2009 July

FOLLIFOOT WITH PLOMPTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30 July 2009

Present : Parish Councillors B. Fisher (Chairman), B. Butler, E. Bolton, T. Martin and two residents, M. Hammond and J. Shann.

Apologies for absence : Parish Councillors C. Florance, S. Milligan, U. Cansfield and District Councillor C. Bayliss.
Declarations of interest in items on the agenda : B. Fisher declared a personal interest in item 12 b), the planning application for Follifoot primary school, as he is a school governor.
Public participation session :

Follifoot primary school planning application – Mr. J. Shann spoke to express concern about the likely use of the proposed new play facilities by children out of school hours and the possible risk of accidents occurring. There was a query about whether the school’s insurance would cover this scenario. The comments were noted and would be raised at the next governor’s meeting.
Village End, Follifoot – Mr. M. Hammond attended in support of his revised plans for the erection of a replacement house, shortly to be lodged with the planning authority. The dwelling would be more traditional in style with energy saving features. The chairman thanked Mr. Hammond for the information. The Parish Council would comment on the plans when they were received from Harrogate Council as part of the consultation process.

Minutes of the meeting held on 25.6.09 : Having been proposed by T. Martin and seconded by B. Butler, the chairman signed the minutes as a correct record.
Matters arising from the minutes :

Item 5 a) Hillside/Pellentine Road – patching and resurfacing works had been completed.
Item 9 b) Rural Safety scheme, Spofforth Lane – the speed restriction signs had been moved further away from the village as requested, rumble strips were yet to be installed.

Chairman’s communications:

Contact from M. Hammond and J. Shann had been dealt with under agenda item 2.
Email from a resident at Rudding Dower to query progress in achieving safe pedestrian access into Follifoot. The Parish Council resolved to write to the landowners involved to follow up on earlier contacts. The issue of the 60 mph speed limit on Rudding Lane was regarded as a separate matter.
Commuted sums – letter from S. Mackaness, Rudding Park to inform that a payment was due to Harrogate Council for the successful application for barn conversions at Ducks Nest Farm. Monies were to be used to benefit the tennis club and village hall.
Public footpaths – the old railway line – information received from T. Martin about the welcome efforts to resolve the flooding problems. Colin Hill – the stepping stones over the river Crimple have yet to be reinstated. The Parish Council has written to the local authority regarding the matter. T. Martin agreed to raise this again through his membership of the NYCC Access and Public Rights of Way forum. Staffing vacancies and consequent backlog of work in the department responsible were noted.
Fundraising for a national charity by Mathew Mackaness , son of local residents. This involved a sponsored row across the Atlantic and was commended by the councillors.

Matters concerning Plompton : A recent incident of vandalism at Plompton Rocks had been reported to the Police and P.C. Ayre had visited to investigate the matter.
Highways : Sewage smells had been detected again on Main Street and on Pellentine Road. Councillors were informed that a diary of these events was being kept by a resident. This would be helpful in demonstrating the extent of the problem to Yorkshire Water. The chairman agreed to contact the company to report the matter.
Charitable donations : At the previous meeting it was resolved in principle that the parish council would only support projects that directly benefitted residents of Plompton and Follifoot. A letter to national charities that had requested a donation was drafted to explain the position. This had been circulated with the agenda and was approved by the parish council.
Finance :

Balance at the bank – £ 6480.97 was in the accounts.
Quarterly reconciliation of accounts – a paper had been circulated with the agenda. T. Martin checked this against bank statements and invoices and found it to be in order.
Request for authorisation of expenditure – £ 22.49 to Harrogate Council for grasscutting and £ 17.24 to Jesper’s for stationery. The parish council also resolved to make a donation of £ 25 to the parish magazine. Expenditure was proposed by B. Butler and seconded by B. Fisher.

Clerk’s report and correspondence :

NYCC area committee for the Harrogate District – request for nominations for cooption of five parish councillors to the committee. Noted by the parish council
Governance toolkit for town and parish councils – to be circulated for information.
Litter Pick – at an earlier meeting, the parish council resolved to conduct a second litter pick in the autumn. It was agreed that this would be held on SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER AT 2PM – VOLUNTEERS TO ASSEMBLE OUTSIDE THE POST OFFICE. Clerk to arrange publicity and provision of equipment.
Information received since the last meeting was circulated.

Planning :

Application 6.121.82.B.FUL – 4 Park Side, Pannal Road, Follifoot . The councillors had read the planning officer’s report on the application to render the property. The councillors expressed their disappointment that the objections of the Harrogate Council conservation and design officer and of the parish council had both been discounted.
Application 09/03027/CMA – Follifoot primary school for external canopy to rear, new playground equipment and resiting of existing equipment. The parish council had no objections to the application but had observations to make regarding consultation with neighbours and management of risk.
Application 6.121.5.D.FUL – Prospect Cottage, Pannal Road, Follifoot for a replacement garage (revised scheme). It was noted that a previous application had been refused by Harrogate Council and an appeal against the decision dismissed. The parish council had no objections to the application.
Outcome of previous applications : Approved: Follifoot Post Office for rear extension; treeworks at Hilltop House and Lilac Cottage, Follifoot.

Date of next meeting : Thursday 3 September 2009 at 8 pm.