Minutes of Parish Meeting - 21st December 2022
Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7.00pm
Councillors Present: Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Irving, Cllr Tilley
In attendance: Clerk
Part A - Public Participation - None
Part B - Parish Council Meeting
1. Apologies - Cllr Riley, Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Moore & Cllr Huddleston
2. County Councillor Report - None received
3. Declarations of interest - Cllr Dickson-Green noted that he was now a director of the Ray Wind Fund Trust and this would be updated on his DOI form shortly. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action)
4. November meeting minutes - agreed with no amendments
5. Matters arising from the minutes
5.1 Allotment signs had been created but were delayed due to postal strikes. The Clerk noted that the quotes for repairs to St Cuthbert’s gravestones were still outstanding.
5.2 Kompan had finally been in touch regarding the outstanding repairs to the zip wire. The Clerk was to liaise with Cllrs Tilley and Wilkinson to identify what repairs were still needed. The playground contractor was also still to be found and path repair information in the Jubilee Field was also to be chased. (Clerk to action)
5.3 External audit results had been advertised on the website as required. The transfer of cash to a separate reserve account to earn extra interest had been undertaken and the new BMS newsletter had been publicised.
5.4 The Clerk had written letters to Redesmouth Court residents regarding tree and shrub maintenance on Percy Terrace, but it was decided to post these after Christmas. (Clerk to action).
5.5 It was noted that NCC Highways had been contacted regarding the cleaning of the streets up to Riverdale, but that this had not yet been done. The steps at Percy Terrace were not adopted, so no work was to be undertaken regarding lighting by NCC. It was agreed to ask NCC to adopt this route as it was a popular one for local residents. (Clerk to action)
5.6 The Clerk had investigated pricing for chapels. The only comparable one found was Hexham, which was larger and better provisioned, but which charged over £200 for a funeral. It was agreed to leave the current charge of £100 in place and advertise this to local funeral directors. (Clerk to action).
5.7 The Clerk had looked into the requirements for local CCTV and these were found to be onerous. Various businesses offered CCTV services, but it was decided that it was not worth looking into this further at this time.
5.8 Planning for the coronation had not yet been started and this was left as a point forward (Cllr Huddleston and Cllr Tilley to action).
5.9 Repairs to the tire walks (Cllr Moore to action) and chapel lighting (Cllr Dickson-Green to action) remained as points forward.
6. Planning applications -
22/02163/FUL - The Vault House - the change of use had been approved by NCC.
22/04648/VARYCO - Foundry Farm Caravan Park - the request to change opening times to year round was supported by Councillors due to the minimal impact this would have on the immediate area as it involved bringing times in line with other nearby parks.
7. Finance
7.1 Income, expenses, bank balance and budget review
Income for the month:
- Interest: £3.39
- Indoor market income: £160.00
- Toilet honesty box: £12.98
- VAT Reclaimed - £3,965.00
- Cemetery Fees - £300.00
Invoices to be paid:
- B Dickson-Green (clerk pay) = £189.74
- CM Commercial (landscaping) = £957.60
- Calico internet (email hosting) = £24.00
- E Taylor (handyman) = £650.00
- Town Hall (rental for Nov) = £70.00
- Town Hall (EV payment) = £376.13
- DD - Wave (water rates) = £123.82
- N Green (cleaning) = £137.80
- M Dickson-Green (expenses) = £1,347.69
- Allotment signs: £58.07
- Chapel brass plaque: £30.95
- Parish Christmas Cards: £31.09
- Wheelchair ramp for chapel: £124.99
- Draught excluder tape for chapel doors: £20.00
- Smart button for Xmas lights: £29.66
- Website hosting renewal: £29.95
- Jackery powerstation for chapel: £981.00
- Chapel floodlights: £41.98
Bank account balances at 15/12/22 were:
- Current account - £30,720.95
- Reserves Account - £11,219.03
- Cemetery Maintenance Fund - £5,738.19
7.2 Precept
It was agreed unanimously that the precept was to be frozen at the current level for the coming year. This represented a real term cut to the precept but it was felt this was appropriate given the cost of living issues local residents were facing and the strong financial position of the parish. (Clerk to action)
7.3 Inflation pay rises
It was agreed to increase contractor and employee pay in line with inflation, as required byrelevant contracts. (Clerk to action).
8. Correspondence
8.1 Karbon Homes had agreed to check the state of repair of the handrails at Hillside as requested.
8.2 Age UK had been in touch to look at venues to distribute activity booklets. This was to be passed onto NT&RCP. (Clerk to action)
8.3 A resident from Redesmouth had been in touch with Cllr Riddle regarding speeding signs at Redesmouth and this was being looked into.
8.4 The Parish had received notification that the s106 agreements for the Mart Field development were still not finalised and a 6 month extension had been granted relating to this.
8.5 A resident had raised concerns over the potential exit of Embracing Care from the village. It was agreed to contact Cllr Riddle to get more information on this as it was an area that NCC was responsible for. (Clerk to action)
8.6 Details had been received regarding the reintroduction of booster jabs at Bellingham Pharmacy.
8.7 The Croft cemetery had been safety inspected again and no issues were noted.
8.8 Concerns had been raised over delays to WeFibre rollout in the village and this was being chased. While it was a commercial matter, the PC agreed to see if information could be obtained from the company. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action)
8.9 Details of the Parish and Town Council Conference were to be circulated to all Councillors. (Clerk to action)
9. Borderlands
Concerns were raised regarding the process of how money was to be allocated in the project, with a proposed one month window for projects to be applied for - even though funding would be provided over up to a ten year period. It was agreed for the PC to support this being raised on the agenda for the next meeting by NT&RCP.
10. Reports
10.1 Fairstead Contract
10.1.1 The contract for the rent of the Fairstead had been received from Northumberland Estates. It was agreed that there were issues regarding the rent review, responsiblity of repairs and tree planting before the contract could be progressed. (Cllr Moore to action)
10.2 Highways issues
10.2.1 Cllr Irving noted damaged railings at Manchester Square and damaged flagstones near the chargers to be reported to NCC. (Clerk to action)
10.3 Christmas lights
10.3.1 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that a number of sets of lights had failed this year, but many were under warranty. This would be investigated before any replacements were to be found. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).
10.4 Village Handyman
10.4.1 It was discussed that, as the current handyman was leaving in July, it would be useful to plan ahead and consider a replacement. It was agreed that a job description was needed and this would be drafted by the Clerk. (Clerk to action).
10.5 Station Yard
10.5.1 Cllr Tilley noted that the salt piles were being run down, raising the possibility of the site being converted to parking for the village. Cllr Dickson-Green noted that there was already discussions between NT&RCP and NCC over signing over the title of some of the land to NTRCP to extend car parking as well as facility development. The PC had received pre-planning notification of this. Some of the land was planned to be converted into housing by NCC.
10.7 Leaf Vacuum
10.7.1 It was decided not to purchase the handyman’s second hand leaf vacuum as it may not be needed by a new handyman. (Clerk to action)
11. Any urgent issues for consideration at the next meeting
Cllr Dickson-Green noted that Cllr Brebner had stepped down from her role on the Parish Council. The Cllrs thanked her for her time on the Parish and wished her the best for the future. The Clerk noted that he had already informed NCC of this and would be publicising the role for election in the near future. If the legal period then passed without 10 requests for an election from the public, the Parish would be able to advertise for a new member via co-option. The Clerk stated that he would keep Cllrs informed of the progress on this matter. (Clerk to action)
12. Date of next meeting January 18th 2023.
13. Restricted business
Discussion of Freemen nominations. No nominations were to be made in 2022.
Meeting was closed at 8.28 pm.
