Parish Council Minutes November 2006

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

Broomhaugh & Riding Parish Council

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 13th November 2006 in the Supper room of the Parish Hall at 7.45pm

Present: Councillors Horton, Ryder, Dunhill, Howey and Heslop. Also present were District Councillor Latham (part), County Councillor Thompson (part); a member of the press and 7 members of the public.

1. Apologies were received from Cllrs Cairns and Nitsch.

2. Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a true record.

3. Matters arising:
a. Website: Cllr Ryder updated the success of the take – up of space by organisations in the village. There was some discussion on advertising by commercial organisations and it was agreed they had to be within the village and that the rates should be affordable, essentially for the space on site with a bit for the regular upkeep. Links between organisations such as the Village Hall Trust and its members were discussed. It was also noted that there are elderly people in the village who are not connected to the web and their needs must be considered as well e.g. by reprinting the Information card in about 18 months time. It is hoped the website will complement the Information card and the Parish news.
b. Tender: Further to the discussions with Dick Fraser of the County Council, Cllr Thompson had also met with Peter Brewis and got a positive response from him. A number of the original potential contractors were being contacted to see if they were still interested taking into account the improvements in information. The amended information will be passed to those interested and with a 40 day tender period, prices should be received in the New Year.
c. Weir Bridge: The work on the footbridge had not yet been done. Despite reports to the contrary the stones had not been replaced due to their size and weight. It was agreed to wait until spring and get a stonemason with proper equipment to move them back into place.
d. Knotweed: posts had been put in position to prevent parking on the grass verge. However, vandalism had taken place and the posts uprooted. It was agreed to put a piece in the Parish news concerning this and to leave the problem until spring when it would be reconsidered.

4. Tennis club:
A formal letter had been received from the Tennis club about their desired move to the Sportsfield site. The reasons behind the move were outlined: costs of repairs to existing facilities and the fact that three courts together are required for attracting training grants for coaching etc. They are working with the Cricket club and The Engineering Business to progress a feasibility study. A number of points were raised including possible light pollution; parking; use of the existing tennis courts. It was agreed that the Parish Council supported the proposal in principle but a public meeting would be necessary in the future if the project is to go ahead.

5. Planning:
TPO for the Vicarage has been withdrawn
06/00161/TPO 11 Church Close Consent granted
2006/1116 Police House, Millfield Road Conditional permission
Appeal by Mr Baird re Roselea Cottage Noted

6. Correspondence:
a) General, for circulation
b) Post Office: there was considerable discussion about this, relating to covenants, recent press articles and the PC’s position in the matter, which is to attempt to retain the PO premises for future post office use.
c) A letter had been received requesting a memorial bench outside the Wellington in memory of a Mr Elliott, a former landlord. The clerk would follow this up.
d) NCC/Footpath: an informal request had been received from the County with respect to a possible new footpath going from the A695 to the No 16 footpath along the river side at the west end of the village. The Council is broadly in favour of this provided the safety issue of the railway line is addressed. This had been a stumbling block in the past.
e) BDO: a member of the public had written to the Auditors with a query after closure of the year’s audit. The Parish council is likely to be charged – £125 for this. It was agreed to query the cost with the auditors.

7. Finance:
a) The financial statement and receipts were accepted by all councillors
b) The following payments were authorised by all councillors:-

M F Anderton/Salary/Oct – £352.42
M F Anderton/Expenses/Oct – £81.05
Viking/Stationery – £64.19
WardHadaway – £487.63
Tynedale/dog litter – £285.41
Land registry – £750.00
TW Smith/footbridge – estimate – £230.00
British legion/poppy wreath – £40.00

c) Budget/VHT: There was discussion about the free resource, Section 137 money, which the Parish Council could spend on community support and Section 19 money which it could also use to provide funding for capital projects. Also discussed were the amounts of money given to the Youth club and the Village Hall Trust. Donations were mentioned and it was noted that the full amount available to the Council under S.137 was not routinely used. Other items on the budget were usually increased each year by an inflationary factor but the above grants had not been increased for some time. It was agreed to offer the Youth club – £1100 and the Village Hall Trust – £2000, hoping that this would even out their funding issues. At the same time, the Parish Council agreed to pay approximately – £1,600 for the repairs to the caretaker’s flat out of the Land Account. This would be repaid from the Current account over four years. – £900 would be made available for small grants, on request, at the February meeting of the PC. With regard to the Development fund, the parish council could, in the future, help by using the S.19 legislation on receipt of a specific request. The Clerk would let Dr Harle know this. Subject to the above changes, the Clerk would amend the budget and bring it for final approval to the next meeting. The above changes were proposed by Cllr Ryder and seconded by Cllr Heslop.

8. Minor matters:
Cllr Ryder mentioned that a report on the Parish Council meetings would appear in the Parish News. Cllr Howey asked about the flower baskets at the entrance to the village. The Clerk noted they were ready to put in place. On the subject of a pedestrian crossing and the signage in Millfield Road, Cllr Horton agreed to raise matters directly again with Dick Fraser at County Hall. Cllr Heslop raised the problem of poor lighting on the station footpath. The Clerk would follow up. Cllr Dunhill commented on responding to the NSP documents. Cllr Ryder offered to help if she could. Thanks would be sent to John Dawson who had cut back the ivy by the allotments.

The meeting closed at 9.55pm.