14th May 2026
Annual Meeting of the Parish Council
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
Held in the Jupiter Room of the Rudding Park Hotel on 14th May 2026
PRESENT: Chairman N. MacDermid, Vice Chairman A. Dewsnip, Councillors K.Tharby, T. Hall, C. Dickinson, J. Locke and S Gallimore. Clerk M. Richards. (A senior representative from Rudding Park Hotel (RP) was also present)
Election of Chair: Cllr MacDermid was proposed as Chairman for 2026/27 by Cllr Dickinson, seconded by Cllr Dewsnip, and was elected unanimously.
Election of Vice Chair: Cllr Dewsnip was proposed as Vice Chairman for 2026/27 by Cllr MacDermid, seconded by Cllr Hall and was elected unanimously.
Election of Village Hall Representatives: Cllr Tharby was re-elected as the Village Hall representative.
There were no apologies for absence as all councillors were present.
- Declaration of Interest and Notification of changes in the Members’ Register of Interest:
None. - Public Participation session: No items notified.
- Meeting Minutes held on 9th April 2026: The minutes were proposed as a correct record by Cllr Hall and seconded by Cllr Dewsnip. The Chairman duly signed the minutes.
- Matters arising from the Annual Parish Meeting and previous minutes: None.
5. Planning
entrance; Demolition of single storey cellar extension; Extension of service yard. Rudding Park
Hotel, Rudding Park, Follifoot.
b) 26/01665/DVCON – S73 Application for variation of condition no. 2 (plans) on planning
permission reference no. HGT19/01516/FUL for erection of 2 no. single storey extensions; Erection of 1 no. two storey extension; Erection of single storey glazed link extension; Erection of first floor glazed link extension; Alterations to fenestration including relocation of entrance; Demolition of single storey cellar extension; Extension of enclosed service yard; Alterations to landscaping and hardstanding. Rudding Park Hotel Rudding Park Follifoot.
The Chairman confirmed that the above two applications were for the same scheme, but with a) being specifically for the Listed Building consideration. He then displayed and referred to the Design and Access Statement for councillors’ benefit, RP then gave more detail as to the actual location of the proposed buildings and developments, explaining fully the reasoning behind each of the amendments. It was also noted that Historic England had offered no comments regarding the Listed Building application. Based on this and the very detailed description provided by RP, the Chairman suggested that a SUPPORT response be submitted. All councillors agreed.
RP left the meeting at this point
Decisions
c) 26/01399/AMENDS – Non-material amendment to allow alterations to the layout of the access track and re-positioning of field access to planning permission 25/04232/FUL – Proposed erection of 3no, dwellings, access, parking, landscaping and associated works. Land Comprising Field At 433407 452398 Pannal Road, Follifoot, North Yorkshire. APPLICANT: Rudding Park Estate Ltd.
GRANTED
Councillors noted the above decision and had no comments.
Enforcement
d) To note – Nos 2,5,6,7 Plompton Square – “Alleged unauthorised use of building for commercial use” – All “under investigation”
e) 26/00336/PR15 – Street Record, Rudding Lane, Follifoot.
ALLEGED BREACH: Alleged unauthorised advertising of business using boards.
f) 26/00335/PR15 – Land Comprising Field At 434583 453813 Wetherby Road Harrogate. ALLEGED BREACH: Alleged unauthorised advertising of business using boards.
g) 26/00334/PR15 – Street Record, Brick Kiln Plantation To Wetherby Road, Plompton. ALLEGED BREACH: Alleged unauthorised advertising of business using boards.
Councillors noted the above Enforcement Notices and agreed to await developments.
Other
e) Northern Gas structure Plompton Road – update.
The Chairman advised councillors that, in his opinion, NGN are unlikely to change their stance and would not agree to move the Gas Governor and the Parish Council (and the resident involved in the protest) would now best be served by pressing for the most suitable measures mitigating against the visual impact of the structure.
6. Chairman’s communications.
a) Bees in top Main Street bus shelter. Reported to NYC Pest Control who had responded that
this is not now their responsibility. The officer had also advised that contact should be made with a
local Beekeeping Society who would visit and remove the swarm if appropriate. He had in fact
contacted the Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers’ Society who had agreed to visit and remove the
bees. The Chairman confirmed that he had checked the following day and the bees were no
longer present.
b) Harrogate Town Council – Neighbourhood Plan. The Chairman and Cllr Locke had attended
the first liaison meeting and Cllr Dickinson the second, follow up meeting, as reported in the April
minutes. Councillors discussed the perceived pros and cons of involvement with the development
of the Plan. Main concerns related to questions over the actual benefits accruing to the Parish
Council and the cost of participation. Potential benefits were seen to be improvements in tourism,
leisure, travel, housing and business opportunities, none of which would significantly apply to the
Parish. In addition, it was commented that it will be the North Yorkshire Council Local Plan that
will be the key determining factor (and funding) on key matters of development. On this basis, the
cost contribution of some £8,000 was considered not to be value for money for residents and, on
balance, councillors therefore resolved not to take part in the scheme.
7. Clerk’s correspondence
SWARCO maintenance contract for the Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) As recorded in the April minutes, a new 3-year contract priced at £666.87 is being offered by the company. As instructed, the clerk enquired of the company whether any alternative packages were available and the response indicated that a non-contracted call out fee would be a daily rate of £658. Accordingly,
councillors agreed that the 3-year contract should be taken up.
8. Parish Matters
a) Plompton.
i) Cllr Hall reported that, at last, some action had been taken to address the long
outstanding issues recorded at every meeting. The A661 blocked drain had been cleared although the 2 gullies were still flooding after heavy rain. He thought they were connected via a pipe which was possibly blocked. The estate agents’ signs had been removed away from the road, but the marker posts had still not been replaced. Cllr Paraskos undertook to follow up.
ii) Noted that the enforcement issues recorded at 5d) above and repair of the notice board were in hand.
b) Village upkeep. Bench refurbishment, notice board repair, in hand. Noted that the village green needs cutting, but this is included in NYC’s schedule.
c) Unregistered land – telecoms issues. The Chairman will contact the MP for assistance in pursuing this issue.
d) Memorials (for Unice Cansfield and Cerys Sladdin) Details for appropriate wording being agreed
with respective families.
9. Traffic calming
a) VAS. Cllr Dickinson is continuing to monitor. No significant differences in traffic volume or speeds have been evident in the recent data.
b) Speed survey – Pannal Road, outside Riding Stables. The Chairman displayed the data, collected over 7 days. Councillors expressed some alarm at the incidence of speeds exceeding 60mph, particularly given the users of the Riding Stables. The Chairman wondered whether a 40mph limit in the vicinity of the Stables may influence lower speeds. The clerk will raise the possibility of a lower speed limit with NYC’s Highways Safety Officer.
10. Follifields
a) Maintenance – the Chairman and Cllr Gallimore have reviewed all the outstanding issues from the ROSPA report and identified issues for the respective contractors (AW and SB) – the backing for the plaques which need replacing and the goalmouth re-turfing. The goal nets and the stanchion need re-fixing – the clerk will examine and fix.
b) Willow Tunnel – Cllr Gallimore is to arrange a working party to adjust and re-shape where necessary.
c) The 10 year anniversary of Follifields falls in September 2027, so a full refresh of all outstanding repair/refurbish issues should be completed by then.
d) Other matters
i) New table tennis equipment purchased – stored in plastic box under the table
ii) Noted that the “unofficial” gate into Follifields has been removed – the clerk will write to the property owners to acknowledge with thanks.
iii) Donation of £150 from the Coffee and Cake Club received – acknowledged with thanks.
11. Finance:
a) Balance at the bank on 14th May 2026 in Current Account £717.74 and Deposit Account
£27,839.09, total £28,556.83. Bank statements to be initialled by the Chairman in confirmation, as part of his payment authorisation process.
Monthly Reconciliation – reconciliation as at 22nd May was provided with receipts and payments in the period 9th April 2026 to 14th May 2026, reconciling to the account balances shown above
at a)
Councillors then unanimously agreed the 3 amounts below for payment.
| Clerk’s salary | M Richards | £285.59 | Bank transfer |
| PAYE income tax | HMRC | £190.38 | Bank transfer |
| Room hire | M Richards | £25.00 | Bank transfer |
b) Monthly budget statement. The clerk briefly ran through the Cumulative and Summary statements, confirming all recent amendments had been accounted for and the budget would be closely monitored as before. He commented on the memorandum Follifields account with regard to the available balance. If the ringfenced amounts for CIL and the original FOFWRAP £5,000 are excluded, a “deficit” of £988.79 is recorded. After discussion councillors agreed that future expenditure on repairs and refurbishment could be accounted for out of the ringfenced £5,000.
c) Draft annual accounts
The clerk had presented the draft accounts to the Annual Parish Meeting and councillors indicated their agreement for the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) to be completed based on these figures. The clerk confirmed that the Parish Council is again exempt from an external audit review as turnover is below the £25,000 turnover limit, The AGAR statements including the Exemption Certificate and Annual Internal Audit certificate will be available for formal review by councillors and will be signed off at the June meeting.
Date of next Parish Council meeting: Thursday 11th June 2026 at 7.30pm at Rudding Park Hotel
The meeting concluded at 9.20pm