Skelton cum Newby Parish Council
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting in the Village Hall
Thursday 12 May 2016 at 7pm
Welcome
This was dispensed with as the Chairman had welcomed everyone during the Annual Meeting.
Present Councillor Peter Greenwood (PG), Councillor Brian Derry (BD), Councillor Jane Mosley (JM), Councillor Robert Windass (RW), Kath Rayner, Clerk (KRR) and 5 members of the public.
1) Apologies
Apologies had been received from Councillor Nick Brown, Wendy and Dave Brown and Judy Lee.
2) Declaration of Interests
None
3) Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday 31MAR16
The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman.
4) Matters Arising from Minutes
4) Matters Arising
Drains The drainage problem in front of no. 29 is still to be fixed. PG advised that Mike Robinson (MR) would review the situation once he has finished his current work commitments for Newby Hall – PG to action.
Village Pond PG is still to arrange for the ivy to be removed from the wall and for MR to deal with the drainage problem - PG to action.
Queens Birthday Celebration
It was decided that the planned celebration would not go ahead.
Dog Poo Bags Payment A cheque for £15 for the annual payment to Judy Lee was signed – KRR to give to Judy. 1 of 5
Bank Account Whilst this had not been discussed at the previous meeting, it was agreed that it would be discussed under this section.
The general issues that had been encountered with the Yorkshire Bank account were discussed. One stipulation for the new account was that it should be free to run. KRR suggested that it would be easier for her to manage the banking if it was with HSBC and a Community account would not incur any charges. It was agreed that KRR would proceed with the transfer to HSBC – KRR to arrange transfer.
5) Councillors’ Reports
Councillor check whole document RW reported that Ofsted had issued outstanding report for the primary and secondary schools in North Yorkshire.
The incinerator near Allerton Park was progressing at a rapid rate. The cabling will connect with the National Grid near Coneythorpe, generating enough electricity to power 40 thousand homes once it is up and running. Trees to screen the plant had been proposed but the farmer who's land they would be planted on had said no to the proposal.
There had been problems with road closures around the site but that was for Highways and the site owners to sort out.
There have also been problems with road closures in Skelton and concerns were expressed over the frequency of road closures for sporting events.
The Heritage and Landscape fund is managed by two ridings. Three applications have been received:
• £5k requested from a small business that has small animals that children can go to visit. • £50k from a commercial business that wanted to improve their grounds – rejected. • £50k from a business that wanted to repair a wall – rejected as it was felt that the amount requested was excessive. The North Yorkshire fracking application for Kirby Misperton is being reviewed on 20MAY16 and 23MAY16. RW commented that the council are receiving 4 letters per day against the fracking. The police are expecting circa 24,000 people at County Hall on the above dates. There will be barriers and a private security firm outside County Hall on both days.
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There has been a peer review of North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) by the leader of Somerset Council who spent a week with NYCC). The report identified that NYCC was delivering good value of money and could serve as a model for other councils.
The same can be said for the Education Department as other authorities are requesting advice from NYCC who are able to charge for the advice. This additional revenue is very welcome as the Director of Services for NYCC has been asked to make a 4% (£14m) cut to the budget. Whether these cuts have been agreed will be advised in due course. The residents of Boroughbridge have been contacting RW with regard to the state of the roads in the area. They have issue with the fact that surface dressing has been applied to some roads rather that pot holes on other roads been filled in.
Two questions were received from members of the public:
• Was it was true that waste from London would be processed at the Allerton Park incinerator? RW advised that the incinerator would only process waste from the North Yorkshire area. • Could the road between Langthorpe and Skelton be resurfaced? - RW to look into and report back.
The Harrogate District (Area 6), which is the biggest contributor of council tax in North Yorkshire, is underfunded. This is under review.
BD thanked RW for the defibrillator grant also commenting that the Bridge at Ripon had finally been fixed after over a year.
BD went on to update RW on the current situation with Superfast Broadband in Skelton. BD had contacted Councillor Mike Jordan (MJ), Chair of the NYCC Audit Committee who had then visited Skelton. MJ had agreed to speak to the Head of Finance at NYCC to raise the issue of our lack of Superfast Broadband under the contract with BT managed by NYCC, despite have the relevant BT box in place - BD to report back
Councillor Brown
No report received.
6) Financial Report
6.1 Approval of payments
Cheques were signed for Hilary Skevington's (HS) April salary.
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A grant of £300 had been received for redecorating the village hall – PG to arrange. As the village hall is owned by Newby Hall, future payments to Kath Knowles for cleaning it will be covered by them – PG to arrange. KRR asked if the defibrillator had still to be paid for? HS advised it had been. PG also advised that there would be no cost for fitting it.
6.2 Internal Audit Completed by Geoff Newton. It was agreed that 2 bottles of wine for Geoff, up to the value of £20, could be purchased by KRR – KRR to arrange.
6.3 Dates for Public Inspection of Accounts It was agreed that the dates suggested by the auditors be used – KRR to arrange to publish the notice on the website and notice boards.
6.4 Annual Return
Balance of bank account £3019.
The annual return has been completed and forwarded for external audit. All significant variations from the original plan had been explained as required.
7) Speeding The response to complaint (Ref:HG1510180) relating to speeding through the village has been received from 95 Alive. As the speed data obtained indicated an average speed of 24/25 mph and the injury accident data base does not indicate any speed related accidents within the last 3 years, 95 Alive are to take no further action.
It was noted that need to attach the 95 Alive speed monitoring device to a lamppost meant that it was sited close to the junction near the school, where speeding was least likely. As the meeting was unhappy with this, the Clerk is to write to both PC Waite and 95 Alive advising that we are dissatisfied with the outcome – KRR to action.
The worst area for speeding is between Newby Hall gates and the junction with the Skelton village. Various options, including speed bumps and signs, to reduce the speed of traffic through the village were discussed. Due to a recent motorist insurance claim, PG is wary of putting speed bumps on Newby Hall land.
The option of putting signs on Newby Hall land, near the school car park, is to be investigated – PG to check where the boundary between Newby Hall land and the public highway is and report back.
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There was still a possibility that the Parish Council could fund a speed monitoring sign, depending on the legal position, as discussed at the previous meeting – KRR to check with Councillor Windass.
8) Defibrillator The defibrillator is now in place with the Ambulance Service being aware of its location. Training on the use of the defibrillator to be provided to the village – JM to chase.
The defibrillator will be checked weekly by JM – JM for note.
9) Pond BD reminded the meeting of the details of the wood that has been offered to the village to provide a walkway to the pond. Whilst the Council had approved £130 for transport costs at the meeting on 31MAR16, further details were required of how much wood would be required and the total anticipated cost – Glenn Skevington / Alasdair Steel to measure up and report back.
10) Bus Service The changes to the bus service mean that we have additional services in Skelton. This was seen as a positive change.
11) Adoption of New Financial Regulations It was agreed at the meeting on 31MAR16 that the new financial regulations would be reviewed after the elections. As the elections have now taken place, the Clerk will review and arrange a meeting with the Councillors to discuss her recommendations – KRR to action.
Date of next Meeting: Thursday 14JUL16 at 7pm
The meeting closed at 20:30
Minutes submitted by: Kath Rayner, Clerk
Approved by: Peter Greenwood, Chairman
Signed Date: 5 of 5