Minutes of Meeting of Woolmer Green Parish Council
Held on Tuesday 11th May 2004

Present:              Cllr. Mrs. J. Watson (Chair)           Cllr. Mr. P. Kirk        Cllr. Mrs C. Evans
  Cllr. Mr. H. Bryant                       Cllr. Mr. G. Daniels   Cllr. Mrs J. Thom

In attendance:   Mrs. L. Vincent (Minutes Secretary, acting Clerk for this meeting)
Members of the public

1.      Apologies for absence: Received from Mr Alan Edmonds (Clerk)

2.      Election of chairman and Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Chairman: Cllr. Watson stood down from chair and proposed Cllr Bryant be the new chair, seconded by Cllr. Daniels. All were in agreement. Cllr. Bryant accepted the position on condition it is reviewed in three months and he signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, countersigned by the Acting Clerk. Cllr. Bryant then took over chairing the meeting.

3.      Election of Vice-Chairman: Cllr Bryant relinquished his office of Vice-Chair and proposed Cllr. Daniels, seconded by Cllr. Evans. Cllr. Daniels accepted the position, again with a condition of a review after three months, and he signed the declaration of Acceptance of Office, countersigned by the Acting Clerk.

4.      Acceptance of Cllrs. Declaration of Interest Forms. All councillors were asked to look at the declaration of interest forms, make any changes and sign them as correct.

5.      Appointment of Cllrs to outside bodies: Welwyn District Road Safety Committee (presently Cllr. Bryant). Cllr. Thom and Cllr Evans agreed in principle to share the attendance at these meetings, subject to confirmation of the dates.

6.      Responsibilities of Councillors: All councillors were happy to keep their areas of responsibilities as follows:

7.      Cllr. Kirk Ð Hall, Cllr. Evans Ð Grounds, Cllr. Thom Ð Planning, Cllr. Bryant Ð Environment, Cllr. Daniels Ð Publicity, Cllr. Watson Ð Hall bookings/income & expenditure

8.      Approval of continued membership of HALC: (Now called HAPTC). All were in agreement that the subscription payment of £362 for continued membership be paid.

9.      Approval of storage of deeds and trust instruments: All were in agreement to continue using owe, Roche and Waller for storage of these documents.

10.   Minutes of Council Meeting on 9th March and matters arising.

The minutes were signed as a correct record.

Matters arising:

i.        The refund for the cost of printing the footpaths maps has now been received.

ii.      Highways have refused the petition regarding a safer crossing at Lisles Garage. No accidents have been reported in that area, therefore the expenditure was not justified. All were in agreement that this be pursued further.                                                                                        Action: Cllr. Watson

iii.     The letter to all those residents with access to Parish Council land has not yet been sent out.                                                                                   Action: Clerk

iv.     The issue of the height of the kerbs outside Cawdor Stone Gallery needs to be followed up.                                                                                       Action: Clerk

v.      The Emergency Book was not discussed at the Annual Parish Meeting.

 

11.   The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting of 6th April 2004 were signed as a correct record.

Matters arising:

On Monday 17th May there will be a meeting at the village Hall for all those who expressed an interest in becoming co-ordinators for the Neighbourhood watch. A few roads have not replied to the initial call for help, so there will be no watch on these roads.

12.   Past ChairmanÕs report and meetings attended.

i.        Sorrow was expressed at the death of Arthur Jones, Chairman of Welwyn Parish Council, whose funeral Cllr. Watson attended the previous week.

ii.      Cllr. Watson attended the launch of the Police Plan for Hertfordshire, and the Clerk attended the meeting of the District, Parish and Town Councils. The CouncilÕs regret at the lack of representation of District Council at the Annual Parish meeting was made known.

iii.     It was very pleasing to see so many people at the Annual Parish Meeting, with a good community spirit in evidence. Thanks were expressed to Michael Burge for painting the play equipment in Garden Road so beautifully and Dave Castle for donating and erecting the new coat racks in the entrance the village hall.

iv.     There have been some new regular community bookings for the Hall: Guides has started up (thanks to Beverley Turner) and badminton for young people. Both the Karate and Weightwatchers are well attended.

v.      There was a good response to starting up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, with the first meeting to be on 17th May.

vi.     The spare capacity in the football season has now been filled by a team from Tom Tiddlers Pub in Stevenage.

vii.   Cllr. Watson concluded by saying how much she has enjoyed being Chairman and wished the new chairman much joy and satisfaction.

Standing Orders were suspended at this point to allow Gerry Wright, the new Community police officer to present a report of the crime in the region, from 1st March. There was 4 reports of burglaries, 3 reported thefts of motor vehicles. There were also reports of wrought iron railings being removed. Warning signs have been erected around the Heath reminding people not to leave their bags etc. on view in cars. The Church received some vandalism, with smashed bottles and windows. On London Road a greenhouse was smashed. Lisles Garage had 4 reported incidents of not paying for petrol.

The chair thanked Gerry for attending the meeting.

13.   Village Hall Report (Cllr. Kirk):

i.        The floor has been installed, with tiles by Cawdor, and looks marvellous. As a result the doors had to be altered to fit, which has been completed. Photographs of the floor have been taken and put onto the village website and in the village newsletter.

ii.      The new fridgeis now in place and working well.

iii.     There has been a case of vandalism, with some youths getting up onto the roof of the Hall.

iv.     Last month a washbasin was damaged in the changing rooms by an away team. The cost of repair is £120.

14.   Grounds Report (Cllr. Evans):

i.       Garden Road playground: All new equipment has now been installed and safety matting installed.

ii.      Have received some new Òno foulingÓ notices to put up. Need to decide where they should go and how to erect them.

iii.     The hedgerow at the back of Garden Road needs cutting back. Currently trying to discover who owns the hedge.

15.   Environment Report (Cllr. Bryant):

i.       Need to receive an update from PPP as to which projects have not been completed which had received approval to go ahead.                             Action: Clerk

ii.     Cllr. Bryant proposed to have a litter picking session in the village. All were in agreement that this was a good idea. Would need to provide gloves and pickers, and publicise it well.                                                      Action: Cllr. Bryant

16.   Publicity (Cllr. Daniels):

i.        Village of the Year update: The entry has been completed, with three quarters of the categories entered into (businesses, old people and the environment). Details will be posted on the website and in the village newsletter.

ii.      Website update: The website is currently only 6 weeks behind schedule, being updated now by Cllr. Daniels. The site is woolmergreenpc.co.uk.

iii.     Parish plan update: The show of hands at the Annual Parish meting indicated an interest in producing a parish plan.

17.   Planning (Reported by Chair in absence of Cllr. Thom):

i.        Decisions: .1 Twin Foxes conservatory Ð granted. Land at 20 London Road (Nigel Jones site) for 6 flats Ð passed. 18 London Road (Old Police House) extensions Ð refused.

ii.     Application 488 Erection of a slim line lattice tower at Mardleybury Farm for Vodaphone:- No comment.

iii.   Application 407 Formation of a timer-decked patio at the Chequers:- No comment.

iv.     Application 501 2 Storey side and rear extension and single-storey rear extension at 13 Bridge Road: no comment.

v.       Application 537 Mardleybury Farm House single storey rear extension Ð The Council understood this to be a listed building therefore commented that it would have no objections if the building was not listed.

18.   Finance (Cllr. Watson):

i.        Cllr. Bryant proposed, seconded by Cllr. Evans that the payments made in March and April be accepted. All were in agreement.

ii.      The accounts to date were unanimously approved, proposed by Cllr. Bryant and seconded by Cllr. Kirk. In addition, the end of year accounts were approved, proposed by Cllr. Howard, seconded by Cllr. Thom.

iii.     The Auditors reported on the 2002-3 accounts, commented that insufficient assessment of risks had been made, with insufficient insurance cover. The Council were delighted that this was the only comment made on the accounts.

iv.     Minutes of Finance Committee meeting on 20th April 2004:- It was proposed by Cllr. Thom, seconded by Cllr. Evans that the minutes be accepted, all were in agreement. Council were in agreement that Cllr. Watson and Cllr. Bryant meet to decide the best approach with respect to suitable insurance to cover risk.

v.      All Councillors were asked to indicate any changes to their risk assessment.

19.   Nomination for HAPTC committee: Cllr. Watson spoke with Peter Neville. Cllr. Watson was asked to sit on the committee. Cllr. Watson agreed.

20.   Village Day An initial meeting was scheduled for 8pm at No 3 New Road to discuss when and what format.

21.   Correspondence received: Details of the Annual Council Meeting of Welwyn/Hatfield Council on Monday 28th June 2004.

22.   Any other business: None.

23.   Date of next meeting: Tuesday 13th July 2004.

 

 

 

Mrs Linda Vincent
Minutes Secretary
Woolmer Green Parish Council                                                                                  25th May 2004