COMMUNITY TRUST
PARISH COUNCIL
Agendas
& Minutes
Accounts
CHURCHES
LOCAL
GROUPS
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Minutes
Thursday 17th. March 2016
7:15pm in the Craster Memorial Hall
Present
Chair: Cllr Owen
Parish Council Members: Cllr
Craster, Cllr Punton, Cllr Pearson, Cllr Baird, Cllr Shaw, Cllr Brooks,
Cllr Smith
Parish Clerk: Ruth Younger
Members of the Public: County Cllr
Kate Cairns, Henry Cummins, Kevin Brown, Yvonne Durham, David Bonser.
Questions were asked by
members of the public about the planning pre-application for seven
holiday chalets on Chapel Row. The role of the Parish Council in
this process was clarified by Cllr Owen.
1982 Declaration of interests.
None declared.
It was agreed that
dispensation requests would be considered at the next meeting.
1983 Apologies received.
Cllr Gallon and Cllr
Sutherland
1984 Minutes of the previous meetings.
The minutes were
unanimously accepted an accurate record.
1985 Matters arising from the minutes not covered
elsewhere on the agenda.
County Cllr Cairns
raised an objection to the amendment made to the January minutes, as
agreed at the last meeting. The amendment stated that Cllr Cairns was
formally asked to call the Church Street planning application to
Committee. Cllr Cairns argued that the original minutes were correct
and that she was not formally asked to do so. As Cllr Gallon had
written the minutes, it was decided to leave this issue until the next
meeting.
1986 County Councillor's update.
Cllr Owen congratulated
County Cllr Cairns on her recent Fellowship to the Institute of Civil
Engineers.
County Cllr Cairns
reported that she is meeting Officers from Northumberland County
Council on 24th March to discuss the residents parking scheme and the
quarry car park.
She also reported that
the drainage works at Dunstan have been completed but the road
resurfacing has been delayed because because of ongoing problems in the
field – which the Landlord will be requested to repair.
Cllr Owen raised
concerns about the drain at the bottom of Smithy Bank, which is
blocked. Cllr Owen will liaise with Council Offiers and Cllr Cairns to
ensure the necessary work is completed.
1987 Planning Matters
Cllr Owen reported back
on planning guidelines.
• He
has contacted Officers at Northumberland County Council to find out how
the decision was made to approve the planning application on Church
Street.
• The
reply he received stated that the parking of cars was a civil matter to
be settled between the owners of those properties. From a planning
perspective it was considered that the increase in size of the
property, from three beds to four, was not significant enough to expect
additional parking spaces to be provided. They also considered the
suggestion of a schedule of works would have been too onerous for a
simple rear extension.
• He
has circulated a short survey to other Parish Councils in
Northumberland to gauge their experience of the planning application
process.
• He
has a meeting with the Head of Planning on 24th March to discuss the
issue in more detail.
County Cllr Cairns
offered to assist Cllr Owen with his investigation.
1988 Parish Meeting
It was decided the
meeting should be held on Wednesday 20th April at 7pm.
1989 Dunstan Road Work
This issue was covered
in County Cllr Cairn’s report.
1990 EJBC.
Cllr Pearson shared a
positive report from a stonemason who had recently visited the cemetery.
Cllr Craster reported
that Seahouses Parish Council have recently been informed that their
water company is revising their charges. They have suggested EJBC
confirm their bill is not set to increase.
1991 Craster Community Trust.
Cllr Shaw is going to
deal with the invoice received by the Parish Council in March.
Cllr Craster reported
that a decision had been made to go ahead with laying new grass in the
playpark. Karen Oxley is putting together a business plan and
contractors are installing a new fence in five to six weeks.
1992 AONB
Cllr Craster reported
that the meeting was held on 2nd March. He highlighted three main
issues:
•
Local Plans are becoming increasingly important, to protect Parish
Council’s from being pressured into doing things they don’t want.
• The
AONB website has been recently redesigned. It is more user-friendly and
a good template for the Parish Council to refer to when designing their
own site.
• The
Tall Ships will be travelling down the Northumberland coast from
Berwick in August.
1993 Fixed asset maintenance.
It was agreed that the
grass cutting contract should be handed to Stableyard Landscapes and
the Maintenance contract to NPF Gardening Services.
1994 Tourist Amenities / Grant Funding
Cllr Craster reported
that the footpath plans are now waiting upon the Grey family, who are
currently busy with lambing.
1995 Car Parking
Cllr Owen reported that
engineers are still waiting to appoint a geologist for the quarry car
park the. They have advised that their concerns are not with the
current stability of the quarry walls, but whether the civil
engineering works associated with expanding the car park might make
them unstable.
Cllr Craster presented
Terms of Reference for the residents parking permit scheme.
Resolution: the terms of reference
be accepted.
Proposed: Cllr Smith
Seconded: Cllr Baird
Cllr Craster reported
that a meeting of the parking task force took place last week. He
thanked the Lifeboat House for the use of their venue. Reflecting on
comments made at the last Parish Council meeting, they have decided to
continue with their original plan. To take this proposal forward, they
want to involve the whole community by delivering a survey to residents.
Henry Cummins spoke to
the papers he circulated. After some discussion, it was agreed that the
survey should be sent to permanent residents first, with a secondary
survey for holiday homes once the initial responses had been analysed.
Cllr Owen raised
concerns about creating a problem in Dunstan by solving the issues in
Craster. He also raised the issues of private roads and holidays homes.
Henry Cummins agreed to amend the wording of the questionnaire to help
define what was intended by off-street parking. Cllr Punton raised the
issue of parking for blue badge (disabled) holders. Cllr Smith asked
that the responses be collated in time for the next Parish Meeting.
Cllr Owen thanked Mr
Cummins and the rest of the task force for their work.
1996 Parish Council Website
Cllr Owen reported that
Cllr Sutherland has completed the questionnaire on behalf of the Parish
Council. The application for a grant to buy a new computer and scanner
has not been completed and there is now no money left but we should be
able to apply in the next financial year.
1997 Financial matters.
Current Account Balance:
£1721.63
Clerk/HMRC wages &
expenses: £154.08
1998 The Queen's 90th Birthday
Cllr Punton reported
that after some investigation, and in liaison with the Harbour Master,
he had located a suitable position for the tree planting. It was agreed
that a Norweigan Spruce should be planted in the site, near the
memorial. Cllr Pearson asked if the new tree would replace the
Christmas tree in the future.
Cllr Craster reported
that after speaking to Stephen Ternent, it was decided around 100 trees
were needed to fill the 350m stretch from the bottom of the Tower Bank
to the bottom of Smithy Bank. 3ft trees would cost £25-£30 each, while
Whips would cost £10 each. The next stage is to talk to Northumberland
County Council and check approval for the planting.
Resolution: It was unanimously
agreed that both of these proposals should be investigated further.
Cllr Punton reported
that the brazier is available for the celebration of the Queen’s 90th
birthday. It was unanimously agreed that the Community Trust and the
Parish Council should work together to organise events. It was
suggested they sponsor a toast.
1999 Northumberland LED Street Lighting Project
Cllr Owen reported that
he has asked about hotspot wiring for the village, but had not received
a reply. It was agreed that Cllr Owen should also ask about the cost of
adding a power socket to one lamp post, so proposals can be costed more
accurately.
2000 Traffic calming measures on Heugh Wynd
Cllr Owen reported that
speed bumps are a County Council responsibility. The Parish Council
will investigate whether we can include them in our traffic scheme for
the coming year.
2001 Correspondence received.
a.
Letter from Pauline Brown – covered by item 2000
b.
Email from Marion Gallon - car park ticket machine
Cllr Owen reported that
the ticket machine has been covered with tape to prevent further use as
a litter bin. The Council has accepted this is not the final solution
and will arrange for it to be removed.
2002 Items for Next Agenda
None
2003 Information Share
Cllr Owen reported that
a planning pre-application had been received for seven holiday chalets
by Chapel Row. It was unanimously agreed that the Parish Council should
formally request to be involved in the consultation. This is to be done
by executive action in line with the emergency issues procedure.
2004 Date and Time of Next Meeting
Thursday 14th April
2016 at 7:15pm
in the Craster Memorial Hall
Open to Public &
Press
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