APRIL 2010 PARISH COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES

Minutes of the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting

held at The Bluebell Centre, Hothfield,

on Monday 12 April 2010 at 7.00pm

[ DRAFT - to be formally accepted at next meeting ]

PRESENT:        Mrs S Whittington (chair), Mrs K Pender, Mrs P Sutcliffe, Mr J Collins, Mr P Howard,
Mr D Parker and Mr A Rawlins                                                                                                                                              

PARISH CLERK:     Mrs J Batt

BOROUGH COUNCILLOR:                            

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

1.   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

An Apology for Absence was received from Mr L Krause (prior engagement).

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.   PUBLIC INTERVAL

The meeting was opened to the Members of the Public present for questions and comment.

4.   ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

 The quiz was held on 26 March not 27 March.    

 Minutes 86 were accepted and it was unanimously agreed that Mrs Whittington should sign

them as a true record of the meeting.

5.   MATTERS FOR REPORT ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES

 There were no Matters Arising.

6.   VILLAGE MATTERS    

 MUGA

Mrs Whittington is going to visit the youth group next week, with Mr Parker if he is available, to discuss current situation with the MUGA.

We hope that 2 or 3 of the group’s members will attend the APM to discuss funding the amenity with those present.

 Dog Bins

 Following Mrs Sutcliffe’s meeting with the Dog Warden, it was unanimously agreed to  pay for one new Hercules Bin to be installed on the Play Area.   The Dog Warden has also promised new notices for the area.

   Proposed  Mr Collins  Seconded  Mrs Pender

Children’s Play Area

The new Play Area was opened on 27 March and is proving to be very popular.  The members

of the Public present raised some concerns regarding safety during the Public Interval and

Mrs Whittington said she would contact ABC regarding these.

Action:  Mrs Whittington

Election Procedure

The Clerk reported that it is up to the Returning Officer to advertise a vacancy for a councillor in the first instance and suggested that we report any resignations to the Editor of the Newsletter to enable them to report the vacancy in the Newsletter if they wish to do so.

Traffic Management

The speed of traffic through the village, particularly along School Road, continues to be of concern to councillors and residents.  The staff of the Bluebell Centre want us to work with them in an effort to have flashing lights installed in School Road.  The Parish Council unanimously agreed to support the Centre. We will need to have a traffic management control on all roads through the village.  

We hope that KCC has budgeted for repeater signs to be installed, as once they are in place the police can prosecute speeding drivers. 

Mrs Whittington is meeting with Jenny Wickenden on 16 April to discuss the potholes in the Village.          

Bus Stop

The bus stop in School Road is filthy and the Clerk was asked to contact ABC and ask how much they will charge to clean it once a month.

                Action:  Clerk

Our request for more visible signs at the bus stop on the A20 has been passed to the Roadside Infrastructure Manager at Stagecoach.

 Village Hall

 The Committee thanked everyone who attended Quiz Night.    

 The Committee are working with the RSPCA to organise a Dog Show and Fete on 19 September and they are also hoping to start up a 200 Club in the near future.

Mr Rogers was congratulated on the work he has done on the website.

 Minutes of Meetings

Mrs Whittington asked whether the Minutes of the Village Hall Committee could be published on the website in future.  Mr Collins will raise this at the Village Hall Committee’s next meeting.

Computer Course

Following on from the recent Taster Day, 22 people have expressed an issue in enrolling on the course which will start on 27 May.  The course will be funded with £1000 from the Hothfield Education Fund and Councillor King has given us £600 from his budget. Training Highway has kindly agreed to run the course for £1200.  Hothfield Education Fund would like all students to pay a registration fee to help with the cost.

A discussion took place regarding a possible venue for the course as if it takes place in the Village Hall it will be necessary to install a new phone line and broadband access.  The Bluebell Centre already has a phone line and broadband access, so Councillors will talk to both the Village Hall Committee and the Bluebell Centre and decide on the most suitable venue.

Refurbishment    

The refurbishment of the flat roof and toilets is due to start this week and should take about 6 weeks.

Hothfield Newsletter – The Original Proposal

Mr Twydell will produce the May Newsletter and he is then going to hand over to a new Editor.  Councillors expressed their thanks to him for all his work over the past 3 years.

The Clerk was asked to write a letter of thanks to Mr Twydell on behalf of the Parish Council.

Mrs Whittington read through the original proposal for the Newsletter and it was agreed that we do not want to change the basic principles, but that we will discuss this with the new Editor once one is in post. 

Councillors present expressed an interest in being kept informed of developments with regard to a replacement for Mr Twydell.

           Action:  Mrs Whittington and the Clerk

Nomination to HEF

Mrs Whittington instructed the Clerk to contact Mrs Highwood and inform her that the Members of the Parish Council agreed to nominate Mr Peter Patten as their representative during the past month.

Listed Wall

We received an email during the month asking whether the Parish Council could fund the repairs to the damaged wall.  As this is not our property this is not possible.

Annual Parish Meeting

This is due to take place on 7 May and Mr Pender has offered to organise the Ploughmans.

Mrs Whittington asked all councillors to read through her draft report before it is published in the Newsletter.                    

8.    FINANCE

              Accounts to be paid 

           Resolution:  Councillors unanimously agreed to pay the above accounts. 
 

            Bank Reconciliation as at 31 March 2010

          Balance per Cash Book                                          Balance at Bank

            Opening Balance 18169.51                                       Reserve Account  16437.96

            Receipts               21302.94                                     Less u/c cheques          5.85

                                      37472.45                                                                     16432.11

         Expenditure          12299.60                                       Current Account      100.00

                                      27172.85                                       Corporate Bond    10640.74

                                                                                                                          27172.85

            There was an error in the table in the March minutes.  The earmarked funds for

            Youth Activities for Primary School Age children should read £3200 and for

            Secondary Age Children should read £1000 from the 09/10 budget and £1515

            from ESA – Total £2515.  See minutes Oct 09 and Feb 10.

            The figures in the table on page 387 include the total amounts budget for the year for the

            items listed.  The precept to cover the amounts listed in the budget will be received in two

            equal parts in April and September 2010.  The Earmarked funds for Road sweeping and

            the Newsletter will continue to be paid out on a monthly basis.  Bills for the other items

          will be paid as and when they are received.

            Earmarked Funds

              Resolution:  Councillors unanimously agreed to pay the above accounts.

           Councillors unanimously agreed to discuss funding a noticeboard at a future meeting, once

           we have obtained some prices.     

              Insurance

The cost of insuring the Youth Shelter for £5000 and the Village Sign for £2000 will be £25.00

for the remainder of this year.  The premium for 2010-2011 will be £31.61 including insurance premium tax.
 

Resolution:  Councillors unanimously agreed to add the Youth Shelter and the Village Sign to the Insurance Policy.

Action:  Clerk

Action required following Risk Assessment

A new dog bin has been installed and other items will be dealt with following future meetings.

CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS

LCR

ABC – The Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople DPD

Audit Commission

KALC Minutes of meeting held 03.02.10

ABC Chairman’s Report for the Parish Forum Meeting held 17.03.10

Housing News

AwCRK – Traffic Management Forum

KALC Parish News etc

ABC Funding and Support of Voluntary and Community Organisations

Minutes of North Weald Parish Forum

Email Correspondence

Miss Flynn regarding wall.      

Snow Clearance

Deferred until November.

 Christmas Tree

Mr Rawlins will find out how much a 6ft Christmas tree will cost to plant permanently in the curtilage of the Children’s Centre.

            Action:  Mr Rawlins     

10.    PLANNING

Please see attached list.         

We have received notification that a hearing regarding Public Footpath Aw170 (part) Hothfield) Public Path Diversion Order 2009, will be held on 13 July 2010.

Co-option of Councillor to Planning Committee

It was unanimously agreed to co-opt Mrs Sutcliffe to the Planning Committee to replace Mr Hughes.

11.      FORUM FOR EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN COUNCILLORS    

There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.12 pm.

^^^ Up to top of page