Withiel Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting held in the Village Hall at 7.15pm on
Wednesday, 3rd April 2013
Present: Cllr J Piper, Cllr N Mather, Cllr M Biddick, Cllr D Hore, Cllr D Hancock, Cllr Martyn. Parish Clerk: Mrs C Wilson.
Also Present: CC Mick Martin, 4 members of the public.
The meeting began at 7.15 when the Chairman welcomed all and invited the public to address the meeting. No one addressed the meeting.
1. Members’ declarations of interest. None.
2. Apologies for absence. Cllr Harper is unwell.
3. Minutes of 6th March 2013. It was resolved that the minutes of 6th March were true and correct. Proposed Cllr Biddick, 2nd Cllr Martyn, and duly signed by the Chairman.
4. Finance.
a. Payments: Proposed Cllr Martyn, 2nd Cllr Hancock, approved.
i. The Playing Field Association has requested the £300.00 Bodmin Forum grant is transferred to them.
ii. Clerk’s salary, £100.08 + expenses £33.59; total £133.67.
iii. Bricknells, £10.50.
iv. WPFA, £123.00 for hire of Village Hall in arrears, 4 Apr ’12 – 6 Mar ‘13
b. Clerk’s salary review. Up to this point the Clerk’s salary was capped at 12 hours a month. It was proposed by Cllr Hore and 2nd Cllr Hancock that the Clerk’s salary from 3 April 2013 will be paid according and subject to a timesheet kept by the Clerk and available for inspection by the members each month.
c. Report from the Clerk who consulted with CALC about the ‘approved list’ of contractors; this method was discouraged. Review of resolution 5b from the 6th March meeting. It was resolved that the Council will not keep an “approved list” of suppliers and that from Financial Regulation 10(b)(i) the phrase “from at least three firms, such firms to be taken from the appropriate approved list.” has been removed and replaced by the term “locally”. 10(b)(i) will now read:
“exceeding £ 500.00 (five hundred pounds) value for the supply of goods or materials or for the execution of works or specialist services other than such goods, materials, works or specialist services as are excepted as set out in paragraph (a) the Clerk shall invite tenders locally.”
Proposed Cllr Hancock. 2nd Cllr Mather.
5. PAYE status. The Clerk reported that Withiel Parish Council is now registered as an employer with HMRC for PAYE. It was necessary to register because the Clerk has another job. The Clerk will receive a ‘pack’ shortly and will then follow its instructions to declare her salary to HMRC. She will advise the Council should any issues arise.
a. AON, our insurance provider has also written to say that we must notify them of our ERN (Employer’s Reference Number; aka, the Employer PAYE Reference) before they can provide us with insurance.
6. Matters for Report.
a. Neighbourhood Plan. The Clerk is compiling a file of information about the Neighbourhood Plan scheme and Local Development Orders, an older scheme. CC Martin suggested the Clerk inquire about the Neighbourhood Plan process with the Clerk of Blisland.
b. The LMP grant payment of £486.00 for 2012/13 has been approved and should be in the bank now, though the Clerk has not yet received the statement. It is the maximum amount available; i.e., 90% of Footpath maintenance in Withiel Parish.
In future, however, the LMP payment will be made only for the work schedule supplied under the LMP scheme, which is a small percentage of the work required. All other work will be at the Parish’s expense.
c. Hamish Gordon, the Countryside Officer for this area, will be moving to another area and with reorganisation, two officers will be in charge of Withiel: “James Dutton will be dealing specifically with Operational matters in the Central Area, in the main looking after the Sites and Trails and also some PRoW issues. Dave Wood will be concentrating purely on the Network PRoW issues.”
7. Footpaths.
a. Reassessment of footpaths eligible for the Local Maintenance Partnership grant. The Countryside Partnerships officer, Terri Winchester, suggested that the footpaths in Withiel parish could be reassessed with the help of local knowledge to see whether more work can be supported by the LMP grant. The reassessment is not urgent but must be done before the parish submits its 2013 Grant claim form.
b. Lawellen footbridge. H Gordon advised that there is a backlog of work to be done because of the flooding and he cannot give an estimate for the replacement of the bridge.
8. Planning.
a. Planning decisions. Ref. No: PA12/10939. Provision of photovoltaic solar park and ancillary infrastructure over approximately 22ha and generating approximately 9.58 MW – Land North Of Kerriers Withiel Bodmin Cornwall. Status: Approved with conditions.
CC Martin reported that he sent a letter to the committee with all of Withiel’s reservations, which were read out, discussed and answered.
b. Related correspondence. None at present.
c. Planning Applications. None at present.
9. PCSO Paynter’s report.
I have just returned from annual leave. I note that you have changed the date of the AGM and hope that I will be able to attend? (Shifts etc permitting)
I am delighted to report that another month has seen no reported crime. This is pleasing for us all and I hope will show, when I do the AGM report, that Withiel remains a very low crime area.
It is very encouraging that Cornwall Council are also going public in encouraging people to report people seen fly tipping. As ever, this remains a pet hate for me!! If you see anyone offending, please give me a call.
10. Cornwall Cllr M Martin’s report.
- Fly tipping is a big problem in this area and in all of Cornwall. Rubbish on the A30 should have been cleaned by 1st April and has not been.
- Small forms are available in Bodmin’s One Stop Shop to make it easy to report fly tipping and dog fouling, and other such incidents with the hope they will be reported more frequently and better controlled.
- St Dennis incinerator is signed off and will go ahead.
- Bodmin’s recently reported Town Plan is under consultation which ends 22 April.
- In the parish: CC Martin will report the glass in the verge past Withiel Cross toward Roche. It is too large an amount to dispose of in normal rubbish bins.
11. Business for the next meeting. The internal check and confirmation of annual return.
12. Correspondence & Invitations.
a. County Council documents for consultation ending 22 April. The Clerk can lend the documents to electors in the Parish or copies are available for inspection at One Stop Shops and Libraries.
i. Cornwall Local Plan: Strategic Policies 2010-2030. Two copies of the 150 page document have been sent to Withiel Parish Council. More information www.cornwall.gov.uk/localplancornwall. The document may also may be purchased for £10 from Cornwall Council, 01872 224283.
ii. The Draft Gypsy and Travelling Communities Strategy and Delivery Plan.
iii. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Preliminary Draft Charging.
b. The Cornwall 100 Club. Information about 1 day project/activity volunteers for community work. The WPFA also has this information.
c. St Day Parish Council sent us their concerns about Cornwall Homechoice Register and asked us to investigate the impact on our Parish. Cllr Mather pointed out that it will affect areas with large amounts of low cost housing.
d. Coastline Chronicles sent information about their Homeless Service.
e. The Clerk advised that the cap for Section 137 payments in our Parish is calculated this year at £6.98 per resident.
f. Cornish Mutual offered a competition for £1,500 toward a community event or project. There is no event which qualifies in Withiel at the moment.
13. Date of Next Meeting:
a. Wednesday 1st May 2013 @ 7.15 pm, for the confirmation of annual return.
b. Wednesday, 15th May 2013 @ 7.00 pm Parish Meeting and Annual Parish Council Meeting.
The meeting closed at 8.12 pm with the Chairman thanking all those who attended.
Christine Wilson – Parish Clerk
3rd April 2013