Roecliffe and Westwick Parish Council

BISHOP MONKTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of Bishop Monkton Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 20th October 2016 in Bishop Monkton Methodist Church Schoolroom at 2.00pm

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Members Present Cllr J Fowler (Chair), Cllr E Oates, Cllr A Garnett, Cllr R Harper, Cllr S Verrill, District Cllr I Galloway and three members of the public.

1 Apologies for absence Apologies received from County Cllr M Harrison via email.

2 Declarations of interest There were no declarations of interest.

3 The minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 5th September 2016 These were proposed by Cllr. Oates and seconded by Cllr. Harper as a true and correct record and were signed by the Chairman.

At this point members of the public were asked to leave the room whilst agenda items 4 and 5 were discussed.

4 Co-Option of New Parish Councillor The Clerk drew the meetings attention to advice received from Karen Birdsall at HBC which stated that “If 10 parishioners don’t request an election then the Parish Council can co-opt the new Councillor. It is entirely up to the council how they do this and who they choose”. She also advised that “the law says that the co-option must take place as soon as possible”. Interviews had taken place on 12th October with those who had put their names forward for the position and who were available on the night. A vote had taken place and by a majority decision it was agreed that Pam Harland be co-opted to the Parish Council. This was ratified by the Parish Council and the relevant documentation was handed to her to complete.

5 Position of Clerk to the Council There had been several applicants for this role: after due consideration, it had been offered to Keith Pettitt, currently performing the role in an “acting” capacity. He had accepted the position and a contract of employment and job description would be drawn up. Action: Cllr Fowler, The Clerk

6 County Councillors Report This had been received via email prior to the meeting but too late to be read out. The salient points are included for information. County Cllr Harrison reported that he had chased up the issue of the missing bollards on the flood scheme and the dangerous ditch where NYCC said they would put some protection in. Orders have now been raised and, although there were no dates yet, the work would happen.

Signed...... Date...... 7 District Councillors Report District Cllr Galloway reported that the planning application for The Chestnuts (16/02964/FUL) had been approved. He also reported that documentation was being approved today for the Harrogate Local Plan: this would be on show on 25th October at HIC entrance 3. There would also be a six-week consultation period between 11th November and 23rd December. He also reported that planning applications for land not included within the plan would be considered on their merits. HBC’s next major project will be a new swimming pool for Ripon, which is planned to be located adjacent to the Leisure Centre. Cost is envisaged to be between £3.5 - £4m.

8 Finance The Clerk reported that total funds available were £17,696.44 after outstanding cheques and accounts to be paid were considered. The accounts to be paid were as follows:

Clerk’s Salary (16/8/16 – 30/9/16) £201.20 HMRC thereon £43.80 Bob Upton (RBM and Signworks) £75.59 Clerk’s Expenses (laptop protection and stationery) £39.47 Nidderdale Ltd (newsletter printing) £182.40 V A Forbes (website costs) £57.00 Farm Land & Services Ltd (grass cutting) £394.80

Cllr Oates proposed acceptance of the report and Cllr Fowler seconded. This was approved unanimously.

In addition, the Clerk reported that, to change the address to which HSBC sent correspondence, he had prepared a letter for signatories to sign. This was circulated and signed by four Councillors.

Finally, the Clerk reported that he had been in touch with the British Legion to order the wreath for the Remembrance Day service and had just received an invoice for the Playground Equipment safety inspection by HBC for £66.00. Both items were approved to pay. He noted that we had passed the safety inspection.

9 Correspondence A letter had been received from the Flood Committee following an Environmental Meeting that members had attended drawing concern to the state of the willow tree by the beck. It stated that there was concern regarding the willow trees breaking or falling, causing increasing flood risk. In addition, the roots were forming a mat in the beck narrowing the channel. The letter concluded that the committee were of the opinion the trees should be removed.

Signed...... Date...... There was some concern raised by councillors regarding the ownership of the land on which the trees were sited. Consequently, it was agreed that the Clerk would check with Land Registry on who owned the land and then, once this was established, Cllr Fowler would contact the land owners. Action: The Clerk/Cllr Fowler

Correspondence had been received regarding the Mechanics Institute Clock. It is the Parish Council’s duty to maintain it. It was agreed that Cllr Garnett would obtain a quote from William Potts to perform the work and report back. It was noted that the clock should not chime. Action: Cllr Garnett

An email had been received requesting the removal of the dead tree by the beck. Cllr. Harper had considered the ownership of the land and it was believed that the responsibility lay with HBC. Cllr Harper would pursue. Action: Cllr Harper

The Clerk reported that he was opening a log following parishioners’ responses regarding mobile reception in the village. Cllr Harper reported that he had not received any response from HBC other than to point him towards NYCC. It was suggested that he contact dales parishes to see how they had approached this issue. Action: Cllr Harper

10 Planning Matters The following planning applications were noted: 16/02964/FUL The Chestnuts Approved

16/03489/REM Field House Pending Cllr Verrill had been approached by the applicant following the Parish Council’s response to HBC. He passed on the applicant’s comments that height dimensions had been included in the plan and this was noted by the meeting. The drawing that had been circulated was opened at the meeting and no height dimensions seemed to be apparent.

16/03159/FUL Land to west of Sunnyside Cottage Pending

16/03997/FUL Hall Farm Pending This application had been deferred and was now being resubmitted. A letter had been received from Mr K Barker objection to the development and this was read out and considered by the Parish Council. After due consideration by the meeting it was proposed by Cllr Oates and seconded by Cllr Garnett that the Parish Council had no interest in taking responsibility for the applicants proposed pond and maintaining it. This was agreed unanimously.

After further discussion, it was proposed by Cllr Garnett and seconded by Cllr Harper that the Parish Council would recommend Option B. Cllr Fowler would collate the various grounds for objection from Councillors and provide to the Clerk for the formal response to HBC. Action: Cllr Fowler

Signed...... Date...... 16/04286/FUL Southlands Farm The Parish Council had no objection to the proposed erection of replacement stone pillars & iron gate.

The following planning enforcement notices were discussed: 08/01025/PNA Land South of Virginia Cottage. No further response had been received from HBC

16/00360/BRPC Littlethorpe Farm Cllr Garnett reported that he had been in contact with NYCC regarding the encroaching of the development onto the footpath. He had concluded that it was now out of our hands and that the landowner would probably have to apply to divert the footpath.

11 Ongoing Issues Absence of ducks on the beck. Several parishioners had enquired as to the reason for the lack of ducks on the beck. It was agreed that Cllr Garnett would approach the RSPB on this subject and it be included on the Open Village Meeting agenda next year. Action: Cllr Garnett

Notice Boards. It had been noted that three were in various states of bad repair, namely the Mechanics Institute, Boroughbridge Road and Knaresborough Road boards. Three quotes had been received for various types of board and the Parish Council were minded to replace the Mechanics Institute and Boroughbridge Road boards with aluminium, same size boards. There was a question regarding the guarantees on the boards, which Cllr Garnett would investigate. It would need a third party to install them and Cllr Fowler recommended Peter Harris. She would pass his details on to Cllr Garnett. Action: Cllr Fowler/Cllr Garnett

12 Dates of Next Meetings The following meetings were arranged at the Methodist Church Schoolroom

29th November at 6:00 PM 10th January at 6:00 PM

Signed...... Date......