Groby Parish Council

Transcription

1 Groby Parish Council Minutes of the Meeting of Groby Parish Council held at 7.00pm on Monday 4 th July 2011 at the Parish Council Chamber, Leicester Road, Groby Cou/038/11-12 Present. Members: Cllr.R. Fraser (Chairman), Cllr. J. Batty, Cllr. P. Batty, Cllr. Beck, Cllr. Coley, Cllr. Emmerson, Cllr. Ghai, Cllr.Jones, Cllr. Lindsay, Cllr. Marvin, Cllr. McCausland, and Cllr. Yarwood. Three (3) members of the Public were present. Cou/039/11-12 Apologies for Absence Apologies had been received from, Cllr. Hollick, and Borough Councillor Cartwright. These were noted by the Council. Cou/040/11-12 Declarations of Interest No declarations of interest were raised. Cou/041/11-12 Minutes. RESOLVED, unanimously with three abstentions (Cllr.Coley, Cllr. Lindsay and Cllr. Marvin) due to not being present at the last meeting, that the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 6 th June 2011 be accepted and signed as a true record subject to the following amendments Page 13 : Cou/029/11-12 Parish Council owned land Permit for use paragraphs 28 and 30, replace the word scurrilous with the word scandalous. Page 14 : Cou/029/11-12 Parish Council owned land Permit for use paragraph 38, replace the word scurrilous with the word scandalous. Cou/042/11-12 Clerk s Report The Clerk advised the members as follows : BMX track-update: Concrete bins were now in place and have been added to the Blaby DC listing for emptying. The Youth Shelter signs stating anti-climb paint had been ripped off and replacements had been ordered. Village Sign: following the unveiling of the first sign on Thursday 30 th June outside Groby Community College, the sign maker was due to erect the remaining oak post and install the other two signs by 6 th July The Clerk further advised that the sign maker had only received a 10% deposit for the signs so far and was requesting payment of the balance as soon as possible, preferably by 4 th July 2011 as he had had the signs ready for a while and that the installation had been delayed due to the Council deferring until the school exams had taken place and an official ceremony involving the school children could be arranged. The Clerk informed the members that she had, only as recent as the morning of 4 th July 2011, received notification from LCC, via Jill Howe the local Inspector, that the sign outside Groby Community College was not of the correct height. The Clerk informed the sign maker and was advised that he was not prepared to remove the oak posts and re-install longer posts, but that he would attempt to raise the height of the two remaining signs at no additional cost to the Council if the balance of payment was received forthwith. The Clerk indicated to the members the diagram that the sign maker had sent to the Council which showed the dimensions and which had been forwarded to Robert Kane of LCC Highways as requested by him to facilitate the granting of the three licences required to erect the signs. The Clerk informed the members that at no time had LCC or Mr Kane advised the Council that the sign was not of the correct height. Cllr. Yarwood enquired if the sign maker had been given the specification from LCC, to which the Clerk replied that she would have to investigate further and would advise accordingly. Cllr. Yarwood stated that if the sign maker had been given the specification from LCC then the Council would be in a position to make recommendations to the sign maker with regards to all three village signs. 19

2 Cllr. P Batty stated that he had not been impressed with the installation of the sign at Groby Community College which had been installed using soft wood and had not been treated or stained the same as the oak post. Cllr. P Batty further advised that he had little faith in the making good of the other two signs in regards to an increase in height if that was how the first sign had been installed. Cllr. P Batty stated that the Council were paying a lot of money for these signs and he would have expected someone of his (sign maker) calibre to be aware of the minimum height requirements when installing signs due to the number of signs he stated he had erected when the Council made the decision to award him the commission for the village signs. Proposed by Cllr. P Batty, seconded by Cllr. McCausland, and RESOLVED, 8 votes for, 2 against, and 2 abstentions, that the payment of the village signs is withheld until such time as investigations are made with regards to the specification, and that the matter be discussed at the Finance & General Purposes Committee Meeting to be held on Monday 11 th July 2011 for recommendation to the Council. Travellers government consultation: as the consultation period had been extended to the 6 th August 2011 the Clerk proposed that an additional planning meeting for all councillors to attend to discuss these proposals should take place. RESOLVED, unanimously, to include this topic as an agenda item for the Planning & Development Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 13 th July Dates for Diaries: Carols around the Tree : Advised by Rev. Louise Cork - 20 th December 2011 and Hinckley & Bosworth District Committee: AGM 20 th July 2011 at 7.00 pm at Shakerston Village Hall. Community Trust: the Clerk had been advised by Josiah Hincks of two routes open to the trust to create either a Trust or a Community Interest Company (CIC), the costs to incorporate the CIC being including the drafting of the Articles of Association; or to create a trust Deed which would probably cost in the region of 750 +VAT. The Clerk advised that a provisional date for a Community Trust Meeting in the Village Hall had been arranged for Thursday evening 8th September 2011 at 6.30 pm. Request for use of Chambers Northern Parish Crime & Safety Forum: RESOLVED, unanimously to offer the Chambers for the use of the above group on Monday 12 th September 2011 at 7.00 pm. Cemetery Key Holding: advised that the contract was up for renewal at a cost of 250 p.a. The Clerk further advised that she had been made aware that the keys presently held by the company did not unlock all the areas and that if a call-out took place, a further call would need to be made to the Sexton to attend who had a full set of working keys. Proposed by Cllr. Jones, seconded by Cllr. P Batty and RESOLVED, not to renew the key holding contract for the next ensuing year and that the Sexton and the Chairman of the Emergency Committee hold a set of working keys and that the alarm contractor for the Cemetery is made aware of the change in key holding. Local Council Website: the Clerk advised that LCC were proposing to introduce an annual charge as from April 2012 of VAT for a Council with a precept over 75,000. It would be fixed for 2 years until Further advised that if the Council did not accept the charges then the service would cease. A reply was required by 30/09/2011. RESOLVED, unanimously that the Clerk investigate with the previous web site designers, Greenwave, if the current site could be transferred back to them and at what cost. Village Green Hearing: the Clerk advised the members of the hearing that took place over 2 days in June at LCC HQ, which had been attended by Cllr. P Batty, acting as the Council s advocate, in addition to Cllr. McCausland and the Clerk. The Clerk stated that the Inspector had been somewhat surprised at the lack of witnesses on behalf of Groby Parish Council, and that the Inspector had been very accommodating in that there were only three in attendance from the Council facing off at least seven objectors and their Barrister and witnesses. Cllr. Fraser offered his thanks to those who attended the hearing. At 7.45pm the Chairman suspended Standing Orders and adjourned the meeting for a period not exceeding 30 minutes to receive reports from representatives of outside bodies and to include a short period of public participation. Cou/043/11-12 Police Report PC Kelly gave a verbal report concerning the crime figures for June

3 GROBY ASB incidents 2 Non-domestic assaults 3 Burglary Dwelling 1 Attempted burglary - Dwelling 0 Burglary OTD 1 Attempted Burglary OTD 0 Damage 1 Damage to Motor vehicle 3 Other Crimes 7 Theft 2 Theft from Motor Vehicle 2 Theft of Motor Vehicle 0 TOTAL 22 Crimes FIELD HEAD 0 TOTAL 22 A discussion took place regarding the recent traveller incursion at Field Head, and Cllr. P Batty stated that it was an excellent example of co-operation between the Police, the Parish and Borough Council and the landowner. PC Kelly further informed the members that APR cameras were in operation in the village so that the Police could monitor the nominals that were passing in and out of the area. [PC Kelly left the meeting at 7.55 pm] Cou/044/11-12 County Councillor s Reports A written report had been circulated to members from County Cllr. Sprason. This was noted by the members. [Cllr. Sprason joined the meeting at 7.56 pm] A brief discussion followed with regards to the topic for discussion at the next Community Forum, notably the matter of the Charnwood Forest Regional Park. Cllr. Yarwood enquired of the Big Society grant and if there was anything that the Grants Committee could look at. Cllr, Sprason stated that the grant would not fund a project but would help to develop a project, ie. monies towards compiling a business plan, etc. Cllr. Fraser gave a verbal report and stated that the matter of street lighting was already on the agenda and would therefore be discussed later. Cou/045/11-12 Borough Councillor s Reports A written report had been circulated to members from Borough Cllr. P. Batty. These were noted by the members. Cou/046/11-12 Public Participation At 8.00 pm the Chairman suspended Standing Orders and adjourned the meeting for a period not exceeding 15 minutes for a period of public participation. Cllr. Jones enquired as to why the grassed area in the children s play area at Marina Park had not been cut and when was the missing swing going to be replaced. The Clerk advised that she would make enquiries of the contractor with regards to the grass cutting and stated that the swing was being replaced as soon as its replacement had been received. The Clerk further advised the members that the swing had been taken out of commission following the recent playground safety inspection, whereby two swings had been declared high risk and were to be removed immediately. The Clerk informed the meeting that of the two replacements, one had proved faulty and had to be returned. Cllr. Jones further enquired of the rubbish in the brook at the back of the houses at Marina Park and also of 21

4 the brook, believed to be at Brookvale Cottages. The Clerk advised that she would advise the gate-lockers to make themselves available to clear the rubbish at the back of the houses at Marina Park and that the area of Brookvale Cottages would be investigated as to ownership. Cllr. Yarwood enquired of the street lighting and was informed by Cllr. Fraser that the matter was an item on the Agenda and would be dealt with accordingly. Standing orders were re-instated at 8.10 pm. Cou/047/11-12 Northern Parish Crime & Safety Forum Report Cllr. McCausland gave a report on his attendance at the Northern Parishes Crime & Safety Forum on Monday 27 th June 2011 which was circulated to all members present. It was proposed by the Chairman that item 15 on the agenda be bought forward for discussion. RESOLVED, to bring forward item 15 on the agenda. Cou/048/11-12 Planning & Development Committee The minutes of the Planning and Development Committee meeting held on Wednesday 15 th June 2011 were duly noted. Cou/049/11-12 Street Lighting Cllr. Yarwood stated that numerous s had been exchanged between himself and Cllr. P Batty regarding the subject of whether or not the Parish Council had been consulted following an article that had been reported in the Leicester Mercury relating to the lights having been switched off completely after having fully consulted and had the full agreement of Parish Councils in the LCC area. Cllr. Yarwood enquired of the Clerk if the resolution from the meeting of the 6 th June 2011 had been carried out. The Clerk advised Cllr.Yarwood that she had invited Lesley Pendleton to send a representative to the next Parish Council meeting to offer an explanation in view of the comments by the Lead Member of the Environment in the Leicester Mercury article. The Clerk further advised that she had not received a response to this invite. Cllr. Fraser interjected and stated that he had spoken directly with Lesley Pendleton and that she had received the invite but would not be attending, but that she would be available for selected members to come and talk to her directly about the matter. {At 8.27 pm Cllr. Sprason left the meeting] Cou/050/11-12 Payment of Accounts. Amounts paid since last meeting/submitted for approval: Payee Details Amount Date Paid Cheque No. HMRC Tax & National Insurance BACS Broker Network Ltd Annual insurance Various June salaries BACS HBBC Office & Cemetery Rates D. DEBIT Groby Village Hall Quarterly rent S. ORDER Cash Petty cash Scribe 2000 Ltd Software licence Riggotts BMX car park markings AquAid Water

5 White Lodge Groundcare Monthly groundcare, Rural & Verge cuts & Cemetery extn field Mower fuel & card fee Shell UK Oil Products Ltd Henton & Chattell Hedge cutter & Chain saw Ltd Arco Ltd Parks consumables & PPE wear MAP Waste Skip empty Granart Kerb inscription Mike B's Security Locksmith Ltd Groby & Field Head Spotlight ESPO Parks consumables Advertising First aid kits, Stationery, BMX bins & Parks consumables Groby Computers Computer maintenance Ltd P Barratt Nursery vouchers for tree donations Nuneaton Signs Ltd Village sign tree plaques Playsafety Ltd Annual site inspection x Wicksteed Leisure Ltd Inspection risk assessment , Amounts received since last meeting. Name Details Amount Date paid HSBC Money Market monthly interest HBBC Parish Community & Initiative Fund Grant Groby Resident Cemetery Fees LCC Contribution towards Quarry Park roadway LCC Legal fees for transfer of land Anstey & District Funeral Services Ltd adjacent to Martinshaw CP school Cemetery Fees Total 14, RESOLVED, unanimously, to approve the payment of accounts schedule as set out above. Cou/051/11-12 Correspondence. The Clerk presented the list of correspondence which had been received by the Council. The full list had been included in members packs for the meeting. These were noted by the members. Cou/052/11-12 Parks & Cemetery Committee The Clerk informed the members that it had been brought to her attention that the formation of the Parks & Cemetery Committee membership at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on Monday 16 th May 2011 had not been carried out in the same manner as the formation of membership to the other Standing Committees, in that formal nominations had not been requested. Cllr. Fraser invited nominations to the membership of the Parks & Cemetery Committee as follows : Nominated Cllr. Beck proposed by Cllr. Jones, seconded by Cllr. Emmerson Nominated Cllr. Marvin proposed by Cllr. P Batty, seconded by Cllr. Ghai Nominated Cllr. Lindsay proposed by Cllr. McCausland, seconded by Cllr. J Batty 23

6 Nominated Cllr. Emmerson proposed by Cllr. Beck, seconded by Cllr. McCausland Nominated Cllr. J Batty proposed by Cllr. Marvin, seconded by Cllr. Lindsay All those nominated accepted the nomination and a vote took place, indicated by a show of hands, and the results were as follows : Cllr. Beck 5 Cllr. Marvin 10 Cllr. Lindsay 9 Cllr. Emmerson 12 Cllr. J Batty 8 RESOLVED, that the membership of the Parks & Cemetery Committee be as follows : Parks and Cemetery Committee. Cllr. P Batty (Chairman) Cllr.J Batty Cllr.Emmerson Cllr.Lindsay Cllr.Marvin Cllr. Beck stated that she did not understand why she could not be included as an additional member of the Parks & Cemetery Committee, and enquired as to why the membership could not be increased. A brief discussion followed and Cllr. Fraser informed the members to vote on the matter. Proposed by Cllr. Jones, seconded by Cllr. Yarwood to increase the membership of the Parks & Cemetery Committee. A vote took place and it was RESOLVED, 5 for and 6 against to increase the membership of the Parks & Cemetery Committee. Cllr,P Batty advised the Chairman respecting Cllr. Jones contravening the Code of Conduct with regards to the use of bad language whilst the meeting was in session. Cllr. Beck enquired of the members why a note had been passed round to some members at the Annual General Meeting of the Council on Monday 16 th May 2011 which allegedly asked a question as to why Cllr. Beck was on the Parks & Cemetery Committee. The Chairman moved the meeting on and Cllr. P Batty presented the recommendations from the Parks & Cemetery Committee Meeting held on Monday 13 th June RECOMMENDED, that the Clerk arrange a Quarry Working party meeting and invite Simon Smith to an exploratory meeting; arrange specialist drainage contractors to visit Quarry Park with a view to discussing the drainage problems The Clerk advised that drainage contractors had been identified and dates for visits were being arranged; arrange an allotment site visit re boundary fencing / tree felling The Clerk advised that this had been carried out on Tues 28/6/11 recommendation had been to re-instate the boundary fencing at the entrance to the left, clear the passage way at the back of the houses as a one-off, and that the fencing off Highfields Rd needed maintenance work; to arrange with Cllr.Hollick to look into more tree planting Stamford Memorial Park; to liaise with Jamie West regarding additional seating at BMX similar to Youth Shelter construction; to patch tarmac on the BMX track where it had become damaged due to use before the track had time to dry out thoroughly The Clerk advised that the Sexton had completed the repair; to source a dovecote from GRP due to the UPVC manufacturer was not taking orders at this time due to refurbishment of their premises; to request a copy of the latest accounts from Groby in Bloom The Clerk advised that had been received 30/6/2011 where representatives have attended meetings of Outside Bodies a report to be given to the Council at the next available meeting. 24

7 to make all Councillors aware of the Data Controller procedures as per ICO the Clerk advised that all Councillors had been notified via 13 th June to bring the matter of Bye-Laws back to the table for discussion and that Cllr.Coley was the lead on this issue. Cllr. Ghai informed the members that he had received communications from the football team who had received the permit to play on Quarry Park, that they were having problems with regards to the storage of the newly purchased goal posts. Cllr. Ghai stated the Scout Group had requested 250 for the safe storage of the posts and that the team were not in a financial position to be able to fulfil this request. Cllr. Ghai advised that he was willing to draft a document between the football team and the scouts with regards to a deposit if any damage occurred. Cllr, P Batty advised that he would speak with the Scout leader and see if he could ascertain from him what the problem was in regards to storing the goal posts. Cou/053/11-12 On-Street Parking Deficit Cllr. Fraser gave a brief report respecting this matter which had been touched upon in the report from Borough Councillor P.Batty, a copy of which had been circulated to all members at the meeting. Cllr.P Batty stated that they were the initial proposals and that the Council would need to make representations when a formal consultation is announced. Cou/054/11-12 Financial Quarterly Review The Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee, Cllr Yarwood had prepared a report and the RFO had provided the quarterly figures for review, together with an analysis of the movement of ear-marked reserved monies for the quarter, April to June 2011; these had been circulated to the members prior to the meeting. A member of the Council enquired as to when the Xerscape equipment would be installed at Quarry park. Cllr. P Batty, Chairman of the Parks & Cemetery Committee, advised that until clarification had been received from HBBC with regards to what maintenance encompasses within the Section 106 guidelines, locating the Xerscape equipment depended upon what monies were available to fund a new children s play area that would stand adjacent to the Xerscape equipment and the whole area then fenced off. Cllr. P Batty stated that additional monies were available from Section 106 funds and advised the members of the monies available from the Section 106 fund. Cllr. P Batty further advised the members regarding the original 40,000 ear-marked reserves for the BMX project which had been replaced with Section 106 monies of 40, The Clerk and RFO offered a further explanation as to the ear-marked reserves stating that the original 40,000 had been distributed to indicate a movement in reserves of 25,000 to facilitate the purchase of the land off Newtown Linford Lane, and the remainder had been set aside under the heading of General Projects. Cllr. Yarwood stated that he had not been advised of these alterations as Chairman of the Finance & General Purposes Committee and why was Cllr. P Batty aware of these matters and not him. The Clerk advised that the members had all been made aware of this alteration at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting of the Council held on 19 th April 2011 when the matter of the Community Trust and purchase of the land off Newtown Linford Lane had been the subject of a resolution by the Council. The question of the deficit on the BMX project was asked of the Clerk and RFO, who replied that the deficit was merely because the grant from the Parish Community Initiative Fund (PCIF) had not been received at the time the figures were compiled, and that it had since been received and the BMX project now had a small surplus of funds. Cllr. Yarwood advised that further funding needed to be made available to fund the wish list and that this was something that the Grants Committee should be looking at, Cou/055/11-12 Outstanding Council Resolutions A list had been included in the members packs for the meeting. These were noted by the members. 25

8 Proposed that a Snow Warden Working Party was formed and Cllrs. J Batty, Lindsay and Coley put their names forward for membership. Recommended that the Clerk propose suitable dates for a meeting. Recommended to the Clerk to follow up the issue of the shrine on Sacheverell Way and write again to Mr Lugg of LCC attaching a photograph of the stone indicating again the replacement of the memorial stone on the site with a much larger stone had taken place without any consultation with the Parish Council, and despite assertions that a reply would be forthcoming, no reply as yet had been received. Cou/056/11-12 Car Sales at Field Head Cllr. P Batty had provided a Borough Councillor s Report for the meeting which had indicated the issue of car sales at Field Head. A brief discussion followed and it was RESOLVED to defer the matter to the next meeting of the Council for an up-date. Standing orders were suspended at 9.45 pm for a period of 5 minutes to allow members a short pause before the next item on the Agenda Standing Orders were re-instated at 9.50 pm. Cou/057/11-12 Co-Option Meeting RESOLVED, unanimously, to exclude the public and press from the meeting under the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 for the reason that the nature of the business being discussed was of a confidential nature. Cou/058/11-12 Date of Next Meeting. The date of the next scheduled meeting was confirmed as Monday 11 th July 2011 at 6.45pm The meeting closed at pm. Signed.. Chairman Date... 26

9 Groby Parish Council Closed Session Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 4th July 2011 at the Parish Council Chamber, Leicester Road, Groby Cou/057/11-12 Co-option Meeting The Chairman re-instated Standing Orders at 9.50 pm. The Chairman introduced the item and gave a synopsis of the proposal for the co-option process for next Monday s co-option meeting. The Clerk read out a list of the candidates who had expressed an interest in the vacancy and subsequently forwarded to the Council Offices a copy of their resume. The Clerk stated that she would a list of the applicants to all Councillors. Cllr. Yarwood stated that as there were two (2) former Councillors on the list of applicants, interviewing them would be wasting valuable time. Cllr. Lindsay refuted the notion and stated that for openness and transparency all nine applicants should be interviewed in a similar manner. Proposed by Cllr. Fraser, seconded by Cllr. McCausland, and RESOLVED, unanimously that an Extra Ordinary Meeting would be called for Monday 11 th July 2011 with the sole item on the agenda being the co-option interviews, and with a start time of 6.45 pm to allow for introductions prior to a strict regime of 5 minutes for the candidate and 10 minutes for questions and answers from the Council. At 10.00pm the Chairman moved Standing Order 44 to allow the meeting to continue for a further 10 minutes. Discussions followed with regards to the number and type of question to be asked of each candidate and which Councillor would be the question-master for the interviews, thus avoiding a free-for-all and allowing the interviews to be concluded in one meeting. RESOLVED, unanimously that the following questions be asked of each and every candidate : 1. Why are you interested in becoming a Parish Councillor? 2. Tell us a bit about yourself - Do you have any particular skills or interests? 3. Why do you want to serve the local community and what would you hope to achieve in your first year as a Councillor? 4. Are you willing, if successfully appointed, to allow an address, telephone number and address to be published to allow accessibility by the public. RESOLVED, unanimously, that Cllr. Coley be question-master for the Co-option meeting. The meeting closed at pm. 27