Minutes of Meeting held on 11 July 2006

 

Present: Cllr G Daniels (Chair), Cllr N Collingridge, Cllr Mrs C Evans, Cllr Mrs J Thom, Cllr Mrs J Watson.

 

In attendance: A A Edmonds (Clerk), Members of the Public

 

1.          Apologies for Absence: Received from Cllr H Bryant

2.          Minutes of Council Meeting on 13 June: The minutes had been circulated and were signed as a correct record.

3.          Meetings Attended by Councillors: Cllr Evans had attended the Welwyn Festival to support the Welwyn Road Safety Committee on the Police mobile stand. Cllr Daniels had attended a meeting with Woolmer Green Sports & Social club

4.          Developments regarding the Pond: Cllr Watson reported that a meeting was to be held with the Countryside Management Service and the Environment Agency on 27 July. Cllrs Collingridge and Daniels agreed to attend with Cllr Watson.

5.          Planning: (Cllr Thom)                                                                                                                a) Application: N6 2006 790 FP Extensions to 11 Holly Road. The Council had no objection.                    b) Decision: N6 2006 532 FP 1a New Road. Permission granted.                                                                         

6.          Hall (Cllr Watson)

         a) Work on Tennis Court – a revised quotation of £210 + VAT for repairing the chain-link fencing was agreed. It was also agreed to go ahead with the marking for Tennis and 5-a-side Football at a cost of up to £600 + VAT.

         b) Quotes had been obtained for redecoration of the exterior and interior of the Hall. It was agreed to accept the quotation of £5,950 + VAT

         c) Re-upholstery of chairs – 50 chairs would be re-upholstered in the near future.                                    d) It was agreed to purchase a new set of Football nets at £54 + VAT                                                                e) It was agreed to increase the Football Pitch fee from £36 to £40.                                                                   e) Land Registry – The documents had now been received from the solicitors and were in the hands of the Clerk, who would take copies and arrange for registration..

7.          Grounds: (Cllr Evans)

a.     Play Equipment - The new parts had been received from Playdale and F Cooper & Son had been asked to install them. Cllrs Evans and Watson were going to view a display of new equipment on 14 July. Photos of equipment would be on display on Village Day.

b.     5-a-side Football – Cllr Watson reported that the Sports & Social Club had established that suitable storage for storing the nets would be too expensive, even with a 50% contribution from the Council

8.          Environment & Transport: (Cllr Collingridge)

a.      Front Garden Competition – The judging had been completed by the Councillors and the prizes of a cup and £10 voucher for the winner and £5 vouchers for the 4 runners-up would be awarded on Village Day.

b.     Mardleybury Road Speed Limit – Cllr Collingridge outlined his further discussions with Highways Dept and stated that he had obtained a large number of signatories to his petition in favour of the 40 mph limit.

c.      Cllr Watson stated that there was nothing further to report on the edging up of the pavement at both ends of the village.

d.     Cllr Watson stated that, in reporting to the Welwyn Hatfield Highways Joint Members Panel, Mr Paul Davis, Asst District Manager of Herts Highways had said that there were still safety difficulties over the siting of a pedestrian refuge island to assist in crossing London Road in the vicinity of Lisles Garage and, therefore, such a scheme was not viable. The Council were not happy with this decision and agreed to hold a sub-committee meeting to discuss this and other road safety matters, such as the speed limit on London Road and the possibility of a roundabout at the junction with Mardleybury Road. Cllr Collingridge agreed to convene the meeting. Action: Cllr Collingridge

e. The Clerk was requested to write to the occupants of 6 Mardleybury Court asking them to cut back a shrub which was causing an obstruction to pedestrians and to e-mail Durk Reyner at WHC asking him to act in respect of rubbish blowing out of the land occupied by Lisles Garage. Action: Clerk

(Standing Orders were suspended for some 15 minutes when the meeting was joined by PCSO Cath Bays and another PCSO. They explained that they had new powers to impose fines on the use of motor propelled bikes and other vehicles by under age riders on land off the public highway where riding was not authorised by the landowner. Local residents were requested to report any such offence by telephoning the Police on 0845 3300222 – not 999.)

9.          Publicity:

Christmas Card design competition – The winners were selected by the Councillors from the many entries submitted from the pupils of St Michael’s School. It was agreed that the prizes of £15 for the winner and £10 for the runner-up should be in the form of book tokens. The Clerk was requested to write to the school thanking them for their co-operation. Action: Clerk                                                                                                                                                    

10.       Parish Plan: (Cllr Daniels)

         Cllr Daniels advised that the presentation of the Parish Plan was now available on the website.                

11.       Finance:

The Payments and Accounts for June had been circulated and were unanimously agreed following proposal by Cllr Daniels and seconding by Cllr Watson. The external Annual Audit Return was reviewed and agreed by the Council and signed by the Chairman and the Clerk/RFO.

22         War Memorial Refurbishment: Cllr Watson that the £200 towards the refurbishment had now been received from Mr. Jackson. Cllr Watson will continue to endeavour to contact a stonemason to undertake the necessary work.              Action: Cllr Watson

23         Aerial Photography and Mapping of the Village: Cllr Daniels handed the computer programme to Cllr Collingridge.

24         Village of the Year Competition: The Council was pleased to note that the village had been judged First in the Young People Section and First in the Most Improved Community Life Section. Cllr Daniels would be attending the presentations.

25         Upkeep of St Michael’s Church Cemetery: Following the discussion with the curate, Cllr Watson reported that the Church now proposed to set up a “Friends of the Cemetery” Group.

26         Visit to House of Commons: Cllr Watson stated that a stall to collect the names of interested persons would be available on Village Day.

27         Structure of future meetings: Cllr Daniels proposed and the Council agreed that, at future meetings, there would be a 15-minute open forum from 7.15 p.m. when members of the public could put questions to those Councillors who were able to be present. After the Council Meeting started at 7.30 p.m., there would be no further participation by the public, unless the Chairman declared a suspension of Standing Orders.

28         Correspondence: There was nothing to report.

29         Other business: It was reported that James and Keeley, who had been collecting rubbish in the village, would like their award of £25 to be in the form of a cheque to a charity. Cllr Watson would establish the name of their chosen charity. It was also reported that Mrs Bridget Kerrison, who died in Dec. 2005, had left a legacy of £200 to the Youth Club which was disbanded some years ago. It would now be used towards the provision of equipment for the local teenagers.     

30         Next Meeting: Tuesday, 12 September, 2006.

 

 

AAE 14.7.06