Council Meeting minutes 16 Nov 16

Minutes of Council Meeting Wednesday 16 November 2016

Held at 7.30pm in Helperby Village Hall

Present: Cllr Chris Owens (Chairman), Cllr Janice Attwood, Cllr Cris Connor, Cllr Barry Connor, Roger Clements (Clerk) plus one member of the public.

1. Apologies for Absence
   1. Apologies were received from Cllr Hartley.
2. Elect Vice Chairman
   1. Cllr C Connor was proposed as Vice Chairman by Cllr Attwood and elected unanimously.
3. Declarations of Interest not already declared under the Council’s Code of Conduct or members Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests
   1. No declarations were made.
4. Public Forum
   1. Three issues were raised:
      1. Was the Council planning to group with Helperby Parish Council to form a joint council – the process for grouping councils was outlined; it can only begin if agreed at Electors meetings at both parishes. No such process was yet begun.
      2. Could St Peter’s church Parochial Church Council consider cheaper forms of churchyard maintenance using sheep or geese – Chairman pointed out that churchyard maintenance was the responsibility of the PCC but promised to pass on the ideas.
      3. Comments regarding Item 10.4. – these concerns, like those of the Council, were satisfied by the issue of revised plans.
5. Minutes of the last meeting, held on 21 September 2016
   1. The minutes were agreed to be a true record and were signed accordingly by the Chairman.
6. Clerk’s report
   1. The work to the western Hall Lane verge near St Peter’s school had been completed. The verge had been cleared of plants, rotavated and re-seeded. The newly sown grass was growing well.
7. Hambleton District Council news – in the absence of cllr Patmore there was no news to report.
8. Finance
   1. Bank Reconciliation – the Financial Working Group confirmed the Council’s bank reconciliation to be in order.
   2. Financial Report – Clerk reported that the Council’s expenditure remained slightly (£72) under budget. A donation had already been received which offset the cost of the Hall Lane verge works. Donations were also promised from the H&B War Memorial Committee and the Community Fund to offset a portion of the costs of Road Closure signs (Item 9.1 refers).
   3. Budget and Precept for FY 2017/18 – cllrs considered the details of a proposed budget and precept briefing prepared and circulated by the Responsible Financial Officer. Cllrs were content with the proposed figures which resulted in a precept of £3,950. Cllr Attwood proposed that the budget and precept for FY2017/18 be adopted and it was so resolved.
   4. Cheque for £63.75 issued for Village Hall hire
   5. Cheque for £170 issued to settle A Metcalfe account
   6. Cheque for £225 issued to settle A Metcalfe account
   7. St Peter’s Churchyard maintenance – a letter from St Peter’s PCC requesting financial assistance with churchyard maintenance was considered. The church’s limited funds were acknowledged and it was resolved to grant £300 towards churchyard maintenance under the powers granted by s137 of the Local Government Act.
   8. Footpath to the ‘Swing Bridge’ – the Council considered an informal approach from Helperby Parish Council concerning the path from Bridge Street to the swing bridge which suggested that Brafferton PC might provide some financial help towards a joint effort to improve the surface. Cllrs were minded to support the project as the path is used by all the community.  If Helperby PC decides, at its next meeting, to go ahead with improving the path with (say) a layer of stone chippings, then this Council was prepared to grant up to £100, using its power under s137 of the Local Government Act, towards the cost (with costs shared 2:1 between the councils and Helperby PC taking the larger share).
9. Highways and Transport
   1. Partial purchase of village Road Closure signs – Chairman outlined the process and timescale for purchase of the set of village Road Closure signs. These signs will be available for authorised road closures in the village for Remembrance services and any other purpose. They will be stored in a lock up and should serve for many years. It was resolved to authorise the partial (one third of the total) purchase of these signs at £168.65 (the balance of the cost already agreed to be paid by Helperby PC).
10. 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 16/01947/FUL proposed single storey extension to Lilburn House, Raskelf Road, Brafferton – permitted by Hambleton District Council
    3. Planning Application 16/02057/CAT proposed works to trees at St Peters School, Brafferton – permitted by Hambleton District Council
    4. Planning Application 16.02291/FUL proposed extension to 3 Bridge Street, Brafferton – the Council initially had concerns over details in the proposed design and completed a site visit on 12 November. Cllr B Connor reported that, at the meeting, revised plans were produced which had just been circulated by Hambleton DC Planning Department. These revisions negated the Council’s concerns and therefore no objections were raised.
    5. Hambleton District Council Local Plan – proposals for the District Council Local Plan had been circulated to local councils prior to a series of public consultations. When cllrs looked in detail at these plans the saw that there were anomalies over which parcels of land around Brafferton and Helperby were identified for potential residential building. Cllr C Connor confirmed that she would be attending the Preferred Options Consultation in Easingwold on 22 November and intended to raise these concerns.
11. Business Matters
    1. Council Risk Assessments – Clerk had reviewed the Council’s Risk Assessments and made no recommendations for amendment save that of bringing the record of insurance levels into accord with those of the Council’s new insurer, Aon UK Ltd.
    2. Council website – display of the Council’s documents on the Data North Yorkshire website had proved unpopular. Government grants remain available for parish councils to claim for the establishment of parish council websites. It was resolved to authorise the Clerk to set up a Council website through NY Web Solutions (the local web developer used by Helperby PC) at a cost of not more than £400, then to bid for the appropriate government grant.
12. Correspondence
    1. Email from B Wade ref Thornton Bridge – the Council considered the proposal that it should apply for a weight restriction at the bridge. It decided against this action in view of the bridge’s status as a part of an important thoroughfare over the River Swale. However, it was agreed that Thornton Bridge should be an agenda item at future meetings until all current issues (safety vis-a-vis driver sight lines and traffic lights, use of cameras to monitor traffic incidents, repairs to the parapet and concerns over increasing use by HGVs) were resolved. The Council will write again to NYCC to seek its full plan regarding the damaged parapet and also to find out why the cameras were removed so soon after the traffic lights were taken away.
    2. Letter from Rural Action Yorkshire proposing a merger with North Yorkshire and York Forum. Noted, no action required.

Date of next Meeting Wednesday 18 January 2017