Table of Contents
HELD AT: The Village Hall, Hinton Blewett
PRESENT: Councillors T Bowler, C Elliott, D Elliot, D Duckett, D Huffadine and A Mills
IN ATTENDANCE: Philip Edwards (Clerk) and Councillor D Wood (B&NES District Councillor)
22/827. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
There was none.
22/828. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr J O’Nains.
22/829. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were none.
22/830. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
RESOLVED – to correct the dates on item 22/823 to ‘March/April’
RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 25th November 2021 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
22/831. REPORTS
Ward Councillor’s Report –
- Dst Cllr Wood reported he was following up resurfacing of Lower Rd.
- Correspondence was received from a resident regarding Coley Hill. Dst Cllr Wood will be meeting a council officer to discuss.
- Sat Nav is causing motorists to get stuck on Nanny Hurn’s Lane – Sat Nav companies have been approached to resolve the problem. The Parish Council highlighted this is also an issue with the track beyond Stowey Rd.
- The walk and cycle path is progressing around Chew Valley Lake, the southern tip is receiving further attention to open this area with involvement with naturalists.
- Recycling figures in BANES improved last year despite a national average drop. BANES is now 4th place from the top nationally for recycling figures. The residents were thanked for their support with recycling.
- Litter picking is progressing on A and B roads with the A37 due to be covered on 26th January 2022.
- The Parish Council raised ongoing problems with Coley Hill being eroded by water. Dst Cllr Wood offered to meet councillors on site.
Chairman’s Report –
- Plans for the Jubilee were reported. Arrangements were proposed to meet to discuss further plans.
- The Chairman reported he had contacted BANES regarding a collapsed wall on the road from Coley to South Widcombe.
- The Chairman highlighted the Parish News and the absence of content from Hinton Blewett. The council requested the Clerk to submit future copies of precis minutes to the publication.
Clerk’s Report –
- The Clerk reported on plans to improve the website.
- Noted: Correspondence from Wessex Water regarding network capacity.
- Noted: Tree problems near Coley Bridge have been reported to Bristol Water by the Clerk.
Report from Cllr C Elliot –
- It was reported that some saplings may be gifted to residents to plant privately.
- Cllr Elliot agreed to find out the time scales and report in the newsletter.
22/832 PLANNING MATTERS
There were no requests for consultation.
RESOLVED: The council approved the scheme of delegation titled ‘Delegated Powers re Planning’ and titled ‘Delegation to Clerk for Exceptional Circumstances’ with spending authority up to £2500 for exceptional circumstances.
It was noted that the delegated powers re planning allow the clerk to submit a planning response without an extraordinary meeting when the Clerk is confident there is a consensus from council members. It was confirmed that if a councillor requested a meeting to respond to a planning consultation, the Clerk would not proceed with submitting a response under the scheme of delegation. It was confirmed that if a councillor did not reply to a planning response email within a requested time limit, this would not be considered for assessing a joint decision.
22/833. FINANCES (Refer to appendix Finance Reports)
- RESOLVED: Payments to approve as shown in the appendix of finance reports, totalling £436.00
- Noted: Receipts and Payments against budget.
- Noted: Bank reconciliations to 31.12.2021. Cllr Huffadine reported he had checked the bank reconciliation balances, cash book and bank statements. (FR2.2)
- Noted: Payments and receipts for November & December 2021.
- RESOLVED: An application was approved for a council credit card provided by Lloyds with Unity Bank. Cllr Huffadine and the Clerk were approved as the program managers and the Clerk as the card holder with a credit limit of £2000.
- RESOLVED: To add Cllrs T Bowler, D Duckett, C Elliott, D Elliott, A Mills and J O’Nians to Unity internet banking with authority to view and authorise payments.
- RESOLVED: To add Cllrs T Bowler, C Elliott, D Elliott, A Mills as signatories to Unity bank accounts.
- RESOLVED: To remove all access for Simon Keith from the Unity bank account.
22/834. 2022/2023 BUDGET
RESOLVED: The budget for 2022/23 was approved with a total expenditure £11299.
22/835. 2022/2023 PRECEPT
RESOLVED: To set the precept for 2022/23 at £9701
22/836. GRANT REQUEST
RESOLVED: Approved: grant request for £350 for the village hall.
22/837. PLAY EQUIPMENT INSPECTION REPORT
Noted: The recommendations of the play equipment inspection report were reviewed. The decision to approve a further survey of the wooden structures for internal rot was deferred so that councillors could inspect the areas of concern.
22/838. MOBILE PHONE
The council reviewed options for a monthly mobile phone contract and a sim free mobile phone for the Clerk.
RESOLVED: A virement of £200 was approved from the general reserve to the IT budget for a mobile phone.
RESOLVED: To instruct the Clerk to obtain a monthly sim only contract for approximately £6 per month to be set up as a regular payment by either direct debit or credit card.
RESOLVED: To instruct the Clerk to purchase a sim free mobile phone with a net budget of £200
22/839. LITTER PICK
Proposals were made for a litter pick to be arranged for Sunday 13th March 2022, 10:00am to 12:00pm. Cllr C Elliot will post details on Facebook.
22/840. PHONE COVERAGE & POWER
Issues regarding phone coverage and power supply in the village were discussed. It was noted that changes to the network moving to dependency on internet connection along with poor mobile connectivity would raise the risk of residents being unable to communicate by phone in an emergency. The council requested the Clerk to write to Ofcom to highlight these issues, request if there are any plans to improve mobile coverage and request suggestions of how residents can communicate in an emergency should there be a power cut or internet outage.
22/841. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Noted: Schedule of planned meeting dates for 2022:
- 10th March 2022, 7.30pm Hinton Blewett Parish Council Meeting
- 12th May 2022, 7.00pm Hinton Blewett Annual Parish Meeting of Electors
- 12th May 2022, 7.30pm Hinton Blewett Annual Parish Council Meeting
- 14th July 2022, 7.30pm Hinton Blewett Parish Council Meeting
- 8th September 2022, 7.30pm, Hinton Blewett Parish Council Meeting
- 10th November 2022, 7.30pm, Hinton Blewett Parish Council Meeting
The next scheduled meeting of the Parish Council is to be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 10th March 2022 at the village hall.
The meeting ended at 21:00
Signed by the Chairman of the meeting: ____________________________ Date:______________ (Chairman to initial all other pages)
- Status: Approved