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P a g e | 1 APM MINUTES OF THE ICKLEFORD PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 26 APRIL 2018, ICKLEFORD VILLAGE HALL AT 8PM Present: Parish Councillors M Maxwell (Chairman), R Blake (Vice Chairman), M Barber, K Goldie, C Gooden, R Harper and C Thurstance Officer present: Mrs D Weetman (Parish Clerk) Also present for all of the meeting: District Cllr H Spencer-Smith, Mr J Tizzard and Mrs R Bryer. Also present for part of the meeting: Sgt S Oliphant and PCSO S Halbert. 17 residents were in attendance. 1. Apologies for absence 1.1 Apologies were received from County Cllr D Barnard and Cllr P Crowe. 2. Chairman’s Notice 2.1 Cllr Maxwell read out the announcement on openness and transparency. 3. Declaration of Interests 3.1 No declarations of interests from Councillors relating to items on the agenda were received. 3.2 No written requests for dispensation for declarable interests relating to items on the agenda were received. 3.3 No requests for dispensation were received. 4. Minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting 4.1 It was resolved that the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 30 March 2017 be approved and the Chairman was authorised to sign them as a true record of the meeting. 5. Reports Cllr Maxwell welcomed all residents and introduced the members of Ickleford Parish Council, the Clerk, District Cllr Spencer-Smith, Sgt Oliphant, PCSO Halbert, plus Mr Tizzard and Mrs Bryer from the Ickleford Neighbourhood Plan Group. Due to the North Hertfordshire District Council (NHDC) local elections taking place next week, residents were advised that district councillors would only be able to provide limited information in response to enquiries due to the restrictions of the pre-election period (previously known as ‘purdah’). It was noted that the Parish Council and District Cllr Spencer-Smith had devoted a large amount of time to matters relating to the NHDC Draft Local Plan. As this subject will be covered in both the Chairman’s, and also the District Councillor’s report, residents were requested to ask questions after both reports have been given. 5.1 Report from County Councillor David Barnard The Clerk read out the following report from County Cllr Barnard: ’Last year has been a busy year (again!), and I have cherished the privilege of representing you at County Hall. Many of the County Council’s responsibilities have been under financial pressures, and it has become necessary, after six years of holding back increases, to make small increases to the Council Tax, in order to maintain essential services. Hertfordshire is committed to premium Adult and Child care services. Adult services cost us £371.2 million per annum and Child services cost us £198.8 million per annum. 3,000 miles of roads in Hertfordshire, 10,000 potholes filled and still fighting to catch up. Even with a further £1.8 million of new grants to add to our £5 million already committed to road repairs alone, it will take some take to make our road surfaces acceptable. Road and waste disposal costs the taxpayer £115.8 million per annum. Ickleford Parish Council, Annual Parish Meeting – 26 April 2018 P a g e | 2 APM I’m not going to bombard you with the massive cost of our other services, like education, fire, public health, libraries, and so on. Libraries are a good news story. Whilst other authorities cut back and close their libraries, Hertfordshire’s Library service opens new facilities and has recently totally refurbished Hitchin’s library. Personally, I have been pleased to support the Parish Council and community with grants, which I am sure help to support residents in the area. Our Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, has committed to support our hardworking and much appreciated PCSOs. He promises more officers in our areas and a focus on community safety. Hertfordshire is a safe county, where people want to live. We were saddened to lose our County Council leader, Rob Gordon, earlier this year. He worked tirelessly for Hertfordshire and concealed his illness from us as he worked for us up to the end of his life. David Williams is our new leader, and whilst he has big shoes to fill, we know that he will confidently carry the massive responsibility of guiding our county into a secure future. I am here to help you in any way that I can, and I know that by working alongside your District Councillor, and your dedicated parish councillors, you can be confident that this parish is in good hands.’ 5.1.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions. 5.1.2 There were no questions from the audience. 5.2 Report from District Councillor Harry Spencer-Smith District Cllr Spencer-Smith referred to the large amount of time dedicated to the NHDC Draft Local Plan over the last year due to the significant impact that the Plan’s proposals could have on Ickleford parish. He worked closely with the Parish Council in preparing for the Examination in Public (EiP); this included reviewing documents produced by NHDC for the Local Plan process, assisting with the Parish Council’s submission for the EiP and also supporting the Parish Council during the hearing session. On behalf of the Parish Council, District Cllr Spencer-Smith has liaised with NHDC about other planning matters in Ickleford such as ensuring building work had been carried out in accordance with planning consent and confirming that the Parish Council’s responses to planning applications were being taken into account by the Planning department. District Cllr Spencer-Smith assisted with the Parish Council’s review of documents for the Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) Local and also the response submitted during the public consultation period. 5.2.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions. 5.2.2 There were no questions from the audience. 5.2.3 Cllr Maxwell thanked District Cllr Spencer-Smith for attending this meeting. 5.3 Report from Police – Safer Neighbourhood Team Sgt Oliphant noted that the Safer Neighbourhood Team based at Hitchin Police Station is headed up by Inspector Richard Lilley and Sergeant Stephen Oliphant. PC Tony Fletcher, assisted by PCSO Heather Burrows, continues to maintain prime responsibility for Ickleford. Residents were advised that PCSO Sam Halbert would shortly be replacing PCSO Burrows as the designated PCSO for Ickleford; PCSO Halbert is currently working alongside PCSO Burrows to gather local knowledge. The Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, has indicated that the current local policing model, which includes the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, will continue to be supported in its current format. Ickleford Parish Council, Annual Parish Meeting – 26 April 2018 P a g e | 3 APM Sgt Oliphant advised about the benefits of signing up to the OWL service as a means of passing on advice and information to the local community. The team will continue to work proactively in Ickleford to provide opportunities for residents to speak with the police. The amount of crime recorded for Hertfordshire has increased this year whilst the level of crime in Ickleford has reduced by around 8% for the same period. Sgt Oliphant discussed the crime figures, as shown below, for Ickleford compared with the previous year. Crime Type 1/4/2016 to 31/3/2017 1/4/2017 to 31/3/2018 Difference Burglary 30 20 -10 Robbery 1 2 1 Theft 20 14 -6 Fraud 1 0 -1 Sexual Offences 3 0 -3 Criminal Damage 13 18 5 Criminal Damage Arson 2 2 0 Assault 11 16 5 Public Order Offences 6 4 -2 Offensive Weapons Offences 1 0 -1 Racist/Prejudice Incidents 3 2 -1 Harassment 2 5 3 Non Crime Domestic 8 6 -2 Drug Related Offences 4 3 -1 Drink Driving 1 2 1 Fly Tipping 0 3 3 Total 106 97 -9 5.3.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions. 5.3.2 District Cllr Spencer-Smith enquired about contact details for Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert. The Clerk advised that this information can be found on the Parish Council’s website. 5.3.3 Cllr Maxwell thanked Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert for attending this meeting. Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert left the meeting. 5.4 Report from the Ickleford Neighbourhood Plan Group Mr Tizzard read out the following report ‘We’re part of a group of residents working on the Ickleford Neighbourhood Development Plan, or Neighbourhood Plan. This is an opportunity for us to influence future development in Ickleford. The name is unfortunately far too easily confused with the NHDC ‘Local’ Plan which outlines where the District Council has allocated land to build the many new houses central Government demands of it. Our Neighbourhood Plan cannot contradict the Local Plan, but can provide much more detail, giving us more say in any development that comes. It can also go beyond housing allocations to look at other aspects of village life. Things it might cover include: The development of housing, including affordable housing Provision for businesses Transport and access The development of community facilities Ickleford Parish Council, Annual Parish Meeting – 26 April 2018 P a g e | 4 APM The design of buildings Protection and creation of open space, nature reserves, allotments, sports pitches, play areas, parks and gardens, and the planting of trees Protection of important buildings and historic assets These examples are from CPRE (the Campaign to Protect Rural England). The plan must demonstrate that it is genuinely based on our community’s views and wishes. If adopted, it becomes part of the statutory development plan for the area and must be considered by planners and developers.