West Witton Parish Council Minutes – 2015/16 22 May 2015 10 September 2015 12 November 2015 14 January 2016 10 March 2016 WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING FOLLOWED BY MAY PC MEETING BOTH HELD ON 22 MAY 2015 Present: David Bentley (Outgoing Chairman) David Brown (New Chairman) Christine Donovan-Brown John Hunter Tina Horsfield (Outgoing Parish Clerk) Tc Harker (New Parish Clerk) Roger Harrison-Topham (NYCC) Caroline Thorntonberry (RDC) John Loader (Broadband Liason) and one resident. Key to abrreviations/organisations: NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council 1. Introduction by Retiring Chairman The retiring Chairman thanked all former councillors for their hard work and support during his 8 years in the job, and Tina Horsfield the retiring Parish Clerk for all her hard work. 2. Introduction of New Chairman and Councillors David Brown was selected as Chairman and introduced himself and the other new councillors. 3. Review of Long Standing Projects Housing Development Project. The outgoing Chairman explained that the process is still at an early stage of planning and that the Parish council have expressed they agree there is a need for this development in principle, and are still awaiting plans. He remains confident the scheme will go ahead, but has no timescale yet. Highways. There are 3 outstanding issues with the Highways department, two signs at the top and bottom of grassgill to alert HGV drivers that the road is not suitable for large vehicles, this is evidently still a problem and the parish council are frustrated by the lack of progress, despite NYCC agreeing to install signs. The third issue is the speed limit in Swinithwaite; again this is in the hands of NYCC and Councillor Harrison-Topham has said he will raise the issue at a forthcoming area meeting. Yorkshire Water. There is still one property experiencing problems, Yorkshire Water have a long term plan in place for this and are visiting the resident monthly. The sewage spills in Kagram also have a plan in place with Yorkshire Water. The Parish council needs to keep up to date with any developments. 4. Looking Ahead – New Chairman The New Chairman expressed his wish for the Parish council to be open and approachable and highlighted visitor parking, improvements to Smorthwaite Gardens and a Parish Council Newsletter as some of the areas for focus for the new council. 5. Open Forum for the public One resident reported that the resurfaced road outside the Fox and Hounds is showing signs of wear, this has been reported to the highways department. There has been a complaint about dog fouling in the village, Tina Horsfield has been in touch with the dog warden, who is going to visit within the next fortnight to have a more visible presence and will decide if further action needs to be taken. Roger Harrison-Topham gave a warning about the further budget cuts to come in the county, and encouraged the parish council to share information with him and to make use of him as our representative in NYCC. END OF ANNUAL MEETING PARISH COUNCIL MEETING 1. Confirmation of minutes of last meeting. The Outgoing Chairman approved the minutes of the 15th march meeting. 2. Matters Arising: • Broadband Update. John Loader outlined a history of the project so far. Work Should begin on the installation of masts within days and ISPs are beginning to plan their launches of the service, further details to be updated soon. • Defibrilator. This has now been ordered and we need to raise £150 to pay for the installation. The running costs are thought to be in the region of £15 per annum and should be budgeted for. A number of charity quiz nights have been planned at the Fox and Hounds and the shop have agreed to have a collecting tin to raise money. • Litter notices. A resident has been in touch offering to create a poster to encourage people to clear litter and has asked the parish council to support cleaning parties and general awareness. Tc will email to thank her for her offer and agree to support her campaign. • 3. Smaller Authorities David Bentley explained that the rules governing small councils such as ours will now have new rules meaning annual accounts will no longer be externally audited, but must be self- published on the RDC website, along with details of councillors, meetings and past minutes. 4. Bus Services A new service and timetable has been implemented, operated largely as a demand responsive service, users have complained of very confusing timetables, poor scheduling of services and poor information. Residents have expressed concern about overcrowding in the summer. Tc has offered to speak to bus users at ‘Pop In’ in a few weeks time, to see how the service is working. 5. Village Land Village Land was not discussed at this meeting and will be covered if necessary in the future. 6. Financial Matters: • Approval of accounts, Annual Report and governance statement for year end 21 March 2016 • Cheque signatories changes are in process. • Payment to Zurich Municipal of £243.80 was sent re insurance. 7. Date of next meeting The date of next meeting has been set for Thursday 10th September at 7.30 in the Village Hall. WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 10th SEPTEMBER 2015 Present: Cllr David Brown, Chairman Cllr Christine Donovan-Brown Cllr John Hunter Cllr Graham Bottley Tc Harker, Parish Clerk Cllr Caroline Thornton-Berry (RDC), John Loader (Broadband Liason) and 7 residents. Apologies: Cllr Roger Harrison-Topham (NYCC) Key to abrreviations/organisations: NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council PC Parish Council 1. Approval of minutes, 22nd May meeting. The Chairman and Council approved the minutes of the previous meeting. Cllr Bottley was introduced as the PC representative for Swinithwaite. 2. Matters arising; • Grit Bin Review. A letter had been received from NYCC regarding the removal of the grit bin up Grassgill, as it did not meet the criteria required. The PC strongly disagreed with this and Cllr Brown has contacted Steve Mason from NYCC to discuss this, a meeting has been arranged with him on Tuesday 15th September to discuss the matter further. Cllr Thornton-Berry suggested that if we were unsuccessful in persuading NYCC to keep the current grit bin, corporate sponsorship could be sought to fund a replacement. • Police Surgery Outcomes. An informal surgery was held recently in the village hall, well attended by around 12 residents and representatives from the local police force. Some useful discussion took place, with the police suggesting we survey residents on their concerns regarding speeding and parking issues within the village. It was agreed that this could become a regular event, held every few months, alternating between afternoons and evenings. Cllr Donovan-Brown will arrange the next event in October or November. • Speeding and Parking Report. The Parish Clerk has collated all the survey results and produced a report with the key findings. This was circulated and discussed. Residents were encouraged to report incidences of blocked pavements to the police by the non-emergency 101 number. The PC are intending to speak with representatives from the Police about the survey results. Cllrs Brown and Hunter will arrange a meeting with the management of the Wensleydale Heifer to discuss some of the issues raised in the report. Cllr Bottley had spoken directly to a haulage company requesting that drivers slow down through Swinithwaite, this had been well received and had a positive impact on the speed of trucks from that company. 3. Final Broadband Update. John Loader presented his final report as Broadband Liason Champion. The PC will now step back from the project as it enters its commercial phase. LN Communications have taken control of the service, trading under the brand name Ilovebroadband. They held a presentation evening in the village hall this week with around 20 residents in attendance, the service is due to go live around October, and there are around 20 – 30 homes signed up for the service already. They will be holding another presentation evening in Castle Bolton on the 15th. A ceremony will be held to officially launch the service, in November with Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmondshire invited. Cllr Brown thanked Mr Loader on behalf of the PC and residents for his tireless work over the last few years to bring this project to fruition and acknowledged that without his huge input the village would not have superfast broadband for many years. 4. Village Improvements and Achievements to date: The Chairman listed many things that the PC had achieved in the past few months including arranging repairs to the chapel roof and guttering and the trimming of shrubs, which still need to be cleared away, one resident complained it was still very scruffy. The recent acquisition of land near the Old Vicarage known as the Milkstand. The site was cleared with the help of volunteers. The PC will continue to tidy this area and intend to make a feature here in the spring, residents expressed concern about the idea of creating steps up to the area as it may have safety implications due to the height, Cllr Thornton-Berry suggested using milk churns as planters. Smorthwaite Garden has been well tended this summer, volunteers have stained benches, weeded and cleaned the pond regularly and were thanked. The fingerpost sign has been moved to the correct position, signs have been put up to warn of slippery surface in the pond and new bulbs and plants have been planted. A bin has been requested for Swinithwaite from RDC but we were told it could take 2-3 years, Cllr Thornton-Berry has offered to look into this.