Balderton Parish Council

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Balderton Village Centre on Wednesday November 7th 2007 at 7.00pm.

PRESENT Councillors Mortimore (Chairman), Mrs Jarvis (Vice Chairman), Allsopp, Fletcher, Gibson, Gosling, Gould, Mrs Hurst, Hurst, Mutter, Mrs Newstead, Radley, Sheppard, Mrs Walker and White with County Councillors Mrs Saddington and Walker, nine parishioners, a representative of the local press and the Clerk.

3022 Apologies
Apologies were accepted from Councillors Colman and Miss Watson and District Councillors Mrs Brooks and Brooks.

3023 Declarations of Interest
No declarations of interest were made.

3024 Minutes
The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday September 26th 2007, having been circulated previously were confirmed as a true record and signed.

3025 Clerk/Chairman’s Update
An update of ongoing matters from the minutes of the previous Council meeting and subsequent committee meetings was circulated and noted. Updates circulated prior to each committee meeting had been included with the minutes. The following issues were discussed:-
a) Council
1. Re Road Safety Cllrs Mrs Hurst and Mrs Jarvis advised that they are due to attend a meeting on November 19th where they intend to raise the issue of the provision of a school bus for Fernwood pupils. Cllr Mutter advised that he wants to serve on the working party.
2. Re Minute 3401c.1 St. Giles Churchyard Further clarification will be sought from the District Council Health and Safety department – the Southwell Diocese considers that because the churchyard is closed, memorial safety is this Council’s responsibility. This contradicts earlier advice.
3. Re Minute 3014d.2 Town Council Name Lengthy discussion took place. Some members expressed their concern that the decision to name the Council a town had been taken at the last meeting given the history of this issue, asking why the village had not been consulted again. The Chairman replied that despite the arguments the decision process had been legally carried out and would stand for six months in line with Standing Orders.
4. Re Minute 3020.3 Audit costs Concern was expressed about the high costs of the audit. This is due to the Council’s expenditure being much higher than usual last year owing to the new build which took the audit into the next expenditure band. The audit cost will revert to the middle band for this present financial year.

The meeting was closed to take public comments.

Representatives of the Balderton Dog Watch group outlined the reasons for their request to hold a key to the playing field gates and advised that their request is for one of the smaller gates – not the electric main gate.

Parishioners raised their objections to the Council’s decision to be named a Town Council, including accusations of directly going against the village referendum held in 2001, asking what the real financial benefits are, seeking assurance that the authority would not be naming the chairman a mayor, accusing the council of dictatorship.

One parishioner asked what the present situation is relating to unauthorised activity at Twitch Farm on Hollowdyke Lane? The fire service had to recently attend a nasty fire there, and the business is still operating despite the pending appeal.

The meeting re-opened.

b) Planning
1. Re Decision Authority Cllr Hurst expressed his concern about planning applications, particularly major ones, being decided upon by District Council planning officers rather than full planning committee. A case in question is the Flowserve development which was turned down by the planning officer before this Council’s comments on the amended application had been submitted.

c) Council Review
1. Re Minute 0072 Attendant A candidate has now been chosen for the position.
d) Amenities
e) Finance & General Purposes
1. Re Minute 3450 Code of Conduct The Council is legally obliged to recognise and adopt the revised Code of Conduct which automatically came into effect on October 1st 2007. The option to adopt paragraph 12 (2) of the Code is recommended as this allows members with a prejudicial interest in an item the opportunity to make representations about it.

It was, AGREED that the Council formally adopts the revised model Code of Conduct with paragraph 12 (2)

The District Council Monitoring Officer will be informed of the decision and Standing Orders may need to be adjusted accordingly.

2. Re Minute 3452 Road Safety The £220,000 committed to improve pavements/cycle ways from Fernwood to Balderton may not cover the full cost of the desired works. The money has been generated from the Section 106 agreement for the Fernwood business park.

3. Re Minute 3423 Financial Assistance

It was, AGREED that in pursuance of the powers conferred by Sections 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972 the Council approve the payment of £300 to Newark & District Citizens Advice Bureau towards running costs, this being expenditure incurred in the interest of the parish or  its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner  commensurate with the expenditure.

3026 Committees
The minutes of the following committees were then confirmed as a true record and signed:
Planning
Council Review
Amenities (with the agreed amendment to show the submission of Cllr Mrs Walker’s apologies).
Finance and General Purposes

3027 Playing Field Gate Key
Further consideration was given to a request from the ‘Balderton Dog Watch’ group to hold a key to the playing field gates. Enquiries have been made with the Council’s insurance company who has confirmed that there are no particular liability implications. After a vote members considered on balance that the request should be refused as it would set a precedent for other users who may wish to gain entry to the field outside published open times.

3028 Financial Statements
The details as published were correct, there being a cheque requirement of £4204.58 for October. A request was made for the financial statements to be distributed with the agendas in advance of the meeting.

3029 Reports from Representatives
1. County Councillor Mrs Saddingtron advised that:
a) Twitch Farm planning application has not yet been considered by the County Council.
The appeal against the original refusal is still pending.
b) The Section 106 money for Fernwood pavement/cycle way improvements has been
handed over from the developers and must be spent on the specified works. The District Council Planning Department and County Council Highways Department will liaise about the proposed works.
c) The District Council planning department has to respond to planning applications within
tight time restrictions otherwise the government imposes fines. This necessitates some
applications being decided by planning officers to speed the process.
d) Great North Road from Fernwood to the A1 roundabout is scheduled to be top surfaced
with an anti slip surface covering. It is believed that work is due to commence on November 12th 2007.

2. County Cllr Walker advised that:
a) The bus service to cover Rowan Way was unlikely to be re-introduced, the services to the Health Centre, and the one from Fernwood to the Grove School are still being considered.
b) He considered that the Road Safety Working Party’s report was excellent, stating that all concerned need to work together for the good of the village.

Six parishioners left the meeting.

3030 Clerk’s Additional Information
The following items of correspondence/information have been received:
1. An e-mail from a resident stating that the Bullpit is common land having the same rights as a village green (in relation to finding a traffic congestion solution for Chuter Ede school). Though members are aware of this fact further clarification will be sought regarding details and implications.
2. A quotation for necessary electrical work to the ticket hut at a cost of £468.00. Members consider that further alternative quotations should be sought.
3. Notice that the new Cemetery pedestrian gates are now in place.

3031 Councillors Questions
1. Cllr Mortimore advised that he had attended the Grove School 50th Anniversary Celebrations and gave a report to members. Cllr Fletcher thanked the Chairman, declaring it unfortunate that all members had not been invited to attend.

2. Cllr Allsopp asked that the Centre management issue be considered at the next Amenities Committee.

3. Cllr Mrs Newstead asked that the Council groundstaff be thanked for their recent hard work on the allotments.

4. Cllr Hurst asked the District Councillors present to take up the issue that any planning  applications that have been commented on by parish councillors should be referred to the District Planning Committee rather than dealt with on delegated powers.

5. Cllr Mrs Hurst asked if the Council could get involved in a planning enforcement issue relating to an extension to a property on Howards Gardens? The Clerk advised that the planning application is scheduled to be considered at a planning meeting next week

The meeting closed at approximately 8.45pm.

▲top
◄home