Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 2nd March 2009

Present: Councillors Pete Barrass, John Davison, Pete Duncan, Steve Gleadhill, Ian Hall, Diane Hinchcliffe, Norman Hooks, Melna Martin, Helen Morris, Dave Porter, Katharine Russell, Julia Sayce.

Also Present: District Councillors Eileen Drew, Colin Argent, County Councillor Anne Dale, Mrs G Brown, Hexham Courant

Apologies: None

08/113 Declarations of Interest - None

08/114 Minutes
Acceptance of the Minutes was proposed by Dave Porter, seconded by Julia Sayce and agreed.

08/115 Matters Arising
Tetrapak recycling – The Clerk advised that she had written to Tynedale only that day.

Drains & Gullies Mrs Dale advised that the County are to arrange for the drains and gullies on the A695 around Branch End and Birches Nook to be inspected with a camera to see where the blockage is.

Footpath 13 - Mrs Dale is liaising with Norman Hooks over progress on the repairs to this footpath.

Parking on the Footpath at the Sportsfields – Mrs Dale advised that she had asked for double yellow lines to be installed at the entrance to the Sportsfield Car Park.

It was reported that work was being done to clear the stream near Welton Close. It was also reported that work was being done on the hedge at Welton Close.

New Ridley Road verge – Norman Hooks advised that he had given instructions to the Handyman, Martin Stewart about cutting this back.

Riverside Walk – Norman Hooks advised that he and Prudhoe Pathforce were receiving witness statements about this walk and that their quality was good. The report in the Annual Report needs re-phrasing

Litter Bin at the Ford – Tynedale had been asked if they had a bin which can be used here. It was felt that a lot of the litter on the Main Road was being thrown from cars and not being dropped by pedestrians.

08/116 Public Participation
It was reported that a lady had fallen twice on the footpath between New Ridley Road and the bottom of Tynedale Gardens – it was felt that the roots were breaking up the surface of the path.

Mrs Dale advised that she hopes to get Mount View Terrace re-surfaced prior to the visit of the Calor Village of the Year judges on 25th March.

Dave Porter advised that Julian Reisner had complained to him about not being contacted about improvements to the Station Car Park. The Clerk advised that she had written to Mr Reisner that day. A meeting with officers from the County and the Railway was scheduled to take place this Friday and it was agreed that Mr Reisner should be kept up-to-date with progress and thanked for his efforts to make the environs of the station attractive.

Burnside Yard – Steve Gleadhill declared an interest in this development and went on to raise concerns about the number of vehicles currently being used by contractors working on the Forge. He advised that he had contacted the Planning Dept. at Tynedale who advised that the original planning permission for the new dwellings stated that the road should be completed prior to work starting on the building. The Forge planning permission said that work on the road had to be carried out after completion of the conversion. Mrs Dale asked Steve Gleadhill to monitor the situation.

08/117 Correspondence
Correspondence received had been listed on the Agenda and noted.

It was agreed that no comment would be made to the most recent consultation from Communities in Control.

It was noted that there was a meeting of the Police Forum at the Community Centre on 3rd March.

08/118 Finance
February Accounts – queries were responded to and the accounts were agreed.

March Accounts - initial accounts for March were also presented and agreed. It was agreed that any additional cheques required until the middle of March should be signed in order that as few unpresented cheques as possible be carried over at the year end.

Bank Reconciliation – the Bank Reconciliation was noted.

Payment of final grant to Youth Service - as nothing had been heard from the Youth Service no payment would be made. It was however agreed that the funds normally granted to the Youth Service would be ring-fenced for Youth Work.

Additional Bank Account – The Clerk had made enquiries with Northern Rock who had advised that they were not at that time accepting account from bodies such as the Parish Council. It was therefore proposed by Pete Duncan, seconded by Steve Gleadhill and agreed that a second account be opened with the Unity Trust Bank. It was agreed that in order to split the risk it was sensible to have funds invested in more than one bank.

The Finance & General Purposes Group is to meet shortly to consider requests for grants to Great North Air Ambulance (max. £200) and Community Action Northumberland (max. £100), Tynedale Sports Council (max. £100 using funds from youth support fund) It is expected that grants will be made from 008/09 funds.

08/119 Parish Plan
Steve Gleadhill opened the debate by stressing the need to focus on the priorities outlined in the draft of the Parish Plan. Once the priorities have been identified and agreed then the Parish Council needs to appoint an Advisory Group to draw up an Action Plan, to develop the Action Plan and to Monitor its progress. It was agreed that there was a need to identify items which may happen before the Action Plan can be formed e.g. there is a need to draw up a policy on windfarms and green issues as a whole. Some things also need to be looked at in the context of the wider community and perhaps in conjunction with other communities (through the Eastern Parishes Forum). Mrs Dale stressed the need to consider the Parish Plan priorities in the light of the development of the new Northumberland Local Development Framework. It was also agreed that some things are more urgent than others. Priorities need to be realistic. Has the Parish Plan missed anything – e.g. Hindley Churchyard is filling up – should its possible extension be included under “Community Life”.

The Action Plan needs to look at priorities and timescales and the Parish Council needs to be comfortable with the priorities.

Development at the Station Yard should be removed from the priorities as it was considered that the remaining space would be too small and too near the railway to provide a suitable site.

It was agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the priorities – the basic group would be Steve Gleadhill, Pete Duncan, Pete Barrass and Helen Morris. All Parish Councillors were invited to attend the discussion and a date and venue would be circulated. Following this meeting, a paper would be drawn up for debate at the April meeting of the Council.

Mrs Dale advised that Community Forums would be drawing up a Community Action Plan based on parish plans.

It was agreed that an Executive Summary and some copies of the final draft of the Plan would be available at the Parish Meeting. Steve Gleadhill is to do a short presentation at the annual Parish Meeting on the Parish Plan and this presentation would be adapted for use at the Calor Village of the Year judges’ visit.

Comments on the Parish Plan and the priorities should be sent to Steve Gleadhill.

08/120 Calor Village of the Year
Norman Hooks confirmed that judges are to visit on 25th March and said that the tour of the village would be by car rather than mini-bus. Appreciation was expressed to all those who have or will have contributed to and supported Stocksfield’s entry in this competition.

[Suspension of Standing Orders –it was agreed that Standing Orders should be suspended and the meeting should continue until 10.00 p.m.]

08/121 Brief Reports from Advisory Groups and Council Representatives
a) Sports Facilities
Sportsfield Management – nothing to report.
MUGA – Concerns were raised once again about the floodlighting. Motorists travelling eastwards are temporarily dazzled by the floodlight and it was stressed that this problem needs to be addressed.\

b) Communication – NE43 News together with the Annual Report needs to be delivered to residents by 1st April. Councillors were requested to let the Clerk know if they were unable to help with distribution. Any additional items for NE43 News should be sent to Dave Porter immediately.

c) Transport & Highways – nothing to report
Station Car Park – funding for the project had been approved and a meeting is to be held with county officers and railway officers to plan the way forward.
Railway masts – nothing definite to report, although it was thought that work on erection of masts had begun at Blaydon and it is therefore assumed that work at Stocksfield will start in the foreseeable future.

d) Footpaths, Gardens & the Environment
Claim for public ROW along Tyne from Eltringham to Merryshields
Norman Hooks advised that witness statements were still being collected.
Dog Mess – Katharine Russell had had a meeting with the Dog Warden and her report had been circulated. She was thanked for her report.

e) Play Facilities
Branch End Play Area – Tyre Swing – it was agreed to replace the tyres on the swing up to a total cost of £500..
Kates Plain – no response has been received from scrap dealers regarding the removal of the tyre at Kate’s Plain. The handyman, Martin Stewart had suggested that it be covered over to form a grassy mound and this was agreed..
Play Area Inspections – the suggested actions required following the RoSPA report was tabled and accepted.

f) BEPA Community Garden – the event on Valentine’s Day had raised around £100 and promises to supply plants and labour had been received.

g) Finance & General Purposes
The F&GP Report was circulated and the comments noted
Branch End Toilet site – a letter had been received from Tynedale advising that the Parish Council could not be granted an extension on the purchase of this site. It was agreed that the Parish Plan Group should look at the use of this site as a priority. It was suggested that it might be worth revaluing our priorities for this site. Mrs Dale advised that other bids had been made for the purchase of this site.

h) Planning
The Report had been circulated.
Broomley Conservation Area consultation – Dave Porter is to draw up a response to this consultation. It was agreed that we did not wish to extend the boundaries of the conservation area.
Councillors Porter, Gleadhill and Sayce are to attend the meeting of the Forum of Planning Services in the New Northumberland to be held on 3rd March.

i) Policy Group
Eastern Parishes Forum – no further comment is to be made on the proposed constitution.

j) Local Government re-organisation.
Boundary Committee – Electoral Review – consultation documents had been received – a response is required by 11th May.
Local Government Standing Conference – Mrs Sayce volunteered to attend.

k) Council Representatives
Nothing to report

l) Community Development
Stocksfield Festival 12th September – it had been agreed in principle at an early meeting, that the Parish Council would under-write the start-up costs of the Festival. It was noted that the Festival was hoping to make a surplus but agreed that the underwrite should be up to £1000. Any excess surplus would either be passed to local charities or used to build up a fund for future years.

08/122 Any Other Business
Windfarms – it was felt that the Parish Council should quickly formulate a view on windfarm development. It was noted that the windfarm at Kiln Pit Hill had been approved. It was felt that the council could only have a view on proposals for a particular site. It was felt that there was a need to gather information on this subject and Pete Barrass “volunteered” to do this.

New Unitary Authority
Mr Hall closed the meeting by thanking the retiring district councillors, Colin Argent, Eileen Drew and Anne Dale, and their predecessors for all they had done for our community over the years since 1974 when Tynedale Council came into being. He also took the opportunity to wish Mrs Dale success as our representative on the new Northumberland County Council.

08/123 Date of Next Meeting
6th April 2009 in the Richardson Room at the Community Centre

20th April 2009, Annual Parish Meeting, Community Centre

The meeting closed at 10 p.m.