TRING RURAL PARISH COUNCIL
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Held on Wednesday 6th December 2017 at Long Marston Village Hall at 8.0pm
Present: Cllrs Ayling, Chalmers, Fox, Lovis, Morgan (in the chair), Thirkettle and Ward, the Clerk ad 9 members of the public.
Minutes
17/175 To receive and accept Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Cllr Winship and were accepted by the Council. Borough Cllr Conway had also sent her apologies.
17/176 To receive Declarations of Interest particular to this meeting
Cllr Ward declared an interest in item 17/186 – Proposed CTIL Telecommunications Base Station Upgrade Installation, having a family connection with the organisation.
17/177 To approve Minutes of the Meeting on November 1st 2017 and sign as a true record
Cllr Thirkettle proposed the minutes of November 1st were accepted as a true record, this was seconded by Cllr Ayling. The minutes were duly signed by the Chairman.
17/178 To review actions from previous meeting, where not covered elsewhere in agenda
Cllrs reviewed actions from previous meetings and the actions log was updated.
17/179 To elect vice-Chair to Council
Cllr Fox nominated Cllr Ward as vice-Chair to the Council; this was seconded by Cllr Ayling. Cllr Ward was duly elected to the position of vice-Chair to the Parish Council.
17/180 To discuss and agree draft Budget 2018/19
Cllr Morgan and the Clerk had updated the draft budget following the last meeting and this had been circulated to Cllrs. Cllr Morgan explained that the proposed precept of just under £24k would cover all the general ongoing costs of the Council. He explained that this would be modified slightly when the Clerk received the grants figures and tax base information from DBC. Cllr Morgan explained to the Council that the increased expenditure on the current year was due to a large number of actions arising from the Risk Assessment carried out earlier in the year which had been building up over a number of years. Holiday pay for employees, training for Cllrs, one- off work at the cemetery and accruals for future elections also contributed to the increase. Cllr Morgan explained the reserves position to the Council. £10k of general reserves had been set aside as well as money earmarked previously. This left approximately £11k of unallocated reserves for the Council to spend on future community projects. The Clerk said that this £11k was essentially the remains of the Solar Park Fund. Cllr Thirkettle said that if all the £11k is spent this year then next year the precept would need to be increased to allow for money for other projects and perhaps the Council should raise the precept by more this year to be in a better position at the end of the financial year. He went on to say that lots of things had come out of the Parish Council Plan questionnaire and asked whether £11k was enough? Cllr Ayling said she would be happy to increase the precept beyond the £24k as the Council were still finding the projects that needed to be done. Cllr Ayling said that the Council didn’t need to spend all the £11k next year and that some items may fall off the list, reducing the expenditure. He went on to say that he felt that Council could justify the precept increasing to £24k but questioned how the Council would explain a further increase. Cllr Morgan commented that currently the Council don’t even know what they will spend the £11k on. Cllr Lovis said that you could argue that £10k of general reserves is too low given that this would be less than the HAPTC recommended minimum of 50% of the precept and perhaps the precept could be increased by a further £2k to make the general reserves up to £12k. Cllrs agreed to this and it was resolved to increase the precept to £26k. This would be finalised at the January meeting when the Clerk would have the final figures from Dacorum. The Council agreed that they would think about how this was communicated to parishioners after the next meeting.
17/181 To update on work on Parish Council Plan and agree next steps
Cllr Fox explained that following the last Council meeting, the Working Party had met and had grouped the 26 priorities by way of a flow chart which had been circulated to all Cllrs. Some of the priorities had been passed onto the Flood Working Party. 11 priorities had been identified as things that didn’t need a working party as such but would frame PC attitudes to decision making or were things due to social irresponsibility where community champions should be sought. The remaining priorities were grouped into three ‘working parties’. 1) Traffic issues, 2) Safe walking routes, 3) Developing community cohesion. Cllr Fox would sit on Working Party 1), Cllr Ward on 2) and Cllrs Ayling and Lovis on 3). Cllr Fox explained that the hope was that the working parties would be made up of both Cllrs and parishioners who have both energy and expertise. He said that these three areas represent a real agenda for improvement for the Council going forward now that many legacy issues have been dealt with. He said that the working parties would need to develop guidelines and would need to consider funding and whether funding is available separate to the PC budget. Cllr Morgan said he thought the flow chart was very good and explained the priorities well. He said it should be put on the PC website and a communication should go out asking for volunteers. He went on to say that each Working Party needed to develop a scoping document containing their objectives and timescales that would need to be approved by the full Council. Cllr Ward asked the Council how they thought the working parties should be convened and how other individuals should be invited to join. Cllr Chalmers said he thought the Flood Working Party should act as a blueprint. He said the traffic working party needed someone to lead it who would be prepared to put in 3-5 years. He said his concern was how to find the right person to lead and drive the work. Cllr Ayling said it was important to make sure the person has the right skills. It was agreed to publish the flowchart and ask for interested parties to let the Council know. (Action)
17/182 To update on draft agreement with LMFC regarding Long Marston Changing Rooms
Cllr Fox reported that Cllr Winship had spent a lot of time putting together a draft agreement between LMFC and the Parish Council. This had been circulated to all Cllrs for approval. Following the Council meeting, the agreement would go to the FC committee with the aim of starting the agreement from the 1st January. The agreement would be open to annual review. Cllr Fox noted that LMFC had said that if a skate park was built near the changing rooms, this would make them reconsider the agreement. This has been written into the agreement. Cllr Morgan said that all Cllrs had had the opportunity to review the document and some had fed comments back to Cllr Winship. Cllr Morgan said his only comment was about the disabled toilet and how the resource should be made more use of. He said he appreciated it couldn’t be left open all the time but asked whether there was a way it could be open more often than just for occasional events. Cllr Thirkettle said he thought that should be the responsibility of LMFC but if the previous Council hadn’t found a solution he wasn’t sure LMFC would. Cllr Chalmers said he thought the agreement should be agreed and reviewed after 6 months when issues could be raised and discussed. Cllr Fox said that there would be 2 payments a season. He agreed that the disabled toilet was an issue but didn’t want it to stop the agreement form starting. Cllr Thirkettle proposed that the draft agreement circulated by Cllr Winship be approved and becomes effective from January 1st and reviewed in June after 6 months; this was seconded by Cllr Ward. Cllr Lovis requested it be noted that he abstained from the vote.
17/183 To update on progress against actions from 2017 Risk Assessment
The Clerk had circulated an update on actions following the Risk Assessment and ROSPA report. It was noted that all Cllrs had read the update and were happy with progress and areas outstanding. The Clerk reported that it had been difficult to obtain quotes for some of the work. Cllr Chalmers agreed to take responsibility for the actions relating to identifying and surveying the trees which the PC is responsible for.
a) To accept quote for work to repair/replace posts at Wilstone recreation Ground
Cllr Chalmers reported that 2 quotes had been received for work to the posts at Wilstone Rec, as per the spec he had produced. Cllr Chalmers had sent round a tender report and proposed that the Council use Town and Country Landscaping who had erected the fence at Long Marston Rec, to carry out the work; this was seconded by Cllr Ayling. It was agreed that the Clerk would place the order. (Action)
17/184 To update on work on GDPR
Cllr Ayling informed the Council that she would be meeting with the Clerk the following week to discuss the implications of GDPR for the Council.
17/185 To discuss memorial requests for Wilstone Cemetery
None
17/186 Planning
- The following applications were discussed
4/02790/17/LDP – 9, Astrope Lane, Long Marston
Extend roof, rear dormer, front roof lights with side windows to first and second floors
OBJECTION
4/02869/17/FHA – Orchard House, Astrope Lane
Single & first floor front, side and rear extensions
NO OBJECTION
Proposed CTIL Telecommunications Base Station Upgrade Installation
Betlow Farm, Tring Road, Long Marston
NO OBJECTION
b. The following DBC planning decisions were noted:
4/01573/17/FHA – 2 Chapel Fields, Wilstone
Conversion and rear extension of existing garage, single storey rear extension
GRANT
c. To discuss and agree Council’s response to Dacorum’s Local Plan – Issues and Options Consultation
Cllr Chalmers said that the Issues and Options paper identified a plot of land in Wilstone, by Grange Road that could be used for the development of about 30 homes. He said that given the pressure DBC are under to provide houses, he felt the Council should say yes to the proposal but that the Council would like to help with the design of the project and also in how any CIL money is allocated and spent. He said that Wilstone residents had asked whether a shop could be included as part of the development but had been told it wasn’t a big enough project. Cllr Morgan commented that the Wilstone sewage system is already under pressure and that this should be mentioned in any response, he also expressed a concern about the infrastructure required to support any development. Cllr Ward said she had been given a contact with Village Foundations who would do the development and suggested that members of the Council meet with them to discuss the plans. Cllr Chalmers agreed to draft a response to the consultation based on the Council’s discussions. (Action)
17/187 Finance
a. The following summary of payment and receipts was noted:
Payments
C Reedman (£46.80), HMRC (£58.19), Cllr Ayling (£98.40), BDO (£516.00), DJ Winfield (315.00), HAPTC (£100.00), MW AGRI (£768.00), Cllr Lovis (£70.42), LMVH (£4,300.00), DJ Winfield (£252.00), Herts. CC (£150.00), LMPHS (£35.00), Wilstone Village Hall (£35.00), All Saints Long Marston (£60.00), St Mary’s Puttenham (£60.00), St Cross, Wilstone (£60.00)
Direct Payments
L Bancroft (£422.36), C Reedman (£232.79), EON (£13.67), Public Works Loans (£2,261.51)
Receipts
Interest (£0.47), APEX Multisports (£2,190.00), Herts. CC (£1,800.31)
Business Reserve 17th November 2017 £50,757.78
b. Cllr Fox proposed a resolution to make the following payments; this was seconded by Cllr Lovis
Payee / Amount / ForC Reedman / £52.41 / Warden expenses November
HMRC / £302.54 / Tax and NI on November salaries
L Bancroft / £653.21 / Holiday back pay
C Reedman / £651.92 / Holiday back pay
Mayfords Residential / £1,300.00 / Boundary survey and staking of boundary
R Salewski / £1,030.00 / Fence erection
EP Productions / £625.00 / Remaining 50% of website development
EP Productions / £84.99 / 12 months hosting and domain transfer
Wilstone Village Hall / £523.62 / Defibrillator Cabinet
- Cllr Thirkettle proposed a resolution to set up a monthly SO for £18.00 (incl vat) to pay Palmers Business Support Ltd for payroll services; this was seconded by Cllr Ayling.
- To take a resolution to set up a DD with HMRC for payment of tax on employees’ salaries. The Clerk explained that HMRC wouldn’t set up a DD and that the Council would need to continue to pay by cheque until they were set up with online banking.
- Cllr Ward proposed resolution to set up PayPal account to pay for firewall for website; this was seconded by Cllr Thirkettle.
17/188 To update on defibrillator cabinet for Wilstone
Cllr Lovis reported that Wilstone Hall had purchased a cabinet to externally house the defibrillator that they already had. Cllr Lovis said it had happened quicker than he thought which is why he hadn’t come back to the Council but that £1000 for defibrillators had been agreed at a previous meeting and he assumed this would be £500 for each village. Cllr Morgan said that cabinets tend to have heaters and asked about the cost of installation. Cllr Lovis said that the cabinet would be put on the outside of the hall and that installation was included in the £523.62.