Presentmr. D. Burchell, Mr. P. Enston, Mrs. A. Smith, Mrs. C. Rahaman, Mr. J. Kendall

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Minutes of the meeting of Barlestone Parish Council held on the 12th July 2017 at the Bowls Club, Bosworth Road Playing Field.

PresentMr. D. Burchell, Mr. P. Enston, Mrs. A. Smith, Mrs. C. Rahaman, Mr. J. Kendall

Mr. P. Burchell Borough & County Councillor Bill Crooks

Apologies Mrs. C. Watkins, Mr. D. Crane

Mr. Crooks had previously circulated his reports which contained an item re new waste lorries and vans which will need replacing next year. The decision needs to be taken as to whether to buy or hire the vehicles. If they decide to buy then there will be associated costs re maintenance, staff etc.

1Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Proposed as a true record by Mrs. Smith, seconded P.Burchelland all in agreement.

2Matters Arising/Clerk’s update

• Bus Service –emails had been received from a resident complaining about the loss of bus services to Barlestone

Councillor Crooks had attended a meeting at Battram at which members from Arriva had been present and understood there could be some changes. It is now understood that the 6.28 am bus service from Barlestone to Leicester will be reinstated but no decision yet on the last bus from Leicester to Barlestone.

• An email from Mr., Marriott re cutting of Bowls Club trees and dumping of soil had been received. The Chairman confirmed that the cost of transporting soil to landfill was not financially viable and therefore by moving the soil from the building site has saved thousands of pounds of ratepayer’s money.

• Barton Road – speeding- The County Council have assessed the location and the road does not score highly compared to other sites. Records show that in the last 5 years there has only been 1 personal injury accident reported and therefore they are unable to proceed with any physical engineering measures.

• Bus Shelter – accident 02/02/17 – letter received by Cathie Watkins from Police stating they would offer the driver an intensive training course over half a day and the driver would have to pay the course fee.

The members were not satisfied with this and felt contact should be made with the police as this driver failed to stop and report the accident, it appeared to be careless driving, it happened outside a school as the children were due to be collected by parents, damage was caused to the bus shelter which needed to be replaced. The members questioned what sort of message does this send to the community. A reply will be sent to Leicestershire Police.

3Planning

Ref,17/00652/HOU140 Newbold Rd, Barlestone – single storey rear extension

P.Enston declared an interest and took no part in the discussions or voting.

No objections were raised by the members present.

4Finance –

a) Accounts for payment, The list having been circulated were proposed by Mrs. Smith, seconded P,Burchell and all in agreement.

Mrs Roberts (RFO) informed members that LRALC were launching an internal Audit service next year and although at present our Internal Auditor does not make a charge, the members need to be aware that this could be the case in the future and therefore needs to be covered in future budgets.

b) Village Hall Loan/update

An application has been made to the LRALC for permission to apply for a loan. This will then be sent to DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) for permission. Hopefully this will be in the time frame requested of 1st Aug.2017.

c) Grant Request – received from the Stars Club at the school. Details of their income and Expenditure will be required before consideration can be given.

5Neighbourhood Plan

Report from Mrs.Watkins -Attendance is still very low (apart from the one meeting which was packed out...) but we are progressing. We are planning to hold two “Community Drop In” events in September, we are away quite a lot that month so I have asked John Preston from the RCC if he can make Saturday 2nd September 10am to 4pm at the Pavilion and Thursday 14th September 3pm to 8pm at the Football Club – if he comes back to me and I manage to pick it up while we are away I will confirm these. These events are managed by the RCC and the steering group and comprise mainly of displays of subject areas where residents can express their likes and dislikes by writing on post it notes and putting them onto the relevant flip charts. The subject areas are:-

Public Rights of Way

History & Heritage

Open Spaces & Environment

Facilities & Services

Traffic & Transport

Housing

Renewable Energy

Communication

Local Economy/Employment & Business

I’ve also just submitted our application for funding which comprises:-

Publicity Flyers & Posters £164

Questionnaire Printing £1285

Incentives (prizes) £40

Refreshments for Drop In Events £20

Publicity Banner £20

Although the Questionnaire won’t be distributed until the new year, we needed to apply for funding to get it printed as the minimum application was £1000.

We also have a web site which Marilyn/Jackie will be linking to from the PC website (replacing everything other than the outline words as it is so difficult to keep it up to date) – it isn’t perfect as yet as there are links which need to be fixed but it is getting there... Hopefully the things which need to be fixed will be done while I am away and a Facebook page which you can find by searching for Barlestone Parish NDP on Facebook.

Janet Barwood has taken on the secretary’s role and Sally-Ann Galbraith has taken on liaising with the school, the first bit of which is a logo competition which they will be doing after the summer break.

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6Allotments – update

Mrs. Watkins reported prior to the meeting that we have another new tenant for 20F which has been dormant for a very long time despite having rent paid on it. Brian has been away but will be spraying it for the new people. Mrs Watkins intends to do an advert to try to fill the other vacant plots.

7Playing Fields –

• BOCA will again be holding a firework display on the3rd November, our Insurance company have been informed and BOCA will have their own insurance and should carry out a risk assessment.
• Car Park Lighting is to be looked at once the village hall is up.

D.Burchell reported that the contractor is to dig a trench for the CCTV cable around the building.

• Assembly Point in case of emergency is designated as the car park.
• Contractor Insurance request to be queried with Sylvester (Architect)
• D.Burchell reported that there had been an incident at the Bowls Club with traveler boys causing damage to the pitch, interrupting the game and throwing stones, one of which it a car in the car park belonging to a visiting team member. Police had been called, statements taken and CCTV of the offenders handed over. The owner of the car that was damaged had been requested by his insurance company to pay £300 excess and requested that the Parish Council pay this amount as he had heard that there is always trouble down at the playing field. D.Burchell had responded that only twice in 30 years had this happened and it was not a regular occurrence. There were signs in the car park stating that cars were parked at owners risk and therefore there was nothing the Parish Council could do.

8Cemetery

Plans for a memorial garden have been submitted by the Barlestone Brownies and Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Rahaman had looked at them and will be making recommendations to the Parish Council in the near future. It was noted that all those that entered will be presented with a Certificate and once the area is complete then a photograph will be taken and a plaque will be placed acknowledging the contribution by the Brownies.

P.Enston is to acquire some block paving which will be used in the design.

The water tap in the cemetery is now working and the main tap located in Westfields.

9Fun Day

Mrs. Watkins sent in her report - Catering, fun fair, ice cream man, running club for children’s sports, dog show folks, etc all ok – Marie Burns, winner of Best in Show at Crufts 2016 will be coming along with her winning doggy... There will be a small group of ukulele players also there on the day.

There is a final planning meeting at the Pavilion 7pm on 26th July

10Any other Business

• Trees – the clerk has obtained a map from LCC showing the areas of the village for which they are responsible.
• Grant Applications – Criteria needs to be looked at – Agenda for next month
• Remembrance Day – Mrs. Rahaman to obtain red cellophane to cover the lights
• J.Kendall reported he is still waiting to hear from the school re CCTV
• A resident, Mrs. Harvey has put forward a plan for May Meadow Nature Reserve and the members were keen for this to go ahead as a project.
• D.Burchell reported the PC have been awarded a grant towards work at the Round House but in light of the amount of money the PC would have to contribute this will need to be put on hold for the moment.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.50 pm