Helmdon Parish Council

Minutes of the Meeting of the Helmdon Parish Council held on
Wednesday, 27th November 2002
in the Reading Room, Helmdon at 7:30 p.m..

1. Present:

Cllrs Burns, Brookhouse, Ayres, Earl, England, Gittens, Glassett and Spendlove.

There were 5 members of the public present.

2. Minutes

The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 25th September 2002 , having been circulated, were approved and signed as a true record.

3. Matters arising

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

4. Open Forum

Mr Danny Moody raised the following matters:
i) The timber frame supporting the road sign at the bottom of Shortlands Close is rotting and needs replacing.
ii) The salt bin at the bottom of Shortlands Close requires filling.
Mr Brian Short referred to the Helmdon Road Works schedule produced by WS Atkins and suggested that the gullies, rather than being inspected yearly, should be emptied at the same time as the inspection, preferably in October each year.

5. Finance

i) The financial position at the 25th September 2002 was :

Current Account …………………………. £ 3,749.44

Savings Account …………………………. £ 8,180.68

Nottingham Bond …………………………. £ 500.00

ii) The following accounts were approved for payment:

Cheque No.	Item	Amount £
236	Powergen	94.77
237	Viking Direct	43.56
238	Multiflow	148.00
239	ABB	99.69
240	W Forgham (Salary)	208.33
361	W Forgham (Expenses)	42.52

iii) The Clerk reported that a cheque book which had been sent by the Yorkshire Bank has not been delivered and the bank has been notified. A new book commencing with cheque no 361 is being sent from the bank.
The Clerk was asked to contact the bank and ensure they confirm that after the last cheque no 240 has been used the next cheque that can be issued is no 361 .
iv) The Clerk reported having received a cheque for £200 from the NALC as the prize for being made Village of the Year.
v) It was reported that invoices for payment of rent of the Reading Room have now been received totalling £140 up to September 25th 2002.
vi) It was reported that the District Audit of the accounts for the year 2000 - 2001 have now been approved.
Various matters raised by the Auditor in his report dated 6th November 2002 numbered 1 to 24 were reported to the Council and the Chairman was instructed to sign the certificate stating these matters have been discussed by the Council who were satisfied with the explanations given by the Clerk
A copy of the audited amended accounts for 2000/2001 are appended to these minutes.
vii) A meeting of the Finance Committee will be arranged to discuss the question of Insurance and VAT and to also report to the next meeting of the Council on the precept they advise the Council to adopt for the year 2002 - 2003.

6. Correspondence

The following correspondence was received during the period 26/9/02 to 27/11/02

Helmdon Primary School Maintenance of goal posts
Cherwell Vale NHS Annual Report notification
Viewpoint Autumn 2002
NCC re Jubilee seat in Church Street
Northants Touring Arts Agency See4free scheme
DTLR Home repair assistance
WS Atkins programme of works 2002/3
SNC Planning decision Bell Inn
Towcester area door to door scheme
SNC Planning decision 38 Station Rd
SNC withdrawal of planning application
Cross Cottage
SNC Recycling
South Northants Volunteer Bureau 9th Annual report
East Midlands Dev Agency 7 years in East Midlands report
SNC Changes in Development control
Brackley Town Council 2002 Poppy Appeal
SNC Planning applications 26/9 to 2/10
WS Atkins Highways Reps Meeting
National Playing Fields Assn Protect open spaces
SNC Planning applications 3/10 to 9/10
Banbury CAB Appeal for funds
SNC Planning applications 10/10 to 16/10
Jeffs Coaches Bus timings to Northampton
SN Rural Transport re Sulgrave meeting
Northamptonshire Police Authority New mailing address
SNC Electoral Matters
NALC Employment support service
SNC Heritage open days
WS Atkins Overhanging vegetation in Helmdon
Land Registry Explanatory details
LEPRA Appeal for funds
RBS Auditing Details of services
East Midlands Dev Agency Revised Statement for East
Midlands 2002 to 2020
Reading Room Treasurer Rent outstanding
East Mid Electricity Alteration to readings (now estimated)
SNC re Hintons Close
WS Atkins Winter Salting Network
NALC Freedom of Information Act 2000
SNC Planning Applications 31/10 to 6/11
SNC Race Meeting
Countryside Agency Publications
Village of the year Markings
SNC Animal Welfare Service report
SNC Planning Applications 17/10 to 23/10
NCC Northamptonshire Structure Plan Review
SNC Casual Vacancy forms for information
SNC Planning Applications 24/10 to 30/10
S N'hants Volunteer Bureau November events
SNC Planning Applications 7/11 to 13/11
SNC Animal Welfare Service report
ACRE Cheque for £200
NCC S N'hants Area Committee minutes 5/9/02
NCC ditto agenda meeting 12/11
NCC N'hants County Council Structure Plan Review
NACRO Section 17 crime and disorder act
SNC Planning Applications 14/11 to 20/11
SNC ditto amendments
* SNC Draft economic strategy
* Northants Police Nominations for unsung heroes
* Information Commisioner Freedom of information act 2000
SNC Planning amendment 2 Hintons Close
* SNC View address of dwellings at Manor View Farm
* NCC Public meeting 18/12 re N'hants
NCC Structure Plan Review 2021
* WS Atkins re possible land requirements B4525

Matters arising from the correspondence:

i) The SNC Draft Economic Strategy will be discussed by
the Finance Committee.
ii) NCC Structure plan review - all Councillors will be
supplied with a copy of the NCC Structure Plan review for
period up to 2021.
iii) B4525 matters - Cllr Glassett will raise the matter of land
Adjoining the B4525 with the NCC Highways department.

7. County Council Matters

i) Highways:
Councillors reported various potholes and deterioration to the roads that require attention as follows :
a) in the area at the end of Church St and 2 Church St.
b) at 12a Church St.
c) Weston Hill
d) Culvert in Station Road
e) Road adjacent to the war memorial
f) Road outside Jeffs Coaches entrance
g) Road around The Square, Wappenham Rd
h) Road verge opposite Field Way
i) Culvert adjacent to the sub station before Sulgrave Road turnoff.
The Clerk was instructed to write to the Highways Dept about the foregoing items.

ii) Salt Bins:
The salt bins by the Church, at the bottom of Shortlands Close and in Weston Hill require filling and the Clerk was instructed to write to NCC requesting they be filled.

iii) Waste Bin in Wappenham Road:
The Clerk reported that the waste bin by Field Way had been taken by the staff collecting the refuse and that SNC will replace it.

8. Planning

The Chairman of the Planning Committee reported on the following application and the Council agreed to it being supported.

SN/2002/1442/PT Reduce branches and dead wood in various trees at 35 Station Road, Helmdon.

9. South Northants Council Matters:

i) Papers and brochures dealing with Development Control etc were handed to the Chairman of the Planning Committee for his attention.

ii) Hintons Close Parking improvement works:
The Clerk read the recent letter received from SNC and after discussion it was agreed that the Clerk should write to SNC making it clear that the responsibility for the safety of the recent works is the direct responsibility of SNC and the Council would like a letter from SNC confirming SNC is satisfied all the necessary safety precautions have been incorporated in the recent works.

10. Freedom of Information Act 2000:

The Clerk reported on the need for the Parish Council to adopt the Model Code for the publication of information in accordance with the above Act.

It was unanmiously agreed that the Council should adopt the Code and it was agreed that the Chairman should sign the declaration of adoption. Copies of the relevant details in accordance with the declaration will be forwarded to all Councillors.

11. Any Other Business:

i) Village of the Year Award - The Chairman thanked everyone in the village for all that they had done to enable Helmdon to become the Village of the Year in Northamptonshire.

He read the scoring for all the individual items that were judged - for the Village of the year we were awarded 91 points out of a possible 100, and for the best kept Churchyard we were awarded 84 points out of a possible of 100.

The Chairman said that we will now go forward to the National Village of the Year Competition next year and He asked for the support of all the village when called upon.

ii) Jubilee Seat: - The Chairman reported that he has written to Tony Humphrey asking if he will change his mind about erecting the Jubilee Seat now that the County Council has agreed that the only requirement will be for him to submit a copy of his public indemnity insurance policy. The Chairman will report back to the next meeting of the Parish Council in January 2003.

iii) Village Action Plan - Councillor Glassett reported that the application for aid in connection with the proposed village action plan has been approved by SNC and a meeting will be held in the Reading Room on Tuesday, 10th December at 7.30pm to discuss future action. This meeting will be attended by a representative of NALC and it was agreed that Danny Moody be invited to attend this meeting.

iv) School Transport Plan - Councillor Glassett reported that Susan Mills, the NCC Area Manager responsible is arranging a meeting with the Helmdon Primary School
regarding the Transport Plan and said that it is essential that as many Councillors as possible attend the meeting to show the support of the Parish Council.

v) Poppy Day Collection in Helmdon - Councillor Earl reported that the Poppy Day collection in Helmdon raised £ 246.43 and he thanked everyone involved including Councillor Bearman for their assistance.

There was no further business and the meeting closed at 8:57 p.m.