Council Meeting, 23 January 2008

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
All Councillors are summoned to a meeting of Helmdon Parish Council to be held in the
Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wed. 23rd January 2008, commencing at 7.30 pm
Members of the public and Press are invited to attend and to participate in the Open Forum
AGENDA
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Approval and Signature of the Minutes for the Ordinary Meeting held on 28 November 2007
3. Matters Arising from the Minutes of 28th November 2007
4. Open Forum
5. Briefing from the Police on the Village Consultation in December 2007
6. Finance th a) Financial statement b) Bills for Payment c) Payments Received d) To consider grass cutting tenders for 2008/9
e) To agree budget for 2008/9
f) To agree precept for 2008/9
7. Correspondence
8. To consider response to NCC Budget Consultation
9. Blackpits Recycling Monitoring Group Report
10. School Playground update
11. To receive the decisions of the Planning committee on applications since 28 November
12. Proposed amendments to Standing Orders regarding timing of May meeting
13. Helmdon Talkabout – vacancies of editor and advertising editor
14. Pavements – Church Street and Shortlands
15. Update on the Draft Proposal of the Proposed Cycle Path to Brackley
16. Parking on the Pavements of Wappenham Road – update
17. Flooding issues
18. B4525 Road Group – update
19. Dog Fouling
20. Allotments
21. Risk Assessments
22. Tennis Courts
23. Councillors’ Questions th
Signed _______________________
Liz Hart, Parish Clerk
[address removed]

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HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the Ordinary meeting of Helmdon Parish Council held on Wednesday 23rd January 2008
in the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7:30pm
Present: Councillors Barnes, Burns, Coatsworth, Duncombe, England, Thorne, Turner, Crouch,
Stothard
Parish Clerk: Liz Hart
Seven members of the public were present. PCSO Suzanne Bourne and another representative of Brackley Rural Safer Community Team
Action
1 Apologies
None.
2 Approval and Signature of the Minutes for the Ordinary Meeting held on 28th
November 2007
Cllr England proposed, seconded by Cllr Barnes that the minutes of 28th November be approved. All were in favour and Cllr Burns duly signed the minutes.
th 3 Matters Arising from the Minutes of 28 November 2007
19 Reading Room – Cllr England informed the meeting that Caroline King has been in touch with the Charity Commission; they had confirmed that there is only one scheme and this supersedes any other Schemes. The only reference to the Parish Council is as Custodian
Trustees. The search for the Deeds is continuing.
4 Wicket’s Mead Bridge – the Clerk updated the meeting; the electricity company has confirmed that they are satisfied that there is sufficient access to the site should repairs be necessary.
16 Remedial Work to the Footpath at the bottom of Shortlands Close
Cllr Burns had spoken with Groves who showed no inclination to remedy the situation. The
Clerk will approach NCC instead
4 Open Forum
Wicket’s Mead Bridge – ongoing concerns were raised regarding Eon’s access route to the network.
Finance – support was voiced for the renewal of the donation to Brackley Cottage Hospital.
Quarterly donations were felt to be a good idea.
Playground area – Cllr Burns responded to a query regarding why the Council is wishing to lease the whole paying field rather than simply the Playground Area itself; the whole has always been leased by the Parish Council for the general enjoyment of all. The issue of fencing has been put forward for discussion.
Permissive footpath – the Footpaths Group have been allowed to clear the permissive path from Jeffs Coachs through to Astwell. It was commented that hopefully the Public will not use the field itself.
Flooding Issues – the Clerk informed the meeting that she had been in touch with the
Environment Agency and that clearing the debris is the responsibility of the landowners.

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5 Briefing from the Police on the Village Consultation in December 2007
PCSO Suzanne Bourne gave feedback on the consultation which was an open invitation to
Helmdon and surrounding villages to allow local issues to be highlighted. Despite leaflet drops and local advertising on websites, attendance had been disappointing with only two attendees from Helmdon and four from other villages. The issues raised were parking, speeding and dog fouling/litter/antisocial behaviour. Parking issues at the Primary School had been raised and other issues had been addressed by the issuing of parking cards as warnings. Regarding speeding, advisory letters had been issued to drivers following sessions with speed guns in Helmdon and Weston. The third issue raised was subject to change. Any issues raised regarding pavements had been entered on to Street Doctor.
The police will be attending the Annual Parish Meetings to distribute feedback forms
Neighbourhood Watch Alerts – the Clerk requested that she receive these as a request had been made to have them displayed in the notice boards.
PSCO Bourne agreed to ask PC Dearsley to follow up and report back to the Clerk an issue with a badger sets and a local hunt which had been reported to the Police.
Regarding speed guns, she confirmed that there was a waiting list for those parishes wishing to take part in Community Speedwatch.
Cllr Burns thanked the Police for attending the meeting.
6
Finance a) Financial Statement
Cllr England proposed, seconded by Cllr Stothard that the statement be approved. All in favour.
Cash & Investments
Current Account (Coop)
Nottingham Bond
Total
20,722.51
500.00
21,222.51
b) Bills for Payment
Cllr England proposed, seconded by Cllr Duncombe that all bills be paid. All in favour
Accounts Payable NET VAT GROSS Cheque
Eon 94.51 4.73 99.24 500050
Helmdon.com 100.00 0.00 100.00 500051
ABB Lighting 99.18 17.36 166.54 500052
Brackley Cottage Hospital (4/4) 250.00 0.00 250.00 500053
+500055
Clerk’s Wages (November & December plus 11 hours backpay )
458.85 0.00 458.85 500054
Clerk’s Expenses (toner, stamps, phone) 20.72 2.93 23.65 500054
1023.26 25.02 1098.28 Total

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c) Payments received
The following were presented:
Interest Dec/Jan 71.69
d) To consider grass cutting tenders for 2008/9
The Clerk had received two tenders and notice that a third company did not wish to submit a tender this year. Cllr Barnes proposed, seconded by Cllr Turner that the tender for £790 be accepted. All were in favour. Clerk informed the meeting that this was from C + E who won the tender the previous year.
e) To agree budget for 2008/9
Cllr Stothard introduced the budget proposal which had been put forward by the Finance
Committee.
Cllr Stothard proposed, seconded by Cllr England that a budget of £11,227 be adopted. All were in favour.
It was noted that this included a budget proviso of £948 to cover the cost of the Clerk’s training for the CiLCA course (with £200 to be obtained from a bursary and Wappenham
Parish Council contribution covering £150 of the cost)
f) To agree precept for 2008/9
Cllr Barnes proposed, seconded by Cllr Thorne that a precept of £10, 279 be requested from SNC, thus bearing the cost of the clerk’s training from reserves and expected interest.
All were in favour.
7 Correspondence
See Appendix A – no further comments.
8 To consider response to NCC Budget Consultation
Cllrs will respond on an individual basis.
9 Blackpits Recycling Monitoring Group Report
The Clerk had circulated details of the NCC permission for the latest planning application.
10 School Playground update
Cllr Burns informed the meeting that Helmdon Primary School had unfortunately not been kept up to date by NCC with the negotiations between NCC and the Parish Council but that this had now been addressed; Cllr Turner was to attend a Governor’s meeting the following day.
Cllr Turner proposed, seconded by Cllr England that arrangements for the provision of the new equipment should go forward. All were in favour.
11 To receive the decisions of the Planning committee on applications since 28th
November
No planning applications had been received for consultation since the last meeting.
12 Proposed amendments to Standing Orders regarding timing of May meeting
Cllr Coatsworth proposed, seconded by Cllr Duncombe that standing orders need to be brought into line with the LGA 1972 regarding the timings of the AGMs in election years. All

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were in favour and the Clerk will bring proposed changes to the next meeting.
13
Clerk
Helmdon Talkabout – vacancies of editor and advertising editor
Cllr Burns congratulated Wilf Forgham and Richard Wray for their tremendous effort in producing such a worthy document; it was felt to be a hard act to follow.
It was hoped that a leaflet drop and advertising on the notice boards would result in new volunteers coming forward.
14 Pavements – Church Street and Shortlands
The pavements on Church Street were felt to be an issue; the Clerk was requested to contact Andrew Grant. The road surface on Station Road was also highlighted as being poor.
15
Clerk
Update on the Draft Proposal of the Proposed Cycle Path to Brackley
The Clerk had written to the landowners requesting their views on the proposal and replies were awaited.
16 Parking on the Pavements of Wappenham Road – update
It was reported the situation was much improved after warning notices had been posted on offending vehicles.
17 Flooding issues
Cllr Burns thanked the Clerk for her efforts in obtaining sand bags during the recent period of weather warnings.
The Clerk informed the meeting that she would continue to liaise with SNC over their proposals for alleviating the flooding issues in Helmdon.
18 B4525 Road Group – update
The next meeting of this group is scheduled for 12th February. Cllr Burns had proposed permanent speed cameras in the vicinity of the crossroads. All Councillors were requested to consider their suggestions to be put to the group and forward them to the Clerk for collation.
19 Dog Fouling
Two letters from parishioners had been receiving relating to a particularly bad problem on
Station Road.The Clerk produced the posters received from SNC; Council felt these to be disappointing. The Clerk will obtain different ones for future use.
20 Allotments
Cllr Coatsworth commented that dog fouling was an issue on the allotments.
21 Risk Assessments
Cllr Coatsworth distributed these to all; the only issue identified which required further analysis was that of the risk associated with obtaining water from the brook. He will report back to the next meeting on this issue.
22 Tennis Courts
Cllr Crouch felt that the previous site on the Jeffs Coaches site could once again be a great facility. The Clerk was asked to write to Ken Jeffs enquiring as to the feasibility of using the land once again.
Clerk

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23 Councillors’ Questions
Cllr Barnes queried whether the Parish Council had any specific information relating to land ownership; Cllr Burns confirmed it did not.
Cllr Barnes commented on the fact that two planning applications had not been sent to the
Clerk by SNC for consultation. The Clerk will write to express concern.
Cllr Coatsworth queried reason for the works on Welsh Lane; this was believed to be due to the laying of water pipes.
Cllr Duncombe reported a lamp failure at Home Farm.
Cllr Duncombe highlighted an issue with rubbish being left behind on the road at Field Way by the waste disposal team. The Clerk will contact SNC.
The meeting closed at 9:42pm

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rd th Appendix A -Correspondence Received – 23 November 2007 – 20 January 2008
South Northamptonshire Council
Weekly Planning Application listings – 28/11,05/12, 12/12,19/12, 02/01,09/01, 16/01
Notice of Decision for S/2007/1362/P – 57A Church Street – permission
Notice of Decision for S/2007/1262/LB – 35 Wappenham Rd – permission
Notice of Decision for S/2007/1202/P – Astwell Mill – permission
Request for precept for 2008-9
Advanced notice of a Housing Needs Assessment in 2008
Strategic Housing Team – Newsletter 1
2007 Electoral Register
Details of Information Session on Taxbase Calculation and amended date – circulated
Christmas Card from Cllr Smith
Invitation to Civic Carol Service – circulated
Advance Notice of Annual Civic Dinner in April – no invitation required
Arts New South Northamptonshire
Dog Fouling Laminate Posters – for distribution
Northamptonshire County Council
• Decision notice for 07/00059/WAS – Blackpits Barn, Helmdon – permission with conditions
• Draft Budget Consultation – on Agenda
• Draft Lease for Playground with responses to amendments – circulated
NCALC/ACRE
Update – circulated on email
Confirmation of David Harries as Internal Auditor
The Playing Field Newsletter – for the Playground Committee
Emails regarding CiLCA course
Miscellaneous
Northants Police – details of budget consultation – circulated to Cllrs and put on website
SNVB – current vacancies posters – displayed
SNVB – notification of the end of the “Pension Information” Project in Towcester
Brackley Hospital Trust – letter of thanks for donation of £250 (Nov 07)
Letter concerning logs on the verges at Falcutt
Email suggesting the Parish Council consider becoming climate friendly as per p 7 of SNC review
Landscape and Amenity magazine – for playground committee
Northants Touring Arts Newsletter
Grass Cutting Tenders x 2
Letters from landowners concerning the proposed cycle path to Brackley – circulated – on Agenda

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Letter from Helmdon Fellowship requesting information on Village of the Year timescales –
circulated
Clerks and Councils Direct
SNVB – Link UP Newsletter
John Hicks – letter advertising a playground inspection service – for Playground Committee
Coop – letter regarding change of signatories requesting further information – actioned
Letter from Tim Bowsell giving times of surgeries and accompanying poster
Brochure from Orchard Street Furniture
Enterprise Solutions – Invitation to an Event “setting up a Community Shop”
Powergen – advice that annual cost will raise to £605.63 based on Estimated Annual
Consumption th Communities and Local Government – Consultation Document – responses by 15 February
Coop – confirmation that the new signatories for the Coop account are now effective
Email from Richard Farquharson regarding Grange Lane flooding – circulated
Came and Company –email regarding Norwich Union insurance – quote requested
Email on Policing budget consultation – circulated
Email asking Parish Council to consider a notice board in Station Road south of the school
Accounts received
• ABB – 116.54 – Lighting Maintenance
• Eon Networks – 99.24
• Helmdon.com – £100.00 – website management costs