|
COMMUNITY TRUST
PARISH COUNCIL
Agendas
& Minutes
Accounts
CHURCHES
LOCAL
GROUPS
|
Minutes
Thursday 14th April 2016
7:15pm in the Craster Memorial Hall
Present
Chair: Cllr Owen
Parish Council members: Cllr
Craster, Cllr Punton, Cllr Pearson, Cllr Brooks, Cllr Gallon, Cllr Smith
Parish Clerk: Ruth Younger
Cllr Owen opened the
meeting by announcing the death of Councillor Joyce Shaw.
Clr Owen said: “Joyce
was a valued member of the Council, and the whole community, and we
will miss her knowledge and insight. Three years ago when we discussed
who was planning to retire from the Council she said she would go on
until she died, and in that she had her wish. She made her contribution
to our debates and before the last meeting she gave me a potted history
on the strip of land by Chapel Row. Ironically John and I had been
discussing that we should make her a Freewoman of the Parish when she
retired in recognition of her long service as both a clerk and a
Councillor, now all we can do is join together in a minute silence and
remember our colleague Joyce Shaw.”
The Clerk will take the
appropriate steps to advertise the vacancy in due course.
2005 Declaration of interests.
None declared.
Cllr Gallon explained
the reasons why dispensation could be sought. Letters were submitted
for consideration from Cllr Craster, Cllr Punton and Cllr Pearson.
Resolution: dispensation requests
unanimously accepted.
Proposed: Cllr Smith
Seconded: Cllr Gallon
It was agreed that the
valued contribution of these longstanding members of the Parish Council
should be included in all discussions and votes.
2006 Apologies received.
Cllr Cairns and Cllr
Baird
2007 Minutes of the previous meetings.
An amendment was made by
hand to correct an error, changing ‘Church Street’ to ‘Chapel Row’,
regarding the planning pre-application.
Resolution: unanimous vote to
accept the minutes as an accurate record.
Proposed: Cllr Craster
Seconded: Cllr Smith
2008 Matters arising from the minutes not
covered elsewhere on the agenda
Cllr Punton reported
that Dougie Hogg had reconsidered his decision to grant permission for
a tree to be planted in the harbor to commemorate the Queen’s 90th
Birthday.
2009 County Councillor's update.
Cllr Cairns sent a brief
written report, stating that she is continuing to support the efforts
of the Car Parking Task Force and held a meeting with Officers at
County Hall to discuss the issue.
2010 Planning Matters
a.
Cllr Owen provided an update on his work regarding planning guidelines.
He met with Geoff Paul, the executive officer at Northumberland County
Council responsible for planning. Mr Paul agreed that NCC would look at
a minor modification to the planning system, so that when the case
officer was making a recommendation contrary to the parish council, the
draft report would be sent to the PC to check that there were no errors
in the report.
b. The
pre-planning application for seven holiday chalets adjacent to Chapel
Row was discussion with various issues raised by Councillors. It was
agreed that the Parish Council should follow the lead of the Parish
Meeting next week, when residents will be consulted.
2011 Parish Meeting
The agenda was agreed.
Cllr Gallon will arrange the refreshments, to be served before the
meeting.
2012 Dunstan Road Works
Cllr Owen reported that
he had spoken to the Officer at Northumberland County Council
responsible for the work and convinced him that there was no longer
water coming onto the road and that fixing the drain at the east of the
village had solved the problem. Unfortunately, there is still water
coming off the field and flowing past two drains after the repair work
was completed. Cllr Owen has emailed the Officer and asked him to
arrange a meeting on site to see what can be done.
Cllr Brooks reported she
had been approached by a resident about the flooding in her garden.
Some discussion of this issue followed. It was agreed that Cllr Owen
would continue to pursue this matter with Northumberland County
Council.
2013 EJBC
Cllr Owen reported that
a very constructive and harmonious meeting of the committee was held
earlier in the month. He has been elected Chair, but no one could be
persuaded to take on the role of vice chair. They have agreed job
descriptions for the clerk and officers and a contract of employment
for the clerk. The committee also discussed the future of the Cemetery
House and its tenancy. It was agreed unanimously that the status quo
should continue as long as Jill is the tenant, but a contingency plan
will be developed for when she leaves. It is expected that this plan
will be finalized by November of this year for approval by the three
parishes.
Cllr Owen is attending a
conference on cemetery management and one topic of interest is leaving
part of the /cemetery ground as wild land and not mow it. Only about
20% of the Cemetery is in “current” use and letting the rest stay
fallow would be both a wild life haven and a reduction in costs. He
also wants to find out about allocating part of the Cemetery for meadow
burials where there are no monuments and no mowing.
Cllr Pearson echoed the
positive comments of Cllr Owen and raised concerns that the War Graves
Commission are going to remove funding the upkeep of the four war
graves in the cemetery.
2014 Craster Community Trust
Cllr Craster reported
that the Trust would like to replace their current projector and have
made a request for donations to enable this to happen. Following some
discussion, it was agreed that the Trust should present a proposal with
costs for a screen, projector and sound system. The Parish Council will
then consider whether they can fund this, so it can be used by the
whole community – for example, film nights for holiday makers. It was
agreed that it should be raised at the Parish Meeting, to seek the
views of residents.
Cllr Craster also
reported that the refurbishment of the play park was going to deplete
the reserves of the Trust. He asked whether the Parish Council could
take on the cost of the insurance, but it was confirmed this was not
possible as the Council do not have an insurable interest in the play
park.
Cllr Brooks asked
whether a collection box could be placed in the play park to help cover
costs. Cllr Punton confirmed this is being investigated.
2015 AONB
Nothing to report
2016 Fixed asset maintenance
Cllr Gallon reported
that there was some damage to a bin, which has now been repaired but
will need to be replaced. The Clerk has asked Nigel Fairbank to carry
out a full assessment of the litter bins so funds can be allocated for
their upkeep.
2017 Tourist Amenities / Grant Funding
Nothing to report
2018 Car Parking
a.
Quarry Car Park: Cllr Owen reported that Northumberland County
Council have confirmed
they’ve received tender prices back for the survey and these have been
evaluated. The
next step is to award the contract which should happen in the next week
or so. A meeting should be held with the successful tenderer and a
program for the investigation agreed between both parties for the work
to be done.
2019 Residents’ Parking: Cllr Craster and Henry Cummins reported
back on the survey they have conducted. His full report is available here.
Comments will be collated in time for the Parish Meeting.
Some discussion of this
issue followed. Cllr Owen suggested that the cost of the parking
permits should not be subsidised because if residents were fully in
favour of the scheme they would be prepared to pay. Cllr Pearson asked
for clarification on the issue of dropped kerbs. Cllr Gallon queried
the limit of two permits per household. Cllr Brooks will continue to
liaise with the Cornish village who have implemented a similar scheme.
Cllr Smith thanked the task for their detailed work so far. Cllr
Craster will report to the Parish Meeting and will continue to
investigate all options, as he is awaiting confirmation of NCC support.
Cllr Gallon suggested that changing the signage was investigated as an
interim measure, to deter visitors from parking in the village. Cllr
Punton suggested that an enforced permit scheme was the only solution.
2020 Transparency Fund
Cllr Owen reported that
Cllr Sutherland has not submitted a claim for the new financial year.
Action: Cllr Owen will phone Cllr
Sutherland to confirm he is happy to continue with this project.
2021 Financial matters.
Current Account Balance:
estimated at £1567.55
Clerk wages &
expenses: £166.91
Cllr Owen reported that
the accounts for 2015/2016 will be audited.
He also highlighted the
need to earmark funds as the money from the Water Board can only be
spent on capital projects. The defibrillator and the Skiff class as
capital projects, but repairing the footpath would be revenue and the
refurbishment of the play park would be questionable. Of the current
reserves, the Parish Council have spent £2,000 and have £11,000 left.
The remaining £7,000 is general reserves from surpluses on precept.
This should be reflected in the accounts.
2022 The Queen's 90th Birthday
Cllr Owen reported that
he has found a supplier who can have a pot grown tree early next week
for under £50. Cllr Punton’s earlier comments on the permission for
planting in the harbour were noted. Cllr Craster is to look at the
arrangements on behalf of the Trust.
2023 Northumberland LED Street Lighting Project
It was agreed that no
special requests would be made
2024 Signpost for Harbour
Cllr Owen explained that
this had been delayed because of hold-ups with the footpath. Cllr
Punton will report back at the next meeting with prices.
2025 Correspondence received.
a.
Northumberland CAB
b.
Northumberland CAN newsletter
Both noted
2026 Items for Next Agenda
None
2027 Information Share
The Clerk shared
information about a joint Parish Council / Northumberland County
Council meeting in Alnwick.
2028 Date and Time of Next Meeting – Annual
Meeting
Thursday 19th May 2016
at 7:15pm in the Craster Memorial Hall
Open to Press and Public
|
