NORTH MYMMS PARISH COUNCIL

 

Minutes of a MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held in the Council Office, Annexe to No 1 Bungalow, Bushwood Close, Welham Green on Wednesday, 26 November 2008 commencing at 8.00 p.m.

 

                 PRESENT:                   Councillors         Mrs J Boulton   -        Chairman

                                                                            

                                                                                    Mrs T Travell

S J Boulton                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                    C Everard

                                                                                    P Hastings

                                                                                    R N Horrocks

                                                                                    K Pieri                                   

                                                                                    W A Storey

                                                                                    V Weeks                                                  

                                                                   

                CLERK:                                                      Mrs J A Schettino

 

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47.       APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs M Race.

 

48.       DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

 

There were no declarations of members interests.

 

49.       MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

 

It was agreed that the Minutes of a Meeting held on 29 October 2008 were a true record of the proceedings and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following amendment:

 

Page 33         41.       Frontages Association should be Frontagers Association

 

50.       MATTERS ARISING

a)  PILLARS, 8 GEORGES WOOD ROAD

Councillor Horrocks said that a planning application had now been submitted for the above and would be discussed at the planning committee meeting following this council meeting.

 

b)  CIVIC SERVICE

 

Councillor Mrs Boulton confirmed that the Civic Service would be held on Sunday 8 February 2008 at St Mary’s Church, North Mymms Park.

 

c)  FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

 

Following a discussion it was agreed to charge 10p per page hard copy, to include the Clerk’s time, for the information to be made available with the Model Publication Scheme and it was unanimously agreed to adopt this scheme as issued.

 

RESOLVED

 

It was resolved that the North Mymms Parish Council would adopt the Model Publication Scheme as issued by the Information Commissioners Office.

     

51.       REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

a) FINANCE

 

Councillor Storey said that at a meeting of the Finance Committee held earlier in the evening, a Schedule of Accounts for payment totalling £15,941.76 had been presented (and was being recommended for approval) split between £8,246.30 which had already been paid with the balance of £7,695.46 now being due for payment.

 

Consideration was given to a Statement of Balances held with the National Westminster Bank plc as at 20 November 2008 showing an income of £6,574.98.

 

Approval was given to the Clerk’s action in arranging the transfer of £20,000 from the Council’s SIBA Account to Current Account with effect from 17 November 2008.

                       

   BUDGET/PRECEPT 2009-2010

 

The Chairman said that, as arranged at the last meeting, he had circulated to all Councillors a Schedule of the Council’s estimated income and expenditure for the next financial year, and based upon earlier discussion with members of the Council and a budget meeting held on 12 November 2008, final figures had been produced for approval by the Finance Committee.

 

Following a lengthy discussion which gave due consideration to the credit recession, it was finally agreed by using the Chairman’s vote that the precept against Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council should be increased by only 1% to £177,250 for 2009-2010 and this was being recommended to full council for approval.

 

It was proposed and unanimously agreed that a vote of thanks be recorded to Councillor Storey for his work and guidance in preparing the budget/precept figures for approval.

Councillor Storey’s proposal that the Report of the Finance Committee be adopted was seconded by Councillor Everard and carried unanimously.  

The originals of the Schedule of Accounts for payment referred to above were signed by Councillor Mrs J Boulton, in her capacity as Chairman of the Council.

 

b)  AMENITIES AND BUILDING DEVELOPMENT

Councillor Everard said that the last Meeting of this Committee had been held on 12 November 2008, the Minutes of which had been circulated to all Councillors and he had nothing further to add.

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Councillor Everard’s proposal that the minutes of the Amenities and Building Development Committee be adopted was seconded by Councillor Mrs T Travell and unanimously agreed.

____________________________________________________________

 

c)  PLANNING

Councillor Horrocks said that a meeting of the Planning Committee had been held on 12 November 2008, the Minutes of which, together with notes of  the decisions reached  and action taken, had been copied to all Councillors.

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Councillor Horrocks’ proposal that the Report of the Planning Committee be adopted was seconded by Councillor Mrs T Travell and carried unanimously.
 

d)  BROOKMANS PARK

i)   Brookmans Park Station Car Park

Councillor S J Boulton reported that since the introduction of charges for parking at the Brookmans Park Station car park he had received complaints regarding the numerous cars parking on both sides of the road in Oaklands Avenue and Westland Drive, reducing the access to these roads to one way and restricting the size of vehicular access so that refuse vehicles were unable to carry out their usual collections.  As this would also prevent access for emergency vehicles it was agreed to write a strong letter to Councillor John Mansfield, Member for Transport at WHBC and copy in the police and the local MP, Grant Shapps.

It was noted that only 5 – 7 vehicles were parking in the station car park which now charged £2.50 per day and it was suggested that the NCP car park should reduce this amount to £1 per day for an initial period to encourage more users.

e)  LITTLE HEATH

It was reported that parking problems outside the Royal Veterinary College were as bad as ever and the police were keeping the situation under review.

It was noted that Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council had recently been invited to the RVC for a general discussion which included plans for parking but that the North Mymms Parish Council had not.  It was felt that although the RVC was a centre of excellence in the parish, if they had plans for expansion, they must work with the Parish Council and Welwyn Hatfield Council to try and alleviate their presently unacceptable parking problems.

f)  WELHAM GREEN

i)     Dellsome Lane

 

Councillor K Pieri said that he had been trying without success to move the ambulance presently parking in front of the shops in Dellsome Lane.  It was suggested that this situation be reported to the police as the user seemed to think that the NHS paid a premium for him to park in these time limited spaces.

 

ii)   Swanland Road

 

Councillor Pieri said that he would be speaking to the Member for Transport at Welwyn Hatfield Council regarding the parking of buses and coaches on the road at the above location.

 

iii)  Whites Corner

 

Councillor W A Storey said that there was still severe flooding on Whites Corner which Highways seemed to think had previously been rectified.

 

g)  REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

 

i)  Parish Charities

 

Councillor Everard said that with the sad demise of W H H Rogers and Hugo Trim the North Mymms Parish Council needed to nominate two new representatives for the above charity.  Following a discussion it was agreed that Councillors S J Boulton and K Pieri would be nominated to represent the Parish Council.

 

h)     PARISH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN

Councillor Horrocks said that a PPP work schedule had been agreed for 2008/2009 but a quotation for the work was still awaited from Sentry Farms.

52.       PARISH PLAN

Councillor Mrs Boulton said that the next meeting of the Steering Group would be held on 12 January 2008 at the Royal Veterinary College.

53.       WGA1 GROUP

Welham Green As One group together with the Police and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council have drafted a Good Neighbourhood Agreement which has been circulated to all Councillors for consideration.

The purpose of the Agreement is to agree mutual rights, responsibilities and expectations for those living or working in the local area and those agencies that provide services within this area.  The WGA1 group aim to work with local residents and businesses to tackle issues that affect the village and those who have a real interest in improving the community.

Following a discussion it was unanimously agreed that the Chairman, Councillor Mrs J Boulton, would sign the undertaking to fully support the community in its plans and activities, assist the community in combating nuisance and anti-social behaviour and maintain good communication with the community.

54.       CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE PREVIOUSLY CIRCULATED TO ALL COUNCILLORS:

1.      HAPTC Newsletter October 2008

2.      Communities & Local Government – Sustainable Communities Act 2007, first invitation to local authorities to submit proposals

3.      Communities & Local Government – second letter regarding Sustainable Communities Act 2007, first invitation to local authorities to submit proposals

4.      NALC Legal Briefing – Governments response to their consultation on regulations and statutory guidance pursuant to Sustainable Communities Act 2007

5.      Herts Highways 17 November 2008 restrictions to A1001 South Way, Hatfield, from 24 November 2008

6.      Clerks and Councils Direct November 2008 – 32 pages

THE FOLLOWING CORRESPONDENCE WAS PLACED ON THE TABLE :

7.      NALC Local Council Review, Vol 30, No. 4 November 2008 – 36 pages

8.      Countryside Voice Autumn 2008 – 52 pages

9.      CPRE Newsletter November 2008 – 12 pages

10. Isabel Hospice Care News October 2008 – 8 pages

11. Herts Building Preservation Trust notice of AGM 27 November 2008 + annual report and accounts 07/08

12. CPRE Stop the Drop – Parish Council Toolkit regarding litter and fly tipping

13. CDA for Herts Newsletter October 2008 – 8 pages

14. SLCC The Clerk, November 2008 – 36 pages

15. CMS News Autumn 2008 – 12 pages

16. WHBC Notice of Holocaust Day 27 January 2009 in Welwyn Garden City

17. WHBC Notice of meeting 10 November 2008, minutes of last meeting and reports of committees Book I and II

 

55.  ANY OTHER BUSINESS

a)  POTTERS BAR PARISH COUNCIL

 

It was noted that Potters Bar had voted against having a parish council by 4,446 to 2,807, a response of 44%.

 

b)  COMMUNITY CHEST

It was agreed to write to the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Councillors for Brookmans Park requesting match funding for the Phase 2 regeneration of the Gobions Open Space play area.

 

 

56. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

A meeting has already been arranged for Wednesday, 7 January 2009 commencing at 8.00 pm, preceded by a meeting of the Finance Committee at 7.15 p.m.

Meeting closed at 8.50 pm