9th December 2021

MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 Thursday  9^th December 2021

Held in Follifoot Village Hall, following the relaxation of Government guidelines regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

PRESENT: Chairman N MacDermid, Councillors C Dickinson, J Locke, T Hall, T Martin and S Riley. In attendance, M Richards (Clerk), NYCC/HBC Cllr A Paraskos, 2 residents and 2 senior management representatives from Rudding Park Hotel.

 1.  Apologies: Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Vice Chairman A Dewsnip, who was unwell.

 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
     and the Hotel representatives to the meeting and confirmed that they were
     able to comment on any issues raised.

 4.  Minutes of the meetings held on 11^th November 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
           a) Local Government Reorganisation. The clerk had circulated previously a

           briefing regarding current proposals for the creation of a new unitary authority,

           based on the existing NYCC, to replace the existing seven Borough and

           District Councils. The Chairman outlined some of the proposals in the

           document which included  the creation of “satellite” service units and the

           possible devolution of some powers to parish councils. Cllr Paraskos provided

           further details of timescales and, particularly, the reduction in councillors

           (some 300 at Borough/District Council level) down to 90 in total. He said there

           was still a lot to be decided and he urged caution over the possible increase

           in powers to parish councils, stressing that any funding for these powers   

           would probably have to come from an increased precept. His advice was to

           “wait and see”. Councillors agreed to consider future briefings and any

           updates provided by Cllr Paraskos.

           b)  2022 elections. The clerk confirmed that parish council elections would be

           held in May 2022. The Chairman said that he hoped all current councillors

           would stand for election again and asked to be informed of anyone intending

           to stand down.   

     8.  Follifields.
           a) “Folliwood” The Chairman reported that the event had been very

           successful, with some very generous donations. A net profit of some £1,400

           had been recorded and he thanked all who attended and particularly the

           volunteers who had helped make the event such a great success.

           b) A councillor had commented that the hedge abounding the play area,

           running down Radcliffe Close, had grown to such an extent that, in his

           opinion, maintenance and trimming was now due. Councillors discussed and

           agreed that a reduction in height was desirable, both for security (of children

           playing) and also to promote healthy growth of the hedge itself. The clerk will

           seek estimates for the necessary work to be carried out.

           c) Wildflower area. Councillors had previously discussed potential measures

           to improve the appearance of the wildflower area which originally had been

           colourful with wildflowers, amongst the natural vegetation. Unfortunately,

           “natural vegetation”, particularly thistles, has proliferated at the expense of the

           flowers and some remedial action now needs to be taken. Cllr Paraskos

           undertook to consult with HBC horticultural officers to determine the best

           approach.

           d) Goal nets. The clerk reported that he had now obtained the fixtures and

           fittings for the nets to be fitted. Cllr Locke volunteered to assist with fitting the

           nets.

           e) Platinum Jubilee. A councillor had suggested the planting of a tree to

           commemorate this historic event. Councillors agreed and, after discussion

           over the most appropriate location, Follifields or a plot between the Church

           and The Pound were the suggested options. The clerk will contact Rudding

           Estate to obtain agreement for either location and a final decision will be

           made at the January meeting of the Council, with optimum planting time being

           February.

.      9. Parish matters

            a) Plompton. Cllr Hall reported that there had been another accident on the

            A661, adjacent to Plompton. Coincidentally, a Plompton resident had written

            to the clerk expressing his concerns over safety issues surrounding the A661

            and the Plompton access junction. He had suggested possible remedial

            actions such as additional signage and the creation of “in/out” lanes on the

            access road. The clerk had forwarded these suggestions to the NYCC

            Highways Safety Officer but he had responded that there was already

            adequate signage and road markings and the revision to the access road

            was not practical insofar as providing adequate access for HGVs. He did

            acknowledge however, that improvements could be made to the junction to  

            make it simpler and easier to understand, but the necessary funding needed

            to remove the triangle of grass and change the junction radius isn’t available

            and cannot be justified at locations where there is no significant collision

            history. Councillors discussed further but agreed ultimately with the Safety

            Officer’s conclusions.

            b) Grit bins. The clerk had requested that the bins be replenished but without

            success. Cllr Paraskos will raise again.

            c) Road safety.

            i) Picket fences – councillors had queried the quotation received but other

            contractors approached had not been prepared to submit a quotation within

            the required timescale. Cllr Hall had confirmed however that the original

            quotation was, in his professional opinion, not unreasonable due to the high

            cost of hiring traffic lights. The clerk was also pleased to report that he had

            had confirmation from NYCC Highways that automatic traffic lights would be

            suitable rather than the more expensive manually controlled version. Cllr

            Paraskos indicated that he could offer a contribution of £500 towards the cost

            of installation, provided the work was carried out in the new year. The clerk

            confirmed that this was now likely to be the timescale.

            ii) VAS. Cllr Dickinson confirmed that he had adjusted the device to also

            capture data on outgoing traffic, travelling away from the village, but data was

            not yet available. He will produce information for the January meeting.           

 10.  Planning:

        a) Applications Received

         i) 21/04960/FUL – erection of combined heat and power (CHP) energy

         centre and formation of access drive. Rudding Park Hotel

         Rudding Park Hotel senior management (RPH) had held separate meetings  

         with the Chairman and also residents of Rudding Dower (the houses most

         affected through sight lines of the proposed project) to explain the purpose

         of the project and to detail the steps being taken to minimise the impact on the environment. RPH went on to explain to councillors that the main purpose of the energy centre was to produce power and thermal energy (hot water) for the Hotel, Restaurants, Spa, and Conferencing & Banqueting operations. This would deliver a significant reduction in the Hotel’s carbon footprint. The design and construction of the energy centre building containing the CHP equipment would result in a reduction in noise levels of some 37%. Two new hedges and the previously approved residential lodges will provide significant visual screening and further noise reduction (although the indicated noise levels of the equipment are already low). Having considered these detailed comments and reviewed the site plan, proposed floor plans and elevations, councillors had the following comments and observations:

• has any consideration been given to locating the centre underground?
• if a significant benefit is for the Spa, why not locate it in that area?
• a pitched, rather than flat, roof would be visually more acceptable;
• the inclusion of a “warm roof”  and sedum roof in the building design would enhance “vertical” noise reduction;

        RPH responded:

• underground siting has not been considered, but it was felt that as the equipment is wheeled into place via “railway” tracking, it was possible that this facility may need to be used again for regular maintenance, away from the site. The suggestion will however be considered.
• there is virtually no heat loss due to the excellent insulation of the heat pipes.
• a pitched roof might be a possibility
• Inclusion of a warm room will be considered and also the possibility of a sedum roof

               After further discussion, councillors agreed to SUPPORT the application, but with the following added comments:

•             Any approval must include conditions for the provision of adequate screening against any adverse effect on the visual amenity of neighbouring properties;
• The maximum use of sound proofing materials in the construction of the containing building be specified;
• This could include design features such as a Warm Roof and a Sedum Roof, which could also improve the visual appearance of the building.
• Substitution of a pitched roof rather than the proposed flat roof be considered although that would increase the overall hight of the building

             ii) 21/04676/FUL – Erection of two storey rear extension and loft conversion

         Kiln Cottage, Spofforth Lane.

         The Chairman displayed the site plan and proposed elevations. Councillors

         commented on the relative size of the extension, expressing some concern

         at the increase in volume and footprint, and also at the possible loss

         of amenity to neighbours.  The Chairman summed up councillors’ comments

         by stating that the Parish Council’s stance is generally to support planning

         applications where possible, if applicants are improving their property, but

         not if the proposed development has a negative impact on the environment

         or other properties. Consequently he suggested that the response should be

         to neither support nor object to the development but express some concern

         at the size of the extension, it being disproportionate to the size of the plot,

         and the impact on neighbouring properties. Councillors agreed.

         iii) 21/04866/DISCON – Application to change details of previously

         approved application 19/01516/FUL – Rudding Park Hotel. The clerk had

         confirmed with HBC Planning that parish councils are not normally invited to

         comment on such applications as they relate to technical issues with regard

         to specifics such as materials and detailed design considerations. RPH

         supplied further details of the application, explaining that it related to the

         staff restaurant, with changes being proposed to the roof, windows and

         doors (wood instead of metal) Overall, more traditional materials are to be

         used. It was also confirmed that any reservations expressed by Heritage

         England and the local Conservation Society had been addressed.

             b) Notifications

          i) 21/04271/FUL – Extension and alterations to raise the roof and

          demolition of existing flat roof front extension, Oak House Pannal Road              

                                                            APPROVED

         ii)  21/04335/FUL – Erection of single storey rear extension, Bryden

         House, Pannal Road        APPROVED

        Councillors noted the above two notifications.
        iii) 21/02604/FUL – siting of 8 holiday lodges etc. – Rudding Park Hotel.  
        The Chairman noted that whilst this application had been approved, none of  
        the conditions suggested in the Parish Council’s supportive response, had  
        been included in HBC’s approval notification. He was pleased to report
        however, that the Hotel was, nevertheless implementing the Parish Council’s
        recommendations in the project. 
11.  Finance and Governance:
       a)Balance at the bank on 30th November 2021, Current Account £2,328.32
       and Deposit Account £28,222.56 (total £30,550.88) Bank statements to be            initialled by the Chairman in confirmation, as part of his payment   
       authorisation process.
       b) Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 30th November was provided
       with receipts and payments in the period  31^st October to 30^th November,
       reconciling to the account balances shown above at a) Councillors
       then unanimously agreed the 7 amounts below for payment.

M Richards	Clerk’s salary- Nov.	£307.28	Bank Transfer
HMRC	PAYE – Nov	£76.83	Bank Transfer
M Richards	Clerk’s exps – 3rd qtr	£87.50	Bank Transfer
Countryside Gardener	Village maintenance	£397.50	Bank Transfer
N MacDermid	Folliwood exps	£266.00	Bank Transfer
M Richards	Goal nets fixings	£15.44	Bank Transfer
HBC	Grass cutting	£99.96	Bank Transfer

       c)The Chairman then ran through the budget spreadsheet, explaining the  
       updates following the expenditure recorded above. He also explained the
       updates to the “forecast year to go” column in the Cumulative worksheet
       which is displaying the best estimate of the year end outturn. Councillors were
       content with the explanations and had no questions to raise, although Cllr.
       Dickinson did ask that the net position from fundraising events (for Follifields)
       should be shown in the Follifields memorandum account, rather than the
       gross position which he found misleading. The clerk undertook to record this
       information in future.
       d) VAT reclaim. The Chairman had queried whether the Council was able to
       reclaim VAT for expenses incurred in the Folliwood fundraising event. VAT
       regulations can be very complex and whilst initial enquiries of YLCA seemed
       to indicate that a reclaim could lawfully be made, absolute certainty could only
       be achieved via correspondence with HMRC and the possible commissioning
       of a VAT expert, to present the Council’s case. The Chairman decided (in
       conjunction with the clerk and internal auditor) that pursuing a claim in this
       instance was not worthwhile for the relatively low amount involved.
       Councillors agreed.
       e) Governance, The internal auditor’s comments regarding the Council’s
       updated Financial Regulations and Risk Assessment had been included in the 
       revised documents (circulated previously) and councillors voted unanimously
       to adopt the updated Financial Regulations and Risk Assessment. The clerk
       also undertook to provide a record detailing the evidence of review dates
    12. Any other business
       The clerk noted that whilst this item had traditionally been included on the
       agenda, it was not strictly lawful, as all items requiring a decision have to be
       formally and specifically recorded on the agenda. Cllr Riley suggested that, as
       an alternative, it would be useful to include at this point, “Items for the next
       meeting” rather than AOB. Councillors agreed and the clerk will adopt.

       The meeting closed at 9.10pm

      Date of next Parish Council meeting: –

Thursday 13th January 2022. To be held at Follifoot Village Hall, commencing at 7.30pm Please Note : Under new government reguations, facemasks will be required.