Minutes of Choppington Parish Council on 8 October 2019

MINUTES OF THE CHOPPINGTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2019

AT STAKEFORD AND BOMARSUND SPORTS AND SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRE

 

THOSE ATTENDING:

Cllr H Allsopp

Cllr E A Barrell

Cllr K Grimes

Cllr G Huntley

Cllr A Iley

Cllr J Rowell

Cllr Vaughan (Chair)

Cllr L Watson

 

IN ATTENDANCE:

Mr D L Nicholson JP, Parish Clerk and Ms A Brindley, Deputy Parish Clerk/RFO and 4 members of the public.

 

 

AGENDA PART 1

 

C029/19. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence was received from Cllr J Foster (family commitment). The meeting accepted this as a proper reason for absence.

 

C030/19. 2. DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY AND OTHER REGISTERABLE INTEREST(s)

None received.

 

C031/19. 3. PUBLIC QUESTIONS.

  1. A member of the public raised 3 issues where he:
    1. Congratulated the Parish Council for providing the new Village Hall at West Sleekburn.
    2. Raised a question as to which authority was responsible for removing unauthorised notices and advertising, and
    3. Praised the local services team for the continued improvements to environmental maintenance throughout the area.
  2. A member of the public asked if the Parish Council could intervene with Northumberland County Council and Network Rail following advice he had received which stated restrictive barriers could not be installed to restrict fly-tipping on a ‘track’ in the Stakeford/West Sleekburn area.

The Chairman thanked those attending for their questions, advising all appropriate actions would be taken and reported to a future meeting.

 

C032/19.  4. PLANNING MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.

The Parish Clerk and Chairman of the Planning Committee reported on a proposed development for the construction of affordable homes in Stakeford.

RESOLVED: The meeting authorised the Parish Clerk to co-ordinate and support Cllr J Foster at any meetings held to discuss this application.

 

C033/19. 5. TO RECEIVE AND ADOPT THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 10 JULY 2019.

The meeting agreed the minutes represented a true record of the meeting and agreed they should be signed as such by the Chairman and placed in the public domain.

 

C034/19. 6. MATTERS ARISING.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

 

C035/19. 7.  TO RECEIVE AND NOTE THE MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE HELD ON 18 SEPTEMBER 2019.

The meeting received and noted the minutes, agreeing they be placed in the public domain.

 

C036/19. 8. PARISH CLERK’S REPORT.

 

  1. Finance Report. Members received a report from the RFO on expenditure made and income received since the last meeting of the Parish Council. This information will be placed on the Parish Council website.
  2. Financial Performance to the end of the financial quarter. The Parish Clerk asked that this item be referred to the Finance Committee who will be asked to consider the report as a commencement of the budget process for 2020/21. Members agreed this request.
  3. Report on items for information and matters progressed under delegated powers. The Parish Clerk reported on the following items:
    1. Continuous professional development – training undertaken by members of staff and courses in the pipeline.
    2. Evaluation of machinery to combat chemical resistant weeds.
    3. Information on resident’s concerns regarding traffic speed and road safety.
    4. National Association of Councils Chief Executives information bulletin.
    5. National Association of Councillors research materials.
    6. Information regarding actions proposed to combat fly-tipping, including prosecution and legal penalties.
    7. Training for councillors regarding mental health support within the community.
    8. Quotations regarding additional defibrillators for deployment in the community.
    9. Work the Parish Clerk has been asked to undertake in connection to the Governments response to recommendations made by the Standards Board for England.
    10. Northumberland County Council ‘Big Draw Festival’ and ‘Get Snappy Campaign’.
    11. Consultation on NCC Pension Fund Strategy (Parish Clerk requested to respond).
  4. External Audit. The Parish Clerk reported that a letter has been received from the External Auditor reporting that on the basis of their review of Sections 1 and 2 of the annual governance and accountability return their opinion is that the information given is in accordance with proper practices and no matters have come to their attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met.

 

Agenda – Part 2. Members, in consideration of Standing Order 46a and because of their special and confidential nature, agreed that discussion of the following matters should be conducted following the exclusion of press and public.

 

There were no matters referred from Agenda Part 1.

C037/19. 2. GRANTS.

 One application for a grant was received from Superstar Soccer Community Group, a voluntary group trying to develop sport activities for children with particular needs.

RESOLVED: Members referred this to a working group of all members established to consider grant applications, which will meet as and when required.

 

C038/19. 3. PROCEDURE FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A PARISH CLERK.

 Members discussed the need to reorganise the Parish Council’s management structure and the process to be employed to appoint a Parish Clerk and a Deputy Parish Clerk.

RESOLVED:

  1. Members instructed the Parish Clerk to develop revised job descriptions and personal specifications for a revised management structure, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Parish Council and the Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee.
  2. It was agreed the revised job descriptions and personal specifications will be presented to a meeting of the Staffing and Policy Committee for approval together with proposals for the management reorganisation.
  3. It was agreed that the structure would be presented for final approval by the Parish Council as part of the budget for 2020/2021.
  4. Members delegated responsibility for the governance of the recruitment process to the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Parish Council and the Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee.

 

There being no further business the meeting closed at 21:05

 

Chairman

Date

 

 

Income and expenditure report July and August 2019