Alstonefield APM, AGM and Ordinary Meeting minutes from 30th May 2012

ALSTONEFIELD PARISH COUNCIL
The Clerk to the Council:   Liz Court- 01538 702077
c/o The Village Hall, Alstonefield, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. DE6 2FR
Councillors: Nick Bonsall (310262).  Dot Griffin (310249).
Frank Lipp (310302).  Noel Peat (310000).  Cathy Reavy (310125).
Kevin Stockton (310347) Rupert Hignett (310389)
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting and AGM followed by an Ordinary Meeting of the Alstonefield Parish Council held on 30th May 2012 at Alstonefield Village Hall.
Present:  Cllr D Griffin (Chair), Cllr F Lipp, Cllr R Hignett, Cllr N Bonsall,
Cllr C Reavy. Cllr K Stockton, Cllr N Peat and Liz Court, Incoming Clerk
Cllr S Ralphs and Cllr E Wain of SMDC were also present.
18 members of the public were also present.
Annual Parish Meeting
7.00pm Speaker – Councillor Sybil Ralphs, leader of SMDC spoke on her initiative for a Staffordshire Moorlands postal address.
There was much discussion on this item including all the Councillors and the members of the public. It was clear that the majority of those present felt strongly against this proposal. It was made clear that this would not be something which would be imposed on the parish. A phone call received after the meeting confirmed that it had been agreed that the DE6 postcode area which falls within the SMDC boundaries will not be part of this initiative. It is expected that written confirmation of this will follow in due course.
Alstonefield Defibrillator Project – A suggestion for provision within the village was discussed and it was agreed to be an excellent idea. A committee will be formed to deal with the details and Cllr Stockton volunteered to be the Parish Council’s representative on this committee. Cllr Wain pledged £280 from SMDC towards the project.
Chairman’s Report –Chair reported on the actions of the parish Council over the preceding year and also incorporated reports from local organisations on their review of the last year’s activities. She thanked her fellow Councillors and the members of the Parish for all their hard work and support in the village as so much of what is achieved is based on the goodwill of the residents. She expressed that she felt very fortunate to live in such a strong community.
AGM Agenda
1 Election of Chair and Vice Chair – Cllr Griffin was nominated for Chair by Cllr Reavy, seconded by Cllr Lipp and all in agreement. Cllr Griffin agreed.
Cllr Peat was nominated for Vice Chair by Cllr Lipp, seconded by Cllr Bonsall and all in agreement. Cllr Peat agreed.
2 Election of Officers  – remained as for the previous year
3 Apologies  – Cllr Stockton  (arrived during AGM)
4 Minutes of Annual Parish Meeting held on 18th May 2011  – Agreed and Signed
Parish Council Meeting Agenda
5 Minutes of Previous Meeting- Agreed and Signed
6 Declarations of Interest- None
7 Planning Matters
Planning application received for consideration by the Parish Council – Removal of condition 3 on planning permission 086 (which limits the occupation of the dwellinghouse to persons who satisfy the definition of local need or dependants of such a person residing with him or her or a widow or widower of such a person) Dovefold, Alstonefield . APC objections are based on the grounds of material considerations – of local needs eg. Housing provision, planning history of the site and ensuring equal access to buildings were made as well as strenuous objections regarding the setting of precedent in removing such conditions which would negate a lot of the Peak Planning Authority work and also potentially allow many other such conditions to be removed which would negatively impact on local residents.                                                                                                                                                                                           Clerk to action
8 Financial Matters
8.1 Financial Statement and bank reconciliation as at 31st March 2012 – paperwork was completed and signed off for the Audit Commission
8.2 Payments
8.2.1 Cheque to be raised for Ashbourne Town Band £250.00 for Jubilee – ratified
8.2.2 Reimbursement due to Nick Bonsall for stone purchased to be put onto next Agenda.
8.3 Monies Received and banked
8.3.1  – Car Park Honesty Boxes
Playing Field Car Park –  £55.30        Toilet Car Park  – £42.83
8.3.2 – Rental for Homestead gardens £40.00
8.3.3 – Donation for Village Hall received – to be passed on -£0.70
8.3.4 – SCC – Lengthsman’s grant £174.75
9 Playing Field Matters
9.1 Play Area Safety Check Confirmation – 8.5.2012
9.2 Playing Feld on-going maintenance folder to be set up – format agreed Clerk to action
9.3 Car Park – honesty box – report on any monies collected prior to May meeting
Playing Field Car Park – £27.20 Toilet Car Park- £35.91
10 General Village Matters
10.1 – Homestead Gardens  – agreed all is well. Water tank discussed. Work is possibly required to cut back,  and lift the crowns of some of the trees. To be looked into by David Frost and David Goodwin of Peak Park Authority.
12.2 – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration – including insurance matters and the payment of £30 for the use of the Village Hall to be put onto the next agenda   Clerk to action
12.3 – Storage of Parish Machines – the Village Hall extension will allow some movement if equipment currently stored in the shed and it was suggested that with appropriate strengthening to ensure security, the Parish equipment could possibly be moved to the shed.
12.4 – Japanese Knotweed – Green Hill Tip Site has been treated by the Chair and is beginning to decline.
11 Community Paths Initiative – An update regarding grants for materials for Gypsy Lane was given. There appears to be no appropriate funding available at the moment. The users of the lane will look towards funding the work if needed.
12 Dog Fouling – The issue appears to be on the top village green, stickers and notices have been obtained and it was agreed that the Chair would place a couple of the stickers by the green to try to discourage owners who allow their dogs to foul there. Chair to action
13 Bank Holiday Monday Market 27th August 2012 – It was decided to donate instead of having a stall. The Clerk is to write to the organisers and a cheque will be raised at the next meeting. Clerk to action
14 Milldale Matters
14.1 – Thefts from vehicles at Milldale Visitors car park are on the increase. It would appear that victims are being observed placing items into their boot and then cars being targeted. There is signage already at the site but PCSO to be informed. Clerk to action
14.2 – Milestone Society Letter – two engraved footpath posts along from the telephone box in Milldale  have been identified. It was suggested that this feature could be recognised in some way, although noted that the footpath needs work. Cllr Peat offered to let the Clerk know the footpath number and the Clerk will discuss the state of repair with Paul Rochfort of SCC. Clerk to action
14.3 – NHT work by SCC – work has been done in clearing the river drains and the cutting back of some trees and extensive strimming of the verges. There have been complaints received from residents about the wildflowers being strimmed. The team did not contact Cllr Bonsall about the work on Brunister Lane as arranged.
14.4 – Undercutting of the river bank under the disabled car park. The Clerk was asked to report this to SCC as the undercutting will cause damage to the carpark if not rectified. Clerk to action
15 Website – Paypal and community bank account are now enhanced with add to cart options on the website which could be used for events such as The Leaden Boot in future. Currently being well used for the book of walks and the list of memorials. This does need updating into the current clerks name in due course. Once the community account is changed, then the paypal account can be changed. There was also discussion on updating the plug-in and the version of WordPress in use as well as the backing up of the system.
16 Highways matters
Crossroads sign on Hartington Road, Give Way warning sign on approach to A515 and chicane signs above Lode Mill – all reported to SCC for attention. The Clerk was also asked to report the overgrown blue advisory signs on the A515 and the dangerously worn give way road markings at Oxleaze Lane at the fork to Buxton.
Clerk to action
17 Correspondence in All noted.
The information on Broadband Champion programme is to be displayed on the village website.
Clerk to action
18 Any Other Business  – Items for the next Agenda were requested re speeding through the parish and a code of conduct for groups who use the village hall after incidents with livestock, gates and visitors jumping over walls particularly in connection with an orienteering group. Clerk to action
Clr Bonsall noted that there was an abundance of woodchip available to anyone who can use this for their gardens.
Date of Next Meeting – 11th July 2012  – Cllr Bonsall gave apologies