JANUARY 2010 PARISH COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES

Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting

held at The Village Hall, Hothfield,

on Monday 11 January 2010 at 7.00pm

[ DRAFT - to be formally accepted at next meeting ]

PRESENT: Mrs S Whittington, Mrs K Pender, Mrs P Warren,  Mr J Collins, Mr P Howard, Mr L Krause and Mr A Rawlins

PARISH CLERK:                  Mrs J Batt

BOROUGH COUNCILLOR:                                                    

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:    There were 3 Members of the Public present

1.           APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

An Apology for Absence was received from Mr L Hughes (Work Commitment).

Councillors unanimously agreed to approve Mr Hughes absence from the meeting.

  2.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no Declarations of Interest.

i)       Updating of Declarations of Interest for the Code of Conduct

                  Councillors are reminded that they should update their Declarations of Interest

                  with the Monitoring Officer if necessary.

3.        CO-OPTION OF PARISH COUNCILLOR

 Applications for the vacant position of Parish Councillor have been received from 2

residents of Hothfield. 

Councillors decided to defer the co-option until the next meeting to give the Clerk time

to find out whether both candidates could be co-opted.  

Action:  Clerk

4.          PUBLIC INTERVAL

There were no questions or comments from the Members of the Public present.

5.        ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Minutes 83 were accepted and it was unanimously agreed that Mrs Whittington should sign

them as a true record of the meeting.

Proposed  Mr Krause       Seconded  Mr Collins

6.    MATTERS FOR REPORT ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES

           Ash Tree

           The Village Hall Committee had nothing to report and suggested that the item should be

             removed from future agendas.        

         Dog Fouling

     This continues to be a problem.  We have a new Dog Warden who is very efficient and

anyone who is concerned about any issue regarding dogs in the village should ring her

number as she is keeping a diary of calls.  The Dog Warden’s number is in the

Hothfield Newsletter.  The more residents who ring, the more likely we are to be

successful in our efforts to deal with the problems being caused by  the dogs. 

Over the past few weeks 8 dogs have been running loose around the village and the

members of the Parish Council are extremely concerned that they will cause a serious

accident.

              Speed Watch

              An article will be put in the Newsletter again and a copy will be sent to the website.

7.       FINANCE

Funding of Newsletter

The Clerk told Councillors that by continuing to pay the bills for the production of the

Newsletter this during this financial year, once the grant has run out, or by paying for the

printing for next year without a written request they are acting ultra vires.

The Clerk will contact the Editor and ask him for a written request, but the current situation regarding the Newsletter is as follows:-

1.   We have not received the written request for funding from S137 from the Editor.

2.   The Editor has indicated to the Chairman that the cost of printing the newsletter could be as much as £140 per month.

3.   All invoices are made out to the Parish Council and paid direct to CASE.

4.   The Editor receives no remuneration whatsoever for his work in producing the Hothfield Newsletter.  He does receive expenses to cover postage.

5.   The members of the Parish Council discuss the content of the Newsletter with The Editor when necessary.

6.   Currently the Parish Council has no concerns about the content of the Newsletter.

             In light of the above the following was agreed upon:-

                   Resolution:  Councillors agreed to continue to fund the publication of the newsletter

from S137 for the remainder of this year and for the next financial year.

         Accounts to be Paid

           Resolution:  Councillors unanimously agreed to pay the above accounts.    

         Action:  Parish Clerk

         Bank Balance

            The balance stands at 14910.85 in the Reserve Account, £100 in the Current Account and

            £10630.56 in the Corporate Bond. 

Insurance of MUGA

Following the Email received from Came & Co in which they state that it will cost £406.35

to cover the MUGA for £90,000 from 1 June 2010 – 31 May 2011 and £211.52 to cover

it from 1 January 2010 – 31 May 2010, Mr Krause proposed and councillors unanimously

agreed the following:-

Resolution:-

It was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should contact Came & Co and ask for the

MUGA to be covered under our Parish Council Insurance Policy with immediate

effect.

Action:  Parish Clerk

8.        CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS

SMP

Clerk and Councils Direct

KALC Minutes and Agenda for meeting to be held 02.12.09

G Burley & Sons Ltd

Kent Air Ambulance Trust

Rekk

ABC re Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004           

Audit Commission

KCC Consultation Draft:  Community Infrastructure Provision Service Strategies in Kent 09

Explore Kent

ABC re Precept request

English Rural

ABC Housing News

ABC Report of the Chairman of the Parish Forum

ABC Notice of Standards Committee Meeting 18.12.09

English Rural – The Bulletin

Hothfield Village Hall Management Committee

Kent Top Travel

KALC Parish News etc

Jacobs

Letter from the elderly of the village re condition of paths during bad weather

The Clerk was asked to write to Dave Beckley’s supervisor and tell her that Dave is a great asset to Hothfield.

                              Action:  Clerk

Following discussion, it was agreed that Mrs Whittington should answer Mr Twydell’s

letter of 9 October 2009.  One of the points raised by Mr Twydell was the £730 in the

Village Fair Group’s bank account.  It was agreed that Mrs Whittington should suggest to

Mr Twydell that this money should be transferred to the Village Hall Management

Committee as they are the group most likely to organise a fair in the future.  The money     

would be earmarked and only used to pay for expenditure in connection with a

Village Fair.     

                              Action:  Mrs Whittington                                  

 Contract for Litter Picker

 It was agreed, following discussions with KALC, that we will pay Mr Marden for one

 weeks holiday and one weeks sickness per year. 

 It was agreed that Mrs Whittington should take a copy of the contract to Mr Marden.

                              Action:  Mrs Whittington      

 Notes of meeting of Working Party set up to discuss Village Hall

             The notes of the meeting held last week were circulated to all present and discussed.

             A request for new members to serve on the Village Hall Management Committee has been

             put in the Newsletter and sent to the Kentish Express.

             There are serious concerns regarding the Village Hall finances and the it was agreed that the

             Committee needs the support of the Parish Council in their endeavours to become self

             financing.

             Mr Rogers has arranged for the Community Payback team to undertake some work

             in the hall.

             The Village Hall Management Committee have asked whether the members of the Parish

             Council have any objection to them extending the Premises Licence for Sundays from

             6pm to 10.30 pm to cover the Cinema Club.  Councillors had no objection.

             It was agreed that another meeting will be held to enable the members of the Village Hall

             Management Committee and the members Parish Council to discuss other issues which

             are causing concern or are unclear. 

             It is essential that an agreed working arrangement is set up between the Parish Council and

             the Village Hall Management Committee.                       

 Computer Course

Following the results of the Village Appraisal carried out last year, a taster day has been organised for 22 March by Training Highway.  This is Free of Charge to participants.  The Course is specifically designed for those older members of the community who are not at all computer literate or who have a little knowledge and wish to improve their skills.  There are 3 levels complete beginners, intermediate and the more advanced. The funding for a 10 week course is £3200 and funding sources are being explored.  Any students who do not live in Hothfield will have to pay for the course.

Concern was expressed that once they have completed the course some members of the Community will not be able to afford to buy their own computer.  This issue is being considered and possible venues for allowing members of the public access to a computer are being investigated.

 Cold Weather Strategy

 There is no legal duty on the Parish Council to clear the pavements of snow and ice during

 bad weather.  We do not have a power to pay for salt bins, salt, grit or anyone to grit the

 paths.

 Christmas Tree

We have budgeted for a Christmas tree for Christmas 2010 and after discussion it was agreed

that Mr Rawlins will investigate the cost of buying a rooted tree which can be planted

during the year in readiness for Christmas.   

                              Action:  Mr Rawlins  

 Youth Project

Mr Rivers submitted our bid for funding last week.    The funding will allow the project to

run for 3 years.  If we are successful then the project will give the young people of

Hothfield the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification (NVQ) in

something they are interested in such as football referee or hairdressing. 

The project will work with Goldwyn School who have very good facilities.  Transport will

be provided to different events.

  9.    PLANNING

Please see attached list.                

10.       FORUM FOR EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN COUNCILLORS

          Mrs Warren reported that she did not manage to help the lady as discussed at the

            last meeting.

            The Clerk was asked to contact KCC regarding the fact that there is no bus service

            to or from the village after 5.30 pm.

         Action:  Clerk                  

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.06 pm.

HOTHFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

PLANNING APPLICATION RECORD

FOR MEETING DUE TO BE HELD DURING DECEMBER 2009

Due to poor weather conditions and the fact that this application was not considered to be contentious, a decision was agreed verbally by Councillor Whittington, Councillor Howard

and Councillor Hughes

09/01250/AS     Mr L Green, 26 The Street, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent TN26 1ES

Internal plastering to walls and ceilings.  New floor to study.  Installation of external boiler.  Installation of new joinery at ground floor level.  Repointing to external elevations

                                                          Parish Council:  Support

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