Parish Council – Minutes – 7/3/2019

The Minutes of the Ashwell Parish Council meeting held at Ashwell Village Hall on Thursday 7 March 2019, starting at 7pm.

Present were Chairman David Pettifer; Vice Chairman Tony Graveling: Wendy Cheesman, David Thwaites, and Ward Councillor June Fox. Clerk was Sally Harnett.

1 An apology was received and accepted from Brian Farr, another commitment.

2 The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed.

3 There were no Declarations of Interest.

4 Matters Arising from the previous meeting:

Tony Graveling attended the funeral of Terry King, a very moving occasion. The Poppies Appeal money has been dedicated to the new Loughborough Military Medical Rehabilitation Facility.

5 Finance report from Tony Graveling:

The present balance stands at  £9744.76. This total is higher than the predicted budget for the end of the financial year. The Parish Precept of £4100 for the 2019/2020 Financial Year was applied for in January, the increase to allow for election costs.

An invoice received for £181.51 for 2018-2019 street lighting electricity costs has been paid.

A bank reconciliation was carried out on 29 December 2018.

No request for donations has been received to date. Membership fees for LRALC will be due shortly at a cost of approximately £140.  Renewal of CPRE is also due shortly (£36 last year)

Resolution. Approval to renew the LRALC membership: Proposed by David Pettifer, seconded by David Thwaites, passed unanimously.

Resolution: Approval to renew the CPRE membership when the request arrives:  Proposed by David Thwaites, seconded by David Pettifer, passed unanimously.

Ashwell Parish Council will again be exempt from an External Audit but PKF Littlejohn will be available for any questions from the public regarding our Annual Return for the year ending

 31 March 2019.  Hard copies of the Annual Return form will again be requested in preference to emailed versions.  Fiona Tylecote has accepted an invitation to be our Internal Auditor for the Annual Return.

As mentioned in the December 2018 Parish Council meeting the approximate costs to Ashwell Parish Council of forthcoming elections are:- uncontested = £200, contested = £600.

The clerk’s wages of £283.13 for 25 hours work were paid.

Tony Graveling was thanked by the Chairman for his report.

6 Planning report by Wendy Cheesman:

There was some discussion regarding garden structures forward of dwellings.  APC has been notified that planning permission is required for such buildings.  In the case of 4 Church Close   the new structure was very much larger and brighter than any previous structure. The Enforcement Officer informed that he has invited the resident to apply for planning permission. The application for the large barn on Whissendine Road is pending. The application for the tennis court at Ashwell House is pending.

Questions were asked regarding the 5 pages on Conditions in the granted application for dwellings at Manor Farm. The Planning Officer and the Buildings Officer do not have contact, there appears to be no way of enforcing Conditions. Councillor Fox will make enquiries as to who is entitled to view the progress on site. Councillor Fox will enquire as to any progress with the supply of a footpath in Teigh Road, and the Speed Indicator Device, both to be supplied by the developer.

Wendy Cheesman was thanked by the Chairman for her report.

7 Highways report by David Thwaites;

There will be an inspection of village footpaths by RCC Highways in July. Emails received from RCC state that the footpaths are not yet considered to be bad enough for immediate attention. The Cottesmore Road tar melting damage has been repaired, but is not yet good enough. The clerk will enquire of RCC when further attention is planned.

It was decided to keep logging on to Fix My Street with photos of areas needing attention. RCC has received finance from Central Government for potholes repair.

The subsidence reported at Water Lane/ Cottesmore Road junction still needs major repair.

The Village Litter Pick has been fixed for 30 March 2019, the first date that the equipment loaned by RCC is available. The village hall has been booked for refreshments.

The car parked in the paddock on the Cottesmore Road is still in situ, surrounded by much litter on the ground and in the hedge. Councillor Fox asked for photos to be sent to her.

An abandoned car in Water Lane has been moved away.

2 mobile speed recorders have been sited in Ashwell,  APC will request the recorded numbers. 

There was discussion on general speeding problems in Rutland.  A solution must be found in the near future. General opinion is that covert application is the most effective, but there now has to be a high level of warnings to drivers speeding before they can be stopped, and police presence must be made totally obvious.  Rutland County Council is intending to make improvements across the county.

Ashwell has been informed of the road cycle race to pass through on 28 April 2019. There was some discussion on the bad road use by many cyclists, putting some pedestrians in danger.

David Thwaites was thanked for his report by the Chairman.

8. Public Forum:

There were no members of the public present.

9. Not Allocated

10 The February Police report from PC Laurie Appleton was read out by the Chairman.

The report is attached to these Minutes. There were no reports of crime in Ashwell for February. Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are in use, and it is intended to increase the number of cameras. The address for PC Appleton is laurie.appleton@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk

11.  Correspondence Received:

RCC has notified of date for requests for bus stop improvements. The bus stop flags in Ashwell need attention. The Police scheme for Crime Champions needs volunteers, the Wellspring has been informed. There is to be a bus transport meeting at Rutland Museum, it is hoped that bus users will voice their concerns over the reduction in services lately. Councillor Fox advised there is a Call Connect service in Rutland, she will enquire if available for Ashwell.

Information on the Lord Lieutenant’s Scheme for Youth has been forwarded to the Wellspring.

12. Parish Council Forum.

RCC publish the notes for this Forum on line.

13. Elections 2May2019.

Notes have been forwarded to the Wellspring about the form that standing for election will take.

14. AOB

There was no new business for discussion.

15. Date of the next meeting.

This is fixed for Friday 10th  May, and will be the Annual Parish Meeting followed by the Annual Meeting of Ashwell Parish Council 2019.

This meeting was declared closed at 20.05 hours.