13th December 2018

MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday 13th December 2018

PRESENT: Chairman N. MacDermid, Vice Chairman T Martin, Councillors A Dewsnip, S Riley, and C Dickinson. In attendance, 2 parishioners (including the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator (NWC))
Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs T Hall and J Locke.
1. Declaration of Interest and Notification of changes in the Members’ Register of Interest: None.
2. Public Participation session: None.
3. Minutes of the meeting held on 8th November 2018: Councillor Martin proposed the minutes to be a correct record, seconded by Councillor Riley. The Chairman then duly signed the minutes.
4. The NWC requested that his report be dealt with at this point and the Chairman agreed. There were two incidents to report, a burglary in Follifoot, thought to be at a showroom but with nothing stolen, and a theft from an unsecured car. Councillors then discussed the recent spate of “charity” collections in the village. There was some disquiet as to the status of these charities and the NWC had researched into the background of one particular body and had found that it did not have a licence. This has been reported to NYCC Trading Standards who were following up. The NWC then reported that his team was one member short and he needed a volunteer to cover the top west side of Main Street. Any volunteer should contact the NWC (Mike Hammond) or the Parish Council clerk, via follifootpc@gmail.com. The NWC will also advertise the vacancy via the Parish Facebook page.
The NWC left the meeting at this point.
5. Matters arising from the previous minutes:
a) Community Defibrillator – the Chairman reported that the training session, hosted by two Ambulance First Responders who were guests in the area, had been well attended. A further defibrillator training session, also including guidance on CPR, is planned for early in the new year. Councillors expressed their gratitude to the trainers and agreed a donation of £50 for this unfunded training. The Chairman agreed to act as custodian of the defibrillator and will carry out regular checks on the status of the equipment. The clerk has contacted a local electrician and it is hoped that the defibrillator will be installed and operational before Christmas. Cllr Martin suggested that the Parish Council should formally thank HBC and Harrogate Lions for enabling the provision of this valuable facility. Councillors agreed and the clerk will write to both HBC and the Lions to express the gratitude of the Parish Council.
b) Odour on Main Street. The clerk reported that he had contacted Yorkshire Water (YW) who confirmed that an inspection had been made in September and the technician had concluded that the unpleasant smell was emanating from the sewage pump of a local business. This pump has now been adopted by YW and the matter will therefore be dealt with as part of their regular operation.
c) Remembrance plaque. The clerk has arranged for the plaque to be installed in the bus shelter (which acts as the Village Memorial)
d) Governance – the clerk had circulated the updated governance documents, but councillors had not had sufficient time for in-depth review, so it was agreed that this matter be deferred until the January meeting.
6. Chairman’s communication – The Chairman reported that he had received a telephone enquiry about the bridleway. He had responded, setting out the Parish Council’s view and support for the move to extend the bridleway, but also stressing that the Parish Council had no active role to play.
7. Clerk’s correspondence received.
The clerk reported that he had received an invitation to attend a one day seminar in London at which regulatory changes to the application of Public Right of Way would be explained. The cost of the seminar was £245 and councillors felt that this cost (plus travel) was not warranted. The Chairman further observed that necessary detail on these changes would certainly be available via the internet.
8. Matters concerning Follifoot – Cllr Dewsnip reported that she had been made aware of a complaint from a resident over the unsatisfactory nature of the bus service, with buses either being missing from timetabled times or running very late. Other councillors confirmed similar experiences. The clerk will contact Connexions to make them aware of these issues. A councillor suggested that people should be made aware of the “RYGO” app from connexions.com, which provides very useful, current information about the bus service.
9. Matters concerning Plompton
Cllr Dewsnip reported that there had recently been an “orienteering” event which had involved the use of the temporary car park, and with charges being made for car parking. This activity does not seem to fall within the permitted use of this facility. The clerk will raise with the HBC Enforcement Officer.
10. Neighbourhood Watch – see item 4 above.
11. Village Up Keep
Some concern had been expressed about the quantity of dead leaves on the
roads and pavements throughout the village. Councillors did not feel that the
Parish Council could undertake any significant clearing of leaves and hoped
that householders would feel able to clear up those areas adjacent to their
properties. The clerk will, however, contact NYCC to ask for leaves to be
cleared where roadside drains were being blocked.
12. Highways – Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) Councillors discussed the recent
RTCs in the Parish, particularly the serious incident on the by-pass, involving
three vehicles. Whilst it was agreed that no action could be taken over isolated, individual occurrences such as this, councillors would like to explore
the statistical evidence of RTCs on the by-pass in recent times, to consider
whether there were any common themes which could be mitigated against in
the future. The clerk will contact NYCC Highways for this information. Cllr
Dewsnip had contacted NYCC Highways herself to report a large puddle
which had formed on the A616, adjacent to Plompton. She had previously
witnessed a number of accidents involving cars aquaplaning off the road into
a field, due to this accumulation of water. The clerk will also contact NYCC
Highways to request an inspection to ascertain whether a blocked drain could
be the cause of the puddle.
12. FOFWRAP/Follifields:
The Chairman reported that the transfer of FOFWRAP funds to the Parish
Council would take place to allow payment to be made for the purchase of the
exterior table tennis table. (Thanks were expressed to Cllr Paraskos for his
contribution of £2,000 from his Locality Budget, for this project and the
Chairman and clerk will complete the application form for this contribution)
13. Finance:
a) Balance at the bank on 30th November 2018, Current Account £2393.62 and Deposit Account £8094.73. – Monthly Budget – See Appendix 1.
b) Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 30th November was provided – see Appendix 2.
c) Expenditure – Unanimously agreed and authorised by two councillors.
A Hayhurst Gardening services £1200.00 Bank Transfer
Village handyman Village maintenance £427.50 Bank Transfer
Cardiac Services Defibrillator cabinet £162.00 Bank Transfer
A Dewsnip Remembrance wreath £22.98 Bank Transfer

Cllr Paraskos joined the meeting at this point, having been delayed at another
meeting.
d) Precept 2019/20 -The clerk circulated estimates of the main areas of
expenditure for 2019/20, including a provisional sum of £2,000.00 for Vehicle
Activated Signs. A spreadsheet showing the precept demand for the last 13
years was also circulated, allowing councillors the opportunity to consider the reasonableness of amounts demanded. Councillors discussed the expenditure and income estimates and it was resolved to apply for a precept of £10,500, an increase of £250 over 2018/19. Council expenditure would be supported by a contribution of some £1600 from Parish funds.
e) With regard to finance generally, the Chairman asked that all VAT reclaims be made in-year so that the annual accounts reflect the actual normal, yearly financial position, rather than being skewed by potentially large VAT reclaims applying to expenditure in the previous year (or years)

14. Planning:
a) Applications received during November
i. 18/04974/LB Park House, Pannal Road, Follifoot.
ii. 18/04839/FUL. The Fold, 11 Rudding Dower, Follifoot.
Councillors discussed and agreed to SUPPORT both the above applications.
15. There being no other business, the meeting closed at 8.50.

Date of next Parish Council Meeting:
7.30pm on 10th January 2019 in Follifoot Village Hall, Tofts Lane, Follifoot.