Brent Pelham and Meesden Parish Council
MINUTE OF
BRENT PELHAM & MEESDEN PARISH COUNCIL
THURSDAY 17 January 2013
VENUE: MEESDEN PARISH ROOMS
PRESENT:
Mr Trevor HughesChairman
Major Ted BarclayCouncillor (Vice Chair)
Mr Steve MurphyCouncillor
Mrs Kate HinchCouncillor
Mrs SarahWootton-RamsayCouncillor
Mr Colin Hamilton Clerk
Mr Ken NewsteadClerk
One member of the public was present at the second half of the meeting
Minute ItemAction
Year.Month.Item
13.01.01Apologies for Absence
Councillor Dimsdale and District Councillor Rose Cheswright
13.01.02Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meeting of 4 October 2012 have previously been
circulated for electronic review and approval by the councillors.No
objections had been raised and the Chairman duly signed the paper version.
13.01.03Matters Arising
Clerk Hamilton explained that the land at the front of 6 Elms needed to be
recorded by the Land Registry as Meesden Village Common Land.Clerk Hamilton
13.01.04Appointment to Clerk of the Council
The Chairmanstated that Clerk Hamilton had tendered his resignation at
the previous meeting and welcomed Mr Ken Newstead to the role. Mr Hamilton
stated that there were still many aspects of the Clerk role that Mr Newstead
needed to learn and the handover period was going to continue for some months.
13.01.05Planning (Applications)
- Extension – Borley Green (BP)
- Extension – 3 Rose Cottages
- Build over Garage – The Tree House Meesden
District planning approval has been granted for the above applications.
- Planning Permission - Woodland adjacent to Rectory Farm
It was noted that the Appeal has been rejected and an enforcement notice
to replant woodland was still outstanding.Chairman
13.01.06Highways
The Chairman reported that a pot-hole adjacent to Elm cottages had been
notified to the Highways department and repair was expected within days.
He has placed an article in the next Newsletter giving villagers the contact
number for reporting problems.
Flooding adjacent to Puddles Barn has been notified to the Highways department.
Councillor Hinch reported that repairs to the pot holes on Kennel Hill should be
Completed by April 2013.
13.01.07Finance
Accounts – The Clerk presented the accounts to the council. These
showed a current account balance of £161.09 and a reserve account
balance of £3,147.36. Forms for the change of Clerk details were passed to
Mr Newstead for submission to the Bank.Clerk
Audit Submission – None this report
Proposals for Payment None
The Mr Hamilton stated that in previous years, where a surplus was in existence
at year end, contributions were made to the village halls and PCC’s. Thisaction
had been suspended in recent years due to the significantcommitments arising
from legal costs, drainage, tree felling. It wasdecided to put consideration of a
donation on the agenda for the June meeting.
Clerks Expenses
Mr Hamilton presented his expenses in the sum of £171.92 for the year, which was approved.
Precept for 2013/14
Precept Upon Billing form showing zero increase on 2012/13 as approved at last
meetingwas signed for submission to East Herts Council.Clerk
13.01.08Proposed use of Meesden Phonebox
The Chairman stated that he has the lottery application had been successful
and they will be crediting the account with £1750 grant on the 1st Feb.
Mr Newstead indicated that he expected that installations costs will be met by
local donations.
The Chairman is to submit forms to BT for the purchase of the Meesden Kiosk
and passed a copy of the BT contract to Councillor Wootton-Ramsay for use with the
possible purchase of the Brent Pelham kiosk.
13.01.09Meesden Green Repairs & Maintenance
The Chairman reported that he and Councillor Dimsdale met with Carol Lodge from the
Wildlife Trust regarding the maintenance of the Meesden Nature Reserve and following consultationwith John Godfrey who was previously maintaining this area informed Ms Lodge
that the Nature Reserve will be maintained annually along with the rest of the Common
Land in Meesden.
Council Noticeboard
The Chairman reported that the noticeboard for Meesden was erected and the action
is now closed.
13.01.10Code of Conduct
The Chairman reported that the Councillors had signed and returned their Declaration
Of Interest forms and acceptance of the Code of Conduct was proposed by Councillor
Hinch and seconded by the Chairman.
13.01.11AOB
Future Planning Application– Councillor Wootton-Ramsay stated that she intends
to make a Planning application for the construction of a Cart Lodge at her property.
PC Emails-. The Clerk gave some detail on emails being sent to the BP&MPC email
Address and the Councillors at the meeting were invited to state which emails should
be automatically forwarded to them.Clerk
13.01.12 Date of Next Meetings
The next Parish Council meetings are to be held on:
Thursday 18 APR 2013 @ 19:30 in Brent Pelham Village Hall
Thursday 13 June 2013 @ 19:30 in Meesden Parish Rooms