SELLING PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT SELLING VILLAGE HALL ON 1 ST JUNE 2016 AT 8PM

Transcription

1 1 SELLING PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT SELLING VILLAGE HALL ON 1 ST JUNE 2016 AT 8PM In attendance were Cllrs Rehal, Webb, Cook, Elvy, Gibson, Saunders and seven members of the public. Before the meeting, Cllr Real read a letter of resignation from Mrs Shaw, the clerk, in which she offered one month s notice. Several council members expressed their sadness at the loss of the clerk, and praised the support and expertise she had provided for them during the first year of their membership. Open Forum 15 Minutes Members of the public objected to Agenda item 10, saying the public should be excluded at the end of the meeting, rather than the middle, and the Chairman acceded to their request. One member of the public wished to speak on Agenda items 7&8. There followed a vigorous discussion between members of the public and members of the council on the topic of the Chairman s style of council management, and the use of Article 10 of Standing Orders. The Chairman reminded the meeting that Article 10 applies to members of council and members of the public alike. 1. Apologies for Absence The clerk, Mrs Shaw, and Cllr Deal. [In the absence of the Clerk, Cllr Rehal nominated Cllr Webb to be the R.F.O. for the meeting; Cllr Gibson seconded, and the vote was 5-1 in favour, Cllr Saunders objecting and citing p34 of the Good Councillor s Guide. Cllr Rehal nominated Cllr Cook to take the minutes, Cllr Gibson seconded, and the vote in favour was 5-1 in favour, Cllr Saunders objecting on the grounds that she felt previous minutes taken by Cllr Cook were neither good nor clear.] 2. Declarations of Interest and Update to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests None 3. To Approve the Minutes of the 4 th & 20 th May 2016 and Matters Arising May 4th: Item 4/3; Cllr Saunders objected to the phrase accused the Clerk of not doing her research as prejudicial. Cllr Cook agreed to change the sentence to read said that the clerk had not done her research. Item 4/3 Matters Arising; The clerk has responded that it is not her job to do research. Items 5/5 & 6; Cllr Saunders said that the minutes were inaccurate and the phrasing inflammatory, especially those referring to Cllr Deal leaving the meeting. Cllr Cook apologised and agreed to replace the phrasing with Cllr Deal s verbatim comment, I m going. I have better things to do with my life. 5/5 Matters arising; Cllr Saunders requested a copy of documents relating to Complaints Procedure, as she feels she was unfairly dismissed from the meeting. May 20th Item 4 Matters Arising; Cllr Saunders expressed concern that there were now two R.F.O.s as the Chairman had asked Cllr Webb to be RFO for this meeting, when he himself had already been nominated as RFO for the accounts at the last meeting. Cllr Rehal said it was entirely proper to elect an RFO for a single purpose, such as being the person to whom the public could apply to inspect the accounts, and another to be the RFO for another council meeting. 4. Finance Matters (i) To approve the following payments: SSE Energy Street Lights May DD SSE Contracting Maintenance May

2 2 McCabe Ford Williams Operation of Paye HMRC PAYE S. Shaw Stationery & Expenses Cllr Rehal proposed the accounts be accepted, Cllr Webb seconded the proposal. Cllr Saunders objected to the Clerk s expenses, approached the Chair and asked to see the minute book. After being shown the book, she asked to examine the chequebook, and was asked by the Chairman to return to her seat. On being put to the vote, the proposal was carried by 5 votes in favour and 1 against. (ii) In the event of the Internal Auditor being able to inspect the accounts before 1 st June To note the report and take any action required on Accounts The Clerk is to meet the new Internal Auditor on June 3 rd and has asked Cllr Webb to be present at the meeting. The Auditor will then report, and the accounts will be on the noticeboards by June 6 th. Cllr Saunders asked to meet the new Auditor, and Cllr Rehal informed her it was not part of the process. (iii) To approve the draft level of reserves and payments sheet There were no objections, and the vote to accept the draft level of reserves and payments was unanimous. (iv) Defibrillator To report current situation. The owner of Sandbanks Farm has met with Mr White, the supplier of the defibrillator, and the installation is on track. (v) To consider donation to Swale Citizens Advice. Swale Citizens Advice has approached all parish councils for donations. All councillors recognised the importance of their work and agreed that a donation should be made. Cllr Saunders proposed Selling PC donate 100, Cllr Webb seconded the proposal, and the vote in favour was unanimous. (vi) Update on village celebration for the Queen s 90 th birthday Cllr Rehal said KCC had approved road closures from Vicarage Lane to Selling Court between 10am and 4pm on Sunday June 12 th. Cllr Cook reported that all but 30 of 200 tickets had already gone to residents, and the rest were expected to go before the weekend. Cllr Saunders objected to the Street Party on the grounds that she hadn t seen any costings. Cllr Webb referred to the advertisement for the event in the Parish Newsletter, proposed the Newsletter content be approved, and Cllr Rehal seconded the proposal. Cllr Saunders objected on the grounds that the Newsletter should be a separate agenda item and that two issues were being conflated. Cllr Elvy objected to wording on Page 4 of the newsletter. Being put to the vote, the proposal was carried by 4 votes to 2. (vii) Staff Pensions Having spoken again with KALC and our accountants, it appears that as we do not have any employees under pensionable age, the form completed last year which registered our HMRC number with the Pensions Regulator, automatically places us in the NEST until such time when we do have an eligible employee. Our Accountants have also advised the Pensions Regulator that there are no employees that currently need to be registered at this time. 5. Parish Council Members Responsibilities and Representation on Outside Bodies Selling Village Hall, Selling School, Perry Wood, Highways, PROW, Consultation Document Reader, Kent Association of Local Councils/Outside Bodies, Mid Kent Downs, Responsible Financial Officer.

3 3 The following councillors were elected by a unanimous vote to undertake the following responsibilities, and represent the PC on the following bodies: Cllr Rehal - Friends of Perry Wood Cllr Elvy - Selling School Cllr Gibson - Highways Cllr Deal - PROW Cllr Cook. - Consultation Document Reader After objections from Cllr Saunders, Cllr Rehal proposed Cllr Webb as the Selling Village Hall representative, Cllr Cook seconded, and the vote was 5 to 1 in favour. Cllr Saunders volunteered to be the KALC representative, and was elected by 4 votes with 2 abstentions. Reports; Selling Village Hall; Cllr Webb read a report of the 2015 AGM and an outline of its activities. Highways: Cllr Gibson reported on the signs in the Selling Station area and said she was waiting for a letter regarding the traffic organisation. She said she had received complaints that the roadside verges needed cutting back to improve visibility, and that she was in touch with Amicus with regard to painting the garages at Neames Forstal. Complaints of dog-fouling had been received, and the dog-warden had been called out. She said that poo-bins were needed, and that they would cost the PC nothing. Cllr Saunders reminded the meeting that no resolutions can be made on a Reports item, and Cllr Webb reminded Cllr Saunders that Standing Orders have been changed to accommodate this. Cllr Gibson was given the go-ahead to investigate acquiring the bins. She then asked permission to look into acquiring road signs indicating the roads were used by walkers, and said that we had been refused speed restriction signs because, to date, there had not been enough deaths on the roads to justify it. Councillors expressed their dismay at this information and agreed with Cllr Gibson that we need to challenge KCC on the issue. Cllr Webb commented that when the Parish Plan is developed and published, this should be an area of great concern. Cllr Elvy said that only 16 questionnaires regarding the naming of the area had been returned, and the data contained was in the process of collation to be presented at the next meeting, and said there was indication of support for the suggested name changes. Cllr Webb offered to change the page of the Parish Newsletter that was of concern to Cllr Elvy. KALC: Cllr Saunders reported she had attended a talk given by SB Cllr Bowles, and would forward a written account to councillors. There were no other reports. 6. Planning Matters (i) Alleged Breaches of Planning: (1) Use of land opposite Station Cottages, Crouch Lane, Selling (2) Sandbanks Farm, Village Room, Perry Wood, Selling. Requested by a member. Cllr Rehal reported that the Clerk had no information regarding the above, and that he had spoken with the Planning Officer and had nothing to report either. Cllr Saunders restated her belief that it was the Clerk s duty to investigate these matters, and said there was an enforcement notice on Sandbanks Farm. (ii) To consider any planning applications received since publication of the agenda The following had been received. 16/503600/FULL 2, Sycamore Cottages, Hogbens Hill, Selling Erection of a single story rear extension, with rooflight together with associated works. Cllr Webb said he had examined the plans online, but found them a little unclear. He felt it was a rather large extension that overshadowed No.1 Sycamore cottages, and proposed we accept the

4 application with the condition that the neighbours views be taken most seriously. Cllr Saunders said that any discussion of this item was illegitimate, as the item itself was illegitimate, being submitted after the publication of the agenda and an improper item. Cllr Rehal replied that he had ruled otherwise, and that the discussion was legal. Cllr Elvy seconded the proposal and the vote in favour was carried by 5 to Parish Plan Update Cllr Webb reported that all information contained in the survey has been handed to the council. Cllr Gibson stressed the urgency of formulating a proper parish plan based on the information received, and proposed an extraordinary meeting to discuss this. Cllr Rehal seconded the proposal. Cllr Webb then suggested an amendment to the proposal, saying that the plan was more of a development process rather than a single issue to be voted on. Cllr Rehal then proposed that a working group should be set up, to the purpose of developing a Parish Plan. Cllr Saunders objected on the grounds that a] this was not an agenda item and therefore not eligible for a proposal and b] that she wished the information to be presented to the public before the council acted upon it. Cllr Webb said that all information had already been made available to the public, both in the published survey results and at the Annual Parish Meeting. Cllr Cook seconded Cllr Rehal s proposal, and the vote in favour was carried by 5 to 1. The meeting was suspended to allow a member of the public to speak. Mr Woollet expressed his view that all information regarding the Parish Plan should be in the public domain and stressed the need for SPC to act within the Swale Plan as outlined in Bearing Fruits, a revised version of which is to be published on June 16 th. Cllr Webb repeated his statement that information already was in the public domain, and suggested there might be a degree of confusion between a parish plan and a Neighbourhood plan. He said that parish plans are unique to small authorities. Cllr Saunders asked if the parish plan steering group had been disbanded, and Cllr Gibson replied they were waiting on the PC to take over development of the plan before doing so. Cllr Saunders then wanted to know if the plan was mandatory, and Cllr Webb told her it was entirely voluntary. Cllr Gibson said that the value of these plans lay in the fact that KCC actually took notice of their findings. 8. Recreation Ground Update Mr Woollet repeated his request for all information regarding this to be in the public domain, and Cllr Webb repeated his assertion that it already was and that it has always been the case. Cllr Webb reported that the survey results had been given to both landowners for their opinions. He reported that Dennis Evans offer of land remained unchanged, and that he was meeting with Josh Berry late on Friday afternoon. Cllr Gibson asked Cllr Saunders why she had approached Josh Berry seeking to discuss the issue with him privately, and Cllr Saunders said she didn t know what Cllr Gibson was talking about. Regarding the meeting set up between Cllr Webb and Josh Berry, Cllr Saunders said she objected to one member of the PC doing this on their own. Cllr Webb said he was tired of the constant suggestions from Cllr Saunders that the clerk and the councillors were stupid, incompetent and dishonest, and that if Cllr Saunders had any genuine complaints, she should send them to the Monitoring Officer. The Chairman said that Cllr Webb had been given authority to everything he was doing. Cllr Saunders said she wanted to see every single document that exists relating to the playground. Cllr Webb replied that the playground survey was privately undertaken by a group of residents who were under no restraints or obligations, but that he was happy to show her all documents. 9. To Consider Change of day for Parish Council Meetings The Chairman stated that, historically, the 1 st Wednesday of the month was chosen for council meetings because of the limited availability of the Village Hall. He said that Thursday evenings had now become available and asked if councillors wished to change their calendar. After a brief discussion, Cllr Rehal proposed the calendar should remain unchanged, Cllr Webb seconded and the vote in favour was unanimous. 4

5 5 The following item should be taken with the press and public excluded 10. Staffing This item was deferred until the end. 11. Correspondence, Publications and other Matters of Importance Letter from Ashford BC confirming that an order has been made to divert PROW AE5 Circulation Folder: Came & Co Council Matters, Copy of Countryside Voice, Kent Voice, Clerks & Councils Direct, Kent Area Ramblers re Footpath Wardens Cllr Rehal advised the meeting that the following eight items had been requested by Cllr Saunders the afternoon prior to the Clerk posting the agenda, in contravention of Standing Order 4, which stipulates agenda items need to be offered for inclusion at least 8 clear days before publication. However, he said the Clerk had agreed to include the items out of the goodness of her heart. 12 To consider the need to undertake a Community Resilience Emergency Plan for Selling residents (as per KALC s recent introductory workshop for Kent-based parish councillors). Cllr Saunders gave an explanation of the CRE plan, through which communities may equip themselves to deal with emergencies such as flooding, hurricanes and major accidents. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that SPC would pursue the idea. 13: To confirm councillors and electors unfettered rights of access to all parish council documents in the public domain that are not published online, but must be made available on request. Cllr Saunders complained that all documents relating to council matters are not universally available and cited the lack of information for those people who are not on the internet. Cllr Rehal responded that if documents were available online, then it was the personal responsibility of individuals to inform themselves. Cllr Gibson asked why the minutes were not in the Parish Magazine and was told the magazine only had space for a highly edited precis. 14 To consider employing a properly trained and accredited Locum Clerk to administer council business and attend council meetings to take minutes and advise on legalities and financial transactions on behalf of Selling Parish Council and in the interests of all Selling residents during the continued absence due to illness of the full-time Clerk. Cllr Saunders said she had written to KALC asking for a locum clerk for the occasions when our own clerk is absent due to continuing illness. Cllr Rehal replied that there is no such thing as a pool of locum clerks available from KALC. He said that while it was most desirable to have a clerk, and that we were at a disadvantage without one, it was not illegal to operate without one. Cllr Saunders proposed that SPC advertise for a locum Clerk. There was no second to the proposal. As the time was 9.58 pm, the Chairman advised council that the meeting must close, and that the remaining agenda items requested by Cllr Saunders should be carried forward to the next meeting. The date of the next meeting was not confirmed due to uncertainty of some councillors availability. Signed... Date...