Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Trimdon Foundry Parish Council held on Tuesday 11th May 2021 at 6.30pm at Trimdon Grange Community Centre
001/21 Present:
Councillors Carole Bell, Rachael Collins, Gail Elliott, Gary Elliott, Brian Ferguson, Mike Gilvin, lan Storey, County Councillor Lucy Hovvels
002/21 In Attendance
Parish Clerk Kate Holmes
003/21 Election of Chairman
Cllr Bell was appointed as Chairman, and completed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
004/21 Election of Vice-Chairman
Cllr Gail Elliott was appointed as Vice-Chairman
005/21 Apologies:
County Councillors Jake Miller and Chris Varty
006/21 Notice of Motion
The notice of motion to call the meeting was proposed by Cllr C Bell and seconded by Cllr Mike Gilvin. This was carried.
007/21 Declaration of Interest
None
008/21 Dispensations for Declared Interests
None required.
009/21 Exclusion of the Press and Public
It was RESOLVED that as no members of the public were present, no exclusion would be necessary.
010/21 Open Session
010a/21 Police and Wardens' Report
The report from PCSO Stocks was noted. It was suggested that some incidents could still be mis-reported because of uncertainty over the location of the boundary between Trimdon and Trimdon Foundry parishes.
Sgt Gary Smith is newly appointed at Peterlee station. It was noted that an overview of incidents across the force area is available from the police website, or the 'In The Know' site.
010b/21 County Councillor's Report
Cllr Hovvels reported that Wheatley Hill PC had approved substantial expenditure on efforts to combat quad bike nuisance. As no single party has control of the County Council following last week's elections, negotiations are underway between parties to form alliances. Cllr Hovvels acknowledged and expressed her gratitude for the support she had received from the local community, business and voluntary sectors in response to her continuing hard work on behalf of the area. She pledged that she would work in close partnership with fellow Councillors Miller and Varty.
Joy Allen was elected as Police, Crime and Victims' Commissioner and will take up office officially on May 12th.
The area has seen an increase in Covid-related antisocial behaviour such as shoplifting and arson. Wheatley Hill fire station will be opening to the public in the hope of educating young people about fire and the dangers of arson,
A £300,000 fund for Town and Village Regeneration has been made available, with access via the AAP. Cllr Howvels urged the Parish Council to bid for funding from this.
010c/21 Public Participation
None.
011/21 Minutes
It was RESOLVED to accept the minutes from the Parish Council meeting on the 13th April 2021 as a true record.
012/21 Committee Structure and Lead Councillors
It was RESOLVED to leave authorised signatories unchanged at present, and to manage finances at full council rather than with a separate committee with a sub-set of Members. Environment Leads: Cllrs Gail Elliott, Gary Elliott and Storey; Allotment Leads: Cllrs Gail Elliott and Gary Elliott;
Cemetery Leads: Cllrs Gail Elliott and Gary Elliott;
- Armed Forces Covenant Lead: Cllr Storey;
- IT Committee: Cllrs Gilvin and Storey and the Clerk;
- Facebook Admins: Cllrs Bell and Storey, and Clerk;
- Smaller Councils Forum and AAP Representative: Cllr Gilvin supported by the Clerk.
- Other Members would be welcome to attend when available.
013/21 Finance
It was RESOLVED to pay all items listed in the report filename '2021-05-11 Approvals.xlsx' that had been circulated by e-mail to Members on 06/05/21.
The monthly bank statement (Sheet 501) was reviewed and approved. As the new financial year has not yet been fully set up there was no bank reconciliation report available yet for approval, but this will be done at a subsequent meeting.
It was RESOLVED to suspend the Parish's Zoom licence. It was RESOLVED to proceed with the repair of the Memorial Garden gates at the price quoted, but to await the same supplier's quote for installation of bollards to protect it before, potentially, approving the full project.
It was RESOLVED to offer a grant of £750 to Wheatley Hill Parish Council towards the restoration and reinstatement of its pit pony statue on the roundabout near the Trimdon Foundry Parish boundary.
The asset register was reviewed and approved subject to the addition of the six cemetery seats acquired in 2018-19 that had not been added at the time.
It was RESOLVED to appoint Gordon Fletcher CMIIA as Internal Auditor.
It was RESOLVED that Members and the Clerk should attend as many relevant online training sessions organized by CDALC as possible. They should book their own places and arrange for the invoices to be sent to the Clerk.
014/21 Refuse Collection Contract
It was RESOLVED to award the contract for refuse collection from street bins and the cemetery, and for cleansing of the play park, to SE Landscaping Services on the basis of the substantially cheaper tender response received. The Clerk agreed to notify the outgoing and new provider.
It was also RESOLVED that the Clerk should consult other local Clerks about their refuse collection arrangements, in the hope of securing even better terms through economies of scale in future.
015/21 Playground Maintenance and Re-opening
The costs and options supplied by the Clerk were discussed in detail. It was RESOLVED that all the surfaces in the toddler play park should be repaired by DCM Ltd, and all the listed equipment in that park should be replaced. It was further agreed that the climbing frame accessories for the playing field should be purchased and installed. The Clerk agreed to consult suppliers about a safe but theft-deterrent replacement for the cantilever swing before ordering this. The Clerk agreed to make all the arrangements for the repairs, purchases and installation.
016/21 Publication of Members' Details
It was RESOLVED that members' photographs should be posted on the new website, but their parish e-mail addresses should not be. All correspondence is to be routed via the Clerk.
017/21 Policy Review
It was RESOLVED to re-adopt the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations unchanged other than correction of one typographical error noted by the Clerk. It was noted that any policy can be amended in future with due process, should the need arise.
018/21 Future Meeting Dates
It was RESOLVED to hold the Annual Parish Assembly on Tuesday 25th May at 6.30pm at May Crescent Community House.
It was RESOLVED to hold Full Council meetings for 2021-22 on the second Tuesday of every month other than August, at 6.30pm. Venues will be confirmed nearer the time.
019/21 Planning
No applications within the Parish had been raised in consultation by the Principal Authority.
020/21 Chairman's Report
Cllr Bell recommended the 'Good Councillor Guide' (to be circulated by email by the Clerk) to new and existing Members.
021/21 Clerk's Report
The Clerk reminded all Members to return their Register of Interest forms to her as soon as possible.
The padlock to the top playground gate has been switched by the maintenance contractor, so it not longer matches others in the area. It was RESOLVED to move the lock from the container onto that gate, and have a non-matching lock on the container.
Scans of original Wingate PC records relating to the purchase of the cemetery land have been requested from the County Archive, to support the registration of the land to Trimdon Foundry Parish Council.
All outstanding VAT reclaims have been submitted, and the first of the three has been paid.
One company has been contacted re supply of discs for the Samaritan Tree, but no response has been received yet.
The Armed Forces Covenant was submitted but then a new version was sent in reply. This was presented to the Chairman for signature at the meeting and will be re-submitted.
The Clerk will be away from May 26th-29th and will be taking May 27th as time off in lieu of extra hours worked in the week ending 12th April 2021.
022/21 Councillors' Reports
Congratulations were offered to Cllr Hovvels for her re-election as County Councillor, and her continuing efforts on behalf of the parish were noted with gratitude.
The potholes noted have been reported by Cllr Hovvels.
The rabbit problem continues, and the recommended pest contractor has not responded to Cllr GE as requested. Clerk to attempt further contact, and Cllr Bell to supply a possible alternative contractor.
With an additional administrator appointed, it will be possible to have a more active social media presence via Facebook.
The work of the Wombles in keeping the parish litter-free was acknowledged. A major litter-pick is being organized with them by the Friends of Deaf Hill School and Community
The Memorial Car Park surface and edges are deteriorating, and there is potential for creating raised beds in the structures on the other side of the back fence. For future agenda discussion.
023/21 Correspondence Received
No questions, concerns or points of information were raised about circulated e-mails.
024/20 Items for Future Agendas
Deferred policy approvals – Attendance and Participation, Information Governance, Allotment Rental Agreement;
Defence against Off Road Vehicles;
NHS and Frontline Workers Day;
Memorial Garden Car Park;
Memorial Garden/Recreation Ground Raised Flower Beds
Medium Term Financial Plan
025/21Exclusion of Press and Public
Not required
026/21 Close of Meeting
The business of the meeting was concluded at 8.25pm.
These minutes were agreed as a true record at the meeting of Council held on 8th June 2021
Signed
(Chairman) 8/6/2021 (Chairman's Initials)
Page added 28th June 2021