WEST WITTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 14th JANUARY 2016

Present:Cllr David Brown, Chairman

Cllr Christine Donovan-Brown

Cllr John Hunter

Cllr Graham Bottley

Tc Harker, Parish Clerk

7 residents

  1. Approval of minutes, 12th November meeting. The Chairman and Council approved the minutes of the previous meeting.
  2. Matters arising;
  • Beacon to mark the Queen’s 90th Birthday. The parish Council have been invited to light a beacon to mark the Queen’s birthday on 21st April. In the past organisation of beacons has been done by other individuals and not the PC. Cllr Brown will speak to people who have organised beacons on Penhill before to see if they would like to organise it again.
  • Letter from Upper Dales Heath Watch. A letter of introduction to the Central Dales Practice, for new residents has been received. It was agreed to laminate this and display it on the bus shelter notice board. A list of local taxi firms has also been received, Cllr Bottley reported that the receptionists at the Doctors surgery answer many calls asking for help to find transport. It was agreed that it would be useful to display this list too. A discussion took place on the creation of a ‘welcome letter’ with this sort of information for new residents and visitors, Tc Harker advised that there is already a letter like this on file and agreed to update this if necessary.
  • Yorkshire Water.Cllr Brown has a meeting scheduled for 14th January with Yorkshire Water, primarily to discuss the release of sewerage on Kagram. John Loader provided some history and background information.
  • Flooding at Mill Dam.The Wall behind the pond will be tidied once the weather has improved. The sandbags will remain in place until the risk of further flooding has passed, then they will be stored behind the shelter at the Smorthwaite Garden. Cllr Hunter was thanked for his help during the flooding. It was decided that a flood gate should be installed to prevent a build-up of water behind the wall in extreme weather, this will be looked into in the spring and could be funded by the Smorthwaite Garden account.
  • Any Other Matters Arising.A letter has been received from North Yorkshire Police Traffic Bureau to say they will be measuring speeds at each end of the village and they will be in touch once they have gathered the information.

There has been a complaint about the signs for the caravan site on Green Hill obscuring the view for drivers leaving Kagram. Cllr Brown will remove the sign and speak with somebody at the caravan site.

  1. Planning Issues.

Senior Planning Officer Paul Martinson has been in touch with the Parish Clerk, to seek the Parish Council’s opinion on the application to turn the Old Methodist Chapel into a dwelling, with particular interest in the potential loss of a community facility. The following response was sent:

  1. Financial Matters:
  • Report of payments made/received. A payment of £714 has been received from the Digital Transparency Fund.
  • Payment of outstanding invoices/expenses. The Clerk was paid £714 for computer equipment, printer and internet access, as granted by the above fund.
  • Proposal to increase burial costs. It was decided that the costs of burials should be increased to bring us more in line with other villages. A list of prices for Aysgarth and Leyburn were compared with ours, the Parish Clerk will find other comparisons with similar sized cemeteries for next meeting so a final decision can be made.
  • Final Decision for Parish Precept. After considering a report of our income/expenditure for the financial year, and considering our reserves currently above the recommended 1.5 times precept amount, it was agreed that the Precept for 2016/2017 should remain the same at £2400.
  • Changes to external audit regime for 2017 onwards. A briefing paper from the YLCA outlining the changes to the way councils will be audited has been received. A decision to remain opted in to the current arrangement where an external auditor will be appointed on our behalf was agreed.
  1. Swinithwaite news/issues.

The Highways department are looking into the damage at the top of Pattimer Lane, but need to determine who owns the bank before it can be repaired. They have also agreed that Hargill Lane needs to be repaired. Cllr Bottley will maintain contact with them to secure a start date.

Cllr Bottley will arrange installation of the Swinithwaitedefribrilator and liaise with Ilovebroadband who have agreed to pay for the installation.

A fundraising evening in Swinithwaite will be arranged in the spring to fund spare pads/batteries etc for both defibrillators. It was suggested that a set of spares should be kept in stock so in the event of the defibrillator being used, there would be no delay in having it available for use again. Cllr Bottley is arranging donations of goods and services that can be raffled/auctions on the evening.

  1. Any Other Business.

The Clerk will send Parish Council minutes to the Darlington and Stockton Times in the hope that they will be included.

It was reported that the last collection time was displayed incorrectly on the postbox in the centre of the village, the Parish Clerk will contact Royal Mail about this.

Due to the long delay in procuring a waste bin for Swinithwaite from RDC, it was agreed that the Parish Council will buy a bin for Swinithwaite bus shelter from our own funds. Cllr Bottley will chose a suitable one.

7.Confirmation of date and time of next 2 meetings.

The next meeting has been set for Thursday 10th March at 7.30 in the Village Hall.

The following meeting has been set for Thursday 12th May at 7.30 in the Village Hall.