Minutes of meeting held on 5 October 2020. Ref: 318

1. PRESENT: Mr Graham Clarke (Chairman), Mr Ron Barker (Vice Chairman), Mrs Norma Grubb (Parish Clerk), Mr Minty Scaife, David Grubb (Minutes).                                 APOLOGIES: Mr James Wadsworth (available by phone).

2. OPEN SESSION: Three items received as below:  

(i) Child Safety - Roger Walker: reported there had been an Increase in young children playing on and around Pickhill village green and the standard of road safety awareness on bikes and on foot is poor, making driving even at low speed, hazardous. Parked cars exacerbate the problem. He asks what can be done to educate children and parents of the dangers. Discussed. Agreed: Clerk to write to the school asking for children to be advised

(ii) Dog Walking - Roger Walker: re increasing trend of dog walkers using extending leads and the impact on drivers, who do not always see a long lead, just an apparent loose dog. He also says dogs should be on leads on the highway. Discussed: whilst owner is required to keep dog under control near roads, having it on a lead is not a requirement, unless in a designated “keep on a lead” area (signified by signs on lampposts). No designated areas in our villages.

(iii) Street Lane - Chris Robson: road surface on Street Lane near Swainby Lane junction. Yellow paint markings had been applied some time ago to a rectangle of poor surface, signifying action required, but this had worn off and no repairs seem to have been undertaken. Agreed: Mr Clarke to contact Highways engineer direct

Also raised, at the meeting: 

(iv) Pickhill Village Green - Ron Barker: The green is owned by Hambleton District Council, but with Parish Council responsibility to oversee it. He asked whether in light of the impending though postponed plan to form a unitary (county) council and the possible consequent “distancing” from local issues, we should consider applying to adopt Pickhill Village Green, so Parish Council has ownership and control. For next Agenda

(Noted that the open space at Sinderby does not have “village green” status, it is designated as “public open space” and could not be adopted. It is maintained jointly by HDC and Parish Council.)

(v) Chancellor of the Exchequer - Norma Grubb: Mr Rishi Sunak (our MP) had visited Pickhill School on 11 September. Regrettable that Parish Council not told in advance, but the security protocols were appreciated.   

3. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING (24 Aug 2020 – Minute Ref: 317): Agreed by all / signed by Chairman

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES: 

(i) Church grasscutting. Query by Mr Barker. Minutes clarified, in that the Parish Council had contributed £250 annually in recent years and £500 this year due to special circumstances of COVID19 church closure. The £1200 referred to the Church’s overall annual grasscutting spend.

(ii) Assets book: Clerk advised this requires some re-evaluation and updating of those assets listed – ongoing. 

5. PLANNING

(i) Planning Application – Woodside Lodge, Pickhill: Proposed ground and first floor extensions to existing dwelling. (Hambleton Planning Ref: 20/02043/FUL). No objection. Clerk to write to Planning

(ii) Updates – the only other outstanding applications now are Middle Park Farm, Pickhill (awaiting HDC decision) and Manor Farm at Sinderby (in abeyance for past 12 months).    

6. FINANCE MATTERS

(i) Update: Clerk advised that precept instalment of £1,559 received for second half of financial year; VAT re-claim (see below) also received. Invoice for Rospa report – just received – and for payment at £99. Current balance (end of Sept) at just over £9k.

(ii) VAT re-claim (1 Aug 2019 to 31 Jul 2020): A claim for £455.90 was made on 18 September and payment received from HMRC into our account on 22 September. 

(iii) Parish Council Website – annual contract renewal: This is due shortly; Webmaster advises not yet received but believes it will be in the region of £120. Mr Barker felt the website was excellent, looked professional and was user friendly and expressed his appreciation for the work done on its construction and maintenance by volunteer webmaster Mr Ollie Reade. All agreed. It was queried whether we knew how many “hits” the site has had. It was believed that a counter can be added for monitoring (at extra cost). Agreed this was not necessary at present.  

7. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - MAY 2020: review re postponement. It was recognised that we may not be able to hold a public meeting, even in May 2021. Agreed: Review in Spring 2021 

8. CORRESPONDENCE

(i) Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) – letter re support from Mid North Yorks branch. The letter outlined their work during the pandemic. With offices in local towns and an advice bus which visits Bedale regularly, 34 people in our Ward (Tanfield) had been helped. Long discussion re policy/approach for charitable organisations which can benefit residents of the parish. Mr Wadsworth was also consulted by phone. Agreed: Donation of £50

(ii) Pickhill Church – reply re grasscutting: Email letter of appreciation received from Treasurer at Pickhill Church re our donation towards grasscutting costs for church grounds.

(iii) Hambleton DC – re grasscutting contract. HDC wrote asking if we wish to formalise the agreement for them to continue the contributions towards cutting Sinderby green (open space). Discussion re mechanics of various contracts/arrangements involving Parish, District and County Councils. Agreed: Clerk to write to HDC to confirm

(iv) MacVenture Playgrounds, Wetherby – letter received offering their services for supply, installation and maintenance of playgrounds/equipment. Noted. 

(v) ROSPA Report - Inspection carried out in late September of the Pickhill Play Area, plus goalposts on the green. The report had just been received and some work is required. As the report is quite lengthy the Clerk would be circulating members with the PDF. Discussion followed on the way forward. Consensus reached on progressing via risk assessment – action plan – implementation. Agreed: to fix daylight site meeting - Thur/Fri 15/16 Oct

(vi) BHIB Councils Insurance Brokers - have written providing advice regarding our website disability accessibility (compliance deadline was 23 September 2020). The Clerk reported that Mr Reade and Mr Grubb had addressed this when the website was being set up at the beginning of the year. Accessibility statement and associated provisions are in place and they had arranged to review it on an annual basis. The brokers also offered to quote for our public liability cover. This was only renewed with Zurich in the summer. Councillors expressed their satisfaction with the existing insurers who are the specialists for local authority liability cover. 

(vii) Precept – Papers just received asking our requirements for 2021/2022. We had increased last years precept by 5%. The Clerk pointed out that as there have been no community infrastructure levy (CIL) payments this year and they were less likely in the near future due to COVID19 curtailing the start of many building projects, we may need to review. As the reply is required by the end of December, it can be discussed in more detail at next meeting. For next Agenda 

9. COUNCILLORS REPORTS

Allotment Opportunity – Further to last meeting, Mr Clarke is pursuing whether there is any call for allotments in the area. . For next Agenda

10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS: nil

 Signed: Graham Clarke Date: 28 June 2021