Arkengarthdale Parish Council Minutes – 2015/16

11 May 2015 – AGM

11 May 2015

13 July 2015

14 September 2015

9 November 2015

11 January 2016

7 March 2016

7 March 2016 – Annual Parish Meeting The parish council annual general meeting was held on the 11th May 2015, when apologies were received from councillor Paul Harker and the newly elected district councillor Richard Beal.

The acceptance of office papers were distributed and signed by councillors and the clerk is taking them to Richmond on Thursday.

Election of officers: Councillor Stubbs proposed councillor Stones remain as chairman. Sadly, councillor Stones felt he could not continue due to his age. He would like a younger person to be chairman. His colleagues reluctantly accepted the situation. Councillor Stones then proposed that councillor Stubbs should be chairman. This was seconded by councillor Lundberg. Councillor Stubbs duly signed the acceptance of office form, and said he did not wish to claim an allowance. Councillor Watkins proposed councillor Stones to be vice chairman and councillor Stubbs seconded that.

It was agreed that the standing orders should remain the same. The clerk said we should make arrangements at the bank that councillor Stubbs can sign cheques. After discussion, councillors felt that we can still have councillor Stones signature when appropriate. Councillor Stubbs is willing to go to the bank and give a sample of his signature. The clerk had a list of seven dates for future meetings. Councillors then discussed whether we needed seven meetings. It was decided to go back to six meetings, crossing off the June meeting. The six meeting dates are: 13 July, 14 September, 9 November, 11 January 2016, 7 March and 16 May.

The minutes of the previous AGM were read, approved and signed. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 8.40 PM. parish council meeting May 2015

A parish council meeting was held on Monday the 11th May 2015 when apologies were received from councillor Paul Harker and the recently re-elected district councillor Richard Beal.

The clerk said she would like to thank the retiring chairman for his kindness and help over a quarter of a century. When she took the job as clerk to the council, councillor Stones was chairman and in all that time they had never had a wrong word. She appreciated the chairman's conciliatory approach to problems. He was always dependable and for that she thanked him most kindly. The new chairman councillor Stubbs then said he would like to thank councillor Stones for all the hard work he has put into many years of service to the parish, there are many jobs that get done under his chairmanship. Councillors Watkins and Lundberg also added their appreciation and there was a round of applause. Councillor Stones became chairman and signed the minutes on the 26th September 1973, and has been chairman ever since, with out a break. That is more than 41 years of service to the parish council. The younger councillors and the clerk rely on councillor Stone's wide knowledge on many problems that have arisen over the years, and we are fortunate to continue to have him as vice chairman. Our new chairman councillor stubbs, joined the council on the 20th November 1991 and has been a councillor for 24 years. He was elected vice chairman on the 14th May 1999 and has held that position for 16 years, during which time he has contributed much to council business and has chaired meetings in the absence of the chairman. We all wish him well.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed. Matters arising:

Winter maintenance – councillors were pleased with the decent snow clearing equipment that we now have. Hopefully, we have finished with winter for now.

Sale of the chapel – councillor Lundberg said matters are still in hand. Letters were sent out to every resident in the dale to see what the housing need would be and seven people responded. Amanda Madden is now working on this.. It is hoped that the chapel will be up for sale by our July meeting. Councillors are still hoping that we might get a small number of new build houses on the site near the car park, as well as the possible conversion of the chapel into flats.

Broadband – councillor Watkins has been in touch with Sheena Spence of the Local Councils Association and outlined to her the difficulty that exists in the more remote parts of Yorkshire like our dale. Sheena responded positively and gave councillors some ideas on how to move his forward. A resolution was passed that this council calls on the joint annual meeting of the Local Councils Association to resolve to press HM government for greater financial contribution and swift action to bring rural broadband to he more remote parts of Yorkshire. Councillors voted unanimously to pass this resolution.

Noticeboard – Our noticeboard in the village is in a poor state of repair; it was decided to look at the possibility of purchasing a new one. The chairman councillor Stubbs said he had seen a light metal noticeboard that would be idea as it would not need painting. This will be discussed again at the July meeting.

Correspondence – a letter was received from the NYCC in response to the clerk's letter regarding the defect near the church gate, which has been repaired by the highways officer. A further works order has been sent to the contractors to carry out repairs at the junction near St. Mary's church. A letter was received from the Richmond Rotary Club, inviting the parish council to enter the best kept village competition. After discussion it was decided not to enter. NYCC wrote to say the bus service on Fridays from Arkengarthdale to Leyburn will continue. A letter was received from Yorkshire Water giving details of re laying some 20 Km of new water pipe from to Angram. They hope to keep disruption to a minimum. A letter was received from RDC clarifying the information needed to complete the returns to the external auditor. A letter was received from NYCC on the subject of grass cutting to improve visibility at road junctions. It was decided to ask them to cut at three junctions, , Stang Lane end and Whaw.

Financial – the clerk presented the end of year accounts that have been audited by Mr. David Williams. They needed signing and then would ready to be sent to Littlejohns. A number of cheques were issued as follows: £15 for the school, £110 for the Yorkshire Local Councils Association, £243.80 for the Zurich Municipal, also £40 for Mr. William's chosen charity, namely the two dales football club.

There were no planning or local matters discussed. The next meeting is on the 13th July. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.50

Arkengarthdale parish council meeting 13th July 2015

A parish council meeting was held on Monday the 13th July 2015. Present were: Chairman councillor Stubbs, vice chairman councillor Clark Stones and councillors J. Watkins and P.Harker. Apologies were received from councillor Paul Lundberg and district councillor Richard Beal. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed. Matters arising:

Sale of the chapel – most of the information is held by councillor Lundberg. We are not aware that much has changed on this subject since our May meeting.

Notice Board – this was discussed, some leaflets were looked at by councillors on light aluminium notice boards. Some are free standing, others are fastened to a wall. Our present notice board is fixed to the wall of a building which has got planning permission to convert into a house, so we need to find a new site as well as replacing the notice board.

Phone call from Littlejohns – The clerk contacted the chairman about a phone call she had from Littlejohns the auditors. He contacted them and received a long email, in which they detailed some minor discrepancies on our annual returns. After much discussion it was decided that of the two options open to us, we will go for having the paper sent back. Then we can correct it and pay the £30 plus VAT to put it right.

Broadband – Councillor Watkins works tirelessly to bring better broadband facilities to the remote parts of the county and this dale. Mr. Peter Holmes from Reeth Rural Radio Net was invited to the meeting to outline some of the work he and his colleagues have done in this area. They have brought about some improvements but there is still a long way to go. There was much discussion on this subject. The chairman said some money could be made available from parish council funds to support future work of the RRRN in the dale, in particular a dedicated fibre cable from Reeth exchange.Mr. Holmes said he would look into some costings in more detail and come back to us in time for our September meeting. Councillor Watkins is going to attend the AGM of the Yorkshire Local Councils Association on Saturday, where he will present a resolution which, if adopted will mean that the association will lobby the government on the lack of funding for rural broadband solutions (note from councillor Watkins – the resolution was adopted unanimously.)

Correspondence – a letter was received from NYCC asking the parish council if there are any individuals or organisations in the parish that have done outstanding things to keep libraries and youth clubs going in spite of drastic cut backs that have affected such things. The chairman said the luncheon clubs sometimes struggle. There are rewards available but the closing date is the 31st July. The clerk is to make enquiries about nominating Clark and Greta Stones for the fund raising they have done on a number of occasions for the luncheon club to keep it going. A letter was received from the Butterwick Hospice asking for a donation for their work. A letter was received from NYCC about the reduction in bus subsidy. This does not affect our parish. NYCC also wrote about the urban highway grass cutting. When this subject was first mentioned some time ago we were made aware that hey will only consider cutting the grass from a road safety angle. We suggested the three road junctions that would benefit in our parish are: Arkle Town, Stang Lane End and Whaw. Instead of cutting the grass we are being offered a sum of £13.54 towards it. After discussion councillors said we accept the contribution but we would not like to put Robert Baker to the trouble of supplying a separate invoice just to claim this payment. He cuts all of our grass in the parish and invoices all of it together. It was decided the clerk should speak to somebody in the relevant department and see if they will pay us without raising a separate invoice.

Financial matters – The clerk handed round a recent bank statement which shows we have £4722.58 in he main account and £333.08 in the seat maintenance account. We have not received an invoice for the school since the May meeting. The clerk said mail delivery to her house is unsatisfactory. We had fifteen letters today, before that there was no mail for three days. The school usually send an invoice soon after the meeting. In spite of there being no invoice, a cheque was raised for £15. A cheque was also issued to pay Sam Turner & Sons £514.99. This is for a seat to replace the broken plank near New Houses. On this seat is a plaque to commemorate 41 years as parish council chairman, with Clark Stone's name on it. This is a very appropriate way to mark 41 years of giving dedicated service to the community. Councillor Stones became a parish councillor on the 28th May 1964 and has now been a councillor for 51 years, and is still vice chairman.

Planning – The National Park Authority wrote to say that application R/01/149A to make access track at Green Bank has been granted. They also wrote to advise us of a variation of condition 2 of planning permission R/01/100B to extend the date to the 4th May 2025 (Scott trial) After consulting with the chairman the clerk wrote to support this variation. We had also written to support the application initially.

Local matters – Councillor Stones said that the tree on High Green that carries our Christmas tree lights could do with being pruned back a bit. It is slightly out of shape at one point and the branches are approaching some overhead wires. Councillor Watkins said he had been in touch with the Darlington and Stockton times; they would like the story and a photograph of Clark Stones and print it in their paper. Councillor Watkins will supply this.

The next meeting is on the 14th September. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.30 A parish council meeting was held on the 14th September when apologies were received from county councillor John Blackie. The chairman welcomed district councillor Richard Beal, David Williams,and Diane Colman to the meeting. He also welcomed the vice chairman councillor Stones and councillors John Watkins, Paul Lundberg and Paul Harker.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.

Matters arising:

Mr. David Williams came to the meeting to express his disappointment at the behaviour of Littlejohns. They have criticised our accounts by picking minor details in the accounts and making a major issue out of it. Mr. Williams has been in accounting for over 50 years and is handling the accounts of very large companies. He has been kind enough to audit our accounts and check them over before they are sent to Littlejohns. He said it was right for us to ask for them back, correct a mistake and pay them the £30 they will be asking for in due course. It is very disappointing to have to deal with the situation as they see it, but it's no good trying to reason with them. The chairman thanked Mr. Williams for all the help he has given the parish council and for always being there if we had a problem. He also thanked him for coming along this evening.

Grit bins: The withdrawal by the NYCC of one grit bin in Arkle Town was discussed. Councillor Lundberg said he will provide his own grit bin and use his own grit in the winter. It is disappointing that one of the few benefits we still get in the parish is the provision of grit in the winter, Now they start to withdraw some of that.

Sale of the chapel: Councillor Lundberg said Amanda Madden had been in touch with him, some progress had been made but there is a long way to go. It was valued at £80,000. It has to be advertised for 6 months as a community building first of all. Councillor Lundberg said he will contact Councillor Blackie and discuss it with him. It was suggested we invite him to our next meeting on the 9th November.

Broadband: Councillor Watkins brought the council up to date with what he has done on the subject. The meeting he attended in July at the Yorkshire Local Councils Association accepted his proposal and passed it, so it will be adopted nationally. A committee was set up in Parliament to look into this problem in remote rural areas. Our local MP Mr. Rishi Sunak is on that committee and supports this as far as he is able to. Councillor Watkins read out an email from Mr. Carl Les. He understands the difficulties we have and supports councillor Watkins efforts. We still have a long way to go.

Diane Colman came to the meeting to say she had been in touch with various departments to purchase two defibrillators for the dale; one to be placed at the CB Inn and one at the Red Lion. Both property owners are in favour of this, as is the ambulance service. She has now started to raise money towards this project. Diane contacted the National Park Authority; they were unsure if she needs planning permission. They advised her to contact the parish council. There was much discussion on the subject. Diane is a qualified nurse and once they are installed in cabinets fixed to the wall, she will keep an eye on them. Each defibrillator costs £800, the cabinets cost £600 each, so we are talking £1400×2. So far she has raised over £400. In October she will hold a raffle to raise more money towards this. Everyone present thought it was a good idea to have the defibrillators in the dale, bearing in mind that we are an ever-ageing population. It was put to a vote if we should offer to buy one cabinet for £600 and this was agreed by all councillors. Diane has been invited to come to our next meeting on the 9th November, by which time she hopes to be able to accept our cheque. The chairman was mindful of the fact that at the July meeting when Mr. Peter Holmes attended to discuss progress with broadband, we indicated that we might be able to help with some money. He said he would come back to us at a later date and see if he could move things forward in the dale. So far we have not heard back from Mr. Holmes but it was decided we can offer the £600 for the cabinet.

Correspondence – a letter was received for the National Park Authority to invite two councillors to a meeting at Leyburn to raise any issue parish council have with National Parks. Harold Brown is representative to . The first meeting is on the 22 September at the Old School House Leyburn. There is also a meeting at Catterick Garrison on the 16th where various issues will be discussed by the Richmond area committee. A letter was received from Mr. Steve Willis to give details about OMM Bike and Lite event on Saturday and Sunday, 19 & 20 September. He has been in touch with most local farmers and gamekeepers and checked out routes and 30 check points which are all on bridleways.

Financial matters – a bank statement was handed round, showing that we have £4056.13 in the bank. A cheque was issued for £15 to pay for the school for the July meeting. We have not received an invoice for this but we will pay it anyway, as we used the school for the meeting.

Planning – a notification R/01/88 A was received to say that the application for a single storey extension and extension of garage with first floor accommodation above at number 3, New Houses Langthwaite has been granted. A notification ref: F106200 to fell 1 beech tree to number 3 New Houses has been granted.

Local matters – the vice chairman said he received a complaint about a blocked drain on the Booze road; this will be reported to the Highway department along with another load of problems in the dale. The cattle grid on the Stang road had a sheep in it which broke it's leg. It was grazing in the cattle grid which has not been cleaned out for a long time. The approach at the junction of the church road is very rough in places. This was reported to the Highway department in spring; it is still not repaired. A complaint has been received from councillor Lundberg about the track up High Green from the main road. Councillors discussed various methods of smoothing out the offending area, and we will discuss this again at the November meeting. There is still a problem of parked cars on the roadside opposite the public toilets; as many as four cars belonging to the residents of Lion House are parked there. At the moment there is also a skip there, and there are often workmen's vans parked along there. These have to be overtaken by motorists going up the dale on a blind bend. Many local residents have complained about this because they have had near accidents when overtaking. It was decided to write to the Highway Department and ask for their recommendation. The chairman, councillor Stubbs said that if one of their engineers would like to come out and see the problem for himself, he would be able to meet him. The overhanging tree at Lion House has been pruned back a little but not enough. Their dustbins are still on the tarmac.

The next meeting is on the 9th November. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.45.

Arkengarthdale parish council meeting 9th November 2015

A parish council meeting was held on 9 November 2015 when apologies were received from councillor John Watkins, county councillor John Blackie and Peter Holmes. The chairman welcomed district councillor Richard Beale, The vice chairman councillor stones and councillors Paul Lundberg and Paul Harker, also Diane Coleman to the meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed. Matters arising:

The sale of the chapel – Councillor Lundberg said he has been in touch with councillor Blackie on the subject. For the moment the chapel is still advertised for sale at £80,000. Things have not moved forward due to the need to advertise it for a full six months. Councillor Blackie is trying to organise a meeting to bring all interested parties together to make progress. Broadacres are interested and it was felt that some progress must be achieved in order not to lose that interest. Once a date has been fixed for this meeting, the chairman and councillors Lundberg and Harker hope to go. Councillor Beal also hopes to attend the meeting. Amanda Madden is involved in these discussions. It would seem that the next step is to approach the land owner that owns land next to the chapel that would be needed as a car parking area.

Defibrillator - Diane has raised all the money she needs; two defibrillators have been ordered and our contribution of £600 to pay for one cabinet has been gratefully accepted by Diane. There will be one training session held at the CB on how to use them. The chairman has kindly offered to help with manual tasks of fixing the cabinet to the wall. Diane handed CD’S to councillors.

Broadband – councillor Watkins updated the parish council on progress so far. There has been much improvement in the broadband facilities and more are expected before the end of the year. After much discussion it was decided to pay the contribution of £800 that was promised to Peter Holmes to further improve facilities. Councillors were particularly pleased that the contribution will be used for residents in the dale, rather than over a large area.

Rough road area near St Mary’s church – The clerk had written to the Highway Department after the last meeting and she read out the reply. They are now not accepting responsibility for it but claim it is the National Parks responsibility as it is a footpath. We are not entirely happy with their explanation. Various suggestions were made on how to deal with this. The vice chairman councillor Stones suggested we should get advice from the Yorkshire Local Councils Association, and discuss it again at the next meeting on the 11th January.

High Green – following complaints of the road surface from pedestrians using the High Green road, which is quite suitable for vehicles, councillors volunteered to improve the damaged surface.

Christmas tree Lights – It was decided to put the lights up in the middle of December. The tree could do with being pruned back a little before then.

Notice board – this is in hand.

Correspondence – A letter was received from the Yorkshire Dales Access Forum to invite members of the parish council, or interested residents, to become Access Forum members. A notification was received of a motor rally event passing through the dale from the 5th – 8th December. A letter was received from NYCC explaining foot way lighting maintenance. A letter was received from NY Fire and Rescue Authority. They are organising drop in events in York. NYCC sent a letter about sponsorship of roundabouts, there are none in our parish. A letter was received from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the extension of the Lake District National Park.

Financial matters – the clerk said after the September meeting three invoices came in, all needed paying. With the chairman's agreement three cheques were issued that need to be recorded; £17 for the Royal British Legion for the poppy wreath, £75 to RDC for an uncontested election and £36 for Littlejohns the accountants. A letter was received from RDC to say that the second precept payment has been sent to the bank. We also received a request from RDC to work out our precept requirement for 2016-2017. Since 2012 – 2013 we have precepted for £2200 every year and managed on that, keeping a reserve in case we have an election, costing £1500. Our estimated needs for the coming year are £2145. This allows £300 for unforeseen expenses. It was agreed at the meeting to precept again for £2200. We contributed £600 to pay for one defibrillator cabinet, and £800 towards the work currently going on to improve broadband facilities in the dale. It was felt both of these items were of benefit to the local community. That leaves us with a balance of around £3756. Cheques that need recording after the September meeting are: 29 September, Royal British Legion, £17, 22nd September RDC £75, and Littlejohns accountants £36. At today's meeting three cheques were issued, one for £15 for the school, one for £600 for Well Medical and one for £800 for Reeth Rural Radio Net Ltd.

Planning – application R/01/100C to extend permission to hold the Scott trial until 2020 has been granted. The National Park Authority raised no objection to remove one Ash tree located near Low Seal Houses.

The next meeting is on 11 January 2016. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.40. Arkengarthdale parish council meeting 11 January 2016

A parish council meeting was held on the 11th January 2016 when the chairman welcomed district councillor Richard Beal and John Hall representing Reeth Rural Radio Net. He also welcomed the vice chairman Clark Stones and councillors John Watkins, Paul Lundberg and Paul Harker. Apologies were received from Peter Holmes. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.

Matters arising: Broadband – John Hall discussed with councillors the latest position with Broadband. There was much discussion on the subject. It was generally agreed that some improvements have been made and work is still ongoing.

Sale of the chapel – councillor Lundberg outlined to the council details of a meeting he had attended where Broadacres were present, as well as a representative from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Amanda Madden. Councillor Lundberg was disappointed that the representatives from Broadacres and the National Park seemed to know nothing about our attempt to have a small number of houses built on the car park land. The parish council has had some attempts to prove a housing need and then work on it from there. Councillor Lundberg was able to give some detail of the previous plans we had for new build houses.

Rough road surface near St Mary's church – the clerk wrote to the Yorkshire Council Association for advice, in their reply they give details of how we can best establish who owns the land and if it is designated highway or footpath. The Highway Department have done repairs on that stretch of road in the past but are reluctant to do so now. Councillor Harker has offered to Mr. Drury, who looks after Scar House. The chairman is going to follow the advice from the Local Councils Association to see if he can establish who owns the land. District councillor Beal said he would become involved to try and resolve the situation.

Access to High Green – the guttering to High Green has been cleaned out and the area has been cleaned up.

Defibrillators – work is going ahead to install the defibrillators with volunteers before the end of the month.

Christmas tree lights – they looked extremely nice this year' our thanks are due to Robert and Jack Stones for their help in putting them up, also to Mr. & Mrs. Richard Smith for providing the power for the lights.

Correspondence – a letter was received from RDC to advise us that the street light in Langthwaite will now be switched off at midnight and will come back on at 5am. Some correspondence was received on plans that can be implemented to celebrate the Queens 90th birthday on April the 21st 2016. It is suggested beacons should be lit on high points throughout the country as well as along the coasts. The Yorkshire Local Councils Association also wrote to update councils on obtaining IT equipment to be able to upload information if a council has a turnover of less than £25,000. After discussion it was decided to apply for the equipment. The deadline is the 14th February.

Financial Matters – bank statements were handed round. Three cheques were issued at the meeting, - £15 for the school, £12 for Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the use of their electricity for the Christmas lights and £79.42 to councillor Lundberg to reimburse him for materials he purchased for cash to tidy up High.

Planning – application R/01/274 to roof over existing sheep pen area at Seal Houses was received. After consulting all councillors the chairman advised the clerk to write and support the application. Application R/01/30D for full planning permission for change of use of agricultural land to domestic storage (retrospective) has been withdrawn.

Local matters – The vice chairman said there is a problem with the cattle grid at Bouldershaw Lane. Where due to heavy rain recently, the small stream runs across the road and fills the cattle grid with rubbish. There are some deep pot holes on the Stang Road, near the entrance to Plantation Cottage, also near Home Farm farmhouse entrance, and the branch of motorists have complained that due to heavy rain, streams of water have run down the sides of the tarmac, leaving holes and rough areas to negotiate. The rubbish bins at Lion House are still on the tarmac, in spite of writing to complain about this in the past. Councillors discussed the problem of the road along the , where a few years ago, some large stones were laid in position to protect the road. Water has now washed behind the stones, making the area less stable. It was decided that the clerk should write to the Yorkshire Dales National Park office to make them aware of this problem. There are a number of people who use this road for access.

The next meeting is on the 7th March. This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.50 Arkengarthdale Parish Council meeting 7th March 2016

A parish council meeting was held on the 7th March 2016 when all councillors were present. The chairman welcomed district councillor Beal to the meeting.. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.

Matters arising:

Broadband – Councillors discussed this, there are improvements made all the time (particularly to RRRN) and more and more residents sign up to it,

Sale of the chapel – Councillor Lundberg said Broadacres had pulled out completely. At the last meeting he attended, it was suggested the parish council should become involved, buy the chapel and convert it to put it to good use. It was felt there was not sufficient interest in it. All commercial possibilities were explored at the beginning. The building will now be for sale on the open market.

Rough road surface near St. Mary's church – The chairman tried to find an owner for the land in question, councillor Paul Harker has been in touch with Mr. Drury, the land owners agent. It was generally felt that since the severe financial cut backs, we stand little or no chance of getting any repair from the Highway Department. Councillor Harker is going to try to make progress with the estate,

Defibrillators – these are both in position and ready to use, one outside the CB Inn and one outside the Red Lion. The clerk will write a thank you letter to Diane Coleman thanking her for all the good work she did, raising the money and putting the defibrillators up ready to use. Councillors wondered about some training on how to use them in an emergency.

Cattle grid on Bouldershaw Lane – The clerk reported it as full of soil, turf and rubbish and the drains around it blocked. This resulted in a letter from the Highway department saying that on inspection they found it clean, empty and no problem. After a phone call from the clerk to the department, there followed an apology from the inspector, who admitted he had looked at the wrong cattle grid. They now know that there is a problem there and will deal with it and clean the drains. The potholes on the Stang Road are not considered bad enough to require repairing.

Correspondence – A letter was received from Mr. Michael Briggs, the ranger for this area, after his meeting with our chairman to discuss the problem of erosion by the Arkle Beck near Langthwaite. Mr. Briggs has made a few good suggestions. We hope to identify the various stakeholders and to get some estimates of likely costs, so that repairs van be undertaken before the retaining wall collapses. NYCC sent details of how warm homes should be for elderly people. They also sent more correspondence about changes to supported bus services from April 2016. We have no bus service in our parish. A letter was received inviting two representatives to a National Park forum meeting on Wednesday the 23rd March 2016 at Bainbridge. They also sent details of the submission of the Yorkshire Dales local plan 2015-30. An enquiry was received About sites of importance in the dale that could do with being restored. After some discussion, some lead mining relics were mentioned, particularly the Old Powder House. Councillor Harker will speak to Mr. Drury about it as they are on his land.

Financial – a number of cheques were issued, -one to the school for £15, £116 was paid to the Yorkshire Local Councils Association, our subscription for a year. £35 was paid to Mrs. Hutchinson for materials to clean and look after the War Memorial. A cheque was issued for £122.50 to Reeth Rural Radio Net Ltd for materials used to install equipment to enable use of a computer for the clerk at Fountain Farm. £275.73 was paid to Councillor Lundberg for the purchase of a new notice board. Councillor Lundberg obtained a grant towards this of £206.80, that leaves the cost of the notice board to the parish council at £68.93. A cheque was issued to the clerk for £950. This breaks down as follows: salary £675, fuel allowance £175 and £100 for next years expenses.

Planning – application R/O1/27A for erection of roof over sheep pen area at Seal Houses has been granted. Application R/01/56B by Mr. Philip Yuill for erection of shower and utility room was received, also application R/01/15I by Mr.& Mrs. Wickham for the erection of one garage and access drive way, and change of use of land to form an extension of residential curtilage. The parish council sent letters to support both these applications.

Local matters- Councillor Lundberg said there is a large pothole on the Stang Road at Eskeleth junction. Councillor Watkins brought a photograph of a part road damaged by water running down it and washing the side of the road out The Yorkshire Local Councils Association sent details whereby parish councils wraith an income and expenditure of under £25, 000 no longer need to have an external auditor. Councillors discussed this, it was decided to ask Mr. David Williams for advice. The only exception to this would be if a member of the public complained about the parish council accounts, then an outside auditor would be appointed by the council. The council has until the 31st of March to opt out.

The next parish council meeting is the AGM on the 16th May, This concluded the business and the meeting closed at 9.45.

Arkengarthdale parish council annual meeting 7th March 2016

The parish council annual meeting was held on the 7th March 2016 when all councillors were present. The chairman welcomed district councillor Beal to the meeting. The minutes for the previous annual meeting were agreed and signed.

Matter arising:

Grass cutting – Councillors are happy with the way Robert Baker cuts the grass in the dale. A local resident who cut the grass opposite his house on the roadside has left the dale. Councillors discussed this, we have a seat in that area and we need the grass cut around that seat. The clerk is to speak to Mr. Baker about this and then leave it with him. There were no electors present and the meeting closed at 8.05