EVERDON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Full Council held on

11 June 2007 at 7.30pm in Everdon Village Hall.

Present

Councillor                        Mr MF Pell  (Acting Chairman)

Councillor                          Mrs B. Dugdale

Councillor                          Mrs JL Clark

Councillor                        Mr R Graves

Councillor                          Mrs J Pratt

 

Clerk to the Council Mrs E Fothergill

Outgoing Clerk                 Ms S Hennings

Apologies for Absence

Chairman                        Mr PJ Nevill

Vice Chairman                 Mr KA Nichols

Councillor                         Mr TC Beer

District Councillor            Mr D Jeyes

County Councillor            Mrs G Odgen

 

2 parishioners were present.

1. Election of Chair

Due to absence of PN & KN (Chairman & Vice chairman), it was agreed that MP would act as chairman for the meeting.

 

MP opened the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and, on behalf of the

committee, expressed his gratitude to SH for her help in the past. He then welcomed

EF as her replacement.

 

2. Election of Officers

It was agreed to defer the position of Vice Chairman until the next meeting as KN was not present.

 

 

 

 

3. Declarations of Interest
None

4. Minutes

The minutes for 1st, 21st & 29th May were signed as a true record of the meetings.  The signing of

the minutes for the annual meeting were deferred to the next meeting as SH was waiting for a copy

of the county councillor’s report to include in the minutes.

 

5. Matters arising

5.1  Access to Mrs Balderston’s Property

Due to KN’s absence this item deferred to next meeting. KN has written to Atkins to ascertain ownership of the land. He has not heard anything and so will chase. Note: DDC are not interested in adopting The Derry as a highway

 

 

KN

 

 

5.2. Proposed Changes to the Postal Service

PN has not yet heard anything although it was understood that Rhona Anderson had had a meeting with her employers. SH to write to Rhona to request that if she hears anything to let the Parish Council know.

 

SH

 

5.3 Bus Service

SH to write to Stagecoach outlining our disappointment with the fact that the early morning bus has not been reinstated (to allow villagers to get to work/college in Daventry & surrounding towns). Also that we have not heard anything from Stagecoach since we met with them.

 

 

SH

 

5.4 Footpaths

The list of footpaths & their representatives was circulated. No changes were made.

 

 

6. Matters Arising - Annual Meeting

6.1 Village Hall Windows

JP reported that replacing the existing windows with double glazed wooden windows was considered the best option. Repairing/repainting the windows was not considered a viable option due to the loss of heat which both increased the cost of heating and also increased the carbon footprint. Therefore double glazing appeared to be the most cost effective option in the long term. VH committee are waiting for a 3rd quotation before going ahead.

 

 

JP

6.2 Village Hall Accounts

JP reported that these will be presented at the Village Hall AGM in September and would be brought to the parish council meeting in October.

 

 

6.3 Dealing with verbal / written complaints

The committee agreed that they were happy to receive verbal complaints from parishioners and in fact wanted parishioners to be able to approach them with problems (as otherwise they may not be aware of issues). However, once the issue in question needed a decision from the parish council & was to become an agenda item, then the complaint would need to be put in writing

 

ALL

6.4 Wildflower Banks

Whether the village wanted designated wildflower areas/banks and where these should be was discussed. It was agreed that this needed to be thought through and it was not possible to make a decision in one meeting. All councillors were asked to consider the matter with a view to perhaps setting up a small committee to look into it further.

 

6.5 Phone Box

The broken glass has now been fixed

 

 

 

7. Standing Orders

Due to KN’s absence, this matter to be deferred until the next meeting as KN attended training course where he was advised that through the standing orders council powers could be devolved to the clerk.

 

KN

8. Planning Applications

Reference No.

Address

Description

Comments

 

DA/2007/0288

 

 

DA/2007/0563

 

Back-side Cottage,

School Lane

 

Red House

 

Lean-to greenhouse

 

Single storey extension

 

Granted

 

 

Supported application

9. Clerk’s Report 

9.1 Training

SH reminded the committee that any receipts for the training courses to be passed onto EF. SH advised that the next training for new clerks was on 9 October.

 

9.2 DDC meeting with representatives from Parish & Town Councils

This meeting to be held on Tuesday 10 July at 6.30pm. SH to check with PN/KN whether they will be attending and confirm with DDC.


9.3 New Model Code of Conduct
Issued by SH to all present.  (EF to issue to PN/KN/TB at the next meeting).

SH advised that if required, training courses on the new code are available in Sept & Oct for clerks and councillors respectively.

 

9.4 AGM
SH advised that this meeting should be separate from the annual meeting and should be
aimed at the villagers and need to do this in the future.

10. Reports from Councillors

10.1  Village Hall

 Already covered in matters arising

 

10.2Highway Matters 

DDC to write to Moira Goodwin re. ditch at Pidgin Gap.

10.3 Everdon Field Centre

BD reported that they have had a lot of support since marketing the Field Centre and they are receiving favourable comments.  Meetings are being held on Friday (15 June) and Monday (18 June) to lobby for support.

 

 

10.4 Grass Mowing

SH confirmed that she had received a cheque for £416 (grant).

 

 

11. Finance Report

11.1 Approval of Accounts 06/07
The accounts for 06/07 were presented and approved (together with the governance statement) by the council.

11.2 Payments

The following payments were approved:-

 

Cheque No.

Recipient

Description

£

Authority

870

SH

Salary Expenses

269.48

 

871

Allianz Cornhill

Insurance

443.73

 

872

Acre

Subscription

33.00

 

 

11.2  Accounts 07/08 Update & Bank Reconciliation

These were presented and showed that the current balance held by the Council is estimated to be £3982 (as at 31 May 2007 but note: no bank statement has been received for May).

12. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is to be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 3rd July 2007 in the Village Hall.

 

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.10 pm

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN                                                                         DATE