Minutes of Parish Meeting - 16th March 2022
Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7pm
Councillors Present: Cllr Tilley, Cllr Huddlestone, Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Moore, Cllr Brebner
In attendance: 2 members of the public
Part A - Public Participation
The Clerk was unable to attend due to a family emergency and Cllr Tilley kindly agreed to record the minutes.
Two local residents attended and asked whether the parish council was co-ordinating any efforts to accommodate refugees from the war in Ukraine in Bellingham. She felt that many local people would like to be involved in some way, but did not know how to go about it. It was agreed that a post be published on the parish council website in a bid to establish the level of interest in taking refugees and the matter taken from there. (Clerk to action)
Part B - Parish Council Meeting
1. Apologies - Cllr Riley, Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Irving
2. County Councillor Report - None received.
3. Declarations of interest - Cllr Kirkbride and Cllr Tilley to update DOIs regarding new links to Borderlands committee (Cllr Kirkbride and Cllr Tilley to action).
4. February minutes - agreed with no amendments.
5. Matters arising from the minutes
5.1 It was agreed that the cost of close to £3,000 on a beacon at Jubilee Field for the Platinum Jubilee was no a cost-effective use of public money. Some councillors felt that there would be a risk of embers scorching the grass below and that the money could be better spent on extending or improving the play area. It was agreed that a tree be planted to mark the Platinum Jubilee and a plaque erected close to it.
5.2 Cllr Moore reported that he had secured full funding for the provision of trees for the Jubilee Woodland on the Fairstead, including tree stakes and protective tubes so there would be no cost to the parish council. However the golf club had still not entered into discussion to allow the work to proceed. It was agreed that Cllr Tilley would contact senior club officials to see if matters could be accelerated (Cllr Tilley to action).
5.3 It was noted that in spite of assurances from Northumbrian Water that sewers in the village were adequate he has seen raw sewage issuing from the drain outside the Post Office in wet weather.
6. Planning applications -
6.1 21/03910/FUL - New Convenience Store - the parish council’s concerns regarding lighting, materials and other issues had been forwarded to the County Council.
6.2 22/00429/FUL No objections.
7. Finance
7.1 Income, expenses, bank balance and budget review
Income for the month:
- Interest - £0.05
- Indoor Market income - £230.00
- Toilet Honesty box - £31.56
- Pod-Point (EV Chargers) - £614.84
- Allotment fees - £37.50
Invoices to be paid:
- B Dickson-Green (clerk pay) = £189.74
- CM Commercial (landscaping) = £957.60
E Taylor (handyman) = £395.00- Town Hall (rental for Feb) = £70.00
- Town Hall (Electricity for car chargers) = £157.25
- M Bacon (laying slabs) = £80.00
- DD - Wave (water rates) = £152.54
- N Green (cleaning) = £137.80
- M Dickson-Green: £168.60
- Sticky dots for toilet posters - £6.23
- Overstickers for directories - £10.99
- Market banners - £144.88
- Gate Hook - £6.50
Bank account balances at 10/3/22 were:
- Current account - £31,207.97
- Jubilee Field account - £2,217.12
- Cemetery maintenance fund - £3,710.85
Investment fund available at the end of September was approximately £21,450.
8. Correspondence
This was left in abeyance until the following month.
9. Borderlands
No updates were available as there had been no further Borderlands meetings.
10. Reports
10.1 Bellingham School update - no update was available.
10.2 Wildflower areas - an initial discussion on this raised concerns over the viability of any wildflower areas, with councillors who had tried similar projects arguing that the soil in the area was unsuitable for wild flower growth and believed that the cost of up to £1,500 for labour and seed would ultimately be a waste of money. Concerns were also expressed that a proposed bog garden area was in the wrong area. Councillors were not persuaded that if the project went ahead, new areas of grass, such as verges past Fountain Cottage and near Briar Hill at no extra cost made the proposal acceptable.
11. Any Urgent Business
11.1 Cllr Kirkbride noted that the First and Last Brewery was soon to occupy the long disused ambulance station at Foundry Yard and wondered whether the owners would be prepared to create a one off Bellingham Parish Beer to mark the Platinum Jubilee. This was to be investigated. (Cllr Kirkbride to action).
11.2 Cllr Huddleston queried the appearance of a number of signs around the village advertising the new Tea on the Train venture at Heritage Centre and queried their legality. It was noted that this was not a parish council matter.
12. Date of Next Meeting - Wednesday 20th April
Meeting was closed at 8.40pm
