|
Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 7th November 2005
Present: Councillors Sayce, Barwick-Bell, Chainey, Davison,
Drew, Hall, Hedley, Martin, Warhurst-Walker
Mrs M Williams, Clerk
Also present: District Councillor Mrs A Dale, County Councillor
Ray Thompson, Hexham Courant Reporter – Helen Compson, 6 members of
the public, WPC V Byrne.
Apologies: Councillor Wade, District Councillor Mike Collins.
05/55 Declarations of Interest –
None
05/56 Minutes
Subject to amendments to those present and those apologising for absence
the Minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd October were agreed as a true record.
05/57 Matters Arising –
Councillor Thompson advised that all the bus stops had been remarked and
that positioning of yellow lines was under review.
It was reported that the barrier at the end of the footpath
at Kimberley Gardens had still not been repaired. Mrs Davison is to check
this.
New Seat on New Ridley Road – nothing to report
Tynedale Local Development Framework – Statement
of Community Involvement. – the Parish Council had nothing to add to
this document.
05/58 Public Participation
4 of the members of the public present had attended to raise concerns over
disturbance and nuisance by young people on Kate’s Plain and around
the Guessburn/Mount View Terrace Area.
It was alleged that there were still people in the play
area at 9.30 on the most recent Friday evening. During half-term week it
had been quiet.
PC Byrne commented that this topic had been raised at
every Parish Council meeting since May. She said that police, and youth outreach
workers, are in the area every Friday and that on 90% of occasions no criminal
offences were being committed. She said that when residents ring in to the
police several call are referring to the same incident. She stressed that
the play area is a public place and the public cannot therefore be excluded
from it. PC Byrne also intimated that new legislation on consumption of alcohol
in public places was being considered for both Branch End Play Area and Kate’s
Plain. Mrs Dale offered to ask Tynedale’s advice about recent legislation
on congregating in public places. PC Byrne advised that although bad language
might not be acceptable it was not something which could be addressed by
the police. She did however agree that residents might feel threatened by
shouted abuse.
Councillors asked what parents felt when their children
were brought home by the police and were told that some were shocked whilst
others appeared to be indifferent. Concern was expressed that there appeared
to be no feed back from the parents of the young people.It was stressed that
Kate’s Plain had been a play area since at least 1974 and that the
current equipment had been installed as a result of a fund raising drive
by a group of hard-working, committed parents.
It was felt that access was being gained to Kate’s
Plain through the field. It was stressed that there was no right of access
through the field and that the apparent pathway had been defined by the grass
cutters, cutting a route through.The Parish Council is still awaiting notification
from the insurance company about repairs to the fence. The estimated cost
of the repairs is around £300 and the damage was reported to the police
and is being investigated. The Handyman is being paid to lock and unlock
the play area.
One resident asked if the problems persisted, what the
Parish Council and police were prepared to do about them and suggested that
if a solution could not be found then, the play area should be shut down.
Ref. No: 2005 1229 - Burnside Yard, Main Road
Change of use of redundant Joiners Shop to one dwelling and construction
of three new dwellings.
Mr & Mrs Gleadhill expressed concern about the detail
of the application for the development at Burnside Yard.
The application was discussed in some detail and a summary
of the discussion is included in the Planning Report for the December meeting.
Roads
Councillor Thompson advised that resurfacing of Meadowfield and Apperley
Roads had been delayed because of re-servicing requirements. It was however
hoped that this work would be completed by the end of December. Mr Thompson
would welcome requests for repairs so that they could be prioritised for
the next financial year.
Re-surfacing of footpaths – it was claimed
that the path from New Ridley Road to Tynedale Gardens was dangerous and
slippery as a result of it being tarmacked. It was suggested that the matter
would be improved by the erection of a handrail.
BOATS – Mr Chainey advised that the County
believed that no 48 could be come a restricted byway rather than a BOAT.
05/59 Correspondence
The following had been received and had been circulated/tabled:
NCC re Local Transport Plan 2006-11 – comments
were required by 23rd December. Comments should be sent to Councillor Chainey.
Tynedale – Overview & Scrutiny Work Programme
06/07 – comments required by 25th November, Mrs Dale advised that
Tynedale Councillors were to look at the parking strategy and she will ask
about transport integration. It was suggested that it would be helpful to
know the results of previous enquiries before commenting on future reports.
Local Works – Sustainable Communities Campaign – an
invitation had been received to a meeting to be held in Belford on 17th November.
NCC – an invitation to join Northumberland
Life – it was agreed that this was useful and that the Parish Council
should sign up to this.
Other correspondence received had been listed on the agenda.
05/60 Brief Reports from Advisory Groups and Council
Representatives
a) General Purposes Group
Election/Convening of a new councillor – the Clerk had been
verbally advised by the Electoral Officer at Tynedale that no one had put
themselves forward for election as a parish councillor to replace the late
Bill Bouch. The Parish Council should now consider co-opting a new member.
Councillors were asked to suggest possibly candidates.
Remembrance Day – Mrs Sayce as Chairman of
the Council will lay a wreath at the War Memorial. She has asked an ex-serviceman
to join her in this ceremony.
Financial Regulations had been considered by the
General Purposes Group and recommended for acceptance by the Council and
this was agreed.
Record Retention Guidelines had been considered
by the General Purposes Group and recommended for acceptance by the Council
and this was agreed.
Inspection of Play Areas Guidelines had been considered
by the General Purposes Group and recommended for acceptance by the Council
and this was agreed
A Risk Assessment Review had been carried out by
the General Purposes Group and recommended for acceptance by the Council
and this was agreed.
Parish Plan – proposals for the drawing up
of a Parish Plan are to be discussed with staff at Prudhoe Community High
School with a view to students assisting with the research work.
Branch End Toilets – Mrs Drew advised that
Ian Douglas of Tynedale had asked if the Parish Council had any interest
in keeping Branch End Toilets open. This was thought to be a huge financial
responsibility. Tynedale had made no contact with Branch End Garage to see
if public facilities could be provided at the garage. It was pointed out
that the toilets at Branch End had been closed since May 2005 and that no
one was aware of any demand for them to be re-instated. Councillor Chainey
proposed and it was agreed that nothing further should be done with the toilet
block. It was also agreed that any suggestion to convert the toilet block
to a parish office would be too expensive.
Crime & Disorder – a letter had been
sent to all households in the Guessburn / Mount View Terrace / Brumwell Court
area asking residents to keep a diary of disturbances. The Eastern Parishes
Forum had also been asked to discuss this topic. It was thought that there
were two schools of thought – more publicity and pressure on the police
to take action, but this draws attention to the site and the problem and
makes it attractive to young people – no publicity and therefore less
awareness of the site. It was felt that the cost of mending the fence would
outweigh the cost of keeping the play area locked over the hours of darkness.
Grants:
SICA – it was agreed to give SICA a preliminary grant of £100
towards the cost of the roof repairs.
Rugby Club - a decision on a request for grant aid is to be deferred
to December.
Netball Club – it was agreed that this request would be considered
again next year as the club had already received £100 in 05/06.
Baptist Church Youth Club – It was agreed that an initial grant
of £100 should be made and that a letter should be sent saying that
there would be a further grant in 06/07 but that the new club should not “push
religion” and be socially inclusive.
It was agreed that George McCreedy should be invited to
the December meeting to discuss the work of the youth service.
Precept – a draft of the 06/07 budgets was
tabled. Councillors were asked to consider this and let the Clerk have any
suggestions and amendments by 18th November. It was agreed that the precept
for 06/07 should be no more than £49,500.
b) Footpaths & Environment Group
Mr Chainey advised that Footpath 13 near the tennis club had caved in and
that the County would close the path until remedial work could be undertaken
in the spring of next year.
BOAT 45 – Mr Chainey reported that Mrs Robson
had accepted the proposals of the County Council.
Scaur Steps – the landowner is to be asked
to clear the vegetation from the slope parallel to the steps.
Dog Fouling – a report had been received
from Councillor Levitt with regard to dog fouling east of Meadowfield Terrace.
Mrs Dale said that the matter had been attended to.
Back Lane – Mr Chainey advised that although
young people congregating in the Back Lane behind Mount View Terrace might
not be a criminal offence, it was still a problem to residents.
Planters & Stocksfield in Bloom – The
Footpaths & Environment Group will consider this in due course and it
will be placed on the Parish Council agenda for June 07.
c) Play Facilities Group
Kate’s Plain – it was agreed not to await a response from
the insurance company but to authorise James Robson to repair the fence and
gate at a cost of £270.
Seats – in view of the current problems it
was agreed to defer installing additional seats at Kate’s Plain until
the spring.
Branch End – self closing entrance gates – two
quotations had been received and a further one is to be sought. Indicative
costs - £500 plus installation plus VAT.
BEPA Improvements - £500 had been promised from
the Engineering Group and a promise of a further £5000 had been received.
Susi Goncu of Tynedale would be attending the next meeting of the Group.
Mrs Davison and Mrs Sayce had been given some useful information at a recent
meeting with representatives of Living Spaces. Anne Davison had spoken to
Hayley Beattie of the Journal and a short article and photo had appeared.
Mr Hall is to speak to Brendan Foster with regard to painting the “thermometer”.
d) Sports Facilities Group
The Sportsfield Management Group had met on 3rd November and notes of the
meeting were tabled. Among the items discussed were agreements between the
Parish Council and the various users and the level of rent to be levied.
e) Planning & Highways
Members of the Group are to advise the Clerk when they are available for
training sessions.
The Planning Group Report for October had been circulated.
Ref.No: 2005 1230 - 11 Halton Close
Construction of conservatory to rear and construction of single storey extension
and new porch to front
To be referred to full Parish Council Meeting
Comments from Planning Group:
The knocking down of the garage is going to cause parking
problems however we did not object to the previous application for this site – this
is a resubmission.
As we are very vocal with regard to parking problems we
feel that this must be taken into consideration with the council as a whole.
The comments of the Planning Group were endorsed.
Burnside Yard
The comments made earlier in the meeting were endorsed.
f) Communication
NE43 News – a draft of the next edition had been circulated. Various
suggestions and comments were made which are to be incorporated.
Website - nothing to comment.
g) Council Representatives
Mrs Sayce had attended the NALC AGM and papers are available on request.
Mrs Drew had attended the Broomley First School Governors’ AGM
and their Annual Report was tabled.
05/61 Finance
The Accounts for October were accepted.
Additional payments were agreed:
Neat Ideas - £26.19
SICA - £100
Budgets – A Spend v Budget report to 31 October
2005 was tabled – no comments were made.
05/62 Other business
Baptist Church Summer Camp – Mrs Sayce advised that she had been approached
by the Baptist Minister who is looking for projects in the community for
young people to be involved in during the international summer camp in July.
It was suggested that some kind of garden might be built in Branch End Play
Area.
DeFRA a meeting is to be held on the new Social & Community
Programme on 16th November in Hexham.
The Clerk was asked to chase the Planning Department about
the proliferation of mobile advertising hoardings.
Train Services - there had been complaints about
delayed trains and the poor “long line” announcements. It is
noted that there will be changes to the timetable in December but that the
big fear is possible major changes in December of next year.
It was reported that gullies were blocked on New Ridley
Road.
05/63 Date of Next Meeting
5th December 2005
The meeting closed at 10.00 p.m.
|
