Brompton on Swale Parish Council
Clerk: Margaret Lowery, 32 Honey Pot Road, Brompton on Swale, Richmond, DL10 7HT: |
Present: Cllrs A Guest, Chairman B Woodley
F Broughton S Neasham
M Sharpe L Rowe
The Clerk
Cllr C Les
1. Apologies for absence: Cllr Wild; Cllr Dempsey; Cllr Heseltine; Cllr Fryer; PC Sellers
2. Open Forum
2.1 A resident asked if the footpath along Bridge Road from Armstrongs entrance towards the end of the road can be cleared as it is very overgrown. The Clerk was requested to contact Highways. Action Clerk
2.2 Mr Martin-Harper, the new leader of the Beavers section of the Scout Group in the village, attended the meeting to ask the Parish Council to consider using the Beavers for some small scale activities eg litter clearing or tree planting, etc around the village with the idea of promoting community spirit and helping them to gain merit badges. Cllr Broughton asked for contact details as he felt he could use the group on the riverside. It was also agreed that the Beavers would do some litter clearing in the cemetery on 18 October in preparation for the Remembrance Day Service.
3. Presentation by Ian Hankin, N Yorks Fire Service on speed matrix signs – Mr Hankin gave a short talk on the work he has been doing with the new matrix signs. These consist of a sign that flashes and a data recorder. There are only 4 sets of these signs to cover the whole of Richmondshire District. The data once collected is passed onto the Police as the Fire Service cannot carry out enforcement action. The results from the last use of the signs along Bridge Road do not indicate the need for any further action at present. The signs are to be deployed along Gatherley Road within the next couple of weeks but currently there is not a suitable post along Station Road so it is not possible to deploy the signs here. Results will be sent to the Parish Council. The Chairman thanked Mr Hankin for his time and attendance at the meeting.
4. Presentation by Christine Mavin, RDC Rural Housing Enabler on affordable housing
There are now Rural Housing Enablers for all the districts within North Yorkshire as there is a real shortage of housing in the county as a whole. In 2004/5 RDC carried out a housing needs survey which was refreshed in 2007 and currently there are approximately 460-70 people wanting affordable housing. If a village perceives a need for affordable housing then a survey can be carried out to establish what the need is. There are some 100 people on RDC’s waiting list who want to live in Brompton on Swale but without further analysis it is unclear how many of these require affordable housing. Any new development being put forward for planning permission now requires that 40-50% of the houses being built are affordable.
Cllr Rowe mentioned the large number of empty houses in the district. RDC have recently carried out a survey of empty properties and wrote to all the owners/occupiers to see if any of these would be interested in allowing their property to be used for affordable housing. There has been a good response. RDC has also made a grant recently to a housing association to buy properties in the district that can then be used as affordable homes.
It was agreed that a Housing Needs Survey would be a good starting point to inform any future discussions on the issue and RDC will organise this liasing with the Clerk. The Chairman thanked Ms Mavin for attending the meeting.
5. Minutes of the Last Meeting
Cllr Rowe asked that his name be added to the list of apologies as he was away on holiday. The Clerk apologised for this omission.
The minutes of the Meeting held on 20 July were approved.
Proposed: Cllr Neasham Seconded: Cllr Woodley
6. Matters Arising
5 para 1 - Red Telephone Kiosk – Richmond Road – the Clerk had sent photos of the telephone box to BT and received a reply to say that BT will be undertaking some repairs. It is unclear when this will happen but the Clerk will keep the matter under review. Action Clerk
11.4 encroachment onto footpath 48 Brompton Park – this problem was reported to Highways following the previous meeting in July but to date no action has taken place and the path is still difficult to get along. The Clerk was asked to speak to Highways to find out how long it might be before the hedge is cut back. Action Clerk
11.5 Yorkshire Water Authority on waste ground at Scorton crossroads – PC Sellers has now confirmed that this property is still owned by Yorks Water but no further progress has been made in getting any agreement on what to do with the house.
11.6 footpath between St Edmunds Close and Curteis Drive – the Chairman had attempted to speak to the resident who had made the complaint and had spoken to his son who said he would get back to the Chairman but no response has so far been received. Therefore no further action can be taken.
11.7 permissive footpath along the river - as requested at the previous meeting Cllr Les had spoken to the PROW Section at County Hall on behalf of the Parish Council to see if this can be given a higher priority. However since then the path has been further blocked with barbed wire so the Clerk rang PROW Section but with little success. This matter is not a priority so it may be some time before it gets resolved.
The ongoing problem with the blocking of the footpath that crosses from Curteis Drive to the riverbank was also discussed and the Clerk was asked to write to PROW about this so that it can be investigated. The Clerk was asked to also write to the Rural Payments Agency about this as blocking of an existing footpath is a breach of single farm payment. Action Clerk
On a similar note the Clerk was requested to report the ragwort in the field behind the sports field to Defra as this is a notifiable weed. Action Clerk
7. Reports
7.1 Cllr Les apologised but owing to holidays he had not yet been able to organise the promised site meeting to discuss progress with the Iron Bridge. This should be arranged very shortly.
Cllr Les confirmed that he had spoken to PROW about the permissive section of footpath along the river and had thought it was all sorted out. He agreed to have another word. Action Cllr Les
Some changes to the timetabling of the service X34 have been suggested by the Action Group in Catterick Village but these will have a knock on affect on all the other parishes along the route. A letter will be arriving for comments shortly.
8. Current Issues
Cllr Broughton reported that the Connect 2 Steering Group are now going to wait until after the results of the feasibility study being carried out by NYCC in the autumn, are available before meeting again. The cycle route from Colburn down to the bridge is nearing completion. Unfortunately the grant funding application for the route on the north side of the river was not successful but further options are being discussed.
8.2 Cemetery update
Cllr Woodley has now completed his survey of the whole cemetery and has identified 19 monuments in need of some repair or renovation; 12 in the older section and 7 in the new area. The Clerk was asked to check the records to see if any relatives of the deceased can be traced to make them aware of their responsibilities. This should not be too difficult in the new area but may be a problem in the older section. This will need to be reviewed at a later stage and a decision made on what to do about the monuments on graves where no relatives can be found. Action Clerk
The grant application to the War Memorials Trust for renovating the war memorial has been successful. The Clerk will liaise with the contractor, as a contract needs to be drawn up and a start date agreed. There have been some minor changes to the submitted method of working. The contractor has said that the work can be done before Remembrance Day in November. The total cost of the work will be £880 plus VAT and the grant is for 50% of this cost. Action Clerk
8.3 Riverside update
Cllr Broughton wrote a short piece for the current newsletter about setting up a Volunteer Group for the riverside. So far 2 people have offered their help. Cllr Broughton has also prepared a poster to go on the notice boards and in the post office window. Action Clerk
If the dry weather continues then Cllr Broughton will continue with spraying of the Japanese knotweed. Cllr Broughton also confirmed that as agreed he has purchased a new pair of waders for carrying out this work, as he needs to get into the river.
The quote for the work on the ash tree on the common land overhanging the garden of 23 St Paul’s Drive has now been received. This is for £413.25. The chippings from the work are to be given to the Parish Council for use on the footpaths and the contractor is going to remove a couple of branches that will benefit the common land. In these circumstances Members agreed that the Parish Council should pay £113.25 towards the costs and the resident will pay the remainder of the costs. Members agreed that Cllr Broughton should liaise with the contractor and ask for the invoice to be sent to the Clerk. The Clerk will write to the resident and ask for her contribution. Action Clerk
The Clerk provided an update on the web site. There had been no response to the request in the last newsletter for help with the web site, however, the Clerk’s son who has come back to live in the village recently, has offered to take this job on. Susie Broughton who is still carrying out basic updating for the Clerk has agreed to provide some training and advice to facilitate this hand over.
The gentleman who helped the previous Clerk set up the site has recently contacted the Clerk to arrange for the hosting fee of £80 to be paid. The administration of this annual fee is being transferred to the Clerk to make matters easier in the future. Members agreed to the payment and welcomed this course of action. Action Clerk
Due to pressure of work the Chairman has not yet drafted the letter to go to the regular users for which he apologised but he will pursue this as a matter of urgency. Action Chairman
9. Parish Finances
The periodic accounts were approved and accepted by Members.
Proposed: Cllr Broughton Seconded: Cllr Sharpe
10. Correspondence
10.1 Ballot form to elect representative to sit on Richmondshire Area Committee – 2 candidates have put themselves forward for election: Cllr Leslie Rowe, Brompton on Swale Parish Council and Cllr Michael Kerr, Tunstall Parish Council. The Parish Council voted for Cllr Rowe.
10.2 Invitation to attend the Scorton Liaison Committee meeting – the meeting is on 16 September but Cllr Broughton who usually attends cannot go. Cllr Rowe agreed to go in his place.
11. Planning Applications – none.
12. Minor Matters
12.1 Cllr Woodley raised a concern about the company who cleans the bus shelters for the Parish Council. To date the work has been done by the owner, Mr Jones and to a high standard but as Mr Jones’ business is growing rapidly he is now devolving the work to employees. The Clerk was asked to write to Mr Jones to thank him for his excellent work and to congratulate him on his success but also to say that we hope that standards will not fall off. Action Clerk
12.2 The Chairman reported that the paintwork around the windows of the bus shelter at the top of River Lane needs renewing. Cllr Sharpe offered to do the work so long as the Parish Council provides the materials. Members accepted this very kind offer and asked Cllr Sharpe to go ahead at his convenience. Action Cllr Sharpe
12.3 Cllr Sharpe mentioned the recent spate of posters that have been appearing in the bus shelter at the top of River Lane. These look very unsightly and no permission has been given. Cllr Sharpe said he would be willing to remove any posters that appear to discourage further posting. Members agreed to this course of action and gave Cllr Sharpe approval to act on behalf of the Parish Council. Action Cllr Sharpe
12.4 Cllr Neasham reported on recent Village Society meetings. Attendance at these has fallen off again and the representatives of the groups that use the Hall are not attending regularly. This is putting pressure on the Committee again.
Cllr Neasham was asked what progress was being made with the micro-generation project for the Hall. Cllr Rowe said he would contact the Chairperson to take matters forward.
Action Cllr Rowe
The Village Society has obtained one quote for doing some clearing work on the perimeter of the sports field but would like to get one or two more and asked if the Parish Council could do this for them. Cllr Neasham thought it likely that the Village Society may ask the Parish Council for a financial contribution towards this work. Action Clerk
Currently the Village Society has a working surplus of approximately £900.
13. Date of next meeting Monday 26 October 2009.