Minutes of the meeting held in the Village Hall
Wednesday, 3rd July 2013
Present: Cllr Coy, Cllr Harper, Cllr Kirkby, Cllr Malone, Cllr Nott-Bower, Cllr Shearer, Cllr Thomas.
Parish Clerk: Mrs C Wilson.
Also Present: 4 members of the public.
The meeting began at 7.15 when the Chairman welcomed all.
13-36. Members’ declarations of interest. None.
13-37. Apologies for absence. CC Batters and PCSO Paynter.
13-38. It was RESOLVED to exclude members of the public and press from the meeting as under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 during Item 13-50, which contains confidential information about the Clerk’s salary position, and to move this item to last position on the Agenda. Proposed Cllr Kirkby. 2nd Cllr Malone.
13-39. Invitation to members of the public to address the meeting.
Mr J White: Explained that it was suggested by the Planning Office at CC that he contact Withiel Council concerning two upcoming applications at Higher Brynn and Shalimar. He distributed maps to the Councillors and invited them to visit the site. It was RESOLVED to visit the site as a group and Cllr Thomas will coordinate the visit.
Mr A Pearson: Representative of ProLift wished to introduce himself to the Council and he explained the history, current situation and future plans of the business. His planning application was discussed under 13-45.c.i.
13-40. The minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council, 5th June 2013 were APPROVED and signed as a correct record after the word ‘Annual’ was deleted from the title to now read ‘Meeting of the Withiel Parish Council’. Proposed Cllr Coy, 2nd Cllr Nott-Bower.
13-41. Matters for report.
a. CALC officer. Nothing substantial to report..
b. Councillors’ reports – Planning Training. Cllr Shearer reported that after attending a training session held by the CC on Planning that Cornwall in general and Withiel in particular is currently without guidance since the Strategic Plan became defunct this May and the new ‘Local Plan’ which should take over from it is still under discussion. This makes a local development order/neighbourhood plan for Withiel more pertinent.
c. Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP). Cllr Thomas reported on whether it would be suitable to combine forces with another Parish for an NDP. No neighbouring parishes within the Bodmin Community Network Area were found to be suitable. It was DECIDED that Withiel would begin work on the NDP as a single parish and the drafting of a proposal was delegated to Cllr Coy to request funding (max £7,000) from the Dept for Communities and Local Government. The next allocation of funding will be in February 2014.
d. Withiel Churchyard. Cllr Coy gave a report on St Clement’s cemetery. There are 17 available spaces which will probably be filled in approx. 8 years. In the first instance the village must decide if it wants another graveyard of ½ to ¾ of an acre; and secondly, it must decide where. It is within the powers of the Parish Council to administer a graveyard or it could support the efforts of the PCC (Parochial Church Council). This could be part of the NDP.
e. Other reports.
i. The Clerk reported that SLCC and the ICO confirm that the ICO (Information Commission Office) requires parish councils to register with them at a cost of £35 per year. This will be placed on next month’s agenda.
ii. Cllr Malone reported on a letter received from MP Dan Rogerson about Westminster giving the opinions of local communities more weight in planning decisions re wind farms.
13-42. Finance.
a. Council’s electronic data. Cllr Thomas reported that the laptop is dead. It was RESOLVED that for all Withiel electronic correspondence and information, the Clerk will setup a new user on her home computer which is password protected. The situation will be reassessed in the new financial year. The Clerk reported that one flash drive has been purchased as backup and another is yet to be purchased.
b. Further signatories for checking account. Cllrs Malone and Shearer offered to become signatories. Cllr Kirkby offered advice and forms.
c. SLCC – legal & tax issues. The Society of Local Council Clerks is the Clerk’s professional body. Most councils pay for their clerk’s subscription because they benefit from a properly briefed and trained clerk. Cllr Thomas questioned whether the Council should pay for a subscription to a body which could represent the Clerk in a dispute with the Council. The Clerk pointed out that legal representation is only a small portion of what the SLCC does. The Council has in the past and will in future benefit from SLCC advice and the Clerk’s access to an reliable information library. The discussion is POSTPONED until January because the Clerk currently benefits from the full subscription paid at her other clerkship. Usually the subscription is divided between a clerk’s parishes.
d. Cheque nos. 100473-77 were APPROVED for payment. Proposed Cllr Kirkby; 2nd Cllr Shearer.
i. Poppy Wreath, £20.00
ii. Clerk’s June salary £202.66, travel & expenses £27.02. The Clerk was asked to keep her hours to 18 and she agreed to request more hours if necessary from the Financial Officer. The Clerk handed out a proposed timesheet of what 18 hours/month would look like.
iii. Bricknells, Black ink cartridge, £35.95.
iv. CALC – Code of Conduct Training, £ 54.00. The four members who took the course, Cllrs Coy, Malone, Shearer and Thomas said they would pay back the Council for their training. It is £11.25 each (w/o VAT). Cllr Coy has already paid.
v. Wadebridge Computers Ltd, 8GB Memory Stick for backup, £8.95
e. On Monday 15 July Cllr Kirkby will meet with the Clerk for the quarterly Internal Control Check and to report at the next meeting. The Clerk gave all members the template for the Internal Control Check.
13-43. Notice Board repair. Tender for the repair has been POSTPONED. Cllr Coy may have negotiated a repair with the Cornwall College Community Service program for which they would only charge the cost of materials.
13-44. Footpaths.
a. Report from Rights of Way Officer. Cllr Shearer reported on her survey (attached) of the footpaths ,walked with Max Simpson. Most urgently, stiles need to be strimmed. One dangerous stile is on Cllr Thomas’ rented land and he will fix it.
b. It was DECIDED to request tender for the maintenance of the Parish footpaths in local magazines: Withiel, St. Wenn and Nanstallon. Cllrs Thomas and Shearer will liaise for the specifications. Cllr Malone will send advertisement to the magazines. Proposed Cllr Kirkby; 2nd Cllr Nott-Bower.
13-45. Planning.
a. Planning decisions.
b. Related correspondence.
c. Planning Applications.
i. Ref. No: PA13/03912. Retrospective change of use from agricultural building and yard to B8 class use (storage & distribution). Shalimar Roche St. Austell PL26 8LT. Case Officer: Mr Matthew Sleeman.
Understanding of this application was assisted by the attendance and participation in the public session of Mr Pearson. After consideration it was SUPPORTED. Proposed Cllr Coy; 2nd Cllr Nott-Bower.
ii. Ref. No: PA13/03976. Blackhay Farm Withiel Bodmin Cornwall PL30 5NL. Change of use from store to self contained annex. Case Officer: Sarah Stevens
After short discussion it was SUPPORTED. Proposed Cllr Coy; 2nd Cllr Shearer.
13-46. Financial Regulations – Review. As it is recommended that all Financial Regulations for a Parish are in one document, and the Standing Orders contain financial regs, and we are awaiting the revised S/Os to review the S/Os as well, the Council will POSTPONE the review of financial regs.
13-47. PCSO Paynter’s report.
I have taken a look at the Police computer back to 28th May which was the cut off point for my last report. I have found only one reported crime which was “Assault/Occasioning ABH”. I have spoken to the PC who is working on this case and investigations are still on-going.
Since my last report PC O’Toole has been successful with his application for the post of Beat Manager covering both Bodmin St Petrocs and Bodmin Rural areas. I am sure he will be in contact with you personally very soon to establish links.
Personally, I will be out on the community van all day on the evening of the meeting so unable to attend as usual.
I would like to make everyone aware that there are travelling “salesman” visiting rural communities asking for people to sign up to making regular “direct debit” payments to a Registered Charity. Whilst these people are working legitimately and do display the correct passes and paperwork I would encourage parishioners to keep an eye out for elderly or vulnerable friends and relatives who may feel obliged to enter an agreement they may well later regret.
13-48. Cornwall Cllr C Batters’ report. No report this month because of his elective surgery. The Council wishes CC Batters a rapid and full recovery.
13-49. Website – Councillors’ blurbs. After a brief discussion about the pros and cons of photos, it was RESOLVED to put only names, email addresses and telephone numbers on the Councillors’ page on Withiel.com.
13-50. Clerk’s Contract of Employment & Job Description. The public left the room; see item 13-38. The Clerk’s contract was briefly discussed, but not the job description. Cllr Thomas took the Clerk’s working copy home for review for possible amendment.
13-51. Correspondence & Invitations.
a. Lanivet Parish wants to organise a Community Response Team. There is a meeting Monday the 9TH Sept 2013 in Lanivet Village Hall at 7.00pm. Notices have been put up in the village hall and magazine, on the notice board and website.
b. Email from a member of the parish re a wind turbine being erected. (attached)
c. Coastline Chronicles. No one needs to hear more about them from now on.
d. Playground Equipment emails. The Council does not have any need, so they will be forwarded in future to Cllr Thomas as Secretary of the WPFA.
13-52. Business for the next meeting.
a. ICO registration
13-53. Date of Next Meeting. Wednesday 7th August 2013, 7.15 pm.
The meeting closed at 9.40 pm with the Chairman thanking all those who attended.
Christine Wilson – Parish Clerk
6th July 2013