MAELOR SOUTH COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, 4TH OCTOBER 2016

At MADRAS VA PRIMARY SCHOOL, PENLEY

Apologies: Cllr. J. Blanchard, holiday; Cllr. P. Jones, holiday; Cllr. Mrs. G. Wilson-Butterworth, resignation; Cllr. Mrs. B. Wynn, resignation.

Present: Cllr. J. Gurr, Cllr. Mrs. W. Sime, Cllr. G. Williams, Cllr. Mrs. R. Coathupe-Fox, Cllr. Ms. D. Kettle, PCSO Mike Simister, PCSO Lynn Maurice, Mrs. Rebecca Bettis, Mr. George Aza, Mrs. L. Houston, Clerk.

1. Declarations of interest: Cllr. Gurr is now employed as accountant to Mr. Gerald Williams. 2. Minutes of the last meeting: There were two corrections: Item 15 – cheque numbers had been omitted from three items on the financial report. These were cheque number 000726 – Mr. G. Williams £265.00 000727 – Mr. J. Blanchard £32.00 000728 – Mrs. P. Stokes £19.95 Item 18 – Co-option of New Councillor for Penley – spelling error. Should read two expressions of interest. The minutes were then agreed to be a true record and duly signed by the Chairman. 3. Matters arising:  Lists of planters in and Penley were updated  Drains in Penley have been cleared.  Part of the hedge at Chapel Gardens has been cut, but Clerk to chase up request that rest is done by WCBC.  The missing bollard near the junction with Ellesmere Lane, Penley, has been replaced by a pole. Clerk to contact the Highways Department at County Borough Council to request a light be installed. 4. Police report. The police report was received. Police are monitoring parking outside Madras School. It was reported that cars are being parked on the pavement in Ellesmere Lane, endangering pedestrians. PCSO will place advisory notices on those cars in the first instance. Statistics from the Vehicle Activated Sign at Bettisfield had been forwarded to PCSO Simister and would be shared with Roadsafe. 5. County Council Matters. Cllr. Lord Kenyon was not in attendance. It was reported that an announcement from Welsh Government stated that there would be no merging of counties as of 4th October 2016. It was decided to ask the Member for Transport, Council, to justify the awarding of new bus routes to previous directors of GHA Coaches. 6. Open Forum. Two members of the community attended. One resident has had extensive discussions with Wrexham County Borough Council and Mr. Ken Skates, AM, about the 146 bus route and the choice of provider. There are many concerns about the companies used and safety standards. This resident was invited to keep the Community Council informed about any further developments. 7. Revised Code of Conduct. Changes to the Code of Conduct were noted and all were in favour of adopting this. Councillors agreed that an advertisement will be placed in the Whitchurch Herald to confirm that South Community Council had adopted the revised Code of Conduct at a cost of £76.72 + VAT. All councillors were asked to confirm to the clerk that in performing his or her functions, he or she would observe the authority’s Code of Conduct. 8. Penley Playground Due to ever-changing demands and criteria, it had been decided to abandon the WREN grant application. Cllr. Mrs. Coathupe-Fox is completing applications for a £5000 grant from Awards4All and also up to £25,000 as follows: Paul Hamlyn Foundation £10.000 Community Foundation Local CommunityFund £10,000 Fund for £5,000 The Clerk will also look into a grant of up to £5000 from Groundwork in association with Tesco. It was reported that Morris Homes has agreed to pay £30,000 to Wrexham County Borough Council to provide a toddlers play area on the Penmere Park estate. It was noted that Wrexham County Borough Council had held up this process for the past eight years by allowing Morris Homes to sidestep planning clauses by selling the final property on the development at 75% complete. The Community Council will monitor this development to ensure that the full £30,000 is spent on the play area in Penley. 9. Website The revised Code of Conduct will be placed on the Maelor South website. There were no other developments to report. 10. Streetscene a) Penley Two road traffic signs have been left in Ellesmere Lane following road works. Clerk to arrange for collection. b) Bettisfield Clerk to follow up request for a street sign at Cadney Lane. 11. Planning a) Applications Application reference P/2016/0751 – to change the exterior appearance of Plots 1 and 2 on the Tudor Drive development. There were no objections. b) Decisions P/2016/0614 – Refused P/2016/0685 – Extension to property at 15, Ellesmere Lane – Granted P/2016/0751 – Pending P/2016/0743 – Pending It was reported that Ken Skates AM is looking into getting The Dymock Arms delisted on the grounds that the listed aspects of the building were destroyed by fire, as confirmed by CADW. Condition of future development would be that the building is retained for community use.

12. Village projects a) Penley Cllr. Mrs. Sime has removed tree remains which were dumped in the playground in Penley. To date the weeds on the waste ground near the hospital have not been strimmed, but Cllr. Mrs. Coathupe-Fox confirmed that this will be done by the next meeting. b) Bettisfield There had been no further news from the Canals and River Trust. This item will be deferred until the next meeting. 13. Meetings attended by Councillors. Cllr. Mrs. Sime had attended the sub-committee meeting of Wrexham LAG. She reported that many exciting projects are underway. Welsh Government have pledged to guarantee the current project phase until 2020 and will cover EU money until then also. 14. Payment of bills Mr. Gerald Williams for strimming and maintenance of the playground and layby in Penley £100. Payment proposed by Cllr. Mrs. Sime Seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Coathupe-Fox Cheque number 000729 15. Income and expenditure since the last meeting 16. Treasurer’s Account Date Credits Debits Paid to/from Balance 04.10.16 11,492.26

Business Instant Balance c/f

Access Account 04.10.16 9,485.17 Total available funds £20,977.43

Unpresented cheques at time of meeting 828.47

20,148.96

Committed funds: Penley Playground 5,000.00

Funds raised, playground 480.00

Benches 1,000.00

Penley Village Hall donation 2,000.00

Legal fees, Broken Bridge Project 1,000.00

9,480.00

Committed funds for Penley Playground have stood at £5000 for 8 years. An increase will be considered at the next meeting.

17. Correspondence

Item Action Letter of resignation from Cllr. Mrs. The vacancy for a new councillor for Wilson-Butterworth Bettisfield will be advertised immediately.

Letter of resignation from Cllr. Mrs.Wynn The vacancy for a new councillor for Penley will be advertised immediately.

Request from Cllr. Williams to be This vacancy will be discussed at the next replaced as Community Council meeting. representative on the Governing Body at Madras School.

Letter form Madras School Governing Body It was agreed that the Clerk would look into that the Community Council pay £25 fee per the charges for Penley Village Hall and the meeting for using the school premises. Rainbow Centre and this would be discussed at the next meeting.

Letter from Bettisfield councillors requesting This will be discussed at the next meeting. a new bench for the churchyard at a cost of £505. Invitation form Town Council for Clerk to circulate information. councillors to attend training sessions. It was agreed that this would be a good idea if held in May following elections so that new councillors could attend.

18. Councillor vacancy in Penley.

Two candidates were interviewed for the vacancy. Councillors were unanimous in their agreement to appoint Mrs. Rebecca Bettis.

19. Any Other Business.

There being no other business, the meeting closed at 9:45p.m.