May 2009

MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING

Held on 21^st May 2009 at the Village Hall, Uplowman, starting at 8.15pm

 

PC K Rich and 2 members of the public present. Minutes taken by R Hodgson, Clerk. Action points in bold.

 

1. MEMBERS PRESENT and ELECTION OF CHAIR/VICE CHAIR

1.1  Present: Mr D Hamer, Mrs J Woolley, Mr R Branton, Mr R Norman, Mr P Beadle, Mrs S Brown (part of meeting) and Mr R Adcock.

1.2  Cllr Hamer was proposed as Chair for the coming year by Cllr Woolley, seconded by Cllr Adcock and th motion approved unanimously. Cllr Brown proposed Cllr Branton as Vice Chair, seconded Cllr Acock and agreed without dissent.

 

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.1 None.

 

3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING (19^th March 2009)

3.1 Minutes of the previous Parish Council meeting held on 19^th March 2009 had been previously circulated. They were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

 

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

4.1 There were no matters arising from the March Minutes that would not be dealt with under the Agenda.

 

5. FINANCES

5.1 Current Balance: £ 3607.10

Income since last meeting (Precept from MDDC) £ 2200.00

5.2 The following payments were approved and cheques signed to effect the disbursements:

R Hodgson, Clerk, Honorarium and expenses (£402.58)

Community First, Annual Insurance Premium (£259.20)

Payment of up to £60 for the DAPC Subscription was approved, subject to receipt of invoice.

The Clerk informed UPC that the hire of the Hall committee room had risen from £3 to £4 per hour.

5.3 The Clerk said that the Annual Audit was in progress and had been advertised as required. Mr Clark would be happy to act as Internal Auditor for this year. His appointment was approved unanimously. The Summary Accounts and supporting statements had been circulated with the Agenda for this meeting. The Statement of Accounts was approved without dissent and signed by the Chair and the Clerk. The Annual Governance Statement was read and completed accordingly before its approval by the council and subsequent signature by the Chair and the Clerk.

5.4 Clerk’s Annual Review: It was agreed unanimously to raise the Clerk’s honorarium to £840pa., an increase of approximately 5%. The council expressed its thanks to the Clerk for his work in maintaining the affairs of Uplowman Parish Council.

 

6. PLANNING/LICENSING APPLICATIONS

6.1 08/00996/F: Shed at E Mere X was not built according to plans. As requested, the Clerk had written to the Head of Planning, Mr J Guscott, whose reply was read. Mr Guscott confirmed that the PC’s views were important in determining planning matters. The owner of the shed had been invited to submit a retrospective application, which was likely to be granted.

6.2 Land to the Rear of The Beeches: Change of Use query. The Clerk had written to the Enforcement Officer and had received a letter containing the planning history of the site. It seemed that part of the site was covered by either planning permission or a Certificate of Lawful Use that permitted the uses at present being made and therefore no enforcement action was currently envisaged. Cllrs Hamer and Norman had talked with the parties involved and the councillors had heard in the public session that most of the issues had been resolved. It was agreed that the Clerk would write to the Enforcement Officer to thank him for his help in resolving the matter.

6.3 DCC: Revised Details of School Footpath. This had been approved by DCC.

6.4 09/00236/F: Locks Farm conv of redundant Bldg, revised. This had been approved by MDDC.

6.5 09/00442/F: Land to west of Clover Mead, change of use to domestic garden. UPC had inspected and had no objection.

6.6 09/00265/LBC: Middle Coombe listed building consent for secondary glazing. UPC had not commented.

6.7 0.9/00555/F: Widhayes: Erection of replacement barn. UPC had inspected and had no objection.

6.8 09/00565/F: West Mead: Erection of extension. UPC had inspected and had no objection.

 

7. CORRESPONDENCE

A list of correspondence received and sent had been circulated. Attention was drawn to the following items of interest that were not covered elsewhere:

7.1 MDDC had circulated a questionnaire to Parish Chairmen seeking views on the relationship between MDDC and the parishes. This had been forwarded to Cllr Hamer.

7.2 A query had been raised by a parish resident regarding rubbish in a field near the Hunstsham road. Cllr Adcock, in whose area the issue was located, would investigate.

 

8. HALL AND RECREATION ASSOCIATION

8.1 The charges for use of the Hall had been raised by £1/hour for each room. This was the first increase since the Hall opened in 2002.

8.2 Responding to a query about waste left outside the Hall, Cllr Woolley said that hirers were required to remove their trash but not all did so. Hall wastes were recycled on different collection days to the rest of the village which made it appear that things were being left. She thought problems were not common.

 

9. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

9.1 PC Rich said that there had been no crimes reported in Uplowman since the meeting in January and very little crime reported in the past year. The Neighbourhood Watch was being revitalised and consideration was being given to developing the ‘Rural Watch’ network.

 

10. VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

10.1 A discussion of the School Path proposals had been held with representatives from the School Governors and DCC. The breakdown of the costs showed that all activities could be undertaken within the Uplowman parish community. DCC would be providing more detailed specifications by the end of June in time for a proposed second meeting on 21^st July. Uplowman PC would need to consider its position regarding Health and Safety and the Construction Design and Management Regulations if it were to use voluntary labour for some of the tasks. Cllr Adcock noted that he holds a CDM Supervisors card. Following a vote, it was agreed in principle to continue investigating options for construction of the School Path.

10.2 It was decided to hold the Annual Social event again in 2009 and to review the success of the first three years subsequently. Cllr Hamer would consult with the Hall Secretary concerning dates, 25^th or 18^th September being the two preferred options. It was suggested that assembling a photograph of the Village Residents might provide a good theme for the evening.

 

11. CONDITION OF ROAD/TRANSPORT IN THE PARISH

11.1 Extensive repairs were in progress and surfaces were being tarred/gritted.

 

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

 

The next meeting would be on Thursday 23^rd July, a change from that previously announced, starting at 7.30pm. Subsequent meetings had been arranged 17 September and 19 November 2009.

 

Cllr Woolley had tendered her resignation as a councillor owing to her forthcoming relocation out of the parish. Cllr Hamer thanked her for her work as a councillor since 2007 and wished her well for the future. The Clerk would inform MDDC of the vacancy.

 

The meeting closed at 9.40pm

 

See next page for the Chair’s Annual Report to May 2009.

 

Chair’s Annual Report for 2008/9 and questions (7.30-8.15pm)

 

In the past year we have revised and distributed to all households the Parish Emergency Plan (updated July 2008), together with a laminated tag showing the name of the property, its Grid Reference and Postcode, and emergency telephone numbers on the reverse. Just before writing this I have checked where our copy is, and am happy to report that it is where it should be, by the telephone in the hall. We hope that in all households they will be kept to hand – and that they will not be needed. The nearest thing to an emergency we have had this year was when we were snowed in on the 6^th & 7^th of February. The roads were impassable for a while, the school was closed, but life continued as usual, except that it seemed more fun, as children and adults made the most of sunshine and snow.

Another bit of formal business achieved was the adoption at the meeting of 19^th March of the Standing Orders of the UPC, coordinated with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, which was drafted at a sub-committee meeting.

There has been some discussion at public forums about the possibility of introducing traffic controls in Uplowman. We have had the benefit of the advice of Mrs Meg Booth of the DCC, who was present at a public forum. It would appear to be the case that a) surveys have revealed that average speeds through the village are very low, nearer 20 than 30 mph and b) that even if we introduced speed limit signs (and whatever else goes with them) it would be unlikely that they would be enforced by the police.

The Second Annual Parish Social took place on 17^th October 2008. This was well supported by groups, clubs and associations within the parish and was not only a shop window for what is going on, but also a very pleasant social occasion. It would be good to attract more families to this event, adults as well as children. The Council has taken a decision to try a date in mid September, in the hope that more people will make the effort to come. As a community we in fact have a number of occasions that bring people together: the Uplowman Show, the Flower and Produce Show, Parish Lunches, the Harvest Supper and so on. If all these things are well supported it improves our common life.

At the Social I was given the Council Minute Book, covering minutes of meetings from the inception of the UPC in the late 19^th century to the 1960s. We have had the Minute Book rebound and it is currently on loan to Trevor Milner and the Uplowman Ferrets, who will find it helpful in their historical researches.

It was good to welcome the Chair of the MDDC, Mrs Margaret Squires, and her guests, including members of our Council and community, here on 12^th November for the evening of the Chairman’s Reception – just one more event which showed what a success our Hall is in this locality.

After seemingly endless meetings and discussions we at last have planning permission for the School Path. The Council supports this important project, which will provide greater safety for the children on their way to school and relieve the daily congestion to which the lane is subjected outside the school twice every school day. It is excellent to have planning permission and we are now looking into the possibility of taking this on as a community project, with the co-operation of the DCC, involving the UPC, the Uplowman School (former UPC Chairman John White is very active in this as a School Governor) and others interested. This could be a very exciting venture that may well attract funds from outside. We have all the skills and the interest within the Parish to go ahead with this so long as there is a common will to achieve this essential part of Uplowman’s traffic management plans.

In the course of this year we have welcomed our new Police Liaison Officer, PC Rich, who sent a representative to the Parish Social. It has also been good to have the support of Councillor Des Hannon (DCC), Cllr Margaret Squires (Chair MDDC), Cllr Ray Radford (MDDC) at a number of our meetings.

We welcomed Mr Paul Beadle as a new Councillor on the 4^th September. I am sorry to report that Cllr Woolley has resigned from the Council as she is moving to Yorkshire. She has made a special contribution to our meetings with her lively interest in proper council procedures. She has also been a link with the Hall Committee. Her advertising flyers for the Parish Social have shown artistic and advertising skill. We will miss her personality and her contributions and we wish her well in her new life.

Finally we must share our regret that Gail Borrow has given notice that she wishes to pass on the reins of the Uplowman and Whitnage News to someone else. The success of our local paper over the last two years owes a great deal to her. As a community we owe her a great debt of gratitude. We must hope that somebody will come forward to carry on this important task. So, to Gail Borrow, a very great “Thank you!”.

 

David Hamer 21^st May 2009

 

During Public questions it was noted that the disturbances caused by work in the land to the rear of The Beeches had been much less lately and UPC was thanked by members of the public for its prompt action in consulting with all concerned.

 

The matter of council tax reductions where no street lights were provided was raised and it was agreed that the Clerk would enquire of DCC regarding the position on this.