DRAFT MINUTES of the EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL (688)
25th April 2023
1. ATTENDANCE
Present Councillors Read, Carson, Dobson, Shore, Tarrant
Public 5 members of the public
Apologies Councillor Flannery
2. MINUTES
2.1 Approval of Minutes The minutes of the meeting of 7th March 2023 were AGREED.
2.2 Matters arising from Minutes
Matters Arising: 2.1 – Approval of minutes Cllr Tarrant confirmed that Pickmere Community Group had now made a donation to the Council in respect of the proposed erection of village boundary signs (see agenda item 4.2 below).
Matters Arising: 8.4 – Neighbourhood Plan The Acting Clerk reported that a Neighbourhood Plan grant of £2450 had been received for the year 2022-23. The recent planning consultant’s invoice had been paid from this grant (as authorised at the Council’s March meeting), but the remainder would have to be refunded to Groundwork (on behalf of the Government). A new application for grant would need to be made for the year 2023-24 if required for NP work to proceed.
Matters Arising: 9.2 – HS2 Cllr Tarrant updated the Council with regard to the petition submitted to the Select Committee in respect of the HS2B proposal, viz. the Parish Council had not yet been called to appear before the Select Committee, although other local parish councils had; this has no implications in respect of the Council’s representations – it simply reflects the programming needs of the petition process and the timing of responses from HS2 Ltd in respect of the Council’s comments.
Agenda Item 9.2 – Replacement Clerk and RFO The Acting Clerk reported that no applications had been received for the Locum Clerk’s position that had been advertised through CHALC.
Agenda Item 9.6 – Arrangements for celebrating the Coronation The Acting Clerk confirmed that details of event insurance together with a risk assessment for the proposed celebration event had been supplied by the event organisers, and that, in accordance with the Council resolution of 7 March 2023, consent had been granted for the holding of the event at the IROS field and Pavilion.
3. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Nil
4. FINANCE
4.1 Current Financial position The report was NOTED.
4.2 New payments The schedule was AGREED/AUTHORISED, including the following additional item:
• Payment of the invoice of Signs of the Times Ltd in respect of the provision of 3 village boundary signs in the amount of £1316.02 (incl. VAT)
In addition, Council noted the current arrangement for payment for the work of the Acting Clerk and AGREED that the Acting Clerk should invoice the Council for any further work he carries out on behalf of the Council beyond 18th April 2023.
Thirdly, Council CONFIRMED the informal agreement made with the IROS fence contractor that he would seek to use on other jobs the fencing materials bought by the Council for the proposed IROS fence and will reimburse the Council reasonably for materials that are re-used in this way.
4.3 Update – Annual Accounts 2022-23 The Acting Clerk reported that an initial and substantial tranche of documents had been submitted to the newly appointed Internal Auditor in recent days. The Acting Clerk would respond to any queries/request for further information from the Internal Auditor, with a view to the accounts being formally reported to the Council for approval in May or June.
The meeting closed at 7.40 p.m.