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 Parish Council meeting held on 18th April 2012 at Alstonefield Village Hall.
Present: Cllr D Griffin (Chair), Cllr F Lipp, Cllr R Hignett, Cllr N Bonsall,
Cllr C Reavy. Mrs M Binfield, Ougoing Clerk and Liz Court, Incoming Clerk
One member of the public was also present.
102 Clerk Appointment – The Council expressed their gratitude to Mrs Maureen Binfield for all her work on behalf of the council and the parish during the time of her Clerkship. They also welcome Liz Court to the parish.
103 Apologies – Cllr N Peat, Cllr K Stockton
104 Public Forum
A member of the public requested clarification as to whether funds were available towards the cost of fuel for the mowing of the playing field. It was agreed that funds had been ring-fenced for this in the budget and that a monthly invoice could be submitted for fuel during the mowing season.
105 Minutes of Previous Meeting – Agreed and Signed
106 Declarations of Interest – None
107 Planning Matters
107.1 – Planning Application No. NP/SM/0312/0245 – Wisteria Cottage, Alstonefield. Replacement windows, rooflights and lean-to entrance porch. – no objections
108 Financial Matters
108.1 Financial Statement and bank reconciliation as at 31st March 2012 –noted
108.2 Change of bank account details – NatWest – completed by those present. Clerk to pass on to any signatories not present before returning to NatWest Clerk to action
108.3 Notice given for Annual Audit year ended 31st March 2012 placed on notice board – noted
108.4 Payments
108.4.1 – Clerk – M Binfield – March salary £176.16 – ratified
108.4.2 – Inland Revenue – Tax for Clerk’s salary – £43.80 – ratified
108.4.3 – Ian Redfern Lengthman Feb/March hours – £150.00 – ratified
108.4.4 – Ian Redfern – Repair of Stiles + Erection of finger posts – £70.00 – ratified
108.4.5 – Commemorative Mug Shop – China Mugs – £317.27 – ratified
108.4.6 – Toplis Associates – Independent Internal audit 2012/11 – £236.83 – ratified
108.4.7 – Village Hall – 12 months hire of hall 2012/2013 12 – £120.00 – ratified
108.4.8 – SPCA Annual Subscription Year comm, 1st April 2012 – £118.59 – ratified
108.4.9 – Meg Handscombe – domain name ‘alstonefield.com ’ charge – £24.77 –ratified
108.4.10 – Peak Park Parishes’ Forum -£16.00 – ratified
108.5 Monies Received
108.5.1 – Car park Honesty Boxes
Playing Field car park – £22.37 Toilet Car Park – £11.46
108.5.2 – Hire of Playing Field to Openadventure Ltd – £100.00
108.5.3 – VAT refund – BACS payment – £294.77
108.5.4 – SMDC Lengthsmans grant – £200.00
108.6 Parish Council Insurance Cover – Renewal with AON quoted at £819.02. Clerk had obtained a comparison quotation for the same levels of insurance from Zurich Insurance who had offered two options – a one year cover at £698.86 or a 3 year long term agreement starting from £645.82 p.a. – index linked. The Council decided to opt for the one year cover through Zurich and this payment was agreed and ratified. Inception date for the cover is 1st June 2012. Clerk to action
109 Playing Field Matters
109.1 Play Area Safety Check Confirmation- 11.4.2012
109.2 Playing Field Maintenance – during the Village tidy up weekend, a swing had been repaired and bench cleaned and re-treated with linseed oil. RoSPA check had been fine but condition of equipment to continue to be monitored.
109.3 Car Park – honesty box – report on any monies collected prior to April meeting
Playing Field Car Park – £55.30 Toilet Car Park – £42.83
110 General Village Matters
110.1 – Signage – Millway Lane – a newspaper report on SatNav signage is to be passed to Cllr Peat. There followed discussion on different signage available from SCC. Chair to action
110.2 – Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations – Cllrs Reavy and Lipp reported on progress and an example of the mug ordered was passed around those present. These will be given to children of the parish and a limited supply of extra mugs are available for purchase at £5 each. Ashbourne Town Band are confirmed as playing at the event and a cheque to pay the balance owing for this will need to be raised at the next meeting. There have been 71 rsvps received so far for the event. Approximately 20 Cones will be available from SCC Ladderedge depot if required. A risk assessment has been put together and the Clerk will contact the Insurance Company once the event is finalised in order to ensure that appropriate cover is in place. Clerk to action
The next committee meeting will take place on 8th May and volunteers are being sought to help to set up on Saturday 2nd June with regard to bunting and the flag. The total length of bunting required is to be considered. The Commemorative tree has been planted and has a tree guard around it. The style and placement of a plaque was discussed as well as appropriate caging if required. Chair to action
Volunteers planted the 105 tree pack from the Forrestry Commission on 25th March on Greenhill Meer.
110.3 – Postcode Update
A letter from Cllr Sybil Ralphs, Leader of SMDC was considered on this matter. It was agreed to invite a representative from SMDC to the Annual Parish Meeting on 30th May if possible to talk to both the Council and the parishioners about the potential impacts of such an idea. The Clerk was asked to contact SMDC to see if this would be possible. Clerk to action
110.4 – Report on village spring clean weekend 24th/25th March 2012
This event had gone very well. The amount of litter being collected is decreasing, suggesting a general improvement. The work done on Green Well had also had a positive impact.
110.5 – Homestead Garden
It was agreed to put this item onto the next agenda so that the current arrangements could be reviewed with Cllr Stockton Clerk to action
110.6 – Greenhill Tip site – Japanese Knotweed is to be treated shortly as soon as it is mature enough.
Chair to action
110.7 – Bank Holiday Monday Market 27th August 2012 – PC stall offer considered and to be put onto the next agenda. Clerk to action
111 Community Paths Initiative
The Chair gave an update on the bid sent off for three stiles. A response is awaited. Dawn Plant of SCC will also be approached to see if there could be any assistance with materials to tidy up Gypsy Lane from Lode Lane. A product from Tarmac was suggested for this work. Grants from Natural England will also be looked into through either Bob Marsden or Mark Taylor. Chair to action
112 Car Boot Events
The contract for the 2012 season has been signed and insurance is in place. The first event will be on 29th April.
113 Green Well Update
This had been done as minuted above. 14 bags of debris had been removed. The coping stones which have been thrown into the water are to be retrieved in due course.
114 Lengthsman – Contracts to be standardised as contracts of services. The contracts will be amended slightly to bring them all into line and new contracts will be issued to all three lengthsmen. The hourly rate was agreed to remain the same and The Clerk was asked to contact Cllr Lipp in order to finalise these contracts. The Clerk was also asked to send an electronic copy of the timesheet to the Chair so that she may pass it on as required.
Clerk to action
115 Correspondence in
All noted. The information on LEADER Grants is to be attached to a forum post on the website and noted in the newsletter as well as displayed on the noticeboards. Clerk to action
A letter from The Milestone Society is to be passed to Cllr Peat to see if he has any further information available. Clerk to action
116 Any Other Business
Neighbourhood Highways Team visits were discussed. The next one is 11th May. The Clerk was asked to request that some cutting back on Brunister Lane be done. Cllr Bonsall offered to leave his contact details for the team in order for them to have a site meeting if necessary. Clerk to action
The Clerk was asked to write to all the various groups in the village such as the village hall and the playgroup to ask for a review of the year – either as a verbal or written report to be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting if possible. Clerk to action
117 Date of Next Meeting – 30th May 2012 – AGM/Annual Parish Meeting