BROUGHTON PARISH COUNCIL
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BROUGHTON PARISH COUNCIL |
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| Present | Cllr. Mrs MC Rust (in the Chair). Cllrs. R Baxter, Mrs. PA Cope, Mrs. JL Farenden, Mrs. RA Gresham, and Mrs. JR Page, R Shrive, and AJP Stamper. Sergeant T Hopkins of Northamptonshire Police. This being the annual meeting of the Parish Council, consideration of business was preceded by the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair for the ensuing year. The following nominations were confirmed after being duly seconded:- Cllr. Mrs. MC Rust was returned as Chair. Cllr. AJP Stamper was returned as Vice-Chair. |
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| 08/6003 |
APOLOGIES. Apologies were tendered by
Cllrs. Mrs. HJ Bull, P Chaplin, and LA Manning. |
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| 08/6004 | MINUTES. The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on
16 April 2008, copies having been circulated, were approved by members and signed by the Chairman. |
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| 08/6005 | RIGHT TO SPEAK. No members of the public took advantage of this facility. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08/6006 |
POLICE REPORT. Members received a briefing from Sergeant Hopkins, who first gave a breakdown of recorded crime in the parish for the last month. Councillors heard that there had been one theft of a motor vehicle (a motor cycle), one theft from a motor vehicle (its number plates), and four reports within the category of ‘other crimes’. The meeting was then informed that the Parish Plan results day on 10 May had been very successful as far as the Police were concerned, giving a very valuable opportunity to network with local residents. Many had been encouraged to hear that the mini-office at the village hall was now operational and that the bicycle for local patrolling would be delivered next week; both developments resulting in an increased presence in the village. Sergeant Hopkins then updated members on the current situation in respect of the ‘abandoned’ house that had been reported. Progress was being made in addressing the problems there in that the rear of the premises had now been boarded up by the Borough Council, and a neighbour had kindly offered to open and close the curtains on a daily basis. The Vice-Chairman then reported an incident that had been brought to his notice, where a hanging basket had been stolen from a local residence. Although the theft had been captured on CCTV operated by the householder, the images were not especially helpful as the perpetrator was wearing a hooded top and could not be identified. Sergeant Hopkins left the meeting at 7.17pm. |
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| 08/6007 | MATTERS ARISING. Arising from 08/5992, it was reported that a response had now been worked up in relation to the County Council consultation in respect of its Sustainable Communities Strategy; this proving to have been quite an onerous task given the nature of the consultation material. A copy of the response was placed on circulation for members’ information. Arising from the ongoing concerns in respect of the High Street pedestrian crossing, it was reported that several residents had raised separate queries regarding the possibility of the crossing being relocated to a position beyond the Cransley Hill junction. The meeting heard that no official approach had been made to the Parish Council to this effect and it would be expected that any such proposal would require to be consulted upon. Whilst this matter was being considered, it was agreed that the issue of the faded and missing road markings throughout the village should be brought again to the notice of the County Council as there were places (including at the crossing) where this caused quite a hazard. Arising from 08/5999, the Clerk reported that some feedback had now been received from the Borough Council on the issue of the village map project in that the contractor who made up the displays in the Heritage Quarter at Kettering had been identified and located. Via that firm, it was hoped to locate the artist who had prepared the original artwork. Alternatively, it was suggested that other forms of display might be worthy of consideration, including a ‘tactile’ cast display and an example of such a work was thought to exist in Cambridgeshire; the Clerk to research. As a further option, an approach might usefully be made to the Kettering and District Art Society with a view to placing a commission if a suitably interested/experienced artist was active locally. |
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| 08/6008 | CORRESPONDENCE. The following items of correspondence were reported and action, as detailed, was agreed to be taken, with other general items being placed on circulation:- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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a) A letter received from the Borough Council, concerning the complaint of the untidy garden ground associated with 10, 12, 14 and 16 Wellingborough Road; members hearing that this was under investigation. Also in relation to this matter, the Clerk mentioned that an approach had been received from the father of one of the flat tenants there who had provided information to the effect that the problems had been caused by a former occupier or occupiers and steps were being taken with the landlords to regularise matters. The Chair confirmed that work had been performed and matters were now much improved as a consequence. b)
A communication received from the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit advising that the Inspector’s report on the Core Spatial Strategy has now been published and can be accessed online at: www.nnjpu.org.co; or viewed at council offices and libraries. This is to be reported for adoption by the Joint Planning Committee on 12 June 2008. c) A letter received from Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association canvassing whether the parish Council would be interested in completing a housing needs survey to assess the current need for affordable housing within the village; as might be provided on exception sites locally that would not receive approval for market housing. Councillors agreed that the association be asked to send a representative to a future meeting in order to explore this. d) A copy of the County Council Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2007-2011; this being CD based and placed on circulation. e) A letter from Bolsterstone PLC, seeking contact details for councillors. Members agreed the company be directed toward the Broughton Village website where those members who wished their contact details to be available had provided the same. f) A letter from Sergeant Hopkins of Northamptonshire Police, providing details of the next meeting of the Community Panel, to be held on 16 July at 7.30pm, at Kettering Police Station Social Club. The letter contained a request that attendances be advised in advance.
g) A copy of Kettering Borough Council’s budget book for 2008/09 was received and placed on circulation.
h)
A letter received from WeedWise Limited; confirming that company remained the County weed control contractor notwithstanding change of highway maintenance arrangements recently. Contact details were provided and direct notification of any problems invited. |
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| 08/6009 | REPORTS OF MEMBERS ATTENDING MEETINGS OF OTHER BODIES. Cllr. Shrive reported upon the Parish Plan results day event, held on 10 May. The meeting heard that this had enjoyed a very full attendance, with virtually all invitees turning out. Over 100 households were also known to have been represented over the day, with attendees being kept busy throughout. The feedback received so far had proved very positive. Cllr. Mrs. Farenden the proposed and it was unanimously agreed that all connected with the Parish Plan project be given a vote of thanks for their hard work. Cllr. Shrive then reported upon the meeting of the Community Panel on 16 April. Councillors heard this had previously identified speeding and more police presence as being two outcomes for the village and, of these, the speeding focus had resulted in 4% of vehicles being checked having been found to be exceeding 35mph in a 30 limit. Consequently, this focus was to be carried forward over the next period and Cllr Shrive would attend the meeting in July, when this would again be reviewed. Cllr. Mrs. Farenden reported upon the last meeting of the Village Hall Committee and members heard business included that a 100% dispensation had been awarded in respect of NNDR liability, that measures were to be implemented to address a problem with neighbour nuisance arising from informal use of certain goal mouths, that an issue with water logging had arisen, that a slabbed area was to be provided for use by the Under 5s group, that an outside electricity supply was to be provided to assist with refreshment serving, that a redundant outbuilding had been removed, that booking and committee secretary roles were to be split to lessen workloads, and that measures were to be taken to try and prevent balls being kicked against the building due to the damage that results. Cllr. Mrs. Rust then reported upon her attendance at the meeting of the Rural Forum on 20 March. The consultation exercise around Sustainable Communities was explained and a presentation on how to access Lottery funding had been received. In addition, there had been reports on the Kettering/A6 Towns forums and the windfarm proposal. The next meeting of the forum was to be on 19 June at Geddington and would include an item on precepting (7pm start). |
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08/6010
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DEVELOPMENT CONTROL. Planning Applications submitted for the Parish Council’s observations:- The following application was considered with no observations resulting:-
Planning Decisions reported:-
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| 08/6011 | FINANCE The following items of income and expenditure were agreed:-
In connection with the Allianz Insurance PLC renewal premium, members heard that competitive quotes had been obtained from the market and this represented the best premium notwithstanding it was from the existing provider of cover; the next best being £922.95 from Zurich Insurance PLC.
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| 08/6012 | PARISH NEWSLETTER. . Members agreed to defer this until the next meeting as the most interested councillors were not present. |
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| 08/6013 | EMERGENCY PLANNING. The Chair explained the current proposals around this and members heard that the County Council were encouraging the preparation of self-help community plans using a template to be provided, to cater for a variety of possible eventualities requiring an emergency response. A meeting had been arranged for 17 July at Wellingborough, which the Chair would attend and Cllr. Mrs. Gresham indicated she would try to. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 08/6014 | GENERAL INTEREST ITEMS..
Cllr. Mrs. Cope raised the issue of the Friends of Broughton Cemetery and queried whether this was actually still active as maintenance was once again becoming an issue at the burial ground. Cllr. Shrive mentioned that the same question was being addressed by Borough Councillor Hakewill. The Vice-Chairman reported that the litterbins in the vicinity of the junction of Northampton and Wellingborough Roads were once again becoming over-full between emptying visits. The Vice-Chairman the raised whether it would be possible to employ a litter picker on a casual basis, and after some discussion, members agreed the resulting health and safety, insurance, and employer’s liability issues tended to indicate against this. Cllr. Mrs Farenden reported that the Knick-Knack footpath was in need of tidying |
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| 08/6015 | DATE OF NEXT MEETING. It was reported that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be on
Wednesday 18 June 2008, at 7:00pm in the Village Hall; |
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| 08/6016 |
URGENT ITEMS ADMITTED BY THE CHAIR. The following items were admitted for discussion by the Chair:- None were raised. The meeting was closed at approximately 9.10pm..
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18 June 2008
Chair |