ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
Thursday 19th November 2009 at 7.00 pm in the Red House
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 19th November 2009 at 7.00 pm in the Red House.
PRESENT: Cllrs. P Lusk (Chair), D Beechey (Vice Chair), G Beechey, N Hester,
M Holden, P Illes, D Johnson, R Kidson, D Murray, J Nelson, S Pledger.
PUBLIC SESSION:
Four members of the public were present. The Chair introduced Mr Chris Edwards and Mr Graham Downes from Shropshire Council who had come to discuss the condition of the highway in the Bushfield Estate in Albrighton. Mr Edwards said that Shropshire County Council was intending to resurface the roads and make good the footpaths in the estate five or six years ago but had postponed this work because of proposals to conduct major flood alleviation works throughout the village. Now that the work had been completed the contractor, Barhale, was subject to a two year guarantee which would become invalid if Shropshire Council did any works on the highway before the end of the two year period.
Mr Downes circulated plans for a four year schedule of highway refurbishment throughout the Bushfield estate beginning with work on Barrington Close, Bushfield Road (part) and Bredon Close which could begin in the spring of 2010 after the gas works have been completed in April/May 2010. This work will represent a major part of the budget for the whole of the Bridgnorth area and the exact details and timings will be discussed as appropriate with local bodies. Other budgets exist for further aspects of highway maintenance which could be used for roads in other parts of the village which needed attention such as the High Street, Beamish Lane, Elm Road/Bowling Green Lane which was now part of a bus route and the cycle track between Albrighton and Cosford. Cllr. Murray asked whether the schedule could be reduced to three years and Mr Edwards said that this might be manageable and the possibility of utilities insurance was also discussed. Mr Edwards promised to keep the Council and residents informed and said that an article in the Parish Magazine could be produced before work began in conjunction with the usual letter drop. It was also agreed that the proposed schedule of works would be displayed in the council office. Mr Edwards was also asked by the public in attendance about the damage to kerbstones and the pavement in Meadow Road caused by people who used the Chinese take-away and he promised to look into this matter and take appropriate remedial action.
Cllr. Lusk thanked Mr Edwards and Mr Downes for the information they had provided which had been most useful and for their attendance at the meeting.
Cllrs. R Balkwill, M Pate, S Pate.
Personal:
None.
Prejudicial:
Cllr. Nelson declared a prejudicial interest in item 15.
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting 15th October 2009:
Cllr. D Beechey proposed that the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Kidson and unanimously approved.
Minutes of the Parish Council planning meeting 5th November 2009:
Cllr. D Murray proposed that the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Holden and unanimously approved.
Confidential Minute 5th November 2009:
Cllr. D Beechey proposed that the minute was a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Murray and unanimously approved.
There were no matters arising.
Planning applications:
No objections.
No objections.
No representative of DCAE Cosford was available and there was no report to present to Councillors.
PC Salt was not available but a police report was made available to Councillors regarding recent crime statistics. PC Salt drew members’ attention in the report to an attempted robbery of a motor vehicle which is currently being investigated by CID and an article about email fraud which had been forwarded to the Parish News for publication.
Cllr. M Pate was not in attendance and no report was available. Members were reminded of the LJC meeting which was scheduled for 10th January 2010.
Cheques for approval:
A list of 15 cheques for payment, as detailed below, was presented for approval. Cllr.
G Beechey proposed that they should be approved which was seconded by Cllr. Hester and unanimously approved by the Council. Cllr. Holden reported that the Live At Home organisation was most grateful for the grant that had been made available to them and the chair informed Councillors that the bus pass refund claims for the Parish Flyer were done retrospectively and that they had been submitted to Shropshire Council.
|
Date |
Cheque Number |
Payee |
Amount |
|
19.11.09 |
2544 |
Keith Gibson Flyer fuel, service, repairs |
938.48 |
|
19.11.09 |
2545 |
Shropshire Council business rate Nov. 09 |
187.80 |
|
19.11.09 |
2546 |
British Legion, poppy wreath |
20.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2547 |
Maintenance of football pitch |
172.50 |
|
19.11.09 |
2548 |
M Ward Nov. salary |
1134.81 |
|
19.11.09 |
2549 |
R Giles Nov. salary |
135.36 |
|
19.11.09 |
2550 |
P Jozefowski Nov. salary |
64.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2551 |
Alb. Village Halls Trust, booking fees |
342.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2552 |
D Frizzell bus pass refund |
446.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2553 |
B Davies bus pass refund |
338.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2554 |
Live at Home grant |
1200.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2555 |
Jazz Club 90 grant |
1000.00 |
|
19.11.09 |
2556 |
E.On street light repairs |
39.40 |
|
19.11.09 |
2557 |
Wellings compaction skip |
593.63 |
|
19.11.09 |
2558 |
Denmans Christmas lights bulbs |
683.11 |
Cllr Kidson reported on the latest proposals regarding the Albrighton Cricket Club. There were concerns within Donington Parish Council and the LJC about proposals for a grant although the club still intended to proceed with an application. Cllr. Nelson reported that there was some unease within the club over what they regarded as conflicting advice but the Chair reaffirmed the Council decision to provide up to £15,000 for a sound proposal regarding the changing rooms. Cllr. Nelson promised to provide feedback to the club and try and clear up any confusion and also alert them to the possibility that grant funding might be available from Shropshire Playing Fields Association.
Cllr. Kidson also talked about the need for some disabled play equipment at Abney Avenue if a need could be demonstrated. The Council thanked Cllr. Kidson for all of his efforts within the Joint Leisure Partnership.
Cllr. Lusk informed members about the pending discussions on the future ownership of the Abney Avenue playground. Cllr. D Beechey stated that he was opposed to the ownership of this facility coming to the Parish Council and urged that Shropshire Council should work on a joint agreement for the management of the facility while retaining ownership of the site and responsibility for its maintenance.
The joint leisure partnership has identified a number of potential projects for inclusion in the precept for 2010 as follows:
These items would be in addition to the support already offered to the swimming club, junior football, the maintenance of the children’s play area and the local nature reserve.
Cllr. Illes raised the position of the land by the railway station which had been discussed as a possible area for parking if it was leased by the Parish Council. Cllr. Pledger asked whether parking at the station could be increased by using space at the caravan park although several members felt that there was little parking available. While Councillors felt that this was not a precept item it would be helpful if this matter could be raised again with the owners of the land.
Resolved: the Clerk to write to the owners of the land adjacent to the drive to the station and ask again about the possibility of leasing the area for additional parking.
Cllr. Illes promised to contact Wellings and others and provide a figure for the cost of a compaction skip for the coming financial year. Cllr. Johnson suggested a figure of £4,000 would be needed for the renovation of the war memorial and St. Mary’s Church had asked for £1,500 for help in the maintenance of the churchyard. Other precept items suggested by the Council were:
It was agreed that the Melville Club should not have an annual sum from the precept but should apply for a grant when a need had been identified.
Resolved: the Clerk to write to the Melville Club to inform them of the above decision, to write to Roy Evans asking him for an estimate of next years’ costs and to Brian Bennett asking him to make a visit to give advice on a schedule for the repair of village green roads.
A new draft Standing Orders had been distributed to Councillors based on the model Standing Orders. The new draft would require a change to the Financial Regulations regarding quotes and tendering if they were approved. There appeared to be some confusion regarding voting procedures in the model orders and Cllr. D Beechey undertook to contact NALC to see if he could obtain clarification. He also agreed to raise the matter of consultation with the public and public participation in Council meetings. Cllr. Nelson proposed that this item should be included on the agenda for the meeting on 17th December once clarification on these matters had been obtained. The proposal was seconded by Cllr. Illes and agreed by the Council. Cllr. Hester also suggested that at the end of the agenda for each main Parish Council meeting there should be an item “Agenda for the next meeting” which would allow for the raising of any urgent matter that had not been dealt with at the meeting and longstanding items that still needed resolution. Council agreed this suggestion and this agenda item would be included for the meeting on 17th December and at subsequent meetings.
The Chair read out an email from Mr Peter Woodman, Chair of the Civic Society asking for the removal of four trees close to houses on the green in the High Street to be replaced with trees that were more suitable and for the relocation of the telephone box on the village green. Mr Woodman had supplied photographs in support of his request which were passed round to Councillors for their consideration. Cllr. Pledger was very opposed to the relocation of the telephone box which had not been included on a recent list of under-used facilities circulated by BT and Cllr. Hester spoke strongly against the removal of any trees along the length of the village green and he too was opposed to the relocation of the telephone box. The Council considered four quotations for the maintenance of the trees on the village green as outlined in the successful application to Shropshire Council (09/02707/TCA). After discussion Cllr. Nelson proposed that no extra trees should be removed from the village green, the telephone box should remain on its present site and the contract for tree maintenance as laid out in application 09/02707/TCA should be awarded to Heartwood on the grounds of recent positive experience in dealings with this company and that it was locally based. The motion was seconded by Cllr. Johnson and unanimously agreed by the Council.
Ms. Jane MacLachlan had submitted a statement in support of her request to join the Council which had been circulated to all members. Cllr. Kidson proposed that Ms MacLachlan should be co-opted to the Council with immediate effect which was seconded by Cllr. Holden and unanimously approved. The Clerk agreed to assemble a welcome pack for Ms MacLachlan and enrol her on a SALC course for new Councillors at a time that was convenient for her.
The Chair reported on recent conversations with officers from Shropshire Council which included the information that it would not be likely that the Clerk and staff from the Access Point would be present in the new office at the same time. The Access Point would require a facility for confidential discussions. The Chair undertook to arrange a meeting with members of Shropshire Council to discuss the issues further and it was agreed that the Parish Council would be represented by the Chair, Vice Chair and Cllr. Murray.
Cllr. Nelson spoke of the importance of taking a strategic overview, in planning terms, of the development of all of the white land east of Shaw Lane, subject to appropriate phasing. The process should take into account all related interests and issues, including St. Mary’s Primary School, leisure facilities (probably linked to the school), public open space, social/affordable housing, the future of DCAE/RAF Cosford, possible future development of the railway line and parking for commuters, traffic and highways. Cllr. Nelson feared that if such an overview is not formulated then piecemeal development, possibly over a protracted period of time, would result in the loss of potentially significant benefits and opportunities for the community. Cllr. D Beechey was not convinced that all of the white land should be developed and thought that possibly the discussion was premature, but there was general support for Cllr. Nelson’s opinion and Cllr. Kidson thought it would be useful to discuss the matter further with planning officers from Shropshire Council.
Cllr. Johnson reported that no further progress had been made with the two contractors approached for a quotation for the redevelopment of the war memorial. Both submissions had been incomplete and he proposed to telephone both of the on 23rd November and put a closure date on the submission of completed quotations. The paperwork for applying for a grant was available and would be utilised once the full quotations had been received.
Christmas lights:
The switch on of the Christmas lights was scheduled for 6th December and the cherry picker to assist in the erection of the Christmas lights had been booked for 30th November. The lights would be switched on by Mr D Street DFC at 5.00 pm and a bottle of wine would be purchased for him as a thank you present with flowers for Mrs Street.
Civic Service
The Chair reported that was all in hand and list of guests had been compiled. Any further suggestions for the guest list should be handed to the Clerk.
Christmas dinner:
The Chair reported that Aroma was only prepared to offer the standard menu whereas Balti would offer a set menu and the former CD’s would open up the restaurant if a booking was made. Members agreed that the Balti offered the best prospect and the 10th December was agreed as the date for the dinner. The Chair promised to circulate the menu and Cllr. Illes suggested that the Flyer drivers should be invited together with other Council staff.
Cllr. Hester had been the Council representative on the Bridgnorth Standards Committee and wanted to know how the members of the new Standards Committee for Shropshire Council came to be chosen as none of them had had any involvement with the former Bridgnorth body. Cllr. D Beechey promised to contact SALC and ask about the selection.
Cllr. Pledger, as representative on the Red House Management Committee, relayed the apologies of the committee for their failure to reply to the Clerk’s enquiry about the status of the small office on the top floor of the Red House. This had happened because the secretary had been indisposed but the committee had agreed that the small office in question had been allocated for Parish Council use.
Cllr. Hester reported that a bench close to the former Blacksmith’s House had disappeared. The likely explanation was that Gas Alliance had moved it but the Clerk was asked to check and see if he could locate the bench and have it restored to its former position. Cllr. Hester also asked for some kind of brought forward list to be compiled so that items requiring further discussion in the future could be easily identified and kept before Councillors. The Clerk promised to come forward with a pro-forma which would serve such a purpose.
The Chair went through other items of correspondence which were received and noted,
Signed………………………………………………Date…………………………………
Chairman