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, 24 June 2009 commencing at 8.00 pm.

 

PRESENT:                   Councillors         V W Weeks   -        Chairman

                                                                

Mrs J Boulton

Mrs M Race

Mrs T Travell          

                                                            S J Boulton                                                                                                                                          

                                                                 C Everard

                                                            P Hastings

                                                            R Horrocks

                                                            K Pieri

                                                            W A Storey

                                                                                                                               

      CLERK:                                          Mrs J A Schettino

_________________________________________________________________

 

 

13.     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

 

There were no apologies for absence.

 

14.     DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

 

Councillors C Everard, R Horrocks and V Weeks declared an interest as committee members of the North Mymms Green Belt Society.

 

15.     MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

 

It was agreed that the Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 27 May 2009 were a true record of the proceedings and signed by the Chairman.

 

16.     MATTERS ARISING

 

a)  BROOKMANS PARK STATION CAR PARK

 

It was agreed that copies of the response from the Managing Director of First Capital Connect should be circulated to all Councillors.

 

b)  METAL STORAGE BOX FOR FOOTBALL NETS

 

The Clerk confirmed that she had tried several times to contact the supplier of the above box regarding its less than perfect condition and Councillor K Pieri agreed to ask WHBC to write to the supplier on behalf of the Parish Council.

 

c)  YOUTH SHELTER

 

The Clerk said she had e-mailed the WHBC Anti-Social Behaviour team regarding moving the above shelter to the village green but had not as yet received a response.

 

Councillor P Hastings said he would follow this up although it was noted that the shelter was being used but not by the original youths who initially agreed on its location.

 

d)  PHASE TWO GOBIONS OPEN SPACE

 

The Clerk said that letters of thanks had been sent to the WHBC Ward Councillors for Welham Green and Little Heath for their awards from the Borough Community Chest towards amenities in the two locations.

 

·         Approximately £1200 for the metal storage container on the playing fields at Welham Green and

·         Approximately £8,000 towards play equipment at Gobions recreation ground which completed the updating of that site.

 

e)   POOLEYS LANE

 

Councillor Pieri said that he had following up on this matter and the shrubs along the footpath had now been cut back and most of the rubbish had been cleared but some rubbish still needed clearing.

 

f)   WELWYN HATFIELD ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COUNCILS

 

It was noted that a meeting of the above scheduled for 8 June 2009 had been cancelled due to lack of interest but that a new date had been set for Tuesday 15 September 2009 at the Welwyn Civic Centre at 8 pm.  Agenda items for this meeting would be requested near the time.

 

g)  ALLOTMENT JUDGING

 

It was resolved that a vote of thanks should be recorded to the Allotment Judging Panel for generously giving up their time on the day.

 

It was agreed that the winner would be presented with the Challenge Cup at an Allotment Presentation to be held on Thursday 29 October 2009 at 8pm in the Burns Pavilion.

 

The winners were as follows marked with points out of 150 :-

 

1st           18B              George Marlborough          133

2nd           9A (ii)           Mark Springate                    94

3rd           13 (ii)            Henry Gilham             86

 

Councillor Horrocks said that he would again produce the certificates free of charge; Councillor Pieri said he would pay for the engraving of the Challenge Cup as in previous years and Councillor Everard had donated the small cups.

 

g)  VISIT TO THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE

 

Councillor V Weeks had produced a short report of the visit and this had been circulated to all Councillors.

 

It was resolved that a letter of thanks should be sent to Messrs Stephen May and Ian Mehrtens for generously giving of their time in conducting the tour, presenting a brief history of the development of the RVC since 1750 and outlining some of its future plans.

 

h)  MEETING WITH LOCAL MP

 

Councillor Mrs Boulton said that she and the Clerk had met with the local MP on 12 June 2009 (a meeting postponed from May) and given him a copy of the minutes of the Annual Meeting which explained the annual rotation of the Chairman and listed the ward Councillors for the parish and its nominated representatives on various organisations, with a view to good governance and working in tandem in future. 

 

17.     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 £14,887.87 including a last minute addition of £10 for a stall at the St Mary’s School fete for the Parish Plan had been presented (and was being recommended for approval) split between £6,148.78 which had already been paid with the balance of £8,739.09 now being due for payment.

 

Consideration had been given to a Statement of Balances held with the National Westminster Bank plc as at 18 June 2009 and approval was being recommended for the Clerk’s action in transferring £15,000 from the Councils Direct Reserve Account to Current Account on 22 June 2009.

 

It was agreed to recommend to council that the gas cooker in the Burns Pavilion should be replaced with one from County Supplies at a cost of £215 Plus VAT and fitting by a GasSafe registered engineer.

 

The Chairman advised that in the light of new football league requirements the cost of hiring the football pitch and facilities at the Burns Pavilion for juniors had been discussed.  It was being recommended to Council that as the same work was involved in preparing for matches, cleaning and use of the utilities in the pavilion, the cost for under 14’s should be the same as the seniors at £800 per season.

 

The Finance Committee had again considered the Councils bank accounts. An HSBC account was no longer a proposition as the offer had ended and having looked at Santander, the current Nat West Direct Reserve account appeared most prudent and as the risk had decreased somewhat it was proposed that the Council remain with them at present.

 

There had also been a query about the use of Section 137 of the LGA 1972 for the payment of grants and donations.  Following discussion, the Finance Committee was recommending that the Council continues its use of this statutory power for its grants and donations until advised otherwise.

 

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 V W Weeks, in his 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 10 June 2009 and minutes had been circulated to all Councillors and he had nothing further to add. 

 

Councillor Everard’s proposal that the report of the Amenities and Building Development Committee be adopted was seconded by Councillor R Horrocks and carried unanimously.

 

c)  PLANNING

Councillor Everard  said that meetings of the Planning Committee had been held on 27 May and 10 June 2009, the Minutes of which, together with notes of  the decisions reached  and action taken, had been copied to all Councillors.

 

Councillor Horrocks proposal that the Report of the Planning Committee be adopted was seconded by Councillor C Everard and carried unanimously.

WELWYN HATFIELD BOROUGH COUNCIL CORE STRATEGY

Councillor Mrs J Boulton had drafted a letter on behalf of the Parish Council in response to the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Core Strategy Consultation to be submitted by the deadline of 30 April 2009.

Following a discussion and minor amendments it was agreed that the letter should be sent and members were reminded that individual responses were also due in by the cut off date shown.

d)  BROOKMANS PARK

Nothing to report

e)  LITTLE HEATH

Nothing to report.

f)  WELHAM GREEN

i)    SIGNS BEING DISPLAYED WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION

It was resolved that Councillor K Pieri would request the removal of the Travis Perkins signs on various posts in Welham Green and the car wash sign in Swanland Road.

Councillor S J Boulton agreed to investigate the massage sign at the Rookery Café.

It was noted that Planning Permission was required to erect signs on public roads.

ii)  Village and Alleyways

Councillor Pieri advised that he would be going walkabout in the village and alleyways with the new Serco representative on Friday 3 July 2009.

iii) Big Lunch Street Party – Sunday 19 July 2009

WHBC had advised that they had received an application for the temporary closure of part of Puttocks Drive, Welham Green, on Sunday 19 July between 12 noon and 6pm for a street party.  This was being held as part of a nationwide initiative, the Big Lunch.

The Parish Council agreed to support this initiative, to wish them well and hope they have a happy and successful day.

 

iii)  Police

 

The Clerk reported that the presence of the Parish Council Office and the problems in its vicinity had now been made known to the police and she had received visits from the local PC and PCSO on more than one occasion.  She had also received a telephone call from Sergeant Smith  from the Neighbourhood Team advising of the new PCSO and the PC who would be in charge while our local PC was absent.

 

The Clerk said she had also contacted the election office with a view to getting the North Mymms Parish Council Office put on the electoral role and subsequently the Hertfordshire Constabulary Database for the reporting of criminal activities in the surrounding area.

 

 

g)  REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

 

i)  North Mymms Recreational & Charitable Trust

 

Councillor Mrs Boulton reported that at a recent meeting of the above the Charity had resolved to distribute over £5,000 to local clubs and schools.

 

Councillor V Weeks offered to establish the identity of the new commissioner for the Brookmans Park Brownies and Guides.

 

ii)  North Mymms Youth & Community Centre

 

Councillor P Hastings advised that the AGM of the above would take place on Wednesday 8 July 2009.

 

iii)  HAPTC

 

Councillors Horrocks and Weeks reported their attendance at the HAPTC AGM on 17 June 2009 but were not impressed with their speaker.

 

18.     PARISH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN

Nothing to report

 

19.     PARISH PLAN

Councillor Mrs Boulton said the last meeting had been held on 22 June 2009 and representatives from WHBC had spoken about Strategic Planning and Sustainable Development.  The Chairman had given a resume of various drop in meetings and another had been arranged for 27 June 2009 at St Mary’s School fete.  They would then look at producing a questionnaire to be sent to all parishioners and appoint a focus group to progress the Parish Plan.

20.     RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY

It was agreed that the document still reflects risks managed by the Parish Council but some changes were needed.  The Policy was referred to the next meeting of the Parish Council for further consideration.

21.     CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE PREVIOUSLY CIRCULATED TO ALL COUNCILLORS:

1.     HAPTC Newsletter May 2009 plus notice and agenda for the AGM

2.     e-mail notification from NALC of the death of Charles Arnold-Baker on 6 June 2009 aged 90.

3.     Notification of next meeting of the Parish Plan Steering Group on 22 June 2009 and agenda.

4.     HCC notification of temporary closing and waiting restrictions in various roads in Colney Heath and Hatfield

5.     Herts Highway Integrated Works Programme May 2009 Members Update.

THE FOLLOWING CORRESPONDENCE WAS PLACED ON THE TABLE :

6.     CPRE Fieldwork June 2009 – 16 pages

7.     WHBC The Boroughs Sustainable corporate and Community Strategy to 2021 – 20 pages, and Action Plan 2009/10 – 45 pages

8.     Local Council Review Summer 2009 – 44 pages

22.  ANY OTHER BUSINESS

a)  ACCESS DRIVEWAY TO GOBIONS CAR PARK

 

The Council had received a response from the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust saying that they would be inspecting the access driveway but that they had received complaints about the state of the car park.

 

The Clerk said that the pot holes in the car park had already been dealt with by the groundsmen but she was investigating getting some more chippings on to the site.

 

b)  WHBC ASSESSMENT OF OPEN SPACE, SPORT AND RECREATION

 

It was agreed that the Parish Council would write to WHBC and ask for the locations of various types of open space in Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Little Heath, the facilities available and the classifications awarded to each one mentioned in the report.

 

23. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting has already been arranged for Wednesday, 29 July 2009 commencing at 8.00 pm, preceded by a meeting of the Finance Committee at 7.15 pm.

NB  Apologies for absence from the next meeting on 29 July 2009 were received from Councillor Mrs T Travell.

Meeting closed at 9.46 pm