Meeting of the Parish Council,

Wednesday 2 November 2022 at

7.30pm, Reed Village Hall

Minutes

Download printable version (opens as PDF document) Present Cllrs: K Langley (Chair), C d’Ayala (Vice Chair), E Kilby, B Blower and N Payne. In attendance the Clerk Catharine Toms, County Cllr. F Hill and Dist. Cllrs. G Morris and A Hunter, PCSO C Brabrook and 2 members of the public. This meeting would be recorded for the purpose of the minutes. 1.11.22 Attendance. As listed above. 2.11.22 To receive apologies for absence. None received. 3.11.22 To receive Members Declarations of Interest and to note dispensation granted. Cllr. d’Ayala (item 15.11.22). Cllr. Kilby, for the remainder of his period of office, dispensation granted allowing him full participation at meetings in issues arising concerning The Cabinet public house including, but not limited to, planning matters. 4.11.22 To approve the Minutes of the Meetings of the Parish Council held on 7 th September 2022 and to authorise the Chairman to sign them as a true record. It was proposed, seconded and all voted in favour to approve. Resolved. Approved minutes to be posted on the website. Action: Clerk/Webmaster Standing Orders were suspended. 5.11.22 To invite Members of the Public to address the meeting. PCSO Brabrook informed the Council that there had only been four reported crimes in Reed over the past year, the last one being theft of heating oil from a property in Church Lane. Nearby, Barkway and Barley had been the targets of outbuilding breaks ins. Other crime issues discussed were theft of catalytic convertors from cars and the riding of e-scooters on pavements and the public highway. Further to a well- received crime awareness event held in Reed a few years ago, it was proposed and agreed that the Clerk and PCSO Brabrook should liaise to plan another event (in conjunction with Barkway) in the Spring of 2023. Action: Clerk PCSO Brabrook was thanked for attending and he departed from the meeting at 7.50pm. The Chair agreed to suspend Standing Orders again at items on the agenda, should members of the public wish to make comment. Standing Orders were resumed. 6.11.22 To receive Chairman’s Report. (See Appendix A). Cllr. Langley to store on the secure Cllrs. page of the website, the log in details to update the status of the defibrillator with The Circuit database. Action: KL/EK Standing Orders were suspended. 7.11.22 To receive report from District Councillor – Cllr. Morris reported that North Herts Council (NHC) Local Plan was coming before Full Council on 8 th November for a vote on adoption. Although there had been a 2,000 reduction in housing needed for the area, no sites had been withdrawn from the Plan by the Inspector. He thought it was very likely that it would be voted through. A review of the Local Plan would commence next year. It was noted that two senior planning officers at NHC were leaving, causing extra pressure on remaining staff. 8.11.22 To receive report from County Councillor – Cllr. Hill reported that the Speed Indicator Device (SID) on the A10 had been moved and was now facing in the other direction. She was advised that the temporary yellow drain cover in the High Street was still there. Council grass cutting issues had still not been resolved and long grass around the exit to the play area was dangerous. She agreed to investigate these problems and would liaise with Cllr. d'Ayala to resolve the incorrect grass cutting schedule. The misuse of Reed 020 was being dealt with. She had supported the Parish Council’s objections to the planning applications for the reduced sized reservoir at Wisbridge Farm and the proposed housing development in Nicholls Yard. She advised that Warm Hubs were being set up across the County and information was available online for organisations wishing to partake in this initiative to help the community. Cllr. Hill was alerted to the dangerous lack of a footpath at the junction of Brickyard Lane and Jacksons Lane. There had been some near accidents as children were forced to walk in the road on the way to school. Cllr. Hill agreed to talk to Mr Henning at Herts County Council (HCC) Highways to see what could be done to reduce the risk of accidents there. It was agreed that the Parish Council would also write to Reed School to ask that they communicate with the parents regarding the need to take extra care on the school run. Action: KL/Clerk Cllrs. Morris and Hill were thanked for their reports. Standing Orders were resumed. 9.11.22 To review action points from the meeting on 7 th September 2022 – reviewed. Action Points from this meeting (see Appendix B). 10.11.22 To receive report from the Clerk on current financial position – A list of monies received and payments to be authorised had been previously circulated to all Cllrs. Accounts showed a bank balance of £23,058.53 of which, £10,133.35 was Push Energy Community Contribution (ring-fenced for special projects), £2,034.90 was Bonfire Night reserves, £690.75 was P3 grant balance, £651.87 was S106 Sustainable Transport Reserve, £1,000.00 Play Park Reserve, leaving General Reserves at £8,547.66. Income received since the last meeting: £4,167.58 NHC Half Year Precept. Cllr. d’Ayala requested that more detailed financial information be sent to Cllrs. before each meeting to enable the Council to have a better understanding of how actual income and expenditure compared versus the budget on an ongoing basis. Agreed. Action: Clerk 11.11.22 To agree accounts for payment. Payments to be authorised at the meeting were Clerk’s salary and PAYE. Payments made since the last meeting - £29.50 re-imbursement to T Wornham for cost of 50% of the gas used for the Jubilee beacon and £999.12 to E Kilby for purchase of the fireworks for 2022. Proposed, seconded and approved by all. Resolved. 12.11.22 To consider first draft of budget and associated Precept request for 2023/24 – Information had been previously forwarded to all Cllrs. This was a first draft budget assuming that there would be no increase in the Precept. It was agreed to hold an informal meeting in early Dec. to discuss the fine detail and bring a proposal back for a Council decision at the January meeting. Action: CD/Clerk 13.11.22 To receive report from attendance at NHC Planning Control Committee Meeting where representation was made in objection to Wisbridge Reservoir application 22/00910/FP – Cllrs. Langley and d’Ayala had attended the meeting and Cllr. Langley and Dist. Cllr. Morris spoke in objection to the application. Further to recommendation of approval by the Case Officer, Members voted in favour of the application. However, in support of points raised, an additional condition was added and approved by members. The condition was that prior to completion of the work and operation of the reservoir, or within 12 months of the date of approval of the application, whichever was soonest, a disposal and reprofiling plan needed to be submitted to the Planning Authority detailing how the excess material on site would be dealt with. This would ensure restoration of landscape. Reed Parish Council to review matters in one year to check that a plan had been submitted. Action: Clerk A concern was raised by Cllr. d’Ayala that these public meetings at NHC were not being managed properly to enable members of the public to attend. Cllr. Morris agreed to email the Managing Director at NHC. 14.11.22 To consider and make comment on planning application: Full Permission Householder : First floor side and single storey side extensionincluding single storey extension adjoining existing garage to provide home gym and insertion of rear dormer window to facilitate conversion of loftspace into habitable accommodation (as a variation of planning permission 21/03003/FPH granted 17.12.2021) Mill Corner Fram, Jacksons Lane, Reed, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 8AB. Case Ref No: 22/02565/FPH – After consideration of the application, it was proposed, seconded and agreed by all that there was no objection to the application. Resolved. The Clerk to respond to NHC. Action: Clerk 15.11.22 Save The Cabinet Action Group (SCAG) to receive update – It was reported that the last remaining listed building application had been refused. Reasons for refusal were limited to outside alterations. However, if it had been approved it would have regularised all works since 2015. SCAG were pleased with the result. The owner now had 6 months in which to appeal the decision. A complaint had been made to NHC, which had since been raised to level 2, as no key decisions had been taken after a year. The Service Director – Regulatory, Ian Fullstone had responded as, Simon Ellis, Head of Planning had since left. 16.11.22 Highways Matters – to receive update – (please refer to item 8.11.22) 17.11.22 To receive update on project to preserve ponds and agree any action required – Cllr. Blower reported that she was still in contact with Mr Pooley from Countryside Management Services (CMS) but there was no progress to report, as yet. 18.11.22 To receive bi-monthly Parish Council play area inspection report and agree any action required – Cllr. Langley had conducted a recent inspection, there were no major issues to report and some minor repairs had been carried out over the summer, the resulting document had been circulated. It was noted that the usual NHC Annual Play Inspection was due to be conducted in November. It was agreed that some old discarded tyres should be removed from the area as they were an eyesore and a trip hazard. Action: CD/KL 19.11.22 To receive results from recent Play Area survey conducted and agree any action required – Response rate (63) had been very good. A small group needed to get together to analyse the responses and decide a plan and make a recommendation to the Parish Council. This would also provide a good basis for a fund-raising application. It was agreed to publish the results of the survey on the website (Action: EK) and seek the help from two further volunteers. Action: BB/KL It was also agreed to immediately address the comments received about poor accessibility to the Play Area by levelling the entrance with some additional soil. Action: CD/KL 20.11.22 To receive update on request submitted for installation of a kissing gate on Reed 020 – The Clerk reported that she had been in contact with the Access Projects Officer at HCC and he had no objection to the installation of a Kissing Gate but would need permission from the landowner. The Clerk had since written to Duke & Partners. There would be a cost implication as HCC could only part fund. The Clerk to seek quotations for installation and the gate itself. It was considered that the remaining balance in the P3 grant fund of £690.75 could be used for this purpose. Action: Clerk 21.11.22 To receive update on final arrangements for Bonfire Night 5 th Nov 2022 – It was reported that arrangements were now all in place and there were volunteers available to help. A risk assessment and event statement had been forwarded to NHC a month earlier and the insurance company had been notified. It was agreed that the Parish Council would put in place two volunteers to guide people with parking and local people would be encouraged to walk to the event. 22.11.22 To receive update and agree any action on Push Energy Fund Project - Community Noticeboard – Cllrs. d’Ayala and Blower to meet with the Village Hall (VH) Committee the following day to discuss re-purposing an existing noticeboard (stored in the entrance room at the VH) and possible positioning. Some renovation expenditure would be required to remove existing engraving on the frame and to make the board watertight. Action: CD/BB 23.11.22 To receive matters for report or referral to next agenda. (Information only) Ponds protection project, Play equipment project and grant funding, Community noticeboard / Push Energy fund expenditure, Highways verges, consider the installation of an additional dog bin, NHC Local Plan, HCC Warm Space initiative, budget 2023/24 and Precept application. The Clerk to forward ‘Warm Space’ information received to Reed Village Hall and Reed Church. Action: Clerk 24.11.22 To note correspondence received. (Information only) – Consultation on proposed weight limit on A507 Consultation on cycling and walking 25.11.22 To agree date of next meeting - Weds 4 th January 2023. Agreed. There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.37pm. Annex A: Chair’s Report 1. As agreed at the Sepember Parish Council meeting a letter was written and delivered to all residents of Willow Close about the need to avoid garden refuse being dumped on the public footpath behind the houses. 2. After its removal for maintenance the defibrillator has been restored to the telephone box. It has also been re-registered as ‘active’ with “Circuit", the body which maintains the national register. 3. I attended with Councillor Dayala the Planning Control Committee Meeting on 13th October to put the Parish Council’s objections to the application to build a reduced size Wisbridge reservoir. Agenda item 13.11 refers. That completes this report for the period since the September meeting. KL ..