Minutes of the meeting held on 31 October

2018 at 8pm at Reed Village Hall

Downloadable/printable version (opens as PDF document) Present Cllrs: K Langley (Chairman), C d’Ayala (Vice- Chair), P Lawrence and M Higgs. In attendance the Clerk Catharine Toms, Dist. Cllr Tony Hunter, Dist. Cllr Gerald Morris and County Cllr. Fiona Hill and three members of the public. 1.10.18 To receive apologies for absence. PCSO Chris Brabrook. 2.10.18 To receive Members Declarations of Interest. Cllr. P. Lawrence as Chairman of Reed Village Hall Committee. 3.10.18 To approve the Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 5th September 2018 and to authorise the Chairman to sign them as a true record. The minutes were approved. Proposed by Cllr. Lawrence and seconded by Cllr. d’Ayala. All voted in favour. Agreed. 4.10.18 To agree to co-opt a new Parish Councillor. Mr John Kershaw was present to be considered as a new Parish Councillor. Prior to the meeting information had been circulated to all Councillors. It was proposed by Cllr. Higgs, seconded by Cllr. Lawrence and agreed by all to co-opt Mr Kershaw onto the Parish Council. Mr Kershaw signed his declaration of acceptance of office and was then able to take part in the meeting. 5.10.18 To invite Members of the Public to address the meeting. It was agreed to suspend standing orders at various points in the meeting to allow contributions from members of the public present. 6.10.18 Chairman’s Report. Cllr. Langley informed the Council that the new grit bin had been installed at a location near the Church. It had been labelled to clarify that it was a Reed Parish Council responsibility. Cllr. Higgs was thanked for the initiative and County Cllr. Hills for facilitating and financing the provision from her Locality Budget. There were two matters to report regarding The Cabinet: 1) The submission to NHDC to re-apply to list The Cabinet as an Asset of Community Value had been returned advising that it was premature. The application would be resubmitted in Feb 2019. 2) With reference to the Public Enquiry – Cllr. Langley reported that as Chair, on behalf of Reed Parish Council, he had compiled a signed statement confirming the view of the Parish Council that the appellant’s appeal should be dismissed and re-stated the purpose in securing permission to borrow to fund a purchase of The Cabinet. He was expecting to be called to speak at the Enquiry and be cross examined. The statement backed up the written submission already made to the Inspectorate. 7.10.18 To receive financial report from the clerk and approve accounts for payment. Copies of the accounts and a list of payments for approval were handed to all Councillors. Accounts showed a bank balance of £12,326.15 of which £8,348 was Push Energy Community Contribution (ring-fenced for special projects), leaving reserves at £3,978.15. The second half of the annual Precept payment of £2,090 had been received from NHDC. Accounts for the Clerk's salary and PAYE were agreed. In addition, £450.00 for grass cutting in the Play Area for 2018, and £155.70 Clerk’s expenses (reimbursement for purchasing the grit bin and vinyl lettering). The annual subscription of £35 to CDA for Herts was queried. It was proposed by Cllr. d’Ayala and seconded by Cllr. Kershaw and agreed by all to defer payment on this item until the Clerk had investigated if this was necessary and reported back to the Council. Action: Clerk The Clerk reminded the Council that it was now time to consider budgets for the next financial year and that the budget and associated Precept application would need to be agreed at the January Council meeting. The Clerk and Chair to meet to discuss in December and would forward information to all Councillors to consider in advance of the January meeting. Action: Clerk/KL 8.10.18 To agree to set date of Weds 8th May 2019 to hold the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, the bi- monthly Council meeting followed by the Annual Parish Meeting. It was explained that due to the ordinary elections due to take place in May 2019, the Annual Meeting needed to take place no later than 14 days after taking the newly elected Council taking office on 7th May. It was therefore proposed by Cllr. Langley, seconded by Cllr. d’Ayala and agreed by all to set the date of 8th May 2019 for the Annual meetings next year. Clerk to book Village Hall. Action: Clerk 9.10.18 To appoint a Committee of Reed Parish Council to set up and manage the Reed annual village Bonfire Night and Fireworks Display. It was decided as Bonfire Night was a Parish Council event that a Parish Council Bonfire Committee be set up to take responsibility for the organisation of this and future Bonfire Night events. Committee members to comprise of all Parish Councillors and some additional volunteers. Proposed by Cllr. d’Ayala, seconded by Cllr. Higgs and all voted in favour. The Clerk confirmed that Public Liability cover was in place for use of the Green under the Parish Council insurance policy. Standing Orders were then suspended to allow a member of the public to address the Council. It was wished to be acknowledged that this was a well-supported village event and that a good number of volunteers had stepped forward to help and that all was now well prepared. Discussion took place regarding the practicalities of the event. Cllr. Kershaw raised questions regarding safety measures in place and asked to see copies of the prepared event plan and risk assessment. This information would be forwarded to him by members of the Bonfire Night Committee. It was noted that £500 had been held by the Village Hall from the previous Bonfire Night event and that there had been some donations from private individuals all amounting to the £1,000 cost that the professional company would be charging to put on the display. In additional there would be a bucket collection and it was proposed and agreed that any surplus funds would be banked by the Parish Council and ring-fenced for the event the following year. It was hoped that the event might become self funding in the future. Cllr. Hills said that she would always consider applications for financial support for Community events from her Locality Budget. Standing Orders were resumed. 10.10.18 To discuss and make comment on planning application: Full Permission Householder : Erection of detached annexe outbuilding with provision of parking area. Two storey rear extension to existing property with associated ancillary works. The Mission Room, High Street, Reed, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 8AH Case Ref No: 18/02708/FPH – It was reported that the planning information had not been made available online. The Clerk to contact NHDC who would need to re-start the consultation. Action: Clerk With reference to the dismissed appeal regarding the shed at Thatchers in Jacksons Lane, Cllr. d’Ayala queried what the timescale was for action after dismissal of an appeal. It was agreed that the Council should write to NHDC asking for an update. Action: Clerk It was also queried as to the result of the appeal relating to change of use of an annexe to a one bedroom dwelling at 1 Coronation Row. The Clerk to check this with NHDC and report back. Action: Clerk 11.10.18 To receive update on Highways issues – Cllr. Lawrence had been approached by the Manager at New Farm to see if they would still be required to grit the village lanes during the coming winter. It was agreed that this would be most beneficial for the village. The Clerk to order a tonne bag of grit from HCC supplies to be delivered to New Farm. Cllr. Lawrence to liaise with the farm Manager. Action: Clerk/PL It was reported that pot holes (reported back in 2017) in Blacksmiths Lane had finally been filled in. It was noted that there was still a pile of soil alongside the A10 where the ditches had been dug out to alleviate flooding along there. 12.10.18 To discuss maintenance work required to Pittys Pond – Cllr. Lawrence reported that a multi-sectioned willow needed to be removed from the pond as the leaves were poisoning the water. There was also a build up of silt in there and a lot of Iris that needed clearing. The aim would be to enable to pond to retain water again and to encourage back wildlife. A digger would be needed to carry out the required work and it was agreed that Cllr. Lawrence would approach the Manager at New Farm for help. Action: PL 13.10.18 To receive update on new brown bin collection issues (for information only) – It was reported that all collections were now being carried out. Thanks were given to Dist. Cllr. Hunter for pursuing the matter with NHDC. 14.10.18 Update on arrangement of Neighbourhood Watch (NW) presentation for Reed (Info. Only) – Contact had been made with a co-ordinator for NW and the idea of hosting an area village NH awareness session in Reed has been put forward. It had been received as a good idea and NW would be back in contact soon. 15.10.18 To receive update on pending appeal and other matters relating to The Cabinet. Standing Orders were suspended to allow a member of the Save The Cabinet Action Group (SCAG) to update the Council. The appeal was now being dealt with by means of a Public Inquiry in Letchworth on 6-8 Nov. SCAG was a rule 6 party, meaning it had the same status as the principal parties to the case i.e. Mr Newman and NHDC. Written statements of case from all parties were now available to see online. NHDC had employed an expert to give a report. All supporters were being encouraged to attend the Hearing. The outcome and decision from the Inspector could take some months. Standing Orders were resumed. 16.10.18 To consider possible projects for the usage of Push Energy Community Contribution fund monies - £8,348 was sitting in the fund. Some ideas had already been circulated by email. It was proposed by Cllr. Kershaw, seconded by Cllr. Higgs and agreed by all to hold an informal meeting by end of Nov. to pull together some possible ideas that could be put out to the village for consideration. Action: KL 17.10.18 To receive matters for report and or referral to next agenda. (Information only) – For referral to next agenda: Budget for 2019/20 18.10.18 To note correspondence received. (Information only) The Clerk reported that there was nothing of any significance. 19.10.18 To agree date of next meeting. Wednesday 2nd January 2019. Agreed. The meeting closed at 9.30 PM.