Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council
The annual parish council meeting of Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council was held on Wednesday, 6th May 2026 at 7.30pm in the Bakehouse.
Present: A Grindey, S Bruce, S Spencer, S Wager, R Sherratt, and the clerk, S Hampson. There were 2 members of the public in attendance.
Part 1 Non-confidential information
26.5.1 Apologies and attendance register
Apologies had been received from Mr D Annat and Ms S Spencer. The members present completed the attendance register.
26.5.2 Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
Resolved: Mr A Grindey – to continue as Chairman (prop SB and Sec SW)
Resolved: Mr R Sherratt – Vice Chairman (Prop AG sec SB)
26.5.3 Declaration of acceptance of office and chairman and members
Members present duly completed the acceptance of office forms before the Proper Officer of the parish council, Mrs Hampson. The chairman completed the additional Chairman’s acceptance of office form.
26.5.4 Completion of members’ interest forms
Members completed and signed the members’ interest forms.
26.5.5 Declaration of personal/prejudicial interest of councillors
There was no need by any councillor present to declare an interest in the agenda items.
26.5.6 Minutes of the previous ordinary meeting
The minutes of the previous ordinary 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 Grindey.
26.5.7 Public speaking
Two members of the public remained after the conclusion of the parish annual meeting. During the parish annual meeting, two members of the public had raised disability access to the seating area around the pond and presented a report to the parish council members for consideration and support to submit to Derbyshire County Council (DCC) and Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA).
Resolved: to place seating around the pond and disability access on the next agenda.
Resolved: Mr Grindey to remove the damaged seat at the pond perimeter.
One of the members of the public advised that the Hartington Community Group (HCG) had agreed to reform the Neighbourhood Watch and a grant for £250 had been received for information posters. A meeting was also scheduled at the neighbouring parish of Biggin on 6th May. Co-ordinators are being sought.
Mr Grindey raised the issue of charging 50p for access to toilets by contactless method. These toilets are those under the jurisdiction PDNPA such as Hartington Station, Millers Dale and Dove Dale.
The waste bin from the area of Hartington public toilets may have been relocated to the vicinity of the antique shop.
Also raised during the parish annual meeting, a member of the public requested an advisory sign regarding Hyde Lane to be hazardous to use during periods of extreme weather, including ice. This would be a decision for DCC. Mr Wager advised that some roads could be removed from satellite navigation systems; this would alleviate some of the traffic from Hyde Lane.
26.5.8 Update from the District Councillor
District Councillor Chapman advised that as part of the review of the local plan, 3000 additional properties will be built throughout the district by 2032. Hartington will not be affected by this. He also advised that weed control and street mess will start to be addressed by Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) using trained personnel and chemical methods. This will fall under civic pride, tidiness healthy and safety if root problems are not dealt with. The District Councillor offered some funding towards the achievement of disabled access to village seats around the pond.
- Update from the County Councillor
The County Councillor was not in attendance but the clerk had copied him into a number of recent emails concerning outstanding highway matters.
26.5.10 Neighbourhood Plan referendum
The date for the second referendum has been received as 9th July 2026. At the time of the meeting, the parish council had not received any further information regarding the referendum. The parish council was very grateful to all those who had voted during the previous referendum and hope the turn out for the second referendum will be equally well supported.
- Presentation of accounts for the year ending 31st March 2026 by the clerk/ RFO
The clerk had completed the accounts for previous financial year and had forward these to the members in advance of the meeting and checked by the internal auditor. These were presented during the meeting.
Resolved: to unanimously accept the accounts as a true record of entries throughout the financial year ending 31st March 2026.
- Internal audit of accounts for the year ended 31st March 2026
The internal auditor from East Midlands Audit Service Ltd had met with the clerk and responsible finance officer (RFO) and completed the internal audit of the accounts and audit documentation. She had signed off the AGAR documentation.
- Agar Form 2 Certificate of Exemption for accounts for the year ended 31st March 2026
The RFO had forwarded all sections of the AGAR documentation to members, in advance of the meeting. The figures for both income and expenditure were below £25,000; therefore, the clerk and RFO had completed the certificate of exemption for the year ended 31st March 2025. This had also been supported by the internal auditor.
Resolved: to accept the Certificate of Exemption figures and to submit the certificate to the external auditors.
Resolved: to obtain and implement the latest version of Standing Orders and Financial Regulations.
Resolved: to implement a general data protection policy and to register with the Information Commissioners Office.
Resolved: the clerk to liaise with the website manager to check that the website meets WCA2G.2AA regarding accessibility guidelines and to update the parish council’s accessibility policy accordingly.
- Section 1 Annual Governance Statement for year ended 31st March 2026
This had been prepared by the RFO and supported by the internal auditor.
Resolved: to accept the Section 1 Annual Governance Statement and to add the signatures of the RFO and the Chair Person.
- Section 2 Accounting Statement for accounts for year ended 31st March 2026
This had been prepared by the RFO and supported by the internal auditor.
Resolved: to accept Section 2, the Accounting Statement and to add the signatures of the RFO and the Chair Person.
The clerk and RFO had prepared the Public Rights notice, with the dates supplied by the external auditor. This will commence on 3rd June 2026.
26.5.16 Items of accounts, salaries and HMRC, mowing contract, internal audit invoice, bus shelter cleaning, neighbourhood plan, grit bins
Cq 1889 Zurich Municipal Annual insurance premium £427.51
Cq 1890 S Hampson May clerk’s salary £455.41
Cq 1891 S Hampson May internet provision £17.00
Cq 1892 S Hampson Reimbursement of expenses £17.45
Cq 1893 B W Coles Mowing contract (await invoice)
Cq 1894 EMAS Ltd Internal audit fee £60.00
Mr Grindey advised that both grit bin on Reynards Lane remain empty despite the request for refills.
26.5.17 Former cheese factory site and possible update on flood attenuation scheme
The clerk had made yet further enquiries to the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) regarding NP/DDD/0625/0620 which seeks to vary condition 32, the condition that relates to the flood attenuation measures and land restoration at Peakland Grange. PDNPA’s response received on 16th April stated there was still no final response from the local flood authority, Derbyshire County Council (DCC). However, a member of the public from the Peakland Grange development advised of a more recent update and reported that the flood authority and PDNPA tree officers have objected to the scheme, as it may lead to flooding on the road.
Resolved: the clerk to contact PDNPA yet again for a full report as PDNPA has not advised the parish council on these developments.
26.5.18 Village seats
Resolved: Mr Grindey to remove the damaged seat from around the pond and to place this matter along with disabled access to these pond seats on the next agenda.
25.5.19 Planning sub-committee, planning applications and appeals
Whilst the parish council has not been officially advised, it was reported that the recent proposals at Bank House had been passed but the element concerning rear access in the vicinity of the village hall had been removed.
25.5.20 Highway issues, yellow lines, pot holes, street lighting, no through road sign
There was still no further update on the ‘No through road’ sign at the bottom of Reynards Lane despite numerous communications with DCC and the County Councillor. It was reported that the residents have placed an unofficial advisory sign. It was further reported that there are now 200 pot holes between the beginning of Reynards Lane and the Whim. The dangerous pot hole next to a collapsed grid repeatedly reported near Digmer Farm, remains outstanding. Highway road closures between 30th May and 5th September (10 days) Alsop Moor to Fenny Bentley.
25.5.21 Correspondence and communication
Correspondence had been forwarded to members in advance of the meeting and included: Peak Park landscape tree project, for planting individual trees either in field boundaries and in-field on agricultural land, (not private land/gardens) but could also be used in public spaces where appropriate, and is mainly a response to the Ash Dieback experienced across the National Park. We can also provide funding for small woodland copses, usually up to 25 trees, and also for individual tree guards and shelters. Other communications included: Zurich Insurance renewal and spring updates, street trading consent for fish and chip van, public rights of way new season, DALC May newsletter, toad patrol complete. 160 toads rescued (double last year).
The clerk had prepared a new annual risk assessment and IT policy to be implemented with immediate effect.
26.5.22 Items for the next agenda
Neighbourhood Plan referendum, former cheese factory site and flood measures and enforcement, Reynards Lane No through road, village seats and disability access, policy reviews, online banking. Additional items to be compiled by the clerk.
26.5.22 Date of next meeting: Wednesday, 3rd June 2026.
Confidential Items
The meeting was declared closed at 8.35 pm
Mrs S Hampson, Clerk,
Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council
7th May 2026
©Hartington Town Quarter Parish Council minutes remain draft until approved by the parish council at the next meeting