Parish Council Minutes 17th June 2008
Minutes of Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 17th June, 2008.
Venue: Littlethorpe Village Hall Time: 7.30 pm
Present: Cllr R. Curtis (Chair)
Cllr J. Edmonstone
Cllr C. Laker
Cllr C. Winterburn
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr M. Fleming
2. Introduction of Parish Clerk
The Chair indicated that, while the appointment of Ms E. Charlesworth to the post
of Parish Clerk had been made, Ms Charlesworth had subsequently received
promotion within her employing organisation and now felt that she was unable to
devote sufficient time to Parish Clerk duties. She had therefore resigned. It was
agreed that Ms Charlesworth should be thanked for her work completed to date
and that the Parish Council should move quickly to appoint a new Clerk.
3. Declaration of Interest
The Chair explained that Agenda Item 9 (Planning) covered proposed
developments at a property adjoining his own and therefore declared an interest. It
was also noted that a recent planning application had covered Cllr Laker’s property
and that all Parish Councillors had previously declared an interest on this matter.
4. Adoption of Parish Council Meeting minutes of 8th May, 2008.
Cllr Laker proposed and Cllr Winterburn seconded that these be adopted as a true
record and this was agreed. It was also agreed that the minutes of the Annual Parish
Meeting held on 29th May, 2008 now be placed on the village website in draft form
for comments, prior to their formal adoption at the 2009 Annual Parish Meeting.
5. Chair’s Remarks
The Chair highlighted that this was the first Parish Council business meeting since
the Annual Parish Council General Meeting and the Annual Parish Meeting and
contained a busy agenda.
6. County Councillor’s Report
Cllr Garnett was not in attendance and there was therefore no County Councillor’s
Report.
7. District Councillor’s Report
Cllr Galloway mentioned that green wheelie-bins were being introduced in Bishop
Monkton as part of a 3-year roll-out programme by Harrogate Borough Council. It
was agreed that Cllr Laker would contact HBC to identify where Littlethorpe
appeared in this programme.
8. Treasurer’s Report
Cllr Laker explained that he proposed to provide “headline” information in his
reports to the Council. Income to date in 2008/09 was £1,658.89, largely made up
of the first instalment of the precept. Expenditure to date was £624, comprising
Parish Clerk’s honorarium (to be returned), the Parish Council’s financial
contribution to the Parish Plan, costs of sorting Parish Council files and grass-
cutting. The Balance was £3,570.14. The Parish Council accounts were now with
Mazars (the external auditors). It was agreed that the Parish Council’s annual
membership of the Society of Local Council Clerks be renewed at a cost of £43.
9. Correspondence
9.1 Alderman Thomas Spence Charity: Quarry Moor
The Chair reported receipt of correspondence from this charity which proposed
the creation of a group to plan future developments. It was agreed that the Chair
should attend the first meeting of the Quarry Moor Development Group on 20th
June, 2008.
9.2 HBC Transportation Strategy
Attempts to create a comprehensive transportation strategy for the Ripon area
had been the subject of a recent consultation. On behalf of the previous Parish
Council Cllr O’Connell had enquired why none of the comments made by
Littlethorpe Parish Council had appeared in the final version. Cllr Laker read the
reply from HBC. Cllr Galloway indicated that £5,000 local funding was
currently annually available to Parish Councils and advised that a generic, rather
than a specific, application for such funding be made in future.
9.3 Various other recently-received correspondence would be circulated to
Councillors.
10. Planning
10.1 Granted
Permissions had been granted for:-
The Coach House: Erection of first floor front and side extensions.
Broadfields Farm: Erection of detached agricultural building
10.2 Pending
Two applications had been received for Hollins Hall and Parish
Councillors had raised no objections. A fourth application had been made in
respect of Ox Close Farm and again no objections had been raised, although
the Parish Council had made a number of comments with regard to this
proposal. Applications had been received for extensions at Moor End Farm
and Garth Lodge and in the case of the former Councillors had raised no
objections. In the case of Garth Lodge the Parish Council did not offer any
comments regarding the application, as they had all declared an interest.
10.3 Received for Consultation
In view of his previous declaration of interest, the Chair left the room and
Cllr Edmonstone took the chair.
Proposals had been received in respect of Primrose Cottage and April
Cottage and had been seen by Parish Councillors. In both cases no
objections were raised.
(On completion of this item Cllr Curtis resumed the Chair)
11. Public Time
Discussion took place on parking on West View, South View and Washington
Close, but no further action was deemed necessary at this time.
12. Village Hall Report
Cllr Edmonstone reported that, following successful refurbishment of the Hall, the
Village Hall Committee were turning their attention to the kitchen area. Quotes
were currently being obtained and an application had been made for HBC
Community Chest funding.
13. A61 Quarry Moor Road Crossing
£9,000 scheme has already been successfully obtained from the Rural Safety
Scheme. North Yorkshire County Council have promised to provide details of the
proposed scheme to the Parish Council, which is still awaited. Previous
documentation on this issue was available and it was agreed that the Chair would
ask Cllr Fleming to pursue this matter with NYCC.
14. Footpaths
From the previous Parish Council Cllr O’Connell had passed on all paperwork on
this matter to Cllr Laker, who was progressing this matter with NYCC, British
Waterways, Ripon Motor Boat Club and the landowner.
15. Parish Plan
The report of the Parish Plan Group was to be published shortly and a presentation
of their work had been made at the Annual Parish Meeting on 29th May. The work
of the Group represented the views of Littlethorpe residents but was not binding
on the Parish Council. The Chair indicated that HBC had been looking for a
response rate of some 85%+ but the actual response rate had been 47%. Cllr
Galloway indicated that there would be no further funding for Parish Plans from
HBC and that the Local Development Framework took precedence. The report
included an action plan which suggested a number of actions on the part of the
Parish Council. Cllr Edmonstone noted that a number of the actions proposed
were already underway and that there was a disparity between the call for the
Parish Council to pursue the creation of playing fields with an age profile which
peaks in the 65-74 age range. The Chair noted that Littlethorpe residents had
access to Ripon Leisure Centre and facilities in Bishop Monkton. Two actions
were agreed:-
Cllr Edmonstone would pursue the issue of walks within the parish by contacting
Ripon Community Archaeological Society and Sharow Parish Council.
Cllr Edmonstone would find out more concerning the proposed cycle route from
Knaresborough to Ripon and where Littlethorpe featured in this.
16. Ripon City Quarry
There was likely to be a further proposal to extract gravel from the area near the
Ripon Canal. It was agreed that Cllr Winterburn would seek more information and
report-back to the Parish Council.
17. Nominations for Parish Council Representative to NYCC Area Committee
The NYCC Area Committee brought together NYCC, HBC, Ripon City Council
and surrounding Parish Councils to take an overview of all services in the area.
Meetings are held bi-monthly and Cllr Laker already attended as an observer. It
was agreed to formally propose Cllr Laker as a representative on this body. Even
if this were not successful the Chair and Cllr Laker would attend future meetings
as observers.
18. Parish Council Files
The previous Parish Council had agreed payment of £125 for sorting-out the
documentation and this had now been paid and the files returned. The Chair had
paid this bill and the Parish Council agreed that he be reimbursed by that amount.
19. Standing Orders
The previous Parish Council had pointed-out a number of unhelpful
inconsistencies in the Parish Council’s Standing Orders and had suggested that
these needed to be updated. It was agreed that Cllrs Edmonstone and Laker should
review Standing Orders and report-back to a future Parish Council meeting.
20. Dates of Next Meetings
The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 12th August at 7.30 pm in the
Village Hall. The subsequent meeting of 30th September was due to be held at
Quarry Moor but there was uncertainty over whether this was now free. If it were
not then the meeting would take place in the Village Hall and Quarry Moor would
be used on a future date. Cllr Laker undertook to identify a further
November/December date.
The meeting closed at 9.20 pm