Minutes of the Ewyas Harold Group Parish Assembly
held on Tuesday 15th May 2007
in the Memorial Hall at 7.30p.m.
Present |
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Revd L Rickards in the chair Councillor J Middle Councillor R Weaver Councillor R Mailes Councillor Mrs J Addis Councillor Mrs E Overstall (Dulas) Councillor W Preece (Dulas) Councillor Mrs M Williams (Rowlstone) Councillor P Sheen (Rowlstone) The Clerk In attendance: Councillor J B Williams (Herefordshire Council) |
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1 |
Record of Attendance In addition to the Councillors the following members of the public were present: Mr Derek Harries Mrs Isabelle Devereux Mr John Hook |
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2 |
Apologies for Absence
Retiring Councillors Mrs M Tovey and G Sprackling |
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3 |
Minutes
The minutes of the Annual Group Parish Assembly held on Tuesday 2nd May 2006 were approved without amendment |
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4 |
Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising |
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5 |
Annual Financial Report.
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6 |
Chairman’s Report
The Chairman’s report is attached as Appendix 2 |
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7 |
Public Forum |
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The Meeting closed at 7.50pm
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Appendix 1
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Spend £ |
Spend £ |
Comments |
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2006-2007 |
2005-2006 |
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Fees/Subscriptions |
1 |
555.36 |
506.00 |
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Insurance |
2 |
2208.78 |
2106.56 |
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Newsletter |
3 |
203.00 |
- |
3 |
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Training |
4 |
20.00 |
180.00 |
4 |
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Postage + Travel |
5 |
497.33 |
488.53 |
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Stationery/Office Equipment |
6 |
220.00 |
212.53 |
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Salaries |
7 |
5597.87 |
4160.96 |
7 |
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Members Expenses |
8 |
- |
- |
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Hire of Premises |
9 |
240.00 |
199.00 |
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Recreation Ground Grass Cutting |
10 |
765.70 |
899.76 |
10 |
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Hedge Laying/Trimming |
11 |
174.90 |
156.00 |
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12 |
- |
- |
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Water |
13 |
172.74 |
183.25 |
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Electricity |
14 |
280.42 |
214.91 |
14 |
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Play Area Maintenance |
15 |
649.30 |
1071.57 |
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Repairs |
16 |
47.50 |
206.02 |
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Cleaning |
17 |
- |
- |
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Maintenance of Flower Beds |
18 |
95.00 |
- |
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Contingency/Signs |
19 |
982.40 |
339.69 |
19 |
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Lengthsman |
20 |
2471.75 |
2941.00 |
20 |
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Parish Freighter/Litter Control |
21 |
1054.61 |
836.32 |
21 |
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Village Halls |
22 |
149.00 |
150.00 |
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Burial Grounds |
23 |
550.00 |
450.00 |
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Community/Youth Groups |
24 |
- |
200.00 |
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Charities |
25 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
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Elections |
26 |
- |
- |
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Hire of Equipment |
27 |
- |
- |
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Capital Projects |
28 |
2543.00 |
1216.00 |
28 |
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Miscellaneous Expenditure |
29 |
500.34 |
655.66 |
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Parish Plan |
30 |
81.00 |
87.25 |
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Parish Paths Scheme |
31 |
169.00 |
510.00 |
31 |
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Totals |
20,110.00 |
17511.01 |
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3. Printing now contracted out |
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4. Clerk training 2005/2006 which was funded through bursary |
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7. Increase due to new contract terms |
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10. Dry summer meant fewer cuts |
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14. Extra cost attributed to use of floodlights for football training |
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19. Decoration of pavilion |
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20. Carry over from previous year funded footway sweep in 2005/2006 |
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21. MH charge for Parish Freighter plus installation of extra litter bin |
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28. Purchase of slide in 2006/2007 |
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31. Purchase of fold-up footpaths map in 2005/2006 |
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BANK RECONCILIATION |
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EWYAS HAROLD GROUP PARISH COUNCIL |
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Financial year ending 31 March 2007 |
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Prepared by A P Shipp, RFO |
Date |
15th May 2007 |
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Approved by Councillor Revd L Rickards , Chairman |
Date |
15th May 2007 |
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Balance per bank statement as at 31 March 2007 |
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Current account (NatWest) |
230.68 |
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Current account (Alliance & Leicester) |
372.89 |
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Reserve account (NatWest) |
1,798.87 |
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Instant Reserve account (Alliance & Leicester) |
25,673.22 |
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28,075.66 |
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Cheque no |
Amount |
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Less unpresented cheques |
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(Current Accounts) |
700051 |
-450.00 |
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700080 |
-56.00 |
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700113 |
-50.00 |
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700115 |
-445.10 |
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700116 |
-58.49 |
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700117 |
--10.77 |
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700119 |
--94.00 |
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700120 |
-60.00 |
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700121 |
-100.00 |
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700122 |
-49.00 |
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700123 |
-317.25 |
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700124 |
-40.00 |
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700126 |
-50.00 |
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700128 |
-50.00 |
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-1830.61 |
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Net bank balances as at 31 March 2007 |
26245.05 |
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Income to bank |
0.00 |
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Value of stock |
12.00 |
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Total cash and Stock 31 March 2007 |
26257.05 |
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Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2007 |
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Statement of Accounts |
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Year Ending |
% change |
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31-Mar-06 |
31-Mar-07 |
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1 |
Balances brought forward |
£2,915 |
£5740 |
96.91% |
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2 |
(+) Annual precept |
£14,769 |
£15,528 |
5.14% |
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3 |
(+) Total other receipts |
£7,342 |
£26,585 |
262.09% |
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4 |
(-) Staff costs |
-£4,160 |
-£5,597 |
34.54% |
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5 |
(-) Loan repayments |
nil |
nil |
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6 |
(-) total other payments |
-£15,126 |
-£15,999 |
5.77% |
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7 |
(=) balances carried forward |
£5,740 |
£26,257 |
357.44% |
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8 |
Total cash & investments |
£5,740 |
£26,257 |
357.44% |
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9 |
Total fixed assets |
nil |
nil |
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10 |
Total borrowings |
nil |
nil |
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Explanation of significant variances |
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1 |
Balances brought forward |
The increase was the result of agreement to carry over money in budget codes for elections (£250), capital projects (£734), newsletter (£250), parish paths scheme (£690) and parish plan (£852) to cover planned expenditure in 2006/2007 |
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3 |
(+) Total other receipts |
Increase due to awards to improve play area for village (£20,575) |
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4 |
(-) Staff costs |
Increase due to the introduction of new national contract agreement for Clerk’s salary |
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7 |
(=) balances carried forward |
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8 |
Total cash & investments |
As above |
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Appendix 2
Chairman’s Report
Looking back over the past year I would like to say how fortunate I have been to have so many people on the council willing to work hard to get things done. Andy has continued to serve us efficiently and with good humour and every councillor has made their contribution in different ways. It has certainly made my role as chair much easier so thank you all. I don’t intend here to give a complete run down of all that has happened this year. Instead I would like to just pick out a few reflections that will give a flavour of the year.
This year will have seen two new visible additions to the village; the first is the sculpture produced through the artmarkers project. We are grateful to the Catholic Church for allowing us to site the sculpture in their grounds. This is a piece of art which tries to reflect something of the history of the village and it was good to see so many people young and old get involved. The second obvious project this year is the new playground. It was amazing to see the way the community got behind this project and made their phone calls in vast numbers to support the bid. I am grateful to the sub committee that worked so hard on this project and all the young people that contributed with their ideas.
The community that we are a part of is very good at supporting events and functions and this was demonstrated again in the fact that a small community like this was able to muster the support to defeat projects from much bigger areas.
As we have gone through this project and others I have become aware of how difficult it is to please everyone but I hope we have tried our best to listen to the different opinions. Where possible we have through the year on a number of issues tried to allow some space to allow members of the public the chance to share concerns. We might not always have satisfied everyone but we have tried to listen. On the whole I think this has been quite a good year for the relationship between the council and the public with fewer real contentious issues taking us over.
Whilst there is a lot of excitement about the new playground I have to say that I am also sad to see the old equipment going. One of the things that has constantly frustrated me whilst serving on this council is the way legislation and red tape seems to not only prevent good things happening but also raise costs. Due to health and safety we had to lose a perfectly good slide a few years ago when despite years of enjoyment it was deemed no longer safe. In a similar way we were unable to use our grant to improve what we had because the perfectly good equipment we had did not conform to the new standard. Consequently as a council we have occasionally faced criticism for things which are beyond our control.
As I stand down from the chair and from the council I note that once again we have not had a contested election. It is increasingly difficult to find people willing to serve and sadly the council is not truly representative of the community. I hope however in the coming year that the council will continue to try and listen to everybody in the community. We have a diverse community with often conflicting needs. The young need things to do and older folk often want peace and quiet sometimes these two needs are not compatible. I wish the future council well as they continue to serve this community. I would also like to add a special thanks to Graham and Margaret for their many years of service and wish them well in the future.
Lloyd Rickards
Annual Meeting of the Council – Tuesday 15th May 2007
Present |
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Revd L Rickards in the chair (for 1 to 5) Councillor P Sheen in the chair (Rowlstone) (from item 6) Councillor J Middle Councillor R Weaver Councillor R Mailes Councillor Mrs J Addis Councillor Mrs E Overstall (Dulas) Councillor W Preece (Dulas) Councillor Mrs M Williams (Rowlstone) The Clerk In attendance: Councillor J B Williams (Herefordshire Council) and 3 members of the public |
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1 |
Apologies for Absence
None received |
2 |
Minutes
The minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on Tuesday 2nd May 2006 were approved without amendment |
3 |
Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising |
5 |
Election of Chairman
Councillor Mrs M Williams proposed Councillor P Sheen and this was seconded by Councillor J Middle. There were no other nominations. Councillor P Sheen was unanimously elected as Chairman for the ensuing year.
Councillor Revd L Rickards relinquished the chair and as he was no longer a sitting councillor retired from the meeting. |
6 |
Election of Vice Chairman
There were no nominations for vice chairman and this action was deferred until after item 7 |
7 |
Co-option of Councillor Using the rights identified through Herefordshire Council Derek Harries was invited to stand as a councillor. The invitation was accepted and Derek Harries was duly co-opted to the council and immediately signed the acceptance of office. |
8 |
Election of Vice Chairman Councillor J Middle proposed Councillor D Harries and this was seconded by Councillor E Overstall. There were no other nominations. Councillor D Harries was unanimously elected as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year. |
9 |
Councillor Recruitment Problems
Councillor P Jinman highlighted the recruitment problems being experienced with EHGPC again having an uncontested election with 4 vacancies. This was also raised by the retiring Chairman in his annual report and is being experienced across the country. Resolved That District Councillor J B Williams would take this concern forward to the County Council ACTION JBW That the Clerk would write to HC on behalf of EHGPC ACTION CLERK |
10 |
Retiring Councillors It was noted that 3 long serving EHGPC councillors had stood down at this election. Mrs Margaret Tovey, Mr Graham Sprackling and Revd Lloyd Rickards Resolved That their hard work and dedication should be acknowledged in the minutes That the Clerk should send letters of thanks to them onwrite to them on behalf of EHGPC ACTION CLERK |
The Meeting closed at 8.20pm |
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Ewyas Harold Group Parish Council
held on Tuesday 15th May 2007
In the Memorial Hall at 8.20 p.m.
Present |
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Councillor P Sheen in the chair (Rowlstone) (from item 6) Councillor J Middle Councillor R Weaver Councillor R Mailes Councillor Mrs J Addis Councillor Mrs E Overstall (Dulas) Councillor W Preece (Dulas) Councillor Mrs M Williams (Rowlstone) Councillor D Harries The Clerk In attendance: Councillor J B Williams (Herefordshire Council) and 2 members of the public |
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1 |
Apologies for Absence None received |
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2 |
Declaration of Interest None declared |
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3 |
Minutes The minutes of the ordinary meeting of the council held on Tuesday 3rd April 2007 were approved without any amendments. Carried unanimously |
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NB Item 13.1 was discussed at this stage |
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4. |
There were no matters for report.
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5 |
Recreation Ground |
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6 |
Local Security Matters
Resolved That this is noted |
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7 |
Correspondence |
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8 |
Lengthsman Scheme |
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8.1 |
Lengthsman work undertaken in April
Resolved That this is noted and approved |
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8.2 |
2007/2008 Funding
Resolved That this is noted
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9 |
Financial Report |
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9.1 |
Payments for approval
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9.2 |
Balances as at 8th May 2007
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9.3 |
Payments received
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Resolved That the financial statement is accepted and that payments should be made. Carried unanimously
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9.4 |
Change of Signatories Following the retirement of councillors it is necessary to identify extra signatories for the Council’s bank accounts. Resolved That forms of identification will be completed so that they can be brought to the next ordinary meeting. |
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10 |
Planning |
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10.1 |
Application number DCSW2007/0719/S Notification of Required Planning Permission |
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Resolved That this is noted. |
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10.2 |
Application number DCSW2007/0608/F Notification of Planning Permission |
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Resolved That this is noted. |
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10.3 |
Application number DCSW2006/1781/F Notification of Planning Permission |
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Resolved That this is noted.
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10.4 |
Application number DCSW2006/1783/L Notification of Listed Building Consent |
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Resolved That this is noted. |
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10.5 |
Application number DCSW2006/3726/U Certificate of Lawful Use or Development |
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Resolved That this is noted. |
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10.6 |
Application number DCSW2007/1300/F |
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Resolved That EHGPC has no objections to this application |
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11 |
Road Maintenance and Related Matters
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12 |
Footpaths
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13 |
Parish Newsletter
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14 |
Parish Website
Nothing to report |
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15 |
Items for Future Discussion |
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The Meeting closed at 9.50pm |
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Chairman
Date |
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NEXT MEETING June 5th 2007
Future Meetings
July 34th
Aug 7th
Sept 4th
