13th January 2022

MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday 13th January 2022
Held in Follifoot Village Hall, following the relaxation of Government guidelines regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

PRESENT: Chairman N MacDermid, Vice Chairman A Dewsnip, Councillors C Dickinson, T Hall, T Martin and S Riley. In attendance, M Richards (Clerk), and 2 residents.
1. Apologies: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from J Locke, who was on holiday and NYCC/HBC Cllr A Paraskos.
2. Declaration of Interest and Notification of changes in the Members’
Register of Interest: None.
3. Public Participation session: The Chairman welcomed the two residents
to the meeting and confirmed that they were able to comment on any issues
raised.
4. Minutes of the meetings held on 9th December 2021:Councillor Riley proposed the minutes to be a correct record, seconded by Councillor Dickinson. 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
To be dealt with as part of the agenda.
7. Clerk’s correspondence received
Pellentine Road – street lighting. The clerk had previously circulated
correspondence received from both NYCC and HBC, following the request
from a resident for the possibility of additional street lighting to be provided. In
summary, the responses indicated that there was not sufficient justification for increased lighting and, in any event, there is no funding available for this purpose. The Chairman commented that whilst this is regrettable and unfortunate news for the resident, it was beyond the Parish Council’s powers to pursue the matter further.
8. Follifields.
Update:
a) Maintenance – the clerk reported that a start had been made on the
numerous areas identified for action, principally the cutting back of brambles
and buddleia pruning. Further work is ongoing.
b) Goal nets – the clerk confirmed that he had installed the goal nets on the
lower goal, but needed longer cable ties (now obtained) for the other goal
post. He undertook to finish the task by the coming weekend.
c) Wildflower area. Cllr Paraskos had undertaken to consult with HBC
horticultural officers to determine the best approach for returning the area to
its original state, with a better display of wildflowers. To report at February
meeting.
d) Platinum Jubilee Tree. Councillors had suggested the most appropriate
location, would be either Follifields or a plot between the Church and The Pound. The clerk
had contacted the owner of Rudding Estate to obtain his
agreement for either location, but he had requested an inspection of both
potential sites with the Chairman, before coming to a decision. He also
intimated that Rudding Estate would also like to fund a tree, to be planted at
either location. The Chairman will liaise with Rudding Estate to arrange the
site visits. Cllr Riley reported that the School would also like to donate a tree
for this purpose.
. 9. Parish matters
a) Plompton. Cllr Hall reported that there were no new issues to report
although the grit bins had still not been refilled. The clerk will raise again with
NYCC.
b) Road safety.
i) Picket fences – the clerk confirmed that installation was now likely to
be end of January/first week in February. Whilst this was disappointing in one
respect, it was beneficial in another, in that the £500 donation from Cllr
Paraskos’ Locality Budget, can now be received as it meets the requirement
for the funding to be received before the work is undertaken and paid for.
ii) VAS. Cllr Dickinson reported that in the latest period, traffic volume had
reduced (but this is likely be due to Christmas?) Traffic speeds had slightly
improved, with regard to over 35mph but there was still evidence of higher
speeds. He suggested that, as the majority of data captured since inception,
showed consistent evidence of substantial adherence to the speed limit, it
would be a good idea to turn round the radar capture facility. Analysis of the
data thus captured would give good evidence of the impact or otherwise, of
the flashing sign. Councillors agreed with this suggestion.
10. Planning:
a) Applications Received
i) 21/05287/OUT – Outline application for the erection of 1 Holiday Lodge
with all matters reserved with the exception of access, layout and scale. To
replace existing building with single holiday lodge. Land To East Of
Burnisons Whin, Rudding Lane.
The Chairman displayed the plans and elevations of the proposed building
and talked through the relevant points. Councillors thought this was a better
option than the previous (refused) application. It is not visible from the road
and the replacement of an otherwise derelict building is a positive point.
Whilst there was some uncertainty about the appropriateness of a new
building in the Green Belt, councillors agreed on balance to SUPPORT the
application.
ii) 22/00046/FUL – Erection of single storey rear extensions with associated
internal alterations to the ground floor – Pinderpound, Plompton Road.
Councillors discussed all aspects of this application, referring back to
previous applications, both granted and refused, as background. Some
concerns were expressed over this application, with regard to:
– The scale of the increase, the actual size of the proposed new development relative to the existing footprint
– Similarly, the increase in the overall footprint of the building
– Impact on the Green Belt
– Reference to the original refused application when the current property replaced the previous building that was demolished.
Notwithstanding the above, it is recognised that the proposed new
development is to the rear of the property and has little or no impact on
visual amenity. Whilst the Parish Council’s normal stance is to support
applications from residents seeking to develop and improve their properties,
as long as there is no detriment to the environment or negative impact on
neighbouring properties, with the above concerns it was agreed to “neither
support nor object to the application”.
iii) Other – Woodland Creation Project, Rudding Park. Councillors discussed
this project, designed to augment existing wooded areas and assist in
absorbing excess rainfall which would otherwise potentially cause flooding.
There is also the carbon offset effect of more trees. Councillors were happy
to support the project but did wish to indicate some concern over the
possible loss of visual amenity to some residents of Hillside.
b) Notifications
i) 21/04951/CLOPUD – Erection of 2 storey rear extension, Aketon
Cottage, Spofforth Lane – WITHDRAWN.
ii) 21/04960/FUL – erection of combined heat and power (CHP)
energy centre and formation of access drive. – Rudding Park Hotel
GRANTED
Councillors noted the above notifications and were pleased to see that the
Parish Council’s concerns over the CHP development had been recognised
by HBC and were included in the conditions of approval.
11. Finance and Governance:
a) Balance at the bank on 31st December 2021, Current Account £1,077.81
and Deposit Account £28,223.26 (total £29301.07) Bank statements to be initialled by the Chairman in confirmation, as part of his payment
authorisation process.
b) Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 31st December was provided
with receipts and payments in the period 30th November to 31st December ,
reconciling to the account balances shown above at a) Councillors
then unanimously agreed the 5 amounts below for payment.
M Richards Clerk’s salary- Nov. £307.28 Bank Transfer
HMRC PAYE – Nov £76.83 Bank Transfer
M Richards Cable ties £6.90 Bank Transfer
S Bush Follifields maintenance £285.00 Bank Transfer
A Walker Benches refurbishment £585.00 Bank Transfer
c)The Chairman then ran through the budget spreadsheet, explaining the
updates following the expenditure recorded above. Income of £125 had been
received from the “garden carol singing” and a £200 donation for village
flowers. The Chairman formally thanked the residents for these items. He
went on to explain significant variances in the budget, such as the large
surplus reflected in “fundraising” This was due to the successful “Folliwood”
evening which had not been provided for in the budget calculation due to
anticipated covid restrictions. Normal fundraising activities should be possible
this year. Councillors were content with the explanations but asked for greater
clarification on ring-fenced amounts in future. The clerk undertook to provide
details of current balances of all ring-fenced items ie Follifields, Plompton and
Village Flowers, in the bank reconciliation statement.
e) “Cullingworth Bench” Councillors approved the quotation from Andrew
Walker for refurbishment of the bench. The clerk will make contact to arrange
for the work to be carried out. Cllr Dewsnip undertook to contact family
members who had previously indicated an interest in contributing towards the
cost of refurbishment/replacement.
12. Items for the next meeting
No matters notified.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm
Date of next Parish Council meeting: –

Thursday 10th February 2022. To be held at Follifoot Village Hall, commencing at 7.30pm