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Crofton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting
held
Present; Councillors; Chalkley (Chair), Bennett, Duffy, Healy, Hewitt, Jacques, Makin, Ripley, Schofield, Smithson, Towns,
In attendance; 5 members of the public
District Councillor Lodge.
02/164 Report from W.Y.Police Officers
working on Crofton Safe Scheme
PC Daley presented the report for the month of January 2010.
Cllr Bennett highlighted the problem of double parking on some streets, PC Daley would liaise with PC Day concerning this matter, he stated that PC Laybourne would also concentrate his efforts on traffic matters.
Cllr Makin had noted that the Safe Scheme had been using PCSO’s, therefore since their earnings were not as much as those of a Police Officer, the time spent patrolling the village should be increased.
Cllr Duffy asked if patrols could cover the Parish Centre as the building had been subjected to vandalism and youths were seen on the roof (see minute 02/171).
Cllr Hewitt informed members that he had found a bottle which contained steroids for injection use, he had given this to PC Daley as evidence.
With regard to the reported theft from a vehicle of number plates, they would be placed on another vehicle, which would then obtain petrol and drive off without paying. PC Daley reminded members and the public in attendance that it was important to always report any instances of crime.
02/165 Wakefield MDC District
Councillors Report
Cllr Lodge provided information to members on the selling of take-away food from domestic premises which had been made known to the Chair and the Clerk. Leaflets named ‘Thai to Go’ had been distributed in the village, WMDC Environmental Officers had been notified and having visited the property owner, had told those responsible to cease the practice.
With regard to recent press articles concerning the closure of libraries, Cllr Lodge and Cllr Cummings were part of a consultation team that had visited libraries in the Ward area. Information had identified 700+ borrowers at the Crofton library. Cllr Towns questioned the accuracy of the figures, as it did not account for a teacher who had one ticket which was used to obtain books for many pupils. Cllr Ripley stated that the number of borrowers did not reflect the usage of the building by those using it for reference purposes.
Cllr Chalkley suggested the placing a notice in the Smoke Signal to encourage the use of the library so that the facility would not be lost.
Cllr Bennett informed members he had attended Cllr Cummings surgery to comment on household/garden waste collections being missed and that the information in the newspaper and from WMDC, was not accurate. Cllr Lodge was asked to seek an explanation.
Cllr Jacques asked Cllr Lodge to investigate a possible breach of planning regulations (see minute 02/175).
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Cllr Duffy had noted that there was a large amount of
rubbish to the rear of
A resident in attendance asked if Cllr Lodge would provide a progress report of the action being taken to resolve the dilapidated condition of the former shop on Hawthorn Avenue. This was reported the previous year and was the subject of a newspaper article featuring Cllr Denise Jeffrey the Deputy Leader.
02/166 Public Participation
session
A resident from Pinfold Drive enquired when the overgrown trees which was on Parish Council owned land and to the rear of the property, would be dealt with. He was informed that should the tree constitute a danger it would be dealt with immediately, otherwise members would discuss this request later in the meeting (see minute 02/181).
PC Daley was informed of unusual night time activity involving cars parking near to the entrance of the Sports Pavilion and to the opposite side, with the lights turned off.
A resident suggested that an article in the Smoke Signal may resolve the problem of double parking on Shay Lane (see minute12/130).
A resident enquired about the reinstatement of the footpath known as the ‘Miners Footpath’, he was reminded that this matter had been subject to much investigation by the Parish Council, but it was not able to be given a Right of Way status.
Cars were still using the newly installed cycle track to park their cars to access the football pitches, this showed little regard for other users of the track and was damaging the grass.
02/167 Apologies for absence
District Councillors; Cummings and Isherwood
Councillors; Voros and Wrigg.
02/168 Declarations of
Interest
None declared.
02/169 Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 19th January 2010, were subject to change prior to signing.
02/170 Discuss matters arising
from previous minutes
In response to the information received from WYPTE about the
withdrawal of the bus service on Pontefract Road, Arriva maintain that the new
route on Weeland Road is a faster service for passengers from Featherstone,
members commented that the picking up passengers on Pontefract Road (which had
now ceased), could not be considered as contributing to much of a delay.
The Clerk commented that as there had been no response to the e-mails sent, he had rung the offices of the Nostell Estate Management company (Carter Jonas) about the disused Sunblest van, the contact was on holiday and unavailable for several days, he would write to Lord St Oswald to inform him about the lack of response.
Since there was no response to the 2nd e-mail sent to Stephen Mills seeking
further restrictions on the cycle track, the Clerk would report the matter to
the Manager of the
unit and should this prove unsuccessful, would contact the service director Ian Wiper.
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Correspondence had now been received from WMDC Rights of Way that showed that the ginnel leading to the Church was not a public footpath, the Clerk would enquire with WMDC Highways to seek confirmation that it was part of the adopted highway.
02/171 Community Facilities
Report Parish Centre
Cllr Jacques reported that;
the Centre had been subject to vandalism and youths had been seen on the roof, arrangements had now been made for repairs to be carried out.
Cllr Hewitt had reported the matter to the Police and provided the Clerk with a crime number.
In view of the above incident, it was decided to have anti-vandal paint applied to the building. A sign would be displayed to give notification of this action.
Report Village Association
Cllr Makin reported that;
A meeting was to be held to discuss the financing of an ‘all weather’ surface for multiple use, the dimensions were approximately 60m x 40m.
Members of the Parish Council were asked if they would support the project, members agreed to this request.
Report Allotments
Cllr Hewitt reported that;
There had been more instances of trespassing on the Hare Park allotments.
He intended to arrange a meeting with the teacher from Crofton High School to discuss the provision of allotments at the Pontefract Road site (see minute 09/081).
Members gave consideration to the enquiry received from WMDC Property Management. It was decided against giving permission to grant vehicular access to the rear of 37 Oak Street via the allotment track, as it may create a precedent and would increase the liability on the existing lease agreement.
Report Parish Cemetery
Cllr Schofield reported that;
He had met with T &D Contractors to discuss providing a quote for clearance work in the grounds at its boundary with Sandown Avenue, this was in preparation for the erecting of a new fence.
Christmas decorations and floral tributes, had still not been removed from some graves and headstones which were obstructing the cutting of the grass, a notice would be displayed asking for them to be removed before further action was taken.
02/172 Discuss Traffic issues
Cllr Chalkley informed members that he had been in consultation with PC Daley about cars being double parked outside Sainsbury’s Supermarket.
02/173 Parish Plan
Members were given an update on the meeting that took place on the 09th February.
A number of residents were in attendance at the meeting which was an encouraging sign, there had also been a substantial number of ‘feed back’ sheets returned, which Cllr Bennett would begin analysing.
Cllr Chalkley commented on the main points which were discussed, these included the re-opening of the railway station, housing development and the possibility of a new road that linked New Crofton with Doncaster Road.
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02/174 Cleansing/Environment
Cllr Towns commented on the condition of the Scout Hut and suggested that the Clerk contact the Group Leaders and arrange a site meeting with them to discuss a plan of action.
Following the recent Neighbourhood Action ‘walkabout’ arranged to identify priority areas for cleaning and tidying;
There had been a complaint from a resident that ivy on their fence, which backed onto the ginnel leading off Slack Lane, had been cut back unnecessarily.
The YEB Sub Station had been cleaned.
There was still much litter in the area by the Post Office in New Crofton, it was reported that there was not sufficient time to cover this area.
Cllr Bennett suggested the village be split into action areas so that all areas are covered not just the centre. He had also noted that the street sweeping machine’s brushes were not working effectively.
Cllr Schofield commented on the amount of mud to be seen on Walton View, he had also noted a large number of black bin bags left in the lay-by on Weeland Road.
02/175 Planning Notifications
Cllr Jacques raised concerns about planning application number 10/00089/FUL,
building work had commenced on the property at Ashdene Crescent, but planning permission had yet to be given. (see minute 02/165)
02/176 Financial matters
The Clerk having
informed members of invoices to be paid received no objections,
Members were in
agreement to release the previously agreed (see minute 10/104) payment to All Saints Parish Church.
Having discussed the
invoice received from First Impressions regarding the installation of the
Hanging Baskets, members were in agreement for the payment to be sent.
02/177 Correspondence received
Members noted the content of the information received, in particular
Note 4; Cllr Bennett was given the Country Air magazine.
Note 8; Cllr Jacques was given the newsletter from Wakefield
Together concerning the delivery of services in the area.
02/178 Parish matters
Further to the complaint about dogs on a public footpath which were obstructing the walk to Walton via Larkdale Farm (see minute 12/142), the promised WMDC Dog Wardens report had not been received. The Clerk was asked to clarify if the dogs needed to be kept on a leash whilst on a public Right of Way.
It was reported that the same Right of Way was not able to be walked its full length due to an obstruction at the Walton end. The Clerk would report this.
The tree on the Copse to the rear of Slack Lane had now been pruned.
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02/179 Date of next meeting
Resolved; that the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, 16th March 2010 at 7pm in Crofton Parish Centre, High Street, Crofton.
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02/180 Members of the public and press
were to leave before agenda no.18
It was agreed
02/181 Matters to be discussed
in private
Members would review the payment, effectiveness and use of PCSO’s on the Safe Scheme at a later date.
The Clerk would make arrangements for an approved tree removal company, to provide a quote for removing the trees on the Copse.
Comments concerning the future maintenance and ownership of Coppers Lake were given consideration.
Signed Date Chairman Crofton Parish Council