MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF SCAMPTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY 02.02.2023 AT 7.00PM AT THE BSA HALL, AISTHORPE
Present: Councillors C Bulteel (Chairman), C Sneath (Vice Chairman), M Newham, T Somerville, K Clewes-Garner, Mrs B Young (Clerk) and five members of the public were also present.
Apologies –Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs J Rumble and R Patterson.
Register of Members Interests Members of the Council were reminded that at any time during the meeting they could declare an interest.
The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 5th January 2023 were proposed by Cllr. Newham, seconded by Cllr.Sneath and agreed unanimously. They were signed by the Chairman as a true record of the meeting.
Open session. WLDC had still not announced their decision regarding the possible purchase of the RAF Scampton base and their preferred partner and as a result all the planned meetings had been cancelled. They were going to decide at the next Council Meeting as to whether to go ahead with the purchase. There are no proposed dates for meetings until that information is announced and the Parish Council will keep residents informed of any public meetings.
Steve Ulyat reported that the village sign at the top of the hill was rotten and in need of replacement. The Clerk would find out the cost of more durable signs and residents would be consulted regarding the design at the Annual Parish Meeting. Proposed Cllr Newham, seconded Cllr Somerville and agreed unanimously.
Law Enforcement and Speed Awareness- A resident would undertake the speed monitoring training on 15th February and now the weather was more clement further monitoring sessions would be held. Cllr Sneath looking at the data obtained from the speed indicators and was building a case for additional speed reduction measures to be put in place.
Litter Picks – The dates for litter picks for this year are 26th March, 4th June, 10th September and 26th November. Cllr Sneath was finding out if it was possible to provide refreshments by using the community hall.
Web Page and Social Media Cllr Newham had attended the training on how to use the webpage and it was very complicated. She advised that all Councillors should have a gov.uk email address in case of investigation to prevent personal emails being searched and would ascertain the cost.
Highways and Footpaths – Cllr Clewes-Garner declared an interest and took no part in the discussion. The issue of the footpath was still unresolved but Chris Miller, Head of Environment, was looking at enforcing the fence line beside the dyke with the builder. The Clerk would speak to LALC to find out what the Council’s legal position is and how we could bring this matter to a close.
Future of Scampton –Already covered in the open session.
IT. Cllr Sneath declared an interest and took no part in the discussion. Cllr Somerville had identified a speaker suitable for the village hall. It was proposed by Cllr Clewes-Garner, seconded by Cllr Bulteel and agreed unanimously that the Clerk purchase the proposed system.
H&S – Cllr Somerville was thanked for producing the draft Risk Assessment. All Councillors should examine it and it will be reviewed at the next meeting. After it has been adopted the Fixed Assets Register will be updated.
Energy – Cllr Clewes-Garner reported that she had managed to find one firm, Total Power, who would take on the supply of electricity for the Council. The price would be .4288p for day units and .3298p for night units with a standing charge of .30p per meter (we have two). It was proposed by Cllr Sneath, seconded by Cllr Newham and agreed unanimously that the switch be done.
Planning –
146048 – 10.01.23 – The Old Parsonage. Scampton – Full planning permission. No observation.
146165 – 27.01.23 – 6 Northumberland Avenue – Demolition of existing side offshoot to be replaced by single storey extension. No observation.
Councillors had attended a meeting of the 7000 Acre Group, regarding the proposed Solar Farms. Although the Parish Council accepted the need for solar power these proposed sites were very intrusive. Cllrs Somerville and Sneath would attend the planned meeting in Ingham next week and find out exactly what the Group want Parish Councils to do. It was proposed by Cllr Newham, seconded Cllr Somerville and agreed unanimously that an open meeting would be held in the BSA Hall in the middle of March, to inform residents of the situation.
Community Social Events- The website and Facebook would be used to encourage residents to arrange their own events to celebrate the coronation. The events would then be advertised on the sites.
District Councillor’s report – There was no report due to the absence of Cllr Patterson.
Future Plans – More defibrillators were suggested. Someone had queried the lack of access information on the machine and it was explained that in an emergency you call 999 and they will give you the access code. It would be checked that this information is on the defibrillator.
The query to WLDC regarding the increase in the number of Councillors and this was the reply received:
“Having spoken to our Chief Executive, he is making enquiries within the planning office as to the timing of the growth of your area and therefore, the urgency in increasing your parish numbers.
Obviously, as you are aware, you can go through this process but it is the implementation of the increase which is the grey area.
We will keep you informed of our findings.”
The Parish Council will monitor the situation.
Correspondence – All had been circulated apart from one received today on Complete Communities Reading Rooms. We have no facilities to house this.
Finance
It was noted that the following payments had been made:
Drax £195.79
LALC Membership £282.06
Matters for the next Meeting
Law Enforcement and Speed Awareness
Litter Picks
Web Page and Social Media
Highways and Footpaths
Future of Scampton
IT
H&S
Energy
Web Page and Social Media
Highways and Footpaths
Future of Scampton
IT
H&S
Energy
Planning
Community Social Events
Future Plans
Community Social Events
Future Plans
District Councillor’s report
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 2nd March 2023 at 7.00pm in the BSA Hall, Aisthorpe.
Being no further business the meeting closed at 8.40pm.