Radcliffe-on-Trent Parish Council Page 760/14 Minutes of the Amenities Committee Meeting, held in the Radcliffe Room at The Grange, on Monday 08 September 2014 at 7pm Cllr. Mrs Janet Maughan - (Chairman) Cllr John Thorn (Vice Chairman) Cllr. Graham Leigh-Browne Cllr. Peter Robinson Cllr. Mrs Jean Smith (A) Cllr. Pam Thompson Cllr. David Smith (A) Cllr. Dominic Tompkin Cllr. Mrs Josephine Spencer Cllr. Bill Sylvester (L) Ex-officio: Cllrs. Roger Upton (Chairman) and Georgia Moore (Vice Chairman) Also present Jacki Grice (Parish Clerk) and three members of the public 1. Apologies Cllrs David Smith, Jean Smith, Bill Sylvester* (late arrival 7.10pm*) - Approved 2. Declarations of Interest None received. 3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 07 July 2014, it was; Resolved that the minutes are approved and signed by the Chairman. Chairman s Announcements 4. The village is looking great with all the recent planting and painting, a lot of good feedback has been received from residents. Clerk s Report on Items Arising from Previous Minutes 5. M.5 Holme Lane Cycle Track Proposals Paul Hiller, Principal Officer LTP and Travel Planning at N.C.C has advised that a copy of the proposals will be forwarded to Council once they have been determined. 6. M.11 Memorial Kerbs Arrangements are being made for the installation of the new memorial kerbs in the next couple of weeks. 7. M.25. Rocker/Springer The new piece of equipment has recently been installed in the Grange Grounds. 8. M.28 Boules Court Surfacing The sharp sand has been incorporated in the surfacing, no feedback from the Boules Court users received. 9. M.31 Cliff Top The hedge cutting commences this week. 10. M.33 Pavilion Plumbing Works The upgrade is now completed and the Chairman, Cllr Upton, is satisfied with the work. 11. M. 34 Wharf Lane Play Area Gates Due to be installed 09 September. Financial Update 12. Income and Expenditure figures for April to August 2014 were noted. The Clerk would provide a comparison figure for the Cemetery water costs last year for the next meeting and also check which taps are in use. Open Session for members of the public to raise relevant matters, limited to 15 minutes 13. Standing orders were suspended at 7.11pm A blue mattress has been dumped on Cliff Top. Streetwise have endeavoured to collect it, but it keeps moving! The Groundstaff would be asked to try and locate it and store it for collection
Page 761/14.It was noted that the road closure and traffic management procedures put in place for the recent Triathlon event were extremely poor and the village does not appear to benefit from the event. The Clerk would advise Highways of Council s concerns and copy in Cllr Kay Cutts. 14. Standing orders resumed at 7.17pm Council Owned and other Amenities a) Churchyard - Responsibilities 15. It is understood that the Council s maintenance responsibilities do not include maintaining memorials. However the Parr Memorial requires attention and due to its prominent position and the historical links to the village the Clerk would write to the Church Warden to seek their views on the problem. 16. Standing Orders were again suspended at 7.23pm to allow a resident to speak about Dewberry Hill. Liam Dudley representing Creation Cycles enquired if Council would consider the possibility of allowing a mountain bike skills track to be created on Dewberry Hill. Liam advised members of the local enthusiasm and interest in the sport. He was asked to put a formal proposal in writing with a sketch of the track in relation to the area and footpath, the item would then go on the Agenda for consideration. 17. Standing Orders resumed at 7.30pm. b) Cemetery 18. As a skip will need to be ordered for the new kerbs installation, the Ground staff will also be cutting the hedge adjacent to the twitchell to make use of it also. Clerk to confirm hedge cutting specification. c) Twitchell 19. No reports. d) Grange Hall Grounds 20. 1) BBQ Update & Litter Bin Cllr James Spencer forwarded a picture of the proposed BBQ and members agreed it was appropriate. As previously resolved the cost to Council would be for materials only as Cllr Spencer would not charge for labour, the Clerk would seek a budget price prior to the works commencing. A suitable metal type litter bin would be investigated. 21. 2) Sycamore Trees Removal and Replacements The removal of the trees would be considered during Agenda item 9. Various quotes were considered for more suitable replacements, however members asked for further quotes for either White Beam, Horn Beam or Flowering Cherry. It was agreed that four deciduous trees of British heritage would be needed. The item would be considered again at the November meeting. 22. 3) Boules Court Benches The newly sited bench near the Boules Area is suffering from high amounts of bird droppings. The Foreman would be asked if it can be relocated to the edge of the Boules Area. 23. 4) Boundary Wall The boundary wall (left hand side of driveway) has suffered vehicle impact damage and requires repointing. Clerk s Office will appoint contractor to repair. Event vehicles would be encouraged to use Hunt Close entrance. There is a gap between the fence and the Cemetery wall. The Ground staff would be tasked to put a post in or similar. e) Rockley Memorial Park 24. Members considered the option of commissioning a landscaper to design a suitable planting scheme/landscape plan to enhance the park area and keep weed maintenance to a minimum with appropriate ground cover. It was Resolved: not to appoint a landscaper and to seek a more comprehensive plan from the Foreman. f) Cliff Top 25. It was Resolved: Clerk to arrange for additional seeding of approx. 20 square yards, adjacent to the existing test site. Shrubbery in the area would be considered on the November agenda.
g) Wharf Lane Recreation Ground, Skate Park and Pavilion 26. 1) Play Area Fencing A Play Area Working Group meeting would be arranged to review the fencing gaps and also all the Play Areas in general. Page 762/14 27. It was noted that the respect pitch barriers surrounding the football pitch have been tampered with. The Football Club are aware. 28. 2) Green Toilets Cllr Thorn presented members with a comprehensive report about Green Toilet facilities. Due to the high cost of the facility, in the first instance, it was Resolved Agreed to investigate alternative options to provide a public toilet on the Wharf Lane site. h) Valley Road Play Area 29. No reports. i) Saxondale Play Area 30. Although the gate is not self closing, there have been no reports of issues with dogs in the area. It was Resolved not to take any action. j) 19 Rockley Avenue 31. No reports. k) Bingham Road Play Area 32. The Galley Unit has suffered from minor vandalism and the slide has formed a split. The manufacturers have agreed to replace the slide. The Play Area Working Group would review the area at their next meeting. l) Bingham Road Triangle 33. The Foreman will be planting bulbs in October. The opening up of the end of the copse was also considered. It was Resolved To approve contractors to remove the fencing and shrubbery where Bingham Road and Grantham Road meet, - approved expenditure up to 300. m) Land at Dewberry Hill 34. There have been reports of rubbish being thrown over fences and dumped in Dewberry Hill. Cllr Thorn would arrange a Grounds Maintenance working group site meeting to review the area. 35. The Clerk would make enquiries with the Borough Council to include Dewberry Hill and the Lily Ponds as areas under the Dog Fouling Order. n) Lily Ponds Area 36. 1) Survey Update The draft management plan should be ready for consideration in a couple of weeks. Members were updated on progress to date, it was agreed that a working group meeting is required to consider the points raised so far by CRT. The Clerk would arrange a convenient time and date. 37. 2) Angling Society A fourth official Bailiff has been appointed and unfortunately one of the new notices has already disappeared. NOTED. o) Vicarage Lane 38. Highways are still investigating the flooding problem and are trying to find a solution.- NOTED 39. Cllr Georgia Moore left the meeting at 8.45pm p) The Village 40. 1) Street Furniture Resolved To purchase and install two benches (same style as Health Centre) at Shelford Road (opposite Richmond Avenue and outside the Physiotherapists. The later subject to approval by Tanners Land Agents.
Page 763/14 41. The Junior School have been asked to submit details of their preferred bench for outside Brielen Court with a grant request to the Finance and General Purposes Committee for the balance of funds. 42. Resolved To undertake maintenance responsibility of all village benches. 43. Bingham Road Play Area bench would be considered on the next Agenda, the existing Shelford Road bench may be a suitable replacement. 44. Village litter bin provision deferred until the next meeting. 45. 2) Public Toilets Due to there being no ventilation in the public toilets, it was Resolved: To instruct Thoresby Joiners to cut 25mm gaps at bottom of doors, refix metal sheet to face and rehang for 190.00. 46. Standing Orders were suspended to allow the meeting to continue beyond 9pm. 47. Cllr Bill Sylvester left the meeting at 9pm Grass Cutting Review 48. The grass cutting schedule was reviewed. It was Resolved: To continue with the current schedule and to keep it the same for next year. Tree Survey Report 49. Three quotations were considered for all the required tree work arising from the survey carried out earlier in the year. The cheapest quotation at 3,507 was considerably over the annual budget set of 2.000. It was Resolved To appoint AT2 to carry out the removal of the Grange Grounds Sycamores and the two trees requiring cutting back at Valley Road Play Area equating to 1,470 net. The remaining work would be reviewed later in the financial year or deferred until next year s budget. Paramount Security Review 50. It was Resolved: To instruct Paramount to lock the public toilets and cemetery on Friday and Saturday evenings and include Wharf Lane in the village patrols at no additional cost. National Citizens Service 51. Agreed to defer for consideration at the November meeting. Village Recreation and Leisure Facilities 52. Progress still to be made on an inaugural meeting of interested parties to discuss future provision. Reports from Outside Organisations 53. A meeting has been called to discuss the ROTSA constitution and how to take the organisation forward. Cllrs Pam Thompson and John Thorn will attend on 17 th September and report back to Committee. Correspondence 54. 1) Dogs / Cliff Walk A resident requested that consideration be given to signage on Cliff Walk requiring dogs to be kept on a leash. Members felt that signage would not deter dog walkers as the area cannot be policed and any signage would be ignored. It was: Resolved: not to install any signage on Cliff Walk. 55. 2) Notification from Area Rights of Way Officer: Footpath No.9 Overgrown N.C.C Officers have sent a letter to residents of Cliff Drive and Trent View Gardens requesting that the overhanging vegetation be cut back. - NOTED 56. 3) Best Kept Village Competition Radcliffe on Trent came third in this year s competition. Lowdham were the winners NOTED.
Page 764/14 57. 4) Village Planting A resident had emailed to compliment Council on the village flowers. Staff have also received many complimentary phone calls regarding the summer planting. NOTED. 58. Budget 2015/16 It was Resolved: To seek quotations for the following items for possible consideration in the 2015/16 budget. Wharf Lane Toilet Provision Rockley Park Path Re-Surfacing Street Furniture Large Water Bower Grange Boundary Wall nr Cemetery Re-Pointing Tree Remedial Work Outdoor Fitness Equipment Grange Grounds Date of Next meeting 59. 03 November 2014 60. Members requested more frequent Amenities meeting due to the large Agenda s, the Clerk would take this into consideration when reviewing next year s meeting schedule. There being no further business, the meeting closed at 9.19 pm. Signed: Chairman Date.