Minutes of the Annual Parish meeting held on Thursday 22 April 2010

  Present : Parish Councillors E. Bolton, U. Cansfield, T. Martin, B. Fisher (Chairman), N. Pettitt , C. Florance, B. Butler and 13 residents.

•  Apologies for absence : District Councillor C. Bayliss and P. C. M. Ayre.

•  Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 16.4.09 : Having been proposed by B. Butler and seconded by U. Cansfield, the Chairman signed the minutes as a correct record.

•  Matters arising from the minutes : There were none.

•  Chairman's report for 2009-2010 :
The Chairman read his report to the meeting. This outlined the activities of the Parish Council during the year. Thanks were extended to his fellow councillors for their work and support and the newly co-opted councillor, Nathan Pettitt was welcomed onto the council. Particular mention was made of Anne and Andy Dewsnip at the shop for their help and support to residents, especially the elderly. Some residents had been in attendance at every meeting and were thanked for their interest.

•  Financial report for the year to 31 March 2010 :
A paper describing the outturn for the financial year was available to those in attendance. The clerk stated that the sum of £ 6274.09 would be carried over to the new financial year.

•  Agenda items proposed by residents :

•  Salt bins : It was noted that two new bins would be in place at Leconfield Garth/Main Street and on Plompton Road for next winter. A resident asked if it would be possible to provide secure bins as salt had been removed from the existing bins by non-residents and also by residents for use on their own property. NYCC had been made aware of this happening and were asked to take it into account when reviewing the winter service.

•  Parked vehicles : Concerns expressed about drivers parking without consideration for others e.g. across driveways and obstructing junctions. It was noted that this was a problem on Pellentine Road and at the top of Main Street , especially at week-ends when the ‘bus driver was sometimes in difficulty when negotiating the Wetherby-bound turning. It was suggested that the Highway Code was not being observed. It was also proposed that double yellow lines might be placed at specific danger points in the village. The Parish Council had not favoured this approach in the past.

•  Speeding vehicles : Some residents thought that vehicles appeared not to observe the speed limit in the village and this included people living in Follifoot. It would be possible to establish this by requesting a speed survey from NYCC. A number of ideas were put forward including a 20 mph limit, ‘pinch points' at the restriction sign and moving the restriction signs further out of the village. The fear was that speeding increased the risk of accidents. It was stated that a Rural Safety Scheme had yet to be completed and this would involve traffic calming measures on Pannal Road and Spofforth Lane where ‘rumble' strips were to be installed.

•  Dog fouling : All villagers had received a letter and leaflet in the past year requesting that owners clear up after their dogs. It appears that fouling does not occur as frequently in the village as previously. The major problem currently is that owners scoop the dog faeces, and then dump the bagged waste alongside footpaths and in ditches.

The Chairman thanked residents for their contributions and stated that the Parish Council would consider ways to address the concerns they had expressed.

All were thanked for attending the meeting which concluded at 8.08 pm.