Minutes of a meeting of Leyburn Town Council held in the Oak Room, Thornborough Hall on Monday, 15th July 2019 at 7.00pm PRESENT: Cllr Alderson Cllr Beswick Cllr Holder Cllr Medley Cllr Sanderson Cllr Waites Cllr Walker IN ATTENDANCE: Cllr Sedgwick Mrs C Smith- Clerk Ms Rebecca Hurst- Deputy Clerk Representatives from the Police and Hambleton & Richmondshire Fire Service Four members of the public 4229. PUBLIC REPRESENTATIONS Residents raised concerns over the increase in dog fouling in the Rowan Court area and expressed dissatisfaction with the standard of the verges cutting. Cllr Sedgewick reported back to the Council on a meeting attended with the highways improvement manager to discuss the safety of Moor rd. Highways responded to the following four proposed solutions to improve pedestrian safety; 1. A painted footway on the road –May give false sense of security to pedestrians. 2. Waiting restrictions painted on the carriageway-This would prevent parking on the road, however the highways consider that the parked cars act as traffic calming and slow the traffic down. 3. A pedestrian activated sign 4. Creating a priority over oncoming vehicles- This may cause congestion of traffic backing up the road. Cllr Sedgewick concluded by informing the Council that the highways do not consider Moor Road safety as a high priority, therefore no further steps will be taken at the moment due to financial restrictions. Cllr Sedgewick also updated the council that Metcalfe farms have installed signage at the end of their road instructing traffic to turn right to try to reduce the traffic on Moor Road. Representatives from the Police and Fire Service discussed the plans to merge and move the Police Service to the Fire Station. The current Police Station requires extensive refurbishment which will cost a significant amount; therefore it has been proposed that the Fire Station will be redesigned to accommodate both services. The move is to save public money and the Council were assured that there will be no reduction in fire cover, the current policing services & facilities will still be delivered and a response officer will still be located in Leyburn when the services merge. The police raised concerns about the reduced visibility of police presence if the current police parking is re-located. The Council will discuss this at a future meeting once the merge has been completed. 4230. APOLOGIES –Apologies were received from Cllrs Spenceley and Wood and reasons for absence approved. 4231. DECLARATION OF INTEREST Cllr Waites declared a Pecuniary Interest in item 4236a, as an owner of a business impacted. Cllr Walker declared an interest in item 4237a, as a relative. 4232. MINUTES OF MEETING held on Monday 17th June 2019, approved as a correct record. Cllr Sanderson requested that it be minuted that the comments made at the last meeting were incorrect. At the last meeting a resident declared that “Cllr Sanderson had stated that the contractor discussed in item 4223 had no insurance” Cllr Sanderson did not state this and the Council have a copy of the insurance documentation. LTC Minutes July 19 Page | 1 4233. REPORTS a. Leyburn Police Report (Appendix 1) b. Meetings Attended By Councillors. Cllr holder attended a meeting with the Principle Policy Officer at Richmondshire District Council (RDC) to discuss neighbourhood planning. Unfortunately at this moment in time there are not the resources available to put into a Neighbourhood Plan for Leyburn, however the RDC Local Plan is up for consultation in autumn. Cllr Holder & Sedgewick met Amanda Madden from Self Help Housing to discuss housing needs, housing renovation and helping people who don’t have the means or resources to make existing properties habitable. Action: Agenda Item September to discuss the housing needs survey with Amanda Madden. Cllr Medley reported back from the Shawl Committee meeting that the pasture topping is now completed, finances are healthy and reclaiming a reimbursement from Yorkshire water is still ongoing. Cllr Waites reported on a consultation with Leyburn Medical Practice informing the Council that the practice have agreed that Podiatrists and Chiropodists can directly refer diabetic patients for treatment reducing the waiting times. c. Leyburn Town Plan Groups No updates. d. Update from the Clerk on Upcoming Events. NHS CCG Annual General meeting-3.30 pm on Thursday 25th July at Evolution Business Centre, Northallerton NHS Primary Care Meeting 3.15 pm Tuesday 16th July at the civic centre, Stone cross, Northallerton 4234. PLANNING a. RDC Ref: 19/00368/FULL Proposal: Full Planning Permission for 4 Timber Sleeping Pods Location: Cow Close Farm, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 5JJ NO OBJECTIONS b. RDC Ref: 19/00445/FULL Proposal: Full Planning Permission for the Installation of a Platform Lift and Associated Works to Enable a Disabled Person Access to their Property Location: 9 Woodside, Leyburn, DL8 5DX NO OBJECTIONS 4235. DOG FOULING a. Dog waste bag stations- The Council discussed the quotation and resolved to appoint RM Wood the install the new stations. The locations of the stations were considered and the council resolved to locate the stations near Rowan Court and in the first field on the Shawl. Action: Arrange a site meeting with Cllrs to determine the exact location for installation. b. Increase in dog fouling- The increase in dog fouling on Rowan Court was noted. Cllr Sedgewick mentioned that stickers are available to put on normal bins informing people that dog waste can be deposited there also. Actions: Report an increase in dog fouling to the warden so that extra patrols can be carried out. Approach RDC again about new dog waste bin locations and request stickers for the general waste bins. Cllr Beswick left the room 19.51pm Returned 19.53 4236. TOWN SQUARES & LAND a. Ice Cream Trailer Location- The Council discussed the request from Brymor to re-locate the kiosk into the central Market Square. The Council has safety concerns over locating a trailer of this size in the centre due to the continuous flow of traffic through the central Market Place. The Council is of the opinion that the kiosk is in the best location at the moment and resolved that the kiosk should remain in the same location for the summer period. LTC Minutes July 19 Page | 2 b. Location of Planters – The Council resolved to position the planters in the following locations: 1 In the central Market Square near the electric point down from the Market Shelter. 2 Outside Thomas The Bakers on the pedestrian area 3 In the large central area outside the Two Roses guest house 4 & 5 are on the High Street road side The Council considered the street furniture license and resolved to complete the agreement from NYCC Highways. c. Re-marking of the Pedestrian Walkway d. Re-marking of the Ambulance Bay The Council considered the quotations received for items 4236 c & d and resolved to postpone the re-marking until after the squares have been resurfaced. 4237. CEMETERY a. Commonwealth War Grave Commission Status-The Council resolved to apply for Commonwealth War Grave Commission Status. 4238. THORNBOROUGH HALL a. Library Management Group Minutes circulated for information only. Cllr Beswick left the room 20.33. Returned 20.35 4239. POLICIES The Council resolved to adopt all the policies listed below: a. Code of Conduct b. Communications & Media Policy c. Social Media Policy d. Dignity at Work Policy 4240. FINANCE a. Bank Reconciliation Statement dated 30th June 2019- Approved b. Budget situation- Noted c. Invoices awaiting payment- Approved d. Payments list (Regular Payments made since last meeting) approved and Receipts list noted. 4241. EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC- The Council approved the following resolution: “That under the provisions of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 Sec 1, as amended, the press and public be excluded from the meeting of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information” The meeting will re-convene after item 4241 with the press and public excluded due to the nature of the business being prejudicial under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. 4242. TENDERS & CONTRACTS a. Grounds Maintenance Contracts- The Council discussed the current issues with the grounds maintenance and the quality of work. The Council resolved that a letter will be sent to the contractor stating the Councils concerns. Action: Clerk to write a letter to the contractor 4243. THORNBOROUGH HALL OFFICE RENTAL REVIEWS- The Council considered the professional advice given by John G. Hills & Partners accepting the recommended basis for setting the rental rates. The Council resolved to approve the amended quotation. 4244. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION Councillors paid tributes to Cllr Blackie who was chairman of Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council, a district Councillor and former leader at Richmondshire District Council, a County Councillor for the Upper Dales and a member of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. LTC Minutes July 19 Page | 3 Cllr Waites reported that when the pavement at the bottom of grove square got resurfaced the flower barrels did not get moved. Cllr Beswick reported the fading of the double yellow lines on Railway Street and the markings on the pedestrian crossing. Cllr Medley requested information about Yorvik Homes providing a dog waste bin. Cllr Sanderson reported that the scaffold is now in place at Thornborough Hall and informed the Council that a skip will need to be placed in the rear car park. Actions: Clerk to report faded markings to NYCC Highways. Clerk to contact RDC regarding dog waste bins and then contact Yorvik Homes. 4245. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Monday, 19th August 2019 in the Oak Room, Thornborough Hall at 7.00 p.m.