Wednesday 20 October 21

Held at 7.30pm in Helperby Village Hall

Present: Cllr Nigel Denison (Chairman), Cllr Peter Mitchell (Vice Chairman), Cllr Jean Featherstone, Cllr Mark Darwin, Cllr Pam Jackson-Vickers, Cllr Matt Boyle, Roger Clements (Clerk), Cllr Peter Sowray (NYCC) and one member of the public.

1. Apologies for Absence
   1. Apologies were received from Cllr Brown.
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. Public Participation
   1. Chairman described the Harvest Festival service at which the new church roof was celebrated and added his thanks to individuals and the village at large for their generous financial support to St Peter’s roof appeal. He also confirmed that the village Recreation Area project was to be discussed by interested parties, including the Council, in the next few days.
4. The minutes of the last meeting held on 15 Sep 21 were agreed to be a true record and were signed accordingly by the Chairman.
5. Clerk’s report
   1. Volunteers had come forward for the job of village litter picker and the Clerk was instructed to make arrangements for one to take on the role. It was agreed that 2 sets of litter picking kit should be purchased. Cllrs were asked to view recently received Planning Application 21/02230/CAT, proposed works to trees at Hollytree House, Brafferton; none had any objections to the work.
6. Financial matters
7. Financial Report – Clerk confirmed that Council’s cash reserves were adequate to cover the cost of a Vehicle Activated Sign (see item 15.1).
8. The Financial Working Group had carried out a check of the Council’s bookkeeping and bank reconciliation and reported all to be in order.
9. A grant request had been received from Citizens Advice, Northallerton – Cllr Darwin proposed that a grant of £100 be made to Citizens Advice – resolved.
10. Main Street Christmas tree – Cllr Mitchell proposed that a larger (20 ft) tree be purchased this year with additional lights at an estimated cost of up to £150 – resolved.
11. The transfer of ringfenced £52.66 to Neighbourhood Watch was considered unnecessary and the money will remain in the Council account.
12. Clerk described the process for FY 2022/23 budget preparation with a draft budget in preparation ready for approval at the November meeting.
13. The following accounts were approved for payment:
    1. National Allotments Society (subs) £66.00
    2. N Buchanan grass cutting £1,200.00
    3. YLCA Training (Cllr Brown) £60.00
14. Matters for consideration
    1. Main Street cobbles repairs – 3 areas were identified for work: one small area in Main Street following utility work plus 2 larger areas, one outside the Old Post Hose and the other adjacent to the War Memorial. The latter 2 would need finalisation of the specification of re-laying techniques and selection of up to 3 approved Contractors. Some grant aid would also be required through the District Council Making a Difference fund and other sources; Chairman to lead on these works. Some photogrammetry work remained outstanding and the use of a cherry picker and conventional camera was under consideration to complete the work.
15. To receive information on the following ongoing issues and decide further action where necessary
    1. Traffic speed management – research showed that a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) was most effective if it was capable of being moved between locations. Three locations for mounting posts had been approved by NYCC, one at each point where traffic entered the village but only one of these was a potential good site for a solar powered VAS. Moreover, a solar powered VAS was not suitable for moving between posts. Installation of mains power to each location was prohibitively expensive making battery power a better option; the best available batteries would offer a potential re-location cycle of 6-8 weeks. Cllr Sowray confirmed that a £2,000 grant from NYCC was likely to be available. Chairman proposed that two quotations, the first from Swarco of £4,009 for one VAS, plus 2 sets of 22Ah batteries and ancillaries and the second from NYCC of £1,250 for installation of 3 mounting posts be accepted – resolved.
    2. Neighbourhood Plan (NP) – a NP committee was formed with the task of researching and formulating the plan. Committee to comprise Cllrs Mitchell (Chairman), Cllrs Denison and Darwin plus selected co-opted members with relevant skills and experience.
    3. Queen’s Jubilee Big Lunch – the lunch, in the form of a village Street Party, to take place on Sunday 5 June 22, probably centred on the Village Hall with involvement of most village groups, associations etc. A meeting to agree the general scope of the Big Lunch will be held with interested parties in December 21 (Cllr Boyle to set up).
    4. Participation in the North Yorkshire Queen’s Green Canopy initiative – the only Council owned land suitable to additional tree planting is Swale Green. It was agreed in principle to plant 2/3 additional rowans to extend the existing line of rowans beside the path to the Swing Bridge – decision to be made at the next meeting.
16. To consider the following Planning matters
    1. Planning Application 21/02144/FUL, construction of 5 dwellings and associated access at OS field 0048, Raskelf Road, Brafferton – the Council believed that 2 of its concerns raised when Outline planning was applied for in November 2020 remained worthy of reiteration. It believed that surface water run-off onto the Raskelf Road remained a potential problem and, most importantly, our own week-long speed survey confirmed a real speeding issue on this stretch of the Raskelf Road which needed addressing using additional traffic calming measures – ideally a chicane near the 30 mph sign.
17. To receive the following Planning decisions/information
    1. Planning Application 21/01445/MRC, variation of conditions attached to planning consent 13/02134/FUL at 8 Bridge Street, Brafferton – awaiting decision from Hambleton District Council
    2. Planning Application 21/00824/OUT, proposed 33 dwelling development to the south & east of Balk Avenue, Helperby – awaiting decision by Hambleton District Council
    3. Planning Application 21/00966/REM, reserved matters pursuant to outline permission 16/01142 for construction of 28 dwellings at OS Field 0046, Brafferton – awaiting decision from Hambleton District Council
18. New Correspondence received and decide action where necessary
    1. A request for financial support to the Great North Air Ambulance had been received – a grant of £25 was agreed.
19. Matters for inclusion on the agenda for the next meeting – none were proposed.
20. The date of the next Council meeting was confirmed as Wednesday 17 November 2021 and the next meeting of the Lands and Maintenance committee as Wednesday 3 November 2021