Minutes of Parish Meeting - 15th June 2022

Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7pm

Councillors Present: Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Huddlestone, Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Moore, Cllr Brebner, Cllr Riley, Cllr Tilley

In attendance: Clerk, 2 members of the public

Part A - Public Participation

A resident attended the meeting to ask the Parish Council to look at the uneven state of the footpath between St Cuthbert’s Church and the Jubilee Field. It was agreed to refer this to Highways and consider putting it as one of the Parish transport priorities if necessary (Clerk to action). The resident also noted that questions had been raised with NCC regarding issues relating to Bellingham Middle School and this was noted.

Part B - Parish Council Meeting

1. Apologies - Cllr Irving

2. County Councillor Report

2.1 Cllr Dickson-Green had been updated by Cllr Riddle regarding proposed lining in the village. The final proposals had reduced the double yellow lines outside the grocers and it was agreed to support this final version (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).

2.2 Cllr Sanderson from NCC attended the meeting in order to discuss key areas of concern that the Parish Council had regarding NCC. The Clerk noted that communication from NCC was often very poor with queries taking a long time or not being received. Cllr Sanderson asked for these to be forwarded to him and he would personally get the issues looked into. The Clerk suggested having one central email address for Parish Councils to email who could manage their various queries and feed back on them would be very useful. Cllr Sanderson said he would look into this idea. (Clerk to action)

2.3 Cllr Dickson-Green noted issues with the planning system which meant that the Parish Council and local residents did not get notified when changes were made on the planning system, meaning that they were not always aware of the need to comment on new amendments to planning proposals. He also highlighted the development near Noble Street being undertaken by Advance Northumberland and pointed out the controversial nature of this and the lack of proper justification given to local residents about key issues. This was of especial concern given Advance’s links to NCC itself. Cllr Sanderson recommended that the Parish arranged a meeting with NCC’s Director of Planning Rob Murfin to discuss these points. (Clerk to action)

2.4 Cllr Kirkbride highlighted concerns over Bellingham Middle School. In particular concerns over the lack of a school catchment area, lack of transport provision and a lack of capital investment, in spite of significant funds being spent on other Northumberland schools of an equivalent size. He mentioned local concerns that NCC was trying to close the school indirectly. Cllr Sanderson stated that he would look into the matter and write back formally within the next couple of weeks.

2.5 Cllr Dickson-Green thanked Cllr Sanderson for attending the meeting.

3. Declarations of interest - None

4. May 2022 minutes - agreed with one amendments

5. Matters arising from the minutes

5.1 The Clerk noted that he had looked into the possibility of a shuttle bus service for residents and collection of goods for recycling, as well as investigation of facilities for residents to get support service access. Investigation suggested that these initiatives may have to be undertaken by local charities and he would raise these at the next NTRCP meeting to discuss this. (Clerk to action)

5.2 Ukraine refugee group had been approached but details for  publication had not yet been received.

5.3 The Clerk had been unable to find a tradesman to undertake the painting of the railings at Briar Hill play area. It was agreed to replace the current open bin with a closed bin to reduce rubbish being blown around the site (Clerk to action). Cllr Dickson-Green noted that a local resident had agreed to keep the site weeded.

5.4 The new wildflower sections had been sown, but there was no further update on this. Concerns were raised over the areas becoming covered in invasive weeds, but it was agreed to monitor this further.

5.5 The Clerk had fed back to NCC regarding the new climate support website.

5.6 The Clerk noted that further investigation had revealed the need for some minor changes to Parish procedures as legally any decisions made by the Parish could not be undertaken without them being detailed on the agenda. The grant awarding policy therefore needed to be amended to inform users that if a grant application was not received 7 days before the relevant meeting, it would have to be considered at the Parish Council meeting the following month to allow residents to attend and support or object to the application. Key areas of correspondence that needed decisions to be made would be included on the Clerk’s notes and these would be published in full on the website in advance of the meetings going forward. The Clerk also noted that ‘Any Other Business’ on the agenda was specifically mentioned as not being allowed and that this could be changed to ‘Any other business to be raised at the next meeting’. Cllr Kirkbride expressed concern that this could delay decision making in some cases. Cllr Dickson-Green stated that it would just require non-urgent matters to be raised in proper time and that the changes would ensure that the Parish Council was meeting its legal requirements and was in line with procedures from other local parishes. It was agreed to proceed with the amendments (Clerk to action). Cllr Kirkbride raised the use of Parish Council email addresses for all Councillors and it was agreed that Councillors would get a separate email address for official use. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).

5.7 NCC had been contacted regarding a query over the installation of a power socket on one of the lamp posts in the village for Christmas lights, but a reply had not been received.

5.8 The Clerk had been in touch with a contractor about resurfacing the paths at Jubilee Field, but was still awaiting a reply.

5.9 Cllr Moore stated he was able to source bat boxes for the Croft Cemetery. (Cllr Moore to action). The sourcing of new trees to replace the tree lost in the storms was to be carried forward. Cllr Moore noted that discussions with the Golf Club regarding the Parish taking over the Fairstead as well as the planting of a new woodland in the area had been successful and final details of the proposals were being awaited. (Cllr Moore to action)

5.10 Cllr Moore reported that he had examined the possibility of limitation of holiday let numbers in the Parish, and that this appeared to be an issue being considered by NCC and as such would be their initiative.

5.11 Cllr Dickson-Green thanked Cllr Huddleston for organising the Platinum Jubilee weekend events and reported that there had been a great deal of positive feedback with several residents asking if some form of annual event could be held going forward. It was agreed to consider this (Cllr Dickson-Green to action). He also thanked Cllr Riley for running the children’s games at the event. Cllr Huddleston noted that more helpers from within the Parish Council as well as local residents would be needed in future to run events and Cllr Kirkbride suggested the possibility of setting up a formal subcommittee for such events in future. Cllr Dickson-Green noted positive feedback from the events at the Messy Church and Bellingham Schools over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

5.12 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that he had fed back regarding the issues with the installation of the new fast chargers in the village centre to NCC and would investigate the Local Power Project Fund further.

5.13 Cllr Kirkbride planned to send through wording for an update to local residents on oil tank security (Cllr Kirkbride to action).

5.14 Cllr Kirkbride also updated councillors on the proposed local beer update. This was still in progress with more specific financial information to be brought to the next meeting (Cllr Kirkbride to action).

6. Finance

6.1 Income, expenses, bank balance and budget review

Income:

Indoor market income: £40.00
Toilet honesty box: £62.78
Grant Income (Ray Wind Farm): £500.00

Cemetery fees: £1,010.00

Invoices to be paid:
B Dickson-Green (clerk pay) = £189.74
B Dickson-Green (expenses) = £30.98
CM Commercial (landscaping) = £957.60
E Taylor (handyman) = TBC
Town Hall (rental for June) = £70.00
Town Hall (insurance) = £1,554.19
DD - Wave (water rates) = £73.18
N Green (cleaning) = £137.80
J Arnupp (Jubilee Event) = £250.00
NBK Leisure (Bouncy castle hire) = £165.00
Ian Proctor Sounds & Lighting (toilets, disco hire) = £864.00
M Dickson-Green (expenses): £374.39
        Birdboxes for cemetery - £40.00
        Directory poster - £26.85
        Bunting - £307.54

Bank account balances as at 9/5/22:

Current account £39,798.13
Jubilee Field Account: £2,217.16
Cemetery Maintenance Fund: £2,600.91

Investment fund available at the end of April was approximately £19,875.

6.2 Agreement of financial statements for year ended 31/3/2022

6.2.1 The Parish’s financial statements and governance statement had been approved by the internal auditor. Copies were circulated to all councillors and these were agreed unanimously.

6.2.2 The Clerk noted that the inspection period where residents could ask to examine the financial statements was about to start and that this would be publicised on the website and local notice board. To aid transparency, he would put up a full list of all transactions for the year.

7. Correspondence

7.1 The Clerk noted he was in the process of getting an insurance quote from a new insurer, Access Insurance and would pass on the quotes as they were received.

7.2 Feedback had been received regarding the Parish’s transport priorities for 2022-23. The requested speed limit on the road through Redesmouth was to be investigated to see if such a limit was needed. The Clerk had noted to Highways that this had already been done last year and the need for a speed restriction established but he had received no further reply. Guy Opperman had received a similar reply. Step free access from Hillside was to be investigated for feasibility and the road resurfacing between the golf club and Fountain Cottage was to proceed as part of a wider programme.

7.3 The Clerk had received further issues of concern regarding the state of the footpaths along the river towards Boat Farm. These had been forwarded to NCC but no reply had been received.

7.4 The Clerk had been copied into emails from a resident to NCC regarding concerns raised over NCC’s funding of Bellingham Middle School. The Clerk noted these could be sent to any Councillors who wished to review them in more detail.

7.5 The Clerk had been in contact with the stonemasons about corrections to the war memorial at the Croft Cemetery. Adding A Dodd had been agreed at a previous meeting, but correction of K Sisterton to M K Sisterson was more complex. It was agreed to ask the stonemasons to add the correct M K Sisterson to the bottom of the list of names and leave the current K Sisterton name intact to cause minimal disruption. (Clerk to action)

7.6 The new defibrillator for the Fire Station had been installed and was now operational. It was agreed to look into sourcing the final defibrillator planned for Station Yard (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).

7.7 Cllr Kirkbride had forwarded information on funding from the Police Commission for activities that would reduce anti-social behaviour such as play areas. The deadline was close so the Clerk was to investigate the possibility of an application. (Clerk to action).

7.8 The Clerk had been contacted by several residents about grass cutting by Karbon Homes not being done. He had contacted Karbon and been told this was due to disruption over the Platinum Jubilee and poor weather. Cllr Wilkinson reported the grass had now been cut, though some areas seemed to have been missed. Cllr Dickson-Green asked for a map of land Karbon maintained and that managed by the parish to ensure there were no gaps in coverage (Clerk to action).

7.9 The village handyman and Cllr Huddleston had both raised concerns over public bins not being emptied on NCC, leaving many bins overflowing. The Clerk had tried to get in touch with NCC and after  two weeks had a reply blaming operational issues and new staff potentially missing some of the bins off. The Clerk offered to check the map of bins NCC had to ensure it was complete, but had received no reply.

8. Borderlands

8.1 Cllr Kirkbride reported that the consultation had achieved a 17% participation rate in the village, which was much higher than most areas surveyed by Borderlands. There had been high response from under 16s. Key requests were for parking, leisure and retail. The Borderlands Committee had changed the vision round to reflect these preferences.

8.2 The next step will be to create a formal place plan, which would be undertaken by NCC with oversight by the Committee, along with a decision on how grants could be applied for. Given the amount of money available, it was likely that the minimum grant amount would be relatively high but this had not yet been finalised.

8.3 It was noted that the Parish could obtain full details of all feedback as this was anonymised so that it could be used to inform its own plans for the coming years (Clerk to action).

8.4 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that eight people had picked the Parish Council as one of the best things about the village in the consultation survey, which validated the work they had put in over the years.

9. Reports

9.1 Cemetery update

9.1.1 Cllr Dickson-Green had finished the painting of the railings at the Croft Cemetery. The chapel painting had also been completed so he was planning to measure up for skirting boards and wood for window sills to bring a cost to the next meeting, as well as for battery powered lighting (Cllr Dickson-Green to action). The contractor was planning on investigating the practicality of sanding the floor and how much this would cost, but it was possible it could be cleaned and sealed instead to reduce costs. One part of the leaded windows had broken, but a local resident had agreed to repair this for around £50 which was agreed.

9.1.2 It was agreed to commence memorial safety checks at St Cuthbert’s church as had been agreed the previous year (Clerk to action).

9.2 Playground honesty box

9.2.1 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that lots of non-residents used the play area at the Jubilee Field and an honesty box could be sourced to raise money for maintenance. Local residents pay for the play area through their precept so this would only be targeted at non-residents. It was agreed to proceed with this. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).

9.3 Highways Priorities 23/24

9.3.1 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that NCC had now requested these. It was agreed to consider this for the next meeting (Action ALL).

9.4 Flower bed under welcome to Bellingham Sign - Redesmouth Road

9.4.1 The Clerk had received a quote for £350 to clear this out and membrane the bed. It was agreed that it would be better to demolish the bed and seed the site with grass to avoid it becoming overgrown in the future. It was agreed that as long as this was no more expensive than the agreed quote it would be proceeded with. (Clerk to action).

9.5 Signs for Jubilee Field

9.5.1 Cllr Huddleston suggested putting signs up asking for people not to park at the gates in the Jubilee Field car park to allow contractors to cut the grass. It was decided that as the contractor had not identified this as a problem it would not be necessary at the current time, but that it would be monitored.

9.5.2 The need for ‘no alcohol’ signs to be put up at the play area was also raised. It was agreed that this would potentially look like anti social behaviour was happening in the play area when this was not the case and would be unlikely to deal with the matter, but this would again be monitored.

10. Planning Applications

10.1 21/03415/FUL Former Auction Mart, Bellingham - new updates

10.1.1 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that there had been some amendments to the planning for the proposed housing at the Mart Field site. The Clerk had undertaken an analysis of these changes and these were discussed. It was agreed that insufficient work had been done to deal with residents’ concerns and so the Parish would continue to object (Clerk to action).

10.2 22/01478/FUL Micro-brewery, shop, shipping containers - Foundry Yard

10.2.1 It was agreed to support this application (Clerk to action).

10.3 22/01758/FUL Garage conversion - Darmel House, Bellingham

10.3.1 Due to planning deadlines, this had been supported by the Parish between the May and June meetings.

10.4 22/01667/FUL Garage conversion - 3 Callisters Court

10.4.1 Due to planning deadlines, this had been supported by the Parish between the May and June meetings.

11. Date of next meeting

Wednesday 20th July

Meeting was closed at 8.47pm