10th June 2021
MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday 10th June 2021
Held in Follifoot Village Hall, following the relaxation of Government guidelinesregarding the coronavirus pandemic.
PRESENT: Chairman N MacDermid, Vice Chairman T Martin, Councillors A Dewsnip, C Dickinson, S Riley, J Locke and T Hall. In attendance, M Richards (Clerk) County and Borough Councillor Andrew Paraskos and 4 residents.
1.Apologies: There were no apologies for absence as all councillors were present.
2. Declaration of Interest and Notification of changes in the Members’
Register of Interest: Councillor Hall declared an interest in a planning item
regarding Plompton.
3. Public Participation session: The Chairman welcomed the four residents to the meeting and confirmed that they were able to comment on any issues raised.
4.Minutes of the meeting held on 6th May 2021: Councillor Martinproposed the minutes to be a correct record, seconded by Councillor Hall. The Chairman then duly signed the minutes.5 Matters arising from the previous minutes: Dealt with as part of the agenda.6 Chairman’s communications
a) A resident had reported irresponsible car parking actually on the hump back bridge on Plompton Road.The clerk has reported this to the Community PCSO and, as he is currently on sick leave, he has arranged for one of his colleagues to visit and take appropriate action against unlawful parking. He also suggested that NYCC Highways be contacted to enquire whether any other preventative measures eg yellow lines, could be taken. Councillors discussed but did not feel that yellow lines were appropriate but other options, such as signage should be pursued. This will be considered but after any impact by the PCSO visits is assessed.
b) Approach road to 1-3 Hillside. The road surface is in a very bad conditiondue to potholes and loose stones and the residents, who are willing to contribute to the cost of repairs, firstly would like to know the owners of the land. The Chairman has researched and confirmed that HBC is the landowner. A councillor asked if the Parish Council could also make a contribution towards repairs, if necessary? The clerk responded that he did not believe that the Parish Council had the statutory power to spend money on road repairs and the Chairman agreed also commenting that the precedent had been established when road repairs at Plompton had been considered. The Chairman now understands that the residents are to pursue the matter with HBC.7 Clerk’s correspondence received.
a) Allotments. An allotment has recently become available due to the holder leaving the village. The vacancy will be notified on the Community Facebook page, and Cllr Dewsnip agreed to compose a notice to be displayed on the Post Office window.
b) VAS. The clerk confirmed that the equipment is to be installed on the 15thor 16th June and online training, via Teams, will be available on the 16th, in theafternoon (time to be confirmed)
c) (For information) NYCC Highways services are now, from 1 June, being provided internally rather than by an external contractor. It is hoped the service can now be more proactive and greater efficiency will be achieved.
8. Follifields.
a) Upkeep and ongoing maintenance. A quotation for the agreed work had
been received from the existing contractor but not from the other contractor
approached. The clerk will seek at least one more quotation and the work will
be awarded to the best value quotation.
b) Goal posts and nets. Cllr Dickinson confirmed that Harrogate Town FC
were unable to donate stanchions. The Chairman confirmed that he would
forward the link for the stanchion supplier to the clerk, and the clerk will then
order the stanchions, nets and accessories. He will also obtain a price from a
local contractor for the complete installation. Cllr Paraskos agreed to fund the
cost of the equipment from his Locality Budget.
9. Parish matters
a) To appoint the PC representative to the Village Hall Committee. Cllr Martin,
as previous representative, confirmed that the role was not onerous and was
largely concerned with liaison. Cllr MacDermid volunteered, and was duly
elected to the position with all councillors being in favour.
b) Litter pick. The Chairman confirmed that the litter pick had been successful
although unlike in previous years, the volume of litter collected was slight.
This was likely due to the efforts of Cllr Dickinson and his wife, who regularly
as part of their exercise regime, carry out litter picking in their regular walks,
and also a local resident’s litter picking as part of his Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award Scheme. The Chairman thanked both parties for their efforts. He aso
recorded the thanks of the Parish Council to Rudding Estates, who had
provided decorative stones which enhance the appearance of the planters at
each entrance to the village.
10. Finance:
a) Balance at the bank on 31st May 2021, Current Account £3,086.54
and Deposit Account £29,361.21 (total £32,447.75) Bank statements to be initialled by the Chairman in confirmation, as part of his payment
authorisation process.
b) Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 31st May was provided
with receipts and payments in the period 30th April to 31st May,
reconciling to the account balances shown above at a) Councillors
then unanimously agreed the 9 amounts below for payment.
| M Richards | Clerk’s salary – March | £295.36 | Bank Transfer |
| HMRC | PAYE – March | £73.84 | Bank Transfer |
| M Richards | Clerk’s exps 1st qtr | £87.50 | Bank Transfer |
| BHIB | Insurance | £433.49 | Bank Transfer |
| The Countryside Gardener | Village maintenance | £90.00 | Bank Transfer |
| Stuart Bush | Grasscutting | £145.00 | Bank Transfer |
| M Richards | Print cartridge | £32.00 | Bank Transfer |
| M Richards | Defib pads | £54.00 | Bank Transfer |
| C Dickinson | Plants | £33.88 | Bank Transfer |
c) The Chairman commented on the purchase of the defibrillator pads. He
had suggested that a set of reserve pads be purchased at the same time, but
as the pads have the same “shelf life” of 2 years, this could be wasteful. It
was suggested however, that if a set of spare pads were purchased in say, 2
months time, they would still be “live” when the current pads expire and,
consequently could be utilised, thus avoiding the 2-3 day gap when pads are
ordered and delivered. The clerk was instructed to purchase more pads in this
timeframe.
d)The clerk then ran through the budget spreadsheet, explaining the updates
following the expenditure recorded above. The Cumulative worksheet
demonstrates on a monthly basis, the Parish Council’s position, compared to
the annual budget. Councillors had no issues or questions to raise.
e) Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) Councillors had
reviewed in detail the AGAR, which had been circulated prior to the May
meeting. Councillors had no questions or issues to raise and formally
approved:
i) The Annual Governance Statement
ii) The Annual Accounting Statement
iii) The Exemption Certificate, which the clerk will submit to the External
Auditor.
11 Planning:
a) Applications Received
i) 21/01782/FUL – erection of oak framed pergola, School House, Plompton
Road, Follifoot. Councillors examined the Planning Application, plans and
images and felt that it was of good quality and in keeping with the property.
They saw no negative aspects to the proposals and It was resolved to
SUPPORT the application.
ii) 21/02314/FUL – erection of single and 2 storey rear extension, 2 Ivy Close
(revised scheme) Councillors had supported the previous scheme as they felt
it was a good quality proposal and had no negative impact on neighbouring
properties. On reviewing the planning application and plans, it was agreed that
the revised scheme should also be SUPPORTED.
iii) 21/01913/DVCON – deletion of Condition 3 of permitted application
13/02396/FUL, to allow use of the annexe as an independent dwelling.
Councillors discussed and concluded that any decision would depend on
planning rules and they did not have the necessary expertise in this area to
support or object to the application. Having been invited to speak by the
Chairman, a resident voiced his objections to the application. His concern, and
that of other neighbours, is that if Condition 3 is deleted, the annexe will be
sold, or made available for standalone private rental. The new occupant(s) will
almost certainly possess a car or cars and this would severely exacerbate the
current car parking capacity, as well as further restricting access to and the
enjoyment of the other properties. There are also concerns about outdoor
space generally, for bin and recycling storage, cycle storage as well as
general outdoor amenity space. Based on this further information, councillors
decided that the formal Parish Council response would be to neither object nor
support the application, but make comments referring to the above concerns,
and requesting that a Planning Officer visit the location before any decision is
made. The clerk also advised that concerned residents could submit an
“Enforcement form” (available on the HBC website) informing of a potential
breach of planning, as the annexe is apparently being operated as an Airbnb.
b) Decisions
20/02580/FUL – erection of 2 buildings to accommodate 5 commercial
units, Follifoot Ridge Business Park, Pannal Road.
REFUSED
Councillors noted the above decision, but voiced their disappointment in that
this decision reflected a lost opportunity for increasing local trade and
employment.
12. Other matters
a) Cllr Dickinson reorted that HBC had stated its intention to mark the
Queen’s 70th Jubilee by planting 70 trees along Wetherby Road, with
involvement from the Parish Council. The clerk noted for inclusion on the next
agenda.
b) Cllr Martin informed councillors of the forthcoming Boundary Review which
would place Follifoot in the new constituency of Wetherby and Easingwold.
He regards this as an even worse configuration from the current one,
asserting that Follifoot with Plompton clearly has greater affinity with
Harrogate and district rather than Selby & Ainsty (currently) and Wetherby
and Easingwold (in future) He urged all councillors to engage in the
consultation process which runs until August. This item will also be included
on the next agenda.
There being no other busuness, the meeting closed at 8.50pm
Date of next Parish Council Meeting:
7.30pm on Thursday 8th July 2021, in Follifoot Village Hall, Tofts Lane, Follifoot.