BYFIELD PARISH COUNCIL
Byfield Parish Plan 2008 - now available to download here.
COUNCILLORS
AT 7 JULY 2008
NAME TEL. AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
John Cannell 260483 CHAIRMAN of the Council
55 Boddington Rd Village hall trustee
Brightwell Rec Ground Assoc trustee
Mark Challice 262606 Planning
2 Knightley Close Vice Chairman of the Council
Combined Charities trustee
John Gillic 262917 Lighting + utilities
28 Banbury Lane
Delith Jones 261405 Environment
15 Banbury Lane Council Property
Combined Charities trustee
Ian McAllister 262318 Burial Ground + New Wood
Brookwell Allotments + Pocket Park
The Green
Suzanne Millns 07958 549784 Playground, youth liaison
26A Banbury Lane BRGA trustee
Simon Shepherd 262177 Highways
48 Church Street Rights of Way
John West 260917 Risk assessments
8 Becketts Close
THREE vacancies exist on the Council. Anyone interested in being considered for co-option should contact the Clerk to the Council.
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District Councillor – David Jeyes, Watersmeet, West Farndon, Daventry, NN11 3TU
Tel - 01327 260886
County Councillor - Mrs Gina Ogden, Cedar House, Hellidon, Daventry NN11 6LG Tel - 01327 261919
__________________________________________________________
these minutes are unapproved and will remain so until considered at the next meeting
BYFIELD PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL held on THURSDAY 7th JANUARY 2010 in
BYFIELD VILLAGE HALL at 7.30pm
PRESENT - Cllrs J Cannell(Chairman), M Buckley, M Challice, J Gillic, D Jones, E Marsh and S Shepherd
Also present - None
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – Personal – Cllr Gillic for a payment under item 19. Personal – Cllr Cannell for item 7e, as trustee of village hall.
ACCEPTANCE OF APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were accepted from Cllr McAllister.
Apologies for not being able to attend had been received from the County and District Councillors.
1. Not used.
2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING(S) –
17th December 2009 Cllr Jones proposed the minutes be approved as a true record; seconded by Cllr Marsh and agreed by all who had been present.
3. REPORT ON MATTERS OUTSTANDING not covered elsewhere on the agenda
a) Burial Ground – 3 issues to be carried forward as Cllr McAllister not present. Agenda
b) Installing pump at Westhorpe Lane well. Not done because of heavy snow/ice. SS
c) Village Design Statement. Cllr Challice reported some progress as he had now sent a draft copy to each councillor, with photographs.
d) Replacing damaged section of shelter on recreation ground. See b) above. SS
e) Illustrated village map. Cllr Cannell reported he would arrange to meet the artist once the bad weather had gone. JC
4. ITEMS REQUIRING A DECISION BROUGHT FORWARD FROM THE LAST MEETING
a) Victim Support Northants – seeking donation. The Clerk reported that £50 had been given in March 2009 following a request for more information about the numbers of people in the parish who had been helped by the charity. Information on numbers helped had not been given this year in the appeal letter.
Cllr Gillic proposed that £25.00 be given and that it be suggested to the charity that they include local statistics in future appeal letters. Agreed by all. Clk
5. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman sought Council’s approval to deal with agenda item 13 before item 11. Agreed by all.
- Closure of meeting for public comment and reports. Not necessary as none present.
6. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE requiring a DECISION
a) Holy Cross PCC Request to erect advertising notices on The Green for various events during the year, commencing with 30th January. It was agreed that notices could be erected, subject to the usual conditions. The Clerk would write to the PCC. Clk
b) Came & Co Seeking to quote for insurance cover from 1 June 2010. Agreed. Clk
7. FINANCE
a) Setting Precept for 2010-11 The Clerk had circulated a draft proposal for setting the precept at £40,765 based on limited income against the agreed budget of £42,500. The Clerk recommended that no funding should be taken from the reserves as this had been done over the past two years and the precept for the current year had been kept at the level for 2008-9 (£36,580).
Cllr Buckley felt that some use should be made of the reserves to fund verge mowing and setting up a website (£7000). Cllr Gillic felt this was not viable and could be unwise.
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After further discussion Cllr Buckley proposed a precept of £33, 765 with the verge mowing and website being funded from reserve funds. There was no second for this proposal, so it fell.
Cllr Jones then RESOLVED that a precept of £40,765 be requested; seconded by Cllr Shepherd and agreed on a vote of 6 in favour and 1 against. Clk
b) FUND BALANCES Cllr Cannell provided fund balances.
The Clerk reported that the financial state at 18 December 2009 showed total assets of £51,307.10 This included £18,000 in a 6 month deposit with Lloyds TSB (to 2 March) and a £10,000 in a 3 month deposit (to 25 February 2010). £12,660 of the £18,000 being ring-fenced long term or allocated for work in 2009-10.
Cllrs Cannell and Challice had checked the account books against minutes/statements and found them in order.
c) Banked INCOME since last meeting to 18 December
Lloyds TSB Interest for November £0.89
Ditto Interest on 3 month investment £20.16
Various Sale of calendars £136.00
HMRC Refund of VAT 1 Aug-5 Nov £1420.12
d) Training course Cllr Jones proposed that the Council co-fund the Clerk to attend the SLCC Practitioner’s Conference on 26th February. Cost £65 plus travel to be shared with Flore PC. .Agreed by all.
e) Byfield Village Hall – request for assistance with purchasing new cooker. The hall management committee had found that the existing cooker is no longer acceptable and spare parts are not obtainable. Cllr Marsh proposed that the Council purchase a catering standard cooker for £995 and lend it to the hall; seconded by Cllr Shepherd and agreed by all. The 3-phase wiring required for a catering standard cooker would have to be funded by the hall committee. The Clerk to order the cooker and advise the hall committee. Clk
f) Use of Bowls Club pavilion Cllr Challice proposed that a donation of £32.40 be made to the Bowls Club for the use of their pavilion for recent meetings when the village hall had not been available; seconded by Cllr Shepherd and agreed by all. To be paid in February. Agenda
8. Not used.
9. DDC PARISH/TOWN COUNCILS FORUM
The written report by Cllr Cannell was accepted.
It was agreed to discuss at the February meeting how the Council might be involved with Emergency Planning. Agenda
10. PLANNING
a) APPLICATIONS None to consider.
b) APPROVAL(S)/ REFUSALS No notifications received.
c) West Northants Joint Planning Unit -Strategic Housing land availability assessment.
Cllr Challice explained that this contained 8 plots of land put forward by local landowners as possible sites for commercial housing development. Most were outside the village confines but some were inside.
No request had been made to the Council before the JPU went outside to seek offers from landowners.
It was agreed that Cllr Challice draft a suitable response for the Clerk to send. MC
d) SSR Planning – seeking pre-application meeting SSR Planning had rung the Clerk early in December asking if Council would meet with them to discuss a possible development site off Woodford Road. The Clerk had advised that Council had decided that it did not wish to have pre-application discussions with any applicants and had to continue with this policy to be fair to all. SSR had subsequently written to seek confirmation of this stance. Following further consultation with the Chairman the Clerk had replied that in writing that Council now has a policy of not meeting with developers prior to formal planning applications.
This action was endorsed by the whole Council.
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e) Wind Farm proposals The Clerk advised that an application for a wind monitoring mast would soon be submitted.
f) Any urgent planning matters to be brought to the attention of the Council, arising after publication of the agenda. None
13. HIGHWAYS
a) Mowing of NCC verges within the 30mph limits Cllr Buckley proposed that the Council should remain with NCC mowing the verges but with Byfield PC funding additional cuts as deemed necessary; seconded by Cllr Challice. The proposal was lost on a vote of 2 in favour, 3 against and 2 abstentions.
On these ground it was agreed to seek permission to undertake the verge mowing in the village.
Cllr Jones proposed that a contract for verge mowing be let to RD Landscapes, for up to 14 cuts; seconded by Cllr Marsh and agreed on a vote of 5 in favour and 2 abstentions.
The Clerk would write to all contractors and NCC. Clk
b) Parish Enhancement Gangs (PEG) Cllr Buckley had submitted a report to all councillors on his meeting with May Gurney and the work proposed.
c) MGWSP satisfaction questionnaire Cllr Buckley requested that responding to this be delayed until some work under the PEGs had been carried out.
11. ENVIRONMENT
a) Report from Cllr Jones Adopted.
b) Awarding of contract for mowing Byfield PC land 2010-2012 Cllr Jones proposed that the contract be let to RD Landscapes for 14 cuts a year; seconded by Cllr Marsh and agreed by all.
The Clerk would write to all contactors. Clk
c) Draft letter to adjoining parishes regarding advertising signs on verges in Byfield The draft letter of Cllr Jones was not approved, but Cllr Jones would speak with Daventry DC regarding their policy on the removal of such signs if regarded as fly posting. DJ
12. COUNCIL PROPERTY
a) Maintenance work on war memorial The Clerk reported she had written again to the stone mason in Towcester to find out if he wished to revise his quotation of last summer. She had ascertained he had been in hospital for some time in the autumn which could have explained the lack of response.
It was agreed that this be the one last effort made. If no response is received then the 2 remaining quotations would have to be considered. The Clerk pointed out that these too may now need revising as they may be time expired.
14. PLAYGROUND
a) Inspection reports No reports due to snow.
Cllr Cannell reported that additional grassmats had been ordered within the infant swing budget to install around the posts of the new infant swings. He sought volunteers to lay these when they are delivered.
15. BURIAL GROUND, ALLOTMENTS, NEW WOOD, POCKET PARK
a) Water meter readings Not able to be done due to snow covering.
The Chairman reminded Council that it is most important that the meters are read to ensure that any leaks are noted as quickly as possible.
b) Setting of burial and memorial fees from 1 January 2010 It was agreed to continue with the fees set by the Church of England (PCC element) with double fees being charged for those not residents of Byfield. For burials arranged in late December but not able to take place until January it was agreed that the fee shall be that in place in December. The Clerk would advise the regular funeral directors. Clk
Council was reminded that from 1 January 2010 a fee would also be charged for Exclusive Right of Burial – currently set at £100 for a 30 year period of grant. The Clerk would arrange a suitable application form.
Clk
16. LIGHTS
a) To receive report from Cllr Gillic Report adopted.
17. COMMUNICATION
a) Copy for next issue of the Byword Cllr Marsh was thanked for her work in putting this together. She would now add an item on the setting of the precept for 2010-11.
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18. DATES FOR MEETINGS
It was agreed to hold an additional meeting on Wednesday 28 April to approve Ss 1 and 2 of the Annual Return.
Due to an election on 6th May the first meeting of the new Council would take place on Wednesday 12th May.
It was agreed to move the June meeting from the 3rd to the 10th and to move the July meeting from the 1st to the 15th.
The Clerk would arrange these changes with the village hall booking secretary. Clk
Consideration would be given later whether or not to meet in August.
19. ACCOUNTS FOR PAYM ENT
Cllr Marsh proposed that the following accounts be paid; seconded by Cllr Shepherd and agreed by all.
Cheque
No £ VAT Authority
2553 Mrs R Jeacock Honor’m cleaning bus shelters Dec 20.00 nil s4 LG(MP)A 53
2554 Mrs C White Honor’m Litter collection Dec 48.00 nil s19LG(MP)A76
2555 SLCC 50% of subs + ILCM 92.50 nil s111 LGA 72
2556 Holy Cross PCC Pages in Byword (Dec/Jan) 34.24 nil s142 LGA 72
2557 R G Cross Work at playground & burial ground 85.00 nil s19LG(MP)A76
s214 LGA 72
2558 Playline Designs Balance for infant swings 868.25 113.25 s19LG(MP)A76
2559 Scott’s Landscapes Mowing Nov 151.23 19.73 ditto and others
2560 Aylesbury Mains Repair PLs 42 & 55 117.42 15.32 s3 PCA 57
2561 Paul Titcombe Garden
Design Narcissi bulbs 235.01 nil s96 HA 80
2562 Mrs A Weller Clerk’s expenses: room as office, Tiscali, s111 LGA 72
copying/mileage, reflectors 63.97 6.75
2563 HMRC PAYE January 2010 93.80 nil s112 LGA 72
2564 Mrs A Weller Net pay January 375.97 nil s112 LGA 72
2565 Byfield village hall Hire December + tokens 54.20 nil s111 LGA 72
2566 Victim Support Northants Donation towards work 25.00 nil s137 LGA 72
2567 J&M Humphris Refund of £4 on burial fee (W Barnes) 4.00 nil s111 LGA 72
20. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS
a) BRGA No recent meetings.
b) Village Hall Cllr Cannell reported that in December the hall had a surplus of income over expenditure of £126.00. Village hall quiz will be held 6th March. Councillors may wish to enter a team.
c) Combined Charities - Met in early December.. One grant promised to an organisation upon the carrying out of work. A number of small grants given to individuals.
d) School No report available.
Date of next meeting – scheduled for Thursday 4th February
Items noted for the February meeting
- Annual Parish Meeting – planning
- Emergency Planning
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 10.20pm.
Chairman February 2010
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