RIBBLE BANKS PARISH COUNCIL
Draft
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
HELD AT
ON WEDNESDAY 3rd JUNE 2009 AT 1930
PRESENT.
Councillors - Dr.D.Clarke
(Chair), Mr.F.Higginson, Mr. I. Wright
IN ATTENDANCE.
Mr. D. Abbott (Clerk), Mr.
K.Gerrard (Internal Auditor), 4 Members of the Public
09/10. APOLOGIES FOR
ABSENCE.
Councillors Mr.R.Crabtree, Mrs.B.Houghton
O9/11. DECLARATION OF
INTEREST.
There were no declarations of interest
relevant to the agenda.
09/12. CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS
No items were regarded as
confidential.
09/13. PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
Mr. R.Stone briefly explained
that Rathmell Reading Room is currently facing an insurance claim from a
postman who claimed that he injured himself, whilst delivering letters, by
slipping on the Reading Room car park.
As a consequence the insurance company was recommending that the
condition of the car park should be reviewed.
It was AGREED to take
this item for discussion at the end of the meeting.
09/14. MINUTES OF THE LAST
MEETING.
The minutes of a meeting held
on 24th March 2009 were regarded as true record, and signed by the
Chair.
09/15. MATTERS ARISING.
09/15.1 Minute 24/3/4.1.
NYCC Gully Emptying Policy - the
Chair reported that this item had been discussed at the recent Wigglesworth Parish
Meeting, and there was no inclination to seek to alter the NYCC’s proposed
programme of cleaning gullies in the area. There were no further comments to
add to this.
09/15.2. Minute 24/3/9.
Model Policy Publication Scheme - the
Chair explained that all Councils were required to adopt a Policy regarding
their commitment to making information available to the public, as part of its
normal business activities. The policy for consideration was a model scheme
approved by the Information Commissioner; any other wording would require the
approval of the Information Commissioner before it could be adopted. Following
discussion the Model Policy was APPROVED.
09/15.3.Minute 24/3/9.
Guide to Proactively Published Information – the Chair explained that the Council was also required to explain to
the public what information was going to be published, how the public would be
able to access that information, what it would cost(if anything), etc. The
Chair and Clerk had taken a copy of a “Model Guide to Information Available”
and filled in the various sections with the detail that they believed best
represented the Parish Council’s position, and this was tabled for discussion.
It was explained that Ribble Banks was a small Parish Council, and it would not
be expected to match the information and policies that much larger Councils
would have to make available. There were concerns expressed that this was yet
another responsibility placed on Councils, but the thinking behind it was
understood, as was the requirement for all councils to provide the information
identified under the Freedom of Information Act. The Council APPROVED
the proposed Guide. It was AGREED that the Policy and Guide should be
placed on the Village websites, and also posted on the Village notice boards
for a period of one month. ACTION
CLERK
09/15.4. Minute
24/3/13. Disciplinary and Grievance
Policies – the Clerk took the Council
through the Briefing Paper that he had prepared, explaining that as an employer
the Council was recommended to have formal Disciplinary and Grievance Policies,
reflecting up to date legislation. It was explained that certain key provisions
of the Employment Act 2008 had come into force in April 2009. NALC has not yet
been able to incorporate these changes into their model policies, but in
consultation with YLCA it is understood that this will happen in due course. As
an interim measure it is recommended that the Council
agrees to work within or be guided by the ACAS Code of Practice and Guidance on Disciplinary and
Grievance Procedures dated April 2009. This action would be consistent with the
appropriate clauses in the Clerk’s contract of employment. When YLCA issue
revised policies then these could be tabled for adoption in the future. The
proposal to work within or be guided by the ACAS Codes was AGREED.
09/15.5. Minute 24/314.4.
Archives – the Clerk had investigated
the potential costs of various forms of document storage with a number of
suppliers. Inevitably it comes down to what format is required and what quality
of unit, and in his experience he would not recommend purchasing filing
cabinets without seeing them first, as quality was so variable. Mr. Stone confirmed
that storage space could be made available at the Rathmell Reading Rooms for
filing cabinets. After discussion it was felt that 2 x 4 drawer filing cabinets
would be appropriate, and the Clerk was authorised to spend up to £400 in this
exercise. ACTION
CLERK
It was also accepted that
there would have to be some agreement on what needed to be archived, and for
how long. The Clerk was asked to see if he could check the legal requirements
for retention of accounts and minutes and come up with guidelines.
ACTION CLERK
09/16. FINANCE
09/16.1. Current Bank
Balances. The Clerk tabled a
statement showing the movement of funds since the year end, and the balances as
at 30th April were as follows:-
Deposit Account £6332.90
Current Account £3678.57
Total Funds £10,011.47*
*This includes balance of
funds from Wigglesworth Parish Meeting of £633.67 and from Halton West Parish
Meeting of £160.00.
09/16.2. Minute 24/3/7.3
Asset Register – the Chair confirmed
that the Asset Register would be reviewed during this current year.
09/16.3. Payments – several payments received authorisation, and
cheques were signed at the end of the meeting.
09/17. PLANNING MATTERS
09/17.1. Minute 24/3/8.1.
Askews’s Barn, Rathmell – the Chair
reported that he was still awaiting a reply to his letters on this subject,
from CDC. It was noted that in previous communication from
CDC, dated 4th December 2006 and addressed to Mr. T.J.Chapman,
Solicitor acting on behalf of Mr. Campbell, that the Chief Executive of the
District Council “considered the matter closed”.
09/17.2. Application
31/2009/9438 Little Bank Farm, Rathmell
– this has been approved by CDC, with minor attaching conditions.
09/17.3. Application
72/2009/9694 Lane Side Farm, Wigglesworth – demolition of a number of derelict outbuildings and the construction
of a single story side extension. The Chair explained that this had been
discussed at the recent Wigglesworth Parish Meeting and there had been no
objections raised to this application. The Parish Council also had no comments
to make, and the Clerk was asked to inform CDC accordingly.
ACTION CLERK
09/17.4 It
was AGREED that the Clerk would be given delegated authority to speak on
behalf of the Parish Council on such matters as responses to Planning
Applications.
The Clerk had obtained a copy
of the map that showed the area covered by the Ribble Banks Parish Council.
Copies of this map were handed out to those present at the meeting.
09/18. REPORTS FROM
COUNCILLORS AND COUNCIL
REPRESENTATIVES.
Halton West.
Cllr. Higginson agreed to
chase up the notes of the Parish Meeting that was held recently, and convey the
message that notes should be lodged with the Parish Council soon after a Parish
Meeting has been held. ACTION CLLR.HIGGINSON
Rathmell.
It was reported that heavy
lorries would be going through the village for a number of months, as the gas
pipeline company had to return to relay drainage systems that were not
functioning correctly.
Wigglesworth.
It was reported that the
Council had repaired the drains outside Ribblesdale Cottages, and that no
further problems of flooding had been experienced.
The Chair reported that the
village campaign to raise funds to carry out the redevelopment of the
09/19. VILLAGE
ENVIRONMENT, RIGHTS OF WAY AND HIGHWAY MATTERS.
09/19.1. It was AGREED that the Clerk would write to
the Highways department expressing concern over:-
- the need for a traffic
mirror at
- the collapsed walls near
Boggarts Barn, on the B6478.
- the broken road edge on
- the break up of the road
surface outside
09/20. CORRESPONDENCE.
The Clerk drew to the
attention of Councillors items on the correspondence list that required their
deliberations, and also additional items of correspondence received since the
list was circulated. Items of note are as follows:-
-
C09/7a - Request
from Tosside Community for assistance towards the cost of establishing a
website. AGREED that the Parish Council would contribute £100.
ACTION
CLERK
-
C09/19 -
consultation paper on CDC’s proposal to change the electoral cycle for the
Council and Parish Councils in the district. This Parish Council concluded
after discussions that they did not support the proposal for change, and the
Chair AGREED to respond to the consultation paper on behalf of the
Parish Council.
ACTION CHAIR
-
C09/22 – It was AGREED
not to pay a subscription to Rural Action Yorkshire
-
C09/27-
consultation paper from CDC with proposals to change the frequencies of
domestic waste collections, and other associated proposals. A number of points were put forward
expressing doubts in the belief that fortnightly collections(in place of weekly
collections) would encourage people to re-cycle waste, it was felt that
fortnightly collections would encourage vermin, that different household circumstances
needed to be taken account in
determining the frequency of collections, etc. A number of points were also
raised regarding facilitating the opportunities for, and encouraging,
re-cycling in the villages. The Chair AGREED to respond on behalf of the
Parish Council with a summary of the points raised in the discussions on this
item. ACTION
CHAIR.
-
C09/29 – the date
of the next CDC Forum Meeting at Settle Victoria Hall on the 18th
June 2009 was noted. It was AGREED that this information should be
posted on the village notice boards. ACTION CLERK.
09/21. ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
09/21.1. - Annual Parish
Meetings – these had been held in all
villages, and so far the notes of the Rathmell Parish Meeting have been
received. The notes of the other village meetings were awaited.
09/21.2. - Long
09/21.3. – Rathmell
Reading Room Car Park - Mr. Stone
explained in more detail the insurance claim submitted by the injured postman,
and the concerns raised by the Insurance Company regarding the state of the
Reading Room car park, and the implications of its current and future use, and
associated risks. Mr. Stone, as Chairman of the Reading Room Management
Committee, and following the advice of the insurers, felt that it was necessary
to take urgent and appropriate actions as a consequence of this claim. These
actions include: writing to the Post Office informing them that in future they
were not to park their vehicles on the Reading Room car park, and not to use
the gate from the car park to Rose Lea house for the delivery of letters and
parcels. He also intended to obtain quotations for the clearing, leveling and
re-gravelling of the car park. He was asking the Parish Council to agree to
provide funding for this exercise up to a value of £1200, but he did not expect
that the costs would be that high. After discussions it was AGREED that
the Parish Council would provide a grant to support these emergency repair
measures for a sum of up to £1200, provided that quotations were obtained and
submitted to the Council for approval in advance of any work being carried out,
and that should such work be approved and carried out that a copy of the
invoice should be passed to the Council for their records. ACTION
MR. STONE
09/22. DATES OF FUTURE
MEETINGS
Next Meeting 21st July 2009 at Rathmell (agreed after the meeting following
consultation with Councillors
on their availability)
22nd September
2009 at Wigglesworth (subject to building project)
24th November 2009
at Rathmell
12th January 2010
- venue to be confirmed. Meeting to agree precept.
15th March 2010 at
Rathmell
17th May 2010 -
venue to be confirmed.
The meeting closed at 2150.