Minutes of Parish Meeting - 20th April 2022
Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7pm
Councillors Present: Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Riley, Cllr Huddlestone, Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Moore, Cllr Brebner, Cllr Irving
In attendance: Clerk, 2 members of the public
Part A - Public Participation
Cllr Dickson-Green thanked Cllr Tilley and Wilkinson for helping to run the March meeting.
A resident attended the meeting to ask for a cycle rack to be placed somewhere in the village centre. It was agreed to look into this further (Clerk to action).
Another resident raised some ideas for environmental improvements to the village - in particular changes to make the cemeteries more appealing for wildlife as well as setting up events to promote environmental issues. She agreed to collate the information on this and send it to the Clerk so it could be circulated for discussion at the next meeting. (Clerk to action)
Part B - Parish Council Meeting
1. Apologies - Cllr Moore, Cllr Tilley
2. County Councillor Report - Cllr Riddle had informed the parish that the parking bay lining in the village was being delayed due to employees off with COVID. He confirmed that new chargers were in the process of being installed.
3. Declarations of interest - Cllr Kirkbride to update his DOI and Clerk to forward him the relevant form. (Cllr Kirkbride and Clerk to action).
4. March minutes - agreed with one amendment regarding updates relating to Bellingham Schools.
5. Matters arising from the minutes
5.1 The Clerk asked for confirmation regarding social media posting in relation to Ukraine refugee programmes. It was agreed that this would relate to sharing information about local schemes for residents who were interested. (Clerk to action)
5.2 The Clerk confirmed that arrow signs had now been installed at Briar Hill as per resident requests.
5.3 Councillors agreed that the payment for the storm damage at Bellingham Cemetery was not to be covered through insurance due to concerns over the impact on future premiums. It was agreed to accept a quote for £265 to correct omissions and errors on the war memorial at the Croft cemetery (Clerk to action).
5.4 The Clerk had investigated the process for the adoption of an unclassified road opposite St Cuthbert’s church and explained this to Councillors. It was agreed this information would be summarised and passed to Cllr Irving to be given to relevant residents. (Clerk to action)
5.5 Matter arising for Cllr Tilley were delayed until the May meeting (Cllr Tilley to action).
5.6 Cllr Kirkbride had approached the new brewery and they were keen to offer a Bellingham Parish branded beer for the Jubilee Celebrations. The Clerk noted that it may not be possible if the substance of the transaction was on a commercial basis. It was agreed to fully cost and investigate the proposal (Cllr Kirkbride to action).
5.7 Cllr Huddleston gave an update regarding the Jubilee celebrations. All relevant activities had been planned and booked. Bunting and flags had been ordered. The children’s afternoon games were being organised by Cllr Riley. The Clerk noted that a risk assessment would need to be undertaken and a list of activities provided to the Clerk as soon as possible for insurance purposes. (Cllr Riley and Cllr Huddleston to action).
6. Planning applications -
6.1 22/01024/COU Proposed change of use of existing residential flat to form commercial office/studio space - this was supported by Councillors.
7. Finance
7.1 Income, expenses, bank balance and budget review
Income for the month:
- Interest - £0.05
- Indoor Market income - £190.00
- Toilet Honesty box - £38.44
- Precept - £17.998.50
- Allotment fees - £50.00
- Cemetery Income - £160.00
- Playground Committee Donation - £112.29
Invoices to be paid:
- B Dickson-Green (clerk pay) = £189.74
- CM Commercial (landscaping) = £957.60
- E Taylor (handyman) = TBC
- Town Hall (rental for Mar) = £70.00
- Town Hall (Electricity for car chargers) = £53.21
- Adam Peart (relaying matting at Jubilee Field) = £2,496
- Redeswood Farm (removal of tree at cemetery) = £1,140
- DD - Wave (water rates) = £19.00
- N Green (cleaning) = £137.80
- TyneRede (payroll for the year) = £252.00
- NALC subscriptions = £236.33
- M Dickson-Green: £205.55
- Arrow signs for Bridgeford View - £65.55
- Additional paint for chapel - £140.00
Bank account balances at 14/4/22 were:
- Current account - £47,253.04
- Jubilee Field account - £2,217.14
- Cemetery maintenance fund - £3,710.88
​Investment fund available at the end of September was approximately £19,000
7.2 Grant Request
An application for £600 from Bellingham in Bloom was approved.
7.3 2021-22 Account summary
This was presented to Councillors. The Clerk noted that the books would be passed to the internal auditor shortly (Clerk to action).
8. Correspondence
8.1 A resident has emailed asking if Borderlands could halt the proposed building on the Mart Field until if it could be seen if a more appropriate development was possible. The Clerk had replied that Borderlands did not the power to do so.
8.2 An insurance company had asked the Parish to advertise its guidance for managing flood risks, but the Clerk noted that this linked to insurer advertising, so Councillors agreed this was not appropriate.
8.3 The Clerk had submitted a grant request for NCC for part funding of the Jubilee Celebrations and was chasing to see if this had been accepted (Clerk to action).
8.4 A resident had been in touch to ask for a bike rack to be placed in the village centre.
8.5 A resident had been in touch regarding the Discharge of Conditions for the new development on land near Briar Hill. They had expressed concerns that key safety concerns raised by the Road Safety Audit were being disregarded. It was agreed to contact NCC and raise the Parish Council’s concerns over this matter (Clerk to action).
8.6 The poor state of sheds near St Oswalds Court had been raised by a resident and it was agreed to raise this with Karbon Homes (Clerk to action).
8.7 A market trader had expressed thanks for getting a free stall at the monthly market from the Parish to raise funds for Ukraine. This had raised £194.60.
8.8 TyneRede was looking to raise money for a local cause via a golf tournament and queried whether this could be a bike rack or defibrillator. It was noted that there were a number of defibrillators in the village or in the process of being installed, so the bike rack funding could link to work already being investigated by the Clerk.
8.9 The Clerk noted that the CWGC sign was now up in the Croft Cemetery and details had been sent to the CWGC.
8.10 A visitor to Hareshaw Linn caravan park had requested information on step free access to the village centre. This was on the list of priorities sent to NCC last year but no further information had been heard about this. It was agreed to investigate when the priorities would be considered by NCC (Clerk to action).
8.11 PKF Littlejohn had sent information about the external audit for 2021-22 (Clerk to action).
8.12 NCC had agreed to fund a new metal ‘welcome to Bellingham’ sign that one of their contractors had damaged last year. This was to be ordered (Cllr Dickson-Green to action). NCC had also sent information on the formal acceptance of the Northumberland Plan.
8.13 A resident had raised concerns about the poor state of the footpath along the river near the Boat Road. This had been forwarded onto NCC for investigation.
8.14 A Tarset resident had been in touch to explain the formation of a new support group for people looking to help Ukrainian refugees in the area. It was agreed to publicise this (Clerk to action).
8.15 NCC had confirmed that they had written to the new owners of the old Barclays Bank building to inform them of the need of planning permission for the change of use of the building.
8.16 The Heritage Centre had been in touch to complain that their upcoming vintage car event had not been publicised and that not all of the village maps had been updated for the branding of their new cafe. The Clerk noted that they had not sent details of the event through but that if they did, the parish would happily advertise it. It was noted by Cllr Dickson-Green that a couple of the maps needed reprinting anyway due to other changes and it was agreed to proceed with this (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).
8.17 A resident had been in touch asking how ideas for projects would be fed into Borderlands - the Clerk had replied with a link to the Borderlands website and noted that feedback would be requested from locals shortly.
8.18 RoSPA had contact the parish to remind them that playground inspections were booked in for May/June. Cllr Riley noted that there were no identified issues from her regular playground checks. Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the railings at Briar Hill playground were still in a poor state of decor and it was agreed to get quotes to have this painting work done (Clerk to action).
8.19 NCC had replied regarding the installation of power points for Bellingham’s Christmas lights. Some of the selected lights were not suitable so this needed further consideration (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).
8.20 The Police had also been in touch to ask the parish to publicise a new policing app and it was agreed to do this (Clerk to action).
9. Borderlands
Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the next stage of the process was for Borderlands to get feedback from local residents and organisations about where money was most needed for investment. This would be via a questionnaire which would be circulated shortly. This needed to be heavily advertised by the Parish and Councillors.
10. Reports
10.1 Adult social care concern - Cllr Kirkbride noted that concerns had been raised over the withdrawal of Embracing Care from the village and the impact this could have on vulnerable residents. Cllr Dickson-Green noted that Embracing Care had now confirmed that they would not be pulling out of the village, but it was agreed to monitor the situation.
10.2 Bellingham School update - Cllr Kirkbride stated that the head teacher of Bellingham Middle School was standing down and the school would be looking for an interim head teacher due to limited time available to find a replacement. He noted this was a big loss for the school but the priority was to maintain the level of education for students.
10.3 Police update - Cllr Kirkbride stated that due to rising fuel costs, the police were seeing an increase in fuel and oil thefts, though there had been no rise in this in the Bellingham area to date. It was agreed to remind residents to ensure oil tanks are locked, and that their security lighting/CCTV if present is in working order (Clerk to action).
10.4 Wildflower verges - Cllr Dickson-Green noted that a number of members of the public had asked for the parish to consider the creation of wildflower areas and that this would help the parish to meet its biodiversity responsibilities. Councillors felt that the idea needed testing before scaling to any size to ensure that the areas in question were suitable for wildflowers. As such it was agreed to proceed with two test sections with a budget of £350 to see if it was feasible to extend these in future years (Clerk to action).
10.5 Cemetery Update - Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the restoration work in the chapel was nearing completion and that Darren Bland had done an excellent job on the walls and doors. Once he had completed, it was agreed to publicise the before and after pictures. There would be the possibility of renting it out for civil funerals but it was agreed to investigate if battery powered lighting would be suitable for the chapel for winter use as there is currently no electricity supply to the building.
The fallen tree in the last storms was in the process of being removed. It was agreed to replace this with two new cherry trees and that this would be discussed with Cllr Moore to find suitable sources and trees (Cllr Dickson-Green and Cllr Moore to action).
Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the cemetery railings had almost been completed along with some brashing of the trees along the front of the cemetery. He noted that managing the remaining trees in the cemetery would probably now need to wait for winter again.
It was agreed to source four bird boxes from a local supplier and install these in the cemetery to improve wildlife habitats (Clerk to action).
The Clerk noted that the CofE section in the cemetery was almost full (with many of the older graves being unmarked). Investigation had suggested that it was not possible to re-use burial plots, even after 100 years. As such, discussions with the CofE and Catholic ministers would be useful to see if this would cause any issues (Clerk to action).
10.6 Car chargers - Cllr Dickson-Green noted that all payments from PodPoint were now up to date and both parish chargers were now working. Electricity prices had risen, so the price charged to users would also have to rise, but it was agreed to continue charging per hour.
Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the next £360 three-year fee to PodPoint for the chargers would be due in January. Discussion with NCC had suggested that they would be willing to take over the charging sites on the back of the Town Hall and replace the current parish chargers with their own equipment. He suggested this would continue the service while reducing the cost to the parish. After discussion it was agreed to investigate this with NCC further, while also looking at whether the existing parish chargers could be redeployed elsewhere in the village to maximise the number of chargers available for residents (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).
11. Any Urgent Business
11.1 Cllr Wilkinson queried when the Town Hall would be receiving its new WiFi. Cllr Dickson-Green hoped to the hardware installed shortly, but it would not be turned on until WeFibre had its new backhaul installed, which would hopefully not be too much longer.
11.2 Cllr Irving noted that the defibrillator on the Town Hall had been out for use five times in the last month, proving the need for the units. It was agreed to ensure the defibrillators were clearly marked on the new parish maps (Cllr Dickson-Green to action). Cllr Kirkbride planned to approach the school and ask them if they could make their defibrillator accessible to the public (Cllr Kirkbride to action).
11.3 Cllr Huddleston noted the number of signs at Catholic Corner, pointing out the poor state of repair of some of them and the potential impact on the appearance of the village, as well as concerns over the safety of road users being distracted on a sharp corner. The signs did not appear to have planning permission, so it was decided to refer the matter to NCC via Highways and Planning departments (Clerk to action).
12. Date of next meeting
Wednesday 18th May. This is to start earlier at 6.30pm to allow for the Annual Parish Meeting and the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council.
Meeting was closed at 9.03pm
