Wednesday 15 February 2023

Held in the Village Hall at 7.30pm

Present: Cllr Peter Mitchell (Chairman), Cllr Pam Jackson-Vickers, Cllr Ben Carter, Cllr Deirdre Brown, Cllr Matt Boyle, Roger Clements (Clerk) plus Cllr Alyson Baker (North Yorkshire County Council) and one member of the public.

1. Apologies for Absence
   1. Apologies were received from Cllr Denison and Cllr James (HDC). Cllr Mitchell took the Chair.
2. 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.
3. Chairman reported that:
   1. The Union flag was flying from the Council’s new flagpole.
   2. Work had begun on the cobbles at the curtilage to the war memorial.
4. North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) & Hambleton District Council (HDC) News
   1. Cllr Baker said that NYCC had just two more months remaining before it became North Yorkshire Council (NYC) which had agreed to set a Council Tax increase of 4.9%, a necessary increase to avoid the new council going into deficit. She announced that she would be holding a surgery for electors in Thirsk on Thursday 23 Feb. She also outlined changes to electoral boundaries, resulting from proposals from the Boundary Commission, which may place our Council in the Easingwold and Wetherby ward.
   2. Cllr James (HDC) had sent in an update: a replacement Back Lane sign was ordered and should be in place in March, two Community Infrastructure Levy grant requests from our Council remained under discussion at NYCC and on 27 Feb a site meeting was planned to discuss possible traffic calming measures on the Boroughbridge Road (afternote: Cllr Denison will attend this meeting).
5. Public Forum
   1. No topics were raised.
6. The minutes of the meeting of the Council on 18 Jan 23 and the Lands & Maintenance committee meeting on 1 Feb 23 were accepted as true records and signed accordingly by the Chairman.
7. Clerk reported:
   1. Production of a Resilience Plan draft remained under consideration.
   2. A surgery working party to clear the surgery frontage would be assembled at a date tbd.
   3. The Council had registered a new domain name for its website and an associated new email address for the clerk (announcements would be made at the end of February).
   4. The 2 galvanised street lampposts on Main Street had been placed on the NYC list for painting black.
   5. Currently there was no street lighting north of Brafferton Manor – HDC Planning had been approached for advice on how to petition for additional lamps.
   6. An attempt was underway to have the Main Street drain outside the Old Brewery cleared and considered for re-design.
8. Financial matters
   1. Clerk’s financial report – although the balance of Council funds stood at £14,568 on 31 Jan 23, it was noted that a payment of c£10.5k, for cobbling works, would leave the account prior to receipt of the associated grant of £7,560 from the Making a Difference Fund. Consequently, £3,500 would need to be transferred from savings into the current account.
   2. The following Payment Card Purchases (PCP) were noted and accounts received approved for payment:
      1. E Moorey & Sons flagpole base £120.00
      2. YLCA Training – Cllr Mitchell £50.00
      3. Clerk Printer refund £279.98
      4. Village hall Hire £262.00
      5. HP printers warranty £16.80 (PCP)
      6. Hampshire Flag Co flag £64.73 (PCP)
9. Matters for Consideration
   1. Update on plans to mark the Coronation of HM King Charles III (6-8 May 23) – preparations remained a work in progress. After discussion it was agreed that Cllr Boyle would continue working on a plan with other village organisations. The favoured options were a ‘bring your own’ tea party at the village hall and/or a picnic at the Sports Field which might be combined with activities and games. Consideration will also be given to participation in the nationwide ‘Big Help Out’ on the Monday. Outline plan to be agreed in advance of the next Council meeting on 15 March allowing time to publish the plans in the April edition of the village magazine.
   2. Report on NYCC Climate Change Strategy Draft – Cllr Jackson-Vickers summarised the strategy and identified possible ways that local communities could participate. She encouraged councillors and electors to participate in the consultation by visiting ‘Let’s Talk Climate’ on the NYCC website (available to 7 April 23). She will be sending additional information to councillors; she also touched upon an associated Local Energy Scheme and it was agreed that both topics should be an agenda item for future meetings.
   3. Siting of traffic mirror at north end of Back Lane – a safety issue was noted in that visibility was poor for drivers turning into Raskelf Road and with property numbers increasing along the lane the problem was being met by more drivers. A traffic mirror was believed to be the best solution and NYCC would be approached for guidance and approval.
   4. Condition of the Back Lane road surface – recent development along the lane has resulted in utilities trenching work and subsequent backfilling; planned future development will continue this trend. Combined with increasing traffic, this was leading to a steady decline in the road surface.  The Council would attempt to have Back Lane listed by NYC for improvement.
   5. Maintenance Tasks (including Works to Trees) planned during 2023
      1. Clerk presented the list of tasks which had been reviewed and confirmed by the Lands & Maintenance committee on 1 Feb 23. Maintenance tasks totalled £4,080 and 2 trees, identified as requiring felling for safety reason, added a further £4,092. In combination this represented a large outlay for the council. However, effective management of trees on Council land had been long overdue and this expenditure was expected to result in all remaining trees being identified as ‘Low Risk’ – allowing planned tree maintenance to commence based around the Council’s 18-month cycle of tree surveys.
      2. Cllr Jackson-Vickers expressed disappointment at the return to a 6 cuts per year for all urban verges. However, some potential re-wilding of a portion of Swale Green would yield a greater area set aside for this purpose and allow all the village urban verges to be well maintained.
10. To receive information on the following ongoing issues and decide further action where necessary
    1. Cobbles project – work has just started on the cobbles at the curtilage to the war memorial.
    2. Neighbourhood plan – Cllr Mitchell had attended a webinar and it was hoped the project would gather momentum in FY 23/24 when fresh grant opportunities were expected to come available.
    3. Brafferton bridleway bridge refurbishment – North Yorkshire Council has agreed to carry out works to the bridge to improve access for pedestrians and horse riders: the gates will be refurbished; each approach will be improved and mounting blocks will be constructed at each end to enable riders to re-mount having dismounted to cross. The Chairman thanked the Clerk for drafting the letter which had led to this outcome.
11. To consider the following Planning Matters
    1. No new applications were received.
12. To receive the following Planning Decisions/information
    1. Planning Application 22/02422/REM, construction of 4 dwellings adjacent to telephone exchange, Back Lane, Helperby – awaiting decision by Hambleton District Council.
    2. Planning Application 22/02463/MRC, variation to condition 3 of previously approved application 21/02544/FUL at Butterys, Tofts Lane, Helperby – approved by Hambleton District Council.
    3. Planning Application 22/02294/OUT, outline application for the construction of 4 dwellings with all matters reserved except access on OS Field 7346, Boroughbridge Road, Brafferton – awaiting decision by Hambleton District Council.
    4. Planning Application 22/01858/FUL, proposed construction of 2 x dwellings at St Peter’s Close, Brafferton – awaiting decision by Hambleton District Council.
13. Further Matters for Consideration
14. New Correspondence received
    1. None received.
15. Matters for inclusion on the agenda for the next meeting
    1. Village Coronation events 6-8 May 23.
    2. Climate Change Strategy/Local Energy Scheme.
16. The date of the next Council meeting was confirmed to be 15 Mar 23.