Parish Council Minutes 22nd May 2007

 

The Annual Parish Meeting was held on Tuesday 22nd May 2007 at 8pm in the village hall. All councillors were present, including Councillor Peter Nutting, but there were no members of the parish. The chairman, Mr. J. Norris gave his annual report and stated that parish council had met on five occasions during the year. There had been seven planning applications and parish council had offered no objections to any of them and they had all been approved by borough council. The parish council had considered the conservation area appraisal and its implications for the village and approved all of the proposals. The problems of the Cwms Lane and the conflict of use was addressed by seeking help from the Country Landowners Association. Their representative Caroline Bedell, had spoken to councillor the variety of actions that could be taken if conditions deteriorated on the use of the bye way. The council had also had an election to select parish councillors and had encountered a very high and encouraging turnout. The purchase and erection of traffic calming signs into the village had been carried out, as well as continuing to monitor the state of the roads and ditches within the parish. The grass cutting and annual clear up had been completed in the cemetery. It was also discovered that sixty-eight stone memorials were in a risk condition and fifty-four had been corrected by a group of councillors. The remaining fourteen had to be made secure during the summer of 2007. Further expense was anticipated in the cemetery as certain trees would have to receive the attentions of a tree surgeon.

 

The chairman then went on to outline the perceived expectations of the parish councils by the borough and the county councils, which he found were both demanding and upsetting. The proposals for quality parish councils and parish planning all take time, yet add little to the running of the parish. He felt the parish was both unique and fortunate to have people willing to work for the community for no return. The five meetings each year were adequate for the running of the parish council and thanked all the councillors for their support and work during the year and during his term as chairman, which was ending. He thanked Councillor Peter Nutting and District Councillor Tim Barker for their support and commitment to the parish during the year.

 

The Annual Parish Meeting was followed by a General Meeting of Parish Council.

 

  1. The Minutes of the previous meeting, previously circulated were read, approved and signed.
  2. There were no declarations of interest
  3. Matters Arising: all matters arising were discussed as agenda items.
  4. Planning applications:
    1. Erection of a two-storey extension to rear following demolition of detached and semi-detached outbuildings at Holly Cottage, Cardington – No objections were raised.
    2. Erection of a raised timber decked area at Nant alley Cottage, Wall Bank – no objections were raised and planning permission has been granted. (retrospective).
  5. Churchyard: The chairman reported on the gravestones update and confirmed that fifty-four memorials had been corrected by a working party of parish councillors. Fourteen memorials were in need of specialist work and the chairman had asked the stonemason to provide a quotation for the repair. The quotation of £1,750 was announced and after much discussion it was agreed to accept it and on Cllr Nuttings’s suggestion to seek grant aid from  SABC. The clerk was instructed to send a letter for grant application to the Assistant Chief Executive. The chairman had organised the grass cutting for 2007 and informed Parish Council that he had arranged a meeting with the tree surgeon to assess the problem of overgrown trees in the cemetery.
  6. Roads and Ditches: The clerk was instructed to ask the county council surveyor to look at the overgrown boughs by the quarry at Comley. Cllr Nutting agreed to ask for the road sweeper to clean the roads by Comley.
  7. The accounts for 2006-07 and the statement of assurance for external audit were presented to parish cllrs for approval at the next meeting. The clerk informed Parish council that the precept of £3,500 had been received, plus a burial fee of £168, which resulted in a balance of ~£4,958.34 in the account. It was agreed to pay £25 for village hall hire fees for 2006-07. it was also agreed to pay the outstanding external audit fee for 2005-06 to Hacker Young of £82.55. The fees for 2006 election of £727.69 were also agreed and paid to SABC, plus the annual insurance premium of £152.25. It was also agreed to pay the SALC annual fees of £109.44 and Cllr training fees of £30. The website fees of £34.97 were also paid to Mr D. Elliott. It was also agreed to pay the 2007 grass cutting fees of £240 and $40 towards the cost of correcting the insecure memorial stones in the churchyard. This completed the expenditure items.
  8. Correspondence:
    1. All councillors confirmed that they had not received any gifts or hospitality during 2006-07.
    2. The provisional map of the Shrewsbury North-~West Relief Road, linking the A5 with the A49 by Battlefield, was shown to Parish Council.
    3. The proposals for a fortnightly rubbish collection, instead of weekly was discussed and it was deemed likely as it could improve the council’s recycling of waste.
    4. The question of a unitary council for Shropshire was discussed and all councillors stated their objection and it was agreed to write and support SABC objections.
  9. Review of conflict of interest was carried out and to the best of their knowledge, all councillors confirmed, there had been no conflict of interest.
  10. The next meeting will be on Tuesday 26th June 2007.
  11. There was no other business. The chairman then closed the meeting and moved onto the Annual Council Meeting. He stated his enjoyment of the role of chairman and thanked his vice-chairman and all councillors for their support during the past four years and offered his resignation. Mr Pennington, vice-chairman, took the chair and thanked the outgoing chairman for the leadership and workload that characterised the job. Mr Norris’s legacy was the tidy-up of the Hoar Edge road, the completion of the walling around the cemetery and the erection of the village storeroom, achieved with the full support of councillors. It was proposed by Mr Norris and seconded by Mr Davies that Mrs Blenkins becomes chairman and was carried unanimously. Mrs Blenkins then took the chair and asked for nominations for vice-chairman. It was proposed by Mr Pennington and seconded by Mrs Bridges that Mr Seabury becomes vice-chairman and was carried unanimously. The meeting then ended.