground. Various small tasks had been carried out, such as removal of cut down tree branches.
• 22/08/14 DCC. Consultation on White Peak loop. Clerk to circulate document/pass to UTE. Document giving details of the consultation of the loop – Extension of Monsal trail from Bakewell to Matlock. A Cllr raised the subject of cycle races along the trail, which have occurred. Clerk to contact PDNPA re racing/Parish not informed.
• 26/08/14 Dalc. General circular. Noted.
• 28/08/14 PDNPA. Local development plan. Clerk to download map and plot rec, burial grounds etc.
• 28/08/14 Relative. Memorial bench West Green. The requested memorial bench was discussed along with the subject of new benches generally; recycled plastic; trees. It was resolved for the Clerk to contact the relative offering the following options:
  • A possible stone plaque at ground level in the area of West Green facing the property in question.
  • A donation to a bench in the village as and when one requires replacing, with a plaque to go on. PC looking into plastic benches, to reduce maintenance costs. Clerk to make relative aware of this.
  • Donation to the maintenance of existing benches, with a plaque being put on an existing bench (PC would contact existing donator of bench).

To note the PC are not looking at further benches in addition to those existing.

87/14 Late items of correspondence.

• 01/09/14 PPPF. AGM Saturday 18^th October PDNPA. 9.30am. Noted.
• 01/09/14 Grant Thornton. Completion of audit. See 82.4
• 01/09/14 PDNPA. Parish member appointments to PDNPA. Noted.
• 01/09/14 Dalc. AGM 9^th September 2014. Noted.
• 01/09/14 CPRE. Subscription invite. Noted.
• 04/09/14 DDDC. Forum 13^th October 2014 7pm, ABC Bakewell. Noted.
• 05/09/14 DCC. TRO correspondence address update. Clerk supplied information.
• 09/09/14 White Lion. Xmas tree donation. See 82.6

88/14 Date of next meetings.

12^th November 2014               14^th January 2015                   11^th March 2015

Sarah Stokes, Clerk to Great Longstone Parish Council, Longstone Byre, Little Longstone, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1NN. Tel: 01629 640851  Email:parishcouncil@greatlongstone.net

The Chair closed the meeting at 9.07, which then went into a closed session to discuss item 7.5.