Minutes of June 2009 Parish Council Meeting

Held on Wednesday the 17th at 7:15pm in the Village Hall.

Present
  1. Adoption of P Slater as parish councillor
    1. Mr. P. Slater provided the required forms as requested, and was proposed and seconded for adoption to the Parish Council. His details to be included in Parish News.

  2. Declaration of interest in items on the agenda
    1. Cllr P Bence declared an interest in Manor Farm development.

  3. Approval of previous minutes
    1. The minutes of the previous meeting were read, amended, agreed and signed by the Chairperson as a true record of the May 2009 meeting.

  4. Matters arising from previous minutes
    1. No. 33 High Street
      2. Assurances have been given by Mr. Sturrock for completion of work to village green within two months of the end of May 2009. To be monitored.

  5. Planning matters
    1. A planning application ref No _09/00279/FUL has been received for the erection of a dwelling house at Bishopton Equestrian Centre. The documents were circulated to councillors for comments and returned to DBC by 30th June,2009. Following discussions, the consensus of the Parish Council was to object to the proposal.
    2. Felling of trees - dealt with by Darlington BC, not applicable to Bishopton PC

  6. Matters raised by councillors
    1. Format of minutes and annual meeting were agreed to remain as current.
    2. New entrance formed off Cobby Castle Lane.
      3. Clerk instructed to write to DBC with details to determine action, if any.
    3. Fixed play equipment in playing field - previous agreements provide only for removable equipment, and no insurance is available for fixed equipment.

  7. Village Green
    1. Grass cutting and maintenance
      2. Discussions re damage caused by inappropriate use of large mowers. Councillor MacMahon has spoken to Peter Burns of StreetScene who was sympathetic but could not offer any prospect of a change in operation.
      Clerk instructed to write formally to StreetScene concerning salt damage caused by winter road salting. The new grass seed is failing to germinate and some areas may need to be turfed.
      Loose manhole cover on Green outside 2, The Green is presumed to belong to Northumberland Water. Clerk instructed to write raising concern.
    2. Damage to chains around War Memorial.
      3. Councillor Fieldhouse volunteered to repair damage.

  8. Six Parishes Meeting Held On 19/05/09
    9. Councillor Moses reported on the following:-
    1. Traffic Problems
      2. A Special meeting had taken place on 18/11/08 to discuss on-going problems with traffic on and around the villages in the area. Mr. S Lumb, Community Engineer, had attended and explained that he could design schemes for any area where there were problems with speeding and there did not have to be an history of accidents. It was agreed the Clerk should investigate possibility of Mr. Lumb attending BPC meeting.
    2. Public Transport
      3. Stockton Borough Council is now subsidising a short section of the route of the No. 6 bus and as a result of the subsidy the service is secured for a further two years. Arriva are looking at the possibility of including a stop at Tesco on this route.
    3. Village Notes Website
      4. The chair of Redmarshall PC notified that minutes and other council documents for most of the local councils had been copied into pdf files and made available directly rather than via a link to the individual council's own website. It was agreed to take this information back to each council for discussion and possible action to be taken, as there was concern about copyright issues and the potential for the minutes to be altered if they were copied.

  9. Association of Parish Councillors Meeting Held On 16/06/09
    10. Topics covered included Dog Control, Wind Farm Noise and Standards/Ethics of Councillors' voting on matters where there was no previous participation in evaluation, nor familiarity with the situation.
    Councillors Fieldhouse and Jones left the meeting at 8.20pm due to prior commitments.

  10. Tees Valley Town and Parish Councillors Ethical Governance Workshop Held On 08/05/09
    11. Cllr Moses attended the half day event which included presentations on the current code of conduct and proposed revised code, and also on the local assessment arrangements for the determination of allegations of member misconduct.

  11. Bishopton Community Group
    12. No meeting has taken place since October last year. Clerk instructed to arrange meeting in consultation with Village Hall Committee and Church Committee.

  12. Bishopton Website
    13. Discussions took place regarding remuneration/refund of costs for website maintainer. Clerk to investigate.

  13. Playing Field
    14. Discussions on playing field were covered in 6.4 above.

  14. Darlington Handy Person Service
    15. Brochures were received and are to be displayed on village notice board.

  15. Wind Farm Proposals
    16. Notice displayed in village for the A1 wind farm proposals were inaccurate (dates were 1st. May rather than 1st. June for comments.). Councillor Wood instructed to write formal letter of objection to proposal.
    West Newbiggin proposal continuing to be monitored, SPAG (Six Parishes Action Group) are finalising informative DVD to increase public awareness.

  16. New Residents
    1. None Reported. Councillor Fieldhouse finalising revised "Welcome Pack" for distribution to all residents within the parish of Bishopton.

  17. Financial
    1. Financial records, income and expenditure for Bishopton Parish Council covering the period 2008-2009 were approved by the council, and signed. The Annual Governance Statement has been complied with, and signed by the council.
      2. Income - None recorded.
    2. Expenditure
      3. Payment authorised for grass strimming £45 to Mr. F. Wall.
      Payment authorised for weed killer, grass seed, £74.62 to Councillor L. MacMahon.
      Invoice received from DBC for increased insurance premium £184.54.

  18. Correspondence
    1. Incoming
      2. Notes from Joint Parish Council Meeting, 19th May 2009 Minutes from Darlington Planning Forum, 12th February, 2009 Minutes from Darlington Partnership Board meeting, 11th March, 2009 Minutes from Darlington Association of Parish Councils and Parish Meetings meeting, 17th March, 2009 Minutes from Darlington Environmental Forum meeting, 9th March, 2009 Copy of letter to Mr. alty, Assistant Chief Exec of DBC, regarding councillor conduct at Planning Application Committee meetings. Copy of letter to Cllr Jones from Neil Cookson on behalf of Boro Solicitor regarding above
    2. Outgoing
      3. Letter to DBC re Cllr P Slater appointment and register of interests. Village Green policy document to DBC Letter of thanks to John Wade Ltd. re skip for village.

  19. Date of Next Meeting
    20. Village Hall at 7.00pm on 15th. July, 2009.
    Cllr. P. Bence left meeting 9.30pm.

  20. Manor Farm
    21. Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson met with DBC Planning Dept. on site. The council was appraised of current situation.

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