Minutes 19th January 2021

db-clerk

2021/01

MINUTES

DEFFORD & BESFORD PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of Defford & Besford Parish Council held on Tuesday 19th January 2021 at 7.15pm held via Zoom

PRESENT: Chairman J Clarke Vice Chair S Rees Cllr R Davis (also in capacity as District Cllr) Cllr J Harrington Cllr S Harris Cllr I Spiers

Clerk L Yapp Defford Resident G Marshall – applicant for vacant seat One parishioner

  1. APOLOGIES – were received from County Cllr A Hardman – Note Cllrs Davis and Harris joined mid meeting due to prior commitments
  2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None declared
  3. Cllrs are reminded of the need to update their register of interests
  4. To declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in items on the agenda and their nature
  5. To declare Other Disclosable Interests in items on the agenda and their nature
  6. Written requests for the council to grant a dispensation (S33 of the Localism Act 2011) are to be with the clerk at least 4 clear days prior to a meeting.

Cllrs who have declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, or Other Disclosable Interest which falls within the terms of paragraph 12(4) of the code of conduct, must leave the room for the relevant items

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME – Nothing was raised

  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES from meetings dated 18th November and 15th December 2020 – Acceptance proposed Cllr Clarke, seconded Cllr Rees – all in favour
  2. CO-OPTION – Cllr Clarke welcomed Gareth Marshall to the meeting and thanked him for his application for one of the vacant seats for Defford. Mr Marshall introduced and gave a brief background resume and what he felt he could offer the parish council, keen to work on Neighbourhood Watch, dog fouling and any anti-social behaviour. Cllr Clarke asked Mr Marshall to go into the ‘waiting room’ while the parish council made their decision. All Cllrs felt he had a very proactive approach and were happy to co-opt him – all in favour. Mr Marshall re-entered the meeting and took his place as co-opted Cllr. Due to remote meetings, there was no opportunity for him to sign the Acceptance of Office declaration but the clerk would send this to him straightaway after the meeting
  3. REPORTS:
  4. County Cllr Report – Cllr A Hardman had sent a report in his absence:
  • Covid cases continue to rise and Worcestershire case number currently stand at 534 per 100,000, with Wychavon having 534 per 100,000. However, the area between Ashton under Hill and Defford has the lowest rate in the County with just 77 per 100,000 (7 new cases in the past 7 days.
  • Covid vaccinations are being rolled out, with the Three Counties Showground being one of the larger vaccination centres locally
  • Following the extremely heavy rainfall just before Xmas, Cllr Hardman would like to be informed of any highway or household flooding
  • Full report is available from the clerk

2021/02

  1. District Cllr Report – District Cllr Davis reported that it is now evident that the current lockdown is starting to have an effect in holding infection rates down, without which the new strain would have swept through the County at an alarming rate. That both surgeries in Pershore are rolling out the vaccine
  2. West Mercia Policing Team – there was no police report received, however Cllr Clarke reported on the number of shed break-ins within Defford & Besford. There is an active NW scheme in Besford and Cllr Marshall was keen to resurrect the scheme in Defford. Action Clerk / GM
  3. FINANCE
  4. Payments for approval / made since the last meeting – a copy of the full accounts had been forwarded to Cllrs
1213 Payroll Services 46.00
1214 Clerks PAYE 201.00
1215 Poppy Appeal Donation 30.00
1216 Website Admin 30.00
1217 Grass Cutting 320.00
SO Clerks Salary 268.04
SO Clerks Expenses 15.00
1218 Website Admin 45.00
1219 Cheque Cancelled  
1220 Weed clearance 104.40
1221 Dog Waste Bin Emptying 181.94
1222 Street Lighting Costs 132.26
1223 Cerks Training (one sixth cost) 50.00
SO Clerks Salary 268.04
SO Clerks Expenses 15.00

Account balances (less unpresented cheques):

Current Account: £27,482.66

Deposit Account: £4055.64

  1. Three quotes had been received for the repairs to the church wall, ranging from £15,580 to £39,800 – all plus VAT (the parish council is able to claim back the VAT) . Careful consideration was given to all quotes received and it was agreed to go with the cheapest quote of £15,580 – although it was recorded that this did not include any traffic management costs, though it was considered this would probably not be necessary. Cllr Rees stressed the urgency to get this repaired as soon as possible, as it looked as if the gatepost had been hit causing further damage. Proposed acceptance of the quote Cllr Harrington, seconded Cllr Clarke – all in favour
  2. To consider Budget / Precept requirement for 2021/22 – the clerk had circulated a draft budget to Cllrs for consideration prior to the meeting. The parish council have been aware of the need to address the issue of the Church Wall and had already put a ‘reserve’ aside of £10,000 from previously accumulated funds towards this expenditure. However, recent inspections had forced the parish council to accept that the works could not wait any longer and were now a matter or urgency. Some re-allocation of some of the remaining reserves meant that additional funds could be transferred to the Church Wall reserve. However after taking into account rising running / administration costs for the parish council ( which include insurance, subscription costs, clerks hourly rate) meant that the only way to finance the shortfall would mean an increase just over 48% in the precept (Defford and Besfords element of the council tax bill) – this would mean an increase of 90 pence per month for a Band D property. The clerk reminded the council that extensive efforts had been made to see if there was any grant funding available to cover this cost, to no avail.

2021/02

The parish council carefully considered the draft budget proposed and were in full agreement to support the suggestions made, proposed acceptance Cllr Harrington, seconded Cllr Clarke – all in favour. The clerk did ask the parishioner in attendance for their view on the increase and they supported this and the reasoning behind the increase. Clerks Hourly Rate – the clerk pointed out that whilst preparing the budget, an error on her part, and she had not informed the payroll company of the increase in her hourly rate (which should have been applied in April 2020) – this had been budgeted for in the 2020/21 budget and would not impact the final figures. Approval was given for the shortfall to be paid to the clerk, proposed Cllr Rees, seconded Cllr Harris – all in favour.

  1. HIGHWAYS & BYWAYS
  2. Footpaths / Rights of Way – Cllr Marshall commented that he was aware of the lack of adequate way marking on many of the PRoW (public Rights of Way) within the parishes. The clerk would send Cllr Marshall details on how to report any issues that he came across himself. Cllr Rees reported that Pathfinders are very proactive.
  3. Lengthsman – A question was raised with regard the invoices passed to the parish council for some of the recent ‘handyman’ works which we had asked the LM to carry out. It was agreed that this is reviewed fully in March
  4. Street Lighting – Cllr Harris reiterated the work carried out by chairman of the parish council identifying street lights (which are owned by the parish council) which needed replacing / upgraded. The parish council has CIL funds (Community Infrastructure Levy) available to finance the proposed improvements. A schedule of works and costs had been received by the parish council which was deemed to be acceptable and would be financed using the CIL funds (Community Infrastructure Levy) held by the parish council. The clerk would make contact with WDC with regard the process before communicating with the contractor
  5. Flooding – A report had been received by the clerk regarding a flooding issue at Lodge Hill. A meeting had taken place with the resident, Lengthsman and Cllr Spiers and the problem areas identified. Both the resident and clerk had reported this to WCC but is also likely to involve Severn Trent, along with photographic evidence. Cllr Clarke reported of an issue is Besford Village, and that work had started on a ditch / culvert at St Peters Lane (outside New Farm) but not yet completed. Cllr Davis replied that the bottom of Bluebell Lane (at the bridge) had been jetted to alleviate any immediate problems.
  6. Speeding / Traffic Calming – The clerk had been in contact with the Police and Crime Commissioner asking for a donation to traffic calming measures – as yet no response had been received, the clerk to chase this up. Parishioner in attendance commented on the issues with the Rebecca Road / Ladywood Road cross roads and problems with visibility. One suggestion put forward was to investigate ‘data collection’ strips in the road to calculate traffic volumes / speeds but it was felt that this should be left until the current lockdown restrictions are lifted (rather than give false impression of volumes/speed).
  7. Harpley Road, Car Parking – Cllr Rees is still awaiting feedback
  8. PLANNING:
  9. Home Farm Housing Survey – nothing further to report due to Covid restriction
  10. 20/02345 – Neilson Park, Defford Arms – change of use for siting static holiday caravans as approved under Planning Ref: 14/00381 restricting occupancy – approved by WDC
  11. 20/02327 – 7 Lower Drive, Besford – replacement conservatory – approved by WDC

2021/04

  1. 20/000037 & 38 CM (Worcs. County Council) – Planning application made under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to vary condition 5 of planning permission ref: 18/000016/CM, to amend the operating hours – the parish council had received communication from parishioner with concerns, directed at noise, the lack of an Odour Assessment (comments were made with regard the odour in particular, and operating hours. It was agreed by all that the parish council would object to this application on the same grounds listed in the communication received.
  2. 21/00035 – Broad Hill Farm, Broad Hill, Defford – to remove hedge between two plots as indicated on map and replace with new hedge for new boundary – Cllrs were asked to make comments on this application, and that an agreed comment would be submitted under the adopted ‘Delegated Powers Policy’
  3. OPEN SPACES
  4. Millennium Green – A consultation leaflet had been distributed via Facebook, the parish council website, the list of email addresses, posters and word of mouth. The clerk reported that the majority of the replies received were in favour of the proposed climbing frame and picnic tables. There had been some feedback asking for some consideration to be given to goal post nets (which has been discussed before but dismissed because of the risk of theft and vandalism. However, the clerk did suggest organising a working group of Cllrs and parishioners, to look at ways of general ‘housekeeping’ / fund raising / involving the children for their thoughts for further improvement
  5. PROJECTS
  6. Village Hall Car Park – Nothing to report
  7. Electric Car Charging Points – Nothing to report
  8. Repair to Church Wall – Covered under Finance above
  9. CORONAVIRUS UPDATE – It was reported that the village newsletter was still being circulated with offers of support where needed
  10. CORRESPONDENCE / EMAILS had been circulated to Cllrs
  11. OTHER MATTERS FOR INFORMATION / FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Nothing was raised
  12. DATE OF NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS – Date for the next meeting – Tuesday March 16th at 7pm