Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on the 24th September 2015 at BrynOffaSchool, Pant.

PRESENT: Chairman : Cllr Mrs. Dilys Gaskill, Cllrs. K. Allcock, A. Brown, R. Hitch, P. McConville, T. Mason, M. Melling, P. Roberts, B. Robinson, Mrs. J. L. Smith and the Clerk Mrs. V. E. Byrne. Shropshire Cllr Arthur Walpole also in attendance and Mr and Mrs. Catlow.

15/097 APOLOGIESI.G. Pollitt - holiday.

15/098 POLICE REPORT. PCSO Kurt Mabe gave the Report from the 1st July to date – An assault, a traffic collision on the A483, no injuries. Report of a speeding car, driver warned of confiscation of the car. A concern for welfare of a lady on the main road. Report of suspicious vehicle on Penygarreg Lane, but no registration given. Theft of a dog, taken by neighbours, but returned by Police. Concern for welfare of a male in Pant, who had got out of a car and the carers were trying to get him back in the car. A vehicle without tax. Children creating noise on the Hill - Police attended. Suspicious attempt at theft of oil. Alarm at BrynOffaSchool in Pant, but all was OK on attendance. Concern for welfare as male being aggressive in the car park of the pub, he was arrested. Cctv at the shop recorded theft. Anti social behaviour at Heritage Way dealt with. Report of shop lifting. Report of a fire under the bridge at Llanymynech. Reports from horse riders being scared by a dog at a house on Smelthouse Lane barking very loudly as they pass, and the owner will be spoken to. House burglaries which had taken place in the area were carried out by a gang from the Midlands and finally two fixed penalty tickets have been issued to tractor drivers abusing the weight limit on the bridge in Station Road, Llanymynech. The Chairman commented on the long list of incidents, but it was noted that it covered 3 months. Letter from Mr. Connell concerning parking on Station Road, Llanymynech was received and handed to PCSO Mabe to deal with. Letter from Melissa Bebb offering to attend village events to speak about crime prevention. It was agreed to invite her to the Autumn Bazaar at Pant Memorial Hall on the 3rd October. Cllr McConville reported that cars are speeding through the village between 8 and 9am.

15/099 MATTERS RAISED BY THE PUBLIC. Mr & Mrs. Catlow of Plas Cerrig Cottage addressed the Council concerning the planning application at Lower House Farm, Llanymynech for sheds to house 100,000 chickens approximately 250 yards from their home. They were extremely surprised as the nearest neighbours, they had not been given written notification of the application. They had tried four times to get information from the Planning Department without success. Mr. Catlow had noted that there were a lot of objections on the planning website mainly from the Badgers Green estate, which made him think that the other properties near him may not know of the application. The Chairman read out the Minute of the 28th May which contained the Parish Councils comments on the application. Mr. Catlow said the issue of dust emissions had not been addressed in the application. Cllr Walpole said the application had not yet been decided and would be going through the Committee process. Phillip Mullineux is the Planning Officer dealing with the application, he advised Mr. & Mrs. Catlow to send their comments to him, but if they cannot lodge them on the planning portal, to send these direct to himself.

15/100SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL REPORT. Cllr Walpole had brought a copy of the Definitive Map for the Council. He reported that he had attended a full Council meeting that day mainly covering corporate, accounts and audit matters. The issue of refugees coming into the county; as all Council have to play a part in that so a cross Party group has been set up to look at that with an Official with specific responsibility. LJC had met to agree grants from the £3k fund for youth activities, Llanymynech Youth Club had been granted £500 along with two other applications, so £1,500 had been spent. The wind farm applications had been refused, the only one allowed was the re-build at Llandinam. Shropshire Council have written to ask for confirmation that the pylons will not go ahead. The wind farm applicants can go for a judicial review on the decision and they have a 6 week period to do so. Mention was made of the Badgers Green Play Area as he had helped to get the Developer to deal with the groundworks. A light at Rhiew Revel Close had been reported to him, but the Clerk was dealing with this. He had also dealt with the Vron Vedw lane complaint. Llanymynech A483 pedestrian crossing complaints had resulted in a village petition and a meeting at the Bradford Arms on the 15.9.15 which he attended. Arwel Jones had given his apologies due to another meeting, but he would be discussing the matter at Carreghofa CC next week. It was agreed that the beacon be repaired and the poles should be more brightly illuminated, as the drivers are looking at the junction and missing the crossing just before it. Bob Headley said people use the thoroughfare of the Bradford Yard as the junction was too dangerous and the pavement too narrow, so it would be better to move the crossing further south. A light controlled crossing would be much safer. Cllr Mrs. Smith said she had attended this meeting, but was unaware that it was being held in the Bradford Arms. It was agreed to write in support of improved pole lighting and to suggest the crossing be upgraded to pedestrian controlled lights.

15/101 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Mrs. Gaskill Declared an Interest in item 12 on the Agenda and signed the book accordingly.

15/102 PLANNING. Decisions since the last meeting were noted.

15/103 MINUTES Minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd July 2015 were Proposed by Cllr Mrs. Smith and 2nd by Cllr Mason with all in favour.

15/104 PLAY AREAS ANNUAL INSPECTION REPORTS The Clerk gave the reports of the recent inspection of play equipment. The skate equipment had been refurbished since the inspection was undertaken. It was agreed to remove the wooden equipment from the Pant QE11 field as some of it was showing signs of rot.

Photographs were circulated of the completed play area at Heritage Way. The Opening would be arranged for the school half term holiday. The Clerk was thanked for the extra effort she had made to complete this project.

15/105 ROADS AND FOOTWAYS. Report of dips in the carriageway near CliffPoint, Nelly Wynne’s corner on the A483.

15/106 SKATE PARK The Clerk reported that Lightmain Ltd had gone into liquidation. A new quotation had been obtained from Leisure Active Services Ltd to go with the quotations from Kompan and Ray Parry Ltd. LAS Ltd half pipe Option 2 measuring 1.6m high by 4.8m wide and 10.2m long and costing £24,758.00 was agreed to be the best option. The youth shelter pod was agreed at a cost of £3,800.00.The bench and the bin were omitted from the quotation as the bench was not thought to be necessary and the bin will be purchased separately. This would bring the total to £28,558 plus vat leaving £777 plus the cost of the bin to be funded from the Neighbourhood Fund. It was agreed to enquire about the guarantee that the company could provide and to involve the Youth Club in the choice of colours and final decision.

RESOLVED to hold a meeting with the Youth Club and Carol Jones and Councillors on a suitable date and to invite Emma Barker of L.A.S. Ltd to attend.

15/107 CORRESPONDENCE Letter of thanks from Gareth Eggar, Shropshire Wildlife Trust for the provision of the litter bin at the Underhill Lane Car Park. Invitation to the SALC AGM on the 31.10.15 to be held at Brookside Community Centre, Telford from 9.30am to 1.pm. Letter from Severn Trent to Hillside residents regarding the road closure. Closure of Primrose Lane, Pant for one day.

15/108 STREET LIGHTING The Clerk reported on the Burial ground light move which was now going through the wayleave process. Report was given of a fault on the A483 on pole 49 near Pant Memorial Hall. The light at the end of Rhiew Revel Close had been repaired in May, was now faulty again and found to have a burnt out cut out. This had been reported to Scottish Power and awaited their repair.

15/109 VILLAGE MAINTENANCE The bin at Underhill Lane needs to be emptied. The downpipe at Hillside Barn still awaiting removal as the rain is causing the ground to become waterlogged. The owners of the Barn to be contacted again.

15/110 AUDIT. The External Audit had been completed by Mazars and the Return signed offwithout comment.

15/111 FINANCIAL MATTERS AND ACCOUNTS. Accounts for payment as list totalling £33,588.23 were Proposed by Cllr Allcock, 2nd by Cllr Roberts with the majority in favour, Cllr Mrs. Gaskill abstained.

15/112 INVESTMENTS. The Clerk gave information on the Council reserve for play equipment maintenance from the s106 money amounting to £55,689.33and suggestions for investing this amount in secure Bonds. It was Proposed by Cllr Allcock that £10k be invested in a 1 year TSB Bond and £45k be invested in a 2 year TSB Bond. Seconded by Cllr Mason with all in favour and therefore RESOLVED.

15/113RIGHTS OF WAY the signpost for the bridleway at Holly Lane has been missing since July and needs replacing. The Bridleway requires clearance as the trees are overhanging and preventing use. The signpost at the Pant Memorial Hall path is rotten at the bottom and requires replacement.

LIST OF ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT:

1316 / Scottish Power / 359.00 / Light energy x 2
1317 / V E Byrne / 545.40 / Sal September
1318 / Highline Electrical / 164.16 / Lighting Maint.
1319 / V E Byrne / 75.00 / Repay of repair.
1320 / Lawrence Direct / 7.49 / Stationery
1321 / Playsafety / 195.60 / Inspection fee
1322 / Ray Parry Ltd / 32 232.00 / S106 Play Area
1323 / Mazars / TBC / Audit fee
1324 / Glyn Gaskill / 209.58 / Website + host
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