MINUTES OF THE RANSKILL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT ST BARNABAS CHURCH, RANSKILL ON TUESDAY 21st OCTOBER 2014 AT 7.30 PM PRESENT: Chair: Cllr A Cooke Councillors: S Floyd, P Brown, C West District Councillor: M Gray County Councillor: E Yates Clerk: D McAra OPEN FORUM FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. There were no member of the public present. 01/1014 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Cllr J Boynton (Work), Cllr J Foster (Work) and Cllr D Kercel (Work), Cllr P Blatchford (Delayed return from Holiday). 02/1014 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS INTERESTS. Nil. 03/1014 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 16th SEPTEMBER 2014. The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record. 04/1014 COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT AND CRIME FIGURES. a. Police Report and Crime Figures to 30th September 2014. There were no reported incidents of burglary, criminal damage and/or thefts in Ranskill during the last month. There were eleven reported crimes across the whole area which compares with twenty two crimes in August 2014 and ten during the same period last year. There were no reports of Anti-Social Behaviour. 05/1014 VACANCY FOR A PARISH COUNCILLOR Mr Steve Owens was unable to accept the offer of a seat on the council as he is already committed on Tuesday evenings; consequently, there still remains a vacancy for a parish councillor. 06/1014 APPOINTMENT OF NEW PARISH CLERK Interviews for the post of parish clerk will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 22nd November at St Barnabas Church, Ranskill. The selected candidate will be offered an updated contract and arrangements will be made for a thorough handover of duties around the end of October or early-November. The present clerk is likely to remain available for help and advice until the end of the year. 07/1014 COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT a. Notts CC Budget Consultation. Cllr Yates stressed the importance of taking part and encouraging residents to do likewise. This can be done on-line (www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/budget), paper copy which is available at libraries, or by ringing 0800 300 5050. Item 09/1014d refers. b. Youth Bus. In spite of news that the Youth Bus may return, the bus will time- share between Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood. It will visit Mattersey Thorpe only. Cllr Yates continues to work for a more favourable solution. c. Supporting Local Communities’ (SLC). Applications are now invited for communities from the ‘Supporting Local Communities’ (SLC) fund for projects to be delivered in 2015/16. The SLC fund replaced the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), and helps residents and groups deliver projects which offer environmental, economic and community benefits to their local areas. 1 d. Increase HGV Traffic. Cllr Yates had nothing to add to the discussions that are ongoing with Notts CC Highways Dept but will continue to monitor the developments. e. Friends of Daneshill Nature Reserve. The group has now been formalised with Cllr Yates elected as Hon. Chair. She is currently working closely with user groups to resolve long-standing issues which appears to be achieving a measure of success. More events are planned for the future. DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S REPORT f. 14/00649/HSE - Driveway Gates Planning Appeal. Cllr Gray will attend the planning update meeting on Wednesday 22nd October and a second meeting on 5th November with Beverley Alderton-Sambrook (Planning Service Manager) and Amanda Broadhead (Case Officer) to try to determine the reason behind the decision to reject Mrs & Mrs Timpson’s application and appeal. g. Friends of Daneshill Nature Reserve. Cllr Gray has been elected as Hon. Treasurer to the Friends of Daneshill Nature Reserve. He is willing to consider applications for use of a small amount from his Discretionary Grants should this be supported by parish councils’ and residents’. 08/1014 HIGHWAYS & TRAFFIC. a. Traffic Regulation Order for the crossroads junction. Gary Bridges, the engineer at URS has moved on; consequently, Teri Ford and Mike Barnett have been asked for an update on the Waiting Restriction lining at the crossroads. It is known that Notts CC Highways is still working on last year’s lining tasks and does not have the funding to begin this year’s work; consequently, this may explain why the work was not completed in September after the resurfacing of the mattersey Road. RESOLVED to place an article in newsletter in The STAR. b. Meeting with Notts CC Highways – 15th October. A useful meeting was held with Ian Parker and Neil Lewis of Notts CC and Dave Backhouse the Sustrans Volunteer Ranger for Bassetlaw. Several items were discussed including the possibility of having shared use of the Millennium Pathway for both pedestrians and cyclists. The full report was circulated to councillors under a separate cover. 09/1014 FINANCE. a. Bank Balances as at 30th September 2014. Current - £100. Reserve - £27277.18. b. Reconciliation of Accounts Q2 FY 2014/15. The reconciled accounts were presented to councillors for scrutiny. c. Purchase of Garage Site, Station Avenue. The Title Deed was signed on Monday 29th September at Jackson Quinn Solicitors, Retford, and £12267.00 has been put forward for payment below. This will complete the purchase of the garage site on Station Avenue from Bassetlaw DC which will be transferred to the ownership of Ranskill PC at the end of October. d. Nottinghamshire CC Budget Consultation. The County Council Budget consultation started on Wednesday 8th October. As it covers education, bus services, social care, highway issues and support for services in the rural areas, County Cllr Yates has stressed the importance of taking part and encouraging residents to do likewise. This can be done on-line (www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/budget), paper copy which is available at libraries, or by ringing 0800 300 5050. Item 07/1014e refers. 2 e. Invoices for September/October 2014 presented for payment: 1690 Mr John D McGill Litter Picking £ 42.00 1691 North Notts Landscapes Grass Cutting £ 636.00 1692 Jackson Quinn Solicitors Conveyancing £12267.00 1693 Local World Ltd Retford Times Adverts £ 180.00 1694 Mrs S M Floyd Winter Bulbs and Plants £ 140.24 1695 D McAra Postage and Padlock £ 15.33 1696 Cash Discretionary Expenses £ 40.00 1697 D McAra Clerk’s Salary & Expenses £ 398.00 10/1014 PLANNING. a. Planning Applications. One planning application was received in September/October: 14/01136/FUL - Erection of a Storage Building, including internal and external storage of goods (Railway Sleepers) on land near Access Road and Common Lane, Ranskill. RESOLVED to support the application. b. Neighbourhood Plan (NP) and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). It is recommended that Ranskill adopts a Neighbourhood Plan to ensure that community intentions are voiced clearly. This is a community project and need not necessarily be led by Ranskill Parish Council; however, close engagement will be required. 11/1014 AMENITIES AND FACILITIES. a. Report from the Community Area Working Group (CAWG). The CAWG recommended that the council agrees to fund the replacement for the broken padlock on the gate at the Village Park; acknowledges the damage to the sign on the junction of the Great North Road with Folly Nook Lane; and acknowledges the schedule for the winter planting and agrees the funding for plants and compost. The full report was circulated to councillors under a separate cover. b. Winter Offer of Assistance – Nottinghamshire CC. Nottinghamshire CC is continuing its offer of assistance to Parish Councils as part of its Winter Service. These include 25kg bags of salt; 1 tonne fabric bags of salt and an opportunity to purchase blue grit bins. It also intends to continue with the existing arrangements with Snow Wardens and farmers. c. Christmas Illuminations 2014/15. An application has been made to Notts CC for Ranskill Parish Council to display its low-energy Konstsmide LED lights the same as last year. The daily burn hours will be 4pm to midnight and the installation will run from Saturday 29th November and Saturday 3rd January 2015. d. Dog Fouling and Litter Campaign. Bassetlaw DC has launched a district-wide anti-dog fouling and litter campaign. Dedicated e-mail addresses and a telephone ‘hotline’ number have been set up as advertised on the campaign material which are running alongside the ‘normal’ reporting channels. Angela Edwards has offered to attend the next Parish Council meeting to speak about dog fouling and littering offences. RESOLVED not to accept the offer at this time as the dog-fouling situation has improved slightly in recent months. e. Playground Safety Report for October 2014. The playground safety report for September and October 2014 contained only one minor comment. 3 f. Ken Valentine’s Tree on Folly Nook Lane. Ken Valentine’s tree is still showing signs of disease and requires attention. RESOLVED to engage David Elliott Treecare to investigate the requirements. 12/1014 ENVIRONMENT. a. Energy Exploration Issues. There was nothing significant to report with regard to energy exploration other than the continued opposition to the solar energy farm at Jubilee Farm, Blyth. b. Proposed Rail Crossing Closures. A meeting was held on Tuesday 7th October with Jon Stott and representatives from Torworth PC to discuss Ranskill’s alternative option of re-opening of the old Access Road to the east to connect with the Daneshill Road and a new bridge over the railway at the Torworth crossing. The proposal has raised concern in Torworth about an increase in the HGV traffic should this be adopted and also possible environmental damage to the Daneshill Nature Reserve. Mr Stott has agreed to put the concerns forward for consideration before the next round of consultations. c. Notts CC Mineral Plan. Nothing significant to report this month.