Parish Council

Grewelthorpe Parish Council meets monthly usually on the second Wednesday of the month, but meeting dates can vary so watch the village notice board or the press. The meetings start at 7-30p.m. in the school. Members of the public are welcome to attend but may only take part in discussions if invited to do so by the Chairman.
Chairman – Peter Lofthouse. Vice Chairman – Alison Kerr.
Councillors. Mark Exelby. Geoffrey Rhodes. Eric Clark.
Parish Clerk – Sybil Whiting.
email. katherinewhiting@btinternet.com

MEETING 13TH JANUARY 2010.


Grewelthorpe Parish Council met on Wednesday 13th January 2010. All Parish Councillors were present and Councillor Simms was also in attendance.

Roads
The Parish Clerk was asked to write to complain about the delay in repairing the holes in the roads around the village.

Gritting.
A discussion took place about the gritting problems during the recent cold weather. Some salt bins had not been refilled and appeared to contain more sand than salt, resulting in it being difficult to use. The Crosshills and Masham Road triangles had not been gritted at all and at least one other salt bin is required for the Crosshills area. In addition, bags of grit bought by the school and located within the grounds had been stolen. Councillor Clark and the Parish Clerk will write to North Yorkshire County Council with regard to these issues.

Telephone kiosk.
BT has written to the Parish Council, asking them to buy the telephone box for £1.00. The phone and line would be removed by BT. It would then become Parish Council property to use as they see fit.
The Parish Council felt very strongly that a public phone box should remain in the village, due to the poor mobile phone reception in the area, as well as the large number of walkers and the fact that the Air Ambulance had been called to two incidents in the area recently. During the past year 170 calls have been made from the phone box, clearly showing a requirement for visitors and local people. The Parish Clerk has written to BT voicing the Parish Council’s concerns and stating that there is still a strong need for a public phone in the village.
A planning application has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council and the Parish Council have objected to it.

Councillor Clark has been appointed on to the Grants Sub-Committee of the NYCC County Area Committee for the Harrogate District.

Parking on village green.
The Parish Council noted that people had been driving over the village greens and parking on the grass verges during the snow. This will cause damage to the grassy areas in the village, so people are asked to keep off these areas wherever possible.

Elecricity Sub Station.
A new electricity sub-station has been erected near Hazel Close. The Parish Council has not been informed about the work and as the structure clearly does not fit in with the village, which is in an area of outstanding beauty, the Parish Clerk has been asked to investigate with a view to rectifying the unsightly structure.

Road Sign.
As the Kirkby Malzeard road sign is broken, the Parish Clerk has been asked to contact NYCC to repair it.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 10th March 2010 at 7.30p.m.

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place at Grewelthorpe School on Wednesday 28th April at 7.00p.m., followed by the Annual General Meeting at 8.00p.m.



Meeting 10th March 2010.
Grewelthorpe Parish Council met on Wednesday 10th March 2010. Apologies were received from Councillors Exelby and Rhodes and Councillor Simms (HBC). Councillor Richardson (NYCC) was in attendance.

LIMETREE FESTIVAL.

Mr S Birdsall, organiser of the Limetree Festival, Mr M Leach, from Limetree Farm plus one other, came to inform the Parish Council about this year’s Limetree Festival.
The Chairman agreed that they could speak before the meeting began. This year the festival is to be held from 27th – 29th August at Limetree Farm. The arrangements are similar to those agreed by the Parish Council last year. A joint letter from the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Watch will again be distributed to each house in the village, giving details of the event and an opportunity to buy discounted tickets.
The Councillors suggested that Mr Birdsall contact local coach and minibus companies to investigate the possibility of providing transport to and from the site, and thereby reducing traffic through the village.
POTHOLES
The potholes in the roads through the village have now been filled, except for one on Crosshills. The Clerk was asked to contact the Highways Department to request them to complete the work.

SALT BINS AND GRITTING.

A discussion took place regarding the gritting of roads in the village and the provision of salt bins. Points discussed included:
‘A’ routes were gritted, including those through the village going past the school and down the hill towards Masham
No new salt bins would be provided for the village
Gritting had been carried out when there had been no apparent requirement for it
NYCC have a legal obligation to grit, but bad weather did not always occur, despite what was forecast
When gritting was required, it often took place in the middle of the day
NYCC had no choice but to divert some of their stocks to other councils who had run out of salt. This situation had left roads in North Yorkshire vulnerable
Councillor Clark raised the question of the increase in council tax from 2.5% to 2.9% to cover the increase of gritting through the bad weather. He also asked Councillor Richardson if NYCC had had an emergency plan to cope with the recent weather.
Councillor Clark registered his disappointment regarding the lack of consultation relating to the increase in Council Tax, due to the effects of bad weather and the apparent lack of desire by NYCC to reduce the tax burden on residents through savings.

TELEPHONE BOX.
Harrogate Borough Council has refused the application by BT to remove the public phone from the village. The phone box no longer takes coins and a card system has been installed. However, the phone can still be used to call the emergency services, free of charge.

FINANCE.
Residents wishing to view the audited accounts for 2009/2010 should contact the Parish Clerk.

PLANNING.
Planning Applications were received from Mr M Exelby and Mr P Kilburn. The Parish Council had no objections to either application.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
Ms Ingrid Simmonds had been invited to the meeting by the Clerk to inform the councillors about the timetable changes in the 138 bus service from Ripon. The daily 18.20 service is due to be withdrawn from 19th April, which will have an impact on people using the service returning from work.
The Councillors supported Ms Simmonds and felt that the service should be retained for the use of the community. It was suggested that the Clerk should write to NYCC after conferring with the Clerk at Masham Parish Council, who had already written to support Ms Simmonds.

Councillor Clark requested that the Parish Plan be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

Mr Stebbing reported on the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 28th April 2010.

The Annual Parish Meeting will take place at Grewelthorpe School on Wednesday 28th April at 7.00p.m., followed by the Parish Council Meeting at 7.30p.m., and the Annual General Meeting at 8.00p.m.


GREWELTHORPE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 30TH 2010

Grewelthorpe Parish Council met on Wednesday 30th June 2010. Apologies were received from Councillor Lofthouse and Councillor Richardson (NYCC). Councillor Kerr chaired the meeting.

PARISH PLAN.
Councillor Clark is putting together some aims and objectives for a condensed parish plan. The Clerk has contacted Amanda Kent from Rural Action Yorkshire, who is willing to come and talk to the Parish Council about developing a plan. A meeting will be arranged in due course.
EMERGENCY PLAN.
Councillor Clark will study the plan with a view to updating it and hopes to report back at the next meeting.
PARKING ON GRASSED AREAS.
A polite notice leaflet has been delivered to all the houses surrounding the main village greens as regular parking is not allowed on grassed areas (see byelaws at www.grewelthorpe.org.uk). Two members of the public attended the meeting to discuss this point and a positive discussion took place with ideas of how to resolve the problem.
GRASS CUTTING SCHEDULE.
The Clerk has been asked to obtain the schedule for cutting the greens and kerbs, as the grass has only been cut once this year.
SCHOOL PLAYING FIELD.
Councillor Rhodes, who is Chair of Grewelthorpe School Governors, reported that NYCC are happy for the Parish Council to lease the school playing field outside of school hours. This would mean that there would be insurance cover for residents using the playing field, but Grewelthorpe Sports Association would need to agree to the proposal.
Residents are not permitted to use the school field during school opening times or school events.
CORRESPONDENCE.
A letter had been received in response to the polite notice flyer. After some discussion between the Councillors, the Clerk was asked to reply.
Two letters have been received with regard to dog fouling around the village. The Councillors acknowledged the problem and asked the Clerk to contact the dog warden at Harrogate Borough Council for advice and to reply to the correspondents.
A further point was made with regard to the white ducks that have recently appeared near the pond. Concern was raised about their condition and possible cross breeding with the resident ducks. The Councillors were informed that the new ducks were being cared for. Apparently, eggs laid by these ducks need to be artificially incubated. The Parish Council will monitor the situation.
FINANCE.
The Parish Clerk will purchase a copy of the book Local Council Administration at £55.60.
The Councillors examined the paperwork for the audit required by Mazars. The Clerk will contact Mrs Buckingham to audit the accounts and Councillor Lofthouse to sign and complete the audit.
The Councillors discussed possible options for using commuted sums to enhance the village and decided on the following items:
1 piece of equipment for the play area
1 bench
2 dog fouling bins
4 salt bins
1 notice board
2 rubbish bins
HACKFALL CONSERVATION APPRAISAL.
Councillors were given little notice of this event, but Councillors Kerr and Rhodes were able to attend. Harrogate Borough Council will produce a report on the appraisal and send a copy to the Parish Council.
PLANNING.
Planning Applications were received from Hackfall Trust for notice boards and The Crown Inn for new windows. The Parish Council had no objections to either application.
LIMETREE FESTIVAL.
The festival takes place from 27th – 29th August. Councillor Clark reported that a letter will be delivered to all residents giving details of how tickets can be obtained at a subsidised cost.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
The Clerk had been contacted by Ms Simmonds with regard to the 138 bus service. Unfortunately, the service had stopped running again, with only a day’s notice to passengers. NYCC have arranged for a local taxi firm to supply a minibus service for the 6.20p.m. bus service six days a week, but no provision has been made for the rest of the timetable. The Councillors agreed that the bus service should not be allowed to fold and NYCC actions should be closely monitored.
COMMUNITY SAFETY COMMITTEE.
Councillor Clark is the Chair of the newly formed Community Safety Committee which incorporates Grewelthorpe Neighbourhood Watch. The Committee is proposing to hold a meeting on Tuesday 14th September, with representatives from the Police, Fire and Rescue, Trading Standards and Highways departments to talk about their organisations and how they can help residents. Councillor Clark requested funding to provide refreshments for the evening. The Parish Council supported the initiative and agreed to provide financial support for the event.

Date of next meeting.

The next meeting will take place at Grewelthorpe School on Wednesday 1st September at 7.30p.m. Everyone is very welcome to attend.