BISHAMPTON AND THROCKMORTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on Monday 12th May 2003 at the Villages Hall, Bishampton

Members and Officers present: Mr M Argyle (Chairman & District Councillor), Mrs A Bufton, Mr E Chadwick, Mr R Segar, Mrs A Belcher (Clerk).

03.5.01 Election of Chairman and Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Malcolm Argyle was nominated by Annette Bufton, seconded by Rupert Segar and elected unanimously. Mr Argyle signed the declaration of acceptance of office.

03.5.02 Apologies for absence

Apologies were accepted from Toni Gilligan.

03.5.02 Co-option of Councillors to fill three vacancies

Malcolm Argyle proposed, Rupert Segar seconded a motion to co-opt Eric Carter as Councillor to fill one of the vacancies. The motion was carried unanimously and Mr Carter joined the meeting. It was agreed to advertise the two remaining vacancies in the next issue of the Parish newsletter. RS

03.5.03 Election of Vice-Chairman

Annette Bufton proposed Eric Carter as Vice-Chairman, seconded by Edward Chadwick. Mr Carter was elected unanimously.

03.5.04 Declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

03.5.05 Allocation of Councillors' responsibilities

It was agreed that Councillors would have the following responsibilities:


In addition it was agreed that the following Councillors would have responsibility with the Clerk for the following matters:

03.5.07 Open Session

There were no members of the public present.

03.5.08 Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 14 April 2003

These were approved and signed as a correct record.

03.5.09 Matters arising

The Clerk reported that a letter had been received from the Treasurer of the Flyfords Benefice giving further financial details about the newssheet. It was agreed to defer consideration of the Benefice request for a donation towards the cost of producing the newssheet until later in the agenda so that could be considered at the same time as item 10.3, rate relief application.

03.5.10 Finance

03.5.10.1 Cash reconciliation

The Clerk reported a balance of £11,007.49 as at 24 April.

03.5.10.2 Approval of payments

The following payments were approved:

Limebridge Rural Services (mowing) £377.18

Mrs A Belcher (April salary) £277.11

Worcestershire CALC (subscription) £194.15

The Clerk also reported that the following account had been paid since the last meeting under minute no. 03.4.8.2:

Npower £35.78
Eric Carter agreed to look into the possibility of changing the electricity supplier in order to save money. EC

03.5.10.3 Application for grant - Mr David Meredith and Ms Jayne Evans (rate relief)

The Clerk explained that following the consideration of this item at the last meeting it became apparent that the Council had not had before them all the information necessary to enable them to come to a reasoned decision. The Clerk had sought clarification from the District Council of the figures contained in the Council's letter of 26 March and the amount of rate relief that the applicants would lose if the Parish Council decided not to support the application financially. In addition the Chairman had approached the applicants to ask whether they wished to put forward any representations in support of their application. The applicants were unable to be present at the meeting but had sent a letter which the Clerk read out. It was agreed after consideration of section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the advice of NALC in relation to rate relief applications that the matter be deferred to enable the applicants to attend to present financial details in support of their case.

The application by the Flyfords Benefice was considered and it was agreed that £50 be donated towards the cost of producing the newssheet.

03.5.10.4 Appointment of additional bank account signatory

It was agreed that Edward Chadwick should replace Nigel Smith as the third signatory on the Parish Council account.

03.5.10.5 Insurance policy renewal

The Council's insurance with Allianz Cornhill was due for renewal on 1 June. In view of the increase in premium (around £70) it was agreed that the Clerk should seek alternative quotes if possible. Annette Bufton agreed to find out who were the insurers of the Villages Hall.

03.5.10.6 Chairman's allowance

An allowance of £50 for the year was agreed for Chairman's expenses pursuant to section 15(5) of the Local Government Act 1972. It was agreed that the Chairman be reimbursed the cost of gifts for three retiring Councillors amounting to £36.50 from this allowance.

03.5.11 Planning

Annette Bufton reported the following:

03.5.12 Periodic Electoral Review of Worcestershire

The Parish Council considered the proposal by Worcestershire County Council to redraw the boundaries of the County Council wards such that the Pinvin ward (which included Bishampton and Throckmorton) was linked with Pershore. It was agreed that the matter be deferred until the next meeting of the Council and that Councillor Liz Tucker be requested to attend the to provide more information about the proposal. Although the Parish Council would be too late to send comments to the County Council on their draft proposals, the deadline for submission of comments to the Boundary Committee was 7 July.

03.5.13 Villages Hall Play Area

Pursuant to minute 03.2.13 the Clerk had written to the Chairman of the Villages Hall Committee offering to set up a joint project group to look at the possibility of upgrading the Villages Hall play area. Rupert Segar, Annette Bufton and the Chairman volunteered to be members of such a group and this was agreed. RS & ALB & MA

The Chairman also raised the possibility of trying to acquire the land adjacent to the Villages Hall for an additional play area the Villages Hall. It was agreed that the Chairman be authorised to approach the landowner to see whether he was willing to sell. MA

03.5.14 Training

Various training courses available for members and officers were reported and it was agreed that the Clerk could attend a Worcestershire Clerks' meeting on 19 May at a cost of £12 and an Accounts to Audit course on 11 June at a cost of £20. The Chairman agreed to attend a Chairmanship course on 1 and 8 July at a cost of £40. AMB & MA

03.5.15 Reports

Eric Carter reported that the footpath works considered at the last meeting were still awaiting landowners' consents which were being obtained by Peter Averis, Parish Footpath Officer. EC

Peter Averis had drawn to the Parish Council's attention the difficulty Mrs Rymell was having in respect of gaining diversion orders on two footpaths. In his view the diversions were reasonable given the circumstances but the matter was causing prolonged debate with the County Council Countryside Service. As the matter was being dealt with by the County Council Countryside Service it was decided to take no further action.

03.5.16 Correspondence

It was reported that an order had been received from the Highway Authority for the closure of Long Lane, Throckmorton for up to 3 weeks from 12 June to enable carriageway repair works to be carried out.

An open day on Saturday 17 May at the new Materials Recycling Facility at the Hill and Moor Landfill Site was reported.

03.5.17 Any other business

There was no further business.

03.5.18 Date of next meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting would be held on 2 June 2003 at 7.30 pm.

The meeting ended at 9.55 pm.

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Chairman Date