Page 1. Crofton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held 15 October 2013.
Present; Councillors; Chalkley, Bennett, Hewitt, Kimbley, Schofield, Towns and
Wilby.
Clerk to the Council; Barry Riley
In attendance; 32 members of the public
District Councillors; Cummings, Manifield and Heptinstall.
10/091 Report from W.Y.Police Officers working on Crofton Safe Scheme PC Tracy Battye, presented the Safe Scheme report for September and October.
Cllr Chalkley explained to all in attendance, that the Safe
Scheme was extra policing provided within the village which was paid for by the
Parish Council.
Cllr Hewitt commented on the burglary at Fernlea Close involving two suspects and asked why one was charged and the other was not. PC Battye stated that she could not comment further as it was an ongoing investigation.
PC Battye reminded all present to ensure that their cars were locked when left unattended and goods were not left on display. There had been a number of thefts across the District from vehicles left unlocked, although there were none recorded for Crofton, the information provided was a timely reminder to be vigilant.
10/092 Wakefield MDC District Councillors
Report
District Councillors provided information to enquiries made individually by Parish Councillors, and gave an update on previous matters raised.
The planning application for the Co-Op Mine was now due for submission.
The family fun day (see minute 09/080) would be followed by a Halloween disco.
WDH were to hire the Parish Centre for a presentation regarding Hawthorn Court.
They had attended the public consultation held at the Community Centre regarding
the proposed planning application for Priory Ridge (see minute 10/093).
Cllr Manifield stated he had consulted further with WMDC
Officers regarding the American style Yellow school bus (see minute 06/038).
WMDC Traffic were to contact the Clerk about the traffic islands on Doncaster Road, the Clerk was asked to contact the District Councillors when they responded (see minute 09/086).
Cllr Heptinstall reminded all present that there was to be presentations by HS2 Ltd
in November, one at the Community Centre and another at the Parish Centre.
Cllr Heptinstall had attended the precept workshop at the Town Hall at which the Clerk was present (see minute 10/103).
Cllr Chalkley commented on the amount of time that the Police were present on Asdale Road as opposed to Doncaster Road where there were more accidents.
Further to the comments made at
the last meeting regarding financial cuts that had effected Crofton receiving a
free Christmas tree, Cllr Chalkley reiterated his comments that next year the
Parish Council would expect as much notification as possible to enable
decisions to be made, he also stated that comments made that the Christmas
lights may not be provided despite the fact that the Parish Council had paid
for them, was not acceptable.
Cllr Bennett reminded District
Councillors about the flooding on High Street/Harrison Road (see minute
09/086), but also asked that they report the watercourse at the
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bottom end of the cemetery near the entrance to Churchfields, as it needed attention in order to prevent flooding.
District Councillors informed members that they had received correspondence from WMDC concerning the damaged inspection cover (see minute 09/087). They would liaise with the Council and have the cover replaced, the Clerk would send them a copy of the email he had sent to WMDC concerning this.
*Cllr Chalkley declared a prejudicial interest with regard to the proposed Priory Ridge development (see 10/095) and duly left the meeting.
10/093 Public Participation session
A resident in attendance commented that there was reduced visibility when turning right onto Doncaster Road from Slack Lane due to the farmer not cutting the hedge.
Cllr Cummings duly noted the comment and explained that as the land was privately owned, WMDC could not carry out the required work and therefore they relied on the farmer to comply with their requests.
Cllr Bennett also commented that bushes to the left needed attention as they were obscuring the view of the bus as it approached the bus stop.
A resident commented on the metal theft crime wave (including domestic fencing), that was occurring in the district and what action the Police were taking to combat the problem. They were to target vehicles and asked residents to report any vehicles they thought were suspect by taking a note of the registration number and phoning the non emergency number 101. Other residents in attendance voiced their concerns regarding the proposed planning application by Redrow Homes for a residential development at Priory Ridge. They were concerned that issues such as traffic flow, noise pollution, car park provision, a lack of play provision and that the style and design did not complement the existing housing, had not been accounted for when the plans were shown at the recent public consultation in October. District Councillors suggested that a meeting be arranged with Ian Thomson WMDC Service Director for Planning, Transportation and Highways prior to the application being received, given the number of people in attendance it was suggested that this be held at the Crofton Community Centre.
10/094 Apologies for absence
Councillors; Makin, Ripley and Wrigg.
10/095 Declarations of Interest
See * above.
10/096 Minutes
of the previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 September 2013, were signed as a true record by the Vice Chairman.
10/097 Matters arising from previous
minutes
The Clerk reported that;
He had received a response about the container on Smithy Close from Lisa Scott WMDC Senior Planning Enforcement Officer, stating that the owner is preparing a planning appeal to challenge the Councils decision.
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He had sent a letter sent to All
Saints Church requesting dates for a meeting to discuss
the footpath (see minute 09/079).
He had received no response from
the Valuation Office about the number of houses in Crofton, however the Clerk
stated he may be able to produce the figures from previous Precept information
received from WMDC, he would provide information to members in due course.
Further to the response from the Woodland Trust regarding free trees for local Councils (see minute 09/079), the Clerk was asked to contact WMDC to arrange a site visit to identify areas for future planting on the Sidings and to confirm that permission would be given as the land was leased from the Council.
Cllr Bennett informed members that he had attended a meeting at Crofton Academy and mentioned the gate leading to the car park (see minute 09/075), they were to consider what action would be taken.
10/098 Community Facilities
Report Parish Centre
Cllr Wilby reported that the fencing had some missing panels, the Clerk was asked to seek a quotation to have the fence repaired and also to have the notice board stained.
The Clerk asked members to consider having the post box replaced with a larger one.
Members agreed to consider the above matters at the next
meeting.
Report Village Association
Cllr Bennett reported that;
There had been a problem with the alarm but the matter had now been resolved.
There was a suspected wasps nest in the Pavilion, a pest control operator had been called out to deal with the problem.
Members having been given information about a proposed lease from WMDC for the HP Sidings, agreed to discuss the matter under item 18.
Report Allotments
Cllr Hewitt reported that;
The grass at the Pontefract Road allotments had now been dealt with (see minute 09/080), the cost to remove the pile was £50, the Clerk was asked to prepare a cheque for payment.
Report Parish Cemetery
Cllr Schofield reported that;
The conifer trees
from Grave 154 Row 5 had now been removed
The grave digger had been experiencing problems with iron ore deposits that were effecting the digging of some plots.
A letter had been received from Falon Nameplates regarding the cost of plaques starting from January 2014, members agreed to discuss the matter under item 18.
10/099 Traffic issues
Nothing to report.
10/100 Neighbourhood Plan
Members were informed that an update had been received from WMDC that the consultation period for the application for a designated Neighbourhood area, ended on Wednesday 25 September. It was expected that a decision would be made at the next Planning and Highways Committee meeting which would be Thursday 17 October.
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10/101 Cleansing/Environment
Members commented that the road sweeper had again been active in the village.
Comment was made that there was much litter outside the shops on High Street opposite the Academy, the Clerk was asked to report it to WMDC.
10/102 Planning
Notifications
Cllr Towns commented on application 13/02788/FUL, for an extension to the training facility at Birkwood House Farm. The Clerk was asked to submit comments that the land was thought to be for agricultural use not increased commercial use.
10/103 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 and budget monitor document
for appropriate governance.
The Clerk informed members that he had attended a workshop organised by the WMDC Town & Parish Council Liaison Group on precepting. He provided members with documentation showing figures to assist with any future decisions (see minute 09/086).
The annual audit for the
financial year ending 31 March 2013 had now been signed off by the external
auditors (PKF Littlejohn), as completed.
The Clerk informed
members that he was to undertake training to achieve the Certificate in Local
Council Management which was a nationally recognised qualification for
Clerks. The cost of the
course would be £200, members agreed for this matter to be discussed
further under item 18.
The Clerk felt that comments he made to Cllr Bennett at the previous meeting were misleading, he therefore clarified that all staff are paid at or above the statutory minimum wage and any increase in wages for operational staff will be the same as that awarded to Local Government staff. The Clerks salary is in accordance with the scales agreed between NALC and SLCC.
10/104 Correspondence received
Members noted the content of the information received.
10/105 Parish matters
Cllr Wilby informed members that she was able to provide a Christmas tree for the Parish Council, having considered the merit of having a permanent tree, members decided not to accept the offer.
Members agreed to discuss the future of the Scout Hut at the next meeting.
Cllr Schofield informed members that the Church service for the Remembrance Sunday service had been changed, therefore the Police would need to be notified to coordinate the day. Members were informed that this had been confirmed.
Cllr Kimbley informed members that the driving school was to be closed, planning permission was to be submitted for housing on the existing site.
Cllr Bennett had noted that bins were being left in an untidy manner at the side door of the Post Office.
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10/106 Date
of next meeting
Resolved; that the next meeting would be held on Tuesday 19 November 2013 at 7pm in Crofton Parish Centre, High Street, Crofton.
10/107 Members
of the public and press were to leave before agenda no.18
It was agreed
10/108 Matters to be discussed in private
Members agreed to continue with the existing lease rather than accept a new one.
The increased cost of the nameplates would be met by the Parish Council if an application was received.
Members agreed to the payment of £200 for training.
The Clerk would write to UK Coal to accept the offer of road safety provision within the village.
Signed
Date
.. Chairman Crofton Parish
Council