Council Meeting, 26 November 2008

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
All Councillors are summoned to an Ordinary Meeting of Helmdon Parish Council to be held in the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wednesday 26th November 2008, commencing at 7.30 pm.
Members of the public and Press are invited to attend the meeting 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 24th September
2008
3. Matters Arising from the Minutes of 24th September 2008
4. Open Forum
5. Finance a) Financial statement b) Bills for Payment c) Payments Received
6. Review of all correspondence
7. Planning: To receive decisions of Planning committee on applications since 26/09/08
8. To consider response to SNC’s report on Housing Needs Survey
9. To adopt the Model Freedom of Information Publication Scheme as issued by the
Information Commissioner and the Guide to Information
10. War Memorial – to receive update on replanting and ongoing maintenance
11. Talkabout Magazine – feedback and next issue
12. Speeding Issues – to determine sites for temporary speed display unit and to consider making a request to NCC to extend the 30 limit.
13. To consider supporting the PPMG in a bid to secure grant funding for a Parish Plan
Refresh
14. To adopt a grant awarding policy
15. To receive update from Reading Room Committee
16. To receive update on the Playing Field Licence Agreement with NCC
17. Allotments – to receive recommendations from the Allotment Committee from the
Minutes of 6th November 2008
18. To receive update on MGWSP visit on 19th November
19. To receive update on preventative Flooding measures including meeting with Bulkhead
Properties
20. Councillors’ Questions
Signed _______________________
Dated________________________
Liz Hart, Parish Clerk
[address removed]

08/23
HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the Ordinary meeting of Helmdon Parish Council held on Wednesday 26th November 2008
in the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7:30pm
Present: Councillors Barnes, Burns, Coatsworth, Crouch, Duncombe, England, Stothard,
Turner, Thorne
Parish Clerk: Liz Hart
Five members of the public were present.
Action
1 Apologies
None.
2 Approval and Signature of the Minutes for the Ordinary Meeting held on 24th
September 2008
Cllr Turner proposed, seconded by Cllr Barnes, that the Ordinary Meeting Minutes of 24th
September be approved. All were in favour and Cllr Burns duly signed the minutes
3th Matters Arising from the Minutes of 24 September 2008
None.
4 Open Forum
Work regarding flooding issues –the Clerk was thanked for her efforts regarding working with various authorities in resolving flooding issues.
Footpath from Wickets Mead to Church Street – there are problems with the gate and it is very muddy making access difficult. Cllr Barns will follow this up with the Parish Paths
Group.
5 Finance a) Financial statement
Cllr Stothard proposed, seconded by Cllr England, that the financial statement be accepted.
All were in favour.
Cash & Investments
Current Account (Coop)
Nottingham Bond
Total b)) Bills for Payment
20463.96
500.00
20963.96
Cllr Barnes

08/24
Accounts Payable NET VAT GROSS Cheque
E ON 151.41 7.57 158.98 500087
C and E Grass Cutting 340.00 0.00 340.00 500088
John Thorne (Purely Plants) 102.31 0.00 102.31 500089
Clerk’s Wages (September and
October including 10 hours CiLCA) at
NACL agreed pay increase rates
529.41 0.00 529.41 500090
Clerk’s Expenses (childcare, petrol) 119.97 0.00 119.97 500091
ACRE Subscription 34.00 0.00 34.00 500092
Brackley Cottage Hospital (3/4) 250.00 0.00 250.00 500093
Neptune Outdoor Furniture Ltd 1086.00 190.05 1276.05 500094
Between Ourselves (Water Pump
Installation)
160.00 0.00 160.00 500095
Mr S Loveday (allotment key return) 5.00 0.00 5.00 500096
2778.10 197.62 2975.72 Total
Cllr Stothard proposed, seconded by Cllr England that all bills above presented for payment be paid. All were in favour. It was noted that cheque 500093 was a donation to be paid under s137 of the LGA 1972.
Cllr Burns thanked the Clerk for additional work she had carried out regarding flooding issues and asked for a bill for payment for £200 in recognition of this to be presented for approval at the January 2009 meeting.
Clerk c) Payments Received
The meeting noted the payments as follows:
Receipt Accounts Received
Nottingham Bond 9.38 —
Wappenham Parish Council 150.00 A/037
Helmdon Primary School (key deposit)
5.00 A/038
Richard Wray (key deposit) 5.00 A/039

08/25
6 Review of all Correspondence
The correspondence as per Appendix A was reviewed.
Cllr Burns commented on inaccuracies in the East Midlands Regional Assembly consultation (Partial Review of Regional Plan).
7 Planning: To receive decisions of Planning committee on applications since 26/09/08
To be considered for observation:
Application number: S/2008/1459/P
Location: Stone Gables 17 Station Road Helmdon
Proposal: Single storey rear lean-to extension with glazed roof (amendment to
S/2007/0707/P)
The Committee supported the application.
To be considered for observation:
Application number: S/2008/1460/LB
Location: Stone Gables 17 Station Road Helmdon
Proposal: Single storey rear lean-to extension with glazed roof (amendment to
S/2007/0708/LB)
The Committee supported the application.
8 To consider response to SNC’s report on Housing Needs Survey
The meeting discussed in detail the issues raised in the Draft Report and made the following observations:
a) In the key findings it stated that “78% of respondents are in favour of some form of affordable hosing provision for local people.” This was felt to be misleading as 39%
were in favour, 22% not and 39% gave “maybe” as an answer. Comments were made that “maybe” was not a strong statement of support and should not be construed as being “in favour”.
b) The number of concerns regarding a new development was 294, an average of 2.8
concerns per respondent .It was felt that this was a high number and that the report did not pay sufficient attention to the concerns raised.
c) It was felt that the consequences of b) were that the report was imbalanced leading
Councillors to question whether the report was being made to fit a given Agenda.
The Clerk will feed back comments to Nadeem Khan at SNC.
9
Clerk
To adopt the Model Freedom of Information Publication Scheme as issued by the
Information Commissioner and the Guide to Information
Cllr Stothard proposed, seconded by Cllr Turner that the Model Freedom of Information
Publication Scheme be adopted. All were in favour.
Cllr Crouch proposed, seconded by Cllr Thorne, that the Guide to Information as detailed in
Appendix B below be adopted. All were in favour.
10 War Memorial – to receive update on replanting and ongoing maintenance
Cllr Thorne had organised a working party to replant and tidy up the area. All agreed that it looked very well kept for the Service of Remembrance and the Clerk was requested to thank all who had helped.
The Finance Committee was requested to consider a budget of £50 per year as ongoing maintenance when setting the Draft budget.
Clerk
Finance
Committee

08/26
It was suggested that the US Forces may like to have a permanent memorial stone – Cllr
Stothard will ask Will Adams if he would approach the Officers concerned.
Cllr Stothard
Cllr Thorne is setting up a rota for keeping the area tidy; anyone able to help should contact him.
11 Talkabout Magazine – feedback and next issue
Cllr Thorne thanked all volunteers who had distributed the last issue. Cllr Burns noted that the Parish Council appreciated the work undertaken by Cllrs Thorne and Stothard.
12 Speeding Issues – to determine sites for temporary speed display unit and to consider making a request to NCC to extend the 30 limit.
Cllr Burns proposed that the Clerk should Draft a letter to NCC determining sites and also asking them to consider extending the 30 speed limit. This will be reviewed at the January meeting.
The Road Safety Committee may meet in the meantime to discuss the issue.
13 To consider supporting the PPMG in a bid to secure grant funding for a Parish Plan
Refresh
On behalf of the PPMG Cllr Barnes sought a proposal of support from the Parish Council to secure grant funding for a Refresh as it was felt that all the quick wins identified had been achieved and that outstanding items may not come to fruition. Cllr Coatsworth seconded the proposal and all were in favour.
14 To adopt a grant awarding policy
This will be reviewed at the next meeting of the Finance Committee when the budget and precept are prepared for approval at the January PC meeting.
15 To receive update from Reading Room Committee th Cllr England reported that the next General Meeting was to be held on 9 December. New bunded oil tanks had been fitted to comply with Building Regulations; some roof work had been completed with more due to be carried out. The Cllrs were asked to email Cllr England with any issues that may have regarding refurbishment.
16 To receive update on the Playing Field Licence Agreement with NCC
There was no update as no further communication had been forthcoming from NCC.
17 Allotments – to receive recommendations from the Allotment Committee from the
Minutes of 6th November 2008
Cllr Coatsworth gave the meeting a summary of the Allotments Committee meeting. The proposals from the meeting were
• For the waiting list, parishioners should have priority on the list, followed by people from outside the village, and finally existing allotment holders wishing to have additional plots.
All would be placed in order of the date of application.
• To turn down Mr and Mrs’s Wray proposal to purchase some allotment land due to o it setting a precedent on land where many allotment holders have adjacent gardens o it being an irreversible decision o an anticipated increase in demand for plots
• To consider the splitting of plots on an ad hoc basis if requested by an allotment holder
Clerk
Road Safety
Committee

08/27
• Regarding plot maintenance that a period of one year, weather conditions permitting should be enough to commence improvements on a plot and that if no improvements were seen then notice should be given.
Cllr Coatsworth proposed seconded by Cllr England that all recommendations should be adopted. All were in favour. It addition it was decided that in order for a plot to be “in a good state of cultivation and fertility and in good condition” the land must be used for growing crops such as flowers, fruit and vegetables rather than merely being laid to grass.
18 To receive update on MGWSP visit on 19th November
As a consequence of the meeting with Mark Gatland the following works were scheduled to commence in the next week:
• Shortlands Close – Footway Reconstruction / Surfacing (Part, section leading to post box)
• Church Street – Footway Reconstruction / Surfacing (worst areas only
• Station Road – Footway Reconstruction / Surfacing (small area only)
• Wappenham Road – Build up of footpath just past bridge
• Station Road – Carry out drainage works – fit 45 degree bends to the outfalls /
investigate installation of 1 No new gully opposite the green
Cllr Crouch left the meeting.
19 To receive update on preventative Flooding measures including meeting with
Bulkhead Properties
Cllr Burns informed the meeting that Bulkhead Properties had indicated that they would do as much as possible to help with the flooding. Cllr Barnes indicated that a working party needed to be set up to investigate the capacity and levels for diverting water across towards the brook and he volunteered to co-ordinate this. Cllr Burns will approach Mr Williams the landowner to seek permission for clearance work to be carried out on his land.
20
Cllr Barnes
Cllr Burns
Councillors’ Questions
Cllr Coatsworth requested that “Application for Quality Status” be placed on the January
Agenda.
Clerk
Cllr Barnes requested that “Policy Review” be added to the January Agenda. The Clerk will ascertain any formal recommendations on policies in the meantime.
Clerk
The meeting closed at 9.22pm

08/28
Appendix A- Correspondence Received – 23rd Sep 2008 – 23rd November 2008
South Northamptonshire Council

Weekly Planning Application listings o Planning Applications:
Planning Applications:
o S/2008/1149/P – 19 Station Road, Helmdon – 1st floor extension to side and loft conversion with 2 no. dormers to the front & 1 no. dormers to side – notice of refusal –
communicated o S/2008/1075/P – 57 Church Street – Erection of garden shed in rear garden – notice of permission – communicated o S/2008/1071/P – Manor Farm Barn – Conversion of agricultural barn to two dwellings, conversion of adjacent outbuildings to garaging and ancillary domestic storage and change of use of land to residential garden – notice of permission – communicated o S/2008/0314/P – Jeffs Coaches –Detached Workshop – notice that application has been withdrawn – communicated
Register of Electors – monthly alterations
Susan Hope (Affordable Housing) – notice that Nadeem Khan will now be following up the
Housing Needs Survey as Susan has left SNC
Nadeem Khan – Draft copy of Helmdon Housing Needs Survey – on Agenda for comments
Tom Livingstone – letter of response regarding flooding responsibilities – circulated
Landlord News and Views – Autumn 2008
Details of SNC’s re-organisation and contact details
Invitation to discussion forum – development implementation and related services – arrived too late for circulating prior to event
Invitation to “Meet the Directors” Event at Brackley Town Hall on 3rd December – communicated
Arts News South Northamptonshire – newsletter Sept-Dec 2008
Village confines Policy Consultation – consensus gathered by email to comply with timescales
Northamptonshire County Council
•
•
•
•
•
•
MGWSP – letter of response regarding flooding responsibilities – circulated
Details of revised ordering and invoice payment Process
Mineral and Waste Development Framework – consultation details – – circulated
Public Participation & External Communication Strategy consultation
Request from Zafran Khan for 10 Highways Priorities to be submitted – consensus gathered by email to comply with timescales
Details of Northampton Flood Fair – forwarded to all affected
NCALC
•
•
•
Update – forwarded on email
Details of new pay scales for Clerks
Details of funding to form new Parish Councils – circulated
ACRE
•
•
•
•
•
•
Results of the Village of the Year Competition and accompanying email
Annual Report and Accounts 2007-8
Village Viewpoint
Updates on ACRE’s work
The Playing Field Newsletter – for Playground Committee
Details of COMMA – Community Aggregates Funding – not applicable
Miscellaneous

Cooper bank statement – October, November
Solutions for Playgrounds – advertising and details of playground inspection fees

08/29

Wicksteed – details of playground inspection fees
Anglian Water – letter of response regarding flooding responsibilities – circulated
Bulkhead Properties – letter of response regarding flooding responsibilities – circulated
Environment Agency – letter of response regarding flooding responsibilities – circulated
Brackley Cottage Hospital Trust – letter of thanks for £250 (September) donation and confirmation that they would like to apply for a donation for 2009-10
Link Up – SNVB Newsletter Sept/October and November/December
Will Adams – letter of thanks for Councillors’ support at the Act of Remembrance – circulated
Helmdon Primary School – letter of thanks for £2000 donation towards the “Trim Trail”
Northants Touring Arts – promotional literature
East Midlands Regional Assembly – consultation on Partial Review of Regional Plan – details circulated – closing date 12th Dec
Alzheimer’s Society Newsletter
Communities and Local Government – details on consultation on code of conduct for local authority members and employees – communicated
Accounts received
• John Thorne (Purely Plants) – £102.31
• ACRE Subscription – £34.00
• C and E – grass cutting – £340.00
• Neptune Outdoor Furniture – £1276.05
• Between Ourselves – £160.00
• EON – £158.98
Payments Received
• Nottingham Bond – £9.38
• Wappenham Parish Council – £150.00 (for proportion of Clerk’s CiLCA training)
• R Wray – £5 for allotment key deposit
• Helmdon Primary School – £5 allotment key deposit

08/30
Appendix B – Information available from Helmdon Parish Council under the model publication scheme
Information to be published How the information can be obtained
Cost
Website
Hard Copy
Website
Hard Copy
Free
10p
Free
10p
Hard Copy
Within Minutes
(see below)
Within Minutes
(see below)
60p
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
Class1 – Who we are and what we do
Who’s who on the Council and its Committees
Contact details for Parish Clerk and Council members (named contacts where possible with telephone number and email address (if used))
LL oo c c aa tt i i o o nn o o ff m m aa ii nn C C oo o u u n n cc i i ll l oo ff f f ii cc e e a a n n dd a a cc c c ee ss s s ii bb ii i ll ii tt y y d d ee tt a a ii ll s s
S S t t aa f f f i i n n g g s s tt r r uu cc c t t u u r r ee
Class 2 – What we spend and how we spend it
(Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit)
Current and previous financial year as a minimum
Annual return form and report by auditor
Finalised budget
Precept
B B o o rr rr o o w A p p pp rr o o v v aa l l ll ee tt t t ee r r w ii nn gg A
Financial Standing Orders and Regulations

08/31
Grants given and received
List of current contracts awarded and value of contract
M M e e m m bb ee rr r s s ’’ a a ll l l o o w w aa n n c c ee s s a a n n dd e e xx p p e e nn ss e e ss
Within Minutes
(see below)
(Within Minutes)
(see below)
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
Website
Hard Copy
Website
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
Free
10p/ sheet
Website
Hard Copy
Email
Hard Copy
Website
Hard Copy
Within Minutes
Free
10p/ sheet
Free
10p/ sheet
Free
10p/ sheet
Class 3 – What our priorities are and how we are doing
(Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews)
Parish Plan (current and previous year as a minimum)
Annual Report to Parish or Community Meeting (current and previous year as a minimum)
Q Q uu aa l l i i tt t yy ss t t aa t t uu ss
LL oo c c aa ll c c hh a a r r tt e e r r ss dd r r a a w w nn n uu p p ii nn aa cc c c oo r r d d aa nn cc c ee w w ii tt h h D D C C LL G G gg uu u i i d d e e ll i i n n ee ss
Class 4 – How we make decisions
(Decision making processes and records of decisions)
Current and previous council year as a minimum
Timetable of meetings (Council, any committee/sub-committee meetings and parish meetings)
Agendas of meetings (as above)
Minutes of meetings (as above) – N.B this will exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting.
Reports presented to council meetings – N.B this will exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting.
Responses to consultation papers
Responses to planning applications
Bye-laws
Within Minutes
Within Minutes
Within Minutes

08/32
Class 5 – Our policies and procedures
(Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities)
Current information only
Policies and procedures for the conduct of council business:
Procedural standing orders
Committee and sub-committee terms of reference (within Standing Orders)
Delegated authority in respect of officers
Code of Conduct
Policy statements
Policies and procedures for the provision of services and about the employment of staff:
II n n t t e e r r nn aa l l pp oo ll l ii cc i i e e s s rr ee l l aa t t ii nn gg tt o o t t hh ee dd ee l l i i vv v e e rr yy o o f f ss e e r r vv i i c c ee ss
E E q q uu aa ll ii tt y y a a nn dd dd ii vv e e rr ss i i t t yy pp p o o l l i i c c yy
Health and safety policy (under Risk Assessment Policy)
R R ee e c c rr u u i i t t m m ee nn t t p p oo ll ii c c ii i ee s s ( ( ii n n cc l l u u d d i i n n gg c c uu r r rr ee nn n t t v v aa c c aa nn c c ii ee ss ) )
Policies and procedures for handling requests for information
Complaints procedures (including those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme)
Information security policy (under Risk Assessment Policy)
R R ee e c c oo rr d d ss m m a a nn aa g g e e m m e e nn tt p p o o l l i i c c ii ee ss (( ( r r ee cc o o rr dd s s r r ee tt e e nn tt i i o o nn ,, d d e e s s tt rr uu c c tt i i o o n n a a n n dd a a rr cc c hh ii vv e e ) )
D a t a p r o t e c t i o n p o D a a t a p r o t e c t i o n p o ll ii cc i i ee s s
Schedule of charges (for the publication of information)
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet

08/33
Class 6 – Lists and Registers
Currently maintained lists and registers only
Any publicly available register or list
Assets Register
Disclosure log
Register of members’ interests
Register of gifts and hospitality
Class 7 – The services we offer
(Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters produced for the public and businesses)
Current information only
A A l l l l o o t t m m ee nn n t t ss
B B u u rr ii aa ll l g g rr o o u u nn dd ss a a n n d d c c ll oo ss e e dd c c hh u u r r cc h h y y aa r r dd ss
C C o o m m m m uu n n i i t t yy cc c e e nn tt rr ee s s a a n n dd v v ii i ll ll aa gg e e hh a a l l l l s s
P P a a rr kk s s ,, p p l l a a y y ii nn g g ff i i e e ll dd ss aa n n d d r r e e cc r r e e aa tt i i o o nn aa l l ff a a c c ii ll ii tt i i e e s s
S S e e aa tt i i n n g g ,, ll ii tt t t ee r r b b i i n n s s ,, c c ll oo cc k k ss , , m m o o rr ii aa ll ss aa a n n d d l l i i g g h h t t i i nn n g g m e e m
B u s s h e l t e r s B u s s h e l t e r s
M M a a rr k k e e tt s s
P P u u bb ll ii cc cc o o n n vv e e n n ii e e nn cc e e ss
A A g g ee nn cc c y y aa gg r r e e ee m m ee nn t t ss
A s u m m a r y o f A s u m m a r y o o f s s ee r r v v ii i cc e e ss ff o o rr w w hh i i cc hh t t hh e e cc oo uu nn c c ii ll i i ss e e n n t t i i tt ll e e dd t t o o rr e e c c oo o v v ee rr aa ff e e ee ,, tt t oo gg e e t t hh e e r r w w ii tt h h tt t hh oo s s ee f f ee e e e s s
(( ee . . gg . . b b u u rr i i aa l l ff e e e e ss)
(hard copy or website; some information may only be available by inspection)
By Email
Hard Copy
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
Free
10p/ sheet
Within Minutes
By Email
Hard Copy
By Email
Hard Copy
Free
10p/ sheet
Free
10p/ sheet

08/34
Additional Information
This will provide Councils with the opportunity to publish information that is not itemised in the lists above
Contact details:
Mrs Liz Hart (Parish Clerk)
[address removed]
Tel: [phone number removed]
Email: parishcouncil@helmdon.com
SCHEDULE OF CHARGES
TYPE OF CHARGE
Disbursement cost
DESCRIPTION
Photocopying @ 10.p per sheet (black & white)
BASIS OF CHARGE
Actual cost *
Postage Actual cost of Royal Mail standard 2nd class
Note that cleared funds must be received in advance
* the actual cost incurred by the public authority