MINUTES OF A MEETING OF HAYDON PARISH COUNCIL AT 7.30PM ON THURSDAY 27thOF NOVEMBER 2016, AT HAYDON BRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTRE.
Present : Cllrs. E. Brown, I. Burrows, E. Charlton, E. Faulks (Chair), D. Robson, A. Sharp, J. & L. Thompson, D. Thornhill and S. Walker; members of public and press; C. McGivern (mins).
- Public participation –
a)Mrs Armstrong said that the side of the church clock facing her was not lit. The Chair explained that there is work going on in the tower.
b)A gentleman who lives in the disabled persons’ bungalow complained about the terrible state of the lane in front of his home. He explained that some people have to take a long detour to avoid this section of road. The Clerk will contact James Boulton to try to find out who owns the lane.
c)A local resident asked what could be done about parents dropping off children at the Shaftoe School and blocking the road with their cars. This will get much worse when the additional dwellings are built at the Showfield. Cllr. Charlton explained that this was one of the reasons why the PC had objected to this application. Cllr Sharp said that NCC was aware of the problem, and were looking to draw up a scheme that would be enforceable. He has spoken to the school and the Police about it.
d)Kelly Richardson asked if there was any news about on the proposal to have yellow lines and remove the island in the junction at the end of Church Street. Cllr Sharp has informed NCC that the PC wishes to proceed with these proposals. This will be discussed again by NCC, and they will come back to the PC.
e)Flooding on the Newbrough road, close to the underpass, was raised. This seems to have been worse over the last year. Cllr Robson said that this had been discussed at a recent meeting and the problem was being investigated by NCC and Network Rail to see where the issue lies. They hope to find a resolution soon.
f)Mrs Brown asked if the money for the skate board park had been located. Cllr Sharp had chased this up, but the Finance Officer at the school had no knowledge of it.
- Apologies – were received from Cllrs Fletcher and Ridley.
- Declarations of interest – none were received.
- Minutes of previous meeting – having been circulated, were agreed and signed.
- Report from Northumberland County Council –
Options for purchase of a wheelie bin and stand for installation at the Low Hall layby were discussed. It was agreed that the PC would accept a free used wheelie bin, and pay NCC for the stand and installation. This would cost £207.75. Repair of the damaged railings at the corner of Church Street is planned. The drains in front of Kattan are being investigated to see where the problem lies. The trees in front of the library have not been done yet, but should be pruned by the end of November. Cllr Sharp confirmed that he is happy to put money from his Member’s Allowance into the parking scheme behind the Community Centre.
6. Steve Robson, Technical Support, Team Leader at Northumbria Water –
Mr Robson said that following the floods in December 2015 Northumbria Water had carried out a survey of all of the drains in Haydon Bridge. Cllr Charlton said that the PC did not believe that the some of the drains were adequate. Mr Robson confirmed that there was an issue in the area around Belmont and the level crossing. Some time ago a study had been done with regard to upsizing the main drain in this area, but it had not been deemed to be cost beneficial. He had now had discussions with Aaron McNeil at NCC and was now trying to get a joint scheme with NCC and the EA to take this forward. NW is strictly regulated in what it can invest in, but with the help of these other organisations it might be possible. He explained that the problem was caused when surface water charged down North Bank but then hit the flat area around the level crossing. Cllr Charlton said that it was now almost a year since the floods and yet the drains around the village are still not working properly. When it rains pools form because the water is not being taken away. On the estate the drains will not take away surface water when the river is too high. The drains are regularly flushed out to try to keep them clear. It was thought that this was carried out by ISOS. A member of the public asked about flooding on the road just below Springfield. NCC and Network Rail are currently looking at this issue, and hope to have a resolution soon. Dr Ford said that a sink hole had appeared near the end of Heugh House Lane, and a similar problem had arisen near the surgery. Mr Robson thought that both of these points had now been attended to. Cllr Robson stated that another cause for concern was the proposed development of 75 new houses at the Showfield. The PC had objected to the plans, but they are going ahead. He said that it seemed that the current drains in Park Style could not cope, and are very smelly at certain times. How will they be able to cope with the extra capacity needed? Steve Robson said that the smell would be created when the pump was working, and there was not much that could be done about this. Cllr Charlton explained that on the 5th of December, the field that the houses are due to be built on, had soaked up a huge amount of water all day, and finally was unable to hold any more in the evening and a huge amount of water had been released into the river. Steve Robson promised to take this query away to try to get an answer on this. Mr Robson handed over a plan of the drains to the PC. It was confirmed that NCC is responsible for the storage tank at Peelwell, and that this too was being looked at. Cllr Brown asked for more information about the criteria for a scheme to resolve the problems on North Bank. Steve Robson said that the criteria had recently changed. He said that it was important that every case of flooding was reported to NW. This will be raised in the next issue of the Haydon News, and people will be encouraged to ring NW. Cllr Charlton said that there were 3 drainage issues that had been repeatedly reported. These were Hordley Acres, area between Foundry Yard/Kattan and where there is a dip in the road on North Bank. The Chair thanked Mr Robson for coming to speak to the PC and he left the meeting.
- Highways –
a)The Clerk had reported damaged handrails at Geeswood and Tim Fish will be out to look at them shortly.
7. Lighting –
Cllr Brown wondered when the new street lighting scheme would be coming to Haydon Bridge. Cllr Sharp said that this would be in 2017.
8. Planning –
16/04057/FUL - Proposed demolition of existing garage and erection of a two storey apartment block along with associated car parking and landscaping at Anchor Garage, Haydon Bridge - No objections, however the Parish Council would like to note a factual inaccuracy in the plans. The plan is for 6 dwellings, but there are 8 on the plans. They would like some clarification on this point. Also given the existing problems with lack of parking on Shaftoe Street, the Parish Council does not feel the plans provide adequate parking on site for visitors and carers.
9. Accounts –
As in budget.
The proposed budget for 2017-18 was approved and along with a precept request of £40,000.00
The Chair said that there had been a meeting with ISOS who said were happy to donate a piece of land for parking behind the Community Centre, as long as the PC paid the legal fees. ISOS will get an architect to draw up plans showing the parking bays. Cllr Sharp confirmed that he is happy to contribute to this scheme. The PC agreed to take the scheme forward. If planning permission is agreed then it will proceed.
10. Correspondence –
a) The latest Core Strategy documents were received from NCC.
11. Parish projects –
a) Flooding – Cllr Robson said that he was awaiting approval from NCC for the amendment to the planning application. This should be confirmed by the first week in December. The EA contractors had been asked to direct the flow down the southern side of the river to allow access for Thompson’s wagons. It was noted that the contractors had left piles of gravel in the river. Cllr Robson had spoken to Thompsons and they will look at a new management study and risk assessment. Cllr J. Thompson asked if a full list of flood wardens could be publicised. This will go on the notice board and the website. Cllr Robson had ordered 10 bins for sandbags and the purchase of 400 sandbags was agreed. It is hoped that Thompsons will provide the sand.
b) Bus shelter – Cllr Thornhill said that the bus shelter was being manufactured should be installed by the end of December. By joining forces with Haltwhistle and Henshaw parish councils a saving of £255.00 had been made.
c) Development Trust – there had been no meeting.
d) Local Services meeting with NCC –David Hunt, Neighbourhood Services Mgr. attended on behalf of NCC. The discussion had covered flooding, the Fire Station, local schools etc. Cllr Charlton said that she would like to know what feedback there was from other parish councils, on how this had gone. A meeting of parish councils in the west was discussed. Cllr Sharp said that the West Area Committee meeting, which meets 6 times a year, had a very controlled agenda. In recent discussions with Henshaw it had been suggested that it might be useful for parish councils to get together.
12. Any other business –
a) Cllr J. Thompson suggested the purchase of a plaque to commemorate all the hard work of Haydon Bridge Firemen. She was thinking of something larger than the plaques that had been ordered to go on the restored seats. Cllr Charlton said that Mike Loudon had come into the library to hand over a scrapbook that children at the first school had made, this contained letters and drawings from the children thanking the firemen for what they had done last December. He had also handed over a knitted mascot that had been on the fire engine. These had now been added to the archives. The purchase of a plaque will be discussed at the next meeting.
b) Cllr J. Thompson said that she wanted to record her appreciation for Anton Philips and all the work he has done for Langley Castle and the area. Northumberland Day, which is to be held on May Day Sunday, was instigated by Langley Castle. Anton had pursued this and it is now going to happen. The idea is to promote Northumberland on that day. Cllr Charlton suggested a separate meeting to discuss how this should be marked in Haydon Bridge. Richard Snowdon remarked that there was a Northumberland flag, and that there was a right way and wrong way to fly this. He had been horrified to see NCC officials flying it the wrong way.