Haxey Parish Council - Minutes

Minutes from the meeting held on Tuesday 27th November 2007 in the Hood Room of the Haxey Memorial Hall.

Present: Cllrs. Allcock, Boor, Booth, Carlile, Cooke, Eckhardt, Foreman, Hailstone, Knowles, C. Lindley, W. Lindley, Maw, Moyle, Smedley and Whitehead.

Chairman: Cllr. Allcock presided.

346. To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 13th November 2007.
The minutes had been circulated. Cllr. Hailstone asked why, in minute 338, Cllr. Cooke had to declare a prejudicial interest and leave the room when other members of the Parish Council who live closer to some of the other areas of land that have been put forward, did not do this. Cllr. Allcock stated that this was because of the sewage problems and that advice on this had been sought from ERNLLCA and the solicitor at NLC. On the same minute Cllr. Carlile asked that it could be stated within the discussion of site 23-2 in Haxey that he ‘was in favour of this site and felt car parking could be included using section 36 to alleviate traffic on The Nooking’. The Clerk stated that this would be added. They were confirmed a correct record by Cllrs. Smedley and Maw.

347. To receive information from Mrs. Margaret Burrup of Severn Trent Water regarding the sewer system in Haxey Parish.
The meeting was closed at 7.05pm.
Mrs. Margaret Burrup, Operations Sewer Manager at Severn Trent Water Authority attended the meeting to talk about how the sewerage authority is consulted on planning applications by the Local Authority and the limitations of not being statutory consultees. She also talked about the flooding which occurred in the Parish earlier this year. Unfortunately, Mrs. Burrup was not able to give a lot of information about the capacity of the sewers in the area. A copy of the information which was shown was given to the Clerk in hard copy which can be made available for Councillors. Cllr. Allcock asked Mrs. Burrup if it would be possible for her to provide the Parish Council with a copy of the sewer system for Haxey and Westwoodside. She stated that she would get this information sent out. The meeting closed at 7.50pm.

348. To receive the decisions made by North Lincolnshire Council and to consider the following planning applications:

The following planning application has been granted planning permission:
2007/1729 – to erect a single storey side extension at 2 Westmoreland Close, Westwoodside.


The following planning application was received from NLC and discussed by Haxey Parish Council: 2007/1811 – Mr. P. Drake, 22 Gollands Lane, Westwoodside – permission to erect a two storey extension and Conservatory – Support Approval.
2007/1843 – Mr. Colin Claxton, 25 Graizelound Fields Road, Haxey – permission to erect a conservatory – Support Approval.

349. To receive Clerk’s Report – an update on decisions taken at previous meetings and to consider further action.
A letter had been received from the Chairman for Haxey and Westwoodside Heritage Society asking if it would be possible to place a notice on both of the notice boards in the Parish to advertise the Society’s new book, Haxey Parish Day by Day. It was resolved this would be done and Cllr. Boor will pass the notices to the Clerk. It was also suggested this could be put on the website and in the newsletter.
A letter had been received from Pam Layton, the Church Secretary for Haxey Methodist Church stating that the new Community Hall was now completed. There is now a larger hall with a lovely kitchen and modern facilities and it is hoped that many events will be held there. The Church Council has sent an invite for the Parish Council to hold their January meeting in the new hall as a gesture of appreciation for the generous financial support that has been given. It was resolved to accept this invitation and to advise the Church Council as to when the end of January meeting is to be held.
A letter had been received from Mr. Geoff Popple, the Service Director for Highways and Planning at NLC, following the meeting which he and his team attended on 30th October. Mr. Popple stated he is keen to continue to develop the relationships with Haxey Parish Council so that the members can be kept informed of progress regarding flooding issues in Haxey Parish and he feels that it would be very helpful to have a contact with whom NLC could liaise, update and form an important link between NLC and the Parish Council. The Parish Council’s views were also requested on the proposal to establish a local emergency plan.
NLC have a number of meetings arranged in the near future with all the agencies with responsibilities for drainage infrastructure and will be discussing the many problems that have been identified in all areas in North Lincolnshire.
Another Town and Parish Council Liaison Meeting is planned early next year where another update will be provided. Mr. Popple stated that NLC is committed to doing as much as it can to react to the problems that were identified on 25th June and hopefully mitigate the impact of any similar situation occurring in the future. It was resolved that Cllrs. Boor and Moyle would act as the contacts with NLC and the matter concerning a local emergency plan will be discussed at the meeting in December.
Louise Gouldthorpe, Building Control Officer at NLC had replied to the Parish Council’s letter regarding the Cross Hill sign which has been erected. Cllr. Carlile declared an interest and did not take part in any discussion or the vote.
NLC has confirmed that the signs were erected by the Highways Department on the request of a local resident. The Highways Department attended the site and checked their records and confirmed that the road name was Cross Hill which is why the signs were erected. Ms. Gouldthorpe has also checked the Building Control records and they show that this part of the road was called Cross Hill as far back as 1964. She also states that various other historic records within planning/building control show that properties are addressed off Cross Hill, not Upperthorpe Road. From this evidence, NLC do not intend to pursue this matter unless some other written evidence can be found and presented. Cllr. Moyle stated that on the Tithe Award Map it stated that this area was known as Cross Hill. It was asked if replies had been received from the emergency services and if they have difficulty in locating properties in the area. As of yet a reply is still to be received. A proposal was made by Cllr. Booth to leave this alone and not take any further action, which was seconded by Cllr. Knowles. A vote was taken and with 12 in favour of the proposal, 1 against and 1 abstention, it was resolved to take no further action.
A letter had been received from Omran Garman, Traffic Officer at NLC, regarding the parking issues at Greenhill/High Street, Haxey and the letter which was sent to NLC in August stating that Haxey Parish Council does not support the proposed No Waiting At Any Time on the modified drawing and that the only part of the amended proposal which Haxey Parish Council do support are the signs which state ‘No Entry’, ‘One Way’ and ‘Give Way’. NLC state that the comments submitted are a little suprising as the Parish Council were partly instrumental in bringing the problem to NLC’s attention and the solutions proposed are clearly designed to make the junction function better and more safely. These proposals are also supported by the Police. The Parish Council has been asked to identify the reasons for the lack of support prior to a final decision on this scheme being made. It was resolved a reply would be sent to NLC stating again what was said originally and that the amended proposals are far too restrictive for what is an intermittent parking problem.
The responses that were made by Haxey Parish Council were hand delivered by the Clerk to the Spatial Planning Team at Church Square House in Scunthorpe on Thursday 22nd November and emails have been received for each response stating that these have been accepted as valid responses.

350. To receive an update on the Parish Council’s Website and Newsletter.
Cllr. Allcock asked Cllr. Hailstone if he was still able to act as the Parish Council’s ‘go between’ with Forward Step when asking for certain items to be placed on the website. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, Cllr. Hailstone is no longer able to do this. Cllr. Allcock asked if any other Councillor would be willing to do this and stated that it would just mean scanning and passing on information to Forward Step. Cllr. Maw stated that he would be willing to do this if he had help. Cllrs. Knowles and Allcock stated they would be willing to help as well. A suggestion was made that the responses that the Parish Council had submitted to NLC should be put on the website. This is something which will be looked at.
Cllr. Allcock stated that he had written items for the next newsletter. These included a piece on the report that had been given by Geoff Popple and members of his team when they attended the Parish Council meeting on 30th October, the results of the Best Kept Village Competition, information regarding the Parish Council’s website, details regarding the work carried out on Westwoodside Pond, information regarding the cleaning of the War Memorial and the Cross of Piety and also information relating to the Parish Plan. Other items to be included are details of NLC’s Land Allocations document and also a piece that had been written by the Heritage Society. Cllr. Maw also said that he would write a piece regarding the recent Neighbourhood Watch meeting, which was held on the same evening as the Parish Council’s meeting. It was hoped to finish the newsletter shortly and get a proof copy back from NLC and then go ahead with printing.
An email had been received from Carolyn Grant who produces the Branton and Auckley Arrow. She is looking at producing a similar magazine for the Isle of Axholme and intends to start with the Westwoodside and Haxey area. It would be called The Haxey and Westwoodside Arrow. Haxey Parish Council have been asked if they would wish to contribute towards this. The cost for a full page would be £95 per month or £912 per 12 months and for a half page the cost would be £55 per month or £528 per 12 months. It was felt that this request was 6 months too late and as the Parish Council are producing their own newsletter which is a much larger production it was not something that should be pursued further. A proposal was made by Cllr. Booth not to support this which was seconded by Cllr. Moyle and all were in favour. A rider is to be placed in the next edition of the newsletter stating that The Haxey and Westwoodside Arrow is nothing to do with Haxey Parish Council.

351. To discuss the contents of the Parish Directory and to determine from the quotes received who will publish the booklet.
A letter and draft copies of the Parish Directory were sent out to 4 companies asking for quotes for the printing. Three quotes had been received and the prices relate to the printing of 2200 copies, with the front cover being a glossy finish and to have a full colour photograph and the inside to be on white paper with black print. The quote that had been received from King Fisher Printing was for £1600 and if they needed to carry out any alterations there would be an extra £150 added. The quote from North Lincolnshire Council was for £1243.90p and the quote from Appletree Print was for £1160. Cllr. C. Lindley felt that a discount may be given if the newsletter and the Directory was published by the same company and this should be pursued.
A proposal was made by Cllr. Moyle for the quote from NLC to be accepted and this was seconded by Cllr. Maw. A vote was taken and with 14 in favour and 1 against, it was resolved to accept NLC’s quote. The Clerk is to make any final changes to the Directory and to ask NLC for a proof copy before this is printed. The Directory is to be sent out before the end of the year.

352. To receive a report from the recent Isle of Axholme Physically Handicapped Society Meeting.
Cllr. Boor attended the Annual General meeting of the Society and he is now a fully fledged member. The Society have £2000 in their account at the moment, which is enough funding to cover the next year unless there are any problems.

353. To receive an update on the Affordable Housing Development.
A reply has been received from Phillip Parkes, the Neighbourhood Team Leader at South Yorkshire Housing Association. Mr. Parkes formally takes handover of the properties on 27th November and residents will start moving in the following day. The query regarding the sewage has been passed to SYHA’s Development Section who are in a better position to answer the concerns.
NLC are to also take another look at the footpath to see if they can also ask SYHA to look at carrying out work. Cllr. Cooke sated that a resident of Thinholme Lane, Mr. Drewry, is now housebound because of the state of the footpath, he is not able to use his invalid carriage and has become totally reliant on family members. Cllr. Booth felt the press should be notified of this as it was a total disgrace. Cllr. Allcock stated that SYHA and NLC would be contacted again about this and if nothing is done he would speak to the press.

354. To discuss the refurbishment of the Butter Cross on Haxey Lane – Deferred Item.
Cllr. Knowles has not be able to find any further information relating to the Buttercross and believed the Parish Council should go out to tender to have this pointed up. Cllr. Boor stated that work previously carried out on the Buttercross was done by a local company. A letter will be sent to the people who have done work before and an advert will be placed in the press.

355. To consider forming a Working Party for Parish Plan and Village of the Year.
Cllr. Allcock believed that separate Working Party’s for each item should be formed.
Cllrs. Boor and Smedley stated they would be happy to be part of the Working Party for the Village of the Year.
Cllrs. Booth, Cooke and Knowles stated they would be happy to be part of the Working Party for the Parish Plan and felt that a Public Meeting should be advertised early in the New Year.

356. To determine the date for the December meeting.
It was resolved that this meeting would be held on Wednesday 19th December as the last Tuesday in the month falls on Christmas Day and the Clerk will not be able to attend if the meeting was held on the Tuesday before for personal reasons.

357. To determine the date for the extra meeting in January 2008.
It was resolved that should an extra meeting be required this would be held on Tuesday 8th January 2008 and the meeting at the end of January would be as normal on the last Tuesday in that month, which will be the 29th. The Clerk will ask if the meeting can be held in the new hall of the Methodist Chapel.

358. To determine what items are to be added to the agenda for the 2008/09 Precept.
Items for the Precept agenda include grants for Westwoodside and Haxey playing fields, funding for Westwoodside Village Hall, funding for LIVES, training allowance, money towards the flower baskets for the War Memorial and those positioned around the Parish, funding for the Over 70’s Party, the grass cutting for Greenhill, the Churchyard and Dr. Dyson’s Garden, the Parish Council’s telephone line and email, magazines and books, adverts to be placed in the local paper and funding for the Parish Plan and Newsletter. If there are further items to be added it was asked to notify the Clerk before the next meeting.

359. To be notified of a request for funding received from the Axholme Camera Club and to determine the amount that is to be awarded.
A request has been made by the Axholme Camera Club for funding towards the purchase of a new laptop and the additional software which is needed as these need to be updated. The cost for the new equipment will be in excess of £1800. Details of the Clubs accounts had been received and copied for each Councillor. A proposal was made by Cllr. Boor to award the club £750 and this was seconded by Cllr. W. Linldey. An amendment to that proposal was made by Cllr. Booth to award the Club £500 and this was seconded by Cllr. Carlile. A vote was taken on the amendment. There were 3 in favour of the amendment and 12 against. It was resolved the Camera Club would be awarded £750.

360. To be notified of a request for a Precept Grant received from LIVES and to determine the amount that is to be awarded.
A request has been received for a precept grant for the 2008/09 financial year. Funding of £500 was awarded to LIVES by Haxey Parish Council in January this year. A proposal was made by Cllr. Moyle to precept for a grant of £500 and this was seconded by Cllr. Whitehead. A vote was taken and with 14 in favour and 1 abstention it was resolved to precept for £500.

361. To be notified of North Lincolnshire Council’s Waste Strategy 2007 – 2025 and submit comments before 10th December 2007.
Copies of the Strategy had been forwarded to the Councillors for them to view. All that is required is for the survey at the back to be completed. The Chairman

362. To notify the Clerk of items to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

Items to be included on the agenda for the meeting on Wednesday 19th December include:
To discuss the refurbishment of the Butter Cross on Haxey Lane – Deferred Item,
To receive an update regarding the addition of the ‘Ropewalk’ to the Definitive Map,
To receive an update regarding the Affordable Housing Development,
To receive an update on the Parish Council’s Website/Newsletter/Directory.

363. To consider the following accounts and any received after the agenda has been sent out and before the next meeting:

North Lincolnshire Council - £30.00p - 101332
Aquila Business Products Ltd - £52.74p - 101333
BT Payment Services Ltd - £76.68p - 101334
Mr. Ron Allcock - £20.03p - 101335
Mrs. N. J. Atkinson - £642.22p - 101336
Axholme Camera Club - £750.00p - 101337