Highnam Parish Council

Lassington Oak Highnam ~ Linton~Over~Lassington

MinutesaMeeting of Highnam Parish Council

held in The Old School on Tuesday12 June 2012 at 7.30pm.

Present: Cllrs: M Heenan (Chairman), D Davies, W Davis, Y Watkins, N Finch, D Nelson

In attendance: Mrs J Rosam (Clerk) and 2 members of the public.

Public Forum: a maximum of 15 minutes will be allowed for questions and comments from members of the public. A question was asked about a proposed bus shelter.

  1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs M Leigh and I Bateman.

  1. Members of the Council are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business setout below.

None

  1. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting held on 8 May 2012

The minutes were received and signed by the Chairman as an accurate record.

  1. CountyCouncillor’s Report

Cllr P Awford had sent his apologies and there was no report.

  1. District Councillor’s Report

Cllr Davies signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office for the office of Vice Chairman.

Cllr Davies reported that the planning department at the Borough is currently undergoing a review. Problems exist with enforcement and illegal sites. He attended a presentation on the Localism Bill and new Standards Regime and asked the Clerk to arrange its circulation among Council. He was also following up the repair of a junction box on Oakridge.

  1. Clerk’s Report

Appointment of new Clerk

Cllrs M Heenan and Y Watkins had interviewed three candidates for the position; Mrs L Pritchard, Mrs A Davis and Mr R Hicks. Richard Hicks had been offered the job which he had accepted. The Clerk would arrange handover.

Cllr I Bateman had resigned and the Clerk had notified the Borough to begin the vacancy procedure. An election had not been called following the resignation of Mark McGillion so Council is now free to co-opt. The Clerk would advertise the position for the next meeting.

There were still a number of Jubilee mugs available for sale and an email of thanks had been received from the primary school.

The Clerk had also received information on the Standards Regime which was debated. Cllrs M Heenan and W Davisagreed to attend a training session at the Borough on 18th June.

The Clerk had contacted the Highways Agency requesting that they cut down the weeds along the central reservation of the A40 in Highnam.

7.Grounds – To consider the annual safety report and necessary actions

The annual inspection had been received; it showed that2 areas were classified medium risk requiring immediate attention, 3 areas of surfacing required making good and one area of surfacing required monitoring. The report had been circulated to all Councillors. It was agreed to contact Greenfields and Cllrs W Davis, M Heenan and D Nelson would meet with them to discuss remedial action.

8.Finance

(a) To consider a request for a grant from Sustrans

A letter had been received from a representative of Sustrans requesting a grant of £150 towards a carved wooden sign for the cycle track. All agreed.

(b) The following invoices were agreed for payment

RBS Premium a/c / Cheque / Power
12/06/2012 / Loop Scorpio Ltd - broadband / 1111 / 12 / £57.00
12/06/2012 / Playsafety Ltd - inspection / 1112 / 14 / £111.60
12/06/2012 / Glasdon UK Ltd - dog waste bin / 1113 / 28 / £160.48
12/06/2012 / John Brennan - audit / 1114 / 16 / £250.00
12/06/2012 / HCCT - room hire / 1115 / 19 / £17.00
28/06/2012 / Mrs J A Rosam - salary / s/o / 17 / £374.05
£970.13

Additional invoices agreed:

12/06/2012 / Guy Shankster - grounds / 1116 / 4 / £96
12/06/2012 / GAPTC – training course for new Clerk / 1117 / 16 / £85
12/06/2012 / Mr R Pepperd – Sustrans grant / 1118 / S137 / £150

(c) The following bank reconciliation was agreed

RBS Account
Balance at 28/04/2012 / £22,786.54 / Payments June 2012 / £970.13
Payments Apr 2012 / £2,693.35 / Restricted funds / £30,998.95
Receipts Apr 2012 / £20,917.98 / Operating balance / £9,042.09
Recreation Ground Project
Balance at 27/04/2012 / £3,625.46 / Restricted funds / £625.05
Operating balance / £3,000.41
  1. Residual items.

A complaint had been received about the amount of oil seed rape grown around the village.

An email had been received from Bredon Parish Council concerning possible development in Highnam. The Chairman did not consider that this required any action at present.

Volunteers were needed for the Fun Day on 17th June.

A query was raised about permission that had been granted on a planning application, Cllr Davies agreed to follow up.

The meeting closed at 8.25pm

Next Meeting: Tuesday 10th July 2012

Signed______Date ______

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