Minutes of the Meeting of Denby Dale Parish Council held on Tuesday 6 October 2009 in the Civic Chamber, Council Offices, Skelmanthorpe
Members Present: Cllrs K Waites (Vice-Chair), R Brook, V Buyer (following co-option), G Horton, T Sigsworth, A Stimson, A Tribe, G Turner
In attendance: Hazel Chowcat (Clerk to the Council), Andy Wickham (Countryside Officer)
1327 Open Session
No members of the public raised any matters.
1328 Police Report
PCSOs Richard Hobson and Bob Armitage attended the meeting and reported that during September, there had been 31 crimes in the Denby Dale area, including 9 thefts from motor vehicles; 5 criminal damage, 3 assaults, 1 murder, 2 thefts of motor cycles, 1 theft of a pedal cycle, 1 theft of a van, 1 burglary of an empty property, 1 theft of garden materials, 1 theft from a bank account and 1 licensing issue. Skelmanthorpe, Denby Dale and Clayton West generate the most calls to police.
RESOLVED that the PCSOs be thanked for their report.
1329 Apologies for Absence
Reasons for absence from the meeting were submitted from Cllrs M Barlow, J A Barlow, M Mills, C Rimmer, E Shaw, S Simpson, S Wild, and N Wilson.
RESOLVED that the reasons for absence submitted by the above councillors be accepted as valid.
1330 Declaration of Councillors’ Interests
No declarations of interest were made.
1331 Chair’s Opening Remarks
Cllr Waites explained that in the Chair’s absence on paternity leave, he would be chairing the meeting.
1332 Minutes of Council Meeting
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 1 September 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
1333 Minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 29 September 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair of the Committee.
1334 Co-option of New Member
Victoria Buyer addressed the Council in connection with her application to be co-opted onto the Council. It was proposed and seconded and RESOLVED that Ms Buyer be co-opted to the Council to represent the Denby & Cumberworth Ward. Cllr Buyer signed the declaration of acceptance of office and took her seat.
1335 Agenda
RESOLVED that Item 9 Allotments be brought forward on the agenda.
1336 Allotments
Andy Wickham, the Countryside Officer attended the meeting to discuss how the Parish Council should proceed with its plans to create allotments. It was important that the process be properly coordinated and he and the Clerk had met to discuss a possible course of action. Specifically, he proposed that once suitable parcels of land have been identified, he and the Clerk would conduct a feasibility study to determine the cost and maintenance implications of setting up and running allotments, including estimating the cost of providing infrastructure, identifying possible sources of funding, evaluating different methods of management/administration, quantifying ongoing maintenance costs, evaluating possible tenancy agreements, including rental charges and conditions. The aim would be to complete the study within three months of its commencement.
RESOLVED that the course of action outlined above be approved.
1337 Clerk’s Report
The Clerk submitted her written report.
RESOLVED that the Clerk’s report be approved and the following action taken arising from the report:
a) Road Safety Carr Hill Lane
RESOLVED That Kirklees Council be asked to consider paving part of the road to make the road safer for pedestrians and that the police be asked to conduct speeding checks along the road.
b) Wood Street/Huddersfield Road Junction
RESOLVED That Kirklees Council be asked to install a mirror opposite the junction to enable traffic leaving Wood Street to see traffic approaching from the east.
c) Closure of Pharmacy in Denby Dale
RESOLVED that the Clerk contact the NHS Trust to establish the name of the applicant for the new pharmacy.
d) Traffic Calming on Chapel Hill, Clayton West
RESOLVED that the Clerk write to the Ward Councillors to ask for their support for traffic calming on Chapel Hill, and that members who are representatives to the Area Committee raise the matter at the next opportunity.
1338 Denby Dale Area Committee Action Plan
The Clerk reported that Cllr John Cook had sent his apologies and members were asked for their views on the Action Plan. Concern was expressed that insufficient attention had been given in the Action Plan to environmental issues and specifically, action to reduce the carbon footprint of the area.
RESOLVED that the issue be discussed in more detail at the November meeting and Cllr Cook be invited to attend.
1339 Emley Show
Members discussed the effectiveness of the Parish Council’s stand at the Emley Show in August and the lessons to be learned therefrom.
RESOLVED that the Council should participate in the 2010 Show subject to the following changes and circumstances: that Councillors wear name badges; that if the council shares a stand with Kirkburton Parish Council, there be a parity of numbers of councillors from each parish councils at anyone time to avoid the stand being top heavy dominated by councillors; that copies of the council’s annual report be available; that flyers with councillors’ contact details be available; that the parish council organises a competition on the stand; that questionnaires be available to enable members of the public to identify relevant local issues and problems; and that the Clerk investigate the cost of hiring a tent and hiring or purchasing display boards. Finally, it was agreed that an Emley Show planning group be constituted and that a meeting be arranged in March 2010.
1340 Quality Parish Status
The Clerk reported that the Council’s Quality Parish Status had lapsed, though no notice had been received from NALC before the lapse date. She was now preparing the portfolio for the Council to re-apply for accreditation and submitted two documents which were necessary for the QPS application: Community Engagement Strategy and Training Strategy for approval
RESOLVED that the two strategy documents be approved.
1341 Standards Committee
RESOLVED that due to the absence of Cllr M Barlow, this matter be deferred until the November meeting.
1342 Remembrance Day Arrangements
RESOLVED that Cllr Wilson lay the wreaths in Denby Dale and Birdsedge, that Cllr Turner lay the wreaths in Scissett and Skelmanthorpe and that the arrangements for Emley and Clayton West be agreed at the November meeting with the recommendation that Cllr Shaw lay the wreath in Emley and Cllr Simpson lay the wreath in Clayton West, with Cllr Horton as a back-up if Cllr Simpson is not available.
1343 Local Democracy Week
The Clerk reported that the Council had been invited by Kirklees Council as part of its Local Democracy Week to participate in a ‘Get Involved’ event during the morning of Saturday, 10 October in Huddersfield Town Hall. The invitation had been received during the middle of September and members felt that the Council had been given insufficient notice to organise the event. In addition, members were concerned that the leaflet advertising the Local Democracy Week made no mention of parish or town councils at all despite the fact that they are a core tier of local democracy.
RESOLVED with regret that the Parish Council not participate in the event due to the short notice and lack of available councillors to staff a stand and that the Parish Council’s concerns about the leaflet be sent to Kirklees Council.
1344 Rural Access to Opportunities
The Clerk submitted correspondence from Metro advising that following the Rural Transport Conference which marked the end of the Rural Transport Programme, funding had been secured from Yorkshire Forward for the establishment of a new rural accessibility programme, called Rural Access to Opportunities until 31 March 2012. The name of the partnership has been changed to the West Yorkshire Rural Accessibility Partnership to better include the ‘Access to Services’ part of the programme. The letter invites existing stakeholders to continue to be involved in the revised Partnership.
RESOLVED that the Council continue to be involved in the revised Partnership.
1345 Sustainable Communities Act
The Clerk submitted correspondence from Local Works seeking the Parish Council’s support for a campaign to amend the Sustainable Communities Act to ensure that Local Councils are given powers so that they are included in the process of driving government action to promote communities. Specifically the proposals are to require principal councils to include representatives of Local Councils on the citizens panels required by the original Act; enabling County Associations of Local Councils to put proposals for action direct to government and finally to ensure that the process is an ongoing one so that councils and communities can continue to feed their ideas into government to ensure greater local sustainability.
RESOLVED that the Council support the proposed amendment and that the Clerk write to Mary Creagh MP and Shahid Malik MP requesting their support.
1346 Denby Dale/Kirkburton LIG
Cllr Brook reported that funds were to be made available for improvements to village halls/community centres and there were three bids from within the Kirkburton/Denby Dale area, including one from Birdsedge Village Hall and one from the Skelmanthorpe Youth and Community Association. In addition, he reported that he together with Cllr Mills and the Clerk would be meeting with Prof Paul Wood of Huddersfield University to discuss the feasibility of a funding application for an oral history project centred on the textile industry to be managed jointly with the University.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1347 Working Party on Public Transport
It was reported that there was nothing to report.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1348 Parish Plan Sub Group
It was reported that members of the sub group would be holding a meeting and report back to the November meeting.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1349 Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust
Cllrs Turner and Tribe gave a report of the DDPET AGM held on 8 September. The main item on the agenda had been a presentation by Julian Faulkner the social forestry officer of Kirklees Council on allotments.
RESOLVED that Julian Faulkner be invited to address a Council meeting on allotments and that a representative from DDPET be invited to address a Council on the work of the Environment Trust.
1350 Denby Dale Area Committee
Cllrs Brook and Horton gave a report of the meeting held on 10 September. Grants had been allocated for repairs to the Derby & Joan Club, for interpretation boards on the River Dearne and towards the footpath at Leak Hall Crescent. There had been a presentation by Rutland Telecom about next generation broadband and a paper was submitted which had been circulated at the meeting and which acknowledged the work of the Parish Council in identifying the problems and dissatisfaction with broadband provision in the area. It is intended that a feasibility study into a local broadband service would be prepared.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1351 Health and Well Being Event
Cllr Horton gave a report of the Health and Well Being Event held on 23 September.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1352 Joint Kirklees Council/Parish & Town Councils Liaison Meeting
The Clerk submitted a written report from the above meeting held on 30 September.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1353 AGM of Rural Action Yorkshire
RESOLVED that Cllr E Shaw attend the AGM of Rural Action Yorkshire on 21 November 2009.
1354 10:10 Campaign
The Clerk submitted background information on the 10:10 Campaign which Cllr Turner proposed that the Council agree to join.
RESOLVED that the Parish Council join the 10:10 Campaign and that members be asked to bring proposals for action to be taken in line with the campaign to the November meeting.
1355 Clerk’s Salary
The Clerk submitted details of the final 2009 pay settlement.
RESOLVED that the implementation of the 2009 pay settlement be approved.
1356 Training Course
The Clerk submitted information about an SLCC training course to be held in York on 23 November at a cost of £95.
RESOLVED that the Clerk’s attendance at the training course be approved.
1357 Website
The Clerk submitted details of proposals for updating the Council’s website at a total cost of £385.
RESOLVED that expenditure of £385 to update the website be approved.
1358 Budget Outturn
The Clerk submitted the budget outturn to 30 September 2009.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1359 Orders for Payments
RESOLVED that Orders for Payment No. 502 totalling £4,042.64 be approved.
1360 Calendar of Meetings
The Clerk submitted a draft timetable of meetings from May 2010 to April 2011.
RESOLVED that the timetable be approved.
1361 November Council Meeting
No items were proposed for the November Council meeting.
1362 Dates of future meetings
27 October 2009 – Plans Scrutiny Committee starting at 7pm
2 November 2009 – Council Meeting starting at 7pm.
Signed………………………………………(CHAIR)
