Minutes of the Yardley Hastings Parish Council Monday 20th March, at 7.30pm, The Memorial Hall Present: Mr J. Keggin, (Chairman), Messrs H. Cave, M. Coppock, J. Quilter, J. Grant, R. Houghton, A. Rowton, H. Welch, Ms S. Davies and Ms D. Smith Clerk: Mr G. Gill Public: None Councillors: Michael Clarke (left at 8.30pm)
270./16 Apologies Apologies were received and approved from Mr. D. Winter. Apologies were also received from Councillors Carole Clarke and Steven Hollowell.
271./16 Public Participation None
272./16 District and County Councillors’ Reports Councillor Michael Clarke confirmed that he would be standing for re-election in the County Council Elections to be held on 4th May. A number of his fellow Councillors would however be retiring, including the leader of the Council, Jim Harker. The “Unitary Authority” issue had been put on hold for the new Council to sort out. The NCC had set a budget for 2017-18 of £417million, requiring savings of £58million over the budget for the current year. The Highways budget had nevertheless been protected. The Council’s new premises in Northampton town centre were soon to be completed. Councillors noted the contents of an email from Councillor Carole Clarke. She had investigated the problems with the delivery of the SNC Review. The last issue was delivered between 28th Nov and 16th Dec and the Spring issue was due to be delivered between 20th March and 7th April. The SNC’s Communications team had assured her that an audit of delivery was being carried out on every issue to ensure that all copies were actually being delivered. Could she please be informed after 20th March of the names and addresses of people who had not received a copy, and she would forward these details on to the communications team for them to follow up with a late copy. The SNC had recently appointed a new Chief Executive - to start on 22nd March. The appointee, Yvonne Rees, had previous Local Government experience including experience working in a role that covered 2 Councils.
273./16 Members’ Declarations of Interest for items on the Agenda None
274./16 Approval of Minutes of last Parish Council Meeting held 20th February The Minutes were approved on the proposal of Mr H. Welch, seconded by Mr H. Cave and signed by the Chairman.
275./16 Matters arising from Minutes (Item 226./16(b)) The Clerk reported that he had received a notification from John Hicks that he would be carrying out the Rec. inspection at some point in June. (Item 251./16(e)) The Clerk reported that he had submitted the New Homes Bonus Fund Grant Application to the SNC immediately following the previous meeting. It had been acknowledged. (Items 226./16(e) and 250./16) The Clerk reported that a sum of £1,680.00 had now been received from the Transparency Fund, part of which was for new hardware. Action: Clerk (Item 262./16) It was agreed that it would be more appropriate if the proposed circulation of copies of the Neighbourhood Watch leaflet could be carried out in conjunction with the delivery of the Chairman’s Annual Report. (Item 268./16) It was agreed that it would be more appropriate to circulate copies of the leaflet about nuisance phone calls in conjunction with the delivery of the Chairman’s Annual Report. (Item 127./16(c)) Mr R. Houghton reported that HMRC had now acknowledged the Council’s notification to them that they were not obliged to enrol any employees (i.e.: the Clerk) in a workplace pension.
276./16 Finance (a) Review of the Council’s Asset Register The Clerk reported that following the comments made at the previous meeting he had looked into the question of how best to record the Council’s acquisition of its new street lanterns. He circulated copies of paragraphs 5.54 – 5.61 of the “Practitioners’ Guide” (Governance and Accountability for Smaller Authorities in England) (under the heading “Fixed Assets and Equipment”) and drew Councillors’ attention to the comments made about the function, purpose and content of Asset Registers. In the light of these comments he wished to recommend that the Council’s Asset Register should be completely overhauled to include additional information which would make it a more useful reference document. However this was something for the future. The immediate concern was to amend the figures on the current Register to enable an appropriate figure to be entered into the Council’s Annual Return which would reflect the acquisition of the five new street lanterns during the current financial year. He was proposing that this should be done by inserting an additional line showing the purchase of five lanterns at a total cost of £1,590.00, and making a corresponding reduction in the current figures in the “Calculated Cost” column against the five street lights concerned. On the proposal of Mr J. Keggin seconded by Mr H. Cave it was agreed that the Register should be amended to include the additional line proposed by the Clerk and that a reduction of £50 in relation to each replaced lantern should be applied to the figures in the “Calculated Cost” column. (Copy amended Asset Register attached). Action: Clerk (b) Review of the system of internal control and effectiveness of internal audit The Clerk circulated copies of a draft memorandum setting out the details of the Council’s Internal Audit Process and the Council’s Audit Plan for 2016/17. He drew Councillors’ attention to their legal obligation to carry out an annual review of the effectiveness of its system of internal control. It was agreed that the Internal Audit Process had worked satisfactorily during the previous twelve months, and on the proposal of Mr M. Coppock seconded by Mr J. Quilter the memorandum was agreed. (Copy agreed memorandum attached). (c) Review of the Council’s Standing Orders and Financial Regulations It was agreed to defer further consideration of this item until after the Council had agreed a Policy governing the management of the content of the Council’s website. (See item 278./16). (d) Approval of a training course for the Clerk The Clerk requested the Council’s approval to attend a NorthantsCALC training course “Data Protection and Freedom of Information” at a cost of £75.00. This was agreed on the proposal of Mr M Coppock seconded by Mr J. Quilter. Action: Clerk The Clerk reported that he had now received his “Certificate in Local Council Administration”. (e) Payment of accounts received Terry Watton Handyman 255.00* 1/03/17 – 31/03/17
G. Gill Clerk’s remuneration 220.00 February
G. Gill Clerk’s office expenses 89.34
Brown & Barden Grass cutting in Rec Net: £ 140.00 168.00* 2 cuts in March VAT: £ 28.00
Yardley Hastings Room Hire for ½ year 56.00 Memorial Hall E.on Street lighting Net: £ 654.39 785.27* 1/01/17 – 31/03/17 VAT: £ 130.88
*Not to be paid until receipt of invoice The Clerk circulated an envelope containing the receipts justifying his expenses. These were approved. He observed that that there were various factors which had enabled him to keep the amount claimed significantly below the amount of his previous claim in January 2016. The Clerk reported that he had spoken with a representative of E.on earlier in the day, who had confirmed that the charges for the current quarter would not exceed the sum of £785.27 charged for the previous quarter. However with effect from 1st April E.on would be raising their charges from 14.4 to 15.75 pence per kWh, an increase of 9.1%. Mr A. Rowton proposed, Mr M. Coppock seconded, and it was agreed that the above accounts be paid. Action: Clerk
277./16 Inspection of the trees in the Closed Churchyard Councillors noted the contents of the inspection report received by the Council in October 2012 in advance of the tree surgery which had been carried out during the following year. The report recommended a re-inspection after three years. Ms D. Smith observed that for the Council to ignore this recommendation would not sit well with the Council’s insurers. It was an issue of risk management. On the proposal of Mr J. Keggin seconded by Ms D. Smith it was agreed to invite quotations for an up-to-date inspection report. Action: Clerk
278./16 Web Publication of Council Documents a) Adoption of a policy allowing Community Groups to upload details of their forthcoming events to the “Calendar” The working party had not yet met but would hopefully do so soon. Action: Clerk
279./16 Correspondence a) Invitation from SNC to give feedback on their proposal to carry out a survey of housing needs The Clerk reported that despite his best efforts to speak to the SNC’s officers responsible for “Housing Strategy and Delivery” he had been unable to elicit any further information as to their current plans (if any) for the implementation of a survey. It was agreed that there was currently no further action required on the part of the Council. b) Invitation from the Police & Crime Commissioner to attend a consultation meeting on 18th April Mr R. Houghton said he would try to attend, provided his business commitments allowed. c) Invitation from SNC to attend a briefing session on their Local Plan Part 2A Consultation It was agreed that Mr J. Keggin and Mr H. Cave would attend the afternoon session on Wednesday 5th April. Action: Clerk d) Invitation from NCC to respond to a consultation on their Prioritisation Framework and Process It was agreed that there was no need for the Council to respond as a body e) Letter from Mr Frederick Boutchier re: 20mph speed restrictions The Council noted Mr Boutchier’s request for the Council to consider the possibility of applying for a Road Traffic Order imposing 20mph speed limits in parts of the village. The Clerk drew the attention of Councillors to the contents of two web pages: The Department for Transport Circular 01/2013 “Setting Local Speed Limits”, and “Speed Limits and Review Process”, published by the NCC. It was noted that the Department for Transport had commissioned research into the effectiveness of 20mph speed limits. The study was a three year project with a final report anticipated in “early 2017”. It was agreed that it would be inappropriate for the Council to take any action until after this report had been published, and the Clerk was instructed to reply to Mr Boutchier in appropriate terms. Action: Clerk
280./16 Dog Fouling and Other Litter Nothing to report.
281./16 Spring Clean Litter Pick The Chairman reported that he was awaiting a reply from Mrs Gardner as regards dates.
282./16 Village Sewerage System The Clerk reported that the previous Friday he had had a conversation with a lady from Anglian Water. She was keen to establish communication with the Council with a view to “raising awareness” amongst residents of their obligation not to discharge inappropriate matter into the foul sewer. He had taken the opportunity to inform her of the recent correspondence between the Council and Anglian Water concerning the tendency of the foul sewer to overflow in times of heavy rainfall. She had advised that various repairs/improvement works were in progress.
283./16 Recreation Ground (a) Repairs to play equipment Ms D. Smith reported that she had not yet managed to have a conversation with Geoff Routhorn about options for the repair of the skateboard quarter pipes. Action: Ms D. Smith The Clerk reported that Terry Watton had raised a concern about the state of the wooden surround to the junior play area. Mr J. Keggin said that he had inspected the area and believed that the issue could be rectified by the installation of a few additional posts. He would speak to Terry about it. Otherwise Terry Watton’s latest inspection report was clear (apart from the issues previously reported concerning the quarter pipes). However Terry had not yet made any suggestions about the repair/replacement of the litter bin. Action: Clerk, Mr J. Keggin
284./16 Reinstatement of turf on the Village Green It was noted that following a complaint from Mr H. Cave NCC’s workmen had returned about ten days previously and had deposited a load of topsoil over the backfill of their trench. They had also spread a quantity of grass seed. It was agreed to allow time for the backfill to settle before considering whether any further reinstatement works were necessary. 285./16 Employment of Community Payback Team Mr H. Cave said that he was planning to occupy the Team in clearing undergrowth around the edges of the Rec. The problem was how to dispose of the cuttings.
286./16 Highways (a) Update on outstanding matters It was noted that Batim’s drivers were still parking up their lorries for short periods to effect driver changeovers. A cab had been observed between 6.30am and 7.30am that very morning parked in the “hammerhead” opposite the “Pudding Parlour”. On one occasion since the previous meeting an unattached trailer had been observed parked on the pavement. It was agreed that the Council should start investigating the possibility of obtaining a Road Traffic Order which would prohibit the parking of lorries in Bedford Road. Action: Clerk (b) Shop Lane The Clerk reported that he had yet to obtain the necessary Statutory Declarations but would make a renewed effort to do so. Action: Clerk
287./16 Policing and Neighbourhood Watch Mr R. Houghton reported that none of the incident reports which he had received from the Police were relevant to Yardley Hastings. It was noted that a few days previously a local resident (who had previously been the victim of more than one burglary) had caught CCTV pictures of a couple of prowlers around their property at 1.30am. The same night Warwicks Garden Centre had also reported suspicious activity around their premises. Ms. D. Smith observed that these incidents gave an impetus for a revamp of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the village. Mr R. Houghton observed that the Police’s recommended style of communication was now the “Community Connect” scheme. More items were now being reported through this medium, and were being logged on to the system more speedily. Also a facility was available whereby members of the public could upload reports which were specific to their locality.
288./16 Pocket Park and Millennium Triangle Mr J. Grant reported that he had recently placed an order for a new post for the village sign. Mr J. Keggin said he would ask Geoff Routhorn to quote (1) for extending the new railing up to the entrance to the Pocket Park and (2) for a new pedestrian gate. Action: Mr J. Keggin
289./16 Street Lighting No repairs were required. It was noted that Western Power Distribution had now reconnected the electricity supply to the new lantern on Light Number 32 in South Vale.
290./16 Affordable Housing & Sports Facilities Update Mr H. Cave reported that further significant progress had been made towards finalising the legal arrangements for the management of the affordable housing.
291./16 Planning Matters (Notification of both items below was only received after the Agenda had been published) a) S/2017/0677/FUL Addition of first floor over garage – Rosebank, 10 Northampton Road It was noted that a previous application had been submitted in relation to this proposed development in December 2016 (Item 241./16(a)) Concerns were expressed about the size and design of the proposed new windows, which were obviously a departure from the existing character of the building. The Clerk said he would investigate to see whether there was anything in the Village Design Statement which might have a bearing on these. Otherwise it was agreed that there were no grounds for any objection. Action: Clerk b) S/2017/0640/FUL Link from house to forge and conversion of forge to residential - 63 High Street It was noted that a previous application had been submitted in relation to this proposed development in August 2016 (Item 141./16(c)). Concerns were expressed about the relative lack of off-road parking. However it was agreed that there were no grounds for any objection. Action: Clerk 292./16 Defibrillator – arrangements for a training session Mr R. Houghton expressed his regret that he had been misinformed about the capability of the Fire Service to undertake CPR training. It appeared that in fact they had not yet been re- accredited by the Red Cross. (Item 243./16). Training was being offered by the East Midlands Ambulance Service, but they would insist on charging for it. Mr Houghton asked if the item could be removed from the Agenda for future meetings, at least for the time being.
293./16 Councillors’ Reports and Concerns Mr R. Houghton reported that ten 20litre oil cans had recently been fly-tipped in Chase Park Road. He had reported this to the SNC the previous Thursday, but so far no action had been taken to remove them. It was also noted that there was an accumulation of rubbish in the lay-by on the south side of the A428 just past Spotley Cottages. This was almost certainly just on the other side of the County boundary, and would therefore be the responsibility of Milton Keynes. The Clerk said he would report the matter to the appropriate authority. Action: Clerk Mr A. Rowton reported that some corrugated asbestos sheeting had been dumped on the side of the road to Easton Maudit at the crest of the hill close to the Parish boundary. He said he would report it to the SNC. Mr J. Quilter reported that there was other fly-tipped material further along the road to Easton Maudit. The Clerk observed that this would be in the Parish of Easton Maudit and therefore the responsibility of Wellingborough, not the SNC. Action: Clerk Mr R. Houghton reported that he had received a complaint from a resident of one of the bungalows in Castle Ashby Road to the effect that a regular visitor to a neighbouring property was regularly parking their car in a way which interfered with the ability of residents to park their cars in individual designated bays. The Clerk advised that the complaint should properly be addressed to South Northants Homes, who, as the landlords of all the properties in the close, were in a good position to request that tenants should park their vehicles in a considerate manner and require their visitors to do likewise. Mr A. Rowton asked if anything could be done about the proliferation of “Lost Dog – Reward offered” signs posted in the locality. The Clerk said he would investigate. Action: Clerk Mr M. Coppock reported that there was some debris on the footpath between the Hall and the Rec. The Chairman said he would have a look to see if it needed to be cleared away. Mr A. Rowton expressed concern about the amount of mud on the road at the entrance to the track to the sewage works, caused by Anglian Water’s vehicles.
294./16 Future Meeting Dates Wednesday 26th April. Annual Parish Meeting: 7.00pm Monday 22nd May, to be followed immediately by the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.