Parish Council Minutes July 2012

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

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council

Minutes of the Council meeting of 9th July 2012 held in the Parish Hall at 7.45pm

Present: Cllrs Mills (in the chair), Dunhill, Eakins, and Howe. Cllr Dale and 5 members of the public were also present

1. Apologies: Cllrs Reid and Carew

2. Declarations of interest: None

3. Minutes of the meeting of May 14th 2012 were agreed as a true record.

4. Matters arising: a) Website – Dave Porter would be asked for some dates on which he could offer training MA

b) Benches: Concern has been expressed by Mrs Dixon and her son about replacing the plaque from the old bench below Bobby’s. A number of solutions were being considered including putting a second bench next to the new one.

c) Double yellow lines: still no date for this

d) Dog Notice: this had been done by the County

e) Flashing lights: the signs are working intermittently and the installers would be asked for an explanation. It is important the lights work well before they become the council’s sole responsibility; MA

f) Trees: The laurels at the Wellington need cutting back. The Clerk will write to the Manager. The ownership of the tree at Church Close is still being clarified. Trees near the tennis court are of no imminent collapse and can be left for a time. MA

g) The Nick: Information from the County is still awaited on this and Cllr Mills was not willing to give a definitive answer to Mrs Stevenson on the matter yet. Cllr Dale offered to include Mrs Stevenson at a future site meeting with a representative from the County, herself and probably Cllr Mills for the Parish Council to be able to decide what should be done to reduce the problem. ADe

h) Weir: It was agreed to leave the fencing alone and not replace the bench until the ground had settled. An interpretation board would be considered as it was within the budget.

i) TRT/Weeds: Only a few people turned up to deal with the Himalayan Balsam although the weather had been very bad. This work would be continued. The TRT would deal with the Japanese knotweed.

j) Northumberland Strategic Plan: this is a very large document. Cllr Howe agreed to pick out the few points that needed a response. PH

5. Handyman report: given by Mrs Stephenson. Whilst it was recognised that Mr & Mrs Stephenson’s time on the invoices and the reports provides useful information for estimating the length of various jobs, she agreed to ask the Handyman to put only his hours on the invoices to avoid any confusion.

6. Millfield Road Bridge: As the amended figures for the revised tender were not available at the last meeting but had been agreed by email by Councillors, they needed to be ratified. The figures of £12,746.27 contract sum; £5,008.25 provisional sum and £3,000 general contingency were unanimously agreed by the Council. The water pipe will be reconnected and there was a progress meeting following the council meeting later in the week. The scaffolders had made a claim for flood damage against their own insurers following the recent bad weather.

7. Cost of Celebrations: There would probably be a small surplus from the celebrations once costs and grants had been taken into consideration. Cllr Carew suggested that this be split 3- ways between the most involved clubs: – cricket, tennis and karate. This was agreed in principle subject to the final figures.

8. Code of Conduct: It is required that a new Code of Conduct be accepted under s.27 of the Localism Act 2011. Cllr Mills proposed this and the Council agreed unanimously.

9. Affordable Housing: The working group had met and the County’s officer ( Eddie Halstead) had identified a piece of land at the top of Broomhaugh that might be suitable and that might be for sale. It was in the green belt but could be used for social housing. The social landlords have funds to develop such sites and Mr Halstead would talk with one of them whilst Mr Latham would talk with the land owner. A housing needs survey would need to be done if it goes forward but the matter is exploratory at present. PL/EH

10. Playpark: A short paper on the relative costs between using Playdale or using other contractors was discussed. It was agreed that Playdale should be used and that the work should go ahead. MA

11. Planning:

(a) Considered by Northumberland County Council:

still pending decision:

11/00903/FUL House at land west of Kingmead

(b) considered by the Parish Council with no objections:

12/01316/FUL New access at Shepherd’s Dene
12/01331/FUL New single storey stone house at 2, The Bungalows

(c) Under consideration by the Parish Council:

12/01311/FUL Rear extension at 13 Station Close

12. Finances: a) the financial statements for May and June were accepted; it was noted that expenditure was within budget.

b) the following payments were authorised:

Sadler Brown (printing for letter re MR bridge works) – £10.56
AON (premium for increased Fidelity. Guar. To end of financial year) £30.61
Homevend/21 (including bench below Bobby’s) – £100.00
MF Anderton/salary May – £433.64
MFAnderton/expenses May – £79.00
Northumbria Water – £14.80
BT Bell (50% remaining interim payment) – £667.20
Playsafety (ROSPA inspection) – £82.80
Radiopages (new website) – £100.00
Clearchannel UK (new panels in bus shelter) – £284.24
Homevend/22 – £70.00
Wendy Robe (planters/WI – new plants) – £42.50
Sandy Bank Res. Assn. (insurance contribution for the Nick) – £237.00
Viking (paper/cartridge) – £109.70
M F Anderton/salary June & July – £867.28
M F Anderton/overtime on alleged defamation – £120.90
M F Anderton/expenses June (including courier re alleged defamation) – £52.47

Transferred from Reserves to Current Account for bridge works -£10,000.00

13. Minor Matters:

a) the ownership of the road between Long Rigg and Church Lane is unknown. Cllr Dale was working on this;

b) the request for transport/road schemes for the Local Transport Plan for 2012/2014 had been received. Any requests are needed by the 28th September.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm