Draft Minutes of Parish Meeting - 21st June 2023
Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7.00pm
Councillors Present: Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Tilley, Cllr Moore, Cllr Richards, Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Irving.
In attendance: Clerk, 3 members of the public
Part A - Public Participation
A local resident raised concerns over the flooding of the school and how it could be avoided in future. It was agreed to raise kerbs and drainage with NCC as part of the transport priorities. (Clerk to action)
The resident also raised concerns over potholes in the roads and the poor surface state of Manchester Square. These were noted as issues for NCC. The resident also noted that the PC meeting dates online did not have the times beside them. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action)
Part B - Parish Council Meeting
1. Apologies - None
2. County Councillor Report - None received
3. Declarations of interest - No new updates
4. June meeting minutes - Agreed with no amendments
5. Matters arising from the minutes
5.1 The Clerk had met with representatives from NCC - they would be able to pollard trees in the village going forward, but were confirming final details. Verge cutting would be undertaken if requested, but only once per annum, which was not sufficient. NCC also suggested that the PC not cut the grass as a footpath towards Fairshaw Crescent due to possible liability if residents injured themselves on the uneven surface. NCC stated that they would undertake more litter bin collections but would need some time to decide how to schedule this.
It was noted that the current village maintenance contractor was leaving at the end of July and as NCC would not do additional litter collections, the playground contractor was to be contacted to discuss options. (Cllr Moore to action).
The Clerk also noted that NCC had fixed the broken railings at Manchester Square and has asked NCC to look at the state of the footpath towards Riverdale. This was in a poor state, but did not meet the conditions for NCC to resurface. It was noted that the PC could ask for the footpath to be placed into repair and this was to be attempted (Cllr Dickson-Green to action).
5.2 An update to the grant policy had been investigated by the Clerk and was not required.
5.3 The Clerk noted that the official notice period for an election for the vacant positions on the PC had expired and co-option could now begin. It was agreed to advertise for co-option with a closing date of the end of August for applications. (Clerk to action)
5.4 Drop kerbs had been requested by the PC and the Clerk needed to confirm locations before replying to NCC regarding this. (Clerk to action)
5.5 The Clerk had circulated possible combinations of playground equipment. Councillors selected the Wheelchair Carousel and the WeHopper. Final prices were to be ascertained with Kompan for these two items installed. (Clerk to action)
5.6 Councillors discussed transport priorities and agreed to ask for kerbs and drains to be installed outside the schools, resurfacing of Manchester Square and improvements to the path to Riverdale. (Clerk to action)
5.7 Cllr Kirkbride noted that further queries at the school had suggested little interest in a half pipe and it was agreed not to pursue this.
6. Planning applications
6.1 23/02110/FUL - Garden Room at Broomsticks, Redesmouth Road - this application was supported by the Parish Council.
7. Finance
7.1 Income, expenses and bank balance
Income for the month:
- Interest: £10.79
- Honesty Box Income: £29.44
- Cllr. B Tilley (sale of Coronation mugs) = £115.00
- Allotment fees - £25.00
- Funeral Fees - £1,150.00
Invoices to be paid:
- B Dickson-Green (clerk pay) = £212.51
- CM Commercial (landscaping) = £957.60
- E Taylor (handyman) = £566.00
- Town Hall (rental for Apr) = £70.00
- DD - Wave (water rates) = £100.74
- N Green (cleaning) = £154.34
- Mr Merlin (Children’t Coronation party) = £175.00
- M Dickson-Green (expenses) = £621.67
- Coronation party sundries - £153.67
- Allotment skip hire - £468.00
- C Holbrow (Village maintenance) = £277.32
- Bellingham Town Hall = £1,674.21
It was agreed for the Town Hall to ensure it had shopped around for insurance before submitting its request for funding next year.
Bank account balances at 16/06/23 were:
- Current account - £31,723.64
- Reserves Account - £11,255.51
- Cemetery Maintenance Fund - £6,830.87
7.2 Year end financial statement analysis
Full year financial statement summaries were discussed and agreed, showing a small surplus of £881.60 in the last financial year.
8. Correspondence
8.1 A local resident had raised a complaint with NCC regarding a lack of investment in services and infrastructure in Bellingham. NCC had replied with an email inaccurately stating the PC precept was around £750,000 each year, which the Clerk had corrected.
8.2 A number of residents had raised concern of damage to the play area, but this had been largely resolved. The maintenance contractor had stated that the number of bolts being removed from the play equipment was rising and the replacement bolts were expensive. It was suggested that the covers were fixed with superglue to prevent removal. (Cllr Moore to action)
8.3 Concerns had been raised regarding the lack of residents parking - in particular in Manchester Square. These had been referred to Cllr Riddle. It was agreed to chase Cllr Riddle once more about the proposed new car park at Foundry Yard. (Clerk to action)
8.4 The Clerk noted that a new Community and Business Forum was being run on the 12th of July. While this clashed with the PC meeting, it had been requested that any community interest points forwarded to the PC for review.
8.5 RoSPA had undertaken annual safety checks on the play grounds and copies of the report were to be forwarded to the village maintenance contractor for review. (Cllr Moore to action)
8.6 The Environment Agency wished to send representatives to discuss flood action plans to the next meeting of the Parish Council.
8.7 It was agreed, since further meetings between NCC and Bellingham School governors had not resolved key areas of concern, to ask Cllr Sanderson to attend a future meeting to discuss the issues faced by the school and the wider area. (Clerk to action).
9. Borderlands - No updates have been received.
10. Reports
10.1 New Loading Signage
10.1.1 Cllr Irving noted that the new loading sign outside the fruit shop was badly positioned and made it hard for users of the footpath. Highways was to be asked to consider relocation of this sign. (Clerk to action).
10.2 Highways Issues
10.2.1 Cllr Richards noted that NCC had left unused barriers at the end of Cairn’s Road which needed removing. (Clerk to action) It was also noted that in spite of the Station Yard depot being closed, the grit pile was being moved around frequently.
10.3 Public toilets
10.3.1 It was noted that the discharging water into the drain adjacent to the public toilets was not a leak from the toilets themselves. One of the toilets was faulty and was being repaired. It was also noted that there had been vandalism in the gent’s toilets and consideration to renovations was needed. It was noted that any antisocial behaviour noted going forward would be reported to the police.
11. Any urgent issues for consideration at the next meeting
11.1 Councillors had an initial discussion with the candidate to replace the existing Clerk.
11.2 It was noted that Karbon Homes had not cut the grass at the bottom section of Westlands, making it difficult for drivers to check for traffic. It was agreed to raise this with Karbon. (Clerk to action)
11.3 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that it was increasingly difficult to get traders for the market (especially food traders) due to a lack of footfall. It was agreed to continue to run the market but on a quarterly basis.
12. Date of next meeting July 19th 2023.
Meeting was closed at 8.25pm
