Council Meeting minutes 18 Jan 17

Minutes of Council Meeting Wednesday 18 January 2017

Held at 7.30pm in Helperby Village Hall

Present: Cllr Chris Owens (Chairman), Cllr Mavis Hartley, Cllr Cris Connor, Cllr Barry Connor, Cllr Caroline Patmore (Hambleton District Council) and Roger Clements (Clerk).

1. Apologies
   1. Apologies were received from Cllr Attwood.
2. Declarations of Interest
   1. No declarations were made.
3. Public Forum
   1. No members of the public were present.
4. Minutes of the Last Meeting, held on 16 November 2016
   1. The minutes were agreed to be a true record and were signed accordingly by the Chairman.
5. Clerk’s Report
   1. The council’s precept submission had been submitted to Hambleton District Council.
   2. Brafferton and Helperby PCs had offered financial support to improve the footpath to the Swingbridge but the sum would be insufficient to engage a contractor to do the work. The money was sufficient, however, to buy the materials and a volunteer workforce was being recruited.
6. Hambleton DC News
   1. Cllr Patmore reported that District Council funding for Green Bin collections was to be replaced by a charge of £35/bin per year’s collections from April 17; householders would receive details in a few weeks time. Development of the old prison site at Northallerton was progressing well; demolition was almost complete and the developers’ proposals should be available for public viewing in the near future. A scheme is proposed to co-locate fire, police and ambulance control rooms within North Yorkshire; there will be opportunities for the public to comment and interested parties should look for information in the media.
7. Finance
   1. Bank Reconciliation – the Financial Working Group confirmed the Council’s bank reconciliation to be in order.
   2. Financial Report – Clerk reported the council’s budget to be on track with a small surplus likely at year end. Payments of £40 each had been received from the H&BWMC and the Community Fund to defray the council’s cost of purchase of Road Closure signs prior to Remembrance Day.
   3. Easingwold Library – the library was about to lose County Council funding and had been reorganized to become a Community Library with a large pool of volunteers and charitable status. Parish councils located around Easingwold had each received a request for financial support to the library. It was resolved to postpone a decision and meanwhile to seek further information from the library.
8. Highways and Transport
   1. Thornton Bridge – cllrs continue to receive reports of head-to-head traffic incidents at the bridge. North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) had completed a camera survey to assess traffic issues since the removal of the traffic lights and had concluded that the traffic safety incidents recorded are not sufficiently serious for the lights to be reinstated. The issue appears to be that sight lines over the bridge have worsened since the bridge deck was raised and drivers of small and medium cars cannot see similar vehicles approaching until one, or both, have started up the bridge. Cllrs intended maintaining pressure on NYCC to undertake further research at the bridge, possibly using dashboard mounted cameras to register the driver’s eye view of the issue. It was resolved to forward reports of similar incidents to Cllr Peter Sowray of NYCC. Clerk to insert an article in the parish magazine to encourage parishioners to report similar incidents Cllr Sowray (contact details on the NYCC website) and to copy their letters/emails to their parish council. It was further resolved to form a sub committee comprising cllrs Owens, C Connor and Hartley to coordinate the council’s response to NYCC in addressing the perceived safety issues at Thornton Bridge.
9. Planning Matters
   1. Planning Application 16/01142/OUT proposed outline planning permission for construction of up to 28 dwellings and vehicular access to land to the East of Boroughbridge Road – this council raised objections to the proposal
   2. Planning Application 16/02291/FUL proposed extension to 3 Bridge Street, Brafferton – granted by Hambleton District Council
   3. Planning Application 16/02391/FUL proposed change of use at Brafferton Manor Milking Parlour Road – this council raised no objections to the proposal
   4. Planning Application 16/02457/CAT proposed work to trees at 5 The Orchards, Brafferton – granted by Hambleton District Council
   5. Planning Application 16/02562/CAT proposed work to trees at 2 Birchwood Gardens, Brafferton – this council raised no objections to the proposal
   6. Planning Application 17/00033/CAT proposed work to tree at The Old Vicarage, Brafferton – this council raised no objections to the proposal
   7. Local Plan, Preferred Options Consultation – Cllr C Connor had previously prepared a briefing for cllrs on the consultation session of 22 November and reminded them that the current Local Plan map had discrepancies (map symbols and text were at odds as to which areas within Brafferton & Helperby were identified for future development). She had requested clarification from Hambleton District Council and awaited a response.
   8. Planning System Seminar – Cllr C Connor confirmed her willingness to attend one of the seminars. It was resolved that the Clerk should book Cllr Connor on a seminar of her choosing and the £86.25 cost should be paid from the council’s training budget.
10. Business Matters
    1. Declaration of Compliance as required by the Pensions Act – Clerk reported that actions required by the Staging Date of 1 February 2017 had been completed and a Declaration of Compliance would be sent to the Pensions Regulator in early February.
    2. Affordable Housing in the village – Chairman summarized progress to date through North Yorkshire Rural Housing Enablers (currently at an impasse as no suitable land had been identified). A fresh initiative was to be proposed at an open meeting in the village hall on 25 January for a Community Led Housing Project. Government money was available for these projects and an area of land was under consideration; this type of scheme offered a much more ‘watertight’ method of ensuring that any properties built could only be bought/rented by local people. The first step would entail setting up a company to manage the project.
    3. Council website – cllrs were shown images of the council website currently under development. It was agreed that the design was sound and the web developer should go ahead with making the website ‘live’ as soon as possible.
11. Correspondence
    1. Letters ref proposed 10 x house development south of Raskelf Road. Cllrs noted the letters and awaited sight of the developer’s plans in due course.

Date of next Meeting Wednesday 15 March 2017