WALTON PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 5th February 2008 Present: Cllrs: K Shaw (Chairman); S Birkby; T Bone; A Cottrell; E Fairclough; S Loosemore; J Mackley; E Prince; J Slater; D Spedding; N Sullivan. In attendance: Cllrs: M Cummings (WMDC); A Manifield (WMDC); PC C Daley (WYPA); the Clerk to the Council; 2 members of the public & 1 member of the Press. Apologies for absence: G Isherwood (WMDC) Declarations of interest: There were none. 104. To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 8TH January 2008 The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 8TH January 2008 were approved without amendment and signed by the Chair as a correct record. 105. Matters arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting (not included elsewhere on the agenda) There were none. 106. SAFE scheme 1. To receive the report of PC Daley. In December there were 8 crimes involving theft; theft of a car; burglary and drunk and disorderly behaviour. PC Daley reported that 14 hours had been worked in December under the SAFE scheme involving monitoring of traffic at the Shay Lane roundabout, Shay Lane itself & The Balk and drink related incidents. Time was also devoted to dealing with antisocial behaviour throughout the Village, along the Canal, at the allotments and to traffic problems. Cllr Bone reported the problem of drink cans littering the Canal bank. Cllr Birkby reported that some comments of significant concern to residents were expressed in the questionnaire replies. Copies of these were passed to PC Daley. Resolved that the report be received. 107. WMDC Ward Members-Update WMDC Councillor Cummings reported that at a street surgery in The Stables area, residents complained about vegetables, probably stolen from the allotments, that were being used as missiles and littering gardens. Other issues raised were police issues, speeding and antisocial behaviour. A street surgery was held with WDH in the Brooklands Estate as requested. At the recent Police Neighbourhood meeting in Crofton, several issues relating to Walton were raised including youths congregating at the bus stop near Cherry Tree Road. Cllrs Cummings and Manifield, together with representatives of the Parish Council met with WMDC Highways personnel on 24th January 2008 to discuss traffic calming issues along Shay Lane. A report will be forwarded to the Clerk, and WMDC Councillors will follow up the points raised. Funding has been allocated to do some clearance work in the beck alongside the Elmwood estate where flooding occurred.
41
WMDC Councillor Manifield reported that there will be similar clearing out in Haw Park. He also reported that at the Brooklands surgery, flooding and re-surfacing of Shay Lane were discussed and that the poor quality of re-surfacing along Oakenshaw Lane would be put right by the contractor. The need for gritting boxes was highlighted, but WMDC has no money to purchase any, and it was suggested that the Parish Council should buy some which WMDC could then keep filled. It was pointed out that there were three grit boxes in the Cherry Tree area that were not being filled. This was noted by the WMDC Councillors for follow-up. Resolved that the reports be received. 108. To receive a report from Julian Glover of VOX Community Empowerment Network on the possibility of setting up a network to include Crofton, Sharlston and Walton. Julian Glover gave a presentation to the meeting of what VOX sets out to achieve and the purpose of networking. VOX encourages engagement between providers of services so that shared problems which cut across the responsibilities of a number of organisations can be solved more easily. The idea behind VOX is that by bringing together all the community and voluntary groups and individual community members in the district, the concerns and issues which face those groups can be highlighted through a stronger voice. He gave handouts to Members of Council demonstrating the various networks that VOX is part of and invited Members of Council to attend the next meeting on 27th February 2008 at 7.00pm at Sharlston Community Centre. Resolved that the report be received. 109. Finance 1. To approve accounts paid and income received January 2008. The Clerk submitted details (copy attached to Minutes) of accounts paid totalling £2,765.81 and income received of £1,298.00. Resolved that the financial statements and payments be approved. 2. To agree whether the Emergency Telephone be removed from the Village Hall. Councillors felt that most users of the Village Hall have a mobile phone and the cost of £180 pa could be saved by the phone’s removal. The Clerk stated that there does not appear to be legislation requiring a phone. However, having a telephone is quoted as a mitigating factor in the risk assessment for Fire Risk and several hirers of the Village Hall are elderly groups who may not all have a mobile phone. Resolved that the phone be removed. 3. To confirm the Budget for 2008/9 following decisions made at the January meeting. Resolved that the Budget be confirmed. 4. To agree the date of implementation of hiring charges for Occasional Use. Resolved that: i. the hiring charges for Occasional Use be implemented forthwith.
42
ii. for existing bookings, the hiring charges will be as agreed at the time of booking. iii. for amendments to existing bookings, the Clerk be delegated to negotiate as appropriate. 110. Correspondence The Clerk submitted and reported on the following documents: 1. Lambert Smith Hampton- Planning Application Consultation – O2 radio mast on Oakenshaw Lane WF4 1SE, near Crofton. 2.
WMDC – notification and agenda of Council meeting 16.01.08; minutes of meeting held 12.12.07 and reports.
3.
YLCA - advice that amount per head in respect of section 137 expenditure is £5.86 from 1.04.08.
4.
West Yorkshire Rural Transport Partnership – notification of meeting 07.03.08.
5.
WMDC - School Lane Traffic calming assessment – does not score high enough to warrant a Traffic Calming Scheme.
6.
Commission for Rural Communities – notification of a one day conference 31.01.08 as part of its Participation Inquiry: strengthening the role of local councillors.
7.
WMDC - acknowledgement of precept and notification of the actual level of Council Tax levied for each band.
8.
WMDC – Walton Nature Park proposed declaration as Local Nature Reserve. Resolved that a meeting be arranged with Paul Andrews of Parks and Realm Services.
9.
WalkWakefield 50 km Summer Solstice Walk – request for stewards and participants 21.06.08.
10. WMDC – seeking consultation on: o
LDF Core Strategy & Development Policies - Submission Document
o
Sustainability Appraisal for the Draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document
o
Draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document
o
Core Strategy DPD & Development Policies DPD - Sustainability Appraisal (Summary) Submission Document.
11. Dept for Communities & Local Government - Consultation in respect of Orders and Regulations relating to the Conduct of Local Authority Members in England. 12. YLCA – notification of NALC Conference, Eastbourne Winter Gardens 20-22.05.08. 13. SCARD (Support & Care After Road Death and Injury Charity) – seeking volunteers to staff their helpline. 14. WMDC – seeking consultation on Contaminated Land Strategy Review. 15. Yorkshire Metropolitan Housing Association- notification of meeting to agree to amalgamate with Yorkshire Housing Ltd. Resolved to agree to the amalgamation. 16. WMDC – Town and Parish Councils Liaison Group – notification and agenda of meeting 30.01.08 and minutes of meeting 25.10.07. The Clerk reported his attendance at the meeting at which there was a request for comment on one, in particular, of the LDF documents listed in correspondence item 10 above relating to Developer Contributions. There was also a presentation on sustainable energy, where one council (Kirkburton) has taken action to mitigate the effects of climate change.
43
Resolved that the Clerk distribute the LDF document to Cllrs Bone, Fairclough & Spedding for feedback by 28th February. 17. Quotations for replacement of heater in the Committee Room (see Min 113/1).
Received after agenda distribution for information only: 18. Coalfields regeneration Trust: Offer of grant. 19. Audit Commission - continuing appointment of Mazars as External Auditor 111. To discuss and, if thought appropriate, agree to a request to use the Recreation Ground for Fairground purposes for 4 days near Easter. Resolved not to agree to the request. 112. Planning Applications To review applications validated and decided in January in the period 06.01.08 to 02.02.08. Three applications were validated and one decided in the period. Members discussed the criteria for making comments on planning applications. Resolved that: i. the applications be noted without further comment. ii. Yorkshire Planning Aid be invited to a future Council meeting to give advice on making comments on planning applications. 113. Working Party Reports 1. Buildings The Clerk reported that, at the recent service of gas appliances, the gas fired heater in the Committee Room was declared unfit for purpose and the heater on the stage in the Main Hall needed a guard if it was to be operated, for which a quotation of £167 was received. The water heater in the kitchen has malfunctioned and been repaired but may have a limited future life. A tile was reported missing from the bus shelter on Shay Lane Resolved that: i. the quotation from Drugasar of £830.16 exc VAT be accepted for a replacement heater. ii. the heater on the stage in the main hall be removed and the wall be made good at a cost no greater than £167. iii. the tile be replaced on the bus shelter. iv. the Clerk obtain quotations for replacement of the water heater. 2. Recreation & Playgrounds No further news has been received from WMDC on the allocation of work following the Inspection Report on the Playground. An offer of a grant of £1,500 towards the cost of a Slide for the Playground has been received from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust with the condition that it be spent by end March. Resolved that: i. the Clerk chase up WMDC about the Report on the Playground. 44
ii. the order with PPL for the purchase of the slide proceeds at a cost of ÂŁ5,552.00 exc VAT and the Clerk attempt to obtain discount on the price.
3. Footpaths The bridge at Clay Royd has been rebuilt and is now open. Following reports of overgrown hedges along the Canal near the Grove, WMDC teams have cleared the path. However, the laurel tree at the Shay Lane entrance to the Trans Pennine Trail still obstructs the pathway. Resolved that the Clerk speak to Virginia Moulton at WMDC to report the condition of the laurel tree. 4. Environmental Improvements a) Members of Council expressed confidence that sponsorship can be obtained towards hanging baskets in Walton. Resolved that i. the Clerk arrange a meeting between Plantscape and Members of Council to organise hanging baskets for the summer. ii. the Clerk establish the documentation involved in getting sponsorship money. b) Councillors reported complaints of vehicles parking on grass verges and pavements and vegetation obstructing pavements. The Clerk reported that WMDC enforcement officer John Whitworth has offered to address members of the Council on what can be done about these matters and others such as exposed barbed wire fencing. Resolved that John Whitworth be invited to a future Parish Council meeting. c) The Open Garden event in support of the Leukaemia Research agreed to in November’s meeting (min 79) will be held on Sunday July 13th 2008 and flyers have been made available. Resolved that the report be noted. 114. To agree action on communication with electors. 1. Questionnaire Councillor Birkby reported on the returned questionnaires. Of 1400 distributed, 469 have been returned (34%). Analysis of the priority electors have indicated to the nine statements is: 1. Reducing anti-social behaviour and vandalism around the village 2. Keeping a Post Office in Walton 3. Maintaining the Green Belt around the village 4. Reducing the drinking of alcohol in village public places 5. Supporting a 20mph speed limit through the village 6. Providing leisure facilities and play areas in the village 7. Providing more recycling facilities in the village 8. Providing spring and summer floral displays in the village 9. Providing information about the village via a website or newsletter Over half the questionnaires had additional comments and of these 136 provided names and addresses.
45
Resolved that: i. letters be written to those giving their names and addresses thanking them for their contribution. ii. a group of Councillors meet to analyse the written comments and produce a report for further action. iii. the results be publicised in the areas where the collection boxes were put. iv. the results be publicised in the Press. v. the results of the questionnaire be discussed at the Annual Parish Meeting and to publicise this. vi. the date for the Annual Parish Meeting be Tuesday April 29th at 7.30 pm. 2. Parish Plan Resolved to discuss at a future meeting. 3. Website Councillor Spedding advised the costs for securing a domain name. Resolved that the Parish Council pay £46 for a domain name for two years. 115. To receive a report on the Village Sign on Common Lane which is sited close to the entrance to Mr Barry Crowther’s property. The Clerk reported his conversation with Mr Crowther that, during the recent heavy rains, there was flooding on the road along Common Lane outside Mr. Crowther’s property and he showed photographs of the problem. To stop the flooding, Mr. Crowther intends to clear the ditch that is alongside the road. However, there is a stone Village Sign which makes it difficult for him and he was concerned he might damage the sign. In addition, the sign blocks a disused gateway, prevents the necessary sight lines for the exit to his property, and the sign is not at the border of the Parish. He has offered to move the sign at his expense by lifting it on forks and transporting it to another site. Resolved that the sign be left where it is for the time being. 116. To adopt a Publication Scheme under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and to set charges for providing information. The Clerk had distributed a proposed Publication Scheme & associated charges for consideration. Resolved that the Publication Scheme and charges be adopted. 117. To receive matters reported directly to the Clerk. People have been picking up bags of dog excrement from refuse bins and throwing them about. Resolved that more dog foul bins be considered. 118. Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 Resolved that Press and Public be requested to leave the meeting to discuss a confidential matter related to Human Resources. The Clerk reported that he had received information from YLCA, but it did not answer his questions about Employee Contracts. Resolved that the matter be followed up further.
46
Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 4th March 2008 at 7.00pm Date of Annual Parish meeting:
Tuesday 29th April 2008 at 7.30pm
47