Minutes of a meeting of Upton Parish Council (UPC) held at 7pm on Thursday 21st March 2019 in the village hall meeting room.
In attendance:- Mr S Fraser (Chair/SCF), Miss E Cooper (Clerk/EC), Miss K Marshall (KM), Mr B Heneghan (BH), Mr S Norman (SN), Mr I Sykes (IS), Miss J Fidgen (JF)
- Apologies for absence
None received.
- To record declarations of interest from councillors regarding items on the agenda
BH declared an interest in the planning application for Skippets Stables as this is a close neighbour.
- Reports from District & County Councillors
None received.
- Report from the PCSO
None received.
- Approve the minutes of the following meetings:-
UPC 14.01.19
UPCX 28.01.19
Minutes were approved by the council.
- To go through any Matters Arising and Actions from previous minutes above
No matters arising.
- To hear representations from the public
None present.
- To discuss Planning Application(s):-
8.1 P18/V2119/FUL Braeside, Orchard Close, Upton. Amendment – flood risk
Assessment
No action required from the PC.
8.2 P18/V3063/HH Alden House, Aldens Lane, Upton. Amended plans
No action required from the PC.
8.3 P19/V0624/FUL Skippets Stables, Dene Hollow, Chilton
Erection of an American Barn containing 10 stables & small storage barn together
with provision of a sand school & adjacent outdoor training area.
The council voted ‘no objections’ to this application.
- Clerk’s Financial Report & Approve Expenditure
9.1 Updated cashbook report to 19.03.19
The Clerk presented the up to date cash book (previously emailed to councillors).
9.2 Expenses & Invoices (to be paid)
- Clerk expenses for the period 15.01.19 to 21.03.19 Total £3.60
- Clerk NALC pay increase wef I April 2019
The council agreed to the NALC increase wef 1.4.19. Clerk to send details to SN.
- OALC Annual Membership £138.97
- Chair expenses £25.00
- JF expenses £18.90
- Churn Benefice – photocopying of Upton News £240.00
The council agreed that all payments should be made.
9.3 Expenses & Invoices (paid, to be ratified)
- Microsoft Office £3.80
- HMRC PAYE Monthly SO £41.20
The council agreed with these payments.
9.4 Donation Requests to be agreed & approved
- Home Start £25.00
The council agreed to make this donation request. Clerk to issue cheque.
- UPC banking issues post-election (new authorisers, signatories)
SCF raised the issue that new authorisers and signatories would be required
immediately post-election, especially in view of the length of time these changes can
take with the bank. BH agreed to become a new signatory and authoriser. Clerk to
instigate paperwork.
- APM meeting date
Due to school and Easter holidays, the council agreed to move the date of the APM to Monday 29th April. The council also agreed that this meeting should be a ‘meet the village’ event, with this year’s key topic being ‘What to do with the Toddler Play Area?’. Also agreed to make annual reports available for people to read ahead of the meeting from 7pm in the village hall. Clerk to confirm change date and book village hall.
- Items for discussion:-
12.1 Web site update training & IT Update
The Clerk confirmed she had some training on how to update the PC part of the
village web site and would follow this up with a written procedure.
The Chair stated he had set up ‘alias’ email addresses for Office 365 (at no cost).
Any emails received on these addresses would be distributed as appropriate. It was noted that Office 365 did not meet the requirements of UPC. It was further
proposed that UPC switch to Krystal.co.uk. It was agreed that UPC would change
from Office 365 to Krystal.co.uk subject to BH completing the necessary due
diligence. BH to investigate krystal.co.uk.
12.2 Uptonogood?
Mountain Bike Event Saturday 15th June 2019 – use of recreation ground. The PC
agreed to the recreation ground being used for this event. Clerk to inform Bob Lott.
12.3 Chilton Road update
SCF received a request from a villager regarding inadequate signage from the
Chilton Road through to Upton village. The signage was checked and is up to current
standards. However, Highways has agreed to put up “Not suitable for heavy goods
signs” on the approach to Chilton Road in the new budget year.
12.4 Recreation ground signage
SCF had checked other play areas and recommended that new signage for the
village rec should be created to cover who is responsible for the rec, no fires, no
BBQs on the ground, rubbish etc. To be discussed after elections.
12.5 Purchase of small ride on mower
The council agreed in principle to the purchase of a small ride on mower to make it
easier for volunteers who mow common grass throughout the village (current
mower is push variety). Budget estimate of £1400 inc VAT. BH to confirm with
GdeW exact requirements.
- Future planning of the Recreation Ground play areas:-
13.1 Play area inspection rota
KM handed over this responsibility to IS.
13.2 Toddler play area old vs new – agree to defer to APM for open discussion
13.3 Adventure play area pump track resurfacing / running repairs – agreed to defer
to APM for open discussion.
- To discuss Parish Council Elections
14.1 Submission of nomination papers
The deadline for submission was reiterated.
14.2 Councillor Roles & Responsibilities
The council agreed the following:-
Communication – JF
Play area inspection rota – IS
Planning – all
The issue of the current Chair stepping down was discussed. Deferred to the AGM.
14.3 Quorate considerations
Following the election and if no new candidates are nominated, the council will
remain quorate, if a minimum of 3 councillors attend meetings.
- Date of future meetings:-
15.1 Annual Parish Meeting Tuesday 29th April 7pm for 7.30pm start, village hall.
15.2 Annual General Meeting Tuesday 14th May 7pm in the village hall meeting
room.
15.3 Regular Council Meeting, Thursday 18th July 2019 at 7.00pm in the village
hall meeting room.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm.
Outstanding actions from this meeting:-
| Date | What / Who | When |
| 21.03.19 | Clerk to send details of pay award to SN. | ASAP |
| 21.03.19 | Clerk to send cheque for £25 to Home Start. | ASAP |
| 21.03.19 | Clerk to instigate new signatory paperwork with Lloyds. | ASAP |
| 21.03.19 | Clerk to confirm change of date for APM from 16th to 29th April & book room. | Actioned. |
| 21.03.19 | BH to investigate krystal.co.uk | ASAP |
| 21.03.19 | Clerk to inform Bob Lott permission for Bike Night given. | Actioned. |
| 21.03.19 | SCF to consider recreation ground signage requirements after election. | May 2019 |
| 21.03.19 | BH to spk GdeW re new mower spec. | ASAP |
| 21.03.19 | Rec ground signage discussion – all | Post elections |