AN ORDINARY MEETING OF NORTH NIBLEY PARISH COUNCIL WAS HELD ON MONDAY, 12 APRIL 2010, THE VILLAGE HALL, NORTH NIBLEY AT 9.30PM.

Present: Mrs EA James (Chairman); Mr D Purnell; Mr K Brown; Mrs A Hale; Mrs. P Kelly Mr. D Palmer; & Mr R Smith.

District Councillor: Mrs J Cordwell; & Mr P Smith. County Councillor Dr. J Cordwell

The Clerk: Mr R Symons.

There was one member of the public present.

1. Apologies. The following apology was accepted: District Councillor Mr. C. Routledge. Mr Routledge has also advised the Council that he will not be standing for re-election at the forthcoming District Council Election.

2. Declaration of Interests. The Chairman invited members to declare any interests.

Mrs Hale and Mrs Kelly declared an interest in Agenda Item 7f.

3. To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 March 2010, as a true and accurate record.

The Minutes had previously been distributed to all members and displayed on public notice boards and websites. All members agreed that the Minutes should be signed as a true and accurate record. The Minutes were duly signed.

4. The Council noted Matters arising from the Minutes that were not covered by agenda items. The Clerk’s Update Notes, which had been issued prior to the Meeting, informed the Council that:

• the Parish Clean-up Day has been set for 8 May 2010 and mentioned in the April Parish Council OTE article. (Minute 4/02/10)

• the Council’s response to the Consultation on the Stroud District Council Core Strategy had been submitted. (Minute 10/02/10).

• Julian Wilson (Highways) had been advised about the muddy state of the road through North Nibley. A road cleaning machine had since been deployed to clean the road.

• Julian Wilson (Highways) had been advised about the very poor condition of Warren Hill. He has agreed to get someone out there to repair the worst of the potholes.

• it had been reported that the Village Hall has a problem with its mains sewerage. This has been investigated and they have been told that it is their responsibility to get this repaired. The estimated cost is £8,000. An application for a £1,000 grant from the Council has been submitted and will be on the agenda for June. The Clerk contacted Stroud DC on behalf of the Council, who advised him that because this is a private sewer which only serves the Hall it is the Hall’s responsibility to carryout the repairs.

• he had written to the organisations which the Parish Council supported with a Grant in 2009. The process has also been advertised. Some applications have been received and will be presented to the June Meeting for decisions.

• he had received the annual payment from EA Mason & Sons for the grass keep on Parish Council land on Nibley Hill.

The Clerk reported that he had been unable to progress the matter of the Tree Preservation Order on the tree at Nibley Green (Minute 4(bullet point 8)/03/10) as the person he had been advised to contact wasn’t well. The Clerk was asked to pursue with Stroud DC an application to register the tree. He was initially asked to find out the cost of making an application.

5. The Chairman opened the Meeting for Public Discussion and Questions. There were no questions.

6. The Parish Council considered and commented upon the following Planning Applications:

• 15 Highlands Drive, North Nibley. (S.10/0282/HHOLD). Erection of single storey extension and erection of retaining wall. Following consideration of the papers and discussion the Parish Council agreed to make No Observations on this Application.

• Denewood, Pitt Court, North Nibley. (S.10/0403/HHOLD). Erection of porch. It was pointed out that this application was in addition to an earlier successful application to extend the building. Following consideration of the papers and discussion the Parish Council agreed to make No Observations on this Application.

• The Laurels, Frog Lane, North Nibley. (S.10/0488/HHOLD). Replacement of existing conservatory. Following consideration of the papers and discussion the Parish Council agreed to make No Observations on this Application.

7. The Council received details of the following Invoices. Following careful consideration of each item the Council agreed to approve payments for the following five items:

1. Cemetery Council Tax for 2010/11. A payment to Stroud District Council for Council Tax. A cheque was drawn-up. (LGA 1972 S. 214)

2. Cemetery Clerk’s Salary & Expenses (Year 2009/10). A payment to Mrs King. A cheque was drawn-up. (LGA 1972 S.214).

3. Clerk’s salary (Quarter 4) 2009/10. A payment to the Clerk & the Post Office (PAYE). Cheques were drawn-up. (LGA 1972 S.112(2)).

4. Clerk’s expenses (Quarter 4) 2009/10. A payment to the Clerk. A cheque was drawn-up. . (LG (FP) Act 1963).

5. Payment for Clerk to attend a training half-day event on Standing Orders. (27 May 2010). It was brought to the Council’s attention that an earlier event, for which a payment had been approved (see Minute 15 (c)/3/10), had been cancelled and the cheque destroyed. Following discussion the Council agreed to support the application and a cheque was drawn up. (LGA 1972 S.111). The Council was invited to consider and decide what level of financial contribution it wanted to make towards the Neighbourhood Warden Service in 2010/11. (Issue from August 2009 Meeting of Parish Council (Minute 04/08/09)). The Clerk read out a written request from Mr Phil Sullivan, Head of Community Safety at Stroud DC. The Clerk expressed the view that the Parish was getting value from Peter Wilson’s activities and in response to questions suggested that the Council makes a £200.00 contribution for 2010/11. Following further discussion by the Council the matter was put to a vote. With a majority of 6 votes For and 1 Against, the Council agreed to make a £200 contribution in this year. The Clerk was asked to inform Mr Sullivan and make arrangements to pay the District Council . (LGA 1972 S.137).

6. An Application for a £100.00 Grant by the Parish Council to North Nibley Village Show was brought forward from the June 2010 Agenda because the Village Show is due to take place on 1 May 2010. (Mrs Hale & Mrs Kelly, having declared an Interest, abstained from the discussions and vote). During discussion the Council agreed to exceptionally consider the application at this Meeting. It was agreed to award £100 to the North Nibley Village Show. A cheque was drawn up. (LGA 1972 S.137)

7. The Clerk presented an Update on the Recreation Field Loan. See paper attached.

8. The Chairman brought to the Council’s attention her concerns about the current effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Watch for the Parish. She had recently spoken with Mr Whitlock, the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for the area and suggested that the Council should invite Mr Whitlock to a future Meeting. Following discussions the Clerk was asked to invite Mr Whitlock to attend the May Meeting.

8. The Chairman reminded the Council that it is now normal practice for the Chairman and Vice Chairman to conduct an annual review with the Clerk. It was agreed that a date should be set to carry-out a review, preferably before the next Meeting.

10. The Council was advised that there were no matters to report under the Cemetery Report.

10. The Council received a written update on Correspondence received since the last Meeting. (See attached).

There being no further business the Meeting closed at 10.30 pm.

The next Meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 10 May 2010 at 7.30 pm.

The Chairman reminded Parish Councillors that this Meeting will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.