ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
Thursday 16th July 2009 at 7.15 pm in the Red House
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 16th July 2009 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.
PRESENT: Cllrs. P Lusk (Chair), D Beechey (Vice Chair), G Beechey, R Blincoe,
M Holden, R Kidson, P Illes, D Johnson, D Murray, M Pate, S Pate, S Pledger.
CLERK: M Ward.
PUBLIC SESSION:
No members of the public were in attendance.
Cllrs. R Balkwill, N Hester, J Nelson.
Personal:
Cllr. Lusk declared a personal interest in item 13
Cllr. Kidson declared a personal interest in item 5
Cllr. M Pate declared a personal interest in item 18
Prejudicial:
Cllr. G Beechey declared a prejudicial interest in item 17
Cllr. M Pate declared a prejudicial interest in item 17
Cllr. S Pate declared a prejudicial interest in item 17
Minutes of Parish Council meeting 18th June 2009:
Cllr. D Beechey proposed that the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. M Pate and unanimously approved.
Minutes of the Parish Council planning meeting of 2nd July 2009:
The sentence in item 6 Update on Loak Road Sports Ground which read “Cllr. Beechey seconded this proposal which was approved by the Council” was amended to read “Cllr. Beechey seconded the Chair’s proposal which was approved by the Council”.
With this amendment Cllr. M Pate proposed that the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Blincoe and unanimously approved by the Council.
Leisure partnership meeting 24th June 2009:
The notes of the meeting were received and noted.
Members agreed that an agenda item “Councillors’ Reports” would be placed on future agendas.
Cllr. M Pate has had correspondence with Hugh Dannatt of Shropshire Council and Mr. Len Warrilow, Chair of Albrighton Primary School governors, regarding the congestion in Cross Road at the beginning and end of the school day. It had been agreed that a meeting would take place in early September which would include a visit to the area at the start of the school day. Cllr. Pledger reported that the traffic was so bad that residents’ bins had not been emptied on 16th July because the refuse lorry could not drive down Newhouse Lane.
Cllr. G Beechey asked about the meeting with Inspector Dunn regarding detection rates. The Chair reported that the meeting had had to be cancelled as the suggested date was not convenient and it was in the process of being rearranged. Cllrs. D Beechey, Blincoe, Holden and Pledger volunteered to attend on behalf of the Council.
5, PLANNING:
Planning applications:
No objections.
No objections although the neighbours needed consulting on this application.
No objections.
Cllr. M Pate informed Council that the Express and Star had reported that the army regiment originally supposed to be stationed at Cosford was now being based at Stafford.
CSO Jackie Fletcher was in attendance and she distributed the latest police statistics which showed increases in burglary at dwellings and criminal damage at the nature reserve and school while some areas showed a reduction including robbery and theft. Arrests had been made in some cases.
Cllr. Kidson asked about the higher detection rates in Shifnal than Albrighton and asked whether increased resources in Shifnal were playing a part in this success. The number of officers in the area had risen to 11 from 5. Cllr Pledger enquired about the policing of carnivals and was told that the police had no direct involvement in the management of traffic.
Cllr. M Pate reported that Shropshire Council had that afternoon agreed an interim affordable housing strategy. It was an important document with far reaching consequences which will need to comply with the Regional Spatial Strategy.
Cllr. Pate had been elected Chairman of Shropshire Council and he was Chairman of the Shropshire Pension Fund. A new Chief Executive was being appointed at the end of July.
The first Local Joint Committee had met on 22nd July 2009 and Cllr. M Pate had been elected as Chairman and Cllr. Lusk elected as Vice Chairman. Cllr. M Pate felt that it had been a positive meeting conducted in a constructive atmosphere. Cllr. Kidson said that he had been told there had been difficulties for some participants in hearing the discussions which had covered all of the major issues which were currently the business of the parish council. It had been agreed that Veolia would attend the next meeting and the committee was considering a new name with The Albrighton and District Local Joint Committee the current favourite.
The Chair suggested that the council should invite the Shropshire Housing Group to either the September or October meeting and this was agreed.
1st Quarter Bank Reconciliation:
Cllr. M Pate proposed that the bank reconciliation be accepted which was seconded by Cllr. Johnson and unanimously agreed. The accounts for the Parish Flyer would be made available for the Flyer committee as required in the future.
Cheques for approval;
The list of 19 cheques was considered by the Council. Cllr. D Beechey proposed that they be approved which was seconded by Cllr. Johnson and unanimously agreed by the Council.
The Chair reported that the skip in the Crown car park had been removed and the one in Abney Avenue was due to go any day. The rubbish had been taken away which had included some fly tipping from Telford and elsewhere. Cllr. Beechey had written to Shropshire Council about instituting a kerbside collection to meet the obvious demand for plastics recycling and he would write to Veolia suggesting they install a bring back skip. Cllr. Illes felt that the Council would be criticised for withdrawing the service and suggested that an extra compaction skip in August might be useful.
The Chair suggested that these matters be thoroughly aired when Veolia came to the next LJC meeting.
The programme for highways maintenance in Albrighton had been distributed. Cllr. M Pate said it was important that the roads and footpaths were properly restored when the Barhale/Severn Trent flood alleviation works were completed next month and he suggested that the county be reminded of their obligations in this respect.
Resolved: The Clerk write to Mr. Phil Crosland reminding Shropshire Council of their commitment to restore the roads and footpaths following the completion of the flood alleviation scheme in August 2009.
The Chair explained that the lease with Barhale had now expired but the required three months notice had not been given so Barhale will occupy the premises until three months after such notice is given. The Barhale works were due to be completed by the end of August. Problems regarding disabled access at the present premises had been identified by representatives of Shropshire Customer Access Point, who might consider a joint lease with the Parish Council. The cost of providing disabled access could be high which might deter the County from using the current office. Cllr M Pate suggested the old library/ Portman Building Society building which was now available, a suggestion that was supported by Cllr. Pledger, and other sites were available in the village for immediate use. Cllr. Pledger felt that there some difficulties for the Council in renting a property owned by a Council member.
Cllr. Kidson went through his report and said that the meeting of 24th June 2009 had been conducted in a good spirit and the one urgent item was the refurbishment of the cricket club building. He recommended joint funding with Donington Parish Council using earmarked funds for leisure. Cllr. Blincoe asked for further consideration to be given to the re-siting of the table tennis club at the cricket ground, a move that was supported by Cllr. D Beechey. Cllr. Kidson informed members that the TCB had a marked interest in any new arrangement which would have to meet with their approval and Cllr. G Beechey was anxious that a possible joint project should not slow down the improvements to the changing facilities at the club. Cllr. Lusk was minded to give his support and investigate the possibilities through further discussion which Cllrs. Kidson and Blincoe promised to conduct. This suggestion was agreed by the Council.
A Youth Council had also been proposed and a draft constitution was needed. Cllrs. Kidson and Lusk agreed to take the matter forward.
Cllr. Kidson also reported that two Donington Councillors had expressed a wish to withdraw from the Joint Leisure Partnership on the grounds that Albrighton Parish Council had agreed some funding without reference to the committee. He asked for support for five resolutions which were numbered a – e in his report as follows:
The motion was seconded by Cllr. D Beechey and all of the resolutions were agreed by the Council.
Donington Council had asked for a list of guests to be invited to the approbation ceremony on 12th September 2009. Members agreed that the following should be invited:
DEVELOPMENT:
A draft letter had been circulated prior to the meeting. The Council were pleased to support the contents without amendment.
Resolved: The Clerk to send a copy of the letter to Shropshire Council.
16. DRAFT RESPONSE TO THE SALC VISIONS AND VALUES
CONSULTATION:
A draft response had been produced by Cllr. D Beechey and circulated to members. It was agreed without amendment.
Resolved: The Clerk to send a copy of the response to SALC.
Councillors considered the letter from the Red House management committee asking for £3768.00 additional funding to meet the projected shortfall for phase 1 development. The committee also wishes the CCTV equipment to be moved to a smaller room in the Red House which would cost £3179.75. It had been suggested that the new room could also be used for the storage of Parish Council archives and paperwork but it would not be suitable for a Parish Office which needed to be on the High Street. Cllr. Murray proposed that the Council should support the request for an extra £3,768 subject to the CCTV being satisfactorily relocated in a room which was exclusively used by the Parish Council. The motion was seconded by Cllr. Kidson and unanimously agreed.
Cllr. Holden expressed concern at some unfortunate statements contained in a recent issue of the Parish Magazine and Cllr. Kidson felt that the Red House committee should produce a statement of the vision and values of the organisation so that everyone could understand its purpose and its objectives.
Cllr. Kidson reported some vandalism at the skateboard park and it was agreed to refer the matter to Mr. David Cobham together with the selection of a waste bin to be made available outside the park. The clerk was authorised to order the selected bin.
Cllr. Blincoe reported that it had been agreed that the moving of the CCTV equipment inside the Red House was possible but a new quotation had been received for £3179.75. Cllr. Blincoe was confident that a subsidy would be available from the South Shropshire Safety partnership.
19. CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk was asked to respond to the letter about helicopter noise saying that members felt it was not an issue locally.
A letter had been received from the Chair of the Civic Society asking for the village green roads to be resurfaced and the lime trees to be cut back. Cllr. M Pate proposed that the Council should obtain quotations for the work prior to a phased programme. The motion was seconded by Cllr. Kidson and agreed by the Council.
A request for a grant for the swimming club was referred to the Joint Leisure Partnership and it was agreed that Cllrs. Kidson, Lusk and D Beechey would go over the play area inspection report with Carolyn Healey. The Clerk was asked to write to Shropshire Council asking for a vehicular activated sign to be installed in Albrighton
Signed…………………………………………Date………………………………..
Chairman