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In the Community Room , St Peter and St Paul's Church, Lynsted
Present:
Councillors: Baxter, Bowling, Darling (part, for items 9 – 14.10), Dawes, Disney, English, Jones
In attendance: Liz Attwood (minute taker)
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from the following who were unable to attend:
Cllr Champion, due to holiday.
Cllr Barnicott and Cllr Bowles had also offered their apologies due to conflicting engagements.
2 Declarations of Interest
The Chairman asked if any Councillors wished to declare an interest in any items on the Agenda.
Cllr Baxter declared an interest under item 15, Clerks Correspondence, relating to the Tree Warden scheme. No one else wished to declare an interest.
3 Time Set Aside for Members of the Public to Address Council
There were no members of the public present.
4 Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 18th September 2007
It was noted that item 6 of the previous minutes had been proposed by Cllr Jones and seconded by Cllr Dawes.
Subject to these amendments, it was agreed that the minutes could be endorsed by the Chairman. This was proposed by Cllr Jones and seconded by Cllr Dawes and unanimously agreed.
5 Matters Arising from the Previous Meeting
With regard to item 3 of the previous minutes and the presentation by the PCSO, Cllr Disney advised that new double yellow lines had been painted outside the Co-Op in London Road and would be monitored by the PCSO and traffic wardens. To date, 2 fixed penalty notices had been issued.
With regard to the 2nd paragraph under item 16.2 of the minutes, Cllr Bowling requested whether anything further had been heard from edf with regard to the damaged light bulb. Cllr Champion had met with edf on site and it was established that the bulb had been damaged by an airgun, rather than by vandals shaking the post as previously advised. As a result payment was proposed under item 13.3 of the Agenda.
There were no other matters arising.
6 Clerk Vacancy Update
Cllr Baxter advised that as a result of the advertisements in the local paper, there had been 7 expressions of interest for the position, which was very encouraging. To date, 3 application forms had been sent out, none returned as yet. None of the prospective candidates were from within the Parish. Advertisements would also appear in the Parish newsletter and website, as well as the school and post office notice boards.
7 Proposal From Cllr Broughton
Cllr Broughton had submitted the following proposal. “As a step towards the resolution of those troubles and concerns currently facing the Council, an early appraisal and, if necessary, rationalisation of all issues / tasks should be undertaken and immediately followed by the establishment of a priority listing for the Councils work, over, say, the next six months."
- There was much discussion on the proposal.
- Cllr Bowling felt that some steps had been taken towards this by the work done so far on the risk assessment/opportunity analysis work.
- Cllr English felt that he would like to see a list of priorities, separate from the risk assessment.
- Cllr Dawes felt it was important that when the exercise was done, it should be subject to a continuous, or at least annual, review.
- Cllr Disney expressed the view that the proposal was closely tied in with items 9 and 11 of the Agenda, i.e. risk assessment and Parish Plan and felt that a decision on the way forward should be agreed after these two items were discussed.
- The proposal was carried by a majority vote with 4 Councillors voting for the proposal and 3 abstentions. This item is also further discussed under items 9 & 11 below.
8 Affordable Housing
Cllr Disney advised that Alison Thompson of EHRA had confirmed that agreement had been obtained to pursue the site at Vigo Farm. The slow worm problem has been resolved, with a suitable habitat being found at the school pond. Money is currently being bid for and an outline design is under preparation. The following mix of housing is proposed, which is in accordance with the housing needs analysis conducted jointly with Teynham PC :
- 2 x 1 bedroom flats
- 2 x 2 bedroom flats
- 4 x 2 bedroom houses
- 3 x 3 bedroom houses
The housing will be available on a 60% rent, 40% shared ownership basis. A planning application is currently being prepared and will soon be ready to submit to SBC. This development, in conjunction with the 2 units at Batteries Close and 3 units at St Paul's Court, will meet all the projected requirements for affordable housing for the two Parishes.
It was further advised that the current proposal is for the traffic from the development to disgorge straight onto Lynsted Lane instead of via Nash Close as originally envisaged. This would be subject to Highways assessment as part of the planning application process.
9 Parish Plan
9.1 Review of Main Actions, consideration of reason for the uneven response over the past year and decision or actions required
Cllr Disney summarised the situation with regard to the Parish Plan. Since its production a number of items had been followed up and progressed, some had been completed, agreed for discontinuation, whilst little progress had been made on other items. Progress had been particularly slow in the past year for a variety of reasons.
Cllr Disney stated that, in his view, a review of the Parish Plan action items represented a major element in addressing Cllr Broughton's proposal in item 7 above. Cllr Disney stated that he had previously requested that Parish Plan action items be included in the risk assessment matrix but that this had not been done. Cllr Disney to provide a list of Parish Plan items to Cllr Jones, if possible in electronic format, to enable their inclusion in the risk assessment exercise.
9.2 Design Study for Improvements to Greenstreet
Cllr Disney advised that he had spoken to Bill Ronan of KCC earlier on the day of the meeting and that a cheque for the outstanding sum of money would be issued within the next 10 days. It was confirmed that the project would be VAT neutral in so far as the Parish Council is concerned. The consultant had confirmed availability to carry out the work from December, subject to payment being received. It was confirmed that the contract would be let by Swale Forward (SBC's Delivery Agent).
Cllrs Darling and Jones expressed concern about the advance payment to consultants and the potential liability of the Parish Council in the event that the final cost exceeded the budget. Cllr Disney advised that no final fee for the work had been agreed and that the contractor had already raised the possibility of an increase in charges due to the delay between submission of tender and the proposed start date. Cllr Disney would check with Ian Lewis about whether advance payment as proposed was the norm. Cllr Disney to arrange for Parish Council to see a copy of the contract.
Cllr Disney advised that the joint agreement with Teynham was expected to be agreed by Teynham PC at a meeting the same evening. Cllr Disney to arrange for the following minor amendments to be made : 1) address of Clerk to be altered, addition of the word "Council" after "Parish" in section 33 in the second paragraph, 2) removal of reference to Standing Orders as model Standing Orders were due for re-issue early 2008, but retention of reference to Code of Conduct. These changes were proposed by Cllr Bowling and seconded by Cllr Dawes and agreed by the majority with Councillor Jones abstaining.
With regards to item 12 of the Constitution it was felt that greater clarity was required with regards to disposal of any excess money. It was agreed that this should be raised for amendment at the first meeting of the joint Steering Committee by Cllr Disney.
9.3 Environmental Working Group
Cllr Baxter advised that the EWG had acted as mediator between the school and the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership. Work at the school pond was now complete and the public would be allowed access on specified occasions.
Further funds were required to carry out restoration work on the village pond.
10 Planning Update
Cllr Baxter had circulated a paper prior to the meeting, which forms part of these minutes.
With regards to the Parish Council's support of enforcement notice ENF/07/028/C1454/AH, Cllr Baxter advised that the main ground of objection would be the increase in traffic as a result of traffic disgorging into Cellar Hill. Cllr Disney acknowledged the considerable effort made by an individual in support of the enforcement.
With regards to the Policies in Swale's Local Plan which have been saved pending the Local Development Framework, Cllr Jones agreed to scan the list and distribute via e-mail.
10.1 Cllr Jones proposal for Parish Council consideration of pre-planning application discussions
This item had been carried over from a previous meeting. Cllr Baxter had circulated Cllr Jones proposals and also his own views to all Councillors prior to the meeting. Cllr Jones clarified that it was proposed that no discussion with potential developers should be confidential. In response to a question from Cllr Dawes, Cllr Baxter confirmed that the views expressed by him in the paper were his own, rather than based on advice sought from other bodies. Following much discussion a vote was taken with 3 Councillors voting for the proposal and 4 against and thus the proposal failed.
11 Risk Assessment Update
Cllr Jones advised that the risk assessment/opportunities analysis had been circulated. It has been discussed at the Standards Committee meeting and it was proposed that it should be discussed in detail at the January meeting of the Parish Council.
Cllr Bowling requested that any legal obligations/non optional items should be highlighted separately. Cllr Disney stated that he disagreed with a number of the proposed rankings. It was agreed that comments on ratings, or indeed any other comments should be sent to Cllr Jones for collation.
Following discussion of this item, consideration returned to Agenda item 7. Cllr English proposed that a separate meeting of the full Parish Council should be held to undertake the exercise as per Cllr Broughton's proposal. This was seconded by Cllr Disney and unanimously agreed. As preparation for this, Cllrs to review the risk assessment and send any comments to Cllr Jones.
It was agreed that a special meeting to discuss this item should be held on Tuesday 26th November (previously proposed as the date for the Finance Committee meeting).
Finance Committee meeting to be postponed to 4th December (previously Parish Council meeting date)
The next normal full Parish Council meeting, which would discuss precept to be postponed to 11th December.
12 Phase 2 Footway
12.1 Cllr Disney advised that there had been some delay due to holidays in getting the necessary agreement for Mike Knowles to produce a design which could be discussed with the landowners. This was now resolved and a drawing would be produced within 2 weeks of the meeting.
Improvement of Footpath from Batteries Close to Berkeley House (ZR 259)
Cllr Dawes had reviewed the KCC's Countryside Access Improvement Plan and it seemed possible that a scheme could be developed to improve the surface and lighting of this footpath to encourage people to gain access to the Lynsted and Norton School as an alternative to the narrow section of road along Lynsted Lane yet to have its footway (Phase 2). It was agreed that Cllr Dawes should discuss this proposal with Cllr Champion on his return from holiday with a view to approaching the school to determine if they were supportive. If the school’s support was obtained, an approach would be made to KCC to pursue the scheme, on the provision that this would not be to the detriment of the Phase 2 footway project.
13 Finance
Cllr Champion had produced a report which was circulated during the meeting detailing the Council's financial activities from 1st August - 22nd October inclusive. The Parish Council was encouraged by the level of finances available. Current account balance at 22nd October was £8,639.61, including £2,000 ring fenced for Greenstreet study. Savings account balance was £2,723.96 at 28th September.
13.1 Audited Statement of Accounts to 31st March 2007
Cllr Baxter advised that the Audit Commission had confirmed conclusion of the audit of the 2006/7 accounts and proposed that these be approved. This was seconded by Cllr English and unanimously agreed.
Cllr Baxter advised that a notice advising of the public’s right to inspect the audited accounts was currently on the notice board and would remain there for 2 weeks.
13.2 Councillor Liability regarding Parish Council's Bank Account
Cllr Baxter advised that he had received a reply from the bank regarding the liability of account signatories. The response had failed to address the issue of the Parish Council being a legal entity, separate from its members. Advice from KAPC offered the view that it was highly unlikely that that there would be an event where the bank would invoke this clause and that secondly, under the provision of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act, section 39, individuals would not be liable so long as they had acted in good faith. Notwithstanding this, it was unanimously agreed that Cllr Baxter should write again to the bank on the separate legal entity issue and also to confirm that as the Parish Council required no overdraft facility, that there should be no condition under which liability could arise.
13.3 Payments Approved
- Cheque no. 622 - British Legion, donation for Poppy Wreath @ £25
Proposed Cllr Jones, seconded Cllr Dawes. Agreed that the Finance Committee should look at increasing this donation in future years by making due allowance in next years precept submission.
- Cheque no. 621 EDF invoice @ £79.24 for lighting
Proposed Cllr Darling, seconded Cllr Disney.
- Cllr Baxter advised that he had incurred a cost of £58.66 for the Clerk vacancy advert in the local newspaper. It was unanimously agreed that this would be reimbursed.
- Cllr Baxter also advised that payment to the Audit Commission in the sum of £158.63 was due on 6th November. It was proposed by Cllr Darling, seconded Cllr Disney that this would be paid on Cllr Champion's return from holiday.
14 Reports
14.1 Kent Association of Parish Councils (KAPC) – Cllr Dawes
Cllr Dawes advised that there had been no meeting since the last Parish Council meeting.
14.2 Playing Fields – Cllr Bowling
Cllr Bowling advised that the next meeting of the Joint Playing Fields Committee would be held the following week.
14.3 Lighting – Cllr Champion
No report received.
14.4 Footpaths - Cllr Dawes
A report prepared by Cllr Dawes had been circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting.
14.5 Tree Warden – Cllr Baxter
Nothing to report.
14.6 Transport & Highways - Cllr Baxter
Cllr Baxter advised that he had received a letter from Mr Gosling regarding the number of HGVs using the northern end of Lynsted Lane. Mr Gosling had obtained Highways agreement to undertake a traffic count, despite their initial reluctance as the Parish Council had not raised this formally as an issue of concern, due it not being made aware of a problem. The letter also contained a signature petition from a number of residents expressing concern at this issue. Cllr Baxter to arrange for this issue to be included on the Parish Service Request form which is the official mechanism for the Parish council to get Highways action. Cllr Baxter to thank Mr Gosling for his work on this issue.
Cllr Dawes stated that a resident had mentioned concerns at the number of accidents on the corner of Bumpit Lane. Cllr Baxter to arrange for this issue to be included on the parish service request form.
14.7 Police liaison – Cllr Baxter
Nothing to report.
14.8 Standards Committee - Cllr Darling
Cllr Darling advised that the Standards Committee was continuing its review of Standing Orders and had drafted a number of amendments for consideration, pending receipt of the revised Model Standing Orders expected in January 2008.
Cllr Darling proposed two recommendations in order to improve conciseness and standard of minute taking:
a) Minutes of future meetings should record only the decisions made and not all discussion leading up to the decision, unless a Councillor specifically requested that his/her comments be recorded.
Seconded by Cllr Jones and unanimously agreed.
b) an ongoing outstanding Action List, separate from the minutes, should be produced with details of action required, person responsible, date for completion and date action was initiated.
Although Cllr Disney expressed concern that this would increase workload of Clerk when appointed, this was seconded by Cllr Bowling and unanimously agreed.
Cllr Darling reminded the Parish Council on behalf of the Standards Committee that the Any Other Business item was for information only.
Cllr Darling made the following further recommendations:
c) Meeting Agenda should be prioritised. Items requiring a decision should be dealt with first, items for comment 2nd and items for information 3rd.
d) Greater effort should be made to ensure that a paper was submitted for any significant items in advance of the meeting, clarifying what action , if any, was required from the members.
e) Such papers detailed in d) above form part of the minutes and should therefore be attached to copies sent to the library, Teynham PC and also appear on the website.
14.9 Properties Committee – Cllr English
The Properties Inspection Report was distributed at the meeting and forms part of these minutes and was taken as read. Cllr Baxter to ask Cllr Champion to provide a list of costed actions, along with report, at future meetings.
14.10 Orchard Committee – Cllr Baxter
Cllr Disney regretted that the Halloween event had been cancelled due to inclement weather and expressed apologies to anyone let down by the cancellation and thanks for those who had helped in the preparation. The following cost had been incurred :
£110 for purchase of materials, plus £11 from Lis Heriz Smith
Following subsequent sale of food a £92 loss had been incurred.
As agreed with Heritage Lottery Fund, a power point projector and screen had been purchased for £622 (£93 VAT). This left the current Orchard no.2 account balance at slightly under £2,000. A financial reconciliation of spend against budget has to be undertaken in accordance with HLF requirements for their Completion Report.
At this stage Cllr Darling left the meeting.
At this point, the time was 10pm. It was proposed by Cllr English, seconded by Cllr Bowling, that the meeting should continue. This was agreed unanimously.
14.11Website – Cllr Jones
Cllr Jones advised that the website needs reinvigorating, but it was recognised that this was not currently a priority. An archiving exercise was also required. Cllr Jones suggested that it would be easier for the PC, if at some future stage physical updating was under Parish Council control, possibly next year.
15 Clerk’s Correspondence
In response to a query from Cllr Dawes, Cllr Baxter advised that in the absence of a Clerk, Clerk’s correspondence would not be circulated until further notice. Cllr Baxter would make items available on request.
15.1 Cllr Baxter declared an interest on this item and left the room while the matter was being discussed. The BTCV, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, who administered the Tree Warden scheme had written requesting £100 funding for 2007/8 for provision of support for the Tree Warden. Cllr Jones proposed that no donation should be made, this was seconded by Cllr Bowling and unanimously agreed. Cllr Baxter returned to the meeting.
15.2 15th Sept. Soc. Of Local Council Clerks information.
15.3 KAPC Newsletter. Sept 17th.
15.4 20th Sept. Clean Kent Campaign.
15.5 21st Sept. Letter from Cllr A Bowles responding to ours about paying for elections.
15.6 27th Sept. New dog control orders.
15.7 28th Sept. Letter from Teynham P C stating that they had agreed to form a Joint Committee with us, regarding ‘Greenstreet’ improvements.
15.8 28th Sept. Free tree offer from Kent countryside partnerships.
15.9 30th Sept. Teynham P C minutes 26.6 and 31.7.
15.10 3rd Oct. Notification from SBC: Appeal on ‘Jeffries’ planning issue to be heard on 13th November.
15.11 3rd Oct. Letter from KCC urging us to respond to the Post Office plan to close post offices in Kent.
15.1 23rd Oct. Letter from CPRE(Kent) re. AGM on 19th Nov.
15.13 9th Oct. Details and invitation, KAPC AGM, 10th Nov. Ditton.
15.14 15th Oct. Minutes of Fav. And Swale East Forum of 9th Oct.
15.15 24th Oct. Notice of Adoption of the Code of Conduct by SBC.
15.16 24th Oct. Letter from Sir R Moate about Faversham Enterprise Partnership meeting on 9th Nov.
15.17 26th Oct. Letter from Standards Board reminding us to tell them we have adopted the Code of Conduct. (We already have).
16 Parish Council Records
Cllr Baxter advised that the Parochial Church Council , PCC had considered the Parish Council’s request to store historical records in St Peter & St Paul’s Church and had declined this request. Cllrs Baxter and English had reviewed and disposed of some unwanted items and were arranging for the records to be put into temporary accommodation. Alternative permanent options were being sought. Possibilities to be investigated included Belle Friday Centre, Greenstreet Methodist Church, the Archives Office.
17 Any Other Business – For Information Only
None of the members had any other business.
18 Date, Time and Venue of Next Meeting
As discussed under Agenda item 11, the next normal full Parish Council meeting, which would include discussion of precept, would be held on 11th December, at the Belle Friday Centre.
There being no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.15pm.
These Minutes were prepared by Mrs E Attwood, in the absence of a Clerk.
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