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Crofton Parish Council

 

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held 19th February 2008.                             

 

Present;          Councillors,             Chalkley (Chair), Bennett, Duffy K,

Hewitt, Jacques, Makin, Ripley, Schofield and Voros.

           

In attendance;                        District Councillor Cummings

 

02/949                         Receive report from West Yorkshire Police

PC Daley presented his report for the Safe Scheme covering the month of January 2007.  Cllr Ripley enquired from which garage a car had driven away from without paying, it was Redbeck Garage.  With regard to the reported incidents of alcohol being taken from youths, PC Daley informed members that a new initiative was to be introduced which would allow him to exclude an individual form an area for 48 hours.  Cllr Hewitt cast doubt on whether 48 hours was sufficient time to solve the problem.  Cllr Jaques asked if PC Daley would resume early morning patrols along High Street and Slack Lane; in his absence the previous traffic problems had started again (see minute 12/913).

 

02/950             Receive briefing from Wakefield MDC District Councillors

District Cllr Cummings offered apologies for the absence of District Cllr’s Manifield and Isherwoood, the latter was still unwell.  Cllr Cummings provided members with information on previous matters asked of her:

  1. The road known as ‘Church Hill’, which had a continuous flow of water from a presumably broken drain, was in fact a spring, WMDC were to decide what course of action would be taken to resolve the problem, Cllr Schofield had noted that a drain cleaning company had been seen working there.
  2. Cllr Ripley was informed that the dispersion of water from land adjacent to Doncaster Road, which he had enquired about, was the responsibility of the landowner, WMDC were to send a letter to inform them of such.
  3. Cllr Bennett was informed that his request for street lighting had been acknowledged and was on the waiting list to be actioned at some future time.  Cllr Bennett was concerned that it should not be a request for lighting which ultimately would have to be paid for by WMDC, when the fault originated from Amey’s new system of lighting provision.
  4. The request for improved surfacing for roads on the Ashdene and Wentworth areas of the village was now underway.
  5. Following a street surgery on Cambridge Crescent, residents had requested that the brick bus shelter be removed.  Following investigation, Cllr Cummings reported to members that information she had received indicated it would be moved and placed further up the hill from its present location, members generally felt this would create a danger, in any case, they did not want the brick shelter to be  replaced for the version now seen in High Street, outside the Senior School.
  6. Another request from the street surgery was for the provision of grit bins, WMDC had informed Cllr Cummings that no funding was available to provide them.  Another solution to this matter was for the Parish Council to

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purchase them (which a neighbouring Parish Council had done); WMDC would provide the grit and be responsible for distributing it.

  1. Following an investigation by WMDC, there would be no introduction of traffic calming measures introduced on Slack Lane at this present time.

 

Members duly noted the above comments and asked Cllr Cummings to make representation to WMDC on the following matter:

 

1.      On the subject of grit bins, it had been noted that some had been removed from Priory Ridge, Cambridge Crescent and Church Hill, would they be replaced?

2.      Cllr Cummings was asked to follow up an enquiry the Clerk had made to Paul Platts of WMDC Highway Maintenance, that the drains on Hare Park Lane had not been cleaned, so when it rained the water was not dispersed and subsequently caused ponding.

3.      Cllr Schofield stated that the same area of road and also beyond to the bridge had ‘lost’ the footpath adjoining it, due to overgrowth and debris not being regularly cleared, would Cllr Cummings investigate this matter.

4.      Cllr Jaques asked if the request made by the Clerk for a replacement sign at the junction of Shay Lane and Harrison Road be investigated further.

5.      Cllr Schofield had noticed that a tree damaged by wind, needed removing from the copse at Coppers Lake, also stone work on the bridge was in need of attention and a trampoline had been left in the lake and needed removing.

6.      It had been noted that Network Rail vehicles had driven over grass verges on Hare Park Lane, where the recent planting of bulbs had taken place, in this instance the Clerk was asked to contact them and seek a response.

7.      Although Cllr Cummings had informed members that there was no statutory enforcement for shops to remove litter, she was asked if WMDC could seek other measures to resolve this problem.

 

02/951             Public Participation Session.

None in attendance.

 

02/952             Apologies for absence

District Councillor Manifield and Isherwood.

Councillors Brown, Duffy S, Towns and Wrigg.

 

02/953             Declaration of Interest

Cllr Bennett declared his interest with regard Planning and Highway matters.

 

02/954             Minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 15th January 2008, were signed as a true record by the Chairman.

 

02/955             Discuss matter arising from previous minutes

The clerk informed members about news on previous matters, in particular an application had been sent by residents on Harrison Road to WMDC Planning Dept.  Members asked the Clerk to register an objection when the application was made public.  Cllr Hewitt told the clerk he would be able to provide some information with regard the ownership of land next to 29 Slack Lane.(minute 01/923).

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02/956             Community Facilities

Report Parish Centre

Cllr Jacques informed members that the floor was now laid, the decorator had commenced work and arrangements had been made for a quote to be received for the installation of the kitchen units.  Members were asked if specific electrical items could be purchased, this was agreed.  It was suggested that when all refurbishment work was complete and all hiring documentation was agreed by the working party, an open day would be held, members were in agreement, the likely date being April 2008.  As some paving flags had been damaged Cllr Chalkly was asked to contact G Smith Builders to have them re-set or replaced.

Report Village Association

Cllr Chalkley told members that an informed meeting had been held to discuss the Sports Pavilion finances.  The discussion highlighted the large number of residents who used the facility and that the changing rooms were of a better standard that that expected at other sports facilities. With regard the financing, it was decided that an annual agenda item would be placed on the Parish Council summons, under financial matters for this to be discussed; financial accounts would be presented to enable members to decide if a donation should be made to the Parish Council.

Cllr Ripley asked if the facility should be advertised in order for it to be used by others; it was felt that the present commitments were sufficient. Cllr Bennett informed members that an Electrical survey report had been conducted which raised concerns that would need to be dealt with, an invoice was given to the Clerk for payment following agreement by members.

Report Allotments

The Clerk informed members that as of the date of this Parish Council meeting there were only a small number of rents outstanding, there was still time for payments to be made before a 7 day notice of payment letter would be issued. Cllr Hewitt had re-measured (with the assistance of Cllr Ripley) the allotment gardens at Pontefract Road to accommodate a resident on the waiting list.

Report Parish Cemetery

Members discussed whether to increase the Cemetery charges for residents (non resident charges reflect those applied by WMDC), following a vote it was agreed to keep the charges the same.

 

02/957             Discuss Traffic issues

Members were in agreement that travelling from Crofton to Wakefield City Centre was becoming increasingly difficult, especially so on Doncaster Road, more was needed to be done by WMDC in the future if the situation was not be become worse.

Members discussed the various problems and asked the Clerk to contact Ian Wiper the Interim Service Director of WMDC Highways & Transportation to make them aware of such problems and what if any, action was being planned.

 

02/958             Parish Leases

Nothing to report.

 

02/959             Cleansing/Environment

Cllr Chalkley invited members to comment on the cleanliness of the village, it was agreed that it was not clean, it was commented that following a meeting last year

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with the WMDC Environment Dept, that operatives were being trained to use street sweepers, when this was complete more would be deployed on the streets. The Clerk was asked to make enquiries as to which days and how often this was to be expected in the Crofton area.

 

02/960             Planning Notifications

Members duly noted that Cllr Ripley had asked the clerk to lodge objections against planning application 08/00073 and 08/00140 which were re-submissions of earlier refused applications.  Members raised no objections to other planning applications which had been notified to them.  Cllr Ripley was asked to observe any developments on the LDF strategy documents

 

02/961             Financial matters

The Clerk having informed members of invoices to be paid received no objections,

Members were in agreement with the content of the monthly accounts. The Clerk was asked to enquire about the current financial situation with the West Yorkshire Police regarding the provision of Safe Scheme monies.

           

02/962             Correspondence received

Members noted the content of the information received, in particular note 5; following discussion it was decided to refer the matter to the next meeting, the Clerk would supply members with copies of the accounts he had received, the Clerk would contact the group to inform them of the decision and also suggest that they give consideration to the use of the refurbished Parish Centre as an alternative. Note 10; Cllrs Makin and Bennett would study the document and inform the Clerk of any comments they wished to be notified to WMDC Highways & Transportation.

 

02/963             Parish matters

Due to the contents within the Parish Council’s standing orders and financial standing orders, members agreed to have an informal meeting to discuss this before making a decision on whether to introduce amendments.  The venue would be the Parish Centre on Sunday 9th March 2008 at 6pm. Cllr Ripley confirmed he had attended the WMDC Climate Change seminar on behalf of the Parish Council.

 

02/964             Date of next meeting

Resolved; that the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, 18th March 2008 at 7pm in                               Crofton Parish Centre, High Street, Crofton.

 

02/965             Members of the public and press were to leave before agenda no.18

It was agreed

 

02/966             Matters to be discussed in private

Cllr Chalkley would read the information provided about the Scout Hut.

 

 

 

Signed                                                                                 Date                                       

               Chairman Crofton Parish Council