Minutes of a Meeting of Trimdon Foundry Parish Council held on Tuesday 9th March 2021 by Zoom

153/20 Present:
Councillors Carole Bell (Chairman), Gail Elliott, Gary Elliott, Brian Ferguson, Mike Gilvin, Ian Storey, County Councillor Lucy Hovvels

154/20 Apologies:
None received

155/20 In Attendance
Parish Clerk Kate Holmes
Two members of the public joined the meeting at points noted in the minutes.

156/20 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.

157/20 Declaration of Interest
Cllr Bell declared a distant family relationship with the applicant for planning application DM/20/02920/FPA

158/20 Dispensations for Declared Interests
None required: Cllr Bell agreed not to participate in the discussion of the above application.

159/20 Exclusion of the Press and Public
At this point in the agenda no members of the public had joined the meeting. It was therefore RESOLVED that as no members of the public were present, no exclusion would be necessary.

160/20 Open Session
160a/20 Police and Wardens’ Report
The report from PCSO Foreman was noted. The Clerk reminded Members that the total number of incidents reports is the number of reports, so if a single incident is reported by five people, the total will be increased by five rather than by one. This is why the numbers broken down by category add up to less than the overall total.

160b/20 County Councillor’s Report
Cllr Hovvels updated Members about progress on anti-Covid-19 measures.

160c/20 Public Participation
None: one member of the public arrived at this point but did not wish to contribute on agenda items.

161/20 Minutes
It was RESOLVED to accept the minutes from the Parish Council meeting on the 16th February 2021 as a true record.

162/20 Finance
It was RESOLVED to pay all items listed in the report filename ‘financereport.pdf’ that had been circulated by e-mail to Members on 04/03/21.

The monthly bank statement (Sheet 499) was reviewed and approved. It had arrived too late for the system reconciliation report to be produced and circulated ahead of the meeting, so this will be done at April’s meeting.

It was RESOLVED that, subject to the current schedule for relaxation of lockdown measures holding good, collection of allotment rents for 2021-22 will be arranged for late July 2021.

163/20 Defence against Off Road Vehicles
It was noted that the owner of a local field has agreed to the Parish installing a fence to prevent unlawful vehicle access to parish land.

It was RESOLVED that the Clerk should contact Raisby Quarries to ask for donation of large boulders to block key access routes.

It was RESOLVED that Cllr Elliott should obtain a price quotation for a width restriction to the pedestrian gates at the Memorial Garden, and contact Trimdon Parish to see if any joint approaches to addressing the problem can be found.

164/20 Virtual Gardening Competition 2021
It was RESOLVED to accept the proposals made by the Clerk in the document previously circulated to members, and the Clerk agreed to proceed with arranging the competition on that basis.

At this point a second member of the public entered the meeting.

165/20 NHS and Frontline Workers Day
It was RESOLVED that the Clerk should canvass the level of interest/support for an event to thank and celebrate those who have provided frontline services to the parish or are residents of the parish. This is to enable such an event to be scoped and planned.

166/20 Cemetery Water Feature
The sculpture should be installed before the end of March 2021. It was RESOLVED that if this is completed and the invoice received before 31/3/21, if the invoice is consistent with the original quotation it should be paid before the month end, without need for further approval.

The Clerk agreed to ensure that the new sculpture is added to the parish Asset Register.

167/20 Cemetery
It was RESOLVED that the Clerk should supply Cllr Elliott with details of pest control contractors recommended by CDALC members.

The Clerk reported that she is awaiting contact back from Northumbrian Water about removal of the water supply. This is due within the next 2 weeks.

The Clerk reported that as far as she could tell from the Land Registry website, Deaf Hill Cemetery is not registered to any owner. She has queried this with the Registry and awaits their response. It was noted that the cemetery appears on official Ordnance Survey documents. This means that it is currently impossible to evidence the boundary, and thence responsibility for maintaining the lay-by outside the cemetery wall and gates.

Cllr Hovvels agreed to request DCC Highways to resolve the flooding problem at the cemetery entrance, and to resurface the lay-by.

168/20 Policy Review
No documents were presented for review at this meeting.

169/20 Planning
No concerns were raised about the two applications listed on the agenda.

170/20 Chairman’s Report
Cllr Bell requested consideration of recognition/thanks to three parish residents who are regularly picking litter on their own initiative, as volunteers. It was RESOLVED that they be considered for ‘Good Samaritan’ awards.

171/20 Clerk’s Report
The Clerk had circulated a written progress report prior to the meeting which was noted.

It was RESOLVED that the proposed Christmas lighting of trees on Malvern Crescent should be limited to what can be achieved with the one power supply pillar that has already been installed.

172/20 Website Management, Design and Hosting
The Clerk reported that all is currently on track for the new website to go live on or before April 1st 2021. She confirmed that training will be provided to IT Committee members before then, and that the site will receive and display posts from the parish Facebook page.

173/20 Councillors’ Reports
It was reported that the proposed 1% pay increase for NHS staff could be a breach of statute as it disregards the higher increase that had previously been agreed.

The Clerk agreed to report the debris on open spaces in Wood View and Springdale Avenue to the relevant housing associations, and to supply photographs of nuisance waste on an enclosed area to Cllr Hovvels for investigation.

The Clerk agreed to confirm whether non-residents of the parish are eligible to witness nominations for the forthcoming election, and ask the process for including a political party logo on the ballot papers.

174/20 Correspondence Received
No questions, concerns or points of information were raised about circulated e-mails.

175/20 Items for Future Agendas
Environmental Maintenance Contract (carried forward)

176/20 Exclusion of Press and Public
Not required

177/20 Close of Meeting
The business of the meeting was concluded at 8.07pm.

 

These minutes were agreed as a true record at the meeting of Council held on 13th April 2021

Signed: (Chairman)