Minutes of Meeting of Woolmer Green Parish Council
Held on 8th February 2005

Present:              Cllr. Bryant (Chair)   Cllr. Mrs. J. Watson         Cllr. Mrs J. Thom   Cllr. Marriott

In attendance:   Mr Alan Edmonds (Clerk)              Mrs. L. Vincent (Minutes Secretary)  Members of public

1.      Apologies for absence: Received from Cllr. G Daniels and Cllr. Mrs C. Evans

2.      Minutes of Council Meeting on 11th January 2005. Signed as a correct record.

3.      Meetings attended by Councillors: Cllr. Watson attended a meeting on Renewable Energy, where it was stated that by 2010 10% of energy should be from renewable means. It was agreed that a reply be sent expressing the CouncilÕs interest in doing something in the village. Action: Cllr. Watson Cllr. Watson attended the HPTC Open meeting at Knebworth on 20th January 2005.

4.      Bus Passes: Agreed that this be kept as an agenda item to be followed up at a later date.

5.      Private Access to Council Land. It was agreed to follow the legal advice given by Notts. ALC.

6.      Matters raised with Highways Dept of HCC. Clerk had requested a meeting and Mr Tom Atkinson had responded to Cllr. Watson saying they would meet sometime this week.

7.      PPP: Following a meeting with Paul Jarczewski, a list of priorities had been drawn. These would be passed to Tony Bradford, who was taking over his position. All were in agreement that items of immediate concern be highlighted from the list for action, such as the removal of motorbike barriers in passageway, replacement of way markers, new bench.

8.      Light Pollution: Deferred to next meeting.

9.      Hall Structure Report (Cllr. Marriott):

(a)       Repair of table: Quote received was for £200, so Cllr. Marriott offered to repair the table.

(b)       Heating boiler repairs: Works to start on 14th February, taking one week to complete.

(c)       Cllr. Watson reported that she had had to talk to Dave Chell, the barman, who had damaged some of the stone flooring with his heavy barrels. In future, he would use a trolley.

10.   Hall Management Report. (Cllr. Watson):

(a)       Appointment of Hall Bookings Clerk: An advertisement had been placed in the newsletter and on notice boards. Three enquiries had been received and one formal application for the role. It was agreed that Cllr Watson and the Clerk conduct the interviews.

11.   Grounds Report (Cllr. Evans):

(a)       Prominent wooden edging to safety surfaces. This had now been rectified.

12.   Environment (Cllr. Bryant)

(a)       East of England Plan: Council was reminded that replies to the plan must be submitted by 18th March 2005. Cllr. Bryant agreed to look at this.                                                              Action: Cllr. Bryant

(b)       Trees dumped in wood: No further progress had been made.

13.   Publicity (Reported by Cllr. Watson):

(a)       The Parish Plan: Village meeting is on 15th February in Village Hall. This had been advertised in the newsletter and by mail drops.

(b)       Website update: This was now up to date.

14.   Planning (Cllr. Thom):

(a)       Decisions: None.

(b)       Applications: 2005/122/DT: Erection of telephone mast for Orange. Council objected to the application on the grounds that the village had been overrun by a concentration of 3G masts.

Action: Clerk

15.   Finance (Cllr. Watson):

(a)       Payments in January were unanimously agreed, proposed by Cllr. Marriott, seconded by Cllr. Bryant.

(b)       The accounts for April- January were approved, proposed by Cllr. Marriott, seconded by Cllr. Watson.

16.   Young Villagers: Mr. Bill Giddens, the PM Caretaker, had endeavoured to contact some the young people with a view to obtaining names and addresses for a further meeting, but had so far been unsuccessful. Cllr. Marriott offered to talk with the young villagers he had met in the village and inform them that they were invited to a special Parish Plan meeting earlier on the same evening as the main meeting on the 15th February.

17.   Chair cleaning: The turnout for this task had been disappointing. The morning Caretaker had brought her husbandÕs special chair-cleaning machine, which had worked very well. It was agreed that it would be good if this machine could be used again next time.

18.   Clerks Conditions of employment: Cllr. Watson and Clerk had looked at the current conditions and agreed that they seemed fair at the moment. It was agreed that this be reviewed after the Bookings Clerk had been appointed.

19.   Celebration of ParishÕs 5th Birthday on 23rd April: A further meeting of the Entertainments Committee had been held. It was agreed that this celebration should be a cultural day. Most of the surrounding parish Councils invited to attend had accepted. Suggestions ranged from a photograph exhibition, ballroom dancing exhibition, fancy dress and a colouring competition for the children. It was agreed that a proposed programme of events be drawn up Action: Cllrs. Watson & Thom

20.   Inter Parish Conference: At 6:45pm on 21st February in Tewin. Cllr. Watson volunteered to attend. There was also an invitation to attend the Launch of the Police Plan on 21st March 10:30am.

21.   Book of Woolmer Green: Chair reported that a good deal had been struck with the publishers: £2.50 a book for 200 books, with nothing to pay until April 2005. The Council expressed its congratulations to Cllr. Bryant for negotiating this deal.

22.   Annual Parish meeting: Tuesday 12th April 2005. A guest speaker will be needed for this event. Suggestions to try were the new District Chairman, Carl Storer, or someone to speak about Renewable Energy from the Hertfordshire University. Action: Cllr. Watson/Cllr. Marriott

23.   Village Day: July 10th 2005. In commemoration of 60 years since the end of the war, the theme will be of the second world war, with a makeshift air raid shelter, camouflage over the village hall walls, childrenÕs street party etc. The Entertainments Committee will be applying for a grant, which may be available.

24.   Any other business:

(a)   Cllr. Marriott mentioned the possibility of having a Craft and Food Fair at the Village Hall. The intention would be that someone would be paid to run this once set up. Cllr. Marriott agreed to investigate this further. Action: Cllr. Marriott

(b)  Cllr. Watson reported having received a note from Chris Janes regarding the work program for 2005.

(c)   Harry MacDonaldÕs gravestone. These repairs were paid for in December of last year, but Burgesses only completed the job recently. Unfortunately the lettering was no longer visible, so more work was needed. Action: Cllr. Watson

25.   Date of next meeting: Tuesday 8th March 2005

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs Linda Vincent
Minutes Secretary
Woolmer Green Parish Council