Present: Cllr Mrs. J. Pattison (Chairman), Mr. D. Hall, Mrs W. Thompson, Mrs E. Simmonite, Mrs B. Gunby and Mrs. C. Leigh.
136.10 To elect a Chairman for 2010/2011
Resolved: That Cllr. Mrs. J. Pattison is elected Chairman for 200/2011. Proposed Cllr. Thompson, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried.
The newly elected Chairman signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the Chair.
137.10 To receive any apologies for absence
Apologies were received from Cllrs. Lloyd, Green and Adams. Reasons were provided and these were accepted.
138.10 To elect a Vice Chairman for 2010/2011
Resolved: That Cllr. I. Lloyd is elected Vice Chairman for 2010/2011. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried.
The signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office by the newly elected Vice Chairman was deferred until the next meeting.
139.10 To elect 4 representatives to the Allotments Committee
Resolved: That Cllrs. Pattison, Lloyd, Thompson and Leigh will serve as Parish Council representatives on the Allotments Committee for 2010/11. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Hall. Carried.
140.10 To elect 4 members to the Finance Committee
Resolved: That Cllrs. Pattison, Lloyd, Adams and Thompson will serve on the Finance Committee for 2009/2010. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
141.10 To elect two representatives to the Village Hall Management Committee
Resolved: That Cllrs. Lloyd and Leigh will represent the Parish Council on the Village Hall Management Committee for 2010/2011. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried.
142.10 To elect 2 representatives to the South Rotherham Area Assembly
Resolved: That Cllrs. Lloyd and Simmonite will represent the Parish Council at the South Rotherham Area Assembly. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried.
143.10 To elect a representative to the South Rotherham Rural Transport Group
Resolved: That Cllr. Simmonite will represent the Parish Council on the South Rotherham Rural Transport Group. Proposed Cllr. Thompson, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried.
144.10 To elect 2 representatives to the Yorkshire Local Councils’ Association
Resolved: That Cllrs. Gunby and Leigh will represent the Parish Council at the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried.
145.10 To elect 2 representatives to the Harthill Charities group
The Harthill Charities Group has now discontinued so no election was necessary
146.10 To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13th April 2010
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13th April 2010 are accepted and approved as a true record. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
147.10 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.
No items were identified
148.10 To declare any interests necessary for this meeting.
No interests were declared.
149.10 To note any matters arising (For information only)
b) Groundwork Dearne Valley is due to undertake maintenance work on the pond path. Treatment of the path with weed killer is still subject to negotiations between RMBC and The Environment Agency.
c) The drainage improvement work at the reservoir has now been approved and work will commence early in the financial year.
d) The Glebe Avenue street sign is still unrepaired but is now scheduled to be done within the next few weeks.
e) A reply has been received from the Highways Agency following enquiries about the M1. Work on extending the M1 to four lanes by utilising the hard shoulder will commence in 2013. There are no immediate plans for noise reduction at Woodall but this will be kept under review. This item will be on the next agenda to consider further action.
150.10 To consider planning applications
a) RB2010/0505 - 2 storey extension at Serlby Lane for Mr. P. Stasi
Resolved: That there is no objection to this application. Carried
151.10 To consider other planning matters
a) A planning board and site visit in respect of the application at the former allotment site on Serlby Lane will be held on 17 May. The Parish Council will be represented at the site visit
b) Further discussions with RMBC indicate that no further information will be issued to owner occupiers of non traditional housing regarding finance. Proposals to share building specifications have also not come to fruition.
c) Concerns were raised about the effect that recent successful planning applications on Serlby Lane / Union Street would have on key infrastructure elements such as drainage. The Clerk was asked to raise this with RMBC Planning and Streetpride to ascertain the current status of drainage and whether the impact of new house building had been considered.
152.10 To receive the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on Tuesday 4th May 2010
Resolved: That the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 4th May 2010 are accepted. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried.
153.10 To approve renewal of Parish Council Insurance for 2010/2011
The Council has reviewed its insurance needs for the coming year and sought additional quotes. A new Aviva Parish Council insurance scheme was considered alongside the current Aon policy. It was considered that considerable savings could be made by taking out the new scheme, while retaining the same level of cover.
Resolved: That approval is given to the Aviva policy via Came and Company at a premium of £1300.65. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Hall. Carried.
154.10 To approve updating of the Chairman’s Allowance for 2009/2010
Resolved: That the Chairman’s Allowance for 2009/2010 should increase to £110.00. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
155.10 To approve the end of year accounts for 2009-10 (as recommended by the Finance Committee)
Resolved: That the Parish Council end of year accounts for 2008/09 are approved and adopted by the Council. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried
156.10 To verify bank reconciliation to 30 April 2010
Bank statements were checked and initialled by two Councillors.
157.10 To consider reinvestment of a Cooperative Bank Guaranteed Investment Bond
Resolved: That the Cooperative Bank Guaranteed Investment Bond maturing on 17 May, plus interest accrued, is reinvested for a further six months. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
158.10 To consider options for investment of Parish Council funds
Resolved: That a further £25,000 is invested in a Cooperative Bank Guaranteed Investment Bond for a period of three months. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried.
159.10 To consider requests for financial assistance
a) A request has been received from the Carnival Society for unspecified sponsorship of this year’s Shire Horse show at the Carnival.
Resolved: That sponsorship of £100 is approved in respect of the request from the Carnival Society to support the Shire Horse show at the Carnival. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
Agenda item 25 was moved to the end of the meeting to allow for items approved at this meeting to be paid.
160.10 To consider risk assessment matters
The Leisure Centre risk assessment has now been undertaken. Signage issues were raised and will be addressed. The bowling green surround is in need of repair but this was deferred pending the outcome of discussions on the future of the bowling green. Safety signage will be displayed during the interim period.
161.10 To consider allotment matters
There is currently a dispute between several people over positioning on the waiting list for Winney Hill allotments. This is proving difficult to resolve and may not be resolvable under current rules and conditions. The Parish Council is currently developing an Allotments Policy which will be completed by August. In advance of this, it was considered that an earlier resolution was required to resolve the waiting list issue. This would prohibit existing allotment tenants from being added to the waiting list for another site. This would effectively resolve the dispute and improve the waiting list position for current non-allotment holders. Advice has been received from YLCA in respect of this.
Resolved: That existing allotment tenants are prohibited from renting or joining a waiting list for another allotment site in Harthill. Proposed Cllr. Leigh, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried.
162.10 To note any correspondence
There was no correspondence that was not covered under other agenda items
163.10 To consider nomination of Councillors for RMBC Scrutiny Panels
There were no nominations
164.10 To receive reports of April/May external meetings
a) A meeting of South Rotherham Rural Transport Group was held on 12 April but was not attended. It was noted that details of this meeting had not been circulated. The issue of public transport will be on the next agenda.
165.10 To receive information on external meetings arranged for May/June
a) The next Parish Council Network meeting will be held on 9 June at 5.30pm in Bailey House
b) The PACT meeting is on 11 May at 6pm at Anston Parish Hall. This clashed with the Parish Council Annual Meeting so no-one was able to attend.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Resolved: That the meeting is adjourned for comments and questions from the press and public. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Hall. Carried
No members of the public attended the meeting
166.10 To consider matters relating to the Village Hall
a) A report has been received from DTP with proposals for plumbing, boiler, heating and water issues. This was accepted and will now go forward for costing
b) Following a presentation by Waring Associates solicitors, the Village Hall Management Committee has approved progression towards charitable status and the formation of a limited company.
c) RMBC has offered to act as third party funder in the event of an external funding bid to a landfill provider by either the VHMC or the Parish Council.
167.10 To consider grounds maintenance matters
a) The road repairs on Woodall Lane / Winney Lane have still not been completed and no definite date has been established for the work to be done. The Clerk will follow this up with RMBC on a regular basis.
b) An estimate has been received to plant a laurel hedge on Parish Council land to prevent damage to a resident’s fence at the Winney Hill recreation ground. Costs are estimated to be £250-300 depending on the number of plants required.
Resolved: That the planting of a laurel hedge at the Winney Hill recreation ground is approved. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried
168.10 To consider proposals for a Parish Council Grants Policy
Resolved: That the draft Grants Policy is approved and adopted for 2009/10. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried
The new grants policy will be publicised on the website and in the summer edition of The Hart.
169.10 To consider proposals for a holiday play scheme in Harthill during summer 2010
An evaluation of the Mega-Active Easter play scheme was circulated prior to the meeting. This had been very positive and the Council discussed a proposal from RMBC to host a further play scheme for two weeks during the school summer holidays. This would be charged but subsidised by the Parish Council at an approximate cost of £1200
Resolved: That the proposal for a two week summer holiday play scheme is approved. Suggested weeks are w/c 26 July and w/c 13 August. Proposed Cllr. Leigh, seconded Cllr. Gunby. Carried
170.10 To consider matters relating to footpaths and bridleways
a) A report was given on the latest and last footpaths inspection walk / inspection. This has been sent to Claire McRoy at RMBC and a further meeting will be arranged for May..
b) A meeting with RMBC re a footpaths booklet for the Parish has been held and was very productive. A Parish Council sub-committee was proposed to take the project forward.
Resolved: That a Parish Council sub-committee will meet monthly in the first instance to consider plans for a Parish footpaths booklet. Proposed Cllr. Gunby, seconded Cllr. Leigh. Carried.
The Clerk will consult Councillors on a suitable date for the first meeting.
c) There were no objections to RMBC proposals to redirect public footpath 24.
171.10 To consider matters related to the Woodall Lane play area
a) Remedial works undertaken in March appear to have been successful and drainage is much improved.
b) A meeting of the play sub-group will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 18th May to discuss development and funding opportunities.
172.10 To consider a further response to the pharmacy application to NHS Rotherham
Resolved: That a letter is sent to the NHS Appeals Unit expressing the Parish Council’s concerns over this proposal. Proposed Cllr. Pattison, seconded Cllr. Simmonite. Carried.
173.10 Individual Councillor Reports (For information only)
Cllr. Thompson requested that the Chapel Path is put on the next agenda
Cllr. Simmonite asked if additional daffodil planting could be considered for Hard Lane and Winney Hill
174.10 To approve accounts for payment
Resolved: That the accounts for payment are accepted and approved for payment. Proposed Cllr. Hall, seconded Cllr. Thompson. Carried.
The meeting closed at 9.30pm