Present: Cllrs. J. Pattison (Chairman), Mrs C Leigh, Mrs. B. Gunby, Mrs A Adams, Mrs W. Thompson and Mrs E. Simmonite.
088.11 To receive any apologies for absence
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs. Mr. I. Lloyd and Mr. D. Hall .
089.11 To approve the minutes of the Meeting held on 8th March 2011
Resolved: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 8th March 2011 are accepted and approved as a true record. Proposed Cllr. Thompson, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried.
090.11 To identify any agenda items from which the press and public should be excluded due to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed
Resolved: That the press and public should be excluded from agenda item 30 due to the confidential nature of the business to be conducted. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Green. Carried.
091.11 To declare any interests necessary for this meeting
a) Cllr. Leigh declared her personal interest in agenda item 19
092.11 To note any matters arising (For information only)
a) There have been no further developments on North Farm. A letter from the Chairman will be sent to RMBC to try and expedite matters
The public session was brought forward to this point as several members of the public were in attendance in respect of a planning application.
Resolved: That the meeting is adjourned for comments and questions from the press and public. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried
Several points were raised in respect of a planning application at Woodall and the Council was given a copy of a petition (to RMBC) that had been raised opposing the application.
Mr. Taylor raised several issues over actions taken by the Parish Council in respect of Woodall. He had recently raised these in a letter to his MP and had received a reply from the Clerk to the Council via his MP. Mr. Taylor was not happy with the reply he received and sought an apology from the Clerk and from the Council. The Chairman responded that the Council felt that the reply to Mr. Taylor was fair, accurate and comprehensive and that an apology was not warranted.
Mr Taylor and Mr Newby raised the issue of visibility at the Walseker Lane junction, specifically regarding the need for a mirror and pruning of a yew tree which restricts visibility. The Council will continue to raise these issues with RMBC.
093.11 To consider planning applications
a) RB2011/0337: Erection of kennels and conversion of outbuildings to office and stores at Broomhouse Farm, 52 Dowcarr Lane, Woodall for Mrs L Morley.
Resolved: That an observation is made to RMBC that the structure proposed is not compatible with the green belt and would cause or exacerbate problems related to noise, access and waste removal. A site meeting is also requested. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried
094.11 To consider risk assessment matters
Annual risk assessments are due to be carried out by Cllrs. Lloyd, Gunby and Leigh at the Village Hall and the Leisure Centre. This will be undertaken in May and June..
095.11 To receive the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 5 April 2011
Resolved: That the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 5 April are accepted. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Green. Carried
096.11 To receive an end year income and expenditure report
Some bank statements are still to be received so only the expenditure report could be given. The Clerk reported that at the end of the financial year the Council has spent 114.8% of planned expenditure. This represents an overspend of £6570. Within budget headings there were significant overspends of £421 on the Village Hall (due to increased management committee support), £610 on Leisure Centre and Open Spaces (due to unplanned refurbishment costs and £3571 on S137 items (due to unplanned donations, winter weather provision and additional Christmas tree costs). There was a significant underspend on Wages and Salaries of £780 and on Insurance of £455. Other budget headings were on or around budget. Unbudgeted costs of £3000 were also spent on a feasibility study for Village Hall refurbishment.
097.11 To verify bank reconciliation to 31st March 2011
As all bank statements had not been received this item was deferred until the next meeting.
098.11 To approve renewal of membership of Yorkshire Local Councils Associations (YLCA)
Resolved: That renewal of membership of Yorkshire Local Councils Associations (YLCA) is approved. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried
099.11 To review Parish Council insurance for 2011/12
This item was deferred until the next meeting pending Cllr. Lloyd’s return from holiday.
100.11 To consider requests for financial assistance
A request for a donation of £200 has been received from the joint secretaries of Harthill Garden Show. This was deferred until the next meeting pending receipt of supporting financial information.
101.11 To approve accounts for payment
Resolved: That accounts for payment are approved. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried
102.11 To note any correspondence
There was no correspondence that had not been dealt with under specific agenda items.
103.11 To receive reports of March / April external meetings
Cllr. Lloyd had attended the Area Assembly and PACT meetings and had forwarded a report.
a) Area Assembly Meeting - Woodsetts 4th April 6.00pm - 8.00pm
This included a report on the activities of Rother Valley South Area Assembly in 20010/11. Subjects covered included "Democracy Week" which will be repeated next October hopefully involving Parish Councils, and Active Always programmes. There will be no Streetpride devolved budget this year.
Peter Foyle of Rural Action Yorkshire gave a presentation on funding and offered application assistance.
b) PACT
Overall crime in RVS continues to fall month on month but on a twelve month basis it remains about the same. In relation to local crime there has been report of Badger Baiting near Harthill. The PACT priorities for the next month were announced which included continued action against anti-social behaviour in Dinnington, continued work against anti social behaviour on The Pastures in Todwick and action across RVS on misuse of motorcycles.
104.11 To receive information on external meetings arranged for March / April
The Clerk is still attempting to organise a meeting with RMBC about the former UNSCO site but has not yet had a reply.
105.11 To consider matters relating to the Village Hall
a) The Council still hasn’t received the CiSWO signed version of the lease so signing between the Council and HVH Ltd was deferred.
b) A very positive meeting was held with TH Michaels Ltd. who were able to break down the costs of the work involved in the refurbishment plan. Veolia have told us which elements of the work they will fund so a start has been made on their bid. A separate but linked bid is being made to the National Lottery. There is still no definitive answer re Third Party funding provided by RMBC.
106.11 To consider matters relating to Harthill Youth Club
The Chairman gave feedback from a meeting held with RMBC about the future of the Youth Club which is scheduled to close in June due to RMBC budget cuts. Alternative provision including a mobile facility is being explored as are the options for keeping a Youth Club presence at the Village Hall in some form. Some Parish Council funding would be required for this to be possible. A further meeting will be held with RMBC within the next couple of weeks.
107.11 To consider grounds maintenance matters
a) The Clerk has reported several potholes in the Parish to RMBC
b) Cllr. Gunby requested that Mr. Tune is asked to do some further refurbishment at the well within the budget the Council has for maintenance at the well area. This was approved.
108.11 To considers proposals for illumination of village signs
The Clerk outlined initial research findings. There are four Harthill signs and two in Woodall. The lighting is fairly straightforward and there is a lot of choice. The problem is the electricity supply as there isn’t one nearby. It is doubtful whether RMBC would allow the Parish Council to power them permanently from streetlights in cases where one is nearby. The cost of YEDL installing a supply is around £1000 each plus the cost of the lighting system itself. Battery operated or solar powered floodlighting seems to be the most cost effective alternative option. This will be explored further and options presented to a future meeting.
109.11 To consider action on improvement of street lighting between Union St. And Serlby Lane
The Council has raised this issue via RMBC before but made no progress. One stumbling block appears to be CiSWO ownership of the path. This was also the subject of a failed devolved budget bid last year. The poor lighting is still causing concern from a health and safety point of view.
Resolved: That the Council will seek a meeting with RMBC to attempt to resolve this issue. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried
110.11 To consider matters related to Parish footpaths and bridleways
a) The footpath diversion issue on Mr. Skepper’s field is now resolved after discussions between the Council and RMBC Rights of Way officer Richard Pett.
b) Cllrs. Gunby and Leigh gave feedback from a meeting with RMBC Rights Of Way officer Clare McRoy about other footpath issues. The meeting was positive and work to install more kissing gates, repair stiles and improve signage is continuing.
c) Now that diversion issues are resolved work on the footpath walk leaflets will resume.
d) A repeat of last year’s Bluebell Walk was proposed.
Resolved: That the Council will organise and publicise another Bluebell Walk this year, to be held on Sunday 8th May at 11am. Proposed Cllr. Leigh, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried
111.11 To consider sponsorship of a Parish Bowls competition
a) A request has been received from the Carnival Society for the Parish Council to sponsor a bowls competition at the May Bank Holiday.
Resolved: That the Council will provide sponsorship for the bowls competition subject to organisational input from the bowls club. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried
112.11 To receive an update on the Easter holiday play scheme in Harthill
This started on Monday 11th April and will run for one week. Early reports suggest numbers are slightly down on last year but it is still very well attended. A full report from RMBC will follow.
113.11 To consider research into provision of enhanced broadband in the Parish
This is a request from the new Harthill with Woodall Facebook group. The Council support the idea in principle and the Clerk will undertake some initial enquiries and report back to a future meeting.
114.11 To consider matters relating to Harthill Leisure Centre
a) The new contractor has started and there is already a dramatic improvement in the bowling green.
b) Community Payback has more or less finished the refurbishment work and it has been done to a very good standard. There is one more materials invoice to come in and the only outstanding issue is tarmacing of the path. The Leisure Centre has said it will undertake the work. There are no labour charges but the tarmac will cost around £250.
Resolved: That purchase of tarmac for the restoration of the path is approved at a cost not exceeding £250. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Green. Carried
115.11 To consider matters related to the Woodall Lane play area
a) The funding application for the new fitness equipment was not considered as the Council’s reserves were too high. We have been invited to reapply with the information from this year’s year-end accounts which shows a much lower reserve level. However we would then be unable to fulfil the condition of not doing the work within 3 months of applying. HAGS need to do the job in April / May if we are to get the got £5k discount as offered.
Resolved: That approval is given for work to commence on installation of four pieces of fitness equipment at Woodall Lane play area at a cost of £20k. Proposed Cllr. Leigh, seconded Cllr. Pattison. Carried.
b) Hopefully the maze will be completed by Groundwork within the next couple of weeks. The cost around £270 for the wood and there is still soil to buy at a cost of £160 approximately. The new trees will be staked this week and the drainage work should also be done within the next fortnight.
c) We are having vandalism problems again – the wood surround for the maze has been pulled out several times and bottles have been broken in the concrete tunnel.
116.11 To consider matters related to The Tom Wakefield Way
a) The pond path due will be sprayed this month. Richard Pett would like someone to walk round with him in advance.
b) There has been no response from British Waterways about signage issues. John Nuttall who was our last remaining known contact has now left so we will need to find an up to date contact..
117.11 Individual Councillor Reports (For information only)
Cllr. Simmonite said that the village map on Festival Verge appeared to be cracked again. The Clerk will investigate. She also asked if an investigation into car sharing could be included on a future agenda.
Cllr. Adams reported a car blocking a gate on the Barlborough road. She also said that there had been further nuisance from motor bikes on the Winney Hill recreation area.
Cllr. Thompson asked if we still had First Responders operating in the Parish. The Clerk will investigate.
Cllr Gunby has reported fly tipping at Loscar to Streetpride
Cllr. Leigh has been contacted by a resident doing research on flora and fauna at Harthill Ponds as part of her degree and is seeking input from local people
Cllr. Green said that he had been approached by a resident seeking improvements to steps on his property on Serlby Lane.
Exclusion of the Press and Public
Resolved: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. Carried.
118.11 consider a proposal related to Parish Council land
The leaseholders of the grazing land have agreed to incorporate the adjoining vacant plots and fence off the area at their own expense. This will be done on the basis of a 7 year lease which YLCA advise is the maximum allowed. They have requested a meeting with the Council to take the matter forward. The Clerk will also make initial enquiries to Ilett & Clark regarding the necessary legal work.
The meeting closed at 9.48 pm