RIBBLE BANKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

HELD AT RATHMELL READING ROOM

ON TUESDAY 24th MARCH 2009 AT 1930

 

PRESENT.

Councillors - Dr.D.Clarke (Chair), Mr. R.Crabtree, Mrs.B. Houghton, Mr. I. Wright

 

IN ATTENDANCE.

Mr. D. Abbott (Clerk), 3 Members of the Public

 

24/3/1. WELCOME.  The Chair introduced and welcomed the new Clerk, Mr. David

Abbott.

 

24/3/2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.   Councillor Mr.F. Higginson, Mr.M. Dean

 

24/3/3. DECLARATION OF INTEREST.  There were no declarations of interest relevant to the agenda.

 

24/3/4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

24/3/4.1. Various people had received a copy of the revised “Gully Emptying Policy”, issued by Highways, Area 5, NYCC. NYCC were inviting observations on this revision, which was basically proposing to reduce the number of gullies that normally would be emptied twice a year, to just once a year in the Autumn/Winter months. The Clerk was asked to circulate Councillors with parts of the documentation relevant to this Parish, and then for Councillors to come back with any comments at the next meeting.

ACTION CLERK/COUNCILLORS

 

24/3/4.2. Concern was expressed that the new traffic mirror, located at the junction of the Long Preston road, was not functioning as well as its predecessor.

 

24/3/4.3. Concern was expressed at the partial collapse of Boggarts Barn adjacent to the highway on the Wigglesworth to Long Preston road (B6478).

 

The above issues will be brought to the attention of NYCC as part of the planned communication about ongoing highways issues.

ACTION CHAIR/CLERK

 

24/3/5.  MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING.

 The Chair thanked Councillor Crabtree for producing the minutes, in the absence of a Clerk. The Minutes of a Meeting held on 6th January 2009 were regarded as a true record, and signed by the Chair.

 

24/3/6.  A summary of Mr. Iveson’s presentation on alternative forms of Parish Council representation had been made available for Public consumption. No Councillor had received any comments back from parishioners on this matter. It was considered that the existing Grouped Parish Council was the most effective means of representing the communities currently covered by the Ribble Banks Parish Council and, therefore, Councillors AGREED to retain the status quo.

 

24/3/7.  FINANCES.

 

24/3/7.1. Current Balances. The Clerk tabled a statement showing the movement of funds since the last meeting, resulting in balances in the accounts at 28th February 2009 as follows:-

Deposit Account         £ 6331.08

Current Account         £ 2737.07

              Total           £ 9065.15 *

 

* This figure includes funds transferred from Wigglesworth Parish Meeting of £ 748.67, and £ 160.00 from Halton West Parish Meeting.

The Chair stated that the remaining funds from Rathmell Parish Meeting were expected to be transferred over shortly.

 

24/3/7.2. Year End Accounts. The Chair informed Councillors that Mazars (the external Auditors) had signed off the year end accounts for 2007/2008. Their report is available, should members of the public wish to see it on request to the Clerk.

 

24/3/7.3. Asset Register. The Chair stated that there was a need to review the asset register compiled in 2007. It was noted that some of Rathmell Parish’s tools were stored with a number of parishioners, and it was felt that it would be sensible to find a communal location to store all these tools, if that was possible.  It was also suggested that some of these tools appeared to be very little used.                

ACTION CHAIR/CLERK

 

24/3/8.  PLANNING MATTERS.

 

24/3/8.1 Askews’s Barn, Rathmell. The Chair had written to Craven District Council requesting them to state their position on the apparent default change of use of this barn. To date no reply had been received.

 

24/3/8.2. Application 59/2008/9275 Cappleside Cottages, Rathmell – conversion of one cottage back to two cottages. This has been approved by the CDC, with minor attaching conditions.

 

24/3/8.3. Application 72/2008/9277 Loscober Barn, Wigglesworth – change of use of agricultural land, retrospective change of use of former agricultural buildings, etc. This has been approved by the CDC, with a significant number of attaching and limiting conditions.

 

24/3/8.4. Application 31/2009/9438 Little Bank Farm, Rathmell – construction of a livestock building. Councillors were not aware of any opinions expressed by parishioners on this application, and they had no comments to make themselves.

 

24/3/8.5. Application 59/2008/9062 Millbeck, Rathmell – to replace two gable windows. This had been received too late for Councillors to make any comments.

 

24/3/8.6. Decision 05/2008/8911 West Thornber Farm, Wigglesworth – approved by the CDC, with minor attaching conditions. 

 

24/3/9.  FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.

 

The Chair had circulated an advice note from the Yorkshire Local Councils Association (YLCA), explaining that the Information Commissioner has drawn up a new model publication scheme, and a requirement for a Parish Council to complete and publish a “Guide to Proactively Published Information”. The primary aim of these changes is to ensure that the public is aware of what information the Parish Council will make available to the public, how it will be published or accessed, and what charges will be made to meet requests for copies of documentation.

The YLCA recommends that:-

a)  the Council  adopt the new Model Publication Scheme without modification, as this already has the Information Commissioner’s approval. If changes are made, or another scheme devised, then this would require the Council to obtain approval from the Information Commissioner. The Clerk is to obtain a copy of this model scheme, and circulate it to Councillors.                                                                    

ACTION CLERK

b) the Council should complete the “Guide to Proactively Published Information”. The Chair informed Councillors that he has prepared a draft of this guide, and he would circulate his suggestions to Councillors for their comments.

ACTION CHAIR/COUNCILLORS

 

24/3/10 REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

 

24/3/10.1. Settle Victoria Hall – a letter (dated 9-1-09) has been received from Settle Victoria Hall Committee stating that it was to lose some CDC financial support, and it was asking many organizations to consider making a donation to maintain this community facility. Subsequent to receiving this letter the Councillors were aware that the CDC had reinstated their financial support to the Hall, and so in the light of this the Councillors felt it would not be appropriate to make a donation from their limited funds.

The Clerk was asked to convey the Council’s decision.                      

ACTION CLERK

 

24/3/10.2. Tosside Community Hall. - a letter (dated14-1-09) has been received requesting a donation towards the cost of replacing their laptop computer and printer. After deliberation it was AGREED to donate £100. The Clerk was asked to notify Tosside Community Hall of their decision.                                          ACTION CLERK

                                                           - a further letter( also dated14-1-09) indicated that Tosside Community Link were looking at the possibility of extending the Village Hall’s car parking facilities, and would like to approach the Parish Council for a contribution towards the costs. The Chair has already replied to this letter, stating that they should make an approach to the Parish Council when things are at a more advanced stage, and to do this through Councillor Houghton, and to ensure that she was made familiar with the details of the scheme.

 

24/3/11.  REPORTS FROM COUNCILLORS AND COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES.

 

Halton West.

 An update on estimates for repointing of the War Memorial  and a repair of a collapsed wall close to the village green was awaited from Councillor Higginson

 

Rathmell.

 Councillor Crabtree reported that several parishioners had recently pruned a number of road side trees and relaid hedges that were overgrown in the Parish. The Clerk was asked to convey the Council’s appreciation to Mr.C.Weston, Mr.A.Procter, and Mr.A.Shepherd and the Young Farmers (Miss.A.Booth).                                              ACTION CLERK

 

 The Chair expressed disappointment at NYCC's response to the letter requesting a site visit to this area and for NYCC to undertake these works as a matter or urgency to improve road safety. The written response had not acknowledged the road safety issue or the request of a site visit and had offered no clear timescale for the required works.

 

Councillor Crabtree informed the meeting that Rathmell Church’s [ancient] heating system has reached the end of its useful life. As a result of ongoing financial commitments the Church was going to have extreme difficulty in finding any funds to replace the heating system. As a result the Church will have to go unheated.  In order to help preserve the fabric of the Church it was considering purchasing a dehumidifier at a cost of £650. As explained the Church already has financial difficulties in meeting its running costs, and was hoping that the Parish Council could consider making a donation for some or all of the cost of a humidifier. After due consideration it was agreed that this was a community facility that the Parish Council would wish to support at this time, and it was AGREED that subject to receiving a written and properly costed request for support, that the Council would contribute £500 towards the costs of the dehumidifier. Councillor Crabtree was asked to put forward a formal request from the Church in writing, supported by a quotation.                   

ACTION COUNCILLOR CRABTREE

 

Mr.R. Stone informed the Council that Rathmell Reading Room had secured a Grassroots Grant of £5000 from the Millennium Trust, to carry out an updating of the fabric and facilities of the Reading Room. He was also hopeful of getting some assistance from the Community Service Team in the redecoration of the Rooms.

 

Wigglesworth.

Councillor Clerk reported that a recent organized village walk visiting the Long Preston Wetlands project had raised £180 towards the cost of the Old School renovation project. Other fundraising events were planned.

 

24/3/12.  VILLAGE ENVIRONMENTS, RIGHTS OF WAY AND HIGHWAY MATTERS.

 

24/3/12.1. Gritting of Hesley Lane – the Chair reported that NYCC Highways Department had written stating that in their view the gritting priority of Hesley Lane should remain in the Category 3 bracket.

 

24/3/12.2. Flooding at Wigglesworth Junction – an inspection had been carried out, and drains were found to be collapsed. It was now a question of waiting for the remedial work to be carried out.

 

24/3/13.  CORRESPONDENCE

-         Letters of thanks have been received from Settle Swimming Pool and the Citizens Advice Bureau for the Council’s respective donations.

-         NYCC were carrying out a survey on local Flood Planning. Councillors were not aware of any local flood plan. The Chair has completed the survey form, and the Clerk was asked to return it.                                                   

      ACTION CLERK

-         The Chair asked for any comments on the “Getting Governance Right” leaflet, that he had circulated. His opinion was that the Parish Council was moving in the right direction with the adoption of standing orders and financial regulations during 2008, but some of the Standards Board recommendations needed to be progressed in the next 3-6 months. These include training for Councillors and the Clerk, and the adoption of Disciplinary , Grievance and Complaints Procedures policies. He proposed to consider the model policies available from NALC, and would look at these with the Clerk, with a view to putting forward some recommendations for approval at the next meeting.

      ACTION CHAIR/CLERK

-         The Craven District Council has drawn up a  revised local Development Framework (LDF) to replace the adopted Local Plan. The LDF intends to set out planning policies and land use designations (particularly with regard to housing and employment needs/targets). The CDC will be consulting with organizations and people in this updating process. Councillors were not aware of any proposed land designation in the Rathmell and Wigglesworth area at this point in time.

-         The Skipton and East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) were seeking support from the Parish Council, in their campaign to reinstate the missing rail link between Skipton and Colne. The Clerk was asked to write to SELRAP confirming that the Council was in support of their aims. 

      ACTION CLERK

-         The leaflet “Home Office Policing Pledge” was received and noted.

-         The “Gully Emptying Policy” statement from NYCC has been discussed earlier, in the Public Participation session.

-         It was noted that the Clerk was not able to attend the recent Parish Clerks Forum, due to a previous engagement

-         The Craven District Council Plan 2009/12 had been received too late to make any comments.

-         Various Register of Electors updates were noted.

-         Wigglesworth Parish Meeting minutes of a meeting held on 21st January 2009 were received

 

24/3/14.   ANY OTHER BUSINESS

 

24/3/14.1. Thomas Foster Charity - the Chair has asked Mr. Pemberton to provide a report of the AGM of the Charity.

 

24/3/14.2. Local Roads – Councillor Wright expressed concern at the general deterioration of many of the local roads. Councillors were asked to identify specific locations of any road where deterioration was considered to be serious enough to warrant NYCC intervention. The Clerk should be notified of locations and will work with the Chair to bring these to the attention of the highways department at NYCC. A map of the parish boundaries will also be sought.

ACTION:COUNCILLORS/CLERK

 

24/3/14.3. YLCA Subscriptions – Councillors approved the payment of the annual subscription (£185) to the YLCA.

 

24/3/14.4. Archives – the Chair noted that there was a need to establish somewhere for the Parish Council archival records and papers to be stored, as the volume was steadily increasing. Currently they are held by a number of people. It would also be appropriate to consider which papers/archives should be held. Views were expressed that the purchase of a couple of filing cabinets, and for these to be stored upstairs in the Reading Room could be a useful starting point. The Chair and Clerk would review the situation.                                                         

ACTION CHAIR/CLERK

 

24/3/14.5. Clerk Appointment – the Chair reported that he had informed various organizations of the appointment of a new Clerk, to whom correspondence should be addressed – the Bank, CDC, and YLCA.

 

24/3/15.  DATE OF NEXT MEETING.

The AGM and the next meeting will be held at 1930 hours, at Clark’s Old School, Wigglesworth, on Tuesday 19th May 2009.

 

Councillor Crabtree offered his apologies in advance of the meeting, stating that he will not be able to attend.

 

The meeting closed at 2120 hours