Minutes of Parish Meeting - 15th December 2021
Meeting held at Bellingham Town Hall - 7pm
Councillors Present: Cllr Dickson-Green, Cllr Wilkinson, Cllr Moore, Cllr Brebner, Cllr Tilley, Cllr Huddleston, Cllr Irving
In attendance: Clerk, 2 members of the public
Part A - Public Participation
Two local residents were in attendance to discuss their objections over the proposed expansion of the Hareshaw Linn Caravan Park.
Part B - Parish Council Meeting
1. Apologies - Cllr Kirkbride, Cllr Riley
2. County Councillor Report - None
3. Declarations of interest - None
4. November meeting minutes - agreed with no amendments
5. Matters arising from the minutes
5.1 Councillors noted that it was uncertain that the relevant leasing issues would allow the Platinum Jubilee plans for the Fairstead land to be realised in time. It was agreed to look into the practicality of running an event/street party for the event. (Cllr Huddleston to action).
5.2 Any Councillors who had any ideas for individuals to be sent a Parish Council Christmas card were asked to contact the Clerk.
5.3 School safety banners were to be carried forward until the new school year.
5.4 The Clerk had contacted Cllr Riddle about the required traffic works and lighting issues needed in the village but had received no reply. The quote for decorating the chapel had been accepted and the paint had been purchased.
5.5 Repairs to the playground were nearly complete, with just the work on the ground under the zip wire to be finished. The Board of Governors of Bellingham schools had confirmed that it would be possible for the vacant role to be shared between Cllr Riley and Cllr Kirkbride. (Clerk to action)
5.6 The Clerk had not yet ordered an arrow for the Briar Hill signs and this was a point to carry forward. (Clerk to action)
5.7 Comments regarding the new convenience store had been published online by the Clerk and last month’s grant requests had been notified. The list of goods requested by the toddler group was expected to be received early in the New Year.
5.8 Cllr Irving noted that permission had been granted in theory for the new defibrillator at the Fire Station. He was to try to get this in writing (Cllr Irving to action). A defibrillator for the Police car had been initially discussed at the last meeting, but concerns were raised that this could not just be funded by Bellingham Parish. Cllr Irving noted that Cllr Kirkbride had a possible solution to be discussed at the next meeting. (Cllr Kirkbride to action)
5.9 Inspection of a possibly damaged tree in the lower cemetery is to be carried forward to the next meeting. (Cllr Moore to action) as is the possibility of sourcing a new speed gun for the volunteer speed watch (Cllr Kirkbride to action).
5.10 Cllr Dickson-Green noted that the notice boards for Redesmouth and Charlton were still outstanding (Cllr Dickson-Green to action) and that the best decorated house and business competitions had been set up and advertised. The new car charger fee structure had been started. There had been some complaints, but it was noted the price was what the PC paid for the power and it had been set to avoid users parking and blocking the chargers for extended periods. The Parish Christmas tree for St Cuthbert's had been displayed through the Christmas Tree Festival.
6. Planning applications -
6.1 21/04592/FUL Demolition of Youth HostelCouncillors had no objections.
Councillors expressed their opposition to the current proposal. While they agreed that the site needed to be developed, it was agreed that the development in its current form involved the felling of too many trees and had not shown the full environmental impact of the proposals on local wildlife. There was also insufficient detail over what was to be done to ensure privacy for nearby residents. (Clerk to action)
7. Finance
7.1 Income, expenses, bank balance and budget review
Income for the month:
- Interest - £0.03
- Indoor Market fees - £160.00
- Memorial fees - £175.00
- Honesty box - £11.67
Invoices to be paid:
- B Dickson-Green (Clerk pay) - £179.00
- CM Commercial (landscaping) - £957.60
- E Taylor (handyman) = £488.10
- DD - Wave (water rates) = £44.00
- N Green (cleaning) = £130.00
- M Bacon (playground repairs) = £60.00
- K Irving (defibrillator pads and batteries) = £379.48
- Calico (email storage for Clerk) = £24.00
- Redeswood Farm (Christmas light installation and sundries) = £1,317.60
- M Dickson-Green = £119.87 made up of:
- Replacement Market Banner = £57.95
- Acrylic Baubles = £13.99
- Laser Card = £13.95
- Bauble Hooks = £7.99
- Tree Lights = £9.99
- Surge Protector for Xmas Lights = £16.00
Bank account balances at 16/10/21 were:
- Current account - £38,582.40
- Jubilee Field account - £2,217.06
- Cemetery maintenance fund - £1,409.25
Investment fund available at the end of September was approximately £21,300
7.2 Grant Requests
A grant request for £200 towards the GNAAS was received. It was noted that this was a valuable service to the parish and had been needed several times over the last year. It was agreed to approve the grant. (Clerk to action)
7.3 Precept - 2022/23
It was noted that inflation was currently running at 3.8% under the CPI and over 6% based on RPI. While this would have an impact on Parish Council costs going forward, it was agreed that it was also having a negative impact on local residents as well. It was agreed to keep the increase in the precept at 1.99% for the coming year even though this was a real-terms reduction. This equated to around £1.60 per annum for a Band D house. This was agreed unanimously. (Clerk to action)
8. Correspondence
8.1 Correspondence had been received from NCC Highways regarding questions raised by the PC. They questioned the usefulness of a sign near the Briar Hill play area - Cllr Riddle had said he was looking into a possible road hump to slow traffic. A response from Cllr Riddle was to be waited for. Proposed speed signs outside the Bellingham Schools were approved and Highways was also to look into the feasibility of a crossing near Station Yard.
8.2 The Christmas Lorry Parade had been advertised extensively in the previous weeks by the PC. The organisers had asked for the Parish to suspend parking in the parts of the village but it was noted that this was something that only NCC was able to do. The PC had received thanks emails from the organisers.
8.3 Thanks had been received for the PC’s donation towards the fireworks display in November.
8.4 The Clerk was currently investigating if the PC should be paying rates on the cemetery and he hoped to have more details on this in January.
8.5 The cast ‘Welcome to Bellingham’ sign NCC had damaged was to be repaired but there was no timeframe for this.
8.6 The Parish had received a complaint about a local kids party. The Clerk had explained this was nothing to do with the Parish Council.
8.7 Corsenside Parish Council had asked for Bellingham PC to offer its support to the 'Keep the Wannies Wild' campaign against the proposed new Elizabeth Monument. It was agreed that regardless of the PC's own views as it was outside the Parish and would not directly affect local residents, Bellingham PC would not be able to comment. (Clerk to action)
8.8 A complaint had been received from a visitor about the lack of recycling support for local businesses in Northumberland. This had been passed to Cllr Riddle.
8.9 The Town Hall had thanked the PC for its work advertising the Christmas Shopping Evening which had been a great success.Transport NE had been in contact to ask the PC to express its support for a proposal to use electric buses on routes in Northumberland. It was noted that these routes did not seem to include Bellingham. It was agreed to ask Transport NE why this was the case before responding. (Clerk to action)
8.10 There had been complaints regarding some of the gravestones under repair at the Croft Cemetery having been laid on other graves. This had been flagged with the contractor and they had been moved back onto the appropriate graves. They also confirmed that the work would be finalised in the New Year. The Clerk noted that he had received the books and records for the cemetery back. He suggested that they needed digitising though this would involve some cost. It was agreed that this was needed, and the Clerk would contact Hexham Council to see what system they use. (Clerk to action)
9. Reports
9.1 Cllr Moore noted that after rainfall it appeared that raw sewage was being discharged from the treatment plant into the river. Concerns were expressed that this would get worse as more housing development was undertaken in the village. It was agreed to write to NWL and the Environment Agency to express concerns over this and ask for more details. (Clerk to action)
9.2 Cllr Moore had been approached by a local resident to complain about some dogs walking in the Jubilee Field who were not under appropriate control and causing problems for other users and dog walkers. It was noted that the PC did not want to force users to only have their dogs on leads as this was a major dog walking area, but it was agreed to look for signs that would ask users to ensure their dogs were under control at all times. (Cllr Dickson-Green to action)
9.3 It was noted that there had only been two expressions of interest in representing the Parish Council on the Borderlands Committee. Cllr Moore also expressed an interest, so it was agreed to make a final decision on the representatives at the January meeting. It was agreed that all three interested parties would be able to discuss joining the Borderlands Committee in the January meeting with the full PC. NCC had been in touch with the Clerk to get contact details for stakeholder groups they wished to ask to add as committee members. It was agreed to ask them for a slight delay to allow the PC representatives to be agreed. There were also queries regarding some of the organisations selected and NCC was to be asked for the rationale for these choices. (Clerk to action)
9.4 Storage of Parish Council resources - it was noted by Cllr Dickson-Green and the Clerk that over the last couple of years the PC’s operational materials had increased significantly, including old records, banners, Christmas lights and trees, salt spreaders and bags of rock salt. This was becoming too much to be stored easily in a residential home, especially as the materials should be centrally accessible by councillors. He noted that it would be possible to find some secure space for the material at Station Yard and that this could be made available by NT&RCP for around £10 per month. It was agreed that this was acceptable. (Cllr Dickson-Green and Clerk to action)
9.5 Cllr Irving noted that the village had been almost gridlocked on several days - in particular when the COVID clinic was open. It was agreed to ask Cllr Riddle to accelerate his plans for improvements in parking, which had been in the process of being drawn up for over a year. (Clerk to action) Cllr Huddleston noted that she had been discussing the queuing problems for visitors to the COVID clinic with Parkside Pharmacy and it had been agreed that the cones from the road up to Hareshaw Linn would be temporarily repurposed to hep with queueing at the clinic. This had been agreed with the residents at Hareshaw Linn. Parkside Pharmacy would then be asked to contact NCC to see if a more permanent queuing system could be devised to maximise safety for those queuing without compromising parking or local residents. (Clerk to action)
9.6 Cllr Huddleston asked about planning for storms like the recent Storm Arwen and how local residents could access an emergency centre if the power was down for an extended period. Cllr Wilkinson stated that the Town Hall had been contacted by NCC to offer their services as a disaster centre, but that this had not been needed in this instance - though in the future it could serve this role. It was also felt that in the long term this was an issue to be discussed further with the surrounding parishes.
10. Any Urgent Business
Cllr Dickson-Green asked that all Councillors considered possible strategies or ideas for how to progress their areas of responsibility for the coming year before the next meeting. (Action ALL)
11. Date of 2022 meetings
It was agreed to continue meeting on the third Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be January 19th 2022. It was felt that due to the level of business that was now being handled by the PC, there would be no holiday in August, with Councillors attending meetings as they were able.
12. Restricted business - discussion regarding Freeman of the Parish nominations.
Meeting was closed at 8.49pm
