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 County Council

RDC 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 ; 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 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 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.

The Bus Shelter has been tidied regularly by the PC and volunteers and dog waste bags have been provided.

Plants and hanging baskets have been kindly donated and places around the village, residents have commented on how nice they look.

The cemetery has been tidied and the gates painted, again volunteers were thanked for their help.

The large waste heap at chantry caravan site has been removed and the PC has received positive comments from several villagers.

A new sheep gate has been installed on Watery Lane.

Future action; It was reported that the verges along church lane and back lane are very overgrown, Cllr Brown said that the PC has been given a strimmer and it would be possible for the PC to do some strimming. It was decided that the pricing and rules for the cemetery need looking at, Cllr Brown said he would look at costs at other local cemeteries.

5. Defibrilator Project. The defibrillator is now in place and an awareness meeting is scheduled for 27th October to provide some basic life support training and to explain how the defibrilator can be used.

The suggestion of a second unit to be placed in Swinithwaite, near the farm shop was discussed. Cllr Thornton-Berry has offered to speak to Samantha Coultish at RDC about funding from the Community Opportunities Fund.

6. Financial Matters. All garden and land rents are paid up to date, with the exception of The Craggs, Tina Horsfield assured the clerk that this money is always paid within the year.

We are still awaiting a payment from Chantry Caravan Park for £450, the clerk will telephone to chase this.

Payments were made to DDR Electrical, for the installation of the defibrillator (£120) Antony Goulthorpe for gardening (£243) and to the clerk for stamps and Cllr Brown for plants and stationery.

It was reported that former Councillor David Bentley is in the process of recovering a dormant bank account used for the Smorthwaite Garden Trust with approximately £1500 left in, to be used for improvements and projects at the Smorthwaite Garden.

7. Confirmation of date and time of next 2 meetings.

The next meeting has been set for Thursday 12th November at 7.30 in the Village Hall.

The following meeting has been set for Thursday 14th January at 7.30 in the village Hall.

WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 12TH NOVEMBER 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) and 3 residents.

Key to abrreviations/organisations: NYCC North Yorkshire County Council RDC Richmondshire District Council PC Parish Council

1. Approval of minutes of 10th September 2015. The minutes were approved as a true record. It was requested that minutes are forwarded to the Darlington and Stockton Times in the future. Tc Harker said she would do this from now on.

2. Matters arising;

• Digital Transparency regulations and funding. The Parish Clerk explained that there were new regulations requiring Parish Council records to be available online. A copy of these regulations is available to download online, or a copy is available from the Parish Clerk. A government fund has been set up to assist smaller councils purchase computers, scanners and internet access, a grant has been applied for to recover the cost of items already bought by the Parish Clerk. • Online Reporting of Highways issues. Tc Harker has recently been on a workshop at the Highways department of NYCC, she was asked to encourage residents to use the online reporting system for highways defects.

The list of defects that can be reported are; Potholes Damaged kerb or pavements Street lighting Obstruction on pavements Damaged bus shelters Road marking problems Faulty cycle lane markings Road sign problems Concern about an event Spillages Flooding Problems with street furniture Tree, hedge or verge problems Traffic light problems

The online reporting system is easy to use and can be accessed at www.northyorks.gov.uk/reportit The other related website is www.roadworks.org which is an easy to use tool for looking at up to date information on roadworks and closures. • Any other matters arising. Cllr Brown reported a blocked and leaking drain to Yorkshire Water on Monday and they duly attended and jetted the blockage, they are going to inspect the drains with cameras on 16th of this month.

The Parish Clerk was asked to report overhanging branches on the road known as ‘under the town’, and flooding on the corner near to Oak Tree Farm; Cllr Hunter advised that cuts in the verge that allow water to drain away were likely to be blocked here.

Cllr Thornton Berry advised the council she had received a letter concerned about the speed of vehicles passing Oak Tree Farm, which she has passed on to NYCC to see if the 30mph zone can be extended.

A resident was concerned at the number of vehicles parked on the pavement/verge opposite the kagram junction at the weekend. Tc Harker has offered to ask the owners of the vehicles to leave room for pedestrians.

3. Swinithwaite Defibrilator.

Since the last Parish Council meeting, the Parish Clerk has applied online for a second defibrillator from the British Heart Foundation. This application has been approved and the defibrillator will arrive in the next 4 weeks. Also included in the grant is a set of inflatable CPR dummies and training dvds for us to host CPR training events in the community.

Cllr Bottley spoke to a representative of LN Communications at the recent launch of the broadband service and they have offered to pay for the installation of the defibrillator at Swinithwaite. Cllr Bottley will organise this once the defibrillator has arrived.

It was suggested that a fundraising and awareness evening could be held at Berrys to raise some funds for ongoing costs for the defibrillator. Chris Lambert has offered to write a quiz. It is possible to host CPR training at the same time. Cllr Bottley’s wife Jo has offered to help with training sessions.

4. Planning Issues. 3 Planninng applications had been passed to the Parish Council for consideration; Listed building consent for changes to doors/windows at Grasgill House, Installation of an air vent on the gable end of Abbotsleigh and a small single storey extension to Ghyll Edge. The Parish Council had no objections to any of these.

5. Financial Issues;

• Report of payments made/received. The ½ Yearly Precept payment of £1200 has been received and annual payment/donation of £550 from Park Leisure.

The Clerk’s ½ Yearly salary of £440 and gardening costs of £586 have been paid.

• Payment of outstanding invoices/expenses. Expenses of £10 for plants and £20.17 for ink were paid. • Planning for Parish Precept. A request has been received from RDC to provide the amounts required for the Parish Precept for 2016/17. Tc Harker will provide Cllr Brown all the required figures so a decision can be made about the amount to request. The information is required by 8th Jan. Cllr Thornton Berry suggested that further cuts were likely throughout RDC, and suggested other sources of income should be sought possibly from local businesses near to the Smorthwaite Garden.

6. Any Other Business. We have been asked to host an Art exhibition/Sale in the summer with a percentage of sales going towards the Parish Council, this will be discussed further in the Spring.

7. Confirmation of date and time of next meeting.

This was set for 14th January 2016 at 7pm in the Village Hall.

WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 14th JANUARY 2016

Present: Cllr David Brown, Chairman

Cllr Christine Donovan-Brown

Cllr John Hunter

Cllr Graham Bottley

Tc Harker, Parish Clerk

7 residents

1. Approval of minutes, 12th November meeting. The Chairman and Council approved the minutes of the previous meeting. 2. Matters arising; • Beacon to mark the Queen’s 90th Birthday. The parish Council have been invited to light a beacon to mark the Queen’s birthday on 21st April. In the past organisation of beacons has been done by other individuals and not the PC. Cllr Brown will speak to people who have organised beacons on before to see if they would like to organise it again. • Letter from Upper Dales Heath Watch. A letter of introduction to the Central Dales Practice, for new residents has been received. It was agreed to laminate this and display it on the bus shelter notice board. A list of local taxi firms has also been received, Cllr Bottley reported that the receptionists at the Doctors surgery answer many calls asking for help to find transport. It was agreed that it would be useful to display this list too. A discussion took place on the creation of a ‘welcome letter’ with this sort of information for new residents and visitors, Tc Harker advised that there is already a letter like this on file and agreed to update this if necessary. • Yorkshire Water. Cllr Brown has a meeting scheduled for 14th January with Yorkshire Water, primarily to discuss the release of sewerage on Kagram. John Loader provided some history and background information. • Flooding at Mill Dam. The Wall behind the pond will be tidied once the weather has improved. The sandbags will remain in place until the risk of further flooding has passed, then they will be stored behind the shelter at the Smorthwaite Garden. Cllr Hunter was thanked for his help during the flooding. It was decided that a flood gate should be installed to prevent a build-up of water behind the wall in extreme weather, this will be looked into in the spring and could be funded by the Smorthwaite Garden account. • Any Other Matters Arising. A letter has been received from North Yorkshire Police Traffic Bureau to say they will be measuring speeds at each end of the village and they will be in touch once they have gathered the information. There has been a complaint about the signs for the caravan site on Green Hill obscuring the view for drivers leaving Kagram. Cllr Brown will remove the sign and speak with somebody at the caravan site. 3. Planning Issues. Senior Planning Officer Paul Martinson has been in touch with the Parish Clerk, to seek the Parish Council’s opinion on the application to turn the Old Methodist Chapel into a dwelling, with particular interest in the potential loss of a community facility. The following response was sent:

“West Witton Parish Council wish to express their concern that the planning application for the 'Old Chapel' does not take into account parking issues which will arise if the planning application is passed as it currently stands. West Witton Main Street is often very congested with parked cars in the daytime and this is a matter of concern raised by residents in a recent survey and it is an issue the Parish Council is trying to address. We are supportive about the redevelopment of the chapel, if a solution providing off street parking can be found. Further details and our traffic and parking survey data can be provided if required.”

On the issue of the potential loss of a community facility; the Parish Council were of the opinion that West Witton is well served by a Village Hall, Sports Pavilion, Church, Shop and pub and could not see the need for another building, it would be preferred to have housing than an empty building that will become more derelict over time.

4. Financial Matters: • Report of payments made/received. A payment of £714 has been received from the Digital Transparency Fund. • Payment of outstanding invoices/expenses. The Clerk was paid £714 for computer equipment, printer and internet access, as granted by the above fund. • Proposal to increase burial costs. It was decided that the costs of burials should be increased to bring us more in line with other villages. A list of prices for and were compared with ours, the Parish Clerk will find other comparisons with similar sized cemeteries for next meeting so a final decision can be made. • Final Decision for Parish Precept. After considering a report of our income/expenditure for the financial year, and considering our reserves currently above the recommended 1.5 times precept amount, it was agreed that the Precept for 2016/2017 should remain the same at £2400. • Changes to external audit regime for 2017 onwards. A briefing paper from the YLCA outlining the changes to the way councils will be audited has been received. A decision to remain opted in to the current arrangement where an external auditor will be appointed on our behalf was agreed.

5. Swinithwaite news/issues. The Highways department are looking into the damage at the top of Pattimer Lane, but need to determine who owns the bank before it can be repaired. They have also agreed that Hargill Lane needs to be repaired. Cllr Bottley will maintain contact with them to secure a start date.

Cllr Bottley will arrange installation of the Swinithwaite defribrilator and liaise with Ilovebroadband who have agreed to pay for the installation. A fundraising evening in Swinithwaite will be arranged in the spring to fund spare pads/batteries etc for both defibrillators. It was suggested that a set of spares should be kept in stock so in the event of the defibrillator being used, there would be no delay in having it available for use again. Cllr Bottley is arranging donations of goods and services that can be raffled/auctions on the evening.

6. Any Other Business. The Clerk will send Parish Council minutes to the Darlington and Stockton Times in the hope that they will be included.

It was reported that the last collection time was displayed incorrectly on the post box in the centre of the village, the Parish Clerk will contact Royal Mail about this.

Due to the long delay in procuring a waste bin for Swinithwaite from RDC, it was agreed that the Parish Council will buy a bin for Swinithwaite bus shelter from our own funds. Cllr Bottley will chose a suitable one.

7. Confirmation of date and time of next 2 meetings.

The next meeting has been set for Thursday 10th March at 7.30 in the Village Hall.

The following meeting has been set for Thursday 12th May at 7.30 in the Village Hall.

WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 10th MARCH 2016

Present: Cllr David Brown, Chairman

Cllr Christine Donovan-Brown

Cllr John Hunter

Cllr Graham Bottley

Tc Harker, Parish Clerk

Caroline Thorntonberry (RDC) and 1 resident

1. Approval of minutes, 14th January meeting. The Chairman and Council approved the minutes of the previous meeting. 2. Matters arising; • Speed Check results from North Yorkshire Police. The parish Council have received a report from North Yorkshire Police regarding the recent speed testing undertaken at each end of the village. At the West end of the village there was no evidence of a problem with speeding and at the East end there was, this information has been passed on to the local police for them to monitor. • Cemetery Charges. A new schedule of charges for the cemetery has been agreed, to bring them more into line with other facilities locally. The new charges are;

Ordinary Burial £150 Reserve Grave Fee £50 Reserve Grave-Burial £100 (making £150 total) Headstone Fee £50 Internment of ashes in existing grave £40 It was agreed that provision needs to be made urgently for internment of ashes, in a garden of remembrance, Tc Harker will speak to Richard Sanderson to seek his advice on suitable locations for this.

• Yorkshire Water. Cllr Brown spoke with Yorkshire Water staff who were clearing the gullies up Kagram, they said the sewers had been inspected and looked fine. Grassgill is on the list for clearing this spring. Bolton Dene – Yorkshire Water telephone Mrs Gard regularly to monitor the issues known to affect her property and frequently clear the pipes there. It was reported that there is often an offensive smell coming from the drains there, Cllr Hunter suggested Mrs Gard keep a record of the times the smell is noticeable and agreed to visit. • Extension of 30mph Zone. A letter has been received from the Highways, explaining that the area passing Oak Tree Farm was not eligible to be made part of the existing 30mph zone. This letter will be forwarded to the residents of Oak Tree Farm. • Art Exhibition Plans. Plans are being made to host an art exhibition in the Village Hall on the 29th July. Cllr Brown has arranged for several local artists to display and sell their art, with 20% of the profits coming to the Parish Council. • Any Other Matters Arising. An invitation had been received to attend the National Park Parish Forum, Cllr Hunter and Cllr Brown have expressed an intention to attend.

3. Planning Issues. Two Planning applications have been received, Miss I Walker at Greystones and Mr J Sunter at Home Farm both wish to convert outbuildings to form accommodation. The plans were inspected and the Parish Council have no objection to either application.

4. Financial Matters: • Report of payments made/received. None within the period. • Payment of outstanding invoices/expenses. Payments were made to Antony Goulthorpe for gardening (£150) YLCA -annual subscription (£122) RDC – cemetery refuse collection (£76.19) Myers Group – gravel (£77.40) and Cllr Donovan-Brown – Ink/paper (16.38)

5. Swinithwaite news/issues. The Highways department have agreed the implementation of the 30mph speed limit, this now has to go to the NYCC Transport committee and then be advertised in the press for a period of 28 days before being put onto a job list. There is an issue with including the cattle crossing, similar to Oak Tree Farm, this does not meet the criteria for inclusion. Concern was raised about a large puddle that appears near the entrance to West End Farm, which flows through to Manor Farm, causing a hazard. Cllr Bottley spoke with the landowner and the tenant, the tenant said he had asked for a drain to be installed under the road and the council were very unhelpful. Cllr Bottley will speak to the Highways again. The defibrillator is now installed, plans for a ‘launch party’ are being made. Cllr Bottley is arranging further donations of goods and services that can be raffled on the evening. Once a date is finalised it will be published in the Upper Dales newsletter.

6. Any Other Business. Cllr Brown is meeting with Jason Hammond to discuss the creation of a flood gate for Mill Dam. The Milkstand has been gravelled and 3 conifers are being planted soon. Thanks to the people who have helped with this project so far. Planters will be made from tractor tyres if some can be sourced. The idea of having a pet cemetery has been raised, this will be discussed at the forthcoming joint village committees meeting in April.

7. Confirmation of date and time of next meeting.

The next meeting has been set for Thursday 12th May at 7.30 in the Village Hall, this will include the Annual Village Meeting.