May 2019 Minutes
NOTES/MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF OSBOURNBY PARISH COUNCIL
Held on Wednesday 8th May 2019 in the village hall
Public Forum: 2 members of the public were present
No Declarations of Interest
1. Appointment of Chairman: Cllr Pearson congratulated Cllr Russell Jackson on his well fought campaign and on becoming a District Councillor. He proposed that Cllr Jackson stand as chairman, this was seconded by Cllr Baldwin. Cllr Jackson accepted this.
2. Acceptance of standing orders and Chairmanship: Cllr Jackson and the clerk signed the form. All Councillors completed their Declaration of Office forms.
3. Appointment of Vice Chairman: Councillor Baldwin proposed that Cllr Baker become vice Chair. This was seconded by Cllr Wright. Cllr Baker accepted the vice chairmanship.
4. Apologies: County Councillor Andrew Hagues (he had advised that he may be late in attending the meeting).
5. In attendance: Cllrs Jackson, Baker, Baldwin, Wright, Camm and North.
6. Minutes of previous meeting held on 20th March which had already been circulated were agreed. Proposed Cllr North, seconded Cllr Camm. The minutes were signed by Cllr Jackson.
7. Signing off the 2018/19 Accounts: Mrs King advised the meeting that the 2018/19 accounts have now been audited and found to be in order. Mrs King advised the meeting that in last financial year an income of £7,960 had been received, however £10,990 had been spent. As at the end of March 2019 the bank balances stood at:
Parish Council Account: £6,285.84. Cemetery Account: £41,380.17.
It was proposed by Cllr Jackson that the signing off the accounts were made, seconded Cllr Camm.
8. Chairman’s Report: Cllr Jackson had no report to give at this time.
9. Clerk’s Report: Mrs King advised the meeting that as Cllr Pearson had resigned there was a vacancy to fill. This will be filled by advertising a Casual vacancy. This allows 10 electors of the Parish to requests that an election be held to fill a vacancy. If no requests are made then the Council may co-opt whoever it pleases to fill that vacancy as long as that person meets the criteria for becoming a councillor. Mrs King advised that she would do the relevant paperwork this week and that hopefully at the next meeting we can co-opt a new member.
Action: Clerk
As Cllr Pearson was a bank signatory a new signatory is required. Cllr Jackson agreed to do this and Mrs King will obtain the necessary paperwork.
Action: Clerk
Mrs King advised the meeting that she will be going through the standing orders and financial regulations and bringing any amendments to the next meeting to be discussed and agreed.
Action: Clerk
Insurance cover from 1.6.19 to 31.5.20 has been renewed. Still with brokers Came & Company and insured through Ecclesiastical. Mrs King has looked through all paperwork and is happy that it appears to meet all our needs.
An email from Environmental Services at NKDC has been received that the legislation that allowed Fixed Penalty Notices to be issues for dog fouling has relapsed. The dog fouling of land act has been repealed and NKDC no longer has powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices. However over the last 3 years only 2 have been issued in the district. Any old signs in the district will be replaced.
A couple of complaints had been received about the fir trees on the grass verge on the London Road as these were obscuring the view of residents trying to leave Saddlers Close, therefore making it a danger. Cllr Baldwin said that she would look into this as she used to live in a property there. If Cllr Baldwin could not find the information Mrs King would get in contact with the tree officer at NKDC.
Action: Cllr Baldwin
Mrs King handed out the Members’ Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests to be completed tonight.
10. District Council Report: Cllr Jackson advised that he was still undergoing induction training and attending lots of meetings and presentations following his election win to become the District Councillor. He advised the meeting that he will be meeting Kate Cook, who resigned as District Council, for a handover.
11. Adoption of the Code of Conduct for Osbournby Parish Council: The adoption of the new Code of Conduct was unanimously agreed. Clerk to advise NKDC.
Action: Clerk
12. Update on setting up working party for road safety issues: Mrs King advised that she had had a complaint from a resident of The Drove regarding speeding down The Drove. She advised that she had obtained 3 new speeding signs and these will be erected this week. Cllr Jackson reported that he had a meeting with Mr Paul Norton regarding setting up the working party. Mr Norton had given Cllr Jackson 4 names of people he would hope to be working with. Cllr Baldwin felt that if Mr Norton wished to go ahead with a campaign for road safety measures in the village he should be encouraged. He would be able to find out what had happened historically and there could be a very positive sharing of information. It is anticipated that some surveys will need to be carried out but it was also acknowledged that LCC Highways is unlikely to take action until the Coroner’s report is available. This is not likely to be before the end of July at the earliest.
13. Planning Matters: The Van Der Windt factory on the Drove has been given an extension of planning permission for a further 2 years. Planning felt that the property had not deteriorated in the last 2 years and that the owners are actively looking at another site but this will not be available for some time.
14. Signage on grass outside Whichcote Arms: Mrs King advised that an email had been received from a resident regarding the amount of signage on the grass verge and the flat which has become quite bedraggled. Cllr Jackson advised that he would discuss with the publican.
Action: Cllr Jackson
15. Digital Hub Update: Cllr Jackson reported that attendance has fallen. When he attends Parish Council meetings in his new role as District Councillor he will champion the hub and take flyers for distribution with other Parish Council magazines in order to increase interest in the hub from outside the village.
Action: Cllr Jackson
16. Litter Picking in the Village/Best Kept Village competition: Mrs King advised that the entry form for the Best Kept Village had been submitted. Also on Saturday 18th May a litter picking/village tidy day had been arranged. Flyers were handed round and Cllr North agreed to deliver them within the village. It is not known how many people are likely to attend and Mrs King to ask Nina Camm of Environmental Health if she can arrange collection of the litter/weeds etc.
Action: Clerk
17. Lilac Bush in the Churchyard: The residents of School House have complained that the lilac bush in the churchyard is obstructing their view. It was agreed that nothing could be done whilst it was in flower and there were possibly birds nesting in it. Alan Drury had said he would be prepared to take it down but he has a problem getting rid of the branches etc. It was agreed that Cllrs Baker and North would look into this.
Action: Cllrs Baker & North
18. Street light in West Street: Information was given on this item. There had been a street light in West Street some years ago, however this was removed. A few weeks ago a council official was looking into the possibility of reinstating the lamp post. However none of the residents of West Street want this light reinstating.
Cllr Jackson was advised that this was something that NKDC was dealing with and he will discuss this at his meeting with Kate Cook.
Action: Cllr Jackson
19. Donations: No requests for donations have been received.
20. Payments: The following payments were made tonight:
Cheque No. 794: Kingswood Builders: £4,632.82 (Drawn 25th April)
Cheque No. 795: Alan Drury: £360.00
Cheque No. 796: Rick Webster £246
Cheque No. 797: Osbournby Village Hall £18.00
Cheque No. 798: ICCM membership £95.00
Cheque No. 799: Came & Co. £380.73
Cheque No. 800: Mrs E King (Reimbursement) £88.86
Cheque No. 801: Mrs D Scott (Audit) £35.00
Change of Wifi provider in April to £31.20 per month a saving of £25.80 per month. It incurred a one off payment of £11.99.
21. Correspondence: No correspondence had been received which has not already been discussed.
22. Dates of next meetings:
All meetings to start at 7 p.m.
Wednesday 3rd July
Wednesday 4th September
Wednesday 6th November
Mr Paul Norton arrived towards the end of the meeting and advised that he had spoken to the people he wished to join him on the Road Safety Working Party and they all agreed to join. They are now looking for a date for the first meeting.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.20 p.m.