Rushden and Wallington Parish Council

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13^th JANUARY 2014

Present: Chris Garrett (Chairman), Linda Hill, Sue Bradbury, Frank Randall, Kate Heath, Wendy Kitchener (Clerk). Apologies: Tony Hunter (County Councillor), Steve Jarvis (District Councillor).

Roads & Drainage – Chris Garrett is to contact Terry Wilkinson for a progress report.

Land adjacent to les Arbres, Wallington

It appears the Baldock Committee Meeting minutes do not reflect the majority decision. It was resolved that the Parish Council be granted a lease for 25 years by NHDC. Kate Heath has kindly agreed to continue overseeing the project. She and Frank will obtain quotes for the legal work. Chris having obtained one quote. A number of costs will be now incurred therefore the Councillors agreed provisional sum of £1500.00 to set aside to cover legal/surveying fees and any further additional items. Kate will approach Tony Hunter and Steve Jarvis to see if they are able to help with the funding.

Chris asked each member of the Parish Council to confirm they are happy to go ahead, bearing in mind the costs involved and the ongoing responsibilities. Such confirmation was forthcoming. Public liability insurance is in place but should be checked to make sure this land is covered. 

Finance Report

Current Funds – Due to problems with Barclays and the banking arrangements the analysis reconciliation of the bank statements will be forwarded to the Councillors by the Clerk. This will be as soon as she has been able to reconcile the income and expenditure. Sue Bradbury is in the process of trying to resolve the problems the Parish Council has encountered with Barclays.

Precept 2014/2015 – The Councillors agreed unanimously for the precept to remain at the current level of £4000.00. The Clerk to notify NHDC.

County Councillor’s Report : Nothing to report

District Councillor’s Report by email:

The consultation on the local plan preferred options expected to start in February is postponed whilst issues relating to Luton population growth forecasts are resolved (these have a potentially significant impact on North Herts housing numbers). It appears that the council will increase Council Tax by 1.9% this year. It will not be agreed until mid February but there appears to be a consensus that a small rise is appropriate this year (it is of course a cut in real terms).

The council has paid a substantial sum (more than £3.5M) to purchase the council offices which were previously rented. This is certainly considerably in excess of the value of the building and in my view was not the right thing to do.

Ashley Hawkins (the Community Development Officer) has provided grant application forms to both Rushden and Wallington village halls (for curtains amongst other things I believe) but has had no applications back. I'm keen to get these dealt with as soon as possible, since I would like the money to be paid before the end of the financial year. The Grant form is no longer required.                                                                                                                                  

As you are probably aware there is a planning application for removal of the holiday let restrictions at Shaw Green Farm. This currently seems to have stalled whilst the applicant completes a legal agreement but it is likely to be approved. The previous sustainability objection to unrestricted use is apparently no longer valid under the National Planning Policy Framework.

Any Other Business

·         Stansted Airport Expansion – This is still ongoing. Increased air traffic is expected more details are to be forwarded to the Parish Council.

·         New Village Notice Board for Rushden – Sue Bradbury is to obtain a quote. Also there may be a possibility of a change of location for the siting of the board.

·         Telephone Box- Chris Garrett asked the Clerk to try to locate the correspondence from BT regarding Rushden Village purchasing the telephone box and to pursue the matter with BT.

 Meeting Dates

Annual Parish Assembly Meetings -  Wallington 7 April in the Village Hall at 8.00pm

     Rushden    14 April in the Village Hall at 8.00pm

Annual General Meeting – Rushden Village Hall 19 May at 8.00 pm.

The meeting closed at 9.20pm

Clerk Contact Details: Wendy Kitchener Telephone 01767-313766 Email wggk@btinternet.com