Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council

A meeting of Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 5^th June at 7.30pm in the Bakehouse.

Present:  D Annat (Acting Chairman for this meeting), S Bruce, R Sherratt, E Broomhead MBE and the clerk, S Hampson. There were no members of the public in attendance.

Part 1 Non-confidential information

24.6.1 Apologies and attendance register

Apologies had been received in advance of the meeting from the Chairman, Mr A Grindey and Vice Chairman, Mr Wager.  The other members present completed the attendance register.  

24.6.2 Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting had been forwarded to members in advance of the meeting and posted on the parish council’s website and noticeboard.  

Resolved:  to accept the minutes as a true record of proceedings.  The minutes were duly signed by Mr Annat.

24.6.3 Public speaking

There were no members of the public in attendance.

Following the production of a risk assessment, a number of volunteers had very kindly removed green algae from the village pond.  The members of the parish council were very grateful for their hard work and are pleased by the outcome.  The irises were previously thinned in the pond but these have now multiplied further down the pond.  It is anticipated that these will need a further reduction in the near future.  Grass has also encroached into the pond over some of the stone sets.  The members acknowledge that the maintenance of the pond is an ongoing task and would be grateful for periodic assistance with this from the village groups, rather than outside assistance, but subject to risk assessments being undertaken.

The toad patrol exercise was fruitful and the parish council were pleased to receive the report; the parish council now feel that there is a lot of support in the village concerning nature projects.

Resolved:  to approach village members with some expertise/experience to consider further support for future projects concerning the pond.

24.6.4 Update from the District Councillor

The District Councillor was not present.  The clerk had emailed the District Councillor regarding the future security of field 0657 which was purchased by Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) for the purpose of an extension to the existing cemetery managed by the parish council clerk and await a response.

24.6.5 Former cheese factory site

Subsequent to recording thanks to a member of the community who had met with Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) a long letter from PDNPA had been received acknowledging their slow response following numerous requests from the parish council.  The letter acknowledged that the parish council’s concerns may have appeared not to be taken seriously.  The members note that there is now no action at all taking place at the development site.  This may mean that the homes may not be finished at all?

The parish council has previously expressed concerns that the PDNPA has no leverage at all now the other open market houses have been built.  The parish council also fears that if the developer is forced to reduce the value of these remaining properties to the District Valuer’s valuation, then these properties may be taken off the market and not finished.  It was noted that a member of the community had referred to taking some form of legal action; however, the parish council cannot become involved in expensive litigation.  The responsibility rests with the PDNPA’s legal team to ensure these properties are completed and subsequently offered to local people.  

Resolved:  to send this extract of the minutes to PDNPA to urge that no further work is permitted on Plot 1 until the affordable dwellings are completed and to request that a response is required in this regard.

24.6.6 Neighbourhood Plan and outcome of the meeting of 13^th May 2024

Following a successful meeting on 13^th May, the members of the Neighbourhood Plan Committee had worked extremely hard to produce the final draft for approval by the parish council.  Documentation had been forwarded to members in advance of the meeting for consideration and approval.  The parish council is extremely grateful for the considerable efforts made by the Neighbourhood Plan Committee to bring all the documents to fruition. 

Resolved:  Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council members unanimously approve the submission of the final Neighbourhood Plan and all supporting documentation to the website and to the PDNPA for review and to commence the Section 16 process.  PDNPA will be responsible for publicising to the public.

Resolved:  Mr Annat to submit everything to the website, including a massive folder of minutes.

Resolved:  To retain the professional services of an external consultant to deal with responses to the Section 16 and further supply advice and support during the period when an appointed consultant will review the documentation, hopefully leading to an approval and parishioner referendum.

Resolved:  to contact the consultant for her advice on choosing an inspector.

24.6.7 Underground camera survey

Mr Grindey had advised the clerk, in advance of the meeting, that contact had not yet been made with the company concerned due to water levels.  Contact will be made shortly.

24.6.8 Review of policies

The clerk had updated the policy review dates for all existing policies and forwarded to members for consideration.  The clerk advised that a new Accessibility Policy will need to be written in relation to the new parish council website.  The clerk had also liaised with the person managing the website regarding this point.

Resolved:  the policies were reviewed, accepted and the clerk to submit to the website to replace existing ones.

24.6.9 Internal audit of accounts for the year ended 31^st March 2024

The internal audit of the accounts prepared by the clerk and responsible finance officer had taken place and the internal audit report forwarded to members in advance of the meeting.  There will be a slight increase in the internal audit charge for next year 2024-2025 of approximately £3.  There will now be a requirement for a new generic email address for the clerk to the parish council.  The clerk had liaised with the web site manager regarding this to ensure any new email address will link to a new contact us page on the website.  Mr Annat thanked the clerk and responsible finance officer once again for exemplary execution of the accounts and audit material for submission.

24.6.10 Approval of the Annual Governance Statement for external audit

Due to the parish council’s expenditure exceeding £25,000 to 31^st March 2024, it had been necessary for the clerk to prepare a full audit for submission rather than a certificate of exemption, as in previous years.

Resolved:  to approve and sign the Annual Governance Statement.

24.6.11 Approval of the Accounting Statement for external audit

Resolved: to approve and sign the Accounting Statement for external audit.

24.6.12 Approval of external audit documentation for submission

Resolved:  to approve all external audit documentation and the clerk and Responsible Finance Officer to submit all necessary documentation to the external auditors.

24.6.13 War Memorial Stone

Mr Annat had made contact with the stone suppliers.  Mrs Broomhead MBE had prepared information regarding the War Memorial and the new stone plinth.

24.6.14 Items of account, salaries HMRC, general administration, banking, mowing contractor

Cq 1762          East Midlands Audit Services Ltd                  Internal audit                £54.30

Cq 1763          S Hampson                                                      Internet provision         £17.00

Cq 1764          S Hampson                                                      June clerk’s salary   £429.57

Cq 1765          HMRC                                                            Quarter 1 income tax      £322.00

Cq 1766          Hartington Village Hall                                  Meeting hire                  £27.50

Cq 1767          S Hampson                                                      Reimb. of expenses          £7.30

An error had been made by the mowing contractor regarding the value of the tender submitted for the 2-year mowing contract which had unfortunately, not taken into consideration additional mowing to the rear of the village hall paid for by the parish council.  Additional weedkilling had also been written in to this year’s tender by the clerk and this too had not been incorporated, by the contractor, in his tender.  Additional mowing along Stonewell Lane had been requested after the tender had been submitted to the contractor.  Additional costs had been prepared by the contractor to reflect the omissions, submitted to the clerk, and forwarded to members in advance of the meeting. 

Resolved:  Whilst this error was entirely that of the contractor, members appreciate the quality of the mowing and additional services provided; therefore, members to accept the revised figures and advise the contractor accordingly.

Members discussed management of the new website and the extensive involvement with the Neighbourhood Plan documentation.  The clerk will feed parish council material to the website manager. 

Resolved:  The clerk to liaise with the website manager to enquire if £250 per year would be sufficient for his management time.

24.6.15 Planning applications, planning sub-committee and appeals

There were no new planning applications to consider. 

24.6.16 Highway issues, yellow lines, pot holes, street lighting

There had still been no action taken to the highway defects previously reported by the clerk.  Parking on Hall Bank continues to be somewhat problematic.  There should be no parking on Hall Bank from the Old Chapel upwards as these properties have their own parking facilities.  The 90^th anniversary of the YHA on 15^th June may lead to some additional problems but Mr Sherratt has kindly offered some parking facilities, weather permitting.

Resolved:  the clerk to continuously chase each month the installation of the yellow lines proposed on Hall Bank as part of a traffic regulation order applied for approximately 2 years ago.

24.6.17 Correspondence and communication

Correspondence had been forwarded to members in advance of the meeting and included:  PCSO monthly newsletter, PDNPA newsletter, PDNPA RSPC news, DCC news, DCC Adult Community Education news, Rural village services group, flood warden workshop, Derbyshire CVS newsletter, Hartington Connectivity meeting Sarah Dines MP, public rights of way MMA. PDNPA multi agency training, public spaces protection orders, PDNPA Annual Parishes Day, pre-election period instructions

24.6.18 Items for the next agenda

War Memorial plaque, Neighbourhood Plan, former cheese factory site, underground camera survey, telephone box, generic email address.  Additional items to be compiled by the clerk.

24.6.19 Date of next meeting:  Wednesday, 3^rd July 2024. 

Confidential Items

There were no confidential items to discuss.

The meeting was declared closed at 8.55 pm.

Mrs S Hampson, Clerk

Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council

14^th June 2024

©Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council minutes remain draft until approved by the parish council at the next meeting