ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Minutes of the meeting held on

Thursday 16th October 2008 at the Red House.

 

 

 

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Red House on Thursday 16th October 2008.

 

PRESENT: Cllrs. P Lusk (Chair), D Beechey (Vice Chair), R Balkwill, R Blincoe,

N Hester, P Illes, D Johnson, R Kidson, D Murray, J Nelson, M Pate, S Pledger.

 

CLERK: M Ward

 

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: One member of the public was in attendance.

 

PUBLIC SESSION: No comments or questions were raised by the member of the public attending the meeting.

 

APOLOGIES:

 

Cllrs. G Beechey, M Holden, S Pate. PC Salt.

 

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

 

There were no declarations of interest either personal or prejudicial.

 

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

 

Parish Council meeting 18th September 2008:

 

Cllr Hester asked that the revised minute relating to the Planning Meeting of 4th September 2008 should be circulated to all members in full for future reference. This was agreed by Council

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk will circulate all Councillors with the revised minute as requested.

 

With this addition the minutes were proposed as true record by Cllr Beechey and seconded by Cllr Pate. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Planning meeting 2nd October 2008:

 

The minutes were proposed as a true record by Cllr Pate and seconded by Cllr Blincoe. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

MATTERS ARISING:

 

Cllr. Kidson informed members that he had received a letter from Defra officers informing him that the costs of adopting private sewers are very much lower than the £3.00bn quoted to the Minister by Ofwat and the Environmental Agency. As yet it is not clear what future policy in this area is to be. A new Minister has been appointed to replace Phil Woollas M.P. who has been promoted.

 

The Clerk confirmed that a letter of thanks had been sent to Dr. MacDonald and his colleagues thanking them for their presentation at the planning meeting of 2nd October.

 

Cllr. Blincoe stated that he had three quotations for bulbs for the Christmas lights and one had been selected as the most favourable.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk would inform Mr G Whittaker of the decision as to which bulbs should be purchased.

 

Mr P Richards had agreed to open the Christmas lights on 1st December but a time needed to be agreed.

 

Cllr. Murray had no progress to report regarding the strip of land by the Station Approach which could be used for parking.

 

Cllr. Lusk informed members that he had provisionally booked CD’s for 15th December for the Christmas dinner. It was agreed that the time should be 7.30 for 8.00 pm. Councillors would pay for their own meal but guests would be paid for. Members agreed that Donington Councillors should be invited to join the party.

 

A public meeting had been proposed by Shropshire Rural Housing Association to explain the proposed development at Elm Road/Bowling Green Lane on either the 12th or 19th November. The Clerk was looking into venues and would inform Councillors as soon as arrangements were made.

 

PLANNING:

 

FUL/08/0737 Erection of single storey side and rear extensions 5 Holyhead Road, Albrighton.

 

No objections.

 

Permission granted:

 

08/0553 Erection of a conservatory at The Grey House, 27 High Street, Albrighton.

 

Received and noted.

 

DCAE COSFORD REPORT:

 

Mrs. Sandra Kirkland stood in for Sqn. Ldr. Lee who was indisposed.

 

She informed members that progress was being maintained with regard to the move from Cosford to South Wales. The move by Army Logistics to Cosford following the move to Wales was in active preparation.

 

There were no questions for Mrs Kirkland.

 

POLICE REPORT:

 

No report was available from the police.

 

FINANCE:

 

Cllr. Lusk began his report by referring to the draft Terms of Reference for the Finance Committee which had been reviewed by the committee earlier. Members agreed to amend item 7 to read “ The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council shall be members of the Finance Committee” and item 19 to read “ The Chairman of the Finance Committee may make a report to Council on the work of the Committee each month but will make a full report to Council once per quarter.”

 

With these two amendments Cllr. Balkwill proposed that the Terms of Reference be accepted, seconded by Cllr. Johnson. The motion was unanimously agreed.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to amend the Terms of Reference as agreed.

 

FINANCIAL REGULATIONS:

 

The Financial Regulations for Council were reviewed and a small number of amendments were made with regard to the process of agreeing the precept for the following year. Section 2.1 and 2.3 were amended with regard to dates so that estimates for proposals would be submitted for the Council meeting in November so that a draft budget can be presented to Council in December.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to amend the Financial Regulations as agreed.

 

There was discussion regarding the position of joint committees with Donington Parish Council and approvals for work in advance of the Council ratifying spending. A limit of £2,500.00 was noted as a maximum figure with regard to expenditure on an urgent basis with the approval of the Chairman (section 3.5)

 

Councillor Pate proposed that the RFO should make a final check on all sections but the Financial Regulations, with the agreed amendments, should be adopted. The motion was seconded by Cllr. Kidson and unanimously agreed. 

 

          

RISK ASSESSMENT FOR FINANCIAL CONTROL:

 

The draft risk assessment was debated by Council after the Finance Committee had reviewed the document at its earlier meeting. There was discussion regarding the formula for assessing the level of risk, procedures for the safe keeping of petty cash and the need for regular backing up of the Council computer and the storage of confidential information.

 

Members decided that no changes were necessary and Cllr. Pate proposed that the Risk Assessment should be adopted by the Council, seconded by Cllr. Beechey. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

LIST OF CHEQUES FOR APPROVAL:

 

A list of 17 cheques recorded as Appendix A to the minutes was submitted for approval. Cllr. Beechey proposed that they be approved, seconded by Cllr. Pledger. The motion was unanimously agreed.

 

BUDGET CONTROL REPORT:

 

A budget control report showing spending at the end of the first six months of the financial year for each budget head against the budget provision was circulated to all members. This included the receipt of the second part of the precept into the Bank of Ireland account on 5th September 2008. No problems were identified and members were satisfied that the budget was proceeding according to plan.   

 

GRANTS COMMITTEE – FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS:

 

The Grants Committee used to meet every three months but recently it has convened when required. Members felt that a scheduled meeting every three months allowed the supporting paperwork to be assembled and give the Clerk the time to seek further information when it is needed. Cllr. Kidson proposed that the committee should revert to its former practice of meeting once every quarter unless there was an urgent need to consider a request and this was seconded by Cllr Beechey. The motion was unanimously agreed.

 

REPORT OF JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING BETWEEN ALBRIGHTON AND DONINGTON COUNCILS:

 

The Chairman reported that the meeting had discussed the Leisure Forum, the Parish Flyer, the Boundary Review and the draining of Donington Pool. The pool needed dredging and Albrighton Parish Council can expect a request for a substantial sum to help fund this project. It was thought that the total cost could be as high as £100,000.00 with £30,000.00 already available from Bridgnorth District Council. As the pool is situated within Donington Parish Council it was felt that Donington should investigate possible sources of income and obtain the necessary quotations for the work.

 

The Chairman reported that the Joint Committee is intending to meet every quarter.

 

PROPOSED LEISURE FORUM:

 

The Chairman distributed the partnership proposal to members for their information. He informed the Council that three members were needed to serve on the Leisure Forum and it was agreed that Cllrs. Kidson, Blincoe and Murray should represent the parish. Cllrs. Lusk and Holden would also attend the meetings as appropriate.

 

The meeting gave its support for this proposal.

 

ELECTORAL REVIEW OF SHROPSHIRE:

 

The Council had been circulated with three options by the Boundary Committee for the Albrighton/Shifnal/ Sheriffhales area. Cllr. Pate proposed that the only option that gave reasonable representation to the main communities in the area was Option 2 and the Council should give its support to this option. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Hester.

 

Cllr. Beechey claimed that this final consultation was an appalling outcome which left Donington and Tong in an untenable position whichever option was agreed. He was inclined to withhold support from all of the options. Cllr. Murray said that option 2 was the best way forward and the Chairman asked for a vote on Cllr. Pate’s motion which was carried by 9 votes to 4.

 

Cllr. Beechey asked that his vote against the motion be recorded in the minutes.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to return the consultation documents to the Boundary Committee recording the Council’s support for Option 2.

 

UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENTS AT ALBRIGHTON STATION:

 

Cllr. Illes reported that he and Cllr. Beechey were meeting representatives of London Midland on 17th October to discuss progress on the updating of the station. Network Rail, who is the landlord, would also be attending. A new station sign had been erected at the bottom of the station approach, the derelict shed had been removed and new perspex had been put in the platform shelters. What was still needed was diagonal car parking to help ease the parking problem but in general terms London Midland had done what had been agreed. Cllr. Hester raised the matter of disabled access to the platform for Wolverhampton and beyond and suggested that the former Press Computers land could be used to enable disabled passengers to drive up to the platform. Cllr. Illes promised to raise this possibility at the meeting with London Midland together with the general safety of the buildings and the possible use of the strip of land by the station approach for additional parking. Cllr. Nelson informed members that there was no buyer for the former café/restaurant on the Shrewsbury platform as yet.

 

 

PARISH COUNCIL QUALITY STATUS:

 

The Chairman informed members that discussions had been held on an application for continuing Quality Status which had identified a number of possible problem areas including the qualification of the Clerk, the lack of a functioning and up-to-date web site and the need for a training ‘statement of intent’. Cllr. Pate felt that the Council should actively pursue the retention of Quality Council Status which would encourage good relationships with the new Unitary Authority next year. This view had general support.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to contact SALC and make further investigations into areas where there were potential difficulties.

 

PROPOSED COUNCIL NEWSLETTER:

 

Cllr. Murray emphasised that good communication was one of the criteria for gaining Quality Council Status and he displayed a newsletter he had obtained from France which was a folded A5 sheet with news items on the front, council expenditure on page 2, future plans, new arrivals births and deaths etc. on page 3 with contact details for Councillors and others on the back. There was some concern over whether a monthly newsletter of this kind could be managed given present the present level of resources and it was felt that contributions to the Parish Magazine was a better way forward. Councillors asked that a copy of the magazine should be regularly placed in the library.

 

DEPLOYMENT OF TRADE CONTAINERS:

 

Cllr. Illes informed the Council that the current cycle of trade containers at Abney Avenue was coming to an end and he had been informed that next year prices would go up as a result of increased transport costs. Cllrs. Nelson and Pledger thought that the arrangement with Pink Skips should continue but Cllr. Kidson argued that Veolia should be asked to quote before any agreement was made for 2009/10. Cllr. Illes was happy to obtain a quote and he was asked to conduct the necessary investigations on behalf of the Council.

 

Cllr. Blincoe informed Councillors that he had agreed three portable skips for the recycling of plastic free of charge to be sited at Abney Avenue, Bowling Green Lane and the Crown car park from 2nd January 2009. There was also the possibility of a fourth container at some point in the future. Temporary cameras were being mounted at Newhouse Lane and a new camera would be positioned at the Meadow Road end of the village shortly.

 

 

 

 

FOOTBALL PITCH DRAINAGE PROBLEMS AT LOAK ROAD:

 

The Chairman informed members that he had consulted with representatives from the junior football teams using the Sport and Social Club pitches which were having severe drainage problems which were threatening future fixtures. They needed grants to help remedy this problem and they had been advised to contact the Football League and other possible funding sources and ask for help. It is likely that they will make a grant application to the Council in the near future.

 

THE PARISH COUNCIL WEB SITE:

 

The ShropNet website had proved very difficult to manage despite several attempts at updating the information and bringing it up-to-date. It was currently of little value and it did not reflect well on the Council.

 

Cllr. Pate told members that he had written a simple website and he had obtained the paperwork to obtain albrightonparishcouncil@gov.uk although there would be associated costs of about £60.00. He needed to advertise for links to other local sites but with a little more work the site could be activated in the near future. Cllr Murray proposed that £100.00 should be made available for expenditure on the new site which was seconded by Cllr. Beechey and unanimously agreed. Cllr. Pate agreed to liaise with the Clerk to ensure that the new website became operative as soon as possible.

 

CORRESPONDENCE:

 

The Chairman briefly outlined correspondence from Communities and Local Government outlining a consultation on the making and enforcement of byelaws, a letter from Arriva apologising for the poor bus service passengers had recently encountered and Mr. Mark Pritchard MP responding to the Council letter on the move to Wales of RAF Cosford. Mr Pritchard had also written to express his concern at the proposed removal of dispensing from GP’s surgeries and Cllr. Pledger promised to raise this matter at the next local user’s group meeting.

 

Punch Taverns had responded to the recent letter complaining of vandalism at the Shrewsbury Arms and the Clerk was asked to write back and offer to meet the Business Relationship Manager, Jo Burns, on site.

 

A letter from Park Right outlined future consultations with Ian Holland of SCC regarding parking restrictions in the village during the current engineering works and a letter from Mr. John Bulmer had been received suggesting the purchase of land in front of the Red House and Ashfields and the organisation of a meeting for the public interested in the engineering work going on in the village.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to write to the trustees of the Red House seeking their views on the possible purchase of land in front of the Red House and respond to Mr Bulmer’s letter.

 

COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS:

 

Cllr. Blincoe reported that the Albrighton Traders Association had been given a grant of £1,000.00 by Bridgnorth District Council and £500.00 from Severn Trent Water to produce a leaflet promoting Boscobel House, David Austin Roses and the Cosford Museums.

 

Members were assured that the temporary loss of £1.00million pounds invested in Iceland banks by Bridgnorth District Council will not affect services. The Governors of Newhouse Lane School were happy with progress on the building works and the skateboard park was due to be started on 20th October.

 

Cllr Kidson informed members that Barhale will level the ground at Clock Mills and leave enough hard standing to build on.

 

TIMES AND DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS:

 

It was agreed that the issue of youth provision should be placed on a future planning meeting and the Clerk was asked to contact Shropshire Youth Association and James Archer at County Youth Service and ask for a presentation and discussion of the issues as soon as possible. Plans for the new Youth Ministry Project were proceeding well.

 

Planning Meeting Thursday 6th November 2008 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

Agenda Meeting Monday 10th November 2008 at 6.30 pm in the Parish Office.

Public Meeting re development land at Elm Road/Bowling Green Lane Wednesday 19th November 2008 at 7.00 pm in the Red House.

Finance Meeting Thursday 20th November at 3.00 pm in the Parish Office.

Parish Council Meeting Thursday 20th November at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

 

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.50 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signed……………………………………….Date…………………………….

Chairman