May 2019 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
STUBTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes amended by Councillors. To be formally approved at next meeting on10 July 2019
Minutes of the Stubton Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 15th May 2019
Present:
Mr D Butler
Mr R Crooks
Mr M Davis
Mr R Thornton
District Councillor Milnes
Apologies were received from County Councillor A Maughan and Mrs A Wise
1. Election of Officers for the year 2019/2020
Mr M Davis, as acting Vice Chair proposed Mr R Thornton as Chair and this was seconded by Mr M Libby
There being no other nominations, Mr Thornton was elected.
Mr Davis was proposed as Vice Chair by Mr R Thornton and seconded by Mr D Butler
There being no other nominations Mr Davis was elected.
Declarations of interest: Cllr Thornton declared himself a member of the committee administering the funds remaining from the reVOLT campaign but no financial gain was involved in this undertaking.
2. The Minutes of the meeting held on 25th February 2019 were read and approved.
3. Matters Arising
3.1 A query was raised from Mrs Davison regarding the date of the autumn closure of the permissive footpaths around the village. This date had been quoted at 1st September but Cllr Thornton will check as it was felt that this should be 31st July.
3.2 Cllr Wise had been trying to contact BT with regard to the BT lines on Hargreaves Row which had been deemed too low by South Western Power. To date her attempts have been in vain due to no-one being ready to take responsibility at BT.
3.3 The litter pick had been successful and the Chairman thanked all those who had attended. It was agreed to discuss the possibility of an Autumn litter pick at the next meeting.
3.4 No suggestions for village planting have been received although once the village speed restriction gates were in-situ planting would take place here. It was also hoped that a working party would participate in the planting around the bus shelter since Roy was no longer well enough to continue with this project.
3.5 The Village BBQ was set for 16th July 2019.
3.6 Cllr Thornton and CC Maughan had spoken regarding the potential “self help” for villagers repairing potholes. CC Maughan was going to investigate this further but his initial view was that there had been a misunderstanding in the proposal. The Chairman has put together a list of requests relating to road conditions around Stubton and these will be forward to CC Maughan in readiness for his meeting with Rowan Smith on the 21st May.
3.7 As reported at the last meeting there has been some difficulty with village drainage. Highways have carried out road gutter clearing which has had a positive effect (thanks has been emailed to the team). Anglian Water have attended the village on numerous occasions to carry out clearing and flushing work and following the discovery of a major blockage caused when St Martin’s Close was built, a new pipe had been installed. This work has resulted in the cessation of the “spring/leak” at the entrance to Stubton Hall and grey water is flowing more freely under Fenton Road into the drains near Park Cottage and into the field dyke beyond. However, further clearance/flushing may be required and Anglian Water have asked to be kept informed which the Chairman will ensure happens.
4. District Councillor Milnes
Cllr Milnes said how pleased she was to be the SKDC representative for the village.
4.1 Following enquiries Cllr Milnes has established that should travellers encroach on land there is an out of hours emergency number for the Parish Council to ring. It is important to know, if possible, the ownership of the land – public, private or traveller – as responses vary accordingly. Further information could be available later.
4.2 Cllr Milnes awarded the Parish Council £200 for a worthwhile project of choice from the Ward Member Grant Scheme via SKDC,
5. County Councillor Maughan
As CC Maugan was unable to attend he had sent a report to the meeting which was read by the Clerk and is attached to these Minutes.
6. Audit
6.1 The Clerk explained the Council audit process to those present, particularly for the benefit of the new Councillors.
6.2 The Annual Governance Statement was read. Councillors agreed that all points were in order.
6.3 The Accounting Statements were explained and were then agreed by the Council.
6.4 The relevant documents, as required by law, will be placed on the village website in order that they can be viewed publicly.
6.5 Following the resignations of Mr Wilson and Mrs Stevenson, new cheque signatories were required. It was agreed to add Cllrs Butler, Crooks and Davis to the list, Cllr Thornton already being a signatory. The Clerk will carry out the necessary tasks to facilitate the new signatories.
7. Village Gates
The Chairman, after much chasing, had received the relevant forms for signature in order to move this project forward. Funding was in place and once final checks have been carried out installation can begin.
8. Any Other Business
8.1 Mrs Rose asked if it was possible to have further kerbing through the village. This will be added to the list of requests for CC Maughan’s meeting with Rowan Smith.
8.2 Mrs Libby raised the question of pruning the Hawthorn on the green outside Mayglen. Mr Stammers explained that plans for a Working Party to deal with this and other areas are in hand and are being organised by the Village Hall Committee.
9, The next meeting of Stubton Parish Council will be held on Wednesday 10th July 2019 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall