BENINGTON PARISH COUNCIL e-mail: clerk.beningtonpc@yahoo.co.uk Benington Parish Council Meeting 14 March 2018 at 8.00 pm Benington School Minutes Present: R Bott (Chair) B Morcom (Vice Chairman) S James R Hewlett J Jaques K Daniel In attendance: J Haire (Clerk), and 10 members of the public 01. Apologies: None 02. Declaration of Interests : Richard Bott - Gosmore Paddock 03. Minutes of the Last Meeting a) Acceptance Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 10 January 2018. The Minutes were accepted as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman. b) Review of Actions Restore bank outside the new house on Whempstead Road - The Parish Council awaits further developments. Steve James to monitor. Action: S James Vandalised road sign at the T junction at the top of Church Green and the crossroads on the Walkern/Watton at Stone Road- these reports had been closed by Highways as they were more than six months old! The Clerk had re-reported them. Willow trees bottom of Stoopers Hill - Highways had advised this work would be completed during the 2018/19 financial year. Buses and lorries striking the trees opposite the school - The Chairman thanked Mark Tempest for cutting back the trees for which he was responsible. Highways had advised this report for the section for which they were responsible had been referred to a third party, status high. Parish Clerk to write to Puckeridge Hunt Secretary - the Parish Clerk had written regarding the hounds frightening children in the village. A written apology had been received with an invitation for primary school children and their parents to visit the kennels and meet the hounds and their puppies. It was agreed that Jo Jaques would pass this invitation on to the school, and that the letter would be placed on the village website and Facebook. /J Jaques Chairman to contact Planning Dept re mud in Three Styles created by Developer - The Chairman had passed photographs to the Enforcement Officer. A member of the public advised that a road sweeper had spent a morning around the site. Cllr Daniel reported that tall lamp posts had been installed instead of bollard lighting, which was shown on the approved plans.
Benington Parish Council Meeting 14 March 2018 There had been many complaints about the brightness of the tall lighting and it had been switched off. It was agreed that Steve James would contact the Planners for an explanation. Action: S James 04. Village Pond 05 Roads Kate Daniel reported that there had been a problem with the food sticking in Duck Food Vending Machine due to condensation forming in the bad weather. Upgrade of streetlights to LED and Central Management System Richard Bott confirmed that the upgrade of the parish-owned streetlights to LED/CMS had been agreed at the last meeting. Heritage Style Lanterns - there had been a clear response to the leaflet drop seeking residents views on upgrading parish-owned streetlights between Dragons Green and Hebing End to heritage lanterns. 102 responses by email or letter had been in favour of heritage lanterns between Dragons Green and Hebing End. 6 respondents had preferred the standard streetlight. There had also been requests for warm light, rather than cold blue light. It had been confirmed that the colour temperature of all LED units installed by HCC is 4000 K. This was based on national industry guidance at the commencement of the LED project. Although there are warmer temperatures available, they have an impact on energy consumption ie. use more energy. HCC will not adopt the streetlights unless the colour temperature is as above. The Chairman asked Councillors to vote on whether to upgrade the heritage lanterns between Dragons Green and Hebing End to heritage style at a total cost of 6,800 as outlined in the leaflet, and all Councillors were in agreement. Several responses to the leaflet had indicated it would be preferable in the interest of uniformity to upgrade to heritage lanterns all the streetlights between the village signs on the main roads. This would mean upgrading an extra 6 lanterns at a total cost of 2,862 for the six heritage lanterns. A suggestion was made that the majority of this cost could be found by not replacing the column outside the Old Rectory as originally proposed. As the base of this column is partly obscured by ivy and other greenery, and most of the features on a heritage column are located at the base of the column, the benefit of a heritage column in this position is limited. A very rough estimate, taking in to consideration the savings from not replacing this column, was that the total extra cost of converting the 6 lanterns to heritage style would be approximately 183. The Chairman then asked Councillors to vote on whether the 6 extra lanterns should be converted to heritage, instead of the column outside the Old Rectory. 4 Councillors voted for and 2 against. Richard Bott thanked Sarah Hunt for her offer to pay for the heritage lantern near her house, and John Watts who had donated 100.00 to the streetlight upgrade. The Parish Clerk to advise Ducreux of the decision. Bus Shelter Light Burns Green - it was agreed that a solar powered battery operated light would be installed at an approximate cost of 30. Action: B Morcom/R Hewlett Parking in Three Stiles - The Chairman said that the Asset Management Group, E Herts District Council had decided that they wish to hold the land as Page 2 of 5
06 Planning Benington Parish Council Meeting 14 March 2018 it is for the time being in case things develop in the future. They would however continue to review the situation on a regular basis. Shummery Lane Flooding - Richard Bott advised that since Highways had cleared the gullies there had been no problems. The Chairman expressed concern that the issues would recur if the gullies were not cleared regularly, and he agreed to contact James Vine to try to make future arrangements, as well as to enquire about re-surfacing of the road which was breaking up. He had tidied the old flooding signs and arranged for Highways to collect them. Action: R Bott Speeding Flatbacks and Whempstead Road - Rob Hewlett said that the additional stickers had been received and placed on refuse bins. He had made contact with the Police with a view to arranging a speed check in Benington, and been advised that they would be in touch when the weather improves later in the year. The Chairman read out the following Planning Notices. Enforce Enforcement case E/16/0049/ENF - Old Mead Barn 64 Walkern Road Benington Hertfordshire SG2 7LS. The requirements necessary to remedy the breach have now been satisfactorily complied with, and the file has now been closed. Planning Application Consultation 3/18/0145/HH - 71A Town Lane Benington Stevenage - Single storey side extension and front porch. No objection. Planning Application Consultation 3/18/0170/FUL - Benington Park Farm - Change of use of milking parlour to 4 bed dwelling including extensions and alterations. No objection. Planning Application Decision 3/17/2871/HH - 68 Whempstead Road - Single storey side and rear extensions with first floor extension - withdrawn. Planning Application Consultation 3/18/0399/AGPN - 45 Walkern Road - Prior approval of timber clad stable building tile roof and internal timber and block work partitions. No objection. Planning Application Consultation 3/18/0444/HH - 68 Whempstead Road - Single storey rear extension and first floor extension. Creation of bay window and porch to front elevation. No objection. Planning Application Decision 3/18/0399/AGPN - 45 Walkern Road - Prior approval of timber clad stable building tile roof and internal timber and blockwork partitions - withdrawn. Appeal Decision - 3184877 Gosmore Paddock - the Inspector has allowed the Appeal and given permission for 13 houses. The Inspector s report had mentioned capacity at the school. Jo Jaques said that the school had no knowledge of expansion plans, and the County Council Education Department had confirmed there were no plans for expansion. Two members of the public said that the report had been deeply flawed. Bob Morcom asked the Parish Clerk to establish what legal advice was available from the SLCC to assist in responding to the report. 07 Recreational Facilities Page 3 of 5
Benington Parish Council Meeting 14 March 2018 Update - The Chairman read the following update from Ray Holman: Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions we have had very limited access to the build; when the weather has been okay the ground has not been, and vice versa. We now have a larger pool of volunteers to help when the weather turns in our favor, hopefully very soon. The time hasn't been wasted as we have been working on the building spec, as Richard (Bott) requested, which would allow the PC to release some funds from the new homes building to go towards the build, and we are now nearly there with this after a lot of work from Mark Hughes, Dave Cotton and John Bent. The Battles End event in November is progressing and I will call a meeting with the relevant people in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I haven't more to report but expect more in the coming months when the weather improves. Richard Bott confirmed that he had rung Ray Holman when he took over as Chairman in the autumn, and offered, with the support of all Councillors, to pay for a Building Specification so as to help the Trust with the build and with grant applications. 08 Fair The next Benington Fair will be held on Sat 14 th July 2018. 09 School Cllr Jaques reported that the school had maintained its outstanding grade at SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools to ensure that the school is fulfilling the Trust Deed that established the school in the first place). FOBS had been fundraising to replace laptops and improve the reading section. There had been a successful Race Night at the beginning of March which had raised approximately 500, and 1035 had been raised by a team entering the One True Grit event. 10 Finance 10.1 Accounts Expenditure and Income from 10.01.18 to.14.03.18 were presented to the Councillors as below and approved. Expenditure from 10.01.18 to.14.03.18 Date Paid Name Details Total 05.02.18 Tina Piggott Litter Picking January 2018 150.00 05.02.18 St Peter s Church Annual Maintenance Grant 3,000,00 Benington 05.02.18 Richard Bott Christmas hamper Tina Piggott 102.50 and Leon Stracy 05.02.18 Julie Haire Clerk Salary & Telephone and 404.98 Broadband Allowance January 2018 320.00, pond plaque 30.99, and bin stickers 30 MPH 53.99 03.03.18 E Herts District Council Emptying 6 dog bins on 65 1,162.37 occasions between 1April 17 and 31 March 18 03.03.18 Tina Piggott Litter Picking February 2018 150.00 04.01.18 Julie Haire Clerk Salary & Telephone and Broadband Allowance February 2018, and Duck Food 9.90 and 15.10 Page 4 of 5 345.00
Benington Parish Council Meeting 14 March 2018 11 Income from 10.01.18 to.14.03.18 Date Name Details Total 06.03.18 Ernest Doe Advertising Benington Village Website 10.03.18 Clare Baker Cash from duck food vending machine January 2018 10.03.18 Clare Baker Cash from duck food vending machine February 2018 1 (machine out of order part of month) 09.03.18 John Watts Donation towards upgrade of Parish owned streetlights to LED/CMS Correspondence Received Email message from Angi Ansell, a resident in Town Lane who had returned home from shopping and was unable to park her car due to people parking for the snow drops. Richard Bott had responded and the following week did not place cones at the bottlenecks, which improved the parking. Notice of East Herts District Plan Main Modifications Consultation available to view and comment until 5 pm on 29 March. Richard Bott and Bob Morcom had read the document and nothing appeared to have changed which would affect Benington. Crime stats for January 2018 - no crime in Benington. A complaint regarding a land rover parking on the grass verge in Three Stiles opposite nos 15 & 16. Wooden posts were no longer in situ and the grass churned. The Chairman confirmed that the owner of the vehicle had undertaken not to park on the grass again. In view of the difficulty of getting Highways to replace the wooden posts in a reasonable timescale, it was agreed by all Councillors that the Parish Council would arrange for the posts to be replaced. Richard Bott would obtain an estimate of costs. Action: R Bott Notice of Hertfordshire County Council Waste Local Plan Initial Consultation ending 5 pm on 30 March. Request from Cheryl Latham for assistance with repairs to Benington Nursery shed roof. Bob Morcom and Richard Bott had repaired the roof. Thanks to the Eleemosynary Trust who paid for the materials. Request from Raffie Hosein of the Bell PH to contact Green King re the state of their field next to the Bell. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk would write to Green King with a copy to the Environment Agency. The streetlight on the Bell PH had not been repaired at the same time as other streetlights in the village. The Parish Clerk to establish the reason for this. 12 Members Points of Information Steve James reported fly tipping at the end of Shummery Lane. 13 Date of Next Meeting The Annual Parish Council Meeting will be held in the School on Wednesday 9 May 2018 at 7.30 followed by the Annual Parish Meeting The Chairman closed the meeting at 9 pm. Page 5 of 5 300.00 4.62 14.41 100.00