BISHAMPTON AND THROCKMORTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on Monday 20th February 2006 at the Villages Hall, Bishampton
Members and Officers present: Mr E Carter (Chairman), Ms T Gilligan (Vice Chairman)(from 7.42pm), Mr C Tucker , Mr D Cheetham, Mrs B Lammas, Mr M Argyle, Mrs A Boocock (Clerk)
The meeting opened at 7.34pm.
06.03.01 Apologies for absence
Apologies received from Cllrs
Beever and Chadwick who were working and Cllr Hall who was ill.
06.03.02 Declarations of interest
There were no declarations
of interest.
06.03.03 To approve the minutes of the meetings and Monday
9th January 2006 and Monday 6th February 2006
The minutes of Monday 9th January
2006 were approved and signed. The minutes of Monday 6th February 2006 were
approved and signed with one amendment.
06.03.04 To approve the cash reconciliation for January 2006
These
were approved.
06.03.05 To approve any outstanding payments
One payment to
Cllr Carter of £90.48 for placement of the Clerk vacancy
advertisement in the local papers was approved.
06.03.06 To approve an internal auditor for the 2004/5 accounts
Tenders
from IBS Norton and Mrs L Oliver for auditing the 2004/05 accounts were considered.
A third applicant had not submitted a tender. The quotation from Mrs L Oliver
for £90 was proposed by Cllr Tucker, seconded by Cllr
Cheetham and agreed unanimously.
06.03.07 To approve the quotation for raising the tree canopy
in the Bishampton Amenity area to make safe for the improved facilities
A quotation
from Limebridge of £280 for lifting the tree canopy in the
Villages Hall Amenity Area for safety and environmental improvement was accepted.
Work is to be completed as soon as possible in order to comply with legislation
under the CROW act.
06.03.08 To consider any action in respect of the leaning,
and possibly dangerous apple tree, at the entrance to the Bishampton Amenity
area
Cllr Argyle stated that he did not feel there was an immediate safety issue
with the tree and that, as the tree was of an old variety, steps should be
taken to try and preserve it. He would approach Mr John Edgely, an expert in
tree maintenance, for an opinion and possible quotation on pruning the tree
to be obtained before February 27th. MA
If appropriate pruning is practicable the council approved expenditure up to £100.
06.03.09 To short list applications for the post of clerk and
agree a suitable interview panel of three councillors and interview date
Two
applications had been received and both were considered suitable for interview.
The interview panel would be made up of Cllrs Gilligan, Lammas and Cheetham
and, subject to candidate availability, interviews would be held at the Villages
Hall on Monday 27th February at 7.30pm (councillors meeting at 7.15pm).
TG/BL/ DC
The Clerk would contact the candidates, confirm their attendance and book the Villages Hall AEB
It was agreed that should the panel receive any late applications from suitable candidates that they should also be interviewed.
06.03.10 To consider options of a roving or acting clerk in
the event of insufficient suitable applications
Cllr Carter pointed out that
in the event of a suitable clerk not being appointed there were two options,
a roving clerk who would cost £150/meeting and
only deal with the agenda and minutes of the meeting or a councillor acting,
unpaid, as clerk. He considered the latter to be a more attractive proposition
and offered, as an absolute fall back position, to undertake the work but would
be required to drop the chairmanship. It was agreed that the council must continue
to operate as near normal a routine as possible over this period in view of
the amenity work in progress and that a clerk, in some form, was mandatory
to achieving this.
06.03.11 PACT Account
Cllr Carter had circulated a letter from
Cllr E. Tucker calling him to a meeting to discuss closure of the account with
a proposal that the remaining monies be donated to the “Acorns” Children’s
Hospice. Cllr Lammas expressed the view that, since the money was raised locally,
it should be used for a cause more local to the community. General opinion
was that there may be more issues yet to deal with over the Throckmorton Airfield
and the fund should be maintained for that purpose but Cllr Lammas’s
views were supported if the account is to be closed.
06.03.12 Throckmorton Parish Rooms
Cllr Tucker reported that
DEFRA had approved the grant for replacement of the existing Parish Room. All
that remained was for the Throckmorton Parish Charity to gain ownership of
the property and, despite some problems over the exact specification of the
building with the Land Registry Office, he was hopeful that this would now
proceed quickly. The Clerk confirmed that she and Cllr Carter had signed a
surrender of the lease to the Throckmorton Parish Charity and this was now
with David Jackman, solicitors acting for the Scout Association.
06.03.13 Date of Next Meeting
This would be determined when
a new clerk had been appointed but would probably be Monday 6th March 2006.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.20pm.
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Chairman Date