Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Trimdon Parish Council held in Trimdon Community College, Trimdon Village on Tuesday 27 April 2021 at 7:00pm.
Present: Councillor John Burton (in the Chair) and Councillors Eileen Dickinson, Margaret Hughes, Les Oliver, Bernadette Oliver, Ian Quinn, David Smith, George Elliot, Margaret Elliot, and Paul Trippett.
Joseph Hobson (Clerk to the Council) was in attendance to record the minutes.
48. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Rob Gilbert, Denise Davison and Keith Thompson
Resolved that the above apologies be approved and that all future apologies should be sent to the Clerk or the Chairman.
49. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Resolved that there were no declarations of interest.
50. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Resolved There were no members of the public present.
51. REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR PETER BROOKES
Apologies were received from Councillor Brookes due to personal circumstances.
Resolved that the apology be noted.
52. MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETNG HELD ON 30 MARCH 2021
The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 30 March 2021 had been circulated with the agenda.
Resolved that the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 30 March 2021 be approved and signed by the Chairman.
53. UPDATE ON PROGRESS OF RESOLOUTIONS OF THE ORDINARY MEETING HELD ON 30 MARCH 2021
a) The Clerk reported that the bank had finally issued a debit card for the current account.
Resolved that the update be noted.
b) An update was given by the Clerk regarding a new paragraph to be included in the Cemetery Information for Families.
Resolved that the Cemetery Information for Families be amended accordingly.
54. FINANCIAL
a) The Clerk gave an update on expenditure approved by the Chairman under Section 4.1 of the Financial Regulations.
Resolved that there were no payments that required approval.
b) The Clerk presented a schedule of payments made between 1 March 2021 and 31 March 2021.
Resolved that the schedule of payments be approved.
c) The bank reconciliation statement (Current Bank Account) 31 March 2021 cross reference with the bank statement was presented by the Clerk.
Resolved that the bank reconciliation statement (Current Bank Account) 31 March 2021 be approved and the bank statement be signed by the Chairman.
d) Bank reconciliation statement (Instant Access Account) 28 February 2021 was presented by the Clerk and an explanation was given that the due to the bank statement not arriving until after the end-of-year closedown, an interest payment (5 Oct 2020 - £71.86) had not been included in the reconciliation. When this taken into account, the bank statement and RBS system reconcile.
Resolved that the bank reconciliation statement (Instant Access Account) 31 March 2021 be approved and the bank statement be signed by the Chairman.
e) The Clerk presented the Q4 VAT return report.
Resolved that the Q4 VAT return be noted.
f) The Clerk reported that the Council had received an additional LCTRS grant of £690.64 from Durham County Council.
Resolved that the report be noted.
g) A written report requesting approval of the list of payments authorised to be made by Direct Debit or BACS was presented by the Clerk.
Resolved that the list of payments authorised to be made by Direct Debit or BACS be approved.
55. CLERK’S REPORTS
a) The Schedule of Fixed Assets was presented by the Clerk. The total amount of fixed assets held by the Council stands at £753,159
Resolved that the above be noted.
b) A verbal report on the current status of the application to register the land held by the John Airey Trust was given by the Clerk and Councillor Les Oliver. The Clerk reported that the Trust’s solicitor has now submitted an application to register the land with Land Registry. Due to the loss of the deeds, this will be a first registration. The Clerk further reported that the individual, who is in dispute with the Trust over the land, has removed the main entrance gate and fenced this closed. The gate is believed to have been moved to the entrance of land belonging to the aforementioned individual. Councillor Les Oliver said that he had instructed the Trust’s solicitor to write to the individual and require them to remove the fence and reinstate the gate.
Resolved that the above be noted.
56. CORRESPONDENCE
a) A grant application for £3,026.00 from the Citizens Advice to fund a part time worker to attend Trimdon Parish Hall was discussed received. The application had been received in April 2021, when normally it should have been submitted by October 2020. The Council has already agreed grants in excess of £41,500 of its committed budget of £45,000 for the financial year 2021/2022. Agreeing the application in full would use up nearly all the available funds.
Resolved that the Council was unable to agree a grant of the full amount requested £3,026. However, a grant of £1,500.00 be made to the Citizens Advice and, that in doing so, the Clerk should make it clear that any future applications must be submitted by October 2021.
57. COUNCILLOR MATTERS
a) The Clerk reported that Purdah for the local elections commenced Thursday 25 March 2021.
58. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Resolved that the next meeting will be at 7:00 pm Tuesday 11 May 2021.
At the close of the meeting, the Chairman made a presentation to Councillors Margaret Hughes and Eileen Dickinson, thanking them for their long and dedicated service to the people of their community. The councillors had decided to stand down and not seek re-election.
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