CROXTON KERRIAL AND BRANSTON PARISH COUNCIL

Transcription

1 CROXTON KERRIAL AND BRANSTON PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in Branston Village Hall on Monday 23rd November The meeting commenced at 7.30pm. 14/1034 Present. Dr. A.M. McGrath, (Chair), Mrs. P. Laurance (Vice-Chair), Mrs. J. Durrands, Mr. M. Booker and Mrs. L. Sutcliffe (Clerk). 14/1035 Members of the Public present. None 14/1036 Apologies. None 14/1037 Input from members of the Public. None 14/1038 Minutes of Previous Meetings. The Clerk had earlier circulated the minutes from the Parish Council meeting which took place on 24 th August 2009 together with a list of correspondence received. The Clerk also circulated the amended minutes from the meeting which took place on 29 th June Both sets of minutes were adopted as proposed by Dr. A. M. McGrath and seconded by Mrs. P. Laurance. 14/1039 Matters Arising. a. Clement Keys External Audit Findings 2008/2009 The Clerk reported on the findings of the External Audit carried out by Clement Keys for the financial year 2008/2009. The Parish Council was given a qualified audit opinion as The Council did not perform the annual risk review as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 (amended 2006). A risk review should be carried out annually. The Clerk spoke to Clement Keys regarding this matter subsequently a review was carried out by the Parish Council. The Parish Council undertakes to carry out a risk review annually in line with current guidance.

2 Dr. A. M. McGrath thanked the Clerk for the work she carried out for the External Audit. b. Working Committee Meeting 26 th October 2009 See later minutes under Parish Council Finances. c. Draft Health and Safety Policy A draft health and safety policy was produced by Dr. A. McGrath from a template obtained online. The Parish Council agreed that they should have a health and safety policy despite having only one employee. A health and safety policy is not legally required because the Parish Council has fewer than three employees. The Councillors felt it would be good practice to have a policy in place. The Councillors agreed that the Clerk should hold an accident log in which all accidents at work should be entered. It was agreed that the Parish Council should adopt a health and safety policy and include a visual inspection in March each year. This inspection would be carried out by Dr. A. M. McGrath. A Financial risk assessment would be carried out by the Parish council in February each year. Precept discussions would be carried out by the Parish Council in November each year. The timescales detailed above were agreed by the Parish Council having been proposed by Mrs. P. Laurance and seconded by Mr. M. Booker. The Clerk will ensure that the financial risk review and precept discussions appear as agenda items annually. d. Personal Contact Details for PC website The Councillors were asked by Dr. A. M. McGrath whether they would like a photograph and contact details displayed on the Parish Council website. All of the Councillors agreed to have their contact details displayed. The Councillors present with the exception of Mr. M. Booker agreed to have photographs displayed on the website. It was agreed that the dates of future Parish Council meetings would be displayed on the website.

3 Dr. A. M. McGrath will amend the Parish Council website to include Councillors contact details, photographs where applicable and details of future meetings. e. Grit Bins The residents of Highfields Crescent, Mill Lane and Shires Orchard Croxton Kerrial were canvassed as to whether they were prepared to donate 5 per household to pay for a new grit gin. Dr. A. M. McGrath reported that Highfields Crescent has a total of 30 houses. 18 households agreed to pay 5, 7 households were not prepared to contribute and 5 households did not respond. This amounted to a total of 90 plus an additional 5 from a household not on Highfields Crescent. This left a shortfall of 35. Mill Lane/Shires Orchard has a total of 27 houses. 14 households offered to donate funds, 4 were not prepared to donate any money and 9 households did not respond. This amounted to a total of 70 in donations which left a shortfall of 60. Dr. A. M. McGrath reported that one household on Mill Lane had offered to donate in excess of 5 if required. Dr. A. M. McGrath reported that she received a request for a grit bin to be placed near the entrance to the doctor s surgery next to the Stackyard development in Croxton Kerrial. This request would be considered by the Parish Council for the 2010/2011 precept. Dr. A. M. McGrath will contact the household on Mill Lane and request a further donation. Dr. A. M. McGrath will approach the child minder who resides on Mill Lane and ask her to ask the parents of the children in her care if they would like to donate any money towards the purchase of a grit bin. Dr. A. M. McGrath will look into the possibility of siting the grit bin currently in storage on the grassy bank on Church Lane, next to the entrance to the road which goes past the front of the church. f. Caravans on private property Dr. A. M. McGrath received a complaint from a resident of Croxton Kerrial regarding caravans parked on private property. The Clerk sought advice from both the Land Registry Department and Leicester County Council. The Clerk reported that the Parish Council is not liable in relation to caravan parked on private property.

4 14/1040 Croxton Kerrial Parish Councillor Vacancy Councillors to vote a candidate The Clerk reported that she had received a letter from Mr. S Sutcliffe prior to the meeting. He formally withdrew his interest in the Parish Councillor vacancy. The Councillors queried the existence of a formal split of Councillors which meant that 4 Councillors should be Croxton Kerrial residents and 2 Councillors should be Branston residents. The Clerk explained that she had spoken to the LRALC and the Elections Officer at Melton Borough Council. The LRALC did not believe that such a split could be enforceable in law and that it may have been something which was agreed at a historic Parish Council meeting. The MBC Elections Officer advised the Clerk that she would review historic records to identify any specific records which detail this split and revert back to the Clerk. The Clerk advised that if the 4/2 split of Councillors is legally enforceable it can be changed by performing a Community Governance Review. The procedure for performing a Community Governance Review has been requested from the Elections Officer. Dr. A. M. McGrath asked for a show of hands in support of accepting Mr. G Hudson as a Parish Councillor for Croxton Kerrial. All four Parish Councillors attending the meeting voted to accept the application of Mr. G Hudson. Dr. A. M. McGrath proposed that Mr. G. Hudson be offered the vacancy. This course of action was seconded by Mr. M. Booker. The Clerk will speak to Gerald Botterill (Ward Councillor) in relation to the contents of the Parish Council Constitution with specific regard to the 4/2 split of Councillors for the Parish. The Clerk was asked to write to Mr. G. Hudson and formally offer him the position of Parish Councillor for Croxton Kerrial. 14/1041 Parish Council Finances Precept 2010/2011 A working committee meeting took place on 26 th October 2009 to discuss the Parish Council finances. Further discussions took place at the meeting which dealt point by point with the content of the document produced by the Clerk Croxton Kerrial and Branston Parish Council Predicted Expenditure for 2010/2011 (filed).

5 It was agreed that the Clerk s salary should be increased to 7.00 per hour with effect from 1 st April This hourly rate would be reviewed after 6 months with a view to increasing it further in line with the LRALC pay scales for Parish Clerks. The Parish Clerk s hours would be increased to 8 hours per week to allow for attendance of training courses and further work to be undertaken which had previously been put on hold. It was agreed by the Parish Councillors that the Precept for the financial year 2010/2011 should be increased to 10,000. This decision was proposed by Dr. A. M. McGrath and seconded by Mr. M. Booker. 14/1042 Draft Financial Regulations Model Discussion A discussion took place regarding the content of the Draft Financial Regulations Model. The model will be reviewed at the next meeting once the Clerk has had an opportunity to review the document. Mrs. P. Laurance raised concerns regarding the pre-signing of cheques. The Clerk advised the Parish Council that the majority of payments were now made online using the internet banking facility. Mr. P. Laurance proposed that the Clerk should produce a summary of all the payments made from the Parish Council account at each subsequent meeting from the date of the previous meeting. This course of action was seconded by Mr. M. Booker. The Clerk will produce a schedule detailing payments made from the Parish Council current account between the periods 23rd November 2009 to 1 st February 2010 (the date of the next Parish Council meeting). The Clerk will add Expenditure of the Parish Council as an agenda point for each future meeting. 14/1043 Parish Clerk Terms of Reference Dr. A. M. McGrath reported to the Parish Council that she was in the process of reviewing the Written Statement, Disciplinary Rules, Equal Opportunities Policy and the Health and Safety Policy. 14/1044 Correspondence None.

6 14/1045 Any Other Business a. Planning Applications A discussion took place regarding planning applications received by the Parish Council. It was agreed that the response sent to the Local Authority by the Parish Clerk should be the view of the Parish Council as a whole rather than the individual opinions of each Councilllor. Dr. A. M. McGrath proposed that any current planning application should be discussed at the Parish Council meeting, a response should be agreed and then forwarded by the Parish Clerk. If the deadline for responses falls after an ordinary Parish Council meeting then a working committee meeting should be called at which a response would be formulated. This proposal was seconded by Mr. P. Laurance. b. Antisocial Behaviour Dr. A. M. McGrath and Mrs. P. Laurance reported that the gate which stands at the entrance to the track which leads to the playing field will be locked. The request to lock the gate was made by the Sports and Social Club to Belvoir Estates who own the land, in order to stop access to the area by unauthorised vehicles. Belvoir Estates agreed to lock the gate and will hold the key. They reported Mr. P. Chambers has resigned as grounds man. The Sports and Social Club have requested that a public meeting be called to discuss the subject of anti-social behaviour in Croxton Kerrial. The Sports and Social Club asked that the Parish Council be jointly involved in the meeting, demonstrating joint concern for the problem of anti-social behavior in the village. It was suggested that PC Longden be invited to the meeting in order to offer advice on the course of action available to combat anti-social behaviour. Following a lengthy discussion it was agreed that the Parish council would be involved with the meeting. C. Gorse Lane Mrs. J. Durrands requested a copy of correspondence held by the Clerk in relation to Gorse Lane, Croxton Kerrial. The Clerk copied these records for Mrs. J. Durrands. d. Register of Electors The Clerk reported that she had requested an updated copy of the Register of Electors for Croxton Kerrial and Branston Villages. e. Waterspout The Clerk had received reports of damage to the ground surrounding the waterspout on Main Street, Croxton Kerrial from residents and Councillors.

7 The Clerk reported that she had contacted Belvoir Estates and requested that the damage be rectified. Mrs. Margaret Trigg advised the Clerk that she would survey the site and revert back to the Clerk. The Clerk reported that Belvoir Estates accepted responsibility for the damage caused by a tanker and tractor operated by the estate. f. Bus Shelter in Branston The Clerk reported that she had received a report from a Branston resident that some felt from the roof of the bus shelter in Branston had come off. The Clerk and Mrs. J. Durrands surveyed the bus shelter and could not identify any major damage. Mr. M. Booker will look at the roof of the shelter in day light and report back to the Parish Council at the next meeting. 14/1046 Cheques to sign None. 14/1047 Date of next meeting The date of the next Parish Council Meeting will be Monday 1st February 2010 at 7.30pm in Croxton Kerrial Village Hall. The meeting closed at 10.00pm. Signed Date