Minutes of the Meeting of Denby Dale Parish Council held on Tuesday 7 July 2009 in the Civic Chamber, Council Offices, Skelmanthorpe
Members Present: Cllrs N Wilson (Chair), R Allen, R Brook, P Calpin, G Horton, M Mills, C Rimmer, S Simpson, A Stimson, G Turner, K Waites, and S Wild
In attendance: Hazel Chowcat (Clerk to the Council)
1239 Open Session
No members of the public raised any matters.
1240 Police Report
PCSOs Sharon Mellor attended the meeting and presented a report of policing issues in the parish. There had been a total of 9 crimes (5 damage to motor vehicles which all involved items left on display in the vehicle, 1 burglary of a shed, 1 theft of a motor vehicle and 1 burglary of a dwelling). It was RESOLVED that PCSO Mellor be thanked for her report.
1241 Apologies for Absence
Reasons for absence from the meeting were submitted from Cllrs M Barlow, J A Barlow, E Shaw, T Sigsworth and A Tribe. It was RESOLVED that reasons for absence submitted by all the above Councillors be accepted as valid reasons.
1242 Declaration of Councillors’ Interests
No declarations of interest were made.
1243 Chair’s Opening Remarks
The Chair welcomed members to the meeting.
1244 Minutes of Council Meeting
It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 June 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
1245 Minutes of the Finance & General Purposes Committee
It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting held on 16 June be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Vice Chair of the Committee
1246 Minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee
It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 23 June 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Vice-Chair of the Committee.
1247 Skelmanthorpe War Memorial
The Clerk reported that she had contacted the British Legion and confirmed that the new names on the War Memorial would be commemorated at the Remembrance Day ceremony in November. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1248 Sustainable Communities Act
The Clerk reported that she and Cllr Tribe had met with Nick Howe of Kirklees Council to discuss the council’s proposals under the SCA. Kirklees Council’s response to each proposal was:
1. a) Introduction of enhanced small business rate relief – Kirklees can already do this.
b) Requirement for planning permission before a pub can be converted to another use and c) Lessees of pubs should be allowed to source at least one beer directly from a local brewer – Mr Howe to check.
2. Provision of low cost housing by non-profit making Community Land Trusts – powers already exist.
3. a) Levy non-domestic rates on car parking spaces provided by supermarkets – Government cannot do this.
b) Allow discounts if supermarkets source a percentage of goods for sale locally – Not permitted.
It was RESOLVED that the issue be discussed again in September.
1249 Kirklees Admissions Policy
The Clerk submitted a reply from Kirklees Council to the request for a review of the school admissions policy in relation to rural areas to involve a reassessment of the validity of using the straight line measurement without taking account of the availability and accessibility of public transport. The letter confirmed Kirklees Council’s view that its admissions policy meets the requirement of the School Admissions Code that all admission arrangements be clear and objective and that the use of walking routes or public transport routes would introduce an element of subjectivity. In addition, the letter confirmed that if parents were not happy with the allocated school they could appeal. Members did not agree that the use of public transport routes would be subjective and felt that the policy did not take adequate account of the particular transport problems faced by people in rural areas and given that parents were allowed to appeal and their grounds for appeal might conceivably be based on the inadequacy of public transport, then much parental anxiety could be saved by enabling the admissions policy to be more flexible in the first place. It was RESOLVED that the views of the council be conveyed to Kirklees Council.
1250 Role of the Chair
The Clerk submitted a paper outlining options relating to the proposal that the role of the chair be split into the ceremonial function and the formal role of chairing the council. She recommended that a new standing order be adopted to specify the respective roles of the Chair and Vice Chair and the procedure for ensuring that where the Chair was unable to carry out any ceremonial or other function, arrangements be made for the Vice Chair to substitute. She also made recommendations about the procedure for managing the Chair’s Allowance. It was RESOLVED that the recommendations contained in the paper be adopted, namely that the Council discuss the possibility of adopting a new standing order and arrangements for managing the Chair’s Allowance at the September meeting.
1251 Local Development Framework
The Clerk submitted a copy of a Kirklees Council press release announcing that the Council would not be making a decision on the LDF until early next year. Members expressed concern that the Parish Council had not been advised directly of this development and it was RESOLVED that a letter be sent to Kirklees Council expressing this view.
1252 Community Governance Review
The Clerk submitted the report of the second phase of the Community Governance Review which was considered by the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee on 30 June 2009. The report recommended that Denby Dale Parish Council should remain unchanged, but the report also contained a number of recommendations affecting all parish and town councils and members expressed concern about Recommendation 3: Review the formal relationship between the parish councils and Kirklees Area Committees in the context of work to develop more effective relationships at an operation level (including the issue of cooption of parish council members onto Kirklees Area Committees and vice versa). Members felt that behind this recommendation was a misunderstanding about the way parish councils function, because it is not possible to co-opt members to represent specific groups or organisations. Cllr Wilson reported that he had been contacted by Philip Hume of Kirklees Council to discuss with him and Cllr John Cook, the relationship between the Parish Council and the Denby Dale Area Committee and that he would raise this matter during the meeting. It was RESOLVED that this course of action be approved.
1253 Newsletter No. 20
The Clerk submitted a draft version of the latest newsletter and subject to a few minor changes, it was RESOLVED that the draft be approved for printing and distribution.
1254 Distribution of Next Newsletter
Members discussed the recommendation from the Finance and General Purposes Committee (Min. 1226) that the Royal Mail be used to distribute the newsletter in future at a minimum cost of £500, bring the total cost of each newsletter to £830, or £3320 per annum for four issues. It was RESOLVED that the recommendation be approved.
1255 Redesign of Newsletter
Members discussed the recommendation from the Finance and General Purposes Committee that the newsletter be redesigned possibly with a new logo and expanded into a four page newsletter to be launched at the beginning of 2010. It was RESOLVED that the newsletter remain unchanged for the moment, but that the Clerk should investigate the likely costs of a redesign and report to the November meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee for further consideration.
1256 Distribution of Newsletter No. 19
The Clerk submitted a response from DBS concerning the distribution of the previous newsletter and it was RESOLVED that the correspondence be noted.
1257 Cost of Running the Denby Dale Area Committee
The Clerk submitted correspondence from Kirklees Council confirming that running costs, including officer time to support the committee are approximately £15,000 per annum, but that it is not practical to quantify the cost of other Kirklees Council officers’ time when attending the meetings, since occasional attendance by council officers at these meetings is intrinsic to the way the Council does business. It was RESOLVED that the correspondence be noted.
1258 Denby Dale Area Committee Meeting
Councillors gave a verbal report on the meeting held on 2 July in Emley. The meeting had been well attended and issues discussed included the need for railings around the memorial gardens; speeding in Emley, and a possible rat infestation in Emley. In addition there had been a presentation of tram trains and an announcement that the footpath from Busker Lane to Scissett Middle School was to go ahead funded jointly by the Area Committee and the Kirklees Council Safe Routes to Schools programme. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1259 Digitization of Parish Archives
The Clerk reported that she had been contacted by EPIP to establish whether the Parish Council wished to apply for funding for the digitization of its archives. The deadline for receipt of an expression of interest predated the Council’s meeting, and following discussion with West Yorkshire Archives who hold the Council’s archives, it was felt that this would be a positive step for those interested in local research and a provisional expression of interest was submitted to EPIP. It was RESOLVED that the council approve this course of action.
1260 Denby Dale/Kirkburton LIG
Cllr Brook reported that a full account of LIG activities was contained in the minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee meeting held on 16 June and the next meeting would be held later that week. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1261 Working Party on Public Transport
The Clerk submitted a letter from Metro confirming that Kirklees Council had decided not to fund the 95 service after 18 July 2009 due to low patronage, but that a twice weekly market service was to be investigated and the Council would be updated in due course. Cllr Waites confirmed that if this Wednesday and Saturday service went ahead, it would run to Barnsley via Scissett, Clayton West, Denby Dale and Cawthorne but that it would not run as far as Barnsley Hospital. It was RESOLVED that the correspondence and the report be noted.
1262 Parish Plan Sub Group
Cllr Allen reported that a full report would be presented to the September council meeting. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1263 Pennine Branch of the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations Meeting
Cllrs Horton and Shaw submitted a report of the YLCA meeting held at Ripponden on 10 June where the main issues discussed were Leeds/Bradford Airport, local branch organisation, a new Neighbourhood Urban Council in Bradford; arrangements for Armed Forces Day, and the Power of Well Being. It was RESOLVED that Cllrs Horton and Shaw be thanked for their report.
1264 YLCA Joint Annual Meeting
The Clerk submitted the resolutions to be debated at the forthcoming YLCA Joint Annual Meeting on 18 July 2009 and it was RESOLVED that the Council agree with resolutions 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and that delegates vote in line with council policy on resolutions 2 and 3.
1265 Delegation to YLCA Joint Annual Meeting
The Clerk reported that when she had issued the agenda, Cllr Shaw had indicated that he would not be able to attend but due to a change in circumstances he was now able to attend, so a substitute was not required. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1266 Procedures for Placing Items on the Agenda
The Clerk submitted a paper with recommendations for clarifying the procedures which members should adopt when requesting items to be placed on the agenda. It was RESOLVED that Recommendation 1 be approved, namely,
That members clearly specify and clarify with the Clerk the exact nature of the item they wish to have placed on the agenda and how they wish the council to deal with the item.
It was FURTHER RESOLVED that Recommendation 2 as amended be approved, namely
Where members raise matters with the Clerk which are clearly technical or bread and butter issues which can be dealt with without a decision by the Council, then the Clerk will seek to resolve matters between Council meetings and report to Council on progress and outcomes in relation to those items. All items requiring policy decisions will be put on the agenda for discussion and any items which are ambiguous will be put on the agenda for discussion.
1267 Storage of Historical Records
Cllr Brook asked members for their views about possible locations for the storage of Stanley Sheead’s extensive collection of historical records. It was RESOLVED that the matter be discussed at the September meeting and members give some thought to possible locations in the interim.
1268 Dog Foul Bins Emley
Cllr Wild raised the problem posed by the absence of dog foul bins near Churchyard Lane in Emley. She pointed out that dog owners put their dog faeces into dog bags and in the absence of a bin threw them into the churchyard. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk raise the matter with Kirklees Council with a view to finding a solution.
1269 Destruction of Oak Tree in Emley
Cllr Wild drew members’ attention to the destruction of a healthy oak tree opposite the gates to Kirkby Grange Cottage off Clough Road in Emley. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk contact the Trees Officer at Kirklees Council to establish whether there is a preservation order on this particular tree and to ask whether other trees on Kirkby Lane have TPOs and, if not, to press for a review of the trees in this area.
1270 Honours List
Cllr Wild proposed that the Council should nominate individuals from within the parish area for a UK honour. Members discussed the proposal but it was RESOLVED it was not appropriate for the parish council to participate in nominating individuals for honours for a number of reasons, including the difficulty of having to justify why one individual is chosen to be nominated as opposed to another.
1271 Website
The Clerk reported that the website continues to attract a large number of visitors and in June the figure was 3305. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1272 Suspension of Standing Orders
It was RESOLVED that it being 9pm, Standing Orders be suspended for 15 minutes to enable the Council to complete its business.
1273 Clerk’s Training
It was RESOLVED that the Clerk attend a training conference in Wakefield on 8 September 2009 at a cost of £49 plus VAT.
1274 Grant Application
Council was asked to approve the recommendation of the Finance and General Purposes Committee (Min. 1228) to agree a grant of £5,000 in principle to the Upper Dearne Woodlands Conservation Group subject to match funding being obtained by the Group for rebuilding dry stone walling and that such funds if approved be taken from the Green Initiative budget heading.
1275 Budget Outturn
The Clerk submitted the budget outturn to 30 June 2009. It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1276 Orders for Payment
It was RESOLVED that Orders for Payment No. 497 totalling £3,949.82 be approved.
1277 September Council Meeting
It was RESOLVED that the following items be put on the agenda of the September Council meeting: procedure for co-opting members (Cllr Horton) – paper outlining options to be submitted by the Clerk.
1278 Dates of Next Meetings
28 July 2009 – Plans Scrutiny Committee starting at 7pm
25 August 2009 – Plans Scrutiny committee starting at 7pm
1 September 2009 - Council Meeting starting at 7pm.
Signed………………………………………
CHAIR
