HACKLETON PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT 7.30pm ON TUESDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 2015 IN THE ANNEXE OF HACKLETON VILLAGE HALL. PRESENT: Parish Council: Chairman Cllr E Kilpin, Vice-Chairman Cllr P Heap, Cllr G Tobutt, Cllr J Willmer, Cllr G Ward, Cllr R Hawkesford & Cllr L Nash. Also present the Clerk (Mrs A Palmberg), District Councillor Bob Atkinson and 2 residents. 113/15 OPENING PROCEDURES a) Apologies for absence – Cllr Sue Harris, Cllr James Clark, Cllr Thomas Anderson, Cllr Fiona Jacobs and County Councillor Michael Clarke b) Declarations of interest – Cllr Jo Willmer – Museum brown signs c) Approval of the minutes Members agreed the minutes from the Ordinary meeting held on the 6th October 2015. Cllr Hawkesford proposed that the minutes be approved. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Willmer and the vote was unanimously in favour of the proposal. 114/15 Public Time a) To receive comments from members of the public attending the meeting. The residents present enquired about a recent planning application and were informed that the Parish Council comments had been submitted to SNC. 115/15 Reports a) Police – (Please see attached) b) County Councillor I am pleased to offer financial support from the Councillors’ Empowerment Allowance to the Upper Nene Archeological Society, based in Piddington. This is to assist in the purchase of brown signage. Northamptonshire Highways has won a Highways Partnership Award from Highways Magazine Excellence Awards. The innovative Highways Maintenance Initiative, which focuses on doing quality, permanent repairs, played a key part in the County team’s success. At the same event the introduction of the “Cycle Connect” bicycles for hire in Northampton achieved a highly commended accolade. The recently introduced feedback method of Parishes being able to record their views on highways works using on line “Survey Monkey” is proving successful. The results are very important in enabling us to gauge the level of satisfaction across Northamptonshire. We need to encourage every parish, in which work is carried out by Highways, to feed back views on the quality of the work done and the attitude of the teams delivering it. c) District Councillor District Cllr Bob Atkinson reminds residents that Canvassers will spend the next four weeks knocking on more than 9,500 doors across South Northamptonshire to collect outstanding electoral registration forms. In August this year South Northamptonshire Council (SNC) sent letters to all 38,712 households in the district asking people to confirm their details on the electoral register. To date 29,168 have responded (76.5 per cent) and following the issuing of reminder letters in September, canvassers will now knock on 9,544 doors to collect the outstanding forms. Sue Smith, Electoral Registration Officer for SNC, said: “Even if people choose not to vote, it is a legal requirement for them to keep their electoral registration details up to date and failure to do so can lead to a £1,000 fine. "The register is used for more than just providing people with the right to vote; it is used to perform credit checks and for jury service selection. Anyone who doesn’t return their form could find themselves refused for a mortgage, mobile phone or credit card so it’s important to confirm their details and send it back to us as soon as possible.” Between 23 October and 23 November, canvassers working on behalf of SNC will visit the outstanding properties to collect the forms and provide assistance. Staff will work between 9am and 8pm seven days a week and will be identifiable by a name badge and high visibility jacket. If all the household information is correct, people can call 0800 1979871, text 80212 or go to www.registerbyinternet.com/cherwellsouthnorthants and input the form’s security codes to confirm their details. Alternatively residents can sign the form and return it using the pre-paid envelope provided. For those whose information is incorrect this can be amended either by going online at www.registerbyinternet.com/cherwellsouthnorthants or making the necessary amendments on the form and returning it in the pre-paid envelope provided. Alternatively the completed form can be handed to a canvasser when visiting residents’ properties. 031115 Page 38 Residents Beware -Fraudsters have been phoning victims telling them that they have been placed in the wrong council tax bracket for a number of years and are entitled to a rebate. They normally say that this rebate should be worth about £7,000. Once the victim is convinced, the fraudster tells them that in order to receive the rebate they will need to pay an administration fee in advance. The payment they ask for varies between £60–£350. The victim provides the details and makes the payment, but then is no longer able to make contact with the person they spoke to on the phone. When they phone their council about the rebate and the fact that they are in the wrong tax bracket, the council will confirm that they know nothing about it and that they have been contacted by fraudsters. The fraudsters have mainly been targeting both male and female victims who are aged 60 and over and live in the Sussex area, but it is likely that the fraudsters will also start to target victims in other areas. Protect Yourself: Never respond to unsolicited phone calls. Your local council (SNC) won’t ever phone out-of-the-blue to discuss a council tax rebate. If you receive a call of this nature, put the phone down straight away. No legitimate organisation will ask you to pay an advanced fee in order to receive money, so never give them your card details. If you think you have been a victim of fraud, hang up the phone and wait five minutes to clear the line as fraudsters sometimes keep the line open. Then call your bank or card issuer to report the fraud. Where it is possible use a different phone line to make the phone call. If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040. d) Northamptonshire Local Nature Partnership Conference Councillors Heap and Willmer attended the above conference at The Newton Building, University of Northampton, St George’s Avenue.Conference chaired by Simon Bovey, Chair, Northamptonshire Local Nature Partnership. The speakers included;- Dr Mark Avery – Author, blogger, environmental campaigner & former Conservation Director RSPB. Isabella Murfin – Head of Valuing and Improving Natural Capital Unit, DEfRA. Councillor Sarah Peacock – Destination Nene Valley Board and Chairman of the East Northamptonshire Greenway Project. Dr. Becca Lovell – Research Fellow Biodiversity and Health, University of Exeter Medical School and DEfRA. Chris Lewis – First Vice-President Project Management, Prologis Plus representatives from RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust et al. It was interesting morning with a variety of speakers and opportunities for networking. The current and future development of The Nene Valley as an internationally renowned tourist destination for wildlife, heritage, culture and a variety of activities was presented. It was also good to meet County Councillor Michael Clarke who was also a delegate.Although Hackleton Parish lies just outside the designated Nene Valley area, the Piddington Roman Villa Museum has been included in promotional material and has benefitted from a number of visitors as a direct result of this. Other benefits to the parish have included support for Longland Meadow from the Woodland Trust. Questions;- How can local planning/Parish Council level demand action for wildlife in new buildings/extensions and be supported by SNC planning? Can HPC ‘demand’ wildlife beneficial building development at any/all future developments? Useful information; - www.greenernorthants.org www.nenevalley.net 116/15 To receive and discuss a recent letter from the Youth Facilities Working Group. Cllr Atkinson mentioned a letter he has received from Jennie Leigh at Carey Baptist Church outlining some funding which would be required in order to enhance and improve some of the existing facilities. Members RESOLVED: The Parish Council agreed not to proceed with the matter at present. 117/15 Budget Items 2016: To receive and note a list of Budget items for next year. These items will be discussed at the Parish Council meeting in December. It was agreed that item #8 (Museum Brown Signs) should be discussed and resolved as the deadline for funding through the New Homes Bonus scheme is at the end of November. Members RESOLVED: Cllr Nash proposed that the New Homes Bonus funding application form would be completed and sent off for consideration. It was agreed that £750 funding would be requested from SNC. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Ward and the vote was unanimously in favour of the proposal. 031115 Page 39 Budget item #1 regarding the employment of a new Groundsman for the Church and Cemetery was discussed. Members RESOLVED: Cllr Ward proposed to retain All Seasons as the current grounds maintenance team until January when the job would be advertised. The Proposal was seconded by Cllr Heap and the vote was unanimously in favour of the proposal. 118/15 Planning To receive the planning report. HACKLETON PARISH COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED OCTOBER 2015 REFERENCE/ PROPERTY/DESCRIPTION HACKLETON PC COMMENT SNC DECISION 1) Brought Forward from previous month(s) S/2015/1976/FUL - 12 Lavender Lane Horton - two storey No objections Permission granted 13.10.15 rear extension comprising of a double garage with two bedrooms above 2) Applications Received S/2015/2151/FUL - The Chevin Brafield Road Horton No objections Pending Variation of condition 2 (plans) S/2015/1191/FUL (Proposed two storey rear extension) resize windows.