Wye with Hinxhill Minutes of the Resources & General Purposes committee Parish meeting held on Wednesday, 17th April 2019, 19.15 Council Wesley Room, Methodist Hall, Wye 36/19R Present: Cllr Reece (Vice Chairman), Cllr Bartley, Cllr Vousden. In attendance D. Baines (Clerk/Minutes), A. Dewhirst (Responsible Finance Officer) Apologies were heard and accepted from: Cllr Bouverie (away), Cllr Ovenden (attendance at Ashford Borough Council meeting) 37/19R To receive declarations of the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) and any Other Significant Interest (OSI) from members concerning items on the agenda Cllr Bartley made a voluntary declaration as member of the Wye Village Design Group and Wye Heritage 38/19R Public Open Session There were no members of the public present. 39/19R To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 21st March 2019 Both sets of minutes from the last meeting were agreed as an accurate record (proposed by Cllr Bartley and seconded by Cllr Vousden). 40/19R To receive an update regarding progress of actions and resolutions from the last meeting The Clerk provided an update of previous action points and resolutions, and in particular item 25/19Rf use of aerial photography for records maintenance purposes. The council’s insurance company had confirmed that there was no cover provided under their public liability insurance. As any work of this sort would be undertaken on a voluntary basis on behalf of the Parish Council, it was agreed to ascertain details of the level of insurance cover afforded. 26/19 Re 30-32 High Street application letter to be sent to Case Officer at ABC. It was noted that a full response from the Parish Council (a holding objection letter having already been issued) was due to be submitted by 23rd April. It was agreed that James Burnett be listed as a parish volunteer (proposed by Cllr Bartley and seconded by Cllr Reece). 41/19R Finance & Governance a. Elections May 2019: to receive 1) notice of uncontested election for Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council, with 8 nominees standing for eleven seats, and 2) statement of persons nominated to stand for election as Borough Councillor, Wye with Hinxhill Ward The Clerk reported that letters had been sent to two councillors who had ceased to be a member of the Council by reason of failure to attend meetings for a period of six consecutive months (as per the Local Government Act 1972 section 85 (1): Cllr Shoults and Cllr Coxon. Six months since last attendance at a meeting was reached on 22nd October 2018 (Cllr Shoults) and 17th December 2018 (Cllr Coxon). An extraordinary meeting was scheduled for Thursday 26th April, to deal with any urgent matters before the election, as the last meeting of the current council. Should the meeting not take place for any reason, the RFO was authorised to make any salary payments that were required and report this back to the next available meeting (proposed by Cllr Bartley and seconded by Cllr Reece). b. To receive a report on financial matters from the RFO and authorise any actions The RFO reported that research was continuing in to identifying the most suitable option for a prepaid card and would be reported back to a future meeting. A bank mandate form had been prepared to allow removal of Cllrs Coxon and Shoults as signatories to the Parish Council bank accounts. Cllrs Reece and Bartley signed the form during the meeting. c. To note action points arising from the Internal Auditor’s report and progress to date A review of matters for attention highlighted by David Bucket, Internal Auditor to the council was presented and progress reviewed. This included revised Standing Orders which had been adopted and were ready for publication on the Council’s website. A draft Risk Management register for the Council had been prepared along with GDPR documentation; to be presented to the next R&GP committee for review. Amended Financial Regulations had already been approved. An additional minor amendment was being presented as part of the current agenda to take in to account changes to internet banking and payment arrangements. Work was in progress regarding: internet banking and payment cards, payment of staff salaries by standing order. With regards to outstanding VAT reclaims – 3 out of 4 of the outstanding years had been successfully reclaimed, with a submission for the 2018/19 financial year expected in June 2019. d. Policies: to consider and make a recommendation to full council for their adoption. 1) Financial Regulations (to take in to account changes to payment methods) 2) Health and Safety Policy It was agreed to present both items to a full council meeting, with a recommendation for their approval. e. To review progress regarding improved footpath and access to the Jungle and authorise any further action It was agreed to schedule a site meeting to allow a review of required works and in addition to consider correspondence from Kent County Council outlining permitted improvements. Action: Clerk to arrange the site visit & circulate KCC correspondence. f. To consider and approve membership of Kent Association of Local Councils 2019/20 It was agreed to approve membership, with all in favour. g. To note any income received £113.76 had been received in respect of allotment income and burial ground fees. h. To approve the cheque list and authorise payments All payments were to be made by online banking, with no cheques requiring signature. Given that invoices had been available to view in advance, it was agreed to scrutinise 10% of the invoices during the meeting and the RFO was authorised to make necessary payments the following day (proposed by Cllr Bartley and seconded by Cllr Reece). Invoices 2 and 5 were examined by Cllr Bartley and found to be satisfactory. It was noted that Financial Regulations for the council indicated that a quarterly audit should be undertaken by a councillor to review a random sample of invoices against payments made. [Post meeting note: a bank statement showing online payments made against the payments list, downloaded and saved to the meeting folder on the 18th April.] 42/19R PLANNING a. To receive notes from the Planning Working Group to consider advice and recommendations and authorise any action It was agreed to accept the advice and recommendations of the working group. b. To consider planning applications (with dates for comments where applicable) i 19/00195/AS Sidelands Farm, Little Olantigh Road, Wye. Demolition of existing buildings construction of office space (Use Class B1), a coffee shop (Use Class A3) and two residential dwellings alongside associated access, parking, & landscaping (19/04/19) A draft response had been received from the Planning Consultant, and it was agreed that this be taken as the basis of the Council’s response, with a small number of changes required before Minutes 2019-0417 RGP DRAFT 2 of 6 submission. Councillors noted that an Environmental Impact Assessment had not been undertaken for the site. It was agreed to respond to the application under Clerk’s Action. ii 19/00477/AS Former Pig Research Unit, Amage Rd, Wye. The demolition of three buildings and slurry lagoon, erection of holiday let building, conversion of 1 building to a single dwelling, conversion of a building to car port/garage. Associated access, parking & landscaping (2 May) It was agreed to comment on this application as follows: that the contamination should be dealt with across the whole site and not dealt with solely, within the separate units. Given the location of the site within the AONB non-reflective glass should be used and proper consideration be given to proposed materials. iii 19/00354/AS 2 Silks Farm Cottage, Amage Road, Wye, Ashford, TN25 5DE. Single storey and one and a half storey side extension. Erection of single storey boiler barn outbuilding (revision/resubmission of planning permission 15/01472/AS) (3rd May) It was agreed to make no comment on this application. iv 19/00433/AS /19/00434/AS Olantigh, Olantigh Road, Wye, TN25 5EW. Infill of 1960's glazing with single storey ground floor extension and reinstatement of historic floor level (partial revision to listed building consent 18/01082/AS) (27th April) It was agreed to support this application. v 19/00314/AS 10-12 Olantigh Road, Wye, TN25 5EJ. Demolition of commercial buildings and erection of two dwellings (28th April) It was agreed not to comment on the application, but to make an advisory note with regards to planning permissions for the vicinity (including those already granted), to ensure that consideration is given in terms of timings of the work, that building works on different sited not be undertaken at the same time and that consideration be given to the route taken by school children on their way to Wye School. vi 19/00389/AS 36 Abbots Walk, Wye, TN25 5ES. Vehicle crossover & driveway hardstanding (29 April) The Parish Council regretted the loss of another public highway parking space in the area as it was noted that this matter is not currently covered at policy level by Ashford Borough Council. vii 19/00389/AS 25 Churchfield Way, Wye, TN25 5EQ. Single storey conservatory (29 April) It was agreed to make no comment on this application. viii To consider any applications received, but not listed above. No additional applications were considered. c. To note decided applications i 19/00129/AS Rowan House, Scotton Street, Wye, TN25 5BZ. Proposed side extension and extension to existing garage/store. Permitted ii 19/00198/AS Mukota House, Amage Road, Wye, TN25 5DF Variation of condition 5 on planning permission 18/00274/AS to facilitate changes to facing materials.