LINTON PARISH COUNCIL

Bromsash Gorsley and Linton

Minutes Of The Meeting Held On April 8^th 2002

In Gorsley Village Hall At 7:30 p.m.

Present:

Cllr Richard Smith , Chairman

Cllr Jean Foley, Vice Chairman

Cllr Audrey Duke

Cllr John Foley

Cllr Gordon Martin

Cllr Jim Stewart

Brian Atherton (Clerk)

1 Parishioner attended.

Minute Item			Action
1		Apologies
	1.1	Cllrs Ken Downham, Phil Page and Geoff Reeve-Black

2		Declarations of Interest
	2.1	Cllrs Richard Smith and Jim Stewart declared an interest in Planning Application P52 (see Item 18 below), the former as he had been approached by and spoken with the applicant about this application and the latter because he has had business dealings with the applicant.

3		Minutes of the Meeting held On 11^th March 2002
	3.1	These were accepted with the following changes: Item 6.1. Remove the word “alternate”. Item 18.2. Add the word “complementary” between “following” and “applications” and add at the end: “These were alterations to a previous proposal, one for planning and the other for building consent”. Item 24.1. Correct the date from March 13^th to March 12^th. They were then duly signed by the Chairman.

4		Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting Held on 12^th March 2002
	4.1	These were accepted without change and were duly signed by the Chairman.

5		Matters arising not covered in the Agenda
	5.1	The Clerk reported that he had written to Stagecoach, enquiring as to why the bus stop outside the Roadmaker has been moved and pointing to possible safety issues in consequence. A reply is awaited.	The Clerk

6		Council Casual Vacancy - Co-option of a Councillor
	6.1	Mrs Marlene Hartell, the sole applicant, did not appear. (Clerks Note: Subsequently I learned that she had become indisposed only shortly before the meeting and expects to be able to attend the May meeting).

7		Highways Repair Schedule
	7.1	Nothing to report.

8		Roadmaker Inn
	8.1	Nothing to report.

9		Accounts, Treasurer’s Report and Authorisation of Payment of Accounts
	9.1	The Clerk presented “Replace as New” valuations for all property and a quotation from Cornhill for those and an increase of the Fidelity Guarantee, as follows:
	9.1.1	Fidelity Guarantee Limit £5,700 – Annual Premium £6.58 Street Furniture £3,700 – Annual Premium £36.91 Well & Pump £500 – Annual Premium £4.75
	9.1.2	The Clerk explained that whilst the replacement value of the well and pump would be much higher, as no other form of insurance was available, he was suggesting £500 as being sufficient to repair any damage that might be caused.
	9.1.3	Proposed by Cllr Richard Smith, seconded by Cllr Jim Stewart and approved unanimously, IT WAS AGREED to accept the valuations.
	9.1.4	Proposed by Cllr Richard Smith, seconded by Cllr Jean Foley and approved unanimously, IT WAS AGREED to accept the insurance quotations and to instruct the Clerk to arrange the increased cover now, rather than wait for the insurance renewal at the end of June.	The Clerk
	9.2	The Clerk tabled a proposal from the Audit Commission (D520) to approve the appointment of Winrose Hacker Young of Birmingham as auditors, in addition to District Audit, in accordance with the new “lighter touch” audit to be introduced from April 2002. The accompanying paperwork indicated that, provided Council conforms to the “lighter touch regulations” future audit costs would be £120 only, unless District Audit should decide to carry out a “spot check”.
	9.2.1	Proposed by Cllr Jim Stewart, seconded by Cllr Richard Smith and approved unanimously, IT WAS AGREED to appoint Winrose Hacker Young.	The Clerk
	9.3	The Clerk tabled draft final accounts for the year 2001/2002 and explained that he had included items such as Jubilee Grants to the Village Halls which will be paid after April 1^st but which were approved from the 2001/2002 budget.
	9.3.1	Cllr Jim Stewart pointed to an allocation error, causing an imbalance. That having been corrected it was decided that the account should stand unchanged, save only that the “Current Expenditure/Income” entry should be analysed into three funds: General; Allotments; and Parish Plan. The amended accounts to be attached to these minutes.	The Clerk
	9.4	The following invoices were presented for payment:

AP40	Gorsley Village Hall for Jubilee Celebrations	250.00
AP41	Gorsley Village Hall for Extraordinary Meetings	10.00
AP42	Grass Cutting - A Taylor	24.00
AP43	Linton Village Hall for Jubilee Celebrations	250.00
AP44	Clerk's Salary for March 2002	159.50
AP45	Clerk's Expenses for March 2002	82.19
AP46	CHDC for copy of the telephone directory	5.00

At this point, Cllr Richard Smith passed the Chair to Cllr Jean Foley as he is Treasurer to the Gorsley Village Hall. Proposed by Cllr Jim Stewart, seconded by Cllr Audrey Duke and approved by all except Cllr Richard Smith who abstained, IT WAS AGREED to make these payments and the cheques were duly signed. The Chair was then passed back to Cllr Richard Smith.

10		Working Party Reports
	10.1	Allotments – none
	10.2	Finance – none
	10.3	Footpaths
	10.3.1	Cllr John Foley reported that he has walked 30% of the paths with the Birmingham Ramblers and has noted many repairs needed. However, as Gloria Pay has resigned, the Working Party has no leader.
	10.3.2	It was decided, therefore, that the Clerk will pass all available information to Cllr Foley, who will arrange with the remaining members of the WP to walk the other paths and prepare an action plan. Other Councillors would assist on request.	The Clerk/Cllr John Foley
	10.4	Parish Roads in need of Repair
	10.4.1	Cllr John Foley said that, of the work proposed by CHDC’s Jim Smith, very little had been done, apart from some ditch clearance, that was not on the list.
	10.4.2	Cllr Jim Stewart said that the signs of subsidence on the Linton Lower Ridge Road were worsening.
	10.4.3	It was decided that the Clerk should write to Jim Smith and ask why the works are not proceeding.	The Clerk

11		Annual Parish Meeting on April 15^th – Finalise Arrangements
	11.1	Invitations to Cllr Edwards, the Gorsley Arts, Baptist Church, Bridge Club, Gardening Club, Mother’s Union and School, Trustees of Poor’s Piece and Neighbourhood Watch had been sent out by post. At this meeting, Councillors agreed to distribute the following by hand: Gorsley Pound Farm (Gordon Martin) and Youth Club (Audrey Duke); Linton History Society and Gardening Club (John Foley), the PCCs (Richard Smith and John Foley), Village Hall Committees (Jim Stewart and Richard Smith), Women’s Institutes (Audrey Duke and Jean Foley), Linton Computer Club (Jim Stewart), Linton Guides and Brownies (John Foley) and Linton Keep Fit (Jim Stewart). The Clerk will e-mail the Loyal Order of the Moose to Cllr Ken Downham.	All
	11.2	The Clerk will provide each Cllr with a full copy of the Annual Report and ensure that adequate further copies are available for members of the public.	The Clerk

12		Parish Projects
	12.1	Linton has to cut down a Sycamore tree in the grounds of the Village Hall and so, instead of the previously proposed bench, would like to replace that tree as their project. Proposed by Cllr Jim Stewart, seconded by Cllr Audrey Duke and approved unanimously, IT WAS AGREED to make available the same sum as was spent by Gorsley for their Jubilee Oak Tree.	The Clerk

13		Quality Council & Parish Plan
	13.1	The Consultation Report arising from the meeting with Dorothy Coleman was reviewed and agreed to be of a suitable format for all such reports.
	13.2	Cllr Jim Stewart agreed to join in the consultation group with the police, the next Service Provider on the list.	The Chairman Cllr Jim Stewart

14		Standing Orders v New Guidelines Comparison
	14.1	Still awaiting receipt of the new guidelines booklet.

15		New Model Code of Conduct: Declarations of Acceptance & Interest
	15.1	Duly completed forms of acceptance of the new Code have now been received from all Councillors. Some Declarations of Interest forms are still outstanding but there is no deadline for those. The Clerk will make the necessary returns to CHDC’s legal department.	The Clerk

16		Chairman’s Announcements
	16.1	None.

17		Correspondence
	17.1	A letter from Mr D K Horne (D535b), which challenged the Council’s practice of dealing with matters arising from previous minutes, was noted and discussed. The Clerk explained that it is perfectly reasonable to consider matters arising from previous minutes provided that nothing new is discussed or decided at that time, and added that the item provides a safeguard against the Clerk’s failure to pursue an already agreed action. Councillors decided that they are content with the current procedures and instructed the Clerk to write accordingly to Mr Horne.	The Clerk
	17.2	All correspondence received since the previous meeting, including that already actioned is:

D499	12-Mar-02	Training Courses	Community First
D499a	12-Mar-02	Cllr Richard' Smiths Letter to Mz Azad re Postal Services
D500	13-Mar-02	Notification to Proceed with Co-Option	CHDC
D501	15-Mar-02	New "Practitioner's Guide for Clerks	SLCC
D502	15-Mar-02	Devolution and the West Midlands - Awareness Raising Event	West Midlands Regional Assembly
D503	15-Mar-02	Thanks for and Requisition for £250 from Linton VH	Linton VH Committee
D504	16-Mar-02	Check Forms for Councillor Details	CHDC
D505	16-Mar-02	Register of Electors	CHDC
D506	16-Mar-02	Services Update	CHDC
D507	16-Mar-02	Herefordshire Partnership Newsletter Spring 2002	Herefordshire Partnership
D508	16-Mar-02	Forward Plan	CHDC
D509	16-Mar-02	Community Involvement Semindar	Herefordshire Partnership
D510	16-Mar-02	CHDC Telephone List for £5	CHDC
D511	16-Mar-02	Advice that we can proceed with Co-option	CHDC
D512	20-Mar-02	Planning Bulletin	CHDC
D513	25-Mar-02	Site Lines Newsletter about SSSIs	English Nature
D514	25-Mar-02	Bromsash Planning Application	John Edwards
D515	25-Mar-02	Are we interested in their quote?	Ursells
D516	25-Mar-02	Copy of letter to S Holder re SE2002/0678/F	Dr Swallow
D517	25-Mar-02	Request for Jubilee Celebration Funds To Be Paid Now	Gorsley Village Hall
D518