Craster Parish Council

COMMUNITY TRUST
PARISH COUNCIL

Agendas & Minutes
Accounts

Minutes

Thursday 15th. January 2015
Craster Village Hall 7.15pm

Present
Chairman             Bryn Owen.
Clerk                    Helen Brewis.
Parish Council Members    Joyce Shaw, Elizabeth Pearson, Martin Smith, Michael Craster, Alan Punton, John Gallon, Margaret Brooks & Richard Pearson.
In Attendance    County Councillor Kate Cairns.
Members of the public    Mrs F Robson, Agent from George F White, Mrs P Owen, Mr H Cummings & Mr Baird.

1748.     Update from County Councillor.
Verge hardening scheme outside church and at Heugh Wynd (proposal for shared funding).
CC Kate Cairns has forwarded a copy of the proposal to do the verge hardening scheme outside the church & at Heugh Wynd by NCC.  Kate has spoken to residents who struggle to park outside their homes, church goers & user groups for the Hall.
Kate knows Craster well & has money to spend across her wards & is willing to use all her Members Fund this year on parking within Craster £ 13,500.00 if we can match fund the other half as the estimated cost of the complete job is £27,325.00.
With the figure being so high we would require putting the job out to tender as it’s a great deal of money & if we received a cheaper quote would the NCC money still be available?
Richard suggested that we should decide if we wished to go forward with this before looking for tenders.
John pointed out that we had already spoken to Lee Baxter from NCC who had quoted £10,000.00 for the job & that he would put it in NCCs budget to be done next year.
Kate asked if there was an amount we would be prepared to contribute towards this proposal if not 50%?  Richard asked whether the project would go ahead if the PC didn’t put in the full 50%? Kate still has £9,000.00 left from CC John Taylors fund & would be willing for this money to be used on the scheme = £22,500.00 which would leave us to pay £5,000.00 approx.
Margaret had previously spoken to John Taylor & he had advised her that if NCC did this area up it would be up to NCC to say what the parking area outside the church would be used for, therefore we decided not to have it done.
Bryn asked if we didn’t get the church area done, but just Heugh Wynd then the overall cost should reduce by roughly a 1/3 = £18,220.00 approx which would be under the amount Kate was prepared to put in from her fund, would this then mean the PC wouldn’t need to contribute?
Kate agreed to fund the work without a contribution from the PC for the Heugh Wynd only verge hardening.
All in favour of the Heugh Wynd grass areas only being done. 
The Councillors thanked Kate for her help.
Action Point: Clerk to contact Lee Baxter at NCC to see if the Heugh Wynd verge hardening scheme is on NCCs budget for next year.

1749.    Apologies for absence. Pauline Baird.
 

1750.     Confirmation of minutes of last meetings.
The November minutes were accepted as a true record.

1751.  Planning Matters.
NCC Stage 2 Complaint concerning 13/03499/FUL – Emblestone, South Acres extension. Bryn received an email on 22nd December from Liam Henry from NCC apologising for the length of time it has taken to respond to our complaint & NCCs position on circulating planning literature.  All were in favour of dropping this item now from the agenda & in future being more careful when dealing with planning applications with NCC.

14/04120/OUT The Bark Pots – dwellings.
Lots of concerns were expressed by the Councillors & any objections made will have to be on clear planning grounds only.
The main concerns were, the houses should be lived in by residents & not end up as holiday homes.  Affordable houses being part of the development & if not built then the grant towards affordable housing should remain within the Craster area.
3 storey was thought of as too high & the outside should be whinstone with plenty of parking.  If the land is changed from commercial then there is a potential loss of jobs in the future & would all the concrete instead of gardens cause flooding?
Alan commented that there are 3 storey houses in Craster & these ones are on sunk land so they won’t look as high and a couple of people have approached him about the state it used to look like when commercial.
John proposed we object on change of use from commercial to housing, seconded by Martin. All in favour.
Action Point: John will draft an objection letter & forward to the Clerk to enter online with the following points:-
1) The site has always been used for commercial purposes, providing employment and in recent years amenities for the large number of tourists visiting Craster. The area is having difficulty in coping with the ever increasing numbers of visitors. Using the site for housing removes the possibility of this site being used in future to provide employment to local residents. It also removes the possibility for the provision of refreshments, amenities and parking for visitors in a site particularly well suited for disabled access. These are all critical issues for Craster.
2) The Parish Council would also echo the concerns expressed in the submission made by the AONB Partnership regarding the lack of provision for affordable housing. It should be remembered that the demand for affordable housing is not only driven by those living in the immediate vicinity but also by those who travel into Craster for their employment so any local poll or survey will not indicate the true level of demand for affordable housing. The Parish Council have further concerns that the scheme may be changed if outline permission is granted to reduce the number of dwellings to 5, removing any requirement for the developer to make any provision for affordable housing.
3) The proportion of second homes and holiday lets in Craster is continually rising. The Parish Council requests that if this application is granted a condition should be attached that the houses may only be sold for use as a principal residence rather than as a second home or for holiday letting and that this condition should be applied for the lifetime of the houses.

15/00067/FUL 1 Chapel Row.
These plans are currently being circulated & an extra Meeting may be required before the February Meeting to discuss them.

1752.     Parking in Craster & Double Yellow Lines.
The double yellow lines should soon be operational all year round & the double yellow lines removed around the grass at the church.

1753.  Embleton Joint Burial Committee.
There was an article in the Gazette about a possible rebate available to cemeteries from NCC & the chairman is making enquiries.
The necessary electrical work has been carried out on the house by David Clarke for £350.
Back in August there was a leak in the bathroom & this was about to be fixed but this work was stopped by Newton PC & now there is a problem with mould caused by this leak. The Committee have currently got one quote in for the work & Martin will obtain a second quote from Homebase this week.  All in favour of having the leak repaired.
Joyce believes the house should be sold as it will cost the parish councils money to maintain.

Terms of Reference & Standing Orders for the Burial Committee.
The TofR & SO were adopted by all three PCs with the help from David Francis NALC these are the standard ones throughout Britain.  Craster & Embleton are happy with them – but Newton are not & have proposed changes - the main changes would be the Committee members would become delegates & if the delegates from one of the PCs did not agree with the delegates from the other 2 PCs they could stop decisions being made.
Richard commented that the TofR & SO are robust & definitive & I would recommend them. We need to be democratic, all councillors are equal & parameters set as the chair & vice chair are carrying out work before meetings & the delegated powers must be precise as things must be put on the agenda before actions/decisions are taken.
It was agreed that the task force set up at the last PC Meeting would include the Newton suggestions in their review.  All in favour.

1754.     Craster Community Trust Matters. None.

1755.  Matters arising from minutes of last meeting.

Dunstan Water Leak & Road Surface.
Action Point: Clerk to contact NCC as this was at the top of our LTP & the copy circulated by CC Kate Cairns for 2015 does not have it highlighted for work to be carried out.  This item has now been on the agenda for over 10 years & although at one point NCC gave us the dates that the traffic lights would go up for the work to start, it has never been done & the water still flows through a residents garden causing flooding on the road when it rains.

John Gallon – Maintenance of fixed assets.
NCC have not put in a quote but would charge the work per hour.  We have received a quote from Nigel Fairbank.
Action Point: Joyce Shaw proposed & Richard Pearson seconded to accept Nigel’s quote to do the inspection every 3 months & for the PC to buy in any parts required.

B Owen – Footpath marker post by the arch pointing along the cinder path. Done.

Defibrillator for Craster – The Stephen Carey Fund.
Action Point:  Clerk to ask Kevin Brown from the RNLI & The Stephen Carey Trust to attend the February Meeting to discuss the defibrillator which the Parish Council will pay £1000 towards.  All in favour.

One composite sign at Harbour.
How many fingers will we need on the sign?  Castle, Jolly Fisherman, Tourist Info Centre/toilets, Mick Oxleys Studio, Kippers, Car Park & Church.
Action Point: Clerk to request prices for 6 & 7 fingers & will the wording be included?

Mobile Phone Reception. Ongoing.

Tower Bank & Whin Hill flooding problems.
John has received an email from NCC advising that the problem is caused by two 3” gulleys on the east side running into a 4” gulley unable to cope & causing flooding – this may require a new gulley.

Mr M Taylor – CPC Standing Orders & Councillor Accountability.
Action Point: Clerk to put on the Agenda for the next meeting.

Clerk Vacancy.
The interviews will be held on Monday at the Creighton Hall.

Suggested Councillor voluntary roles.
Action Point: Clerk to put on the Agenda for the next meeting.

Joyce Shaw – NCC location moving from Morpeth to Ashington.  Remove from Agenda.

Creation of a Parish Council Website.
Action Point: Clerk to put on the Agenda for the next meeting.

Craster pillars give way sign.  Sign now fixed.

Elizabeth Pearson - Charlies Hill – dog fouling.
The smell has now gone.

Elizabeth Pearson – Making the public aware who was on the Parish Council.
Action Point: Clerk to put the 10 names of the Parish Councillors up on the notice board & parish council email address.

Elizabeth Pearson – 2015 Xmas tree contingency fund with Craster Trust.
Richard proposed a Christmas tree fund of £150 split with the CCT & volunteered to take on the role of looking after the organisation of the tree for the PC.  Seconded by Martin.  All in favour.
Action Point: Clerk to put on the Agenda for Septembers Meeting.

Elizabeth Pearson – Overgrown verge on road out of Craster between Bark Pots & TI Centre, bushes at the bottom of Norwell Brow.
Action Point:  Clerk to email Stephen Ternent to prune back.

Pauline Baird – Loose carpark fencing panel.
NCC have confirmed that they will mend the fence.
Action Point: Margaret will check to see if it has been done yet.
 
NCC– Northumberland Local Plan Core Strategy–Full Draft Plan.
John Gallon has circulated a paper on his views of the draft plan, Michael Craster proposed that we accepted John’s recommendations as our own & seconded by Bryn Owen.  All in favour.
Action Point: John will type up response & forward to Clerk to complete online.   



1756.     Financial Matters.
Current Acc Balance               £  3,083.65   
Higher Interest Acc                £18,063.86

Cheques required:-
Johnston Publ.-clerk vacancy advert        £444.00
The Precept requirement for 2015/16 was discussed & agreed for it to remain at £5,000.00.  All in favour.

1757.     Correspondence received.
Archaeology in Northumberland. In circulation.
War Memorials Trust. In circulation.
CAN News Autumn – Nov 2014. Noted.
NCC – Highways Winter Services. Noted.
NCC-Proposed budget 2015-16 to 2016-17. Noted.
NCC Locality Development Team 2015 Meetings. Noted.
CAN News Dec 2014. Noted.
NCC Footpath 25 confirmation. Noted.
NCC Consultation on Options for school organisation.
A number of schools are keen to go to a 2 tier, Embleton Vincent Edwards Primary School is trying to get everyones views & their public meeting is on 29th Jan 7pm.
NCC Learning Together e-learning modules & NALC Easy Accounts for Parish Councils Course.
Action Point: Clerk to put on next month’s Agenda.

The next Meeting will be on Thursday 19th February 2015.