Low Coniscliffe & Merrybent Parish Council MINUTES of the Low Coniscliffe & Merrybent Parish Council Meeting held at St Edwin’s Church Hall, High Coniscliffe, on Tuesday 12th March 2019 at 7.00 pm Present: Councillor M Ellerton (Chair) Councillor S Clark Councillor P Ellerton Councillor C McLay Councillor K Marshallsay Councillor L Steel Parish Clerk - Ms J Bell 3 Members of the Public Absent:
MINUTE ITEM ACTION NO. 54 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Councillor A Craggs, Borough Councillor G Lee and Borough Councillor P Cruddas.
55 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
56 Planning Application 16/01231/FUL Field at OSGR Gate Lane: Talk by a Representative from The Archaeological Practice Ltd. on the Bronze Age Site
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the representative of The Archaeological Practice Ltd was not able to attend the meeting.
The Parish Council RESOLVED that Councillor K Marshallsay would arrange another date for the talk. KM
57 Public Forum
No matters were raised.
58 Minutes of Low Coniscliffe & Merrybent (LCM) Parish Council Meeting – 8th January 2019
The Parish Council RESOLVED that the Minutes of the LCM Parish Council Meeting held on the 8th January 2019 be approved. The Minutes were signed by the Chair.
59 Matters Arising & Outstanding Actions
1 Public Forum – Works Traffic: Works around the site at Merrybent have been completed. Signage regarding traffic is no longer required. 2 Planning Application for Untidy Land: Darlington Borough Council are to contact the owner to confirm intentions for the site. Concerns regarding anti-social behaviour on the site were raised. Councillor L Steel to pass these on to Borough Councillor Lee. LS 3 Planning Application 16/01231/FUL: Councillor K Marshallsay had arranged for a representative to attend the Parish Council Meeting on 12th March – see Minute No. 56. 4 Highways Matters – Salt Boxes: Councillor P Ellerton advised that he was in discussions regarding the painting of the salt box and purchase of a shovel. PE 5 Bank Reconciliation: Councillor M Ellerton to chase progress regarding the update of contact details for bank mandate and Business Reserve Account. ME 6 GDPA: A Draft Privacy Statement had been circulated. See Minute No. 63.
Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date……………………………………………………………. Chair of the Parish Council 7 Darlington Association of Parish Councils: Feedback was provided to DAPC by Councillor P Ellerton. See Minute No. 65. 8 Notice Boards: Councillor P Ellerton is looking at the possibility of moving the planter at the Low Coniscliffe site. It was also noted that the planter made it difficult for wheelchair access. PE 9 Nuisance Quad Bikes: Councillor M Ellerton provided feedback on Darlington Police’s campaign to target those responsible. 10 Donation of Fire Basket - Update to Asset Register: Details are now included on the asset register. 11 Defibrillators: Information from Borough Councillor G Lee had been received. It was agreed that the Parish Council would re-visit discussions regarding defibrillators in the Parish later in the year as provision of defibrillators in the Parish would require additional funding. LCMPC 12 Financial Regulations - Review of processes: The Parish Council continue to review processes to ensure draft Financial Regulations are adopted. It was agreed that Councillor K Marshallsay would act as a 3rd bank signatory and Councillor C McLay would replace Councillor Marshallsay as verifier of the bank reconciliations. The Clerk to contact the bank regarding requirements to set up on line banking. Clerk 13 Buckingham Palace Garden Party: A nomination was submitted but unfortunately there was no success from the draw. 14 Darlington Association of Parish Councils: The Clerk informed DAPC that Councillors P Ellerton and S Clark would be attending the meeting on 6th February. See Minute No. 65.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the matters arising and progress the actions required.
60 Financial Statement 18-19
The Clerk presented the Financial Statement 2018-19, detailing the income and expenditure position as at 2.3.19. Income totalled £26,731.71 and expenditure totalled £12,719.21 giving a balance of £14,012.50. Items of expenditure over £100 since the last report were Staffing Costs (£259.78), Hire of St Edwin’s Church Hall (£260) and Professional Fees re: Planning Consultation – Gate Lane (£195).
The PC approved the following items of expenditure: • Clerk’s Salary and PAYE for February and March. • Re-imbursement of legal fees re: land on east side of Gate Lane – to be part funded from RPA Donations. • Re-imbursement of land registry fees, stationery and postage costs relating to planning applications and land east side of Gate Lane. • Re-reimbursement of printing costs relating to planning applications. • Re-imbursement of paper and printing costs relating to the Neighbourhood Development Plan – funded from NP Grant. • Professional fees for additional support relating to the Neighbourhood Plan – funded from NP Grant.
Reimbursement of monies from the Christmas Carol Concert is expected. Councillor L Steel to progress. LS
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note and approve the financial report.
61 Budget Statement 2018-19
The Clerk presented the Budget Statement 2018-19 as at 2nd March 2019. The forecast for 2018-19 shows estimated income of £27,291 and estimated expenditure of £16,547 giving a forecast year end surplus of £10,744. Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date……………………………………………………………. Chair of the Parish Council Councillor M Ellerton advised that she would be submitting the final Neighbourhood Plan Grant return that was required within 2 weeks of the financial year end. ME
It was noted that the 19-20 budget would need re-alignment to ensure budgets are set to fund expenditure items identified since setting the budget in November 2018. These include: • ICO and PC security subscriptions • NDP website management fees • Pay award increase higher than estimated uplift LCMPC
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note and approve the financial report and to re-align the budget for 19-20.
62 Bank Reconciliation 18-19
The Clerk presented the Bank Reconciliation Statements for the Current and Business Reserve Accounts as at 2nd March 2019 (Bank Statements dated 5.2.19).
1 Current Account: The variance between the Parish Council Accounts and Bank Statement No 209 of £203.40 relates to cheques not yet presented for payment (£195.00) and cheque to HMRC not yet forwarded (£8.40) due to HMRC advising of an overpayment. This is currently under review. 2 Business Reserve Account: There was no variance between the Parish Council Accounts and the Bank Statement No 124. It was noted that £500 of the balance on the BRA was required to contribute towards the legal fees in respect of land east of Gate Lane.
Councillor C McLay verified and signed the bank reconciliations.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note and approve the financial report.
63 General Data Protection Requirements (GDPR)
Consent & Privacy Notices: A draft report of consent and privacy notices was presented to the Parish Council. Councillors agreed to review the document and provide feedback to the Clerk by 12th April so that any amendments can be made before approval at the next meeting. CLLRS
ICO – Data Protection Officer: The ICO has been asked to update their register to remove the Clerk as Data Protection Officer (DPO). The Clerk is not a DPO and Parish Councils are not required to have a DPO.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the update and actions required to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Act.
64 Planning Applications
Log of Outstanding Applications Received: An update on outstanding planning applications was provided. In particular: • 18/01151/FUL Field at Gate Lane: Darlington Borough Council’s Planning Applications Committee Meeting on 20th March will consider this application. • 19/00092/FUL Rosebank Nurseries: The Parish Council is to object to the application due to issues with privacy, loss of light and impact on neighbouring properties. It was also highlighted that there was an issue with the accuracy of boundary ownership. • 19/00156/FUL 1 Gate Lane: The Parish Council is to object to the application due to concerns regarding parking and road safety.
Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date……………………………………………………………. Chair of the Parish Council • 17/00632 OUTE Land North of Coniscliffe Road and 17/00636/OUTE Land South of Staindrop Road: It was felt that it would be some time before these applications would be considered by Darlington Borough Council.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the up-date and action as required.
65 Correspondence and Feedback from Meetings
Correspondence: Where possible correspondence received has been circulated to Councillors via email. Hard copy correspondence was circulated at the meeting. Main issues included:
• NALC Legal Briefing L09-18 Public Sector Bodies (Websites & Mobile Apps)(No 2) Accessibility Requirements 2018: A requirement to make websites and mobile apps accessible to all (e.g. large print versions). Implementation for those with existing websites becomes effective from 23.9.20. The Parish Council agreed to review requirements to ensure compliance with legislation. LCMPC • Legal Topic Notice LTN9E Handling Complaints: Provides outline complaints procedure for complaints against councils. The Parish Council agreed to review this against current procedures to ensure the Parish Council’s procedure met requirements. LCMPC • AGAR Presentation by Mazars 3.4.19: The Annual Governance & Accountability Return will require completion shortly. Mazars (External Auditors) are holding a presentation on requirements. Parish Councillors to let the Clerk know before 22nd March if they wish to attend. CLLRS • Grounds Maintenance: A number of organisations have contacted the Parish Council to promote their services. It was agreed that an invitation for quotes would be drafted to prepare for requirements of the Parish in 2019-20. Councillor M Ellerton to provide details of requirements to the Clerk. ME
Darlington Association of Parish Councils (DAPC): Parish Councillors P Ellerton and S Clark attended the meeting held on 6.2.18. The Police Commissioner gave a talk that included issues of funding and encouraged people to report crimes to support the need for more police. It was agreed that the Parish Council would continue to attend the DAPC on a rota basis. LCMPC
DALC Smaller Councils Forum: Future dates are proposed as follows: 23rd May at Shildon, 25th July at Spennymoor and 21st November at Horden.
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the feedback provided and action as required.
66 Parish Matters
Local & Parish Council Elections: The date of elections will be 2nd May 2019. The Notice of Election will be issued on 18th March for publication on Parish notice boards. Guidance and details of the election timetable have been forwarded to Parish Councillors.
Clerk/RFO Vacancy: No applications were received by the original closing date of 28th February. The vacancy notice continues to be posted on the notice boards. The Chair has also arranged to post the notice of vacancy at Mowden and Cockerton.
Big Spring Clean: Councillors agreed to hold the event on Saturday morning 23rd March and Sunday afternoon 24th March. Parish Councillors would promote the event across the Parish. CLLRS
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the feedback provided.
Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date……………………………………………………………. Chair of the Parish Council 67 Highways Matters
No matters were raised.
68 Items for Future Consideration
Summer Fete: The date of the Summer Fete has been set for Sunday 7th July. A further update will be provided at the next meeting. ME
The Parish Council RESOLVED to note the feedback provided.
69 Date and Time of Next Meeting
The Parish Council RESOLVED that the next meeting will be the Annual Meeting of Low Coniscliffe & Merrybent Parish Council – Tuesday, 14th May 2019. This meeting will follow the Annual Parish Meeting that is due to commence at 7.00 pm. Both meetings will be held at St Edwin’s Church Hall, High Coniscliffe.
Signed………………………………………………………………………… Date……………………………………………………………. Chair of the Parish Council