Minutes of Sheepy Parish Council Meeting

Sheepy Memorial Hall

6^th April 2010

1) Vote of Confidence in Chairman – Kevin Morrell (Vice Chair) explained that as he had taken over from Jim Aldridge (Chair) at the last meeting, it was decided to have a vote of confidence in Jim Aldridge as Chair. Before the vote, Councillor Morrell commented that, in his role as Borough Councillor, he was involved with several Parish Councils and Sheepy Parish Council was one of the best in the Borough. A vote was then taken and Councillors voted unanimously that Jim Aldridge should remain as Chair.

2) Attendance and Apologies

Jim Aldridge – Chair, Mary Beechey, Pat Bingham, Brian Greenfield, Malcolm Greenwood, Andrew Gough, Oz Hall, Brian May, Kevin Morrell, Alf Oliver, Anne Parkinson

Mavis Bassett – Clerk and Ivan Ould – County Councillor.

8 parishioners

Apologies: none

3) Declaration of Interest – nothing declared

4) Addendum to Standing Orders re Open Forum – The following amendment had previously been circulated to Councillors and it was proposed by Kevin Morrell, seconded by Brian May and all in agreement that the amendment should be made.

"Members of the public will be allowed to attend all Parish Council meetings. They will be notified of dates by a list being placed on the notice board and/or the local newsletter. Members of the public will only be allowed to speak at the Open Forum at the beginning of the meeting or at the discretion and invitation of the Chair."

5) Parishioners’ Open Forum – nothing was brought up.

6) Minutes of the last meeting – The minutes were approved as a true and correct record.

7) Matters Arising from Minutes

a) No parking in Church Lane – following the presentation from Mrs Wilkins at the last meeting, a copy of the response submitted by Kevin Morrell (which had been prepared by the agreed sub committee) had been circulated to Councillors and no comment was made.

b) 20 mph outside school – Clerk advised that the installation had been delayed and she was awaiting a new date from LCC

.

c) Notice boards – Andrew Gough advised that he had inspected the boards and

that they were 90% complete but not installed. It was agreed to pay 90% of the cost.

d) Response from LCC re HGV use of B4116 – Clerk read out a letter received from LCC, a copy of which had been passed to Mr Brown at Cross Hands. After discussion, it was agreed that the Parish Council could not do any more.

e) Report on Community Forum – the Chair reported on the Bosworth Community Forum, which was held in March. He said that, as Carlton were not able to take a grant which they had been awarded from the participatory budget, £2,200 had been given to Sheepy Playing Fields Association for new benches and tables. This meant that all three groups from the Parish had been successful in getting grants.

Flooding was also a main item at the Forum, as three Parish Councils had got together following concerns that the Barwell development would cause flooding in the three areas. Representatives from H&BBC and Environment Agency attended the meeting and the Parish Councils were happy with their response. The Chair asked permission of the Parish Council to write a letter to the Agencies thanking them for their response and reminding them that the three Parish Councils would continue to monitor the situation, All Councillors agreed and the Clerk was asked to remind the Chair of this once a year.

8) Report by County Councillor – Ivan Ould discussed the last County Council meeting, which included discussion on closing a school in Leicester Forest East and care of elderly people in the rural areas. He also informed the meeting of grants, which were available for struggling Pubs and the Community Together grant.

Councillor Ould commented that he had received an email from Robert Kane concerning no parking restrictions in Church Lane but he had not received any protests from parishioners. He felt this would not be viable as it would be difficult to enforce, as there were no traffic wardens in the area.

9) Report by Borough Councillor – Kevin Morrell commented on the Citizen of the Year and Sports Award. Lynne Percival had been nominated from the parish and, although she did not win, he congratulated her on the work she had done within the parish.

He said that the Parish Initiative Fund was again available to voluntary and community groups. Sheepy had been successful in the past (being 5^th in the league table of awards) and Sheepy Memorial Hall had been successful in securing a grant of £4,700 in the last round.

The Bosworth Community Forum was held each quarter and Councillor Morrell said that if any member of the public wanted to suggest an item for the agenda, this could be put forward via the Clerk or himself.

Councillor Morrell commented on a discussion that had taken place between himself and the Councillor for Rural Affairs concerning the Core Strategy and the number of houses that Sheepy had been allocated as part of the site allocation. Councillor Morrell felt, and Bill Crooks agreed that consultation should take place before the houses were allocated to the villages.

10) Correspondence

The Clerk read out an email from Lynne Percival, who thanked the Parish Council for their nomination for Citizen of the Year. She also commented on the ongoing work the Local History Society were doing with LCC concerning the war memorial project.

The following was available for information:

Arts Update

Centre Stage

The Voice

RCC - diary of village events and guided walks

Voluntary Action Leicester - Training programme

11) Crime and Safety - At the instigation of Andrew Gough, discussion took place around whether the Parish Council still need to send a representative to the Crime and Safety Forum. Andrew commented that he had been that representative for over four years and although there are crime black spots they are not in our rural area. He said he would continue his interest in Crime and Safety and report at meetings but he could get information from the Internet and local beat officers. It was, therefore, agreed that there was not a need for a representative to attend.

It was noted that PC Anderson would be retiring in September and was on leave at the moment but the crime figures for the past month were noted as: 2 burglaries in Sheepy Magna/Parva – one from a garden shed in Orton Lane and oil and diesel from Manor Farm Mill Lane. There was also a domestic incident. Councillors Oliver and Greenfield both reported on crimes, which they had experienced and were not included in these figures. They were asked to pass the details to Andrew Gough, so that he could follow up.

Ivan Ould commented on a Safety Message, which was being circulated asking parishioners not to leave items outside their property, where it could be removed.

It was noted that Leicestershire Police say they will have to make £15 million cuts in 2011/12.

Pat Bingham reported that Sibson Neighbourhood Watch would have a meeting this week.

12) Risk Assessment – this had previously been circulated to Councillors and it was agreed that the Chair should sign this as a true record. It was proposed by Andrew Gough, seconded by Brian May and all in agreement that we should add the Bus Shelter, Bench and Notice boards to the risk assessment. The Clerk was also asked if she could keep a second copy of the back up records in a safe place.

The Chair commented on a risk assessment he had carried out on the War Memorial as part of the churchyard inspection. He felt that the War Memorial was leaning and had therefore had a meeting with a specialist from LCC, who had agreed it does need securing. LCC to provide the name of a company in Rugby who do this work and it is expected to cost between £2,000 and £3,000. Match funding should be available. The Parish Council agreed it was their responsibility and asked the Chair to go ahead and get a quote and apply for funding but to keep Church Warden fully informed of the situation and to get permission if anything is added.

13) Accounts and Signing of cheques

The following were presented for payment at end of March

H &BBC Emptying dog bins in Oct, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar £332.76*

A Gough Travel expenses £9.61

Eon Streetlight maintenance to end March £77.87*

Kris Papworth Notice boards (90% of cost) £887.40

The following were presented for payment in April:

MJ Bassett Salary/com/tel/windows (inc extra hours) £801.45

 

*includes VAT

14) Planning

The following applications were noted without comment:

10/00143/FUL Conservatory at Hunters Barn, Upton

09/00983/FUL New agricultural access, land adjacent Meadowside, Sibson Road, Sheepy Parva.

 

15) Any Other Business

The Chair commented on a meeting he had attended at RCC and 50% match funding grants were available for small businesses including: shop fronts, diversification, equestrian stables partnering Bed and Breakfasts and tourism centre. Details available via the Clerk.

Alf Oliver asked Clerk to report a blocked culvert on the gated road from Shenton to Upton.