Minutes of the meeting held on March 13th, 2003 at 7.30pm in the Club

Present: Cllr Mike Gover (Chairman)
Cllr Michael Binns (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr Andrew Wheatstone
Cllr Malcolm Willetts
In attendance: Cllr Mark Wheeler
Parish Clerk Stephen Cohen

1.    Apologies for absence
Accepted from Cllr Helen Marshall, Cllr Pat Fairbank and Cllr Irene Greaves.

2.    Questions from the floor
There were no questions from the floor.

3.    Minutes of the meeting held on February 13th
The minutes were agreed as a correct record.

4.    Matters arising
        1. Seats: Cllr Gover reported that, after a site meeting, it was felt that all three new seats should be placed in the woodland walk area of the recreation ground. Terry McCallum would be contacted to arrange installation and Oswald Smith would be asked to perform the opening ceremony.
        2. Castle Coaches: Cllr Wheatstone said he would find out the cost of travel on their buses.
        3. Notice Boards: It was agreed, subject to the agreement of the Village Trust, to site one of the new notice boards at the Club.
        4. Drains: Cllr Willetts said that, during heavy rain, some of the drains by the school were blocked. The Clerk would contact NYCC.
        5. Offer of donated seat: It was agreed to contact Mrs Susan Watson when the new recreation ground seats were installed.
        6. White Hill Lane Gate: It was reported that Cllr Marshall had spoken to the landowner and that a retrospective planning application would be submitted.
        7. Traffic Calming: Cllr Wheatstone said he and Cllr Marshall would, as private individuals, be calling a public meeting to put pressure on the county council to advance the case for traffic calming in the village. The clerk was asked to write to the area traffic manager inviting him to the Annual Parish Meeting and suggesting that the 20mph scheme might be scaled down in area.

5.    Correspondence received/items for circulation
  1. Craven District Council: Spring Area Forum meetings/Craven Community Strategy Priority Action team meetings/Spring 2003 Area Forum Meetings/Code of Conduct Standards Committee meeting March 12/Minutes December-February/Notes relating to Annual Parish Meeting/Grants information/Amendments to Register of Electors/Meeting of Community Strategy priority action team March 13/

    It was agreed to hold the Annual Parish Meeting on May 8, 2003 at 8.00pm and the Annual Parish Council Meeting on the same day at 7.00pm

  2. North Yorkshire County Council: New Lothersdale-Skipton bus route/ Divisional Engineer’s rejection of siting notice-board on pavement/Footway lighting maintenance contract

    It was agreed to accept Cllr Willett’s offer to repaint the numbers on the lampposts, and to accept NYCC’s proposed price list for lighting maintenance costs for 2003-2004.

    Details of the new bus service would be placed on the notice boards and in the Parish Magazine.

  3. Yorkshire Local Councils Association: White Rose Update/Parish Government Conference February 28-March2/Joint Executive Committee Minutes/Country Air newsletter/YRCC Village Halls Conference April 5/Yorkshire and Humber Assembly Information
  4. Inland Revenue: Employer’s Bulletin
  5. DEFRA: Licensing Bill impact on village halls and community facilities (abolition of fees for entertainment licences, simpler application process for license to sell alcohol)
  6. National Association of Local Councils: Local Council Review magazine
  7. Clerks and Councils Direct magazine
  8. JRB Enterprise: Dog Pollution Solution

Cllr Wheeler suggested that the Dog Warden be contacted to visit owners whose pets were fouling the footpath. He would advance the Parish Council’s request for dog waste dispensers to be supplied free of charge.

6.    Reports from County and District Councillors

Cllr Wheeler reported that a working party had been set to deal with the revised local plan. It would be a 2-year project.

Craven District Council, along with 9 other authorities, had formed a partnership to use £1.6m of Government money to make services more accessible to the public.

Comprehensive Performance Assessment would be replacing Best Value schemes.

The districts council’s internal and external auditors had criticised some of the council’s activities and officers had not responded adequately. A new sub-committee would be putting pressure on officials to meet appropriate targets.

7     Finance

(i) It was agreed to pay these accounts:

Clerk £139.24 + £142 expenses

(ii) Bank Balances

Treasurer account £721.74

No Notice account £4,609.77

Petty Cash £0

It was agreed to seek tenders for recreation ground and general maintenance work for the forthcoming financial year

8.    Planning
Approvals received:
None

Rejections received:
Cllr Wheeler reported that the Garden Terrace application had been refused. 53/2002/2738

Applications received:
Enclosure for swimming pool, The Croft, The Fold. No comments were made on the application. 53/2003/2834.

Cllr Willetts said the footpath at Knot Farm appeared to have been obstructed. The Clerk would contact NYCC for an investigation.

Cllr Gover said the footpath through Devonshire Farm needed a new gate. The Clerk would contact NYCC

Cllr Wheeler agreed to report the destruction of trees opposite North View and to seek advice on caravan parking in the conversation area.

The Clerk was asked to make enquiries about car parking on land below Sidegate Lane.

9.    Parish Transport Grant
Cllr Wheatstone said he and Cllr Willetts would work with the Clerk to make progress on the issue.

10.    Parish Plan
It was agreed to proceed with the process of drawing up a Parish Plan. Copies of a database of groups and organisations in the village were circulated for contact information to be supplied. A meeting of interested parties would be called and next steps decided then.

11.    Parish Council’s representative on Parish Trust

Cllr Wheatstone thought it might be useful to have guidelines on the responsibilities of the council’s representatives on various bodies. Cllr Willetts suggested there should be some feedback from the individuals. Cllr Gover said that the representative should normally be a member of the council. He agreed that there should be more contact with the representatives. Cllr Binns said it would be useful to invite the representatives to a council meeting after the respective group’s annual meeting.

12.    Servicing of Parish Council Equipment
It was agreed to service the mower and strimmer.

13.    Items for information
Notice of Yorkshire Regional Community Council subscription
Code of Conduct Standards Committee vacancy NYCC
Freedom of Information Act 2000. The council’s publication scheme had been approved

 

The meeting closed at 10.00pm

 

DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS

April 10, 2003 at 7.30 pm in the Club

Annual Council Meeting May 8, 2003 at 7.00pm in the Club,

followed by Annual Parish Meeting at 8.00pm