FOLLIFOOT WITH PLOMPTON PARISH COUNCIL  

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 20 May 2010

  Present : Parish Councillors U. Cansfield, T. Martin, B. Fisher (Chairman), B. Butler and one resident.

Apologies for absence : Parish Councillor E. Bolton, District Councillor C. Bayliss and P. C. M. Ayre

•  Elections:

•  Election of Chairman - U. Cansfield proposed B. Fisher and this was seconded by B. Butler. B. Fisher was duly elected and signed the declaration of acceptance of office.

•  Election of Vice-Chairman - T. Martin proposed B. Butler and this was seconded by N. Pettitt. B. Butler was duly elected.

•  Election of representative to the Village Hall committee - B. Fisher proposed B. Butler and this was seconded by U. Cansfield. B. Butler was duly elected.

•  Election of representatives to attend YLCA's meetings - B. Fisher proposed N. Pettitt and this was seconded by T. Martin. N. Pettitt was duly elected. It was agreed that the Clerk could also represent the Parish Council.

1. Declarations of interest in items on the agenda : There were none.
2. Public participation session : M. Hammond reported a large pothole on Spofforth Lane between Brookside House and the village sign. Action: Clerk to report this to NYCC Highways
3. Minutes of the meeting held on 22.4.10 : having been proposed by T. Martin and seconded by N. Pettitt, the Chairman signed the minutes as a correct record.
4. Matters arising from the minutes : the Clerk contacted the Dog Warden service and a meeting with the Parish Council will be arranged in due course.
5. Chairman's communications :

•  Parked vehicles and speeding in the village - P. C. Ayre visited the Chairman as he could not be present at the meeting. The matter would be dealt with at agenda item 12

•  Telephone kiosk - contact made with a lawyer to be reported at item 10

•  Yorkshire Water - an email received indicating that there would be a three week delay in installing odour meters at the agreed locations in the village. Foul odours were again apparent on Main Street . Action: Chairman to contact Yorkshire Water to state that the delay was unacceptable as problems were still evident and to demand remedial action. If there was no action by the next Parish Council meeting, then Environmental Health would be involved with a view to bringing a resolution to a situation that residents have had to endure for over 25 years. Rudding Park would also be informed.

1. Any matters concerning Plompton : There were none
2. Safer Neighbourhood profiles : T. Martin had collated the councillors' responses to the questionnaires. The Parish Council agreed that the summary could be forwarded to the Safer Neighbourhood team.
3. Telephone Kiosk, Main Street : The Chairman reported on his contact with a local lawyer who had looked at the contract to be signed with B. T. to effect the sale of the kiosk. He thought it was unproblematic and appropriate for the Chairman to sign. A legal agreement with the landowner was still required. The clerk had arranged for a notice to go in the Parish Magazine and had also written to the school requesting ideas for the use of the kiosk with a deadline of the end of July. Actions: Signed contract to be sent to B. T. and N. Pettitt to contact a solicitor with regard to drawing up an agreement with the landowner.
4. Participatory budgeting : The Clerk had contacted Rural Action Yorkshire as requested at the last meeting. The first phase of the pilot project required up to 5 councils to participate. There was £10,000 available to be shared between the councils and the monies would be released once schemes had been identified. Follifoot would not be included in the first phase as there were already sufficient volunteer councils. The pilot projects would be evaluated and if deemed successful and effective, another project would be launched in the autumn. Councils would need to actively promote and encourage involvement of their communities. Action: a small working group of councillors would be formed to develop some ideas and report back to the June meeting. Group members are B. Butler, N. Pettitt and T. Martin.

Highways :

•  Rural Safety Scheme - proposals for traffic calming measures at the entrance to Follifoot on Spofforth Lane and Pannal Road were considered and accepted by the Parish Council. The cost would be around £3000 and met through monies already allocated to the Parish Council from the Rural Safety Scheme budget.

•  Parking and speeding in Follifoot - P. C. Ayre was unable to attend the meeting but had sent an email outlining the Police position which was that they would have to demonstrate ‘beyond all reasonable doubt' that an unnecessary obstruction had been caused. Double yellow lines would be enforceable, but are not currently favoured by the Parish Council. Concern remains regarding the apparent excessive speed of some vehicles driven in the village. It was thought that it would be useful to wait until the traffic calming measures were in place before considering further action.

•  Horsepond Beck retaining wall - B. Butler had inspected the wall recently and wondered if it might be moving. It had been inspected in previous years by NYCC. Action: Clerk to request that NYCC conduct a further assessment of the wall.

1. Finance :

•  Balance at the bank - there was £ 9289.49 in the accounts. The first instalment of the precept and a VAT refund had been received amounting to £ 2850 and £ 47.04 respectively.

•  Request for authorisation of expenditure - £10 to Women's Institute for refreshments at the annual parish meeting; £ 35 to YLCA's for a councillor training course; £ 316.42 to Aon for the annual insurance premium; £ 25.47 to Jesper's for stationery and £ 237 to AWJoinery for maintenance of various village assets. Expenditure proposed by B. Butler and seconded by T. Martin.

•  Annual return: review the effectiveness of internal audit . The Parish Council considered that the terms of reference and plan for internal audit provided a clear brief for the internal auditor who conducted the twice yearly audit thoroughly and to its satisfaction.

•  Annual return: review the effectiveness of internal controls . The Parish Council gained assurance from the internal controls that were in place. These included written procedures, quarterly reconciliation of accounts and internal audit.

•  Annual return: assessment of the risks facing the Parish Council. Risks relating to public and employee liability were covered by insurance, financial loss was mitigated by financial regulations. Parish assets were maintained regularly but risks of injury to the public would be further reduced by an annual inspection of assets which would identify any items in need of repair.

1. Clerk's report and correspondence :

•  Local transport plan 2011-2016 - the Chairman agreed to complete a questionnaire on behalf of the Parish Council

•  Daffodil bulbs 2010 - one bag of bulbs on offer, to be accepted.

•  Planning application the School Room, Plompton Road - letter from G. Holden informing of the forthcoming application. The Parish Council decided to await the consultation process and plans from the local authority.

•  Commuted sums - information given on monies yet to be spent by tennis club and Village Hall, representatives made aware of this. £110 allocated to the village green Action Clerk to ask if money could be used for minor maintenance to the Saxon cross.

•  Plompton conservation area appraisal - public meeting at Plompton Hall on 10.6.10.

•  Papers received since the last meeting were circulated.

1. Planning :

•  Application 10/01445/FUL Scalibar Farm, Plompton for erection of two 15 m high wind turbines. The Parish Council had no objections to the application.

•  Application 09/05229/LB Dower House and Dower Cottage, Rudding Dower, Follifoot. Listed Building application for single storey front and side extensions and various internal alterations to form a single dwelling. The Parish Council had no objection to the application.

•  Application 10/01276/FUL ‘Alveston', Main Street , Follifoot for erection of front porch. The Parish Council had no objections to the application.

•  No further applications had been received.

•  Outcome of previous applications Approved : 13 Leconfield Garth for single and two storey rear extensions. 2 Springfields, Hillside for extension to rear dormer window. Refused : Unit 8, Follifoot Ridge Business Park for replacement industrial building.

1. Date of next meeting : Thursday 24 June 2010 at 8 pm.