Council Meeting, 23 July 2014

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
All Councillors are summoned to the Ordinary
Meeting of Helmdon Parish Council to be held in the
Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wednesday 23rd July 2014 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. Declarations of Interest
3. Approval and Signature of the Minutes of the AGM and Ordinary Meeting of 28 May 2014
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes of the above Meeting
5. Introduction from the incoming Head Teacher of Helmdon Primary School and consideration of proposals regarding to grant applications for the School Field
6. Open Forum
7. Finance th a)
b)
c)
d)
Financial statement
To note payments received
To consider bills for payment
To consider any action necessary from the Internal Auditor’s report
8. Correspondence Review
9. Planning:
a) To receive decisions of Planning committee on applications since 28/05/14
b) Update from Parish Clerk regarding outstanding applications including the Spring
Ridge Farm application
10. To consider Neighbourhood Watch Issues
11. To receive update from the Reading Room Committee
12. To consider Highways Issues
13. To receive update regarding the Best Village Competition
14. To receive update from the Playground Committee
15. To receive update from the Allotment Committee
16. Councillors’ Questions
Signed _______________________
Dated________________________
Liz Hart, Parish Clerk
[address removed]

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the Ordinary meeting of Helmdon Parish Council held on
Wednesday 23 July 2014 at the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon
At 7.30pm
Present:
Councillors Burns, Garner, Adhemar, Moody, Coatsworth, England, Valentine
In attendance: Simon Loake (Clerk)
Six members of the public were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming Simon Loake as the new Clerk
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were accepted from Cllrs Barnes and Duncombe.
2 Declarations of Interest
There were none
.
3 Approval and Signature of the Minutes of Ordinary Meeting of 28 May 2014
It was proposed by Cllr Garner, 2nd by Cllr Coatsworth that the minutes be accepted as a true record of the meeting, and they were signed by the Chairman
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 28 May 2014
Cllr Coatsworth informed the meeting that he had ascertained that grants are only available for projects in excess of £3000. Mr Finn has quoted £580 plus VAT to clean and repaint the memorial, including the American Plaque. It was proposed by Cllr
Coatsworth, 2nd Cllr Garner, and agreed that this be accepted.
5 Open Forum
At the invitation of the Chairman, the meeting was addressed by Mrs Julie Crouch, the new head of Helmdon Primary School. Mrs Crouch stated that she hoped for a close working relationship with the Parish Council, and that she wished to improve the profile of the school within the village community. She suggested the installation of a defibrulator within the village, and then called upon Liz Hart to explain the progress of grant applications under consideration. Mrs Hart reported that a bid for
£30k from Sport England has been unsuccessful. £61k funding is in place, and the school is seeking to obtain the required balance. Grants are available from SNC, but it would have to be the Parish Council, rather than the school, that applied for this funding. It was agreed that, outside of school hours, the playground is an important community facility in the village. The work to be undertaken is the improvement of drainage and ditches, the re-grading and extension of the tarmac to provide a bigger play area, which may include a tennis court and additional facilities for the village.
Mrs Hart agreed to undertake the necessary work for the application, and then to pass it over to the Parish Council when appropriate to do so. Mrs Hart stated that the

application was not connected with the NHB, and, if successful, the funding would be from the Community Grant Scheme.
The Chairman thanked Mrs Crouch and Mrs Hart for their presentation, and also took the opportunity to thank Mrs Hart for her excellent service during her period as Clerk to the Parish Council
Mr Roger Miles stated that he was concerned about children playing on the railway viaduct – he had recently seen children on the parapet, and other young children throwing stones over the railway bridge onto the road.
6 Finance a) Financial statement
The Clerk presented the financial statement in a new format, explaining that it was consistent with the procedures he adopted for other parishes where he is Clerk, and he hoped that Councillors would find that this format provided them with the necessary information in an easily digestible manner. It was proposed by Cllr Moody, 2nd by
Cllr Coatsworth, that this format be adopted, and that the Financial Statement be accepted. This was unanimously agreed.. A copy of the Financial Statement is included as appendix A to these minutes.
b) To consider payments received
There were none c) to consider bills for payment
Brown & Barden (Grass cutting)
Playsafety Ltd (Annual inspection)
Eon (lamp maintenance)
Eon (electricity supply)
E Hart (Clerk salary)
V Vicars (plants at war memorial)
d) to consider any action necessary from the auditor’s report
No action necessary
7 Correspondence Review
Correspondence as per Appendix B was reviewed.
The Clerk stated that, as a general rule, he would undertake his work for Helmdon PC
on Thursdays, and he would filter relevant emails and correspondence received and circulate it to Councillors on Thursday evenings. This was agreed.
8 Report from Planning Committee
Cllr Coatsworth updated the meeting on applications received since the previous meeting. Full details are available in the minutes of the Planning Committee

9 Update on Neighbourhood Watch
It was reported there are three “Neighbourhood Watch” signs to be erected in the village.. Cllr Garner stated that they should not be put on powerline poles. Cllr
Valentine offered to assist Cllr Garner in putting up the signs.
10 Update from Reading Room
Cllr England reported that at the AGM it was announced that the income for the year was £20470, and increase of £5k on the previous year. The café had achieved a surplus of £17010, and the 200 club a surplus of £1300.There had been work to the ventilation system in the kitchen, and redecoration and secondary glazing to the front of the cottage. There was a recommendation to replace the flashing and re-plaster, and to remove the damp and replace the units in the kitchen. It was also reported that Cllr
Garner had resigned from the Reading Room Committee, and there would be an election for a replacement. Cllr England thanked Cllr Garner for all his hard work during his period of office.
11 Update on Highways issues
It was reported that the gullies by the war memorial had been cleared, and this had made a considerable difference to the flow in the area. The potholes near Astwell Mill have been repaired, and the work on the superfast broadband cabinet had been undertaken efficiently and with minimal disruption. There was discussion about the signage at the entry to the village, and it was agreed that they should be suitable updated to reflect the success of the Best Village competition. It was also reported that Western Power had conducted a survey to ascertain the efficacy of replacing poles with underground cabling.
12 Update on Best Village Competition.
Cllr Adhemer was delighted to report that she, Cllr Garner and Cllr Burns had attended the award ceremony at Hunsbury, and that Helmdon had been nominated the
Best Village. She displayed the trophies, which for insurance reasons will be kept at the Chairman’s house, and she has ordered photographs of the3 presentation which are to be displayed in the Reading Room. The Chairman had appeared on BBC Radio
Northampton. The Chairman thanked Cllrs Adhemar, Barnes and Coatsworth for all of their hard work in achieving this success, together with the whole village community for their contribution to the upkeep of the village. The judges had made particular mention of the quality of the village website, how wonderful the war memorial looked, and the chairman stated he was truly shocked to see the number of people that had turned out for the visit of the judges.
13 Update from Playground Committee
It was reported that Playdale are to replace the cargo net.
The annual inspection had taken place during June, and there were no major items to report.
Cllr Valentine volunteered to place repair a bolt that has pulled through a post, and it was suggested that preservative should be applied to exposed planks.
14 Update from Allotments Committee
Cllr Coatsworth reported that there is a problem with rats, and SNC Environmental
Health Dept will make a free inspection. Cllr Coatsworth will write to those holders who keep poultry on the site to remind them about the correct storage of food. There

had been a request for a notice board for the allotments, and the old village board, which Cllr Burns has in storage, is to be made available.
There had also been a request for the steps to the stream to be repaired. This is not the liability of the Parish Council, and the allotment committee will find an appropriate solution.
15 Councillors’ Questions
It was reported that the Clerk would not be available for the September meeting (as had been discussed at his interview) Cllr Moody stated that the date should not be changed, and Cllr Coatsworth offered to assist in the absence of the Clerk
Cllr England reported that on 4th August there would be a short service for relations of those who had fallen during World War 1
Cllr Garner stated that the Community Enhancement Gang would be asked to tidy up the crossroads so that motorists have a clear view as the approach the B4525.
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.09pm