Wymondley Parish Council
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1 WYMONDLEY PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Meeting of the Council Held at Wymondley JMI School On Monday 14th October 2019 at 8.00 pm Councillors Present Also Present Mr M Alcock Ms C Kerby (Clerk) Mr T Dean County Cllr Mr R Thake Mr C Jones 3 members of the public Mr G Seller (Chairman) Item Action 073 To receive and accept apologies for absence Apologies were received from Cllrs Foster and Gilbert (out of the country); Cllr Griffiths (training course); and District Cllrs Davies and Tyler (NHDC meetings). Mr Hawkins also sent his apologies in relation to Agenda Item 087. 074 To receive declarations of interest on items on the agenda The Chairman reminded councillors that where they had a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in ‘any contract, proposed contract or other matter’ they must disclose it and take no further part in the relevant proceedings. None were declared. 075 To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public Mr Carter had several points to raise regarding the Community Orchard and Garden, which were covered at Agenda Item 081. Ms Ward mentioned that there was overgrown vegetation in Priory Lane, which blocked drivers’ view from the left when they were turning right into the Lane - and which appeared to be a matter for Herts Highways. Mr Howard enquired whether there was anything that could be done about large HGVs using Priory Lane, as there were issues over the Railway bridge height restrictions; and an incident that day where one got stuck under an oak tree in Tower Close. Again, these were matters for Herts Highways in relation to signage and weight restrictions on similar roads in the vicinity. County Cllr Thake advised that vehicles were entitled to use the Queen’s highway and could not be denied access for legitimate purposes. HCC therefore had limited powers to act; and the police dealt with obstructions. 076 To confirm the Minutes of the last Council Meeting, held on 9th September 2019 It was unanimously resolved that the revised Minutes be agreed as a true and accurate record of the proceedings, and duly signed by the Chairman. Initialled:…………. 2 077 To receive a report on actions agreed at the last Council meeting (158) Mr Hawkins to advise the Clerk on timing of the Council’s Mr Hawkins letter on Local Plan/Green Belt issues to Bim Afolami MP: Carry Forward Cllr (034) Cllrs Griffiths and Jones to provide the Clerk with a pdf copy Griffiths of their passport, proof of address and a photo of their signature, so that they could be added to the list of bank signatories: Cllr Griffiths’ information was still awaited. Carry Forward (040) District Cllr Davies to raise residents’ concerns over breaches District Cllr of the Todd in The Hole premises licence with NHDC’s Licensing Davies Panel: This had not been done. (See Agenda Item 086 below.) Closed. (045) Mrs Ullah to provide the Clerk with scheduled dates for the Community Garden clearance working parties: This was awaited. Mrs Ullah Carry Forward (047) The Environment Group to obtain quotes for clearing the fly Env Group/ tipped items on the Tower Close Green; and the Clerk to contact Clerk UK Power Networks about clearing the track to the electricity sub- station: Carry Forward. (047) Cllr Alcock to set up and arrange maintenance of the planting Cllr Alcock scheme for the Great Wymondley Village Sign for the first year: Carry Forward (048) The Clerk to recirculate the legal advice she had previously received from NALC regarding sponsorship of the Little Wymondley flowerbeds: This had been done. The Council did not accept the advice, or her explanation of it, and she was asked to seek further clarification from NALC on whether the Council could publish a Clerk statement or notice saying, e.g. “[Name of business] had paid for these flowers.” Carry Forward (058) The Clerk to e-mail County Cllr Thake about delaying the closure of Stevenage Road for railway bridge works: This had been Clerk done and the work rescheduled for November. Closed (059) The Clerk to set up an account with Affinity Water in the New Clerk Year, to monitor Community Orchard water usage: Carry Forward (064) Cllr Dean to seek quotes for removal of the barbed wire at the Cllr Dean Little Wymondley Recreation Ground: Carry Forward (064) Cllr Seller to pursue matters with Affinity Water, regarding repairs to the track leading to the Recreation Ground: Affinity Water had got the go ahead to implement repairs and a site visit with Cllr Seller Cllr Seller was pending. Carry Forward (065) Cllr Gilbert and the Clerk to fix a litter-pick date: this was scheduled for the 2 November. Closed (065) The Clerk to write to Cooper’s regarding the less than Clerk satisfactory state of the Little Wymondley flowerbeds during the year: Carry Forward (065) The Clerk to order a supply of salt once the HCC calling note Clerk had been received: This had been done on 24 September and delivery would be in November. Mrs Ware had been informed and her contact details provided to HCC. Closed Initialled:…………. 3 (065) The Clerk to investigate whether the terms of the lease precluded the current Little Wymondley Children’s Playground site from being used as a car park if the playground was relocated: Clerk Carry Forward (067) The Clerk to apply to NHDC on behalf of the Council to review the Todd in The Hole premises licence; and Cllr Jones to arrange an exploratory meeting with the organisers: The Clerk would await Clerk/ the outcome of the exploratory meeting before pursuing a review Cllr Jones application. Cllr Jones would provide the Clerk with a copy of his letter to the festival organisers. (068) Messrs Carter and Howard to provide the Clerk with a draft letter on Air Quality Monitoring for submission to District Cllr Tyler: This had been done and the Council was asked to approve the final draft at Agenda Item 088 below. Closed (072) The Clerk to e-mail District Cllr Tyler regarding dissatisfaction over the service provided by some NHDC Planning Control Team staff: This had been done on 12 September, but no response yet received. Carry Forward 078 To receive the Chairman’s Announcements (for information only) There were none. 079 To receive the Clerk’s report (for information only) The Clerk’s report had earlier been circulated to the Council and covered the following items: Consultations: HCC was consulting on a proposal for a new Intalink Bus Strategy and Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme. The consultation ran from 16 September to midnight on 10 November 2019. See: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/intalinkpartnership The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was leading a joint consultation with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on extending 5G mobile provision in rural areas. The consultation document could be downloaded here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-reforms-to- permitted-development-rights-to-support-the-deployment-of-5g-and- extend-mobile-coverage The Police were consulting on the use of mobile fingerprint scanners on the streets - which enable them to definitively identify an individual and compare against the Police National Computer. (This helps in situations where they need to identify individuals that are suspected of offences or may have fallen ill and suffered a serious injury.) Views could be provided via: https://pro54337768.meetingsphere.com/2h7aftkkrkcy. The Hertfordshire Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Team: had been reorganised, with the result that Nicholas Maddex was no longer dealing with Wymondley and other parishes in North Herts. His colleague Andrew Burton had taken over that patch, together with Graveley and Great Ashby. The Hertfordshire Rights of Way Map, showing over 2,000 miles of rights of way in the county, was now available on Googlemaps at: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/rowmap Launched in September, it is believed to be one of the first developed in the country, and the map can be loaded onto a smartphone - making it easier for users to follow their Initialled:…………. 4 position on the map as they go. It was developed by HCC’s CROW and Web-team and will make the county’s rights of way much more accessible and help promote them to new digital audiences. It supports the goals of the new Local Transport Plan with its emphasis on active travel - and is intended to encourage more people to improve their health and well-being by getting out and active in the countryside. Footpaths: Bushes and brambles have been cut back along Footpath 8, (Buck’s Head to Little Wymondley Recreation Ground); and the regular mowing contractor would shortly be strimming the surface through the field. Footpath 23 (Arch Road to Grimstone Road) had been surfaced in line with the Council’s Parish Paths Partnership (P3) grant request, and feedback from users had been very positive. Grimstone/Siccut Road Parking Issues: For some time, the Clerk had been involved in exchanges between County Cllr Thake, Cllr Griffiths and the Highways Liaison Officer (HLO), regarding potential plans to remedy parking and over-run problems in the vicinity of Grimstone/Siccut Roads. A site meeting to discuss options for possible Highways Locality Budget (HLB) funding was scheduled for 10 October; and County Cllr Thake advised that there were funds available to undertake, (by March 2020), work proposed by the HLO to resolve over-run issues. This related to the triangular island at the junction of Siccut and Grimstone Roads; and aimed to formalise the over-run area for large vehicles (e.g. the local bus, refuse vehicles etc).