Minutes of the Meeting of Denby Dale Parish Council held on Tuesday 1 September 2009 in the Civic Chamber, Council Offices, Skelmanthorpe
Members Present: Cllrs N Wilson (Chair), M Barlow, J A Barlow, R Brook, P Calpin, G Horton, M Mills, E Shaw, T Sigsworth, S Simpson, A Stimson, A Tribe, G Turner, K Waites, and S Wild
In attendance: Hazel Chowcat (Clerk to the Council)
1293 Open Session
No members of the public raised any matters.
1294 Police Report
There was no police report.
1295 Apologies for Absence
Reasons for absence from the meeting were submitted from Cllr C Rimmer.
RESOLVED that the reason for absence submitted by Cllr Rimmer be accepted as valid.
1296 Declaration of Councillors’ Interests
No declarations of interest were made.
1297 Chair’s Opening Remarks
The Chair welcomed members to the meeting after the summer break and congratulated the Clerk who had obtained her CiLCA in July.
1298 Minutes of Council Meeting
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
1299 Minutes of the Special Finance & General Purposes Committee
RESOLVED that the minutes of the special Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting held on 15 July be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair of the Council.
1300 Minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28 July 2009 be received and that the minutes of the Plans Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 25 August 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair of the Committee.
1301 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: that Cllr Horton attend the Denby Dale and Kirkburton Health and Well Being event on 23 September 2009.
1302 Councillor Resignation
The Clerk reported that Cllr Robert Allen had moved out of the area and had therefore resigned and that she had advised the Electoral Services accordingly.
RESOLVED that a letter of thanks be sent to Cllr Allen for his hard work over the years and commitment to the work of the Parish Council.
1303 Amendment to Standing Orders
Following the discussion at the July 2009 meeting, the Clerk submitted the following amendment to standing orders: Insert new standing order 53 and renumber all subsequent orders accordingly:
Ceremonial Duties of the Chair
Normally, all ceremonial duties will be carried out by the Chair, however, it is recognised that some councillors who take on the role of Chair may not be able to undertake all the commitments which emerge during the civic year. Where this is the case, the Chair and Vice Chair will agree between them as soon as possible following their election at the annual meeting of the Council, which duties they will carry out.
RESOLVED that the amendment to standing orders be approved.
1304 Chair’s Allowance
Following the discussion at the July meeting, the Clerk proposed that henceforth the Chair’s Allowance be managed by the Responsible Financial Officer.
RESOLVED that this proposal be approved.
1305 Procedure for Co-opting Councillors
The Clerk reported that following the request for a review of the procedure for co-opting councillors which had been agreed at the June meeting, she had made enquiries of other councils and had learnt that some councils exclude members of the press and public while the council discusses individual applicants, while others hold such discussions in public. Members felt that in the interests of fairness, discussions about individual candidates should be held in private.
RESOLVED that the council’s procedure for co-opting councillors should be amended to ensure that members of the press and public are excluded from the meeting while candidates’ applications are discussed.
1306 Delegated Powers and the Role of the Parish Councillor
The Clerk submitted a briefing note clarifying the role of the parish councillor in relation to S101 o the Local Government Act 1972 which states that the functions of a council may only be delegated to a committee, a sub committee, an officer of the authority or another local authority, but not to an individual councillor.
RESOLVED that the briefing note be noted.
1307 Strengthening Local Democracy
The Clerk submitted ‘Strengthening Local Democracy’ a consultation paper from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
RESOLVED that the Parish Council make no submission to the consultation.
1308 Sustainable Communities Act
Cllr Tribe reported that she had received an email from Paul Clark addressed to Nick Howe of Kirklees Council on the Act.
RESOLVED that the Clerk forward the email to members.
1309 Storage of Historical Records
Members discussed possible locations for the storage of Stanley Sheead’s historical records. One option is that the material be deposited with the West Yorkshire Archives but Cllr Brook indicated that this was not favoured by Mr Sheead. Another option was to use one of the empty rooms in the Council Offices but this would require personnel to manage and look after the materials. The Clerk reported that she and Cllr Brook had discussed this matter in relation to the possibility of a funding application being made to EPIP for an oral history project and that she had made initial enquiries of the University of Huddersfield Oral History Project. The response from the university had been positive and she proposed the University as a possible location for storage of the historical material. Cllr Brook raised the possibility of a Skelmanthorpe Historical Society or similarly titled organisation being set up to drive the project.
RESOLVED that the Clerk pursue discussions with the University of Huddersfield and Cllr Brook put the various options to Mr Sheead.
1310 Denby Dale/Kirkburton LIG
The Clerk submitted the September 2009 newsletter of the East Peak Innovation Partnership. Cllr Brook reported that the next meeting of the LIG is on 17 September. The Heritage Lottery Fund is targeting Kirklees with Denby Dale and Kirkburton as priority areas and a representative of the Fund will be attending the next meeting.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1311 Working Party on Public Transport
Cllr Waites gave an update from the Working Party. He outlined the problems of the timetable of the new 85/85A Huddersfield to Barnsley service which was a replacement for the unsustainable 95 route and explained that the new routes had been introduced with no consultation
RESOLVED to write to Metro a) to outline the problems of the new timetable and suggest amendments and b) to establish why there was no consultation before the new timetable was introduced.
1312 Parish Plan Sub Group
RESOLVED that a meeting of the sub group be held as soon as possible and that the Clerk advise all councillors of the time and date of the meeting.
1313 YLCA Joint Annual Meeting
Cllrs Horton and Shaw submitted a detailed report of the joint meeting held on 18 July 2009.
RESOLVED that Cllrs Horton and Shaw be thanked for their report.
1314 Standards Committee
Cllr M Barlow gave a report of the Standards Committee meeting held on 1 September 2009. Prof Alan Kitson of Denby Dale has joined the committee as an independent chair. She referred to the report on the granting of dispensations which had been circulated by the Clerk and presented statistical information about the number of complaints made against members during the 12 month period to May 2009.
RESOLVED that Cllr Barlow be thanked for her report.
1315 Clerk’s Salary
RESOLVED that in light of the Clerk’s achievement of the CiLCA qualification, approval be given for the Clerk’s salary to be increased by one increment in line with her employment contract.
1316 Budget Outturn
The Clerk submitted the budget outturn to 31 August 2009.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
1317 Orders for Payment
RESOLVED that Orders for Payment No. 498 totalling £1,306.35, No. 499 totalling £3,486.97, No. 500 totalling £278.83 and No. 501 totalling £2,406.24 be approved.
1318 October Council Meeting
RESOLVED that the Emley Show be reviewed at the October meeting.
1319 Dates of Next Meetings
29.9.09 - Plans Scrutiny Committee starting at 7pm;
6.10.09 - Council Meeting starting at 7pm.
Signed………………………………………(CHAIR)
