SNAPE WITH THORP PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Open Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 2 April 2019 at 7.45 pm in the Chapel Schoolroom, Snape Methodist Church

 

Present: Councillors John Duck, Jenny Rydzewski, Terry Warwick, Richard Poole, Steven Smith, Cllr David Webster, representative of the NY Police and 10 residents.

 

1. Cllr Duck welcomed all to the meeting.

2. Apologies for absence – Cllr Weighell had submitted his apologies

3. Minutes of the meeting held on 11 April 2018 were accepted as a correct record
4. Policing matters – PCSO Paul Enbom introduced himself and explained the Community Messaging Service leaving documentation with the Clerk. He responded to a number of questions on policing matters.
5. Cllr Duck provided an update on Parish Council main activities for the year:

Precept and finances

• The precept had increased to £7800 from £7100 (+9.8%) for 2019/20. This has been necessary to enable normal annual PC services to be provided and in anticipation of costs for repairs to the stone bridge and footpath by the Institute. He responded to a question from the floor regarding the number of increases over the last four years and the basis on which the precept was determined.
• Grasscutting and maintenance had been £2170 (slightly down from £2198 last year). This cost represented 30% of the precept. Insurance cover had increased due to the fact that the new pieces of equipment in the park was now fully insured (up from £280 to £430); the external audit had doubled (from £120 to £240). A drain had been installed to alleviate standing water in the Avenue at a cost of £1162 including VAT. Two new trees had been purchased and planted where the others had died due to the water-logged conditions (cost of £217). Pads and a battery pack had been purchased for the defibrillator (cost of £315).
• All payments made exceeding £100 were itemised on a statement on the PC’s website.
• Regular income comprised the precept, bank interest (which was very limited (£5.26) this year) and a wayleave. £4235 had been recovered in VAT repayments. The Council had received £310 from NYCC for grass cutting. The meeting was reminded that to pay for the works on the Avenue in March 2017 the PC had taken out a loan for £4k for 4 years; two repayments in year had been made amounting to £1026.

Highways issues –

• Winter gritting routes – the Parish Council continued to pursue the change of routes which would include the Salmon Lane corner and Ings Lane.
• Repairs to the highway on the stretch of road by the Arboretum were still awaited; a resident advised that he had spoken with a Highways employee who advised the works would be undertaken in 2019/20. It was suggested that keeping a record of accidents and near misses on this stretch of road would be useful to confirm the need for improvements. A resident suggested that additional road signs giving advance warning of the Thorp Perrow entrance would help visitors unfamiliar with the road. Another resident mentioned the potential for damage to a vehicle from the raised manhole cover.
• The Council had requested repairs to the road surface in some areas eg outside Cedar Garth, at the end of Meadow Lane.
• The Council was hopeful of obtaining funding from NYCC for grass cutting in 2019/20; although at present the amount was unknown.

Repairs to bridges and footpath

• Cllr Duck advised that repairs to the footpath at the side of the Institute, the stone bridge and bridge by Lyme Lodge would be undertaken soon. The Highways department did not accept any responsibility for these so the works to these fell to the PC. A planning application had been submitted but the outcome awaited. It would be necessary to undertake a bat roosting survey of the bridges as part of the planning process. It had not been possible to find any evidence of when the stone bridge had been erected or who had funded this; it was a very different bridge to the others in the village being built of stone and not local stone. Due to the extensive nature of the damage it was not financially viable to rebuild so it would be replaced with a bridge in keeping to the others in the village. The PC had been successful in obtain £5k from the NYCC Locality Budget and £2.5k from HDC Making A Difference Fund for these works. The contractor had been selected and work would commence as soon as possible once planning has been sorted.

Planning issues

• Hambleton District Council (HDC) had consulted on its new 10 year strategy and during this process the Parish Council had indicated the maximum number of properties it would accept for the Manor House site. The final strategy would be available later in the year.

Playing Field Committee of the PC

• Cllr Smith reported on the progress with regard to the regeneration of the playing field. The final piece of equipment, aerial runway, was currently being installed. There had been an investment of £35k with this funding coming from a number of providers and through local fundraising. There had been no cost to the Parish Council apart from eg grasscutting etc. This had been a lengthy project but had been a real success and was being used far more now by children and young people. He thanked all for their support in this achievement.

Avenue

• As reported earlier the Parish Council had engaged a local contractor to put in a drain in the field to the south side to tackle the problem of standing water on this side of the avenue which had affected the new trees
• Two new trees have been planted to replace those which had died due to the standing water
• The removal of epicormic growth to the trees in the Avenue and one tree on the green had been undertaken in year and the contractor would be removing the ivy on the trees soon.
• In response to the outcome from a court case elsewhere in the country, which had commented that a council should survey any trees it had responsibility for on the basis of risk, and the advice from the Parish Council’s insurers a survey of the new and old trees would be undertaken soon.

Narrowing of the beck

Cllr Duck asked for views on the possible narrowing of the beck between the road bridge at west end to the mosaic bridge; the erosion of the beck sides had been noted recently and it was felt that building the sides up with rocks or railway sleepers would help to halt the erosion but not add to any flood hazard as it would not result in a narrowing beyond the width of the bridges. This was considered an acceptable approach and could reduce the growth of weed in the beck.

Emergency planning

• Cllr Rydzewski reported that the Council’s Emergency Plan was in place and had been reviewed recently. Taking account the new Data Protection legislation all those on the plan had been approached for their approval for their names and contact details to be shared with NYCC, the Parish Councillors etc. All had given this approval. Thankfully the plan had not yet been tested.

6-monthly walk around the village

• Cllr Duck advised that he and Cllr Rydzewski walked around the village on a 6-monthly basis looking at any issues requiring action this might include overhanging branches (which had been raised on the first Newsletter from the Council), road signs, drains etc. These were reported to the Council and then appropriate action taken.

Institute Committee

• Sarah Lowe, Chair of the Committee, provided an update on the activities at the hall over the last year which had included a new heating system, draught proofing the hall, decorating and new curtains undertaken with significant funding from external sources and the Committee itself. It had been a shock to find that water had leaked into the hall soon after the decorations had been completed. Funding had been awarded by HDC (£2.5k) and the Parish Council towards the necessary roof repairs. In addition 127 numbers had been taken in the “100 club” which would, therefore, raise over £700 towards the repairs.

Emergency care services at the Friarage Hospital

Cllr Duck advised that the Parish Council felt so strongly about the reduction to the services at the Friarage that they had taken the decision to seek signatures on a petition. A parishioner mentioned that there had been a petition on Facebook; another attendee commented that personal letters were also important.

Affordable Housing

Cllr Duck advised that the Council was still open to suggestions regarding the building of new affordable housing in the village.

Village maintenance and appearance:

Cllr Duck thanked all for the work they did to keep the village tidy.

Observations were made about the deterioration of verges in the village. The posts which the Parish Council had purchased and painted would be installed in various places. It was felt by some present that hard edging at a height to deter driving on the verge was required and the posts would not be entirely effective in some locations.

Parish Council elections

Cllr Duck advised that the term of office of the current Parish Councillors was due to end and if contested elections would occur on 2 May. This was also the date for District Council elections.

The meeting closed at 8.50pm