You can download a copy of these minutes here (PDF file).

Broomhaugh and Riding Parish Council

Minutes of meeting held on Monday 12th December 2011 in the Supper Room of the Parish Hall.

Present: Cllrs Mills (in the Chair), Reid, Dunhill, Howe and Eakins. Also present were County Cllr. Dale and 4 members of the public.

1. Apologies: None

2. Cooption of Councillor: Eileen Carew offered herself as a Councillor and this was unanimously agreed. She joined members at the table.

3. Declaration of interests: None

4. Minutes of the previous meeting: Agreed as a true record

5. Handyman Report: This was presented by Mrs Stephenson and is available for viewing. There was discussion about the fence/hedge between the Playpark and VHT garden and the replacement of the fence prior to a new hedge being put in place. This will be considered when the quote is in and when others from the VHT and neighbouring houses have been consulted. It was agreed that the hedge be cut for now on the Play park side.

6. Matters Arising: a) Car Park: This is now complete. Planting will take place in the Spring and a small working group of Cllrs Howe and Reid, Mrs Shepherd, Alan Thomson and Mr or Mrs Steimet from the Police House will decide on trees and shrubs.

b) Weir: This is still deteriorating slowly with the bad weather. The original allocation of £3000 should be kept in the budget for next year.

c) Millfield Road bridge: There was some discussion again on the options and Cllr Reid had reservations about the possibility of a 40 tonne bridge being a viable option unless the road was upgraded and adopted as well. It was agreed that further informed discussions would take place after a meeting which was due to take place with BT Bell.

d) Replacement bench at Bobby’s: Following the generous offers from four families and groups to replace this, it had been decided to accept the offer from the family of Ben Wilson, who died aged 9. The family were in the process of selecting a bench and they had also agreed to retain the plaque from the original bench. The other families and groups had all been personally contacted and thanked for their kind offers.

e) Bus shelter: A site meeting was held with representatives from the County Council, the Clerk and Eileen Carew and Cllr Howe. Because of the location of the footpath, bus stop and the exits from the Slaley Road and the Nick, visibility is poor at the best of times and a stone shelter is out of the question. After measurement, it was agreed that there would be room for a glazed shelter by moving the footpath slightly. The total cost would be in the order of £9/10 thousand pounds. This was felt to be high when considering the strain on next year’s budget. It was agreed in principle and it was noted that as £3500 had already been included in the budget, grants could be sought to make up the difference. MA

As an adjunct, it was noted the footpath at the bus stop was in poor condition and this was referred forward to the Highways authority.

f) Parking at the Millennium Hall: the new double yellow lines process was ongoing albeit slowly

g) The fence at the Playpark: a quote is being sought for this to take to the working group

h) Celebrations: The Olympic Torch, the Jubilee and the Festival of the North east are all taking place in the next 2 years. No volunteers had responded to the plea in the Parish News to help organise events around the Torch in the village. Cllr Mills suggested finding out what the school were doing and Cllr Eakins suggested the Councillors ring a few people who might be willing to help by organising a group. Cllr Eakins would coordinate this. JM/JE/ALL

i) Street lighting at the new Car park: Cllr Dale reported that the County Council was looking at lighting on a health & safety basis. Standard lights were very expensive and the car park had been designed with additional lighting in place. It could be possible to have lower height lighting. The Clerk would make enquiries as to options. MA

j) Cllr Dale raised the issue of a request for a new grit bin near Beauclerc. She had been told this would be the responsibility of the Parish Council now but it was not part of the Charter. The Clerk would follow up on this. MA

7. Speed into village: The flashing road signs were now working but subject to a few teething problems. They were set at 34mph before registering in line with County Council Policy. Cllr Dale would forward the email explaining this. Cllr Dunhill would like to see a ‘gateway’ into the village especially at the eastern end of the village as a further deterrent to speeding motorists. Cllr Dale suggested that Dale Romney be contacted from the County Council to discuss the options and the costs that might go with such options. ADe/MA

8. Blind entrance at Wentworth Grange: Following the recent roadworks, the verge near the south bus stop had been tarmaced over having the effect of completely removing the footpath and letting people park more easily. Visibility is already very difficult at that junction. Cllr Dale was due to meet to discuss this matter and would report back. The Council felt that it should be easy to mark up the footpath properly on the tarmac. Cllr Dunhill suggested looking into the purchase of part of the adjacent field to provide car parking. MA

9. Planning: 

11/02191/LBC Listed Building consent at the Lodge, Shepherd’s Dene; this was granted under delegated powers

11/00903/FUL House at land west of Kingmead, Sandy Bank – still pending according to the Planning website

11/02202/FUL Extension at Lyndene, Millfield Road withdrawn

10. Correspondence: a) the general file contained two large consultations for Councillors to consider.

b) Vodafone Mobile Trial: this related to G3 mobiles and was to make expressions of interest through the local MP. Cllr Dale had forwarded the village as being interested in participating in the trial.

c) The Hexham Courant had asked for a short report to go into next year’s Tynedale Visitor. Cllr Dunhill agreed to do this.

11. Finance: a) The financial statement was accepted – it was in line with the budget and as expected.

b) the following payments were authorised:

Northumberland Rivers Trust (re Weir) – £800.00
MFAnderton/Salary/November/Dec. and expenses November) – £918.68
Homevend (Handyman/16) – £70.00
SLCC annual subs 2012 – £97.00
Marchburn Lane Residents Assn. (ex gratia) – £50.00
RM Cricket Club/grass cutting – £746.00
Sign & Design (keys) – £48.00
Northumbrian Water – £12.04
Debmat (car park) – £16,741.20

c) Budget and Precept: The figures were reviewed again. The footbridge over the Weir and the bus shelter could be considered over two years. Accepting a deficit budget again, the Council agreed that the Precept would be £47,000. Whilst a large increase in percentage terms, it is relatively small at the Band D level

12. Minor matters: Cllr Mills had written a short note for the Parish News referring to the vandalism and to the bench at Bobby’s.

The meeting closed at 9.59pm

You can download a copy of these minutes here (PDF file).

Broomhaugh and Riding Parish Council

Minutes of meeting held on 14th November 2011 at 8.15pm in the Parish Hall Supper Room

Present: Cllrs Mills (Chair), Reid, Dunhill, Eakins and Howe. Cllr Dale was in attendance and 5 members of the public

1. Apologies: None

2. Declarations of interest: None

3. Minutes of the meeting of 26th September: Agreed as a true record.

4. Matters arising:

a) Tennis Club: they will meet to discuss grants on 18th November.

b) Weir: A late email from Professor Newsom indicated that some grants would be available towards the cost of work at the weir. It was suggested that the Parish Council provide some matched funding by paying for the work already done by Professor Kerr.

c) Millfield Road Bridge: During the period to May next year when work can start again, it was agreed to look at the long term implications for the bridge. Details were being sought, both on costs of potential work and for holding a referendum in the village on possible options. Following a suggestion at the last meeting that emergency vehicles could be allowed over the bridge as ‘it was like the bridge at Corbridge’, the main text of a reply from Simon Rudman, Bridges Manager at the County Council was read out by the Chair explaining why the situation at Corbridge is not analogous to that at Riding Mill.

d) It was agreed to arrange a meeting with BTBell to further discuss the longterm options. A short article about the proposals should be included in the Parish News now as leaving it till the New Year would be too late. MA

e) Speed signs: these are in place and working.

f) Parish Hall Car Park: This is now under construction.

5. Vandalism/Thefts: There has been significant damage to the Play Park and to a seat at the Weir (recently repaired). Quotes were in hand to forward to the Insurers. Cllr Dunhill reported that a bicycle and a car had also been recently stolen and it was agreed to place a brief warning into the Parish News asking people to be vigilant. MA

6. Handyman Report: Mrs Stephenson provided the regular report on the work being carried out by the Handyman. Undergrowth near the Tennis courts was encroaching on Millfeld Road and Cllr Howe agreed to look into the problem. The Clerk would check that the area was on the grass cutting list for next year. PH/MA

7. Replacement Bench: There had been a gratifying response to the invitation in the Parish News for a replacement bench outside Bobby’s shop. Four families or groups had volunteered. A suggestion of putting two benches together had been raised but the preparation work for a second bench would be expensive and it was agreed to keep to the one bench. Cllr Mills would talk to those who had offered to donate. JM

8. Bus shelter at West end of village: The Parish Council agreed in principle to placing a shelter at the west end (south side) of the A695. However, Cllr Dale suggested there might be problems with the line of sight and the adjoining roads from Slaley and the Nick. The Clerk would ask for a site visit from County Hall to evaluate the situation. MA

9. Parking at the Millennium Hall: Cllr Dunhill reported more instances of bad parking at the Hall. Nothing has been heard from County Hall about the double yellow lines since a site visit in August. Cllr Dale agreed to chase this up. ADe

10. Planning: a) Granted consent by Northumberland County Council under delegated powers:

11/01951/FUL Extension at Hazel Rigg, Millfield Road 11/01722/CCD Solar Panels at Broomhaugh First School 11/01612/FUL Extension at Jacaranda, Long Rigg. b) For consideration by NCC Development Committee: 11/00903/FUL House at land west of Kingmead, Sandybank – Decision pending c) Appeal to the Planning inspectorate: House at Grovefield – Appeal allowed d) Considered by the Parish Council: 11/02220/FUL Extension at LynDene, Millfield Road – no objections 11/02191/LBC The Lodge, Shepherd’s Dene, Listed Consent – no objections

11. Correspondence:

a) Fence round Playpark: A request had been received from the VHT that the fence round the Play Park be completed by the Parish Council for Health and Safety reasons before the VHT plant a new hedge after tidying up the ivy. It was agreed that Councillors would look at the site and the fencer would be asked for a quote before replying to the VHT. MA/Councillors

b) Network Rail: Clarification had been received from Network Rail that they were liaising with the Planning Department of County Hall to ensure the correct materials would be used when the station bridge is repaired next year.

The following payments were authorised:

Darren Johnson (invoice 13) – £70.00

Northumbria Water – £15.29

Ruth Hadden – ecology survey – £200.00

Aon Insurance (additional premium for speed signs) – £59.71

Darren Johnson (invoices 14/15) – £140.00

MFAnderton (Salary/expenses/October) – £476.96

SB Tree Services ( tree at double tennis court) – £120.00

Royal British legion (S.137) Poppy wreath – £50.00

Transfer from reserves to cover Car Park payment – £7,500.00

b. Budget: A draft budget for next year’s precept was presented to councillors. There was discussion about what could be saved and what was necessary. Figures for the Weir were required; the new footbridge might have to be deferred. Councillors were asked to submit items that may have been forgotten and further thoughts in time for the next meeting when the precept would be finalised. At present, there is an increase of a third in the budget from last year which will mean a doubling of the precept. Councillors to JE/MA

13. Minor Matters:

a) Olympic torch – details as to when it will come through the village are not yet known. Cllr Reid suggested a request be placed in the Parish News inviting interest from anyone wishing to be involved with celebrations. MR

b) Mobile Library: changes are being proposed to the mobile library service. Users have been consulted separately. Points to note include a consistent venue and length of stay for visits. The council agreed that a date for the van’s visit fixed by reference to a particular day in a numbered week on the month was preferable to a date at three week intervals. There was criticism of the short time scale for consultation and the waste of postage. The Clerk would reply MA

c) The Charter between the Councils and NCC was being circulated for consultation. The Clerk would make any comments. MA

d) Notification of a meeting with NCC about Broadband issues/funding had been received.

e) The spinney – Colin Dickinson had offered probation helpers to clear the Spinney. Cllr Reid would invite him to join the Spinney Group.

f) Charles Heslop would be thanked for laying the wreath on Remembrance Sunday on behalf of the Parish Council.

The meeting closed at 10.15pm