BOSTON SPA PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the ordinary Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 16 th April 2018 at the Village Hall, Boston Spa at 7.00 pm Present: Cllrs K Alderson, J Beeson, K Blake, S Courts, T Gaussen, M Heum, J Lyne, S Morritt (Chair), C Taylor Apologies: None Late Arrivals: Cllr K Blake Early Departures: Cllr J Beeson In Attendance: V Hunter (Clerk to the Council) Guests: Ward Councillors G Wilkinson, A Lamb Three members of the public were in attendance. The Chair welcomed the members of the public and Ward Members and invited them to address the meeting. In particular the Chair referred to lack of progress with regard to the proposed crossing at Westwood Way/Hampole Way and read out an email that had been sent to the local MP summarising the PC s position. He confirmed that the issue of the crossing was likely to be raised at the Annual Parish Meeting next month. In response Cllr Lamb said that he was embarrassed by the delay that had resulted for a number of reasons and confirmed that the current Ward Members were fully committed to the crossing and would ensure that, if re-elected, the promised consultation would be started as quickly as possible after the election. He confirmed that the consultation would inform the decision but that the ultimate decision would be taken by the Chief Highways Officer. In response to a question from Cllr Gaussen, Cllr Lamb confirmed that the agreed bus stops improvement work and changes to High Street parking was scheduled to take place early in the current financial year. 081/18 To accept apologies for absence and approve reasons for absence No apologies had been received. 082/18 To receive crime statistics and police matters A written report had been submitted: Six crimes had been reported four criminal damage, one theft and one theft from motor vehicle It was agreed to include the security information on scams in the next newsletter Cllr Morritt advised that he had been approached by the PCSO about current problems at Deepdale and asked about the possibility of excluding older children from the play area. Although the Parish Council supported this, in principle, it was confirmed that Leeds City Council, as land owner, would need to take action to progress it. 083/18 To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary and other interests None. 084/18 To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 th March 2018 and review the action list The minutes had been previously circulated. The following updates to the Action List were noted. 008/18 proposals for investment of surplus PC funds - see item 086/18 below 040/18 revised planting in Millennium Gardens now complete 042/18 proposals re finger post at Spa Lane see item 100/18 (i) below 042/18 a specification for refurbishment of the riverside benches has now been produced and quotations requested 068/18 confirmation of insurance requirements re classic car event notified to Festival organisers 073/18 Anne Pearson is doing a dementia awareness session at the Village Hall on 19 th April and will arrange to attend a future meeting of the Parish Council Resolved: That the minutes be accepted as a true record and the action list updated 085/18 To review the monthly figures The figures had been previously circulated. The Clerk confirmed that the annual accounts had now been prepared and would be submitted to the Annual Parish Council meeting in May for approval. Resolved: That the figures be accepted as a true record Page 1 of 6
086/18 To consider and agree proposals for the investment of the Parish Council s surplus funds Further to minute 008/18, a report had been circulated setting out options for the investment of the Parish Council s surplus funds, including the commuted sum that was due to be received in respect of the transfer of the public open space at Church Fields. The report recommended that a total of 66,000 should be place in one of three alternative instant access accounts with interest rates ranging from 0.45% to 0.55%. In respect of the commuted sum it was recommended that this should be placed on long-term deposit, split between two institutions in order to be fully covered by FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) with interest rates ranging from 1.4% to 2.3%. Resolved: The following deposits be agreed Nationwide Building Society - 66,000 at 0.5% (instant access); Cambridge & Counties Bank - 80,000 at 2.3% (5 year fixed term); Julian Hodge Bank balance of commuted sum receipt at 1.5% (3 year fixed) Resolved: Cllr Courts be authorised to open the above accounts signatories to be in line with the current bank mandate 087/18 To approve the donation under S137 expenditure to Boston Spa in Bloom - 500 (annual donation) Details of the proposed spending by Boston Spa in Bloom in 2018/2019 had been previously circulated. Resolved: That the annual donation to Boston Spa in Bloom be agreed 088/18 To approve the annual subscription to the Yorkshire Local Councils Association The increase in the annual subscription had been previously notified. Resolved: That the subscription to YLCA be renewed for a further year 089/18 To consider a request from the Gala Committee for funding towards the cost of temporary banners for the 2018 gala A request had been received from the Gala Committee for a contribution towards the cost of producing the new signage that would be required due to the temporary change in the Gala s location for 2018. Details had been supplied to the Gala Committee of the company who had produced signage for the Neighbourhood Plan and Tour de Yorkshire, which appeared to offer better value than the quote submitted with the request. Resolved: That a contribution of 100 towards the cost of temporary banners be agreed 090/18 To receive an update on the Annual Review of Risk Assessments and confirm any updates required Item deferred to the next meeting. 091/18 To approve the Financial Risk Assessment 2017/2018 The 2017/2018 Financial Risk Assessment had been circulated for review. The assessment had been amended to reflect the risks associated with the Stables Lane Development project. The Parish Council agreed the risks identified and the measures of control. Resolved: That subject to the above amendments the Financial Risk Assessment be approved 092/18 To review the planning applications and agree responses The following applications had been received: 18/01673/FU 18 Wickham Avenue single storey side and rear extension no comments 18/01851/FU 1 Meadow Close single storey rear extension and dormer to front and rear with loft conversion pre-application advice already sought resulting in changes to roof and windows no comments 18/01869/FU 10 Parkfield Drive pitched roof to existing attached garage no comments 18/01908/FU 12 Riverside Walk single storey rear extension no comments Resolved: The Clerk to submit responses on behalf of the Parish Council to Leeds CC, where appropriate 093/18 To approve the agenda for the Annual Parish Meeting on Wednesday 9 th May A draft agenda had been previously circulated. It was noted that a volunteer would be needed to take minutes in the Clerk s absence. Cllr Alderson agreed to approach the former Clerk to ask whether she would be prepared to do it. Resolved: That the Agenda was agreed Page 2 of 6
094/18 To consider a request from Yorkshire Ambulance Service that the Parish Council take over responsibility for defibrillators in the village Further to minute 065/18 the Clerk had written to Yorkshire Ambulance Service seeking further clarification of the proposals. Insurers had also been contacted and had confirmed that both the physical assets and the PC s potential liability were covered within existing policies. The issue of the close proximity of the two devices was considered and it was agreed to review the location of the device at the library. Resolved: That the Parish Council agree to the request from YAS to take over responsibility for the defibrillators in the village 095/18 To consider a request to purchase an area of PC owned land on Ivy Lane to create additional parking A request had been received from a resident to purchase a piece of Parish Council owned land adjacent to his property on Ivy Lane to create a second parking space for the property. This was not supported for the following reasons: Safety issues due to the location of the proposed space on the apex of a junction Loss of green space, which is contrary to the Neighbourhood Plan Resolved: That for the reasons outline above, the request be refused and the resident notified of the decision 096/18 To receive a report on issues in relation to the Parish Council s website and options to resolve these (Cllrs Lyne & Heum) Cllr Lyne reported that he and Cllr Heum had spent time reviewing the current website and had concluded that there was very limited scope to make improvements to it. Problems included fixed page layouts and upload capacity. It was agreed that they would look at alternative providers and would come back to a future meeting of the Parish Council with a business case for a new website. 097/18 To receive an update on streetscene matters and public toilets (Cllr Morritt) Cllr Gaussen advised that there was an issue with the guttering on the toilets. Cllr Morritt to advise LCC. A complaint had been received about an overflowing bin on Parish Council owned land at Wickham close. It was agreed that the bin needed to be emptied and removed and Leeds City Council ask to provide a replacement standard bin to be located at the High Street entrance. 098/18 To receive an update on the Festival (Cllr Morritt) Cllr Morritt advised that despite numerous reminders, a request for funding was still to be received. 099/18 Stables Lane i) To receive an update from the Stables Lane Playing Fields working group (Cllr Alderson) Cllr Alderson reported that the tender process had resulted in five tenders but that unfortunately all five had been in excess of the allocated budget. A provisional report had been circulated setting out options to amend the works to bring them in line with available funds. In principle, the Parish Council supported the proposed reductions but felt that the cycle hoops should be retained for environmental reasons and the St Mary s footpath should be retained as this was likely to cost significantly more if it was done as a standalone element in the future. It was acknowledged that reinstating these two items would result in a slight increase to the currently agreed budget. Prior to formal agreement by the Parish Council of the preferred contractor, further work was required to confirm the price for the reduced works, take up references and complete the required financial vetting. Confirmation of the Certificate of Lawful Development was also still required before work could commence on site. ii) To consider a request from the Bowling Club for a grant towards the cost of proposed extensions to the pavilion A request had been received for a contribution of 2,000. It was noted that a similar request from the Tennis Club in 2015 had been turned down. Resolved: That the Parish Council is unable to provide funding on this occasion 100/18 Riverside i) To consider a proposal to install a finger post on Spa Lane (Cllr Gaussen) Further to minute 042/18 a quotation had been circulated for the installation of finger post setting out two alternatives tannalised larch or fresh sawn oak. Resolved: That the purchase of a finger post be agreed based on Option 2 at a cost of 167 plus delivery Page 3 of 6
ii) Other Further work has been completed on the footpaths by the local volunteer group The wild daffodils planted by Boston Spa in Bloom have done well Tree works undertaken on behalf of property owners has improved the openness of the section of the riverside walk between the bridge and Spa Lane The gateposts on Spa Lane have been removed A request has been received from a resident for an additional bin on the riverside. It was agreed that possible locations would be investigated. Agreement would be required from LCC as the chosen location would need to be accessible for them to empty. 101/18 To receive an update from the People Friendly Village Centre working group (Cllr Lyne) Cllr Lyne reported that expressions of interest had been received from six members of the public - three of whom had previously been on the group and three new people. 102/18 To receive an update on upcoming changes to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) A briefing note had been circulated setting out the actions that the Parish Council would need to undertake in order to comply with the new GDPR regulations. Cllr Heum confirmed that she had already been in contact with Vision ICT in relation to the compliance of the website and was awaiting a final response. It was agreed that the Toolkit produced by YLCA would be uploaded to the Members Area of the website to enable members to familiarise themselves with the requirement. 103/18 Church Fields i) To receive an update on handover of the Public Open Space from Taylor Wimpey Taylor Wimpey have now completed the replanting of the car park bund and replaced some trees as required by the Brooks Ecological report. Formal handover documentation is awaited from TW Legal Department. ii) To consider a request from the owner of 85 High Street for permission to replant the hedge at the front of the property A request had been received from a resident whose property borders the High Street to replace the existing hedge with an alternative hedge at her expense. A request had been considered previously but a decision had been deferred pending the transfer of the public open space to the PC. It was agreed to defer the item to the next meeting in order that the request could be considered further. iii) Other issues - none 104/18 To receive an update on issues in relation to the Grove Road development (Cllr Morritt) The revised Construction and Traffic Management Plan has now been published and has been uploaded to the PC website. Cllr Heum suggested that the PC should formally write to Clifford PC to ask them to consider funding a project within Boston Spa from CIL monies received in relation to the development. It was agreed that the Clerk should submit a request for 10% of the total monies received to be used to support the development of Stables Lane. 105/18 To receive reports from members who have attended other committees and meetings None 106/18 Exchange of Information to raise any emerging issues None 107/18 Clerk s verbal report The annual newsletter has now been received need to arrange distribution to retail outlets The Internal Audit is due to take place on Thursday 108/18 To note correspondence received items of interest 109/18 To approve responses/action to items of correspondence FOI request information to be supplied in accordance with the agreed FOI policy. Page 4 of 6
110/18 To receive late items of correspondence None 111/18 To approve payments and receipts in accordance with the budget Resolved: All payments approved for payment V Hunter Clerk s salary and expenses 607.66 Kirby Builders Merchants Hardcore/gravel riverside footpath 68.40 Boston Spa in Bloom 2018/2019 sponsorship 500.00 YLCA 2018/2019 subscription 790.00 Parish Magazine Printing Annual newsletter 158.25 YLCA Data protection training 45.00 Wharfe Valley Garden Maintenance Millennium Gardens/High Street car park - March 64.58 J Beeson Stables Lane plan 17.77 Daleside Nurseries Ltd Plants Millennium Gardens refresh 86.00 Receipts Leeds City Council Precept 2018/2019 39,320.00 Leeds City Council LCTS Grant 2018/2019 1,564.00 Leeds City Council Wellbeing Grant Village Hall boilers 4,000.00 Boston Spa Bowling Club Stables Lane contribution 295.00 Boston Spa Tennis Club Stables Lane contribution 265.00 112/18 To receive items for the Annual Parish Council meeting on Monday 21 st May 2018 risk assessments, 85 High Street. Any further items to be received by Friday 11 th May. Next Meeting The Annual Parish Council meeting will be held on Monday 21 st May 2018 at 7.00 pm at Boston Spa Village Hall The Annual Parish meeting will be held on Wednesday 9 th May at 7.00 pm in the Jubilee Room, Boston Spa Village Hall Closure There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 21.20 hours Signed Date 21 st May 2018 Chair Page 5 of 6
ACTION LIST 19 th February 2018 036/18 Further develop the draft strategy for resident engagement and produce a draft Cllr Lyne protocol for formal agreement 042/18 Submit quotations for refurbishment of riverside benches for consideration and Cllr Blake agreement 16 th April 2018 090/18 Review risk assessments and confirm whether any amendments are required Cllrs Gaussen & Courts 096/18 Look at alternative providers and produce a business case for a replacement website Cllrs Lyne & Heum 097/18 Speak to LCC about the damaged guttering on the public toilets Cllr Morritt 097/18 Arrange for the bin on land at Wickham Close and request a replacement from LCC to be placed at the High Street entrance Cllrs Gaussen & Morritt 100/18 (ii) Contact LCC to discuss provision of an additional litter bin on the riverside Cllr Morritt 101/18 Contact residents who have expressed an interest in joining the People Friendly Village Centre working group Cllr Lyne Page 6 of 6