Minutes of Meeting of Woolmer Green Parish Council
Held on Tuesday 14th September 2004

Present:              Cllr. Mr. G. Daniels (Acting Chair)     Cllr. Mrs. J. Watson         Cllr. Mrs C. Evans                    Cllr. Mrs J. Thom                          

In attendance:   Mr A. Edmonds (Clerk)         Mrs. L. Vincent (Minutes Secretary)

1.      Apologies for absence: Received from Cllr. H Bryant, Cllr. D. Marriott

2.      Minutes of Council Meeting on 13th July 2004: Signed as a correct record. All matters arising were included on the agenda for this meeting.

3.      Minutes of Extra Planning Meeting on 3rd August 2004: Signed as a correct record.

4.      ChairmanÕs report: Deferred to next meeting due to ChairÕs absence.

5.      Meetings attended by Councillors: Covered later by individual Councillors.

6.      Responsibilities of Councillors: Following the meeting between Cllr. Watson, Cllr, Bryant and Mr Edmonds, it was agreed that Cllr. Marriott would look after Hall Structure and Transport and that Cllr. Watson would continue with Hall Management and Finance.

7.      Pedestrian Crossing at Lisles Garage: A villager, Mrs Deane, had expressed her desire for something to be done about there being no pedestrian crossing by the Garage and had been in touch with Highways, who have thought of putting forward a plan to have an island in the middle of the B197 opposite the garage, aiming to make crossing safer. However, this was only one of some 8 applications for works, which will be discussed at the Joint Highways meeting on 4th November 2004. All were in agreement that someone should attend this meeting. Cllr. Evans agreed to check if she could attend.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Action: Cllr. Evans

8.      Private Access to Council Land: Clerk reported that the 9 residents involved have been written to. 4 have replied and signed the agreements. Legal advice will be sought from Herts. Association of Parish and Local Councils.

9.      High Kerbs outside Cawdors and Lessiters: All were in agreement that another letter be written to Highways                                                                                                                                                                                                   Action: Clerk

10.   Welwyn Road Safety Committee: Cllr. Thom reported that she attended this meeting for the first time on 13th September 2004. Next meeting is on 15th November 2004. It was reported that the committee would like to be more proactive and therefore will have two projects: a) for the young there will be a video and quiz in schools. b) Driving Advantage Courses for mature drivers. Cllr. Evans agreed to email details for inclusion in next Village Newsletter.                                                   Action: Cllr. Evans

11.   Neighbourhood Watch: Letter of thanks to be written by Chair. Deferred to next meeting.

12.   Broken washbasin in Hall: No further action will be taken.

13.   PPP update: Email from Cllr. Bryant had been sent to all Councillors. It was suggested that Cllr. Bryant invite the new PPP man to a Council meeting.

14.   Litter picking: To be an agenda item for next meeting.

15.   HAPTC: Cllr. Watson reported that a letter is expected shortly indicating their intention to increase subscriptions by 25% to £459.

16.   Light Pollution: This needs to be put on website                                                                                                                                                         Action: Cllr. Daniels

17.   Grass verge between Knebworth and Monread Lodge: This has at last been cut. It is meant to be cut 4 times a year, but has only been done once. Issue will be raised with Highways.                                                                                                             Action: Cllr. Watson

18.   Hall Structure Report: (Cllr Watson in absence of Cllr. Marriott):

(a)       Hall Floor: No more complaints have been received.

(b)       Chairs in the lounge with wooden handles need re-gluing. A Company had taken one away to investigate and provide a quotation.

(c)       There has been further vandalism, with two panels on the front door being pushed in. These were quickly replaced Š thanks to the help of Mr. Ken Wakinshaw.

(d)       The down pipes at the back of the Hall need replacing.

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

(a)       Football Clubs: Council have had some trouble in receiving payment from some clubs. Therefore, Council agreed that each club should pay in advance of each match, rather than annually. All were in agreement to charging £36 a match.

(b)       A Child Protection Policy is needed for Hall.                                                                                                                         Action: Cllr. Evans

(c)       Bookings are good, being fully booked on Saturday nights up to Christmas.

(d)       Insurance Survey Report: Insurance quote was dependent on a survey. As a result, a higher premium was charged (an extra £435.41) because of the wooden roof beams. All were in agreement that this be paid.

20.   Grounds Report: (Cllr. Evans):

(a)       The Roundabout in Garden Road playground was still waiting to be repaired. A chasing letter needs to be sent                                            Action: Clerk

(b)       It was suggested that some money be spent on Medium Risk issues highlighted in the ROSPA Report. Cllr. Evans agreed to go through the report and highlight what needs to be done                                                                    Action: Cllr. Evans

21.   Publicity: (Cllr. Daniels):

(a)       The Parish Plan: All Councillors would receive latest circulation by Monday 20th September and this would be revisited at the next meeting. Action: Cllr. Daniels

(b)       Website update: It was reported that this had not been kept as up to date as it should have been, but this will be rectified.                                                                                                       Action: Cllr. Daniels

(c)       Village of the Year: In preparation for next yearÕs entry, Cllr. Daniels had begun keeping video footage of significant events in the village.

22.   Planning: (Cllr. Thom):

(a)       Roman Bath: Tony Rook replied to Council, saying that he had reached a blank as the land is Greenbelt, but it needs to be pointed out to Tony that there are exceptions which might apply in this case. Action: Clerk

(b)       22 London Road: Building work is imminent.

(c)       Vodafone Mobile Telephone Mast on Mardley Hill Š No comment                                                                                            Action: Clerk

(d)       Decisions: Two plans have been passed: N6/2004/944/FP (18 London Road) and N6/2004/962/FP (24 London Road).

23.   Finance: (Cllr. Watson):

(a)       Thanks were expressed to Alan Edmonds, Clerk, for his work in presenting the accounts in a new format. Payments in July and August 2004 were unanimously accepted, proposed by Cllr. Thom, seconded by Cllr. Evans.

(b)       The accounts to date were approved, proposed by Cllr. Thom, and seconded by Cllr. Evans.

(c)       Chair, Clerk and Cllr. Watson signed the Annual Return to Auditors. The Audit notice had been on display on notice Board for correct period of time.

(d)       Next Council meeting is the Budget Meeting, therefore Cllr. Watson asked for ideas of expenditure. Suggested areas were playground repairs, new down pipes, new cupboard.

 

24.   Village Day: This was a very good day, well attended by villagers. It was particularly nice to see so many children having fun. Many thanks to all those who gave demonstrations in the Hall or outside and to all those who helped make the event a success.

25.   Young Villagers:

(a)       Lights under Canopy: If this is to go ahead, it needs to be on a timer, so that it goes off at a certain time in the night.

(b)       Scooter Rail: This is now in place..

26.   Census Statistics from District: To be discussed with Julie Cragg during meeting.              

27.   Correspondence received:

(a)       Letter from Community Development Agency, meeting on October 13th 2004 12:30-2:30.

(b)       Letter from WHC regarding District Parish and Town Council meeting Monday 4th October.

(c)       Councillors Information Day Š Wednesday 13th October 2004.

28.   Any other business:

(a)       Children going to Monks Walk School have been told they will not be given free bus passes. All were in agreement that a letter of protest be written to the Education Committee. Cllr. Evans agreed to put some thoughts together for Clerk.                                                     Action: Cllr. Evans and Clerk

(b)       Date of Annual Parish Meeting: Tuesday 12th April 2005

29.   Date of next meeting: Tuesday 9th November 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs Linda Vincent
Minutes Secretary
Woolmer Green Parish Council                                                                         27th September 2004