KIRBY HILL & DISTRICT PARISH COUNCIL

(Incorporating: Kirby Hill, Milby,Thornton Bridge, Humberton and Ellenthorpe)

A meeting of the above Parish Council was held on 13^th November 2006 in the Coronation Hall, Milby, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972, due notice having been given. The meeting opened at 7.15 pm.

Present: Cllrs. Smailes [Chairman], McKenzie [Dep Chairman], Helliwell, Lister, Parr,

Wilkinson, DCllr N Wilson (from 8.35pm) Cllr Widdows (from 7.45pm when he

was duly co-opted under item 5b).

The Chaiman welcomed one member of the public (Mr Widdows) and invited him

to speak on any agenda item should he so wish.

1. Apologies: Cllr Graham, Cllr Merson, CCllr John Watson, DCllr Nick Wilson for early part of meeting, PC Neil Waite.

Code of Conduct: Cllr Wilkinson declared interests in items 7a ,7c, . Cllr Lister an interest in item 7g.

3. Minutes of the previous meeting on 11^th September 2006 had been copied and distributed prior to this meeting. Cllrs accepted them as a true record and they were duly signed.

4. Finance & Settlement of Accounts

a) The accounts, as of 13 Nov 2006, stood at ………………………….£3,788.55

b) Rent of room…to pay (x 1 + reissue of March cheque*) ……….. £16.50

c) Clerk’s honorarium Sept/Oct 2006 to pay……………………….….. £80.00

d) Receipt of Precept 2^nd instalment………………………….………….£2,200.00

e) Receipt of NEDL wayleave…………………………………………… £37.68

f) Mazar’s invoice to pay…………………………………………………..£58.75

g) British Legion donation (wreath) to pay………………………………...£30.00

h) A A Foster (grass cutting 2nd half year) to pay………………………..£230.00

(* 15 March 2006 cheque £11.00 to Coronation Hall was never presented. Transaction

cancelled from parish account books but cheque not cancelled at bank as now over 6

months old)

i) 2007/8 PRECEPT

Based on anticpated NET expenditure of at least £4030 for 2007/8 it was proposed by Cllr McKenzie that the precept should remain at the 06/07 level of £4,400. Seconded by Cllr Wilkinson. The expected balance in hand at year end 06/07 will be £2000 but it was agreed not to use any of this to reduce the precept. Clerk to complete Precept forms and submit to HBC

ACTION CLERK

5. Correspondence

a) NYCC – Minerals & Waste Development Framework Core Strategy

A CD had been received as part of the public consultation exercise.Initial examinationn of this had shown there was no planned activity in the combined parishes. The CD was passed for circulation among any interested councillors, starting with the Chairman.

b) HBC- Casual Vacancy for Thornton Bridge – Co-option papers

The advert inviting electors of Thornton Bridge to request an election had been posted for 21 days in the parish with no outcome. It was therefore necessary to co-opt to the vacancy. The Clerk had spoken to some residents of Thornton Bridge about the possibility of co-option but without success. Cllr Helliwell proposed that Robert Widdows be co-opted and this was seconded by Cllr McKenzie. Mr Widdows accepted the proposal, was duly co-opted as Councillor for Thornton Bridge and signed the Declaration of Acceptance. Clerk to inform HBC Electoral Office ACTION CLERK

c) HBC – Notes of Parish Consultation Meetings

No items had been put forward by KHPC for the meeting on 4^th October. Notes circulated among councillors.

d) HBC – Village Road Safety Schemes

Application form for grant to be submitted by 6 December. Cllrs had no suggestions for immediate projects. See also 7i .

e) HBC – Annual Survey of Rural Settlement’s facilities..

This had been received at trhe end of September and had been completed by the Clerk.

f) NYCC – Employment Training Services

In a scheme jointly managed by NYCC and the Probation service, a supervised

workforce team of 10 was available to local councils/organisations at £200 per day for works such as tree lopping/hedge cutting/painting/clearing footpaths etc.

CCllrs agreed that this was a service that may be useful and the informatio would be kept on file

g) NYCC Cllr Watson 2006 GCSE results

This ‘league table’ was circulated among councillors for information

h) NYCC budget consulation

Information had been posted to the noticeboards about public meeting in Harrogate.

6. Councillors’ /Clerk’s Reports

a) Police liaison. Cllr Wilkinson reported that there had been no meeting since his last report.. Next meeting 4 December 2006.

b) Joint Parish Council. Clerk reported. Next meets 14 December. Cllrs Graham and Parr had attended the meeting on 14 September at which the joint parishes gave formal support to KHPC’s proposals for the B6265 Layby. The Clerk to the Joint Meeting had also contacted NYCC Highways about the problems of lorries ‘overnighting’ in unsuitable locations (within the Joint Parishes area) to seek a meeting on the matter.

c) Yore Vision Youth Meeting . Cllr Merson had attended this meeting on 12 October. The Clerk circulated the notes from the meeting. Cllr Merson had volunteered to continue his involvement with this aspect of the Yore Vision projects.

d) Yore Vision Projects The Clerk reported on two ongoing projects: 1) St.James Square Improvement, plans for which have been on view for public consulation in the Library and 2) Walks/footpaths. The former is a small first phase of the project in which seats, bollards,planters etc. would be replaced. The latter had developed into the proposal for a long circular river-based walk from Westwick to Aldwark, with several smaller waymarked circular walks off it. The Milby – Kirby Hill circle is one of these. See also minute 7g.

e) Parish Consultation Meeting. Nothing to report in the absence of Cllr Graham, who had attended this meeting on 4 October.

f) Open Spaces Commuted Sums The Clerk reported on the training session for the new system which became effective in September. The new rules cannot apply to moneys currently held under the old system (in which KHPC has £13k.). Seven main categories of allocation replace the old four and include cemeteries. The distance thresholds have been extended in most cases to a kilometre and an eighth, separate, category – Village Halls – has been introduced. This includes allocation towards building new halls and enhancement of existing halls which are not categorised by HBC as ‘good’.

Of the £13k. currently allocated to KHPC about £9k is for CEPA (Children’s Equipped Play Area) under the ‘old’ system. The Clerk will speak to HBC about the possibility of having this transferred to CPA (Casual Play Area) also under the ‘old’ system, to enable its use for the proposed ‘kickabout’. ACTION CLERK

g. Community Emergency Plan The Clerk reported that this plan will have its first

‘Test Run’ on 28 November. The Plan involves three local parishes, the Police

and Emergency Services, HBC and NYCC. The Clerk and Cllr Smailes are the

two KHPC representatives on the main 6-person Emergency Team, the other four

being representatives from Boroughbridge and Langthorpe.

7. Ongoing and other matters

a) B6265 Lay-by Clerk had written to NYCC Highways requesting breakdown of £38k. estimate for improvement works. Holding reply received to state that relevant files were still being traced.

b) Village Design Statement. (VDS) Clerk had contacted Gareth Owens, who will try to produce some draft text by the end of the year in the hope that its existence will encourage someone to volunteer to arrange photographs and illustrations. Appeals for help with this had so far fallen on stony ground. With other commitments and ongoing ill health he may not succeed in getting this first draft done, in which case there will be the need to look for someone else to take over the project. Councillors accepted this and once again showed their appreciation for the work done by Gareth and his team thus far.

c) Play Area - Kickabout – Commuted Sums. Clerk had not yet contacted Carter Jonas, as requested, with a view to opening discussion about the land facing south door of church because when speaking to the tenant, Ben Dale, he had found him to be opposed to the idea of a kickabout next to a field with stock. Mr Dale had counterproposed arable land at the northern side of the church, off Millings Lane and farmed by Cllr Wilkinson. Councillors considered the proximity of the houses in Church Close could be a problem with this suggestion as it might require high fencing to keep footballs out of residents’ gardens and they shared the view that a kickabout is generally better placed further away from housing.

Cllrs McKenzie and Wilkinson agreed to talk to Ben Dale about an alternative location in the field behind the east end of the church, land also in the ownership of the Rooker Hill Trust ACTION CLLRS McKENZIE & WILKINSON Cllr Smailes and the clerk will also visit the unfenced kickabout areas at Skelton and Marton-le-Moor. ACTION CLLR SMAILES & CLERK

d) Parking/Speeding – Leeming Lane Still awaiting response from Police Traffic

Division in Skipton following NYCC Highways recommendation that there

should be a 30mph speed limit.

e) Dog Waste bins – no progress. Ongoing. Agreed by Cllrs that bin still required.

f) Grass Cutting & Tree lopping – The chairman thanked Cllr Wilkinson for the good work he had done trimming the bases of the lime trees on the green. Cllrs agreed to leave lopping for another year.

The Clerk had received an estimate of £480 from Aidan Foster for year 2007 grass cutting (up 4% from £460) and will obtain two further estimates. ACTION CLERK

g) Kirby Hill/Milby footpaths The clerk had that day received a revised proposal from NYCC reflecting the changes requested by the Parish Council earlier in the year. This showed a straight N-S route through the fields from the area of the pond. The clerk also reported that he had spoken to David Lister earlier that day (before receiving NYCC’s email) about the possibility of an alternative N-S path along the western boundary of the fields parallel with Leeming Lane. Mr Lister intended to speak to NYCC again about this proposal and thought that he had already submitted this to them.

Resolution of the matter of these footpaths was relevant to the creation of the circular walk already mentioned in item 6d above. The Clerk will report the current status of these discussions to the Yore Vision project group. ACTION CLERK

h) Hedge behind War Memorial - Cllr Parr had spoken to Mr Corban, the owner of the hedge and there had been some improvement. There were still concerns about parts of the hedge, however, near the tree. Cllrs Wilkinson and McKenzie agreed to take a further look at the problem area and report back.

ACTION CLLRS WILKINSON & McKENZIE

i) Thornton Bridge Village Signs – The Clerk had received two estimates from NYCC for the purchase and erection of the basic ‘model’ village signs. £1861 (inc VAT) and £1869 (inc VAT), the latter where the words “Please Drive Carefully” are added. The addition of these words would render the signs eligible for part funding through HBC’s Village Safety Scheme grants. Cllrs still considered the estimates too high. The Clerk would write to the Thornton Bridge residents who had requested the signs and explain the Council’s decision, which was also influenced by the difficulties in finding the right locations for such signs. ACTION CLERK

j) Roadside banners/adverts - The Clerk reported that Mr Hamilton-Evans from

Boroughbridge Post Office had contacted him to advise that he wished to put a banner on the canal roundabout to advertise Boroughbridge’s late night shopping evening. The Clerk advised him to contact HBC Planning (as was the case with the Hightimers banner). Cllrs expressed concern about the Russell Hume banners which had been on the roundabout for many weeks and would contravene planning regulations if they became ‘permanent’. There was also the concern generally about the safety aspects of such adverts on Highways property and DCllr Wilson advised that NYCC Highways frequently removed them. Cllr Wilson explained the different roles of HBC Planning and NYCC Highways with regard to such advertising.

The Clerk was asked to arrange for the removal of the Russell Hume banners after the other, date-specific and therefore temporary, banners had been removed.

ACTION CLERK

8. Planning

a) Newman – Crown Farm Milby 6.57.15.D.FUL 05/00734/FUL Con

Conv. Of farm bldgs. PENDING DECISION

b) Crown Estate – Thornton Bridge 6.36.6.B.FUL 05/01597/FUL

Refurb&Extension agric bldgs DEFERRED FOR APPROVAL BY HEAD OF PLANNING

c) Rigby – 3 Market Hill, Milby 6.57.46.A.FUL 06/04614/FUL

2-storey side extension & convers. of garage and workshop to provide extra living space REFUSED

d) Maltby – Indus. Unit east of Station House Milby 06/05071/COU

Change of Use from storage to motor vehicle repair

PC did not object. PENDING DECISION

e) Russell Hume Planning Enforcement Case 06/00532/PR15 Factory Shop

Site inspection had found no planning infringement since all produce sold was produced on the site and the activity was ancillary to the principle use. Monitoring required to ensure that the use remains ancillary.

f) Simkins – Hambleton View Kirby Hill 6.47.74.A.FUL 06/04416/FUL

Erect. Of single storey side extension. PC had not objected but had commented that double pitched roof preferable to lean-to with‘parapet’ appearance from road. GRANTED

The meeting closed at 9.10pm

NEXT MEETINGS all Mondays (at 7.00pm – to be confirmed)

15 January 2007 , 12 March, 14 May inc AGM, 16 July, 10 Sept, 12 Nov

Martin Rae, Clerk, 14 November 2006

SIGNED………………………………………………………DATE……………………