10th December 2020
MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday 10th December 2020
Remote meeting held by Zoom videoconferencing software, in accordance with Government guidelines.
PRESENT: ChairmanN MacDermid, Vice Chairman T Martin, Councillors A Dewsnip, C Dickinson, and T Hall. In attendance, M Richards (Clerk) and 3 residents.
1. Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Riley, who was unable to attend due to work commitments. Councillors accepted this as a valid reason for non-attendance.
2. Declaration of Interest and Notification of changes in the Members’
Register of Interest: None.
3. Public Participation session: The Chairman welcomed the three residents to the meeting and confirmed that they were able to comment on any issues raised.
4. Minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2020: Councillor Dickinson proposed the minutes to be a correct record, seconded by Councillor Dewsnip. The Chairman then duly signed the minutes.
- Matters arising from the previous minutes: Dealt with as part of the agenda.
- Chairman’s communications
a) The Chairman informed councillors of a request from a local resident to erect a bespoke, memorial bench, to be located at The Pound. Cllr Dewsnip asked if this was to replace the existing bench but in reply the Chairman confirmed it would be in addition. Councillors agreed to the request, and the Chairman will consult with Rudding Estates to ensure they had no objection, before notifying the resident. The bench will become the property of the Parish Council and be included on the Asset Register.
b) Plompton broadband. The Chairman had circulated his correspondence with Cllr Mackenzie, which showed that progress with improved broadband connectivity for the whole of Plompton is hopefully scheduled, but unfortunately with no fixed timescale as yet. Eric Ovenden, the Plompton residents’ lead on this issue, has been copied in to all correspondence.
c) Cllr Hall had informed the Chairman that he was in receipt of a sum of money from the film company which had been filming in Plompton and he was anxious that the money be properly accounted for. Accordingly, the Chairman suggested that the money be paid into the Parish Council’s bank account, but “ring-fenced” by the clerk in the Council’s ledger account (in the same way as the Follifields transferred funds) and be available for relevant expenditure in Plompton. Councillors agreed. A resident then asked about the possibility of the Parish Council contributing towards the upkeep of the road in Plompton. The Chairman responded that as this is a private road, in his view road maintenance would be the joint responsibility of residents. The clerk further advised that the Parish Council had no legal power for highways maintenance.
- Clerk’s correspondence received.
Parish Council policies. The clerk had circulated the internal auditor’s report on the two recently adopted policies. The auditor indicated his assessment of these policies as satisfactory but then recommended that each councillor be provided with a folder of all Council policies, for reference. Councillors discussed and agreed that the best solution would be for the clerk to provide an ”electronic file” containing all policies, for each councillor as well as maintaining a hard copy file, to be available at Council meetings. The Chairman added that the file of policies should also be available on the Parish website. The clerk will progress all necessary actions. - Follifields
a) Maintenance – the clerk confirmed that Playscheme had undertaken to replace the missing bolt caps referred to in the ROSPA inspection report (although he had not yet confirmed that action had been taken) The cutting back of the wildflower area has been completed and the contractor is continuing to carry out a fortnightly sanitising of play equipment.
b) Cllr Dewsnip confirmed that contributions for Follifields upkeep continued to be made via the Post Office donation box. - Traffic calming
a) Vehicle Activated Signs. The clerk had met with the NYCC Highways Officer and the optimum location for the VAS had been determined as lamp post no.5 on Pannal Road. This would give the best sight line for traffic coming into the village from the A658. If however, councillors wished for the “two-way” option (ie the ability to interchange between traffic entering and leaving the village, by reversing the equipment, lamp post no.6 would be the better option. After discussion, councillors agreed that, as the speed of traffic entering the village as recorded by last year’s speed test was the significant factor, the VAS should be located on lamp post no.5. The clerk then advised that he would obtain further quotations from the NYCC recommended suppliers, as previous quotes had been for solar powered equipment whilst it was now possible for directly connected mains supply on the lamp post.
b) Picket fences – Haggs Road. The clerk and Highways Officer concluded that, due to the narrowness of the verges on both sides of the road on the approach to the houses at the by-pass end of Haggs Road, there were only two possible locations for the installation of picket fences. One was the gateway opposite “Green Meadows” and the other being the entrance to the lane accessing the storage shed at Elm Gable. After discussion, councillors agreed that the latter location was the best option. The clerk will now pursue the best options for the supply and installation of picket fences with NYCC Highways. - Village maintenance
The clerk reported that the village notice board had been refurbished and was to be re-installed in the next couple of days.
11 Finance:
a)Balance at the bank on 30th November 2020, Current Account £715.39
and Deposit Account £25,000.00 (total £25,715.39) Bank statements to be initialled by the Chairman in confirmation, as part of his payment authorisation process.
b) Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 30th November was provided
with receipts and payments in the period 31st October to 30th November, reconciling to the account balances shown above at a) Councillors then unanimously agreed the amounts below for payment.
| M Richards | Clerk’s salary&arrears – Nov | £367.20 | Bank Transfer |
| HMRC | PAYE -Nov | £75.30 | Bank Transfer |
| M Richards | Clerk’s exps – 3rd quarter | £87.50 | Bank Transfer |
| S Bush | Follifields maintenance | £195.00 | Bank Transfer |
| M Richards | Print cartridges | £55.48 | Bank Transfer |
c) The Chairman ran through the budget spreadsheets explaining the updates
following the expenditure and income recorded above. The Parish Council
continues to be on track in accordance with the annual budget and councillors
had no issues or questions to raise.
12 Planning:
a) Applications Received
i) 20/04138/CLEUD – Application for a certificate of lawful development for the
existing use of land to establish its use as a separate dwelling house –
Laundry Cottage Plompton Square Knaresborough HG5 8LZ.
Cllr Hall explained the background to this application and councillors
discussed potential ramifications including possible concerns about additional
car parking in the Square. Cllr Hall reported that he was unaware of
any comments or objections from residents and, as councillors concluded
there did not appear to be any objections on planning grounds, it was agreed
to neither support nor object to the application.
ii) Prior notification for the erection of a field/storage shed – Tree Cottage,
Haggs Road, Spofforth. Councillors agreed to SUPPORT the application.
iii) Formation of new private access road into woodland, north of The Cottage,
Rudding Lane. Councillors agreed to SUPPORT the application.
b) Decisions
i) 20/03819/CLOPUD – erection of 2 storey rear extension, Aketon
Cottage, Spofforth Lane, Follifoot.- GRANTED
c) Other
i) Enforcement Notice – Land at Grid Reference 435085 453845
Plompton North Yorkshire ALLEGED BREACH: Siting of caravan for
residential use and containers being rented for storage purposes. PLANNING REF: 17/02122/PNA
ii) 20/01809/FUL – erection of pitched roof over existing flat roof
extensions, Greenacres, Pannal Road, Follifoot – PLANNING
APPLICATION REFUSED.
Councillors noted the above decisions.
13 Other matters
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 8.38pm.
Date of next Parish Council Meeting:
7.30pm on 14th January 2021, via Zoom, unless Government guidelines change to permit physical meetings.Then in Follifoot Village Hall, Tofts Lane,
Follifoot,