The Minutes of theAshwell Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 6 December 2018 at Ashwell Village Hall starting at 7pm.
Present were Chairman David Pettifer, Vice Chairman Tony Graveling, Wendy Cheesman, Brian Farr, David Thwaites, Ward CouncillorJune Fox.
Clerk was Sally Harnett.
There were 3 members of the public.
1 There were no apologies received.
2 There were no Declarations of Interest.
3 The Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.
4 The funeral for Terry King will be at Cottesmore on Wednesday 12th December.
5 Matters Arising from the previous meeting:-
Poppies on lamp posts,supplied by the British Legion. Thanks were expressed to Tony Graveling and Brian Farr for erecting the poppies. It was decided to use them again in the future, replacing any damaged by wind and weather. It will be investigated whether stronger versions are available to purchase.
The date for local government elections is the 2 May 2019.
The August police report of crime committed in Ashwell was referring to Rutland Garden Centre, which is in Langham, not Ashwell.
The repairs on the heat-damaged Cottesmore Road do not appear to be permanent, the clerk will ask RCC for details.
The footpath in Teigh Road is still in abeyance, due to future development in Manor Farm. The Teigh Road has been closed to traffic recently.
6 Finance Report from Tony Graveling.
The present balance stands at £10,238.27, this is higher than expected. A donation of £200 was sent to Rutland Citizens’ Advice Bureau, and a donation of £45 was sent to the British Legion after receiving lamp post poppies to display in Ashwell. There have been no requests for donations since the last meeting. We were informed in late May2018 that the cost of Parish Council Elections would be passed on to parishes in 2019. These costs have now been assessed as: uncontested Parish Council election – £187.69, combined Ward and Contested Parish Council elections £515.99. It has been advised that an extra 15% be added to totals for increased costs, so maximum costs would be approximately £600. The draft budget for2019-2020 has been prepared and takes in the extra costs of the election. These costs can be recovered by increasing the precept which is approved and applied for in December 2018.
There being no questions re the budget at this meeting there followed a
Resolution to approve the Ashwell Parish Council Budget for 2019-2020.
Proposed by David Pettifer, Seconded by Wendy Cheesman, and passed unanimously.
The Clerk was thanked for her work, and wages of £282 for 25 hours work were paid.
There was some discussion about the cost of street lighting, under the new system at RCC Ashwell would be paying slightly less than in the past.
The Standing Orders for Ashwell have been updated, with an added Code of Conduct, including Data Protection rules.
Resolution to Approve the Standing Orders and Code of Conduct, proposed by Brian Farr, seconded by Wendy Cheesman, and passed unanimously.
The Clerk informed of a new request from the Village Hall Committee to pay £30 rent for the display of biographies of WW1 casualties in the village hall on 11th November 2018. This had been well attended,the Parish Church had distributed memorial booklets, and the village hall committee had produced the refreshments.
The Chairman thanked Tony Graveling for his report.
7 Planning report by Wendy Cheesman.
2018/0310/MAJ Grainstore on land in Whissendine Road. A photo of a new proposed site for the large grainstore was displayed. The new site is now much further back in the field, said to be behind trees. This could mean less noise for neighbouring properties. The biggest objection to the previous application, road hazard of bends in both directions, would still be relevant, and a new added problem of a public footpath and bridleway sharing the same lane as lorries and tractors.
A site in fields off the Teigh Road has been suggested in the past, but the reason given for not building the grainstore there has been flooding risk.
June Fox will investigate the plans.
The post and rail fencing at the side of the road in some areas of Ashwell needed painting. RCC had painted the areas where there were culverts, but said that APC must pay for any further painting. It was decided to not start paying for this service, it had never been billed to APC in history. RCC will be contacted again.
Garden Structures. Following concerns about the garden structure at 4 Church Close, Rutland County Council has stated that any structure forward of the principal elevation of a dwelling house will require planning permission.
As no planning request has been received a Planning Enforcement Officer will investigate.
The resident at 4 Church Close asked the Chair for permission to speak.
Her question was: On what basis in law (could) the erection of a replacement temporary structure be prevented?
The resident stated that she had been informed that there was no need for planning permission, as the structure was regarded as a temporary replacement of an old shed, stating that this is information freely available online. She was informed that this was a matter between her and RCC. After some 15 minutes of discussion it was moved that the meeting must address the next item on the agenda.
The Chairman thanked Wendy Cheesman for her report.
8 Highways report by David Thwaites.
The standard of the repairs after heat damage to the surface of Cottesmore Road was unsatisfactory. The winter gritting will not be effective if there is no improvement. The clerk will contact RCC.
The granite setts in Cottesmore Road are sprayed by RCC twice a year, but no clearing up of dead weeds is done.
There is evidence of subsidence at the junction of Water Lane and Cottesmore Road. RCC will be informed again. Brookdene problems are still ongoing.
The slippery path on Church Lane corner was treated by RCC. The path outside 4 Oakham Road still needs re-surfacing, RCC will be informed. There are several lumps in the path from the well area to the entrance to Ashwell Lodge, causing a danger to pedestrians, particularly at night, the area being unlit. RCC will be informed.
The failed street light in Teigh Road has been reported.
There is an apparently abandoned vehicle at the entrance to a paddock opposite Eastfield Farm. RCC will be informed.
The mobile speed camera was not showing speed numbers, but APC have been were informed that it could still be recording vehicles.
9 No member of the public had asked to speak on any new issues.
10 Police report for November by PC 1742 Laurie Appleton, on duty elsewhere.
The report was read out by the Chairman. There had been no reports of crime in Ashwell in November, but several in surrounding villages. Residents were thanked for their diligence in not leaving valuables in cars. Hare coursing continues to be a problem in this area. The public were urged to phone 999 or 101 if aware of any suspicious circumstances. A beat surgery in Whissendine village shop on 9 January 2019 at10am was announced, anyone could go. Contact address for PC Laurie Appleton is laurie.appleton@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk
11 Correspondence.
RCC have provided an address for community news, rutland.gov.uk/yourrutland to sign up for a monthly newsletter.
12 There was no notification of Any Other Business to be discussed at the next meeting.
13 Dates for the next meetings were discussed, it was decided to provisionally book 7 March 2019, and provisionally 16 May for the AGM and Annual Parish Meeting.
The meeting was declared closed at 7.55.