Agenda Item No. 7
ROMNEY MARSHES AREA INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD
A meeting of the Board was held at Brookland Village Hall, on Wednesday 18th June 2014 at 2.00 pm.
PRESENT
D Body Esq., F Cooke Esq., L. Cooke Esq., S Marshall Esq., W Maylam Esq.,D Wheeler Esq.,Elected Members. Cllr M Burgess,Cllr P Coe, Cllr A Ganly, Cllr A Hills, Cllr C Hill, C. Jenkinson Esq., R Nickerson Esq., Cllr R Patten, Cllr T Preston, Cllr Mrs S Prochak, Cllr C. Ramus, Appointed Members. N. Botting Esq., Clerk/Engineer to the Board, Mrs D Chalcroft, Finance Officer and R Monje Esq., Assistant Clerk/Engineer to the Board.
457. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from C Apps Esq., P Boulden Esq., A Clifton Esq., D Cole Esq., T Piper Esq., and B Wrout Esq., Elected Members.Cllr A Clifton-Holt, Cllr A Cragg, Cllr R Tillson and Cllr D Wimble, Appointed Members.
458. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the meeting held on 29th January 2014 having previously been circulatedto members prior to the meeting were taken as read. The minutes were accepted as a correct record of the previous meeting and signed by the Chairman.
459.MATTERS ARISING
447. Matters Arising
The Clerk stated that, with this being an election year and the probability of new members joining the Board, he would be sending out new register of interest forms with the invites to the next Main Board meeting. He continued that this should simplify the adoption of a Code of Conduct for members.
456. Any Other Business
Cllr A Hills wished to clarify his suggestion at the previous Board meeting of a whistle blowing policy regarding the Environment Agency. He stated that as well as Board members reporting Agency-related problems to Board officers, staff could also apprise the relevant levy-paying Councils of any issues. This would allow additional pressure to be applied to the EA when works part-funded by the Precept were delayed or not carried out.
460. ENGINEERS PROGRESS REPORT
The Engineer read through the reports from March and the most recent in June. The Engineer explained that the EA had received extra funding for maintenance work and he had been assured by Operations Manager, Ian Nunn, that a full programme of weedcutting in both Rother and Romney areas would be carried out.The Engineer updated the works carried out by Board staff on the upstream side of the outfall to the Maude Lesser Sewer; stating he was pleased to report that the work was complete and positive comments had been received. D Boby Esq. asked why the Vinal Sluice, an EA asset, had been replaced as the new tilting weir was now smaller in diameter than the old penstock. The Engineer explained that the structure was still adequate for anticipated flows and allowed for holding varying levels as well as being more tamper-proof, something that had caused issues previously. He added that Vinal Sluice was, in effect, the dividing line for drainage between Romney and Walland and its existence was to allow for passage of water only in the most extreme of circumstances. Reference was also made to another connection in Old Romney but this was a small, high level pipe that hadn’t been used for years.
461. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF THE F & G P COMMITTEE
The Vice-Chairman gave an overview of the minutes of the last two meetings of the Finance and General Purposes Committee and made comment on the Winter floods adding that no domestic properties had actually flooded. The Vice-Chairman made comment on the attendance of Ian Nunn of the EA at the March F&GP meeting and the Agency’s explanation of events over Winter. It was agreed that Mr Nunn’s contribution to the meeting was much appreciated. Cllr A Hills commented on the recent news of the EA’s removal of its nationwide regions meaning that sixteen areas now reported directly back to Government; he expressed concern on how that would affect the Board’s relationship with the EA on a local level. The Engineer replied that the Board’s officers still dealt with the same members of staff at the Agency and hoped this continued but concurred that the effect on future relationships was as yet unknown; Cllr Hills also commented on how sea defence schemes and maintenance may be adversely affected as different areas fought for funding; much debate then ensued on long term maintenance. F Cooke raised the delay in the Broomhill Sea Defence scheme that had been scheduled to start in June but had now been postponed; confusion existed over the new start date, some had heard August, others October, the Engineer stated he would contact the Agency for an answer.
462. RATES TO BE WRITTEN OFF
A list of rates to be written off had previously been circulated. It was proposed by Cllr Mrs S Prochak, seconded by Cllr A Ganly and carried unanimously that rates totalling £41.76 be written off.
463. CONSENTS
The Engineer read through the list of consents previously circulated, there were no issues raised.
464. ACCOUNTS VOUCHERS
The Vice-Chairman presented the list of accounts paid that had already been checked by the F&GP Committee, there were no issues raised.
465. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
The Financial Officer gave acomprehensive breakdown of the Income and Expenditure statement, there were no issues raised.
466. FINAL ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2014.
The Final Accounts, having been previously circulated and examined and confirmed by the Internal Auditor, were presented to the Board. Cllr R Patten asked why there was a significant variation in the Upland Water Contribution between 2013 and 2014, the Clerk explained that the payment was based on estimated works, actual works and future works so variations were inevitable. It was PROPOSED by Cllr R Patten,SECONDED by S Marshall Esq and voted for with one abstention* that the Final Accounts be approved.
Cllr A Hills commented on the Special Levies and how the amounts were calculated as the percentages did not reflect the area of land covered by each council. The Clerk explained that the figures were based on the value of non-agricultural land in each council’s district. Cllr Hills suggested that questions may be raised by levy paying councils as to how the figures are produced; the Financial Officer explained that the breakdown of the levies was on the Board’s website and met the requirements of Defra.
467.ANNUAL RETURN & INTERNAL AUDITOR’S REPORT
The Accounting Statements and Annual Governance Statements for the Annual Return to the Audit Commission were then presented to the Board. It was PROPOSED by Cllr R Patten,SECONDED by S Marshall Esq and voted for with one abstention*that the return be signed and dated by the Chairman and Clerk.
*Cllr P Coe had previously advised the Clerk, that, as this was his first meeting as a member, he would abstain from any vote.
468. ELECTION 2014
The Clerk informed the Board that this was an election year and reported that the Register of Electors was available for perusal. He added that, should an election be necessary, he had fixed the date of 29th October. The first notice had been placed in local newspapers and on the Board’s website, further notices would appear as necessary.
469. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
It was resolved that the next meeting of the Board would be held at Brookland Village Hall at 2pm on Wednesday 19th November.
470. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Cllr Mrs S Prochak asked what actions the EA could take regarding Japanese Knotweed on the River Rother at Robertsbridge . The Assistant Engineer replied he would look into the matter and report to the Councillor.
Cllr A Hills informed the room that he had attended a meeting of the South Eastern Coastal Group. At the meeting, the EA had stated that, over a two and a half month period during the previous winter, the coast had suffered the equivalent of 25 years of erosion. Board members acknowledged the extremity of the weather and the need to maintain sea defences to continue protection of the marsh.
The Clerk informed the Board that the issue with power supply at Kitsbridge Pumping Station was resolved with British Gas back-dating the bill for one year only; gratitude was expressed to the Financial Officer for her tenacity in solving the problem.
There being no other business the meeting ended at 1530hrs.
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