Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Ewyas Harold Group Parish Council

held on Tuesday 7th June 2005

In the Memorial Hall at 7.30 p.m.

Present

Councillor Mrs E Overstall (Dulas) in the chair

Councillor J Middle

Councillor Revd L Rickards

Councillor Mrs J Addis

Councillor W Preece (Dulas)

Councillor P Jinman

Councillor G Sprackling

Councillor Mrs M Tovey

Councillor P Sheen (Rowlstone)

Councillor D Harries

The Clerk

In attendance:

Margaret Woodward, Peter Overstall – Ewyas Harold History and Archaeology Group

2 members of the public.

Apologies for Absence

Councillors Mrs M Williams, R Weaver, W Lloyd

Declaration of Interest

Councillors Mrs E Overstall and D Harries declared an interest in items 9.3 and 9.4

Councillor Mrs E Overstall declared an interest in item 4.1

Councillor P Jinman declared an interest in item 4.4

Minutes

The minutes of the ordinary meeting of the council held on Tuesday 10th April 2005 were approved without amendment.

Matters for report (Not covered by separate agenda items)

4.1

Ewyas Harold History and Archaeology Group

A short presentation was made by Margaret Woodward and Peter Overstall highlighting the work and plans of this group, for which membership only costs £1 per year. They are hopeful that they will be successful in obtaining grants to further their work, and Keith Ray the County Archaeologist is now actively involved with the Group.

A meeting is being held on 9th June at 8pm to look at the way forward.

They were thanked by the chair for the presentation and congratulated on their efforts. They were assured that the Group would be fully supported by the Council and to this end a slot would be found on the Council website for them to publicise their work further.

Resolved

That this is noted

4.2

Annual Financial Report

The Clerk presented the report attached as Appendix 1.

Resolved

That the financial report be accepted

Proposed: Councillor P Sheen

Seconded: Councillor Mrs J Addis

Carried unanimously

(If Councillors have further questions these must be presented to the Clerk before the end of June. If these lead to any changes in the report it will be necessary to hold an extra meeting before the 2nd July to accept any amendments.)

4.3

Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan

The Clerk pointed out the letters received ahead of the Inquiry to be held in June 2005 and also read out the conclusions of Herefordshire Council to the objections raised ahead of the Inquiry in June.

“ The UDP correctly shows the indicative flood risk information provided by the Environment Agency”

“The Inspector is requested to recommend that no change be made to the Plan in respect of these objections”

Resolved

That this is noted.

4.4

Access to Ewyas Harold Common

Councillor P Jinman reported that there would be further meeting of the Common Society on the 17th June to discuss the Community Commons Project and the Entry Level Stewardship application under the SFP.

Councillor Jinman also reported that the Lord of the Manor was progressing with the car park plan which if successful was likely to be accessed via the Abbey Dore road. Councillor Mrs E Overstall pointed out that this would involve a climb that would still present a problem to those people of restricted mobility.

Resolved

That this is noted

Councillor W Preece reported that the boundary stone had at last been reset

Resolved

That this is noted and that the Clerk should send a letter of thanks to John Rogers

ACTION CLERK

4.5

Parish Plan

Final draft of the Parish Plan has now been printed and copies were given to Councillors so that they could provide feedback at the next meeting of EHGPC. This draft will still be subject to public consultation and after this stage a further public meeting can be arranged if deemed necessary.

A copy has been made available to the Countryside Agency so that the final £2,000 of the grant award can be released.

Resolved

That this is noted

4.6

Llancillo Signs

Councillor Berris Williams has approached Stephen Oates as to whether HC has an obligation to provide these signs. Councillor Williams was not at the meeting and therefore no report was made.

Resolved

That this is noted

4.7

Rowlestone Village Centre

The Clerk is still waiting for a report of the work necessary.

Resolved

That Councillors Mrs M Williams and P Sheen will produce this report.

ACTION MW + PS

4.8

Clerk’s Contract

Councillor Mrs E Overstall reported that she had obtained very helpful information from other councils and requested that the sub-committee working on this hold another meeting.

The Clerk reported that Inland Revenue required the Council to register as an employee under PAYE

Resolved

That the Clerk should proceed with this registration

ACTION CLERK

The Clerk also reported that:

The Council’s insurance policy did cover employee’s liabilities
That the options of training for the Clerk were either distance learning with Gloucester University or through attending HALC courses in Hereford.

Resolved

That this is noted.

4.9

Rubbish on A465

Herefordshire Council have now completed the removal of the rubbish and sweep of the channels in this area.

Resolved

That this item be deleted

4.10

Overhanging Trees in Pudding Street

Councillor P Sheen reported that this work had been agreed but was still outstanding.

Resolved

That this item be moved to the supplementary list.

4.11

Charges for Users of Recreation Ground Facilities

There was a discussion on a possible change to the method of calculating such payments. Leading from this it was felt that it might be helpful to invite representatives of the clubs using the facilities at the Recreation Ground to a future Parish Meeting to make an annual report.

Resolved

That Councillor Revd L Rickards would speak to the sports clubs before any final decision was reached.

ACTION LR.

Local Security Matters

The Clerk read out an email from Caroline Fitzgerald, the Community Support Officer for Ewyas Harold. She suggested that, having read the Parish Plan questionnaire results, the police should hold a weekly or fortnightly surgery at Ewyas Harold to allow local parishioners the opportunity to report anything of concern. This was supported by the Councillors and the venue suggested was Horsecroft with the Memorial Hall as the second choice.

Resolved

That the Clerk should write to CSO Fitzgerald accepting the offer of this surgery and providing her with details of a suitable venue. She should also be thanked for such a rapid response to the Parish Plan questionnaire results.

ACTION CLERK

Correspondence (Not covered by separate agenda items)

	Sender	Content
6.1	Jane Philips	Herefordshire UDP – Reminder to send documents for Inquiry 24th June 2005 Resolved That this was noted in item 4.3
6.2	Jane Phillips	Herefordshire UDP – Final demand for documents for Inquiry 24th June 2005 Resolved That this was noted in item 4.3
6.3	Herefordshire Jarvis Services	Notice of review of waste management and road sweeping operation Resolved That this noted in item 7.3
6.4	Community First	Community Champions Grants Paperwork given to Councillor G Sprackling
6.5	HALC	Information Corner 16.5.05 Copies given to all Councillors
6.6	HALC	Data Protection Training Course 8th June 2005 – Booking Form Paperwork given to Councillor Mrs E Overstall
6.7	HALC	Establishing Appropriate Clerk Salary Ranges Paperwork given to Councillor Mrs E Overstall
6.8	HALC	Revised car allowances for 2005/06 Paperwork given to Councillor Mrs E Overstall
6.9	HALC	Revised Register of Interest Form Paperwork given to Councillor Mrs E Overstall
6.10	HALC	West Midlands Regional Assembly – Speaking Out - Issue 8 Spring 2005 Paperwork given to Councillor Mrs E Overstall
6.11	Village Artmarkers	Final signed agreement
6.12	HC Policy + Community	RoSPA Play Ground Inspection Report 2005 Resolved That this was noted in item 12.2
6.13	Janet Stevens	Request for advice re Parish Plan (email)
6.14	Caroline Fitzgerald	Suggestion to set up weekly police surgery (email) Resolved That this was noted in item 5
6.15	Herefordshire Partnership	Notice of postponement of Herefordshire Rural Transport Meeting on 1st June 2005
6.16	Helen Waites	Acknowledgement of letter re filled post of EH Primary School Governor
6.17	Tony & Caroline Blows	Request to advertise in Newsletter Request passed on to Isabelle Devereux
6.18	Computershare	Access to capital sum from William Pye Charity Resolved That this was noted in item 6.26
6.19	CPRE	Light Pollution in Herefordshire Resolved That the Clerk to CPRE to state that EHGPC support the campaign against night blight and to this end the streetlighting within Ewyas Harold is environmentally friendly. ACTION CLERK
6.20	SLCC	The Clerk – May 2005 Vol 35 No 2
6.21	Community Forum	Notice and Agenda of next Meeting at Peterchurch Village Hall - 9th June 2005 Paperwork given to Councillor G Sprackling
6.22	Community Forum	Provisional dates for meetings in September/October
6.23	Community First	Newsline – Issue 58 June 2005
6.24	The Dog Inn	Advertisement flyer (email)
6.25	Herefordshire Voluntary Action	Community Information Exchange – 29th June 2005
6.26	Computershare	William Pye Charity The Clerk highlighted the problems with spending the capital sum (£20) of this defunct charity. Resolved That unless the option to sell the stock is without cost it would be better for the Council to maintain the capital and as such the annual interest and if required to make annual returns refer the Charity Commissioners to their letter of concurrence. Proposed: Councillor P Jinman Seconded Councillor J Middle Carried unanimously
6.27	HALC	Membership benefits Resolved That this is noted
6.28	Herefordshire UDP	Copy of responses to objections raised re the UDP Resolved That this was noted in item 4.3
6.29	Shaws	Supplies of books, forms + records for local councils

Lengthsman Scheme

7.1

Lengthsman work undertaken in May

Still to be advised

Resolved

That this is noted

7.2

Other work identified for Lengthsman Scheme

None outstanding

Resolved

That this is noted

7.3

Monthly Roadsweep

The Clerk reported that Jarvis Services had now increased their hourly rates to £35 and that they would also be making a charge of £25 per visit for waste disposal. This would mean that available funds may be insufficient if the current workload is maintained.

It was also noted that no formal contract was in place for this work and that the original 1 hour sweep had now expanded to 2-3 hours

Resolved

That Councillor J Middle would discuss these issues with HJS

ACTION JM

Financial Report

8.1

Payments for approval


Clerk stationery/office supplies	£	4.99
Clerk postage	£	24.18
Clerk travel	£	9.09
Martin Roper – Put out waste bags for collection - March 2005	£	30.00
Martin Roper – Put out waste bags for collection - April 2005	£	30.00
Herefordshire Jarvis Services – Footway sweep (work completed 13/4/05) [Lengthsman Scheme]	£	587.50
Herefordshire Jarvis Services – Road sweep (work completed 4/4/05) [Lengthsman Scheme]	£	88.13
Herefordshire Jarvis Services – Road sweep (work completed 19/4/05) [Lengthsman Scheme]	£	123.38
Herefordshire Jarvis Services – Road sweep (work completed 6/5/05) [Lengthsman Scheme]	£	111.63
KopyKatz (Prininting of Parish Plan)	£	32.15
HALC – Annual Subscription 2005/2006	£	162.00

The Clerk advised the Council that there he was unable to confirm with HJS whether the road sweep charges in April related to actual visits.

Resolved

That payments to HJS for the road sweeps made in April should be withheld until Councillor J Middle could confirm that these invoices were appropriate

ACTION JM

8.2

Balances as at 30h May 2005

NatWest Current account	£	805.15
Unpresented cheques	£	104.28
Cheques/cash to be credited	£	1505.73
NatWest Business Reserve	£	4276.07
Alliance + Leicester Current account	£	394.94
Alliance + Leicester Deposit account	£	952.42
Total cash assets Consisting of:	£	7830.03
Precept funds	£	6603.03
Parish Path Funds	£	1200.00

8.3

Lengthsman Scheme

Balance (30th Mayl 2005)	£	1146.18
Unpresented cheques	£	nil
Balance available	£	2,175.56
Possible payments to HJS (April + May)	£	910.64
Adminstration charge	£	217.55
Available funds to cover Lengthsman work Mar 05- Mar 06 (annual allocation £2,175.56)	£	2,193.55

8.4

Payments received

Parish Paths Partnership	£	1200.00
Ewyas Harold Football Club – Electricity and water	£	275.73
Ewyas Harold Cricket Club - Teas	£	96.00
Sale of Village Design Statement	£	70.00

Resolved

That the financial statement is accepted and payments, except for those to Herefordshire Jarvis Services, should be made.

Proposed: Councillor G Sprackling

Seconded: Councillor P Sheen

Carried unanimously

Planning

9.1

Application number DCSW2005/0896/F

Notification of Planning Permission

Site:	Trappe Cottage, Ewyas Harold, Herefordshire. HR2 0HU
Description:	Change of use to garage – to become display area for artwork “mini gallery”

Resolved

That this noted

9.2

Application number DCSW2005/1141/F

Notification of Planning Permission

Site:

Old Keepers Cottage, Dulas, Herefordshire. HR2 0HL

Description:

Extension to existing cottage

Resolved

That this noted

9.3

Application number DCSW2005/1644/L

Site:	The Ruthlands, Rowlestone, Herefordshire. HR2 0EB
Description:	Extension to dwelling house
Application Type:	Listed Building Consent
Applicant:	G E Amey, The Ruthlands, Herefordshire. HR2 0EB

Resolved

That EHGPC have no objections to this application

Proposed: Councillor G Sprackling

Seconded: Councillor W Preece

9.4

Application number DCSW2005/1655/F

Site:	The Ruthlands, Rowlestone, Herefordshire. HR2 0EB
Description:	Extension to dwelling house
Application Type:	Full
Applicant:	G E Amey, The Ruthlands, Herefordshire. HR2 0EB

Resolved

That EHGPC have no objections to this application

Proposed: Councillor G Sprackling

Seconded: Councillor W Preece

Road Maintenance and Related Matters

There were no issues raised under this section

Footpaths

11.1

Parish Footpaths Officer (PFO)

It was noted that, now that the Parish Paths Partnership Scheme (P3) is in place and EHGPC are responsible for funding some repairs to local footpaths, it is important that Councillors are aware of actions taken by the PFO and those which remain the responsibility of Herefordshire Council. It would therefore be helpful if a monthly report could be made by the PFO.

Resolved

That the Clerk should write to Peter Overstall to request such a report.

ACTION CLERK

11.2

Outstanding Work

Councillor Preece pointed out that several problems predating the P3 Scheme were still outstanding.

Resolved

That the Clerk would inform the FPO of these problems

ACTION CLERK

Recreation Ground

12.1

Monthly Audit

Roundabout catching (see item 12.2)
Vandalism (now repaired)
Recreation Ground Gate needs attention (Rec. Ground Committee to report back)
Signage needs improving (Rec. Ground Committee to report back)

Resolved

That this is noted.

12.2

RoSPA Report

Satisfactory report with most identified risks falling in the low/medium category

However the surface around the roundabout has been identified as high risk.

Resolved

That Councillors G Sprackling and R Weaver would look into this problem together the faulty mechanism identified in the monthly audit.

ACTION GS + RW

12.3

Replacement Slide

Work needs to commence on creating the bank for the embankment slide

Resolved

That Councillor J Middle would approach Nick Eynon

ACTION JM

Parish Newsletter

13.1

Items for inclusion:

Proposed weekly police meeting
Blue box recycling
EHGPC website address

Parish Website

The website continues to be updated by the Clerk and Councillor Mrs E Overstall as items become available.

14.1

Local Channel

The Clerk has been approached to include a web page for EHGPC on this site. Councillors did not feel that this was necessary.

Resolved

That this is noted

Matters for Further Discussion

15.1

Black Poplar

Councillor Mrs M Tovey reported that this had now been planted in the Recreation Ground..

Resolved

That this is noted.

15.2

Recycling Boxes

The Clerk reported that further to Councillor Mrs M Tovey’s request in May he had been informed that this scheme is run by a private firm WCR of Ross (tel 01989 566275). They are hoping to extend the scheme to the remainder of Ewyas Harold but are waiting to increase their fleet of vehicles. They would welcome expression of interest on the above telephone number so that they can access the number of extra boxes required.

Resolved

That this information should be passed to Isabelle Devereux for inclusion in the next Newsletter

ACTION CLERK

The Meeting closed at 10.35pm

Chairman

Date

NEXT MEETING Tuesday July 5th 2005

Meetings for remainder of 2005

August 9th (not first Tuesday)

September 6th

October 4th

November 1st

December 6th

Appendix 1

	Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2005

	Statement of Accounts
			Year Ending					% change

			31-Mar-04		31-Mar-05

1	Balances brought forward		£4,774		£4,802			0.59%

2	(+) Annual precept		£13,000		£12,435			-4.35%

3	(+) Total other receipts		£6,730		£7,703			14.46%

4	(-) Staff costs		-£3,660		-£4,047			10.58%

5	(-) Loan repayments		nil		nil

6	(-) total other payments		-£16,042		-£17,978			12.07%

7	(=) balances carried forward		£4,802		£2,915			-39.29%

8	Total cash & investments		£4,802		£2,915			-39.30%

9	Total fixed assets		nil		nil

10	Total borrowings		nil		nil

	Explanation of significant variances

3	Total other receipts	Revenue from advertisements in newly created Newsletter
		Increased bank interest due to moving part of reserve to building society
		Refund from Welsh Water
		Extra payment to Lengthsman Scheme to cover unclaimed sum from 2003/2004
		Refund of part of 2003/2004 Electoral expenses

4	Staff costs	Increased cost caused by extra salary paid to retiring Clerk for period March to May 2004 to shadow new Clerk


6	Total other payments	Cost of setting up website.
		Purchase of replacement Xmas lights
		Purchase of replacement notice board for Rowlestone
		Costs associated with completing Parish Plan

7	Balances carried forward	The reduction is a consequence of the unbudgetted spending on the website, together with expenditure on replacement xmas lights and notice board. dentias identified above



8	Total cash & investments	Explanation for reduction as for balances carried forward

		This reserve is maintained as a cover for unbudgetted expenses as occurred this year. The reduced amount carried forward for 2005/2006 represents approximately 15% of the total budget which is deemed sufficient to cover such expenses.




BANK RECONCILIATION

EWYAS HAROLD GROUP PARISH COUNCIL

Financial year ending 31 March 2005

Prepared by A P Shipp, RFO						Date	07/06/2005
Approved by Councilor Mrs E Overstall, Chairman						Date	07/06/2005

Balance per bank statement as at 31 March 2004

Current account (NatWest)						36.48
Current account (Alliance & Leicester)						602.48
Reserve account (NatWest)						391.57
Instant Reserve account (Alliance & Leicester)						2,302.41
Lengthsman account						1,677.85
							5,010.79
				Cheque no		Amount
Less unpresented cheques
(Current Accounts)				700013		-35.00
				700014		-273.43
				700015		-52.03
				700016		-370.16
				700017		-393.00
				700019		-421.16
				700020		-23.62
				700021		-58.75
				967		-30.18
				970		-252.50
				971		-32.90
				974		-30.00
				975		-54.05
							-2,026.78
(Lengthsman Account)				40		-181.66
				41		-211.50
				45		-148.51
							-541.67

Net bank balances as at 31 March 2005							2442.34

Income to bank							460.73

Value of stock							12.00

Total cash and Stock 31 March 2005							2915.07

EHGPC Precept Accounts for the Year Ending 31st March 2005
				Spend	Budget
		Fees/Subscriptions	1	£498.00	£300.00	1
		Insurance	2	£1,946.86	£2,000.00
		Copying	3	£0.00	£180.00	2
		Typing	4	£0.00
		Postage + Travel	5	£512.16	£150.00	3
		Stationery/Office Equipment	6	£380.06	£350.00	4
		Salaries	7	£4,047.23	£3,890.00	14
		Members Expenses	8	£0.00	£30.00
		Hire of Premises	9	£195.00	£165.00
		Recreation Ground Grass Cutting	10	£1,006.02	£1,250.00
		Hedge Laying/Trimming	11	£202.00	£200.00
		~~Strimming~~	12	£0.00
	£212.42 refund	Water	13	£336.44	£120.00	5
		Electricity	14	£226.95	£150.00	6
		Play Area Maintenance	15	£716.87	£1,000.00
		Repairs	16	£253.35	£100.00	7
		Cleaning	17	£0.00	£100.00
		Maintenance of Flower Beds	18	£30.00	£100.00
		Contingency/Signs	19	£557.50	£1,000.00
		~~Verge Strimming~~	20	£0.00
		Parish Freighter/Litter Control	21	£741.65	£500.00	8
		Village Halls	22	£100.00	£150.00
		Burial Grounds	23	£500.00	£600.00
		Community/Youth Groups	24	£0.00	£50.00	9
		Charities	25	£0.00	£50.00
		Elections	26	£0.00	£0.00	10
		Hire of Equipment	27	£0.00
		Capital Projects	28	£921.71	£0.00	11
		Miscellaneous Expenditure	29	£891.50		12
		Parish Plan	30	£1,153.63	£0.00	13
				£15,216.93	£12,435.00

Spend Variation 2004/2005 as against budget for 2004/2005
Comments
1	No new subscriptions taken up except for Data Protecton registration. Shortfall in funding appears to be due to unrealistic budget setting.

2	This undertaken by Clerk therefore incorporated in stationery expenses
3	Looking at 2003/2004 spend it appears that budget was set too low. Overspend above last year's expenses made up entirely of travel costs

4	Actual cost reduction as includes copying budget and also includes unbudgetted Newsletter and Parish Plan Questionnaire work

5	Refund of duplicated bill for £212.42 meant that spend was within budget
6	Looking at 2003/2004 spend it appears that budget was set too low
7	£73.85 relates to 2003/2004 repairs that were billed late
8	Mostly accounted for with cost of hiring MH car park (£150). Remainder would seem due to budget setting below 2003/2004 spend

9	Grants to School & Community Transport in 2003/4 therefore a reduction
10	No elections held
11	Website (Agreed in Minutes December 2004 p 97 that website would be funded from 04/05 budget)

12	Rowlestone Noticeboard (funding agreed in Minutes August 2003 p40. No provision made in 04/05 budget)

	Xmas Lights (£300 funding agreed in Minutes January 2004 p88. No provision made in 04/05 budget) [Actual spend £341.50]

	Dog signs - Callowside (funding agreed in Minutes December 2004 p100)
	MH Banner lettering
13	Budget should have included remaining sum of £2000 grant which has now been requested
Staff Costs
14	Overspend caused by extra salary paid to retiring Clerk for period March to May 2004 to shadow new Clerk