Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Trimdon Parish Council held in Trimdon Grange Community Centre on Tuesday 15 January 2019 at 7:00pm.
Present: Councillor John Burton (in the Chair) and Councillors Denise Davison, Bernadette Oliver, Leslie Oliver, Ian Quinn, David Smith and Paul Trippett.
Anne Delandre (Clerk to the Council) was in attendance to record the minutes and County Councillor Peter Brookes was in attendance to report on County Council matters.
90. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Eileen Dickinson, Rob Gilbert, George Elliott, Margaret Elliott, Margaret Hughes and Keith Thompson.
Resolved that the above apologies be approved.
91. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
Resolved that the above be noted.
92. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
There were no members of the public in attendance.
Resolved that the above be noted.
93. REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR PETER BROOKES
County Councillor Peter Brookes was in attendance and reported on the following:
• DCC Cabinet met 6 January 2019 - to consider a cycling/walking 10-year plan
• County Durham Plan out to consultation
• Housing and homeless strategies developed
• Proposal for New History Centre at the former Mount Oswald Golf Course
• Marquee has been delivered to Trimdon Community College
Resolved that the above be noted.
94. MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING HELD ON 11 DECEMBER 2018
The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 11 December 2018 had been circulated with the Agenda.
Resolved that the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 11 December 2018 be approved and signed by the Chairman.
95. UPDATE ON PROGRESS OF RESOLUTIONS FROM THE LAST MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL 0N 11 DECEMBER 2018
a) It was noted, with regret, that the Trimdon Village Surgery had now closed. It was reported that Skerne Medical Group will be carrying out a further review of their existing provision and it was agreed that Trimdon Parish Council should continue with its campaign that a new health facility should be built in Trimdon Village.
Resolved that the above be noted.
96. TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ON A MEETING OF THE COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE HELD ON 11 DECEMBER 2018 TO CONSIDER A COMPLAINT FROM AN ALLOTMENT HOLDER REGARDING RESTRICTED ACCESS TO HART VIEW ALLOTMENT SITE, TRIMDON VILLAGE
The Clerk advised that the Complaints Committee had considered a complaint from an allotment holder regarding the Parish Council’s decision to restrict access to Hart View Allotment Site.
The decision of the Complaints Committee was that, as a result of his poor health, the allotment holder should be granted a key, and that the Allotment Committee should consider extending the opening times for access to Hart View Allotment Site for other allotment users.
Resolved: that the above be noted.
97. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
There were no planning applications for consideration.
Resolved that the above be noted.
98. FINANCIAL
a) Stephen Carter, Durham County Council Audit and Fraud Manager, was in attendance to report on the Internal Audit Interim Report, a copy of which had been circulated with the minutes. The Interim Report considered arrangements in place over the six-month period 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018. A further review will be undertaken to consider the period 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019 and a further report detailing the Internal Audit Opinion over the effectiveness of arrangements will be provided.
The report highlighted the following best practice recommendation:
In considering compliance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules (CPR), whilst expenditure had been approved by the Council in each case within the sample reviewed, where variations to CPR had needed to be sought, best practice would be for a note to reflect the authorisation of this to also be recorded in the minutes.
The report highlighted the following Medium Priority recommendation:
The Clerk to the Council should ensure that details of all expenditure incurred in excess of £500 be published on the Council’s website though this does not require that individual payments be combined to providers where individual amounts may not have reached the £500 mark.
Resolved that the highlighted best practice recommendation be approved and implemented and that the Clerk has agreed that processes are to be amended to reflect Transparency requirements by ensuring that only expenditure incurred on individual transactions that are in excess of £500 will be provided on the Council’s website.
b) The Clerk advised that an invoice has been received for the provision of three Christmas trees.
Resolved that the invoice for the supply of three Christmas trees should not be paid and that a letter be sent from the Chairman of the Parish Council advising why this decision has been taken.
c) The Clerk detailed expenditure requiring payment by cheque.
Resolved that the payments be approved.
d) The Clerk submitted the schedule of payments made between 1 December 2018 and 31 December 2018.
Resolved that the schedule of payments be approved.
e) The Clerk submitted the schedule of receipts received between 1 December 2018 and 31 December 2018.
Resolved that the schedule of receipts be approved.
f) The Clerk submitted the bank reconciliation statement (Instant Access Account) for the period ended 31 December 2018. This was cross referenced with the Bank Statement.
Resolved that the bank reconciliation statement (Instant Access Account) be approved and the Chairman sign the Bank Statement as confirmation of the balance.
g) The Clerk submitted the bank reconciliation statement (Current Bank Account) for the period ended 31 December 2018. This was cross referenced with the Bank Statement.
Resolved that the bank reconciliation statement (Current Bank Account) be approved and the Chairman sign the Bank Statement as confirmation of the balance.
99. CLERK’S REPORTS
a) A Report on the review of Income and Expenditure for the financial period to the end of December 2018, along with a copy of the Detailed Income and Expenditure extracted from the Parish Council’s financial software, had been circulated with the Agenda. The report concluded that, given the current financial status, there is no reason to believe that the anticipated amount to be used from earmarked reserves will be exceeded.
Resolved that the above be noted.
b) A Report on the approval of the Annual Budget and the Parish Precept for 2019/2020 had been circulated with the Agenda, together with a copy of the proposed Budget for 2019/2020. The Report recommended that the Parish Precept be increased by 1.99%. This increase would require an earmarked contribution from reserves of £26,250.82 to balance the budget.
Resolved
1. That the proposed draft budget for 2019/2020 be approved.
2. That Trimdon Parish Council requests a precept from Durham County Council of £154,375.18.
100. CORRESPONDENCE
a) A Grant Application has been received from Trimdon Colliery Community Association for £2,000 for the financial year 2019/2020.
Resolved that a decision be deferred, pending further information on the project for which the funding has been requested.
101. COUNCILLOR MATTERS – FOR INFORMATION ONLY
There were no items raised.
Resolved that the above be noted.
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