ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
Thursday 21st January 2010 at 7.15 pm in the Red House
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 21st January 2010 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.
PRESENT: Cllrs. P Lusk (Chair), D Beechey (Vice Chair), R Balkwill, G Beechey,
N Hester, D Johnson, R Kidson, J MacLachlan, D Murray, J Nelson, S Pate, M Pate,
S Pledger.
PUBLIC SESSION:
No members of the public were in attendance.
Cllr. P Illes.
Personal:
Cllr. M Pate declared a personal interest in item 13.
Cllr. S Pledger declared a personal interest in item 13 and 15
Prejudicial:
Cllr. S Pledger declared a prejudicial interest in item 12.
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting 17th December 2009:
The spelling of the town of St Athan at line 5, paragraph 2 in item 7 was corrected. Cllr. D Beechey proposed that with this one alteration the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Johnson and unanimously approved.
Minutes of the Parish Council planning meeting 7th January 2010:
The word “to” was changed to “the” in line 4 of item 3. Cllr. M Pate proposed that with this one alteration the minutes were a true and accurate record which was seconded by Cllr. Hester and unanimously approved.
Cllr. Kidson informed the meeting that because the Local Joint Committee meeting was cancelled he was unable to make contact with the chair of the planning committee considering the application for The Hollies at 18 Cross Road, Albrighton. He had no knowledge of the date of the next meeting but was informed by the chair that it would take place on Wednesday 10th February.
Cllr. Pledger raised the matter of the increase in violent crime reported by PC Salt in his Police Report. She wished to know what steps were being taken to combat this trend and the clerk was asked to write to the police asking what offences were included in the category of violent crime and actions the police were taking to reduce the number of incidents.
Cllr. M Pate raised the matter of the county Access Point which he had been asked to investigate at the last meeting. He reported that the Access Point would be open for 22 hours a week, the same allocation of time that had been agreed in other areas of the county. The county wished to share an office with the Parish Council and was waiting for the work on the highway outside 82b High Street to be completed before establishing the office there. The Access Point would move to the Red House once the proposed refurbishment of the ground floor was completed.
The chair read an email from Mr David Thompson following his presentation to the council on 7th January 2010 thanking the council for their interest and for the helpful debate that formed part of the presentation. Cllr. Hester pointed out to members the discussion had raised the question of whether the land east of Shaw Lane was in the green belt. The phrase “interim green belt” had been used but this did not alter the fact that it should be treated in the same way as green belt land. He proposed that the clerk should write to Mr Thompson saying that the council is expecting to see progress on plans for the Old Smithy and it will review the position at regular intervals. He also suggested that the clerk contact Gas Alliance and ask for the seat in Kingswood Road to be replaced immediately as there was no further work to be completed in the area. Both suggestions were agreed by the council. The council also agreed that a Councillor receiving a cheque should not propose or second the approval of cheques in the finance section of the agenda.
No planning applications were presented to the council.
A written report from Sqn. Ldr. Graham Lee was received and noted. No reply to the letter to the Secretary of State for Defence dated 6th January 2010 had been received and the clerk was asked to write asking for a response.
Cllr. Johnson informed members that the Cosford air show was scheduled for 13th June 2010.
PC Salt distributed a report on the latest crime statistics for the area which showed no major variation from previous months or clearly defined pattern of crime. Burglary from houses had risen with jewellery often being the target for thieves due to the high price of gold. Violent crime had also risen although this category covered a number of offences such as harassment and the sending of abusive text messages. Some forged bank notes are still circulating in the village although all shop keepers were aware of the problems and were using the detection equipment provided. The local PACT meetings were ongoing and providing members of the public with the opportunity to discuss matters of concern.
Cllr. M Pate informed members of an impending consultation on a leisure strategy for the county.
There is likely to be significant reduction in council funding after the next general election which could be as large as 9% and severe cutbacks are expected. Cllr. M Pate said that non-unitary authorities could be especially badly hit. Cllr D Beechey deplored the possibility of major cutbacks which he felt would deepen the recession as well as disadvantaging residents.
There was currently one Deputy Leader of Shropshire Council.
Cllr. M Pate said that publicity for forthcoming Local Joint Committees would be issued earlier and consideration would be giving to including a notice in the Parish Magazine.
Bank reconciliation January 2010:
The Chair reported that the Finance Committee had met that afternoon and had gone through the bank reconciliation for the period up to 21st January. There were no problems that needed addressing and the reconciliation could be agreed.
Cheques for approval:
A list of 32 cheques for payment was presented for approval. Cllr. Pledger asked about the presentation of a cheque for an unspecified amount for the cleaner and was informed that in future it would not be necessary to repeat this practice and the problem had only arisen because she was just starting her work with the council.
Cllr. M Pate proposed that the cheques should be approved which was seconded by Cllr. S Pate and agreed by members.
|
Date |
Cheque Number |
Payee |
Amount |
|
21.12.09 |
2577 |
St. Mary’s Nursery, play equipment |
84.98 |
|
21.12.09 |
2578 |
The consortium, play equipment |
214.98 |
|
21.12.09 |
2579 |
Sticky Kids, play equipment |
26.48 |
|
21.12.09 |
2580 |
Step by Step, play equipment |
14.87 |
|
21.12.09 |
2581 |
West Mercia Supplies, play equipment |
245.72 |
|
21.12.09 |
2582 |
Hope Education, play equipment |
624.68 |
|
06.01.10 |
2583 |
E.ON, street light maintenance |
56.79 |
|
07.01.10 |
2584 |
Flyer contractor, bus pass refund |
205.00 |
|
07.01.10 |
2585 |
Flyer contractor, bus pass refund |
183.00 |
|
07.01.10 |
2586 |
Viking Direct, office supplies |
138.85 |
|
07.01.10 |
2587 |
Post Office, 3rd quarter tax & NI |
1175.96 |
|
07.01.10 |
2588 |
82b High Street landlord, office rent |
291.67 |
|
07.01.10 |
2589 |
St. Mary’s Church, civic service catering |
195.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2590 |
E.ON, maintenance contract 4th quarter |
213.53 |
|
21.01.10 |
2591 |
Severn Trent Water, allotments water |
40.54 |
|
21.01.10 |
2592 |
Shropshire Council, business rates |
474.32 |
|
21.01.10 |
2593 |
Village Warden, January salary |
135.36 |
|
21.01.10 |
2594 |
Litter Warden, January salary |
64.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2595 |
Clerk, January salary |
1036.99 |
|
21.01.10 |
2596 |
ALS, sports club sand slitting |
345.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2597 |
West Mercia Supplies, play equipment |
775.11 |
|
21.01.10 |
2598 |
Cash, petty cash |
100.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2599 |
Keith Gibson, Flyer fuel and repair |
497.88 |
|
21.01.10 |
2600 |
Office landlord, cleaning materials |
10.45 |
|
21.01.10 |
2601 |
Village Warden, travel expenses |
22.83 |
|
21.01.10 |
2602 |
SALC, AGM lunch |
15.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2603 |
Wellings, Compaction skip January |
430.24 |
|
21.01.10 |
2604 |
Office cleaner |
45.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2605 |
Flyer contractor, bus pass refund |
202.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2606 |
Flyer contractor, bus pass refund |
311.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2607 |
Alb. Village Halls Trust, room hire |
72.00 |
|
21.01.10 |
2608 |
Nationwide Platforms, Christmas lights |
532.83 |
Cllr. D Beechey reported that there is an existing charter for local government and a new draft is in circulation detailing the responsibilities of county, town and parish councils. He was proposing a number of minor amendments to the draft and felt that some of the responses should be more clearly defined. Cllr. MacLachlan supported this and felt that the document should include key performance indicators at appropriate points, a view that was supported by Cllr. Hester. Cllr. M Pate felt that the council should adopt the new draft but he was a little sceptical regarding the influence it would have on procedures. Cllr, D Beechey was thanked for his work on the draft and Cllr Hester seconded the proposal that the council should accept the draft subject to the amendments. The proposal was agreed by the council.
Cllr. Kidson said that the council needed to consider community local planning and asked whether the Local Joint Committee might be interested in producing a local plan for the larger area. The Civic Society might be the ideal body to take on the task and he proposed that the society should be approached to gauge its opinion. Cllr. Hester seconded this proposal which was agreed by the council. The clerk was asked to write to the Civic Society to ask whether they would be interested in taking the lead role in the development of a new local plan.
The chair informed members that this grant request had been made to the Local Joint Committee but it was felt that it would be more appropriate for the parish council to consider it as they were the association’s landlord. Cllr. Murray proposed that the council should fund the work at the price of the lowest quotation received. The motion was seconded by Cllr. M Pate and agreed by the council.
An application had been received from a group of musicians for a new drum kit costing 1,000 pounds. Cllr. S Pate suggested that the application did not meet the agreed criteria and it should be refused. Cllr. Kidson seconded this proposal which was agreed by the council.
Cllr. M Pate reported that the Director of Children’s Services had expected the work on the swimming pool to have been completed and she will be making arrangements for it to be done in the near future. The work would need to meet value for money criteria and the original quotations received had been very high.
The document circulated to members was noted. Members agreed that a response from the council was unnecessary.
Cllr. M Pate reported that officers at Shirehall were of the opinion that the skateboard park is working well and they had received no complaints. Cllr. Pledger replied that the original agreement had allowed for a meeting with local residents after app. three months in order to provide feedback to the local authority. This had not taken place and arrangements should be made for the meeting to take place. Cllr. Murray reminded members that the Local Joint Committee can ask officers to attend a feedback meeting. Cllr. M Pate agreed to discuss the matter further and ask officers to set up a meeting for local residents.
There were no reports from Councillors.
Cllr. Hester stated that the letter from Barclays Bank regarding the branch closure in Station Road was unsatisfactory and the original letter from the council and the reply from Barclays should be printed in the Parish Magazine. The clerk was asked to write to Barclays to express concern over the contents of their letter and to Lloyds/TSB urging them to take steps to ensure their continued presence in the village.
The council agreed to the request to site a contractor’s cabin on council land close to the sewerage works.
The chair went through the training offered by SALC and meetings to be attended by individual Councillors.
Other correspondence was received and noted.
There being no more business the meeting closed at 9.00 pm.
Signed…………………………………………Date……………………………………..
Chairman