Present: Cllrs. Mrs. J. Pattison (Chairman), Mr. I Lloyd, Mrs C Leigh, Mrs. B. Gunby, Mr. S. Green, Mrs A Adams, Mrs E Simmonite and Mrs W. Thompson.
365.10 To receive any apologies for absence
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr. Mr. D. Hall
366.10 To approve the minutes of the Meeting held on 9th November 2010
Resolved: That the minutes of the Meeting held on 9th November 2010 are accepted and approved as a true record. Proposed Cllr. Simmonite, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried.
367.10 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 25 due to the confidential nature of the business to be conducted. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
368.10 To declare any interests necessary for this meeting
a) Cllr. Lloyd declared his personal interest in agenda item 18
b) Cllr. Leigh declared her personal interest in agenda item 18
369.10 To note any matters arising (For information only)
a) A meeting has been held between the Memories Society and the Village Hall and storage arrangements have been made.
b) The Christmas trees, including the new Woodall tree have been put up. The Council wished to give special thanks to John Gunby for his excellent work in this respect.
c) We are awaiting details of mapping / licensing from RMBC before further progress can be made with the footpaths booklet.
d) The Parish Council training in the Power of Wellbeing has been confirmed for 18 January
e) The Council was successful with all but one of its applications to the Area Assembly devolved budget. The unsuccessful application was for additional street lighting but this is not too much of a disappointment as the CCTV camera remains in place.
370.10 To consider planning applications
There were no new planning applications since the last meeting
371.10 To consider risk assessment matters
No risk assessment issues were raised
372.10 To receive a report the RFO’s report
a) After 8 months of the financial year 84% of planned expenditure has been spent and 98% of income has been received. The Council is likely to overspend against the budget by £4-5k
b) Review of internal audit procedures and the financial risk assessment will be undertaken in January.
373.10 To monitor the budget against income and expenditure
Management accounts were examined and no problems identified
374.10 To verify bank reconciliation to 31st October 2010
There is a discrepancy of 2p in the bank reconciliation due to a bank error. This will be corrected and presented again at the January meeting.
375.10 To consider requests for financial assistance
a) A request was received from Harthill Memories Society requested support for storage costs. This had been deferred pending further information which has now been received.
Resolved: That the Memories Society’s request for a donation of £140 towards the costs of storage is approved. Proposed Cllr. Thompson, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried
b) A request was received from the Peregrin Way Centre for a contribution of £300 towards the costs of a new cooker.
Resolved: That the request from the Peregrin Way Centre for a donation of £300 towards the costs of a new cooker is approved. Proposed Cllr. Adams, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried
376.10 To retrospectively approve an emergency payment which exceeded the Clerk’s delegated authority
The snow plough costs exceeded the Clerk’s delegated authority so retrospective approval was sought.
Resolved: That expenditure of £440.63 for the hire of the snow plough is retrospectively approved. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Lloyd. Carried
377.10 To approve accounts for payment
Resolved: That accounts for payment are approved. Proposed Cllr. Green, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried
378.10 To note any correspondence
a) A letter from the Carnival Society requesting permission to use Spens Field for next year’s Carnival.
Resolved: That permission is given to the Carnival Society to use Spens Field for the 2011, subject to the usual conditions. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
b) The Council has received several calls and e-mails thanking it for its efforts during the heavy snow.
379.10 To receive the minutes of the Allotments Committee meeting held on 16th November
Resolved: That the minutes of the Allotments Committee meeting held on 16th November are accepted. Proposed Cllr. Green, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried.
380.10 To receive reports of November / December external meetings
The Area Assembly and Rother Valley South Parishes meeting were cancelled due to the weather.
381.10 To receive information on external meetings arranged for December / January
No external meetings have been arranged for this period.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Resolved: That the meeting is adjourned for comments and questions from the press and public. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried
Mr Newby asked a question in relation to grit supplies for Woodall
Mr Furby provided clarification on the matter of postal deliveries in Harthill and Woodall during the recent bad weather.
382.10 To consider matters relating to the Village Hall
a) The lease between the Parish Council and Harthill Village Hall Ltd. is currently being studied by Ilett & Clark for the Parish Council. They have advised that because the proposed lease will be at less than market rate the Council will need to advertise this to allow for comments or objections. They also advise of the need for an up to date valuation of the Village Hall to determine the extent of the undervaluation.
b) The proposed funding bid to the National Lottery Community Buildings fund is not now possible as Harthill does not meet the deprivation criteria for this funding stream. Veolia and Biffa have been identified as the only remaining sources of funding for the refurbishment project.
c) One of the two remaining firms that tendered for the refurbishment project has withdrawn. It was confirmed that the remaining candidate firm is acceptable to both the Parish Council and Harthill Village Hall Ltd.
Resolved: That the successful tendering organisation for the Village Hall refurbishment project is TH Michaels Construction Ltd. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Green. Carried.
d) Resolved: That costs of electrical repairs totalling £297.00 are approved. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried
383.10 To consider grounds maintenance matters
a) Repairs have been undertaken to Killamarsh Lane and Winney Lane road surfaces by RMBC
b) Groundwork (Creswell) have undertaken several small maintenance projects including the Woodall Lane flower bed beside the Leisure Centre and the bus turning circle at Firvale. Further projects are continuing.
384.10 To consider matters relating to Harthill Leisure Centre
a) The tender exercise for the bowling green maintenance will probably take place in January as it has not been possible so far to contact the existing contractor. A local bowling specialist is helping to identify potential tendering firms.
b) Work at the Leisure Centre by the Community Payback Scheme is continuing. Decoration work is almost complete. The next phase is the repair of the bowling green surround for which materials will need to be purchased. One quote has been received so far and further quotes will be sought.
Resolved: That approval is given for purchase of materials to repair the bowling green surround subject to the receipt of satisfactory quotations. Proposed Cllr. Lloyd, seconded Cllr. Adams. Carried
c) A further update has been received from RMBC on the Leisure Centre valuation. This however includes a valuation for the whole site rather than just the building. The Clerk will seek a further revision.
385.10 To review the Parish Council’s response to the recent weather crisis
As a result of the recent adverse weather several issues were raised in respect of actions that needed to be taken by the Parish Council. In particular, the hiring of a snow plough was crucial in the absence of ploughing by RMBC. The website also proved very useful in providing information on affected services. An attempt to mobilise volunteers was only partially successful and this highlighted the need for improved communications within the Parish.
Resolved: That authority is approved for the commissioning of and costs associated with snow ploughing should a similar weather situation arise in the future. Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Lloyd.
Resolved: To establish an improved e-mail communications network within the Parish by requesting residents voluntarily give e-mail contact details for use during an emergency. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried
Consideration would also be given in future to setting up a volunteer bank for utilisation in an emergency and establishment of a separate emergency plan for the Parish..Ideas for this will be advertised in the next edition of The Hart.
386.10 To consider issues to be raised with RMBC and other agencies due to the recent weather crisis
Issues discussed were the lack of an RMBC response during the initial phase of the heavy snowfall, the need for standing permission for the Parish Council to commission snow ploughing and the perceived failure of RMBC emergency planning to impact on the Parish. It was acknowledged that the A57 emergency may have had a significant impact on RMBCs ability to respond. It was also felt that supplies of food items to the local Co-op store were inadequately planned during the adverse weather.
Resolved: That a letter is sent to RMBC seeking a review of actions taken during the adverse weather and seeking assurances on future actions particularly in relation to snow ploughing and gritting. In addition, standing permission for the Parish Council to snow plough highways is sought. Proposed, Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Lloyd Carried.
Resolved: That a letter is sent to the Co-op head office highlighting problems with supplies of provisions during the adverse weather and seeking solutions to this in similar circumstances in the future. Proposed, seconded. Carried
387.10 To review the Parish Council’s policy on additional winter grit provision
Despite evidence of abuse of the grit supply that was originally purchased it was felt that the policy of providing additional grit should continue.
Resolved: That a further 84 x 25kg (1 ton approx) bags of rock salt are purchased at a cost of £536. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried
388.10 To consider matters related to the Woodall Lane play area
a) A discussion took place on the proposed purchase of new fitness equipment for the play area. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to raise external funding for this and the current quotation offering a discount of £5k was only valid until the end of the year. There remains a possibility of a successful Awards for All bid which may provide half of the £20k cost of the project.
Resolved: That an order should be placed with HAGS for four pieces of fitness equipment to be installed before end of March 2011. Proposed Cllr. Leigh, seconded Cllr. Pattison. Carried
389.10 Individual Councillor Reports (For information only)
Cllr. Adams enquired about a recent fire at the UNSCO site
The meeting closed at 8.50 pm