Lubenham Parish Council
Minutes of the Council Meeting
held at Lubenham Village Hall
on Monday 9th March 2009
Present
Councillors Diana Cook (Chair), Terry Cain, Dilys Leeder and Bruce MacPhail. Also present were two villagers and, for part of the meeting, Mr John Malone of Energy4All and Beat Constable Andy Cooper.
1012 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Poyner was unable to attend due to holiday arrangements and Cllr Stout was detained in Manchester through business. Their apologies were accepted.
1013 Minutes
The Minutes of the previous meeting, held on 9th February 2009, were accepted as a true record.
1014 Clerk’s Report and Matters Arising from the Minutes
[A copy of the Clerk’s Report is included as an appendix to these Minutes.]
The Report of the Clerk’s activities since the previous meeting was accepted.
Cllr Leeder claimed that the drain on Main Street was blocked when The Hawthorns development was built. It could not be cleared with rods because there was nowhere for the water to go. The Clerk would ask Mr Bishop for a site meeting at a time mutually convenient to him and Cllr Leeder.
The Clerk would check whether a recent report on the Alderman Newton Fund activities had been received.
1015 Correspondence
[A copy of the correspondence received and sent is shown as an appendix to these Minutes.]
· The Clerk would ascertain whether Electoral Roll Canvassing had to be undertaken by Parish Clerks or if members of the public could do it.
· It was decided not to renew the subscription to the Leicestershire & Rutland Playing Fields Association. The Clerk would write to explain that Council feels it did not gain any benefit from membership.
1016 Accounts
The Clerk presented a statement of the Council’s three accounts which is shown as an appendix to these Minutes. The Council adopted the accounts. Proposed: Cllr MacPhail; Seconded: Cllr Leeder.
It was agreed that the Service Level Agreement with LRALC (for the provision of up to £750-worth of IT equipment) should be signed and forwarded forthwith. Proposed: Cllr MacPhail; Seconded: Cllr Cain.
1017 Annual Statement of Accounts
It was agreed that Mr Rainbow be asked to prepare this year’s Statement for the same payment as in 2008 –– namely, £75,00. Proposed: Cllr MacPhail; Seconded: Cllr Cain.
1018 Council’s Business Plan
This would be deferred to the April meeting for detailed discussion.
1019 Planning Matters
[A list of planning applications and permissions received since the previous Meeting is shown as an appendix to these Minutes.]
Two applications had been received since the February meeting ––
09/00177/FUL
Mr and Mrs M. Wale: Erection of two- and single-storey side extension and repositioning of garage, 23 School Lane. Council would make no comment.
09/00224/FUL
Mr and Mrs Graham: Erection of a carport, 1 Tower Court. If this address were within the conservation area the design was inappropriate. The Clerk would ascertain whether permission was needed but make the foregoing comments.
1020 Businesses on Foxton Road
Cllr Stout had stated that the business in question –– one offering coal and other fuels –– did not sell from the Foxton Road site. Council decided to keep an eye on the situation.
1021 Wind Farm Proposal Update
Mr Malone outlined the situation from the developer’s viewpoint. The fieldwork had been completed, the anemometer removed and layout was being finalised. The background noise had been measured in four locations within the immediate area. Experts in that field were studying the effects on TV and radio reception.
He thought the planning application would be submitted within eight to ten weeks (some time in May). Meanwhile public exhibitions, probably in Lubenham and Market Harborough, would be held around the end of April and the montages and write-ups were being prepared. He assured Councillors that Energy4All was not in negotiations with any other neighbouring landowners.
Mr Malone hoped to attend the Council’s April meeting; if not, he would send a written report of the up to date situation.
1022 Section 106 Funding relating to The Hawthorns
Cllr Poyner had given the Chairman the names of a number of solicitors and she was discussing a possible half-hour initial consultation.
1023 Annual Open Meeting
A short discussion took place on the format of this meeting. It was important to attract parishioners and it was agreed that the Council would send a letter to every household as well as a notice appearing in the Newsletter. There could be a Have Your Say session, or people could say what they would like the Council to do; perhaps there could be an external speaker. The Beat Constable would be invited and all village organisations offered a space for a display.
1024 Parish Notice Boards
The Clerk would ask Mr Langham whether he could fit a pin-friendly surface to the public part of the main notice board to discourage people stapling notices.
1025 Human Excrement Problem
This had on occasions been found on the railway embankment and near the gates to Thorpe Lubenham. Pc Cooper is to investigate.
1026 Mrs Loakes’s Commemorative Seat
In view of Mrs Loakes’s poor health it was decided that a dedication ceremony would be inappropriate. Cllr Leeder was asked to buy a card and flowers, up to a value of around £35, to be delivered to Mrs Loakes at Lenthall House. Proposed: Cllr Cook; Seconded: Cllr Leeder.
1027 School Lane to Old Hall Lane Footpath
The Clerk reported that there had been no development to date.
1028 Parking on Village Street Corners
Pc Cooper agreed to ‘ticket’ offending vehicles with a polite reminder that their parking caused difficulties to other road users. (Vehicles parked on pavements should allow enough space for a wheelchair to pass on the nearside and be more than 15 metres from a junction.) Persistent offenders would receive a fixed penalty fine. Attention would be drawn to the availability of off-street parking in Connell Close.
A description of the scheme would be included in the Harborough Mail and Newsletter.
The Clerk would investigate having a sign erected to direct motorists to Connell Close.
Pc Cooper was continuing enquiries into the recent vandalism of the telephone kiosk and would investigate the alleged shooting of a cat.
The signs urging people to ‘Stop the Gartree Turbines’ had been vandalised. One was torn down and broken up; the other had completely disappeared.
1029 Matters for the Next Agenda
· The trees recently planted near the Marston Turn
· Alderman Newton Fund report
· Application for Grant towards the cost of new bell ropes
· Mr Vale’s letter about speeding traffic on Foxton Road
There was no other business and the meeting ended 8.51 p.m. The next meeting is to be held on Monday 20th April 2009.
Signed ______Date ______
Chairman
Lubenham Parish Council 9th March 2009 : Page 2