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CARLTON AND CHELLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the meeting held on 13th July 2009 – Carlton Village Hall 8pm
Present: Jane Tusting (Chairman), Cllr. T. Coles, L. Dempsey, E. Devine, A. Geerts, S. Owen B. Cllr. J (V) Brandon (late arrival due to prior Borough Council meeting).
In attendance: Helen Jago and Garry Adams (Emmaus).
A warm welcome to the parish council meeting was given to newly co-opted councillor, Susan Owen, by Cllr. Tusting.
1. Apologies for absence: Cllr. D Jenkins, PCSO Michael Blass (Bedfordshire Police). 2. Disclosure of interest: Cllr Tusting declared an interest in point 10 (Finance) due to her involvement with the Village Hall Committee over the matter of a new boiler for the Village Hall/School. 3. Minutes of meeting held 8th June 2009: confirmed as a true record of the meeting and signed off by Cllr. Tusting. 4. Close Parish Council meeting – open public section of the meeting: Emmaus Report – Helen explained that Garry is a Deputy Leader at Emmaus. Currently there are 26 companions in residence. The recent Work camp was very successful and the Bistro, opened by Jerry Hall, went really well. The matter of the inaccurate reporting by “BOS” and the subsequent retraction by Helen were both discussed – the parish council are happy that the situation is now resolved. Cllr. Tusting thanked Helen and Garry for attending the meeting; they left at 20:10. Village Hall – new boiler: Cllr Tusting informed the parish council that a new boiler is needed for the Village Hall/School. Half of the expenses will have to come from the village hall/School (approx. third of this amount from the village hall and two thirds from the School). The remainder will come from Bedford Borough Council. See point 10 (Finance) of these minutes. Close public section of the meeting and re-open the parish council section. 5. Police Report: in the absence of the police, the Clerk circulated the most recent police report she had received from the police (this report will be in the August/September edition of ‘The Bridge’). Carlton has only two crimes reported for the period 6th May to 1st July 2009 – both of these were for theft. Police have requested that Councillors have some of the ‘5 a day’ forms - these were distributed by the Clerk. The aim is for the forms to be completed by members of the community listing their top three neighbourhood priorities which they would like the police to take up. Cllr Geerts advised that the village ‘Speedwatch’ will commence very shortly – this will involve members of the parish council and several parishioners who have been trained by the police. 6. Matters arsing from the June meeting: B.B.C. School Consultation Paper (2 tier/3 tier) – Councillors discussed the issue of the proposed change in the Education System from 3 tier to 2 tier. A vote was taken of councillors present: 5 were for changing to 2 tier, 1 against. The Council had been asked if they would put their comments and views forward to Bedford Borough Council, but as there was not a unanimous agreement; the Chair decided that the Council would not make a comment. The Clerk reminded councillors that they could still make their comments known as individual parishioners by the 24th July. Bridgend – railings: Council are still awaiting Neil O’Leary’s proposals, he will have these ready for the next meeting on 10th August. Highways: majority of the road surface repairs have now been completed – the uneven repair work on the pavement at Bridgend still needs to be redone. Clerk to talk to Alex Cattanach (there are also other areas still be addressed from he site visit last April. Tree opposite the School entrance needs replacing with a Silver Birch – the Landscaping team from Highways will do this in the Autumn. Warners: confirmation that the area at the entrance to Street Close is included in the grass cutting contract. Dog bin: Council voted to order one dog bin from Glasdon UK Ltd – 1 x Fido 25 Dog Waste bin in green. Cllr Owen suggested that the bin should be located by the old gate by the Children’s playing field on The Causeway. (6.i) resolved bin will be ordered, complete with fixings, by the Clerk. New bench (old bus shelter area): councillors need to agree upon the type of bench to be installed in this area. All to make a decision at the next council meeting. Clerk to contact HOCP for their suppliers. Co-opted Councillors: there have not been any further applicants; one vacancy on the Council still remains.
7. Borough Councillor’s report: Cllr Brandon stated that the Education 2tier/3tier decision would be decided by the whole of the Borough Council, not just the Mayor of Bedford. 8. Highways – repairs: as reported at point (6) in these minutes. 9. Finance report: 4 cheques agreed for payment. Warners (Children’s playing Field x 2) £126.50, Warners (main cut x 2) £414.00, Richard Sinclair (village handyman wages and expenses). Query over time taken to empty bins. Nina Bransgrove-Knight (wages and expenses). An invoice for AGS cars will not be paid until a break down of the usage has been confirmed from the company). Balance in Current a/c = £4,534.07. Balance in deposit a/c = £21,128.98. 10. Planning application: 09/01131/S73 – Rosewayne, 51 The Moor, Carlton – one and two storey side/rear extensions. New conservatory to rear – variation to windows. No objections from the Parish Council to this application. 11. Correspondence: list of correspondence had been circulated to councillors. Refer to appendix (i) for actions taken. 12. School Governor’s report: none. 13. Playing Field report: various play equipment has been painted. Reports of anti-social behaviour on Friday/Saturday nights, ask the PCSO to patrol the area (especially around 8pm). 14. Village Hall report: a new boiler is needed for the Village Hall/School. Borough Council will probably pay for half of the total amount – the village hall/school will be expected to pay the other half. Village hall committee will need to find approximately £3,000. Cllr Tusting will find out the full requirements, and Clerk will look into applying for a Rural Grant for their percentage of the amount. Cllr Brandon also suggested that an application is made to the Mayor of Bedford’s ‘Treasure Chest’ – Cllr Tusting agreed to do this. 15. Village matters: Willow tree, on the playing field near to the old Oak tree, needs cutting back – clerk to contact Highways Landscaping Team. 16. Date of next meeting: Monday 10th August 2009 7.30pm. Cllrs. Tusting and Owen will be absent from this meeting as both will be away.
There being no further matters to discuss, the meeting closed at 10pm.
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