SOMERSHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Transcription

1 SOMERSHAM PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 10 th January 2018 in Somersham Village Hall Present: In attendance: Apologies: Cllr J Caston, Cllr P Pearson, Cllr A Bromwich Vivienne Pratt (), 3 members of the Public, Cllr A Killett, Cty Cllr A Whybrow Cllr R Browne (Chair), Cllr K McKeown, Cllr S Wright SPC251/0118 SPC252/0118 SPC253/0118 SPC254/0118 SPC255/0118 Opening Due to the lack of key to the Village Hall, the meeting started slightly later than scheduled at 7.38pm. In the absence of the Chair, Cllr Caston agreed to Chair the meeting. Receive apologies for absence - The advised that prior to the meeting apologies had been received from Cllrs Brown, Wright and McKeown. Public Participation Session The public were invited to speak, however, none wished to do so. Receive District Councillor s Report Copy attached. Cllr Killett provided an update on the proposed merger of Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils advising that BDC had passed a motion for a referendum and that they are unwilling to spend any further monies with regard to this matter. MSDC, however, are keen to proceed and there will now be a stakeholder engagement and business case study to provide further information with regard to future cost savings. Cllr Killett advised that there is insufficient Parliamentary time for this matter to be discussed until after April 2019 so the very earliest that this can proceed would be May She informed that the District Council elections in 2019 will proceed on the basis of the new wards following the recent Boundary Review. Cllr Killett advised that 83 staff left in the period Apr Nov and only 56 had been replaced so some services are being affected as a result of the move and subsequent vacancies. She also provided an update on the plastic bottle recycling scheme, the Community Housing Fund and that she had received a Locality Grant application from the Duke of Marlborough, which if successful, would use up the last of her budget. She also called for any locations for her election tree planting initiative. Receive County Councillor s Report Copy attached. Cllr Whybrow urged all present and members of the public to respond to the School Travel Consultation where there are 3 possible options a) No subsidy b) Phased removal of the subsidy or c) No change. She advised that savings must be made and that this is to discuss the subsidy provided by the County Council, not the actual service. Cllr Whybrow advised that a pilot scheme has commenced to allow Cty Council to keep 100% of their business rates although it has not been made clear whether restrictions will be placed on what the money can be spent on. She provided further information on the First Time Heating Scheme, the necessity for Flu jabs and that A roads are still the priority for Highway repairs. AB advised that he had been asked by several members of the public to report the potholes and surface water that is causing a regular issue in Chapel Lane. Details were passed to Cty Cllr Whybrow for her to look into and AB was advised to measure the holes, take photos and to encourage all parties to report the problem vis the online Highways reporting tool. At this point, Dist Cllr Killett also mentioned a series of very large potholes in the middle of the road between Offton and Nettlestead. Receive Neighbourhood Watch Report - The NW representative provided information of the local area crime for October and November (copy attached). He advised that he had been made aware that Cllr Caston s egg box had been broken into twice and, although very little money had been taken, the box had had to be replaced. AB advised that there had been an instance in the village where a car had been blocked in after having been spotted removing an electric fence and energiser. The Police had not been able to respond, however, the culprit had been made to put the equipment back. Cllr Whybrow advised that the theft of manhole covers also appears to be on the increase. She advised people to write to Tim Passmore, Police Crime Commissioner, if they wished to escalate any problems with the Police service. PP advised that the previous night, the burglar alarm had gone off on the Community Shop. A member of the public advised this may have been caused by power cuts rather than an attempted break in Initials indicate approval -

2 SPC256/0118 Receive Declarations of Interests regarding items on the agenda a) Pecuniary and non-pecuniary - none b) Requests for dispensation none SPC257/0118 Approve Minutes of Parish Council meeting held on 6 th December 2017 as true record of the meeting Decision It was unanimously resolved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on 6 th December as a true record of the meeting. As Cllr Caston had not been present at this meeting, it was agreed that Cllr Pearson would sign off these minutes. to upload to website. SPC258/0118 Planning For discussion and decision a. 2 Mill Lane, Somersham IP8 4PA Erection of two storey side and single storey rear extensions Application no. DC/17/ Decision It was unanimously agreed to support this application. to write letter of support and submit to MSDC. Awaiting decision from MSDC 1. Land at Field Quarry (Known as Masons Quarry), Bramford Road, Great Blakenham, IP6 0XJ - Application for approval of Reserved Matters (phases 1-8), pursuant to Outline Permission ref. 1969/10 (for the development known as 'SnOasis'). The advised that, after issuing the agenda, she had received a notice of reconsultation with regard to the outstanding reserved matters. Due to the absence of the Chair and the Council s involvement with the SnOasis Parish Alliance, it was felt best to wait for an update at the next meeting. 2. Agricultural determination at Elmsett Hall, Offton Road, IP7 6PH extension to grain store to accommodate drying fan Ref. DC/02494 Decisions made by MSDC 1. Land At, Flowton Road, Somersham, Suffolk - planning application - DC/17/03481 Erection of 3 new homes following demolition of existing agricultural building Decision REFUSED 2. 5 Park Cottages, Flowton Road, Somersham IP8 4PP Erection of a single storey rear extension and replacement flat roof to pitched roof App no. DC/17/05370 The advised that she had received the notification that the application had been granted by MSDC earlier that day. Update regarding matters arising from the last minutes a) Data protection reform still awaiting further information. No additional hours had been worked by the b) Draft Standing Orders a draft which will be considered at the February meeting had been circulated to all Cllrs. A hard copy was given to PP. c) ICO Direct Debit The advised that she had submitted the DD mandate to the ICO and confirmation of its receipt had been received. Dist Cllr Killett left the meeting at 8.30pm SPC259/0118 SPC260/0118 Councillor Vacancy No applications received - There is currently one vacancy. Information is published on the website and in the Parish newsletter. Budget & Precept The had forwarded a copy of the Precept request form to all Cllrs following the budget and Precept setting unanimously agreed at the last meeting. It was reiterated that the increase had been largely forced as a result of the GDPR costs and that the decision was based on the increase required to cover the estimated spend for 2018/19. The reiterated that the Council does not have sufficient reserves to meet the recommended guidelines and that, at the current rate of Initials indicate approval -

3 SPC261/0118 overspending, the Council would be bankrupt within three years if the Precept, the only source of revenue, is not substantially increased. It was pointed out that the wording on the drafts requires amending - to action for next meeting. Decision The Precept request form for 16,800 was signed by all three Cllrs and the. Request form to be submitted to MSDC by 31 st January at the latest Meeting dates Following the discussion at the last meeting, the following dates had been proposed as meeting dates for the next year. PP queried the changing of dates for the year and the advised that, with the exception of the October meeting being cancelled due to a lack of available Cllrs, no dates had been changed since being set in March th March 2018 Already published 2 nd May 2018 Annual Meeting of the Parish and Annual PC Meeting 4 th July th September th November th January 2019 this is the second Wednesday 6 th March 2019 Decision It was unanimously agreed to proceed with the above dates. The to publish on the Noticeboard, website and within the Parish newsletter. SPC262/0118 Policies due for annual review To carry out the annual review of the Financial Regulations. The had circulated this to all Cllrs prior to the meeting Decision It was unanimously agreed to re-adopt the Financial regulations as the only changes had been formatting/typing issues and the actual content did not require any changes. to upload to website SPC263/0118 Finance The reported the following a. Payments and receipts against budget attached and circulated prior to meeting b. s Finance Report The had circulated a report prior to the meeting detailing payments and receipts for the FY and reported bank balances prior to the meeting of 13, The bank statements were checked against the report and initialled by AB. c. Authorisation of Payments - The presented invoices totalling for authorisation. Decision Two invoices were authorised and signed by PP but as there was no other signatory present. The to arrange for the cheque to be signed by another signatory in between meetings. SPC264/0118 s Update regarding urgent decisions since the last meeting None SPC265/0118 Correspondence An Information Folder for Councillors to read, sign and return was circulated containing. The folder from September was returned to the. Jan Received since December meeting:- All Cllrs 1. from SALC re. Precept referendums 2. Update from SALC re. GDPR survey and update from NALC re. Data Protection Officer 3. Letter from Suffolk Legal re. traffic regulations and alerts 4. re. Public consultation on merger of Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils 5. confirmation from ICO re. data protection registration 6. from SALC re. Buckingham Palace Garden Party 7. Local Cllr Magazine Issue 3 from SALC The advised that one of the items contained within the folder was the announcement from SCC regarding the new way that road closures are to be dealt with. In future, as the previous notification system is ceasing, anyone wishing to be alerted of road closures should register on the online tool, where you are given the option to choose any area and thereafter will receive an notification of any issue in that area. The advised that she has registered for the Parish of Somersham and encouraged everyone to do the same. to add to next newsletter Initials indicate approval -

4 SPC266/0118 Meetings Attended and Councillor Reports PP advised that she had attended the last SITA meeting and advised that there had been complaints made of a plastic smell following the restart after the last shutdown. She advised that nothing had been found as the cause and people are encouraged to report any smell immediately so it can be investigated properly. SPC267/0118 Matters to be brought to the attention of the Parish Council a) JC advised that a working party of volunteers had recently cleared the hedge and wood near the raised footpath alongside the playing field. Five trailer loads of debris were removed and thanks were given to the 16 volunteers. b) PP advised that there is surplus water running down from the VH to the Main Road. JC agreed to investigate with possibility of adding a drain/channel to help rectify the situation. JC SPC268/0118 To consider the exclusion of the public and press in the public interest for consideration of the following items: None Date of Next Meeting 7 th February Somersham Village Hall at 7.30pm Meeting closed at 9.02pm Chairman... Date Initials indicate approval -

5 Initials indicate approval -

6 Initials indicate approval -

7 Initials indicate approval -

8 Initials indicate approval -

9 Initials indicate approval -

10 Initials indicate approval -