Extraordinary Meeting Minutes.

 Thursday 6th June 2024, 7pm
 - Bellingham Town Hall Meeting Room

Present: Cllr E Wilkinson (Chair), Cllr B Tilley (Vice Chair), Cllr A Richardson, Cllr Ant Kirkbride, Cllr Joyce Knudsen, Cllr Peter Armstrong, Cllr Tim Moore, Cllr David Turner.
Clerk: Chris Woodcock.
County Councillor John Riddle.
Members of the public: One. 

 Apologies for Absence: Cllr K Irving.

Road Closure plans and updates: a response has been received from Karbon and Esh that the planned six week closure can be reduced to one week. They have asked the clerk for feedback about important community dates to avoid.  Feedback was firmly given that this was still felt to be unacceptable, and that other avenues should be explored first. Currently, C.Cllr Riddle and the team at NCC responsible for approving the closure are holding out for better investigation of other options.
Cllr Knudsen queried if a Road Safety Audit should have been done before the planning application for the mart site was approved, as it seems important protocol may have been broken. In response C. Cllr Riddle read aloud an email from the planing department at NCC which states an RSA is not necessary until the commencement of the development works (i.e. for the permanent aspects of the work).
Alternatives production methods which may avoid the road closure were discussed and several people present agreed to attend a site meeting with Esh on Thurday 13th.
It was hoped a civil engineer from NCC could join the group in order to offer a more independent perspective.

Community Litter Pick date: it was decided to organise this for Saturday the 29th of June, to meet at 10am in the Heritage Centre car park. Clerk to organise supplies with NCC.

Planning Committee meeting - Tues 11th June: the parish council is invited to attend the meeting which will decide if the application from Advance Northumberland for the area above Briar Hill will be granted planning permission. The county councillors will hear the report from the planning department, statements for an against by specific groups cast their and vote.  The planning department at NCC suggest that the plans are approved. Bellingham ward C.Cllr Riddle has been advised to absent himself from voting, given he previously benefitted from farming the land in question and also previously acted as an unpaid executor of Advance Northumberland.
It is felt the flood risk has not been properly explored (the flood report does not include the event which damaged the school) so it was agreed that representatives from BPC should attend and speak against the development. Cllrs Knudsen and Kirkbride volunteered, it was decided they would circulate a statement to the other councillors for approval. 

Restricted Business:

Allotment update: a discussion was held about the procedure for allocating allotments  and the parish council’s internal procedures. There is soon to be a vacant plot.

Potential procedural escalation: dissatisfaction surrounding the consultation of Bellingham residents and the parish council on recent planning matters was discussed. While the Councillors were divided over how far to pursue this, it was agreed to informally consult a Solicitor for advice and otherwise seek information about whether the discrepancies noticed in procedure and the lack of attention paid to local needs would warrant further action. It is hoped if action were taken by BPC it would strengthen the voice of locals for the future. As yet, no commitment has been made by the parish council to outlay money on this matter.
Advice from Northumberland Association of Local Councils was to avoid legal action given its costly and divisive nature and instead to create a neighbourhood plan.  Currently investment is being offered for this which is quite a large undertaking and would require the commitment of one or more councillors. The aim of such a plan is to outline an identity for the village and make known the direction it is hoped future developments would follow. Among the Cllrs there was some interest in this idea while others felt it to be futile. 

Reminder of next meeting: June 19th, 7pm 

Meeting closed: 8.45 pm