Annual Parish Meeting 2019
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on
Thursday 11th April 2019
PRESENT: Chairman N. MacDermid, Vice Chairman T. Martin, Councillors A Dewsnip, T. Hall, and S Riley. District/County Councillor A. Paraskos was also present along with Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator M. Hammond, and 7 residents. Clerk – M. Richards.
1. Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C Dickinson and J Locke.
2. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 14th April 2018 were approved. (Proposed by Councillor Martin, seconded by Councillor Dewsnip)
3. Matters arising – the clerk reported that he had followed up the matter raised re the possibility of funds being made available (via the commuted sums arrangement) from the Spofforth Hill housing development on the outskirts of Wetherby, for the implementation of traffic calming measures on Haggs Road. It was confirmed, however, that as this development is within the Leeds CC area, funding is not available to Harrogate parishes. Furthermore, even had funding been available it could not be spent on traffic calming measures – areas of expenditure via commuted sums levy are very specific and do not include traffic calming.
4. Reports:
a) Chairman’s report for 2018/19 – The Chairman introduced the Parish Councillors:-
Tony Martin, who is also Vice Chairman
Anne Dewsnip
Sam Riley
Charles Dickinson
Justin Locke
Terry Hall, representing Plompton.
Sam, Charles and Justin became councillors during the last year. He thanked the councillors and the Parish Clerk, Mike Richards, for their hard work and commitment to the community and also the support given to him personally. Reference was also made to other individuals’ contributions to the community as follows:
• Richard Snoxall our internal auditor
• Steve Smith for maintaining the Follifoot.org website
• Mark, our village handyman
• Andrew Walker – for additional repair and construction works
• Anthony, from Ashtree Landscaping, for grasscutting and maintenance at Follifields, last year
• Anne and Andy from the village shop – for being involved in many activities in the village and generally being a “Hub of the Community”
• John Chilton for publishing our Parish meeting minutes in the Harrogate Advertiser
• Jules Lewis for producing the Parish Magazine – which includes Follifoot and Plompton
• Andy Paraskos – our Ward and County Councillor who continues to be very supportive and is a regular attendee at our Parish Meetings. We have also benefited from the Community Fund that Andy is able to allocate to community projects – in our case Follifields.
Planning and Development
The Parish Council responded to 14 planning applications in the last year, as part of the consultation process with HBC Planning. All applications are considered carefully, taking into account the National Planning Policy Framework and other planning policies. HBC switched to a paperless system of planning consultation during the year and whilst there were some initial teething problems with not all applications being received, the process is now relatively stable. Appropriate development which supports the school, shop, pubs, church, sport and leisure organisations and groups, has to be good for the community. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact on the Parish and its residents in terms of scale, appearance and infrastructure. Significant considerations are the safety of our roads and capacity of the drains and other such key issues.
HBC is continuing with the creation of a Strategic Housing and Local Development Plan and we understand that the Plan is currently being reviewed by the Government Planning Inspector.
There were 2 fairly significant housing applications of local interest, in the last two years, but 2018/19 has been relatively subdued in this respect.
The Chairman congratulated the Village Hall Committee on the implementation of works which has included upgrading the doors onto the outdoor grass area and the creation of a terrace and disabled access. He also made specific reference to an application for the change of use of an area of woodland behind the cricket club, to create an outdoor learning “classroom without walls”. The applicants for this venture attended the February Parish Council meeting, presenting their proposals and answering questions, and councillors were very happy to support the application. It is very pleasing to note that HBC has given its approval to the scheme and the Parish Council looks forward to it being a great success and addition to our community.
As reported last year there had been some progress with improvements to the underpass under the A658 – including discussions involving Councillor Burnett, Harrogate Rugby Club and Follifoot Park Riding. Whilst works are still to be implemented, the Chairman understands that a design solution has been agreed. The Parish Council will continue to monitor the position and press for works to be completed.
Recreation and Leisure
The Chairman encouraged all residents to support and participate in the various sport and leisure organisations within the Parish – including the Cricket Club, Rugby Club and the Bowls Club which meets in the village hall. He and Councillor Martin recently met with representatives of the Cricket Club. Clubs such as Follifoot are under a variety of pressures, both on and off the field and the biggest challenges are membership and funding. Accordingly, the Cricket Club is very keen to re-engage with the community and the Parish Council looks forward to working with the Club and supporting it in any way it can.
2017 saw the creation of Follifields Wildlife Recreation and Play (FOFWRAP) area, and there was significant planting of hedgerow and trees throughout the early part of last year. The long hot Summer that followed, required a great deal of watering to ensure the survival of the trees and shrubs and the Chairman was at pains to express his sincere thanks to those people and organisations who sponsored the tree planting and also those who gave up their time across evenings and weekends to help with the watering (also thanks to those households who supplied the water!!)
FOFWRAP has organized a number of fundraising events (including a Picnic in the Park and the “Folliwood” Pop-up Indian restaurant) and it is pleasing to note that all events have been well supported, raising valuable funds.
An outdoor table tennis table is soon to be installed at Follifields, funded through a combination of money raised by FOFWRAP and a generous donation from Councillor Paraskos’ Community Budget.
As advised last year, FOFWRAP has now changed its focus from managing the Follifields project to running fundraising events for the ongoing maintenance (including grasscutting) of the site. The Parish Council continues to have formal responsibility for the site and FOFWRAP has now transferred the balance of its funds to the Parish Council to provide for ongoing and longer term maintenance.
FOFS (Friends of Follifoot School) is another important group at the heart of the community which raises funds for the school through events such as the Fish and Chip Supper Quiz and the Harry Potter themed evening. All residents are encouraged to support Follifields and FOFS both by attending events and helping run events and raising funds.
The Chairman also reported that he had attended a number of meetings involving a variety of organisations such as the Byeway and Bridleway Trust and The British Horse Society, who were lobbying HBC and NYCC in an attempt to have the bridleway on the disused railway line in Crimple Valley, connected to an existing bridleway, thereby creating a circular route. Whilst Rudding Park Estates Ltd has made every effort to bring about this conclusion; the owner of the land which would enable the connection of the two bridleways will not permit such a connection. The Parish Council supports the objective of a “connected” bridleway, but is not directly involved in the negotiations.
Maintenance, Litter Picking & Cleaning
The Parish Clerk raises maintenance issues on a regular basis with North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council – including issues with drainage, potholes, road signage and street lighting. Residents are encouraged to bring matters such as these to our attention and they are always followed up – often repeatedly! Residents are also encouraged to raise issues directly to put extra pressure on these organisations to get things fixed.
There is an ongoing issue with drainage and foul smells on Main Street and we continue to lobby Yorkshire Water to address the matter. Some works have taken place, and a pumping station at a local business has been adopted by Yorkshire Water that may also help.
On a separate matter, there have been traffic controls in place on Rudding Lane on the approach to Wetherby Road for several months. Other than some initial exploratory investigation work there is little sign of any activity taking place. We are very concerned and have raised this with NYCC & Yorkshire Water, and residents have also raised the issue directly. At the very least this is an inconvenience, but it is also a potential safety issue as the traffic lights fail from time to time.
The village handyperson has carried out a number of routine gardening and cleaning activities.
The Parish Council carries out litter picking twice a year, and the next one takes place on the afternoon of Sunday 28th April – Thanks to all those who have volunteered over the last year, and all residents are encouraged to lend their time. It doesn’t take long and it’s good to take a pride in our community.
Crime and Safety
Thanks to Mike Hammond and other residents in the Neighbourhood Watch Committee- Mike provides regular updates at Council meetings
It is pleasing to note that crime levels continue to be low in our community – in total numbers and in seriousness, although there are still cases of thefts from garages/sheds. There have also been incidents of suspicious individuals wandering round the village late at night, looking for unlocked premises and vehicles. Residents are encouraged to keep all doors locked at all times.
There are however increasingly more sophisticated methods – cyber crime e.g. Telephone scams and phishing emails on the Internet – identity theft
Regrettably, the Parish Council itself was a victim of a telephone and cyber fraud where the Parish Clerk was very recently duped by fraudsters claiming to be from BT. The result was that the sum of £4,900 was removed from the Parish Council bank account by fraudsters. The matter was reported to HSBC and Action for Fraud. The initial responses from HSBC were far from positive, but I am pleased to be able to report that the £4,900 has now been returned to the Parish Council. We are carrying out a detailed review of our banking mandates and procedures to put in additional safeguards to protect Parish funds.
On a more positive note, the Parish Council was successful in having Follifoot designated as a No Cold Calling Zone. As mentioned at the time of consultation, the Parish Council is not against legitimate tradespeople trying to earn a living, and a No Cold Calling Zone would not prevent tradespeople advertising their businesses through leaflets being put through residents letter boxes. No Cold Calling Zones don’t guarantee that people won’t still try and cold call, but it has given extra tools and confidence to the community and (if necessary) the police) to deter unwanted callers)
The Parish Council installed a defibrillator in the Telephone Box/Information Centre at the top of Main Street. The scheme was funded through a combination of Lions Club, HBC and the Parish Council. As well as the installation of the equipment, we also had two training events, with training provided by Central First Response. Our thanks to them, and also to everyone who attended the training.
Road safety
This is an ongoing area of concern. We continue to lobby NYCC highways, and the three main areas of concern are speeding traffic through the village, on Rudding Lane, and major concerns regarding the speed of traffic on Haggs Road – particularly going past the housing near the A658 junction. We are focusing on two particular approaches: –
1)The inappropriate National Speed Limit (60mph) the full length of Haggs Road
2) The potential provision of electronic speed warning signs
The Parish Council and the community are frustrated by the negative response from NYCC Highways regarding the speed limits, but we will continue to press for action and we encourage the community to directly lobby too.
It is also felt that the stretch of the A658/John Metcalfe Way presents a safety hazard for drivers crossing the staggered junction (which includes Haggs Road) and so reduced speed safety measures that address both of these issues could be the way forward.
Greater progress has been made with Vehicle Activated Speed Signs. The Parish Council has participated in the consultation process that has considered allowing Parish Councils to purchase their own equipment for deployment in their communities. Provisional agreement has been reached to allow this to happen, and once we have the final details we would like to press ahead. There is both a one off and ongoing cost associated with this equipment, and so this could be an opportunity for some form of community fundraising activity.
Bus Service
NYCC Re-tendered the contract for the 70 bus service that passes through the village. The result was that the service previously provided by the Harrogate Bus Company/Transdev was replaced by a service provided by Connexions. The main difference is that Connexions only run a Monday to Saturday daytime service, with no service through the village on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Unfortunately there have been quite a few issues with the bus service over the last year, with the key concerns being punctuality and buses occasionally missing out Follifoot altogether. We have contacted Connexions on a regular basis to raise these concerns, and would encourage residents to do likewise. To provide a stronger evidence base, it would be helpful if all residents who witness any of the above shortcomings, to report such incidents to the Parish Clerk, via the Parish email address (follifootpc@gmail.com) He will then summarise all unsatisfactory examples and submit to Connexions.
Finance
We have a limited parish precept (our share of the total council tax bill) and for the year just finished the total precept was £10,250. This budget is used to pay for the salary of the parish clerk, asset renewal and maintenance, donations, insurance, membership fees, training and office expenses. All accounts are available for public viewing and are audited by Richard Snoxall. The Parish Council discussed and voted to increase the Precept for the coming year to £10,500 per annum. (+2.4%).
This includes the ongoing cost of our village handy person, to ensure we have a village we can all feel proud of.
It has been a very busy year for our Parish Council, and I look forward to the year ahead
4. b) Financial report for the year to 31 March 2019 – The clerk handed out copies of the draft accounts statement and gave the financial report, referring to the major areas of receipts and payments and how they differed from the previous year. He explained in particular that the significant differences had been mainly due to the decreased activity in equipment etc purchases for Follifields which reflected in FOFWRAP donations, purchases, VAT reclaimed and VAT paid. In response to a resident’s query, he gave further details of how the telephone banking fraud had occurred and how measures were being put in place to ensure such an incident could not recur. All accounts were available to view.
5. FOFWRAP/Follifields – as set out in the Chairman’s Report under “Recreation and Leisure”
6. Road Safety – as discussed in the Chairman’s Report, the main issue is the possible deployment of Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) at suitable locations throughout the Parish. Councillors and residents discussed experiences with VAS at locations throughout the local area, particularly those in the Leeds CC district (Wetherby, Collingham, for example) Cllr Paraskos confirmed however, that the NYCC protocol would not permit VAS other than those which displayed the actual speed limit, not the speed of the vehicle. Furthermore, VAS equipment would have to be affixed temporarily only, in locations approved by NYCC. Councillors agreed to await sight of the formally agreed NYCC protocol, before deciding on any further action.
7. Submissions from Residents
Residents raised their concerns over the inadequate nature of the bus service. Examples were given, reflecting exactly those recorded in the Chairman’s Report ie concerns over punctuality and buses occasionally missing out Follifoot altogether. These shortcomings are a serious problem for residents who are unable to use personal transport (cars etc), particularly for those who use the bus service to travel to their place of work. The clerk reiterated his request for all incidents of unsatisfactory service to be reported to him via the Parish email address.
A resident suggested that one possible solution would be the establishment of a “community transport facility”, whereby car sharing could be offered to those in need. Councillors acknowledged the merits of such a scheme but thought that organising such a formal scheme could be difficult. Informal arrangements however, should be encouraged.
The clerk will contact NYCC (who subsidise the service) again to bring to its attention the unsatisfactory elements of the service.
The Chairman then closed the Annual Parish Meeting by thanking residents for their attendance and positive contributions. He also thanked councillors for their hard work and effort throughout the year in supporting the community.
Next Annual Parish Meeting: April 2020, in Follifoot Village Hall.