West Witton Parish Council Minutes – 2012/13
22 May 2012
26 June 2012
18 September 2012
20 November 2012
15 January 2013
WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 22 MAY 2012
Present: David Bentley (Chairman) Jane Chapman Mike Horsfield Steve Iveson John Loader Tina Horsfield (Parish Clerk)
Councillor M Wilkes (RDC) and one resident attended.
Key to organizations:
NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council UDHW Upper Dales Health Watch YDNPA Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority YLCA Yorkshire Local Councils Association
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
The minutes of the 20 March meeting had been circulated and approved.
2. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES.
.YDNP – Housing Development Plan.
There had been no further progress and the proposed site at West Witton is still under consideration.
Diamond Jubilee The Chairman hoped that sufficient funds will be raised from one fundraising event and the jubilee raffle to cover the costs of insurance for the Beacon and the mugs for the children in the Parish (39 in total). Councillor Horsfield has kindly agreed to host a quiz at the Fox & Hounds, and raffle tickets are to be sold on the night and also at the shop. Mrs Kirby confirmed that the West Witton wall-hanging is due to be unveiled at the Village Hall, at a Bring & Share supper on Bank Holiday Monday, and hoped that the children in the Parish would be able to collect their Jubilee mugs on the night.
Smorthwaite Garden seat and new village sign at Grassgill A Diamond Jubilee Memorial Bench has been ordered, and is due to be delivered in 6-8 weeks. Arrangements will need to be made for the disposal of the damaged bench.
The new village sign has been delivered, and further enquiries are being made regarding the replacement dry stone walling.
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Broadband. Councillor Loader advised that the ADSL2+ upgrade has made virtually no difference to broadband speeds locally.
3. SEWAGE PROBLEMS AT KAGRAM The Chairman is to arrange a site meeting with a representative from Yorkshire Water (who will also liaise with Chantry Leisure).
4. E-MAIL RECEIVED REGARDING GARDENING PROJECT.
A resident has requested to turn a small strip of land, next to the post-box at the east end of the village, into a fruit/vegetable allotment. Following enquiries into previous Parish Council records, it was found that the Bolton Estate, thought to have been the owners, had been previously asked to claim the land but declined. The land is therefore waste land and the Parish Council will not object if there is sufficient interest in such a project which would be at the residents’ own risk, and not covered by council insurance..
5. PLANNING ISSUES-RECENT ACTIVITY. . Planning permission has been refused for an extension at Arngill.
. Plans for stabling at Penhill Farm have been withdrawn.
. Chantry Leisure had appealed against an enforcement notice by YDNPA, in respect of touring caravans allowed on site. The appeal has been refused.
. An application has been received to discharge the Local Occupancy condition at Peachums.
The Parish Council had made no representations on any of these cases.
6. FINANCIAL ISSUES. Accounts 2011-12.
The accounts for 2011/12 have been completed and require to be audited by the internal auditor.
Payment of Invoices.
£47.20 Signs of the Times, village sign.
£84.00 Horton Landscaping Ltd., gardening.
£225.00 Zurich Municipal, insurance renewal.
Garden Rents.
The final contracts are still awaited from the solicitor.
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7. RECENT ANNUAL MEETING.
The annual meeting was attended by The Chairman, The Parish Clerk, Councillor Loader and two residents.
8. CONFIRMATION OF DATE OF NEXT MEETING. Tuesday 26 June 2012 at 7.30pm
THESE MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE BY EMAIL (TEXT OR MP3), IN BRAILLE, LARGE PRINT, OR IN AUDIO ON TAPE OR CD ON REQUEST TO TINA HORSFIELD, THE PARISH CLERK (Tel 01969 622064) OR BY EMAIL TO [email protected]
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WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 26 JUNE 2012
Present: David Bentley (Chairman) Jane Chapman Steve Iveson John Loader
Apologies had been received from Councillor M Horsfield (business commitment) and Tina Horsfield (illness).
Councillor M Wilkes (RDC) had also telephoned his apologies.
Key to organizations:
NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council UDHW Upper Dales Health Watch YDNPA Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority YLCA Yorkshire Local Councils Association
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
The minutes of the 22 May meeting had been circulated and approved.
2. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES.
.YDNP – Housing Development Plan.
There had been no further progress and the proposed site at West Witton is still under consideration.
Diamond Jubilee
Jubilee events had gone well and the social event at the village hall on 4 June was well attended. A notice will be posted on the notice boards thanking those who had contributed to the success of the jubilee weekend.
Although final income figures can not be confirmed until all the jubilee mugs are paid for, the current estimate is that the cost of the insurance, childrens’ mugs, raffle prizes and printing and the wall hanging poles have been covered and a surplus of about £128 will be donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Smorthwaite Garden seat and new village sign at Grassgill
The Diamond Jubilee Memorial Bench will be delivered in about three weeks. Provisional arrangements have been for the disposal of the damaged bench.
The new village sign has been delivered, and steps are being taken to finalise the arrangements for the positioning of the sign. Councillor Iveson agreed to provide walling materials.
Broadband.
Cumbria had rejected bids by BT and Fujitsu for their broadband contracts. The
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North Yorkshire report on the Broadband development needs to be rewritten after the disclosure that it failed to include farms as businesses in its business case.
Email received regarding gardening project.
Enquiries after the last meeting suggested that the land is indeed waste land and discussions will now take place with the proposer of the project regarding its viability.
3. SEWAGE PROBLEMS AT KAGRAM
Michael Denny, Area Coordinator for Yorkshire Water had had a useful meeting with the caravan site management and maintenance staff and had reported that the caravan management would be more proactive and monitor what is being discharged into the sewer. Yorkshire Water will also monitor problems reported. It was agreed that the problem had probably now been investigated as far as required. A letter would be sent to Karen Innes confirming the content of the letter from Michael Denny and providing his contact details in case of future problems.
4. PLANNING.
The application to remove the local occupancy clause from Peachums had been refused. A retrospective application had been made for an agricultural storage building at West Witton Farm.
5. FINANCIAL ISSUES.
Accounts and Annual Report 2011-12.
The accounts for 2011/12 have been completed and subsequently audited by the internal auditor. The accounts were approved and it was agreed that the Chairman should sign the Annual Governance statement.
Payment of Invoices.
£429.99 CYAN – Jubilee bench.
£351.60 Horton Landscaping Ltd., gardening.
£70 West Witton Playing Fields Committee (late payment for 2011/12)
Garden Rents.
Four of the five contracts have now been signed by the licencees.
Clerk’s PAYE status
The clerk has confirmed that the advice given to us that she need not be registered for PAYE had been found to be incorrect. A note confirming the discussions with the tax authorities will be included in the annual accounts sent to the external auditors.
6. ADOPTION OF THE NEW CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PARISH COUNCILS
Under the Localism Bill 2011. the previous requirements governing the cde of conduct of council members (under the Local Government Act 2000) have been replaced by new regulations. These abolish the role of the Standards Board for
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England and the need for district and unitary authorities to establish standards committees to deal with complaints and impose sanctions.
Parish Councils must still adopt and adhere to a code of conduct. The National Association of Local Councils has prepared a template Code of Conduct and the Chairman proposed that this should be adopted by West Witton Parish Council.
Copies were distributed to councillors so that they were aware of the new regulations. At the present time, Appendix A has not been finalized. When the code is complete, councillors will be asked to confirm its adoption and notify the Parish Clerk of any interests which need to be registered within 28 days of this confirmation.
7. RECENT EMAILS AND DISCUSSIONS
A resident had reported two issues:-
. A fading commemorative plaque in the bus shelter at the Leyburn end of the village
. A broken bench in the playing fields
Councillors considered that the second issue was a Playing Fields committee problem and that the suggestion to take action on the commemorative plaque (and one in the Smorthwaite garden) was not a priority action to be funded by the precept.
The chairman reported that he had discussed with Jim Chapman, the Chairman of the Playing Fields Committee the problems they were experiencing in obtaining volunteers and funds for grass cutting. The Council’s gardening contractors will be asked to provide a quotation for cutting the playing field but at this stage it is not intended to use precepted funds for this purpose.
8. DATE OF NEXT MEEETING
Tuesday 18 September 2012 7.30pm
THESE MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE BY EMAIL (TEXT OR MP3), IN BRAILLE, LARGE PRINT, OR IN AUDIO ON TAPE OR CD ON REQUEST TO TINA HORSFIELD, THE PARISH CLERK (Tel 01969 622064) OR BY EMAIL TO [email protected]
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WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 18 SEPTEMBER 2012
Present: David Bentley (Chairman) Mike Horsfield Steve Iveson John Loader Tina Horsfield (Parish Clerk)
Two residents and Councillor M Wilkes (RDC) attended the meeting. Amanda Madden , the Rural Housing Enabler for Richmond Council was present for the first part of the meeting and spoke in relation to Item 2 below.
Key to organizations:
NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council UDHW Upper Dales Health Watch YDNPA Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority YLCA Yorkshire Local Councils Association
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. The minutes of the 26 June meeting had been circulated and approved.
2. LOCAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
Amanda Madden advised that the housing development in West Witton has been confirmed as one of the options to be pursued. Funding has been secured by Broadacres for twelve properties. She wishes to attend the next Council meeting, with a representative from Broadacres, to show the detailed site plans to the Council.
3. PROGRESS REPORTS ON MATTERS ARISING FROM THE LAST MINUTES.
Diamond Jubilee.
A report had been circulated, placed on the Parish noticeboard, and is attached to these minutes regarding the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The Chairman was pleased to confirm that all costs had been covered and that the surplus funds raised of £134 had been donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity.
Garden Rents.
The new contracts have been signed, and the rents and contributions to costs have been paid.
Smorthwaite Garden Seat.
The new garden seat has been installed, and secured, by Councillors Iveson and Loader in the Smorthwaite Garden.
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Replacement Village Sign, Grassgill.
The Parish Clerk is to ask Mr. Hammond for a quotation to rebuild the wall and fit the new sign.
Broadband. Councillor Loader advised that rural communities are not considered a priority, and no significant improvement will be felt within the next two years.
Potential Gardening Project.
Further enquiries are to be made regarding ownership of the small area of land near to the postbox at the eastern end of the village.
Playing Fields Grasscutting.
A local resident, Mr. Goulthorpe, has been engaged by the Playing Fields Committee to carry out grasscutting at the Playing Fields. Horton Landscaping did not respond to a request for a quotation.
4. SEWAGE AND FLOODING PROBLEMS AT KAGRAM.
There have been a few minor incidents at Kagram, which have been dealt with swiftly by Yorkshire Water (who are closely monitoring the situation).
5. PLANNING ISSUES- RECENT ACTIVITY. Park Leisure has submitted an application to leave the caravan park open all year round. A representative from the Planning Dept., YDNPA, advised that a decision had not been made.
6. FINANCIAL ISSUES.
The accounts for 2011/12 have been audited and accepted and are due to be signed off by external auditor Mazars.
Payment of Invoices.
£35.00……Information Commissioners Office, renewal.
£70.00……West Witton Playing Fields Committee, 2012/13.
£400.00….Mrs. T Horsfield, Parish Clerk.
£926.40….Horton Landscaping Ltd., gardening.
7. ADOPTION OF NEW CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PARISH COUNCILS. The Chairman proposed that the council adopt the Code of Contact introduced by RDC and that the Standing Orders be amended to reflect this. All Councillors agreed.
8. COMPLAINT RECEIVED
A complaint has been received regarding overgrown ivy, opposite The Old Vicarage. The Chairman will follow this up.
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9. DATE OF NEXT MEETING.
Tuesday 20th November 2012, 7.30pm.
THESE MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE BY EMAIL (TEXT OR MP3), IN BRAILLE, LARGE PRINT, OR IN AUDIO ON TAPE OR CD ON REQUEST TO TINA HORSFIELD, THE PARISH CLERK (Tel 01969 622064) OR BY EMAIL TO [email protected]
Attachment: Report on Diamond Jubilee
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COPY OF REPORT TO PARISH COUNCIL FOR SEPTEMBER 2012 MEETING
QUEEN’ S DIAMOND JUBILEE
INTRODUCTION
This report is being prepared as an official record of the June 2012 celebrations.
BEACON
We participated in the chain of beacons and the beacon was lit by Peter Scrope, the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire. The Parish Council thanks . David Barraclough for initiating the organisation of this and liaising with Lord Bolton and Adrian Thornton-Berry regarding the provision of timber. . Brigadier David Madden for arranging the involvement of the army in transporting the timber by helicopter to the beacon site. . Gareth Robinson, Denzil Miles and the team of volunteers who participated in constructing the bonfire or lighting the route to the beacon and other activities for the safety of spectators.
VILLAGE WALL HANGING
Mary Sadler and members of her Handicrafts Group created a wall hanging depicting aspects of life in West Witton, which is on display in the village hall. This was unveiled at a well- attended social event on the 4 June. The Parish Council records its thanks to the ladies of the handicrafts group for their work in creating the wall hanging and to all those who organised the jubilee day social event.
COMMEMORATIVE MUGS.
These were given to all children in the parish who were under 17 on 4 June and could also be ordered by others. Jeremy Stubbs of Stubbs Mugs, who has a holiday home in West Witton, produced the mugs.
FUND RAISING
Fund raising activities were organised to pay for the jubilee events so as to ensure that the parish precept was not used for this purpose. A quiz night was held at the Fox and Hounds (quiz master Mike Horsfield) and there was a jubilee raffle. it was intended that if excess funds were raised from the jubilee events, a donation would be made to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. We covered our costs and a donation of £134 was sent to the charity.
We thank those who made this possible, including :- . The Wensleydale Heifer (providing firework display and raffle prize) . The Fox and Hounds (hosting quiz night and donating raffle prize) . Ian and Sue Jackson, Withywood Stores (donating Quiz Night prize and assistance with fundraising) . Ferdy Murphy Racing, The Old Vicarage and several individuals who donated raffle prizes . All residents who participated in jubilee events and contributed to the fundraising actvities
Summarised accounts are as follows:- Page 4 of 5 WWPC Minutes 18/9/12
Receipts Quiz night . 153.00 Raffle 360.00 Cash donations 30.00 Receipts for purchased mugs 134.50 Total £ 677.50
Costs Insurance 174.90 Cost of all mugs 195.00 . Raffle Costs (printing £33.60, prize £100) 133.60 Village Hall wall hanging 40.00 543,50 Donation to Air Ambulance 134.00 £677.50
David Bentley Chairman, Parish Council
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WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 20 NOVEMBER 2012
Present: David Bentley (Chairman) Jane Chapman Mike Horsfield Steve Iveson John Loader Tina Horsfield (Parish Clerk)
Councillor Harrison-Topham (NYCC), Amanda Madden (RDC), Andrew Garrens, Broadacres Housing Association, and nine residents attended.
Key to organizations:
NYCC North Yorkshire County Council
RDC Richmondshire District Council
UDHW Upper Dales Health Watch
YDNPA Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
LCA Yorkshire Local Councils Association
1. SPECIAL BUSINESS-AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Amanda Madden, Rural Housing Enabler, RDC introduced Andrew Garrens from Broadacres Housing Association who confirmed that plans were ongoing for the proposed development of 12 houses (which could be available for ownership/rental) at the west end of the village. The site will probably have a mixture of 2/3 bedroom properties, depending on demand, which will be gauged by community consultation Mr Garrens said that following consultation with NYCC, a solution has hopefully been found to the highway access problem to and from the development. He also confirmed that all necessary surveys will be carried out, following concerns, from residents, regarding the water/sewerage system. It is hoped that a full planning application will be submitted May/June 2013. The Chairman thanked both Andrew and Amanda for attending the meeting.
2. SPECIAL BUSINESS - CURRENT PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
The Chairman had been contacted by Mr Thornton-Berry regarding planning applications submitted for signs for his latest business venture, Berrys. Originally it appeared that four signs were to be accepted but it was later confirmed that two were unacceptable. A sign had also been placed on a wall of a barn but YDNP had said that planning consent was required. A formal application had been Page 1 of 3 WWPC Minutes 20/11//12
submitted for this but at the date of the meeting, the decision to be made by the planning officer was seven days overdue. A new application has also been submitted with redesigned signs to try to overcome the problem with the rejected signs. and a decision was due on the 13th November. To date, no decision has been made. The Chairman commented on the “excessive” length of time allowed under YDNP’s planning processes even where the decision was to be made at officer level and in the absence of consultees’ objections.
REGULAR PARISH COUNCIL BUSINESS:
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. The minutes of the 18 September had been circulated and approved.
4. PROGRESS REPORTS ON MATTERS ARISING FROM THE LAST MINUTES
Replacement Village Sign Grassgill. The village sign has been replaced, and plans are in hand to plant bulbs and flowers around it.
Broadband.
Councillor Loader advised that no significant progress has been made in the improvement to local to broadband speeds.
Potential Gardening Project.
The Chairman has contacted Gary Hudson, RDC, regarding ownership of the plot of land.
5. GARDENING CONTRACTS 2013/14. Following another year of a good quality, reliable service, Horton Landscaping Ltd was awarded the contract for grasscutting at the Cemetery. After a tendering process, a local business, AG Gardening was awarded the contracts for grasscutting and gardening/tidying-up at the Smorthwaite Garden. The mowing of grass at the Green Hill, and at the telephone box, will continue to be carried out by Park Leisure
6. FINANCIAL ISSUES.
Approval of precept for 2013/14.
A review of the likely financial outcome for the current year had revealed that largely due to a reduced number of grasscuts, the precept for 2012/13 of £2900 would be underspent by about £400. The estimated net expenditure for 2013/14 was £2454 and it was proposed and the Chairman recommended a reduction in
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the precept to £2400. Councillor Loader expressed his concern at the proposed reduction in precept, and felt that the figure should remain at £2900.00, or be increased so as to have funds for additional unplanned items of expenditure. The remaining councilors agreed to the recommended £2400 precept.
Payment of Invoices.
£80.00…….West Witton Village Hall Committee, rental of hall.
£100.00…..TE Hammond, replacement of village sign.
£144.00…..Mazars, audit fee.
£475.20…..Horton Landscaping Ltd., gardening.
7. OBSTRUCTIVE SIGNS ON GREEN HILL. Park Leisure Ltd had recently placed extra signs on Green Hill, without permission, which are causing a danger to motorists, who are unable to see at the road junction. The Chairman is to write to Park Leisure Ltd. requesting that the signs be removed.
8. EMERGENCY PLANNING Councillor Horsfield confirmed that he had recently attended an Emergency Planning meeting at Northallerton. Councils were advised to regularly update lists of vulnerable people and potential helpers and this would be done.
The Environment Agency warned that following a wet summer, land is already saturated, and the risk of flooding during winter is very high. The Parish Clerk advised that residents can contact the RDC switchboard and request sandbags free of charge. Sufficient sandbags for the both front and rear doors will be delivered, where appropriate.
Mr T Pitt requested that the Parish Council should request a grit bin for Flatts Lane. The Parish Clerk agreed to raise this with NYCC, although it was understood that the County Council have some agreed criteria governing the siting of grit bins.
9. CONFIRMATION OF DATE OF NEXT MEETING.
Tuesday 15 January 2013 at 7.30pm
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WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTE OF A MEETING HELD ON 15 JANUARY 2013
Present: David Bentley (Chairman) Jane Chapman Mike Horsfield Steve Iveson John Loader Tina Horsfield (Parish Clerk)
Councillor Matthew Wilkes and three residents attended. Amanda Madden (RDC), Andrew Garrens, Broadacres Housing Association, and nine residents attended.
Key to organizations:
NYCC North Yorkshire County Council
RDC Richmondshire District Council
UDHW Upper Dales Health Watch
YDNPA Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
YLCA Yorkshire Local Councils Association
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. The minutes of the 17 November meeting had been circulated and approved.
2. PROGRESS REPORTS ON MATTERS ARISING FROM THE LAST MINUTES Planning Issues – Berry’s .
The Chairman had discussed the recent planning applications with Mr Thornton- Berry. The revised application for two roadside signs had been approved but the application for a sign on the side of a barn was refused. Mr Thornton-Berry is considering lodging an appeal and councillors were in agreement that they would support the appeal if requested.
Investigation of ownership of the land adjacent to “The Old Vicarage”
The Chairman confirmed that investigations were continuing with the Land Registry.
Gardening Contracts 2013/14
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AG Gardening had started work on the Smorthwaite Garden and had made good progress. There are two areas of dry stone walling which will require attention and enquiries are continuing regarding the work to be done on the section sharing a boundary with Mr Murphy.
Precept
The precept request for £2400 was submitted by the 31 December deadline.
Obstructive signs at the Green Hill
The Chairman had received no reply to his letter of complaint and would follow it up.
Emergency Planning
Councillor Horsfield is to update details of the Parish Council’s Emergency Plan.
Grit Bins
NYCC had confirmed that they would place piles of grit near to Watery Lane and above the Grassgill cemetery. The requested site at Flatts Lane did not meet their criteria for an additional grit bin and the Parish Council decided to take no further action.
3. FINANCIAL MATTERS
Payment of Invoices.
£48 renewal fee Society of Local Council Clerks
4. SEWAGE PROBLEMS Councillor Loader summarised the recent sewage problems experienced at Church Bank. A section of water pipe had been replaced but unfortunately, raw sewage was left there and not removed. There were also apparently problems regarding Yorkshire Water’s understanding of the location of the drainage systems in the village. A site meeting has been arranged with Yorkshire Water for 25 January.
5. DATE OF NEXT MEETING Tuesday 19 March 2013 at 7.30pm
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