Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wed 4th March 2015 at 7.30 pm.
Present: Pam Stokes (PS), Peter Deeley (PD), Garry Williams (GW), Rod Jones (RJ),
Clerk.
MINUTES
1. Apologies – Apologies received from Margaret Thiel and Mike Wakelin.
2. To sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday 7th
January 2015 – Minutes were agreed and signed.
3. Members’ declaration of interest for items on the agenda – No interests were
declared.
4. Open forum – It has been noted that a telegraph pole at the top of Townsend
Lane has been damaged and is now a H&S issue as it is in pieces and has sharp
edges. Action: PS to contact someone to make this safe.
Matters arising from the Minutes
1. HS2: Petition has been submitted to the Select Committee. Questions were
raised about what situations HS2 will consider for the ‘need to sell scheme’. HS2
suggested that anyone who feels they have a need to sell should put in an
application, even if they do not fit the criteria, and they will consider each
application on its own merits. 38 delegates attended the HS2 meeting at the
village Hall. The catering costs, which were agreed by all councillors via e-mail
due to the short notice of the event, were £166. The councillors would like to
express their thanks to Fred Dumbleton for his very hard work in the preparation
and presentation to the Select Committee. Action: Clerk to write to FD.
2. Jubilee Field: The post box has been moved. A quote for a new entrance to JF
has been received. The clerk will attempt to obtain further quotes if possible but
the councillors agreed that the quotes seems likely to be the best value we will
get and it can be difficult to get other quotes. The Willow weaving and pancake
event was very successful. There were costs involved in the Willow Weaving
and the councillors agreed to refund any costs up to £50. The JF committee
would like to organise a treasure hunt for Easter and request permission to
purchase items for this event. A spend up to £100 was agreed by all. The JF
committee would also like to be kept informed of any requests to use the field to
ensure that they do not organise any events for the same date. Peter Hornby’s
memorial tree has now been ordered (this was agreed by the council around 18
months ago). A black wheelie bin for use in the field has been delivered. Action:
PS to put in application to receive funds from the NHB for the new
entrance. Clerk to inform JF Committee of any requests to use the field.
3. Burial Ground: A letter has been received from Peter Marsh requesting that the
PC accept responsibility for maintenance of the closed churchyard from 22nd
April 15. This was agreed by all councillors. PM did mention in his letter that he
will ask the volunteers to continue maintaining the churchyard up until that date.
The PC need to confirm if the volunteers are going to continue after this date as
the £250 donation made to this group was for the ongoing maintenance of the
churchyard. Action: Clerk to respond to PM confirming agreement of 22nd
April and asking for clarification regarding the volunteers.
4. CCPF: Hedge needs trimming but the suitable time for trimming this year has
passed. Action: Clerk to put in diary to organise trimming for next Spring.
5. Dog bins: A quote has been received for the emptying of dog bins and there are
a number of styles of dog bin available which vary in price. The councillors felt
that due to the very different opinions held by the councillors (including those not
present) that it would be better to defer this issue until after the elections when
there should be more councillors present.
New Items
1. Correspondence
- Alan Fox at Anglian water has asked if he can speak about the recent and
upcoming works in Boddington at the Annual Parish Meeting. Action: Clerk to
contact Alan to confirm this is acceptable.
- A request has been received from the Village Hall Committee for £1170 of the
wind turbine funds to enable them to install broadband in the Village Hall. The
PC are happy to consider this proposal but also need to check that there are
no other requirements for these funds elsewhere. Action: PD to look into
whether there is a better value option available for the broadband
connection and discuss this with the Chair of the VHC. All councillors to
consider any other possible uses of the wind turbine fund.
- A request has been received to include an area of and in the village envelope.
The village envelope plans have already been submitted and the PC are
currently awaiting a response regarding the consultation so are unable to
make any further changes. Action: Clerk to respond with this information.
- ACRE have asked if Boddington PC would like to support them again this year
with a donation of £35. The councillors discussed the services that ACRE
provide and agreed to support them again this year.
2. Clerks pay and stationery purchasing
- The Clerks pay has increased in line with the payscales agreed by the national
bodies. This will increase again in April. As the clerk is now clerk to 3 councils,
the councillors agreed to purchase items such as paper and printer ink in
rotation.
3. Upcoming Parish Council elections
- The clerk has put together a document advertising the upcoming elections.
The PC agreed that this document should be displayed asap to try to
encourage more applicants. Action: Clerk to e-mail elections document to
PD and PS to display in Boddington and contact the elections team at
SNC to chase up application paperwork.
4. Electronic service of summons consent form
- NCALC have provided all PCs with an electronic service of summons consent
form which allows councillors to sign to agree to receive the agenda in
electronic form. These forms will be distributed at the first meeting after the
elections for all new councillors to complete.
5. Pre-school
- Due to regulations it would not be acceptable for the PC to provide any
financial help to the pre-school. Action: Clerk to write to pre-school to
inform them of this.
6. Street light – Quote received for replacement as repair not possible
- The councillors agreed that all lights in Boddington should be kept in working
order. Action: Clerk to contact E-on to arrange replacement.
7. Letter regarding speeding on Townsend Lane
- A small note should be put in the B&W and on the website regarding speeding
on Townsend Lane. Leaflets will also be delivered to properties in Townsend
Lane. Action: Clerk to complete letter and contact Barbara Hornby to put
in B&W. PS to contact Mary Hunt regarding delivery of the leaflets.
8. Footpath – Warwick Road
- PS has received a response from Helen Howard stating that a new footpath on
Warwick Road has not been accepted as one of the jobs to do this year. The
councillors still feel strongly that this is an issue and have requested that Helen
Howard be invited to the Annual Parish Meeting to give information to the
parishioners about why a footpath is not possible at this time. Action: Clerk to
invite Helen Howard to the Annual Parish Meeting
9. Bank accounts – Online banking and best use of bank accounts
- The Clerk and PD are still in the process of getting the dual authorisation for
online banking set up. Hopefully this will be completed soon. The councillors
agreed that any monies not in use should be kept in the higher interest bank
account, although the interest will be very low. Action: Clerk and PD to
continue working on online banking. Clerk to transfer funds to higher
interest account.
10.Request for use of CCPF for bouncy castle during wedding 6 Jun 15
- All councillors agree that it is fine for a bouncy castle to be used during this
wedding provided that the bouncy castle provider has adequate insurance.
Action: Clerk to put this in writing.
11.Dates for AGM and Annual Parish Meeting
- Annual Parish meeting to be held on 15th April. Items for discussion include the
Burial Ground and HS2
- AGM to be held on 20th May. This will be instead of the normal meeting which
is usually held on the first Wednesday of the month. Action: Clerk to check
with Village Hall that both dates are available.
12.Feedback from preparing for audit course – changes to auditing process
- Due to changes to the auditing process, the PC will no longer be required to
have an external audit after this year. The clerk recently attended a course
regarding auditing and was advised that, due to these changes, having a
thorough internal audit service was advisable. The clerk suggested that the PC
use the NCALC internal auditors if the price is reasonable. The councillors
agreed that, if the cost is below £170, it would be acceptable to proceed with
this. Action: Clerk to confirm prices with NCALC and sign up to the
service if the price is acceptable.
Finance
1. To receive account balances to 24th Feb 2015 Lloyds Current £12,290.90
Lloyds Deposit £6364.23
2. To approve and sign payments to 24th February 2015
K.Buttle
Net
244.87
VAT
0
Total
244.87
Cheque
000363
HMRC/Post Office
Ltd
Staples
Evenley Parish
Council
E-on
K.Buttle
HMRC/Post Office
Ltd
Northants CALC
12.80
0
12.80
000364
7.44
15.00
0
0
7.44
15.00
000365
000366
208.32
244.87
12.80
10.42
0
0
218.74
244.87
12.80
000367
000368
000369
34.00
0
34.00
000370
Payment of £3061.31 has been taken out of the bank account by DD to make
the loan repayment.
All payments were approved and signed.
3. To approve payments received after posting of Agenda - The following
additional payments were approved and signed.
Peter Deeley
Pam Stokes
Katherine
Gulliver
172.00
88.78
42.41
0
0
0
172.00
88.78
42.41
000371
000372
000373
Planning
S/2015/0139/FUL Two storey side extension and brick plinth to part of existing
dwelling. Detached building for parking, workshop and log store. Timber cladding to
existing outbuilding, 19 Warwick Road, Upper Boddington. Supported
Decisions received
S/2014/2204/PA Determination as to whether prior approval is required
(under Class MB of Part 3 of the above Order) for the change of use of an
agricultural building to a dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) , Highlands Farm, Priors
Hardwick Road, Upper Boddington – Prior approval refused.
S/2014/2125/FUL - Replace existing garden shed & trellis work with larger garden
shed, 30 Frog Lane, Upper Boddington - Approved
Date of next meeting Wednesday 1st April 2015 at 7.30pm