13th April 2017annual

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on
Thursday 13th April 2017

PRESENT: Chairman N. MacDermid, Vice Chairman T. Martin, Councillors’ J. Hinchcliffe, A, Dewsnip, T. Hall and P. Cresswell, Internal Auditor M. Kettlewell, Neighbourhood Coordinator M. Hammond, and several residents.

1. Apologies: Apologies received and accepted from Councillor Andrade.
2. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 14th April 2016: Minutes approved and items included in the Chairmen’s report.
3. Reports:
a) Financial report for the year to 31 March 2017 – The clerk gave the financial report. All accounts were available to view.
b) Chairman’s report for 2016/17 – The chairman gave his annual report. He welcomed the attendees. He expressed thanks to the Clerk for her continued support and work. He thanked former Councillor Elspeth Jones for her time and contribution as a Councillor. With thanks also given to the Internal Auditor Margaret Kettlewell for her years of service and wished her well in the future, as she had given notice. Thanks were given to Anne and Andy Dewsnip for their continued support to the village and residents. John Chilton was thanked for his work in posting the minutes and Follifoot news in the Harrogate Advertiser. The chairman informed the meeting that Bill Todd is no longer publisher for the Parish Magazine, he expressed thanks for all the work he had done over the last several years. Steve Smith was thanked for his work in maintaining the village website. The new District Councillor Andy Paraskos was thanked for his support.
The chairman said there had been twenty-seven planning applications over the year, with two major applications, one on Spofforth Lane and the other on The Garth. He said no decision by HBC Planning on either application had been made. The chairman said FOFWRAP had done an excellent job and were well organised and supported. He said they had worked hard to secure Planning Permission and the lease of the land on behalf of the Parish Council and the Community. They had submitted a grant application to WREN (Supported by Rudding Park Hotel and continue to raise for the project. The chairman expressed his thanks to Sam Gallimore and team. He said Mark of Rudding Estate had supported the project and for this the Parish Council was extremely grateful.
The continuous village maintenance was mentioned and the work of the village handy person. He said another litter pick had been organised for 23rd April at 2pm. Dog Fouling and disposal of the dog mess was raised, as this is a continuous problem in and around Follifoot. The permissive footpaths owner has complained to the parish council and if the situation does not improve will consider closing the permissive paths.
The chairman highlighted that Road Safety continues to be a problem in and around the village. He said the Parish Council had contacted North Yorkshire Highways Department regarding Rudding Lane and they had carried out some tests and said the accidents and statistics do not demonstrate that any action needs to be taken, but are continuing to monitor the situation. The Parish Council had also requested Follifoot became a 20mph zone, but due to the current financial constraints and statistics North Yorkshire County Council were not willing to change the speed limit.
Methods of communications were mentioned, the chairman said the noticeboard, website, mailchimp, Facebook and Harrogate Advertiser were all ways the Parish Council communicated with residents. He said installation of Wi-Fi in the village hall was a great asset to the village hall and the parish council. The parish council have shared the expense with the village hall.
He said he the Parish Council are still aware certain areas of the parish still do not have acceptable broadband speeds, despite the efforts of Plompton resident and councillor Hinchcliffe. The situation was discussed.
The chairman explained the financial increase in Council Tax bill. The Parish Council share was an 8.3% increase year on year, this is approximately £4.22 per household and has been increased to this level to help support the Recreation & Play area .
4. Follifields and FOFWRAP – The chair gave an update on Follifields and the work of FOFWRAP. She explained the planning application was successful and the lease had been signed. The group and Parish Council had selected Playscheme to provide the equipment. An application for a grant for £35,000 had been submitted to WREN and a decision is scheduled to be received in May. She said they held fund raising events, which had been well supported. She explained the group are currently looking into the field being ploughed and reseeded. She thanked the Parish Council for their support.
5. Village Hall – The chairman said the Village Hall had recently been granted planning permission to replace the doors and improve the outside area. He said Wi-Fi had been installed in the village hall and the Parish Council have supported the installation and will be sharing the cost with the Village Hall.
6. Keeping Follifoot Tidy – The chairman said the resident of the old Pannal Road had done an excellent job improving the area. He said if any other residents are considering improving the area where they live they should come and talk to the Parish Council for support.
He said everyone is welcome to come and help at the Village Litter Pick will be held on 23rd April 2017 at 2pm and there will be free sweets for all volunteers.
7. Discussion of items proposed by residents
a) Neighbourhood Watch – Mike Hammond gave a report on Neighbourhood Watch over the year. He said in March there had been some external burglaries where bikes and lawnmowers had been stolen. He said scams continue to be a problem and reminded everyone not to give people you don’t know your bank details. He said anything suspicious should be reported to your bank. Peddling without a licence was discussed; he said he would clarify the rules on ‘Cold Callers’ and religious groups calling.
A resident suggested the Parish Council considered the benefits of the installation of CCTV at the three entry points into the village; it was unclear what the legalities of such a scheme would be it was agreed the clerk would make enquiries.

Next Annual Parish Meeting: April 2018, in Follifoot Village Hall.