Annual Parish Meeting 2010 Minutes

You can download a copy of these minutes here (PDF file).

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual parish meeting, held at 7.30pm in the Millennium Hall, Church Lane on 20th May 2010.

Present: Cllrs Mill, Reid, Eakins, Heslop, Dunhill and Stephenson. County Councillor Anne Dale was in attendance with 14 members of the public and a member of the Press. Also in attendance for part of the meeting was Mrs Jen Stephenson, Head Teacher and Mr Colin Weightman MBE and Mr David Pearce of the Hexham Beekeeper’s Society who gave the first presentation.

1. Mr Pearce gave a detailed presentation on the life cycle of the Bee, assisted by Cllr Stephenson on the computer. He gave an overview of the life cycle, the long history from prehistoric times, the many uses of beeswax in healing and he explained how the bees and the hives work. He also explained the problems recently suffered by Bee colonies, particularly relating to the Varoa mite which is wiping out whole colonies of bees throughout the country, having started in the south of England. It was introduced in 1992 and reached Northumberland in 1997. He gave details of bee friendly plants which are essential to the pollination cycle and the future of the food chain. Some of the species mentioned are being looked at for inclusion in the Spinney. One of the plants gives cause for the Parish Council to reconsider matters as Himalayan Balsam is recommended as being very beneficial to Bees, bearing in mind the vast numbers wiped out in the last three years in particular. Cllr Mills thanked the speakers for their attendance and interesting presentation.

2. The minutes of the 2009 APM were agreed as a true record.

3. Broomhaugh & Riding First School Report: There are 61 children on the roll at present with 17 coming in the summer with only 13 being lost to the Middle School. Staff illness has given problems at the beginning of last year with frequent supply teachers. This is now over and the school is running well. The school cook also retired after 30 years and although there were problems finding a suitable replacement, a good cook is now in post. There is more equipment in the school grounds and more teaching is done outside when practicable. The curriculum is undergoing changes, which are temporarily halted owing to the change of Government, which is working to encourage them to think for themselves. There are still many after school activities including football sponsored by Newcastle United FC Community football. The Squirrels Club is still going from strength to strength with many volunteers helping keep it open from 8.00 in the morning to 5.45 in the afternoon. Just under 50% of the children are from the village which does cause traffic problems at the beginning and end of the school day. The school is trying to encourage car sharing and for people resident in the village to walk to school. Many of those from out of the village participate in school activities and the school remains grateful to parents and to the parish council for their continuing support.

4. Chairman’s report: The Chairman, Cllr Mills, began by thanking Fred Tulip for his hard work in the previous two years, following his retirement from the Council for personal reasons. The Covenants Policy, redeveloped following advice from the District Auditors and begun under Cllr Tulip’s chairmanship, was now in the public domain. It is not yet quite complete as points still arise which need to be include in the final version. The subject of the Weir has come up recently as the sides are being undermined. There are a number of choices to make and a lot of money has already been spent on it in the past. The options will be investigated further. Allied to this, fallen trees are causing a problem: not when they fall on the amenity land but when they fall in the Burn, disrupting the flow of water. Himalayan Balsam is deemed to be a problem in the village and a removal party is being organised by Cllr Reid to take it on. It may be that this might need to be reconsidered following the earlier talk on Bees. Japanese Knotweed continues to grow and is still a problem. It has been found on land over 100 yards away from where it was being treated near the tennis courts which demonstrates how easy it can be to spread it. The council will continue to monitor the situation. There had been a request from a member of the public for a road sign to indicate Broomhaugh at the east end of the village. Unfortunately, as this would entail changing signage to quite a long way out of the village at the Council’s expense, this was deemed too expensive to follow through.

A number of recurring issues with roads have been looked at: there are now new safety mirrors opposite Wentworth Grange at Broomhaugh and at Hollin Hill. Pot holes have been repaired – to some extent. The more serious ones have had more major surgery. Solutions to slowing down the traffic coming to the A695 from the Slaley road, where it intersects with the Nick, are being looked at. The Council is considering one option of placing interactive solar powered speed warning signs. The details are being evaluated. A pedestrian crossing is still thought necessary and the Council has recently undertaken its own traffic survey to provide figures to the County Council. The Chairman also mentioned the recent attempts to have Millfield Road adopted, following significant input over some years by both the Parish Council and the County Council. The final solution was rejected by the frontagers and the matter will not be revisited by the County Council in the near future. The Play park continues to be monitored and a mole infestation was partially removed at some expense. The Spinney committee have met and put forward proposal to open up a walking footpath , in a circular route through the Spinney. The Council are also trying to ensure that weedkillers are not used in grass cutting by the County Council where it can cause damage to further growth. It is acceptable only against concrete or brick for example. Allied to this there will be a Clean Up day on the 19th June. Cllr Stephenson is helping organise this.

Finally, the perennial subject of dog mess came up at the recent Council meeting and has coincided with a consultation from the County Council about making 4 byelaws against the matter uniform across the County.

5. County Cllr Dale’s report: Cllr Dale reported that the first full year of the new authority had seen many changes. A senior management review had seen 6 senior directors put in place and the Parish and Town Councils being asked to take over many of the services that the District Councils used to perform. It has been difficult getting things done as people change from one day to the next when ringing about a problem. Some of the matters she has dealt with in the last year include: gritting of roads, salt bins, potholes, dropped kerbs, sewage problems, speeding on the A695 after the speed camera by calling out the police with a radar gun, fly tipping, litter, gully maintenance, planning and dog fouling. At the County Council, Cllr Dale is Chair of Audit so has oversight of all aspects of matters at County Hall. Much is related to performance management which is not high enough at present. She can provide some money towards capital projects although the future of that sum is not guaranteed with the current economic climate.

6. Mrs Linda Shepherd, Chair of the Village Hall Trust, gave the following report:

The past year has been momentous for the Trust. In June 2009, we closed the Parish Hall for work to begin on our new extension. We were given back the Hall on January 11th and held a Coffee Morning to mark the occasion on January 12th. In the meantime, demand for the Millennium Hall was huge and some organisations went outside the Village to keep up their activities.

Thanks must go to everyone for their patience – the job over-ran by a good six weeks but I hope you agree that it has been worth it! Eric Rosby and his men deserve a thank you too – the job was done at cost.

As well as now having a Hall which is accessible to disabled people and therefore fulfilling legal requirements, we have a super foyer which is being used as a Café three times each week which is generating income for the Halls. The Supper Room, Kitchen and Main Hall have been refurbished and look lovely.

The Millennium Hall is being used primarily by Pre School – seven sessions each week – and also by three other groups which do not meet every week.

The Parish Hall is used much more, demand is huge and the Bookings Secretary has a task trying to accommodate everyone. We have three weddings this summer – one of which is being catered for by the Dotty Cooks. There is a new Photographic Society, the Community Education Group based at the High School in Hexham are using the Hall for Pilates and the Bridge Club is hoping to use the Hall on Friday afternoons. We still have a few daytime sessions free and weekends are often available for bookings.

The flat has a tenant and the rent pays for our Caretaker who I wish to thank for her dedication. Val works hard and is a leading light in the success of the Coffee Shop and, Alan, her husband, is doing a lot in the garden and regularly picks up the paintbrush. In four months, the Coffee Shop has made almost £1,000 for the Trust and if you have popped in, I am sure you will agree that it gives much more than money to the Village.

Renting out the flat saves the Village Hall Trust money – we no longer pay electricity, gas, water, telephone and Community charge bills thanks to Pam Pryor for managing the tenancy.

We used the Probation Service who supply workers on Community Service to decorate the flat prior to its occupation and they are returning soon to paint the exterior of both Halls.

From April last year, the Dotty Cooks have raised £1,870 for the funds – this does not include catering for events like the Craft Fair which raised over £3,000.

We have had donations from several Hall users (but not all). Tiny clubs like Badminton and The Get Dancing Group have held events which raised in excess of £200 each. The Bridge Club, who do not even use the Hall, have given us almost £700 and Judith Anderson’s wonderful ‘Riding Mill’s Got Talent’ concerts raised over £800.

The Trust is extremely grateful to Councillor Anne Dale who has procured funds for us and the Parish Council for your generosity and support which we hope is ongoing!

All I can say, as Chairman of the Village Hall Trust, is a huge thank you to all who have helped us over the last, sometimes difficult, year. I hope that our Halls continue to fulfil the needs of the community.

7. The financial statement was presented for information.

8. Millfield Road: As the result of a letter being put through letterboxes across the village concerning Millfield Road, the Chairman allowed further discussion on the matter. The letter writers felt the majority of the village were unaware of the problems associated with Millfield Road. It was pointed out that the whole village had had matters explained when a previous attempt, five years ago, to get the road adopted, had been made. There was quite a lot of discussion on the matter which essentially covered points raised at many meetings already in the past. The Chairman allowed the matter to run for awhile before drawing it to a close.

With no further business under AOB, the meeting closed at 9.45pm after the Chairman thanked everyone for attending.

Parish Council Minutes May 2010

You can download a copy of these minutes here (PDF file).

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council

Minutes of the Parish Council and AGM held on 10th May 2010 in the Supper Room of the Parish Hall at 7.45pm

Present: Councillors Mills, Reid, Dunhill, Eakins and Stephenson. Also present were Cllr Anne Dale, 8 members of the public and one member of the press.

1. Apologies: Cllr Heslop

2. Approval of Standing Orders: Agreed

3. Election of Officers: Chair: Cllr Mills was proposed by Cllr Reid and seconded by Cllr Dunhill. Approved

Vice Chair: Cllr Reid was proposed and agreed by all
Planning subcommittee: Agreed to continue as Cllrs Dunhill and Mills.
VHT: this was deferred until a later date when Cllr Heslop would be asked if he will continue in this role.

4. Minutes of last meeting: These were agreed as a true record.

5. Matters arising: a) Grass cutting: Although grass cutting in the village had been approved for this year, East Tynedale Forum were considering plans for next year. Cllr Dunhill agreed to ask about this. Cllr Reid asked about the use of weedkiller near living plants as apparently the previous request was being ignored.

b) TPOs: Cllr Dale had asked three months ago but applications were still not being forwarded for consultation. She would ask again. ADe

c) Potholes: A number of potholes have been filled but not very well. A letter from the Sandy Bank Residents Association had been sent to David Laux of County Council Highways regarding the junction of the Slaley Road and the A695.

d) Himalayan Balsam: This is growing slowly. Cllr Reid will put up repeat notices for volunteers to help in destroying it when it grows higher. MR

e) Clean Up Day: The 19th June was fixed for the village clean up day – a week before the Village day. People would be asked to clean their own frontages. Cllr Stephenson agreed to lead the clean up. LS

f) Website: Cllr Eakins explained that Blogs and forums were undesirable as they could not be sufficiently monitored. Dave Porter is considering migrating our website to a content management system in the future – this would make it easier to update. Updating of information is difficult as village societies do not keep contact details up to date.

g) Moles: At least one mole is still active. The state of the Playpark will continue to be monitored.

h) Spinney: Cllr Reid reported as follows: Following the clearing of the spinney on 26th September 2009, parishioners were invited to put their names forward for planning the Spinney. Alma Bundick, Kevin Charman, Ros Charman and Malcolm Reid volunteered. They have met on three occasions – for initial ideas, for a site visit and to put suggestions to those whose properties overlook the Spinney. There was broad agreement as follows: the character would be between managed and wild; it would provide a linkage to surrounding woodland for wildlife; it would be a place of tranquillity with a circular woodland walk which would involve moving a very small number of trees. The Spinney would be allowed to develop naturally; there would be no change to access for the time being, but consideration of alternative access and /or disabled access may arise in the future. Cllr Reid will approach NEDL for used wood chips to lay to mark out the path. MR

i) Church Lane sign: Cllr Dale had asked for a replacement. A ‘Broomhaugh & Riding’ sign to replace the existing Riding Mill sign had also been requested by a parishioner, but the cost of this, which would fall on the Parish, would be prohibitive as all road signs in the near area would need to be changed. Cllr Stephenson agreed to explain this to the parishioner who had made the request. LS

6. Traffic matters raised by Sandy Bank RA: this links into the item on the Parish Plan. The main problem is where the Nick joins the road from Slaley and the A695. There have been near misses and there consultation with Alan Bawn from the NCC established that re-alignment of the junction could cost in excess of £50,000. Another option is to put a flashing radar-controlled warning sign in the area. Cllr Stephenson has talked with Mr Stefan Bell from the Highways department about this. A sign would have to be erected within the 30mph zone; the cost could be as low as £3200 and the manufacturer could erect the sign, subject to conforming to the requirements of the County Council. It was agreed this was a good idea in principle but the details should be checked out. The possibility of putting a similar sign at the other end of the village should also be considered. The other matter raised was increased dog fouling. It was suggested that reminders about dog owners duties could go in the Parish News and on the website. (Since the meeting, the County Council have advised that a consultation on the issue is to take place which will tighten local laws).

7. Parish Plan: The two Working parties are looking at several other issues. The 20mph speed limit on side roads is a non-starter as most of the roads are cul-de-sacs. The only place likely to be considered is outside the school and the Parish was advised to add the matter to the next Annual Local Transport plan to place the costs with the County. Cllr Eakins also mentioned give way lines at the junction at the top of Millfield Road, Church Lane and Meadow Park. A traffic census is to be carried out by the Parish Council in the next few days to collect evidence of the need for a pedestrian crossing.

8. Trees, Weir and Odd Job Man: It was agreed to proceed with removing fallen trees from the Marchburn. Cllr Eakins wanted to know which trees were actually included in the quote. It would be sensible to remove any which were likely to be carried downstream in future flood. It was agreed to go ahead and Cllr Stephenson would contact the tree surgeons.

The necessity of repairing the weir was discussed as a large sum of money has already been spent on it. It was agreed to investigate this more thoroughly and Cllr Reid would talk to the Tyne Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency to investigate the long term implications especially if it is decided to do no further work.

With respect to an odd- job man, Cllr Stephenson suggested a year’s contract for 4 hours per month at £70 per month. Points discussed included the type of work proposed, the number of jobs throughout a year and if the potential contractor had insurance. Time sheets and an audit trail would be necessary. It was agreed to try the arrangement for a year following further investigation. Councillors to email LS with suggestions for jobs he could do. ALL

9. Planning:

20091040 Extension, Briarlea, Marchburn Lane. Conditional permission
20091053 Pitched roof, Ash Lee, Church Lane. Conditional permission

10. Correspondence: a) general

11. Finance:

a) The financial statement and receipts were accepted.

b) The following payments were authorised:

M F Anderton Salary/Mar – £407.74
MF Anderton Expenses/Mar – £80.70
ATAC (moles) – £110.00
Clerks Direct/subs – £11.00
MF Anderton Salary/Apr – £420.36
MF Anderton Expenses/Apr – £55.71
Richardsons/trees – £47.00
Insurance premium – £2,320.42
VHT/rent – £22.00
Hexham Courant APM ad. (to MFA) – £38.48
VHT – Annual Grant/S.137 – £2,000.00

c) The above grant to the VHT was approved.

d) The 2009/2010 Annual accounts were approved

e) The annual governance statement, as appended to the minutes in full detail, was approved.

f) The Chairman was approved as a new signatory to the bank accounts, following the resignation of Fred Tulip. Cllr Dunhill and the Clerk continue as signatories.

g) It was agreed that the Clerk would present the accounts as approved by council at the Annual Parish meeting. A more detailed analysis of annual income and expenditure based on the monthly spreadsheets would be available for use next year.

12. Minor matters:

It was agreed to have the talk on Bees at the beginning of the APM meeting;

Some Japanese Knotweed had been found near the Tennis Club;

A Broadband report has been forwarded to BT and the County Council for consideration;

Northumbrian Water will repair the pipe under the bridge in Millfield Road between April 2011 and April 2012.It was agreed the Clerk would write to Northumbrian Water expressing disappointment at the delay as the first complaint was made in November 2008.

It was agreed to invite Mr Downs and Mr Gibson, who had raised points about the width of the narrowed Millfield Road bridge.

it was agreed to change the date of the next Parish Council meeting to the 21st June and to cancel the July meeting.

13. Confidential matters: Pursuant to section 1(2) of the public Bodies ( Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 it is resolved that, because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted, the public and press leave the meeting during consideration of these items.

Meeting closed at 9.35pm

Parish Council Minutes March 2010

You can download a copy of these minutes here (PDF file).

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council

Minutes of the Parish Council held on 8th March 2010 in the Supper Room of the Parish Hall at 7.45pm

Present: Councillors Tulip, Mills, Reid, Dunhill, Eakins, Heslop and Stephenson.

Also present were Cllr Anne Dale, 10 members of the public (most who left after the item on Millfield Road). PC Sharon Lowden was in attendance for most of the meeting. She gave a brief presentation about the changes in local coverage and said that she would be willing to hold surgeries in the Parish Hall. This kind offer was accepted.

1. Apologies: None

2. Minutes of last meeting: These were agreed as a true record.

3. Matters arising: a) Grass cutting at Broomhaugh: Mr Alan Thompson had agreed to continue doing the grass cutting round the planters at the Broomhaugh end of the village. He was thanked for his efforts.

b) Annual Parish Meeting: this was confirmed as 20th May in the Millennium Hall at 7.30pm. Speakers from the Hexham Beekeepers Association will give a talk.

c) TPOs: Cllr Dale had talked to the Planning department and they promised that TPOs would be forwarded to Councillors for consideration in future.

d) Potholes: some of the repairs had been done, but rather poorly and the Highways Authority are way behind. The ones just before Farnley Gate have been done, as a result of submissions to ask@northumberland.gov.uk.

e) Cllr Stephenson raised the matter of a letter from a member of the public in which she felt the first paragraph specifically was an attack on her integrity on this matter; to quote: “I note your comments concerning the participation of a parish councillor who is a resident and property owner in this road. Whereas this councillor has, on some occasions, declared a personal interest in this matter and has then withdrawn from discussion of it, I feel it appropriate to record that her personal discretion has not extended beyond the confines of council meetings. Over the past few months, when discussions of this matter have been an ongoing topic on the parish council agenda, this councillor has seen fit to approach a number of the road’s residents and made strenuous efforts to coerce them into accepting the parish council’s financial terms for securing the road’s adoption. Her reported comments to these residents seem to reveal that, in this matter, she has acted with the full knowledge and perhaps the support of, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. I would be interested to have your views on the propriety of this conduct”. Cllr Stephenson went on to say that since receiving this letter she had visited 20 of the 22 houseowners in Millfield Road. She did not visit the writer of the letter and one other resident. Of the 20 houseowners she had visited, not one had thought that Cllr Stephenson had attempted to coerce them in any way whatsoever. She asked that the matter be referred to our solicitors, with a request that the writer of the letter be asked to substantiate these allegations. However, in conjunction with the comments also made by Cllr Reid: “This PC has a history of councillors only serving for short periods. Now that I have been on the council for 2 years and acting Chair for a short period, it is quite apparent to me why this has been happening. Defamatory and demonstrably untrue statements are regularly made about councillors to third parties by a very small number of parishioners with apparent impunity. Normal standards of courtesy are not observed. We have a responsibility to bring the Council to full strength so that it can fulfil its functions well by creating a climate in which parishioners wish to serve, so we need to address this vexatious behaviour. We need to establish that high standards of conduct are expected of all members of the community – not just councillors. I request agreement of the Council for legal advice to be sought about some recent examples. I suggest that the cost of seeking legal advice will be money well spent.” After some discussion, it was agreed by the Council to forward the letters to Wardhadaway solicitors asking for advice from their litigation department.

4. Millfield Road: the request forms had been returned to the Legal Services department at County Hall and Mr Rickitt sent the following letter: “ My analysis is : Option 1 ( £2000 contribution) – six; Option 2 – other contribution ( less than £2000) – two; Option 3 – No contribution – Ten.”

(There were three non-returns and the Parish Council and VHT are to be added to the first option. One further late addition to Option 1 was received in the post and forwarded). “Please let me know whether the Parish Council intend to proceed with the works in the light of this outcome.

I have spoken to my colleagues in the Highways & Transport Service and, if you decide not to proceed with the works, then we will withdraw the estimated figures. In addition I must make it clear that is highly unlikely that the County Council will devote resources in the future towards issues concerning the adoption of Millfield Road or its state of repair unless there are pressing safety reasons for us to do so.”

Having received what is essentially a no vote, the Parish Council reiterated its earlier resolutions: that the parish council will implement the installation of the turning head beside the Parish Hall, bridge works to reduce to 3 tonnes; and the Parish Hall car park. The Parish Council also re-iterated that the upkeep of Millfield Road remains with the frontagers. The Parish Council formally rescinded the resolution of December 2004 and relinquished their temporary adoption of insurance liability for Millfield Road with immediate effect.

Cllr Dale pointed out that the County had put a lot of time and effort over the last 5 years on this matter. Cllr Tulip noted that he hoped that in the future, the residents of Millfield Road would come forward to address the issues.

5. Parish Plan: Cllrs Eakins and Reid had been through the existing Parish Plan to identify the outstanding issues which should be looked at further. Of the three noted, a pedestrian crossing, a 20mph speed limit on side roads in the village and more parking outside the village shop, the first two were suggested for ongoing work. It was suggested that a working group for each issue be set up with at least one Councillor on each. A village wide perspective would be taken and each issue would be tackled by looking at the current relevance of the issues; an in-depth look at any work that has been done on the matters to date would be reviewed; and possible solutions with or without sources of funding would be looked at. Volunteers were asked for and Cllr Dale suggested that Alan Bawn of the County Council be involved in both issues. Cllr Tulip already holds a lot of paperwork which can be forwarded to the working groups. Cllr Dunhill agreed to lead on the crossing working group with Cllr Reid also expressing interest. Cllrs Stephenson and Heslop indicated they would work on the speed limit one. Cllr Eakins would coordinate the work of the groups.

6. Himalayan Balsam: Cllr Reid suggested the Parish Council need a group of volunteers to work on this. Although the Parish Council could endorse the treatment of the Himalayan Balsam, it was agreed that village volunteers should do the work. Permission of the landowners (Styford Estates) would be needed (MA) and the correct timing of the methodology would be chased up with the Tyne Rivers Trust who were advising on the issue. A call for volunteers could go into the Parish news and also be asked for at the meeting with Tyne Rivers Trust to be held later in the week in the Parish Hall.

7. April meeting: because of the timing of Easter, it was agreed to cancel the April meeting. Cllr Tulip has suggested a change to Parish Council meetings, for fewer in total. It was agreed to consider this issue at a later date.

8. Correspondence: a) general

9. Finance:

a) Approvals: subject to a number of minor amendments the financial Regulations, the asset List and the Risk Assesment were approved for the year 2009/2010.

b) The audited accounts for 2008/2009 had been received from BDO and were accepted by the Parish Council. The comments made in the report re timing of approvals and S.137 donations were also accepted. With respect to the comments on accurate budgeting, the Council felt that the comments were unjustified in view of the nature of complaints that had been made to the Auditors. The Clerk would write to them, enclosing the type of budgeting that now occurs.

c) The financial statement and receipts were accepted.

d) The following payments were authorised:

M F Anderton Salary/Feb – £407.74
M F Anderton Expenses/Feb – £36.06
BDO Audit – £614.53
RM Allot. Assn./Insurance – £57.75
T Smith/fence at weir – £360.73
NCC/grass cutting – £1,286.47
Northumbria Water – £8.65
Radio Pages/website – £284.08

e) Grass cutting quote: the quote received from the County Council was for only £13 more than this year and it was agreed to accept this. Included in the letter would be the request by the Parish Council to use weedkillers in as few areas in the village as possible.

f) The S.137 donations were again deferred owing to the tightness of funding until the precept was credited to the account.

10. Minor matters:

Cllr Dunhill suggested a clean- up day. The state of the village was not too bad but a clean up would be desirable. Cllr Stephenson expressed reservations concerning the health & safety aspects. It was agreed to select a date at the May meeting for early in June.

Cllr Dale reiterated there was funding available for the School safety route plan as part of the possible speed limit restriction. Cllr Stephenson suggested talking with the Chair of school Governors.

Some more dropped kerbs would appear in the village .

The school warning sign was often hidden by vehicles and it was agreed to put up notices to try and prevent this.

The Church Lane road sign needed replacing and Cllr Dale agreed to follow up on that.

It was noted the bill for the upkeep of the website did not include all the work for the church at this time. A new management system for the site was being considered which would be easier.

Moles were a problem again in the Play Park. It was agreed to look into this ( this has subsequently been dealt with).

Cllr Tulip announced he would be resigning from the Council, for personal reasons, with immediate effect. On behalf of all Councillors, Cllr Eakins thanked him saying that he had been an excellent Chairman. As the vice- Chair will be busy for a few weeks, Cllr Mills agreed to act as Chair in the meantime.

Meeting closed at 9.10pm