Gainford & Langton
MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 6 OCTOBER 2014
PRESENT:
COUNCILLORS: Cllr A. Mackay Cllr C. Dennis
Cllr A. Smith Cllr R. Roff
Cllr S. Hannan Cllr M. Charge (from item 9)
Cllr S. Platten
Visitors: R. Connor (Teesdale Mercury)
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Apologies were tendered and approved for Cllr Russell (unwell)
2. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS:
None
3. MATTERS OF URGENT BUSINESS:
None
4. MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING HELD ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2014 & THE SPECIAL MEETING ON THE 8 SEPTEMBER 2014
RESOLVED: The minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 1 September 2014 were proposed as a true record by Cllr Platten and seconded by Cllr Hannan
RESOLVED: The minutes of the special meeting held on the 8 September 2014 were proposed as a true record by Cllr Dennis and seconded by Cllr Platten
5. PROGRESS REPORT:
The Clerk went through the written report issued with the agenda.
In addition:
· The football team using the recreation field have lost a number of balls in the river or burst by the brambles. The Clerk has discussed the hedging with the estate and they agreed to ask the tenant to manage them.
It was agreed that the possibility of temporary netting is looked in to by the football team.
· Sample costs for outdoor gym equipment were discussed. It was agreed to look into funding options
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· The Clerk informed members that following requests for Croquet on the recreational field he has been talking to other clubs to find out what is required.
RESOLVED: The Progress Report was noted.
6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
No members of the public present
7. LOCAL MAINTENANCE :
7.1 Litter picking - To consider increasing the areas covered by the litter picker - to include the footpath behind the surgery and School Lane
RESOLVED: It was proposed by Cllr Smith and seconded by Cllr Platten to get a quote for the extra work. If the additional work is less than £20 a month the it should be added as described.
8. FINANCE/ACCOUNTS:
8.1 To approve the October finance report:
RESOLVED: It was proposed that the October Finance Report was a true record by Cllr Platten and seconded by Cllr Hannan
8.2 Conclusion of the 2013/14 external audit.
Members noted the comment on fixed assets and were pleased to hear of another successful audit.
9. CORRESPONDANCE:
9.1 Woodland Parish Council - Request for council support in opposing the Windy Banks Wind farm application by Banks Group. RESOLVED: It was proposed by Cllr Dennis and seconded by Cllr Smith that the parish council write in support of the endeavours of Woodland parish council to challenge the planning application.
9.2 Great North Air Ambulance - Donation request. RESOLVED: It was proposed by Cllr Smith to donate £100 to the Great North Air Ambulance. Seconded by Cllr Hannan.
9.3 Darlington & Durham Fire Brigade - Consultation on three year strategic plan - www.ddfire.gov.uk/service-plans. The Clerk will respond to the consultation on behalf of the council.
9.4 Teesdale Action Partnership - Small Grants fund for children and young people in Teesdale area. Noted
9.5 FOI response from Darlington Borough Council re A67 closure/risk management.
The Clerk read out the response received from Darlington Borough Council. It was noted the response identified failings in the preparation and management of the road closure and diversion. Cllr Mackay informed the meeting that a further FOI request had been made to Durham Constabulary to complete the picture.
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10. GAINFORD AT THE HUB YOUTH PROJECT:
Cllr's Platten and Hannan declared a personal interest due to their son attending the project.
Cllr Hannan went through her reports and proposed actions (attached as appendix to minutes)
Members agreed it was important to maximise the council's investment in the project
RESOLVED: It was proposed by Cllr Dennis that the council fund the project for a further 10 weeks. The proposal was seconded by Cllr Roff
11. BONFIRE EVENT 2014:
The Clerk informed members that plans for the 1st November event were in place.
It was agreed to try and increase the bucket collectors on the routes towards the village green
The event will this year be openly publicised
12. PLANNING:
12.1 GLNP
Cllr Mackay was disappointed that following the September discussions a separate meeting to discuss the way forward had not happened.
It was agreed the Clerk will find one of three dates within the next 10 days for a discussion to take place.
13. DATE & TIME OF NEXT MEETING AND AGENDA ITEMS
Monday 3 November 2014, 7.00pm (Supper Room)
Meeting closed
Abbreviations: DCC – Durham County Council, CDALC – County Durham Association of Local Councils
NP - Neighbourhood Plan, GLNP - Gainford & Langton Neighbourhood Plan VH – village hall, TAP - Teesdale Action Partnership
Websites: www.gainfordnet.org.uk
www. visitgainford.com
Follow us on Facebook
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Appendix 1
Report on Gainford Youth Activities and the TCR Hub – October 2014
Setting the Scene:
The youth group came about through discussions with Gainford Parish Council and Durham County Council youth worker Rachel Tweddle following the closure of the youth provision from Teesdale YMCA. The Parish Council and local parents still felt there was a need for youth provision for young people who live in the Gainford Parish. The cost of hiring the Village Hall was not financially viable and so a decision was made to run the sessions at the TCR Hub.
Two meetings were set up by Sarah Hannan, a member of the Parish Council and local parent, to invite young people and their parents/carers to discuss what provision they would like for the village. The meetings were unsuccessful in that no parents, carers or young people attended. The decision was taken to run the sessions for Year 5 to 7 pupils. Durham County Council stipulate that youth workers must work with young people age 12 + but agreed to support the sessions in the hope that older young people would begin to attend and that 10 – 12 year olds would continue to attend as they settled into Secondary education.
We began running the sessions Friday 4th April 2014. We have run 18 sessions up to Friday 19th September. A minibus collects children from Gainford at 4:30 and returns them to the village for approximately 6:45. The Parish Council agreed to pay for the minibus hire from TCR and the payment of a driver. The driver, Jonny Elliott then provides some Outdoor Activities at the TCR Hub whilst the children are in attendance. The cost for transport and driver hours is £53.04 per session.
TCR ask for a payment of £3 per person per activity to cover the cost of instructor hours, wear and tear of equipment and use of resources. The Café is open throughout the session for the purchase of snacks, hot meals and drinks.
Activities and attendance so far:
On average there are 6 male attendees and 2 female attendees.
Activities carried out so far:
The following sessions have been planned since Friday 4th April.
Two canoeing/kayaking sessions, Four high ropes sessions, four art and craft sessions, one cooking session, one bouncy castle session, four BMX sessions, two fishing sessions.
As a DCC youth worker, Rachel Tweddle has to keep records of activities and attendance. In terms of meeting targets, a group of 8 + is viable. A lesser number is not viable as the DCC youth provision could be used elsewhere. In addition to Rachel, DCC also provides an auxiliary worker to assist with sessions from 4:30 until 6:00.
Promotion and Communication with parents/carers:
· Gainford School are very supportive of the initiative and have allowed us to promote the sessions via parental newsletters and giving out letters to Year 5 and 6 pupils.
· Rachel has promoted the club through the Teesdale Mercury on three occasions via the TCR weekly article.
· Regular facebook updates have been added to the TCR Hub facebook page.
· The club is featured on the TCR Hub website and on the noticeboard within the building.
· Letters and posters have been sent to Staindrop School and Teesdale School.
· Rachel and Jonny recently presented an assembly to Year 4 – 6 pupils at Gainford School to promote the sessions, giving out leaflets and pens aswell.
Issues/Concerns:
· On average 8 young people attend the sessions. These tend to be the same group of young people each week and are majority boys.
· The group enjoy using the centre on an informal basis. They are not keen on organised activity.
· On two occasions during the Summer Term, the group requested fishing as an activity. We organised for a volunteer to attend the sessions and run the fishing activity. On both occasions the young people decided on the night they did not want to do fishing.
· On two occasions this term the group have asked for kayaking and then on the night decided they do not want to do this activity.
· Parish Councillors may ask why the youth workers do not work with the young people to encourage the group to take part in organised activity. Our problem is with the young people voting with their feet by not bringing the correct clothing and equipment for the activity planned and/or not having the correct amount of money with them to pay for the activity.
· TCR have asked for a membership fee - £10 for the year – all young people have paid this although it has taken three weeks for this to arrive. It is difficult to turn young people away at age 10 -11 years old when their parents/carers may not be at home to return to.
· The age range for the group must start to rise in order for DCC to continue supporting the sessions.
Conclusions:
· Rachel plus two youth workers from YMCA will be completing detached work on Thursday evenings from 6:00 until 7:30 in the village. This is partly to provide youth provision to the village but also to encourage participation in the Friday sessions.
· If the numbers continue to average at 8, the best way forward may be not to offer specific activities weekly and for the group to use the time to relax in the centre. During the winter months we will be restricted to indoor activities.
· The Parish Council will need to make a decision about whether they wish to continue to support the sessions financially.
· Parish Councillors need to be aware that DCC have made redundancies/cut working hours and so at present, there is no leeway for increasing the hours or adding extra sessions to the current provision.
Gainford Youth Club at the Hub
The Youth Club was set up in response to the perceived need for youth provision within the village, there had been a few minor incidents and a bench had been removed from the Village Green following complaints from surrounding properties.
As of the 3rd October a total of 20 sessions will have taken place at a cost £53.04 per session. I have enclosed a copy of a report that I asked Rachel Tweddle to youth leader at the TCR Hub to provide.
The maximum number of children that have attended is 13 and there is a core number of 8 that attend most weeks.
The pilot has run over the daylight evenings and the activities that have been offered have been predominantly outside. There have also been other activities in the village and the opportunity for the kids to be outside after school.
We are now engaging with young people from school years 6, 7 and 8 that is 10, 11, 12 and potentially 13 year olds. Thus over the course of the pilot we have moved towards the target age group.
The young people that have dropped out have tended to be the ones that were not interested in the outdoor activities that were on offer. Over the winter the club will have to move inside and it is anticipated that there will be more of a social vibe.
Rachel is starting an initiative to go round the village engaging with young people that they meet to find out what they would like to be provided.
I have prepared a questionnaire that I would like to put out in the parish magazine and maybe as a flyer to the kids getting on the bus in the morning. We need to regard them as consumers and prove a club that they want to buy into. A number of the girls voted with their feet when Rachel voiced her opinion that it was not fair to the instructors when all of the young people decided they did not want to do the activity that had been set up that week and just wanted to sit in the café drinking pop and eating chips.
Socially in the 50’s and 60’s young people hung around in coffee bars, when I was a teenager we used to sneak into the local pubs and as long as you behaved you were served. None of these are available to the young people in the village.
Perhaps the best way forward is to provide transport and allow the young people to use the Hub as a social space with activities as and when the young people request them. They spend all week being told what to do perhaps what they really need is an opportunity to let of steam and then chill.
I would recommend that we fund a further 10 weeks with a proviso that if the numbers have not reached a core of 15 with a minimum average attendance of 12 that we should cease to fund the project further.
The additional time would also allow us to assess the information gathered as a result of Rachels work and our questionnaire.
Sarah Hannan
Parish Councillor
1st October 2014
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