Minutes of the Woodford-cum-Membris Parish Council Meeting Held on Tuesday 09 February 2021 via Zoom Video/Telephone Conferencing Starting at ...

Minutes of the Woodford-cum-Membris Parish Council Meeting Held on
Tuesday 09 February 2021 via Zoom Video/Telephone Conferencing Starting
                              at 19.00 hrs.

C29/21 Present
Mr. Paul Blackwell [chairing the meeting], Mr. Peter Davies, Mrs. Robyn Davison,
Mr. Ron Davison, Mr. Phillip Jones, Ms. Geri Rowe, Mr. Andrew Sierant & Mr. Robert Snedker.
Five members of the public including Mr. Rupert Frost [Daventry District Councillor].
G. P. Smith [Parish Clerk].

C30/21 Apologies
Council received & accepted apologies for absence from: Parish Councillors Mr. Howard Burdett [out
of the area], Mrs. Kay Coles [indisposed], Mrs. Patricia Darby [family business],
Mr. Gary Denby [out of the area], Mr. George Osborne [belated IT/technical difficulty]
& Mr. James Rose [resignation].
Council also received apologies for absence from: PCSO Carl Barton [Northamptonshire Police], Mr.
Robin Brown [Northamptonshire County Councillor] & Mrs. Elizabeth Griffin [Daventry District
Councillor].

C31/21 Chairman’s Announcements
 In view of recent media reporting of a “chaotic meeting” of Handforth Parish Council [East
   Cheshire], Mr. Blackwell thanked Councillors for adopting the facilities provided by Zoom
   conferencing, in particular by remaining “muted” whilst waiting to speak during meetings.
 He also relayed assurance from Mr. Iain Osborne that during the current Covid-19 health
   emergency, complicated by a period of very cold weather, Woodford Halse Good Neighbours
   Scheme had been able to help thirty-five families experiencing difficulties.

C32/21 Members’ Declarations of Interest
Mr. Snedker – Agenda item 9. Planning Application DA/2021/0008. Previous association with the site
& the Woodford cum Membris Neighbourhood Development Plan.

C33/21 Minutes of the Last Meeting
Council approved the minutes of its meeting of 12 January 2021.

C34/12 Matters Arising
 C13/21 King’s Corner Bus Shelter. Mrs. Davison reported, after a further site inspection, Woodford
   & Eyles Ltd. had been engaged to install a new set of rafters against the toilet block end gable and
   overboard the ceiling for £980.00 [Excl. VAT].
 C17/21 Woodford Road, Byfield. Notification of further amendments to Planning Application
   DA/2017/0826 [ incl. new medical centre] had been received yesterday. See observations below.

C35/21 Public Session
No matters were raised.

C36/21 Covid19 – Council Property
Council adopted the following report by Mrs. Davison:

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C37/21 Land at Woodford Road, Byfield
Council supported Planning Application DA/2017/0826 (Amended): outline application for residential
development and new medical centre. Observations:
 The latest, more detailed plans for the medical centre & landscaping mitigate the impact of the
   development and amplify its tremendous advantage and benefit to the local residents.
 The addition of a suitable covenant for the building to remain a medical centre would ensure
   provision for this area, in perpetuity.
 The traffic calculations will be heavily affected by the current [Covid19] situation of many people
   working from home and so whether the levels will rise by 2024 or in fact reach levels exceeding
   the capacity is beyond modelling at this stage.

C38/21 Larch Close, 2
Council supported Planning Application DA/2021/0004: two storey rear extension & single storey front
extension. Observation: latter does extend very close to the highway/pavement.

C39/21 Honeyhurst, 21, South Street
Council objected to Planning Application DA/2021/0008: construction of a garden shed &
greenhouse/shed. Observations:
 The application contains no justification/explanation for the two large buildings.
 The constructions are outside the village confines, in non-compliance with the Woodford Halse
   Neighbourhood Development Plan.

C40/21 Station House, 9 Station Road
Council recorded no observations on Planning Application DA/2021/0064: removal of trees within a
conservation area.

C41/21 Estate Committee
 Committee last met on 19 January 2021. Council adopted its draft minutes1 as a report of that
   meeting.
 Council appointed to Committee: Mr. Ron Davison [Parish Councillor] and                     Mrs.
   Hilary Wintersgill [non-Parish Councillor]. One [non-parish councillor] vacancy remains.
 Council authorised the following fire protection works [work order number & £ excl. VAT]
   recommended as “essential” by Chubb Fire & Security Ltd. [Tenant recharges to be applied as
   appropriate]:
       - 30569368 Village Centre East relace failed optical detectors = £220.36
       - 30569369 Village Centre East replace failed emergency lights = £398.63
       - 30569370 Memorial Centre additional detectors in Medical Wing = £500.69
       - 30569371 Memorial Centre replace failed emergency light in Medical Wing = £157.21
 Mrs. Davison [Committee Chairman] advised that a review of current fire protection services had
   commenced and she expects to report further at Council’s next meeting.
 Mr. Blackwell reported that despite the recent Supreme Court judgement, affecting some cases, in
   respect of Business Interruption claims, AXA remains unable to cover Council’s loss of revenue
   from premises letting due to the effect of Covid-19.

C42/21 Great Central Woodland Committee
 Committee last met on 27 January 2021. Council adopted its draft minutes2 as a report of that
   meeting.
 Council authorised expenditure of £800.00 for the purchase of 40 tonnes of surface material, small
   dumper truck hire and labour by Mr. D. Martin [“Bobcat Dave”] for resurfacing of the Riverside
   Path, necessary following recent flooding.
1
    See Estate Committee minute book pages 19/20
2
    See GCW Committee minute book pages 142/143
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     Mr. Blackwell [Committee Chairman] appraised Council on the application to HS2 Ltd. for funding
      of the Wetland Top Path. Council convened a special meeting for 24 February 2021 to consider
      the terms and conditions of a grant offer.
     Council appointed Mr. Davison to lead the construction project in association with         Mr.
      Blackwell & Mr. Snedker.

C43/21 Police
Council noted PCSO Barton’s report for January 2021:
 During January my patrols have placed emphasis on Northamptonshire Police’s response to Covid-
 19 regulations. Despite this I have undertaken intelligence led patrols and addressed a number of
 aspects of criminal activity and community concerns.

    Crimes - [**Please note this may differ from other sources to which the public have access. I have
    only included crimes and incidents that are of the public interest**]

    During January, we had an attempted robbery at Popsons Pharmacy. A male entered the premises &
    demanded medication be put in his bag without prescription or payment. This request was denied
    and the male made off. He was later arrested and charged with attempted robbery.

    There was criminal damage/arson to an outbuilding on Hinton Road. The property is derelict and the
    outbuilding is set back away from the house. Unknown person/s have caused a deliberate ignition
    causing the outbuilding to set fire. There was nothing of value in the outbuilding. Fire service arrived
    and extinguished the fire. This location has been frequented in the past by youths and I will be
    patrolling the outbuilding when I am on a late shift.

    Crime prevention advice was given to the owner and I would like to take this opportunity to ask that
    all residents review their personal security and consider whether they have adequate protection to
    deter opportunistic criminals. I am happy to speak to individuals and offer advice where appropriate.
    For further advice on crime prevention tips please visit:
    www.northants.police.uk/crimeprevention.

    No Covid-19 fixed penalty tickets have been issued this month and generally there is a high level of
    compliance in the local community. I have attended a couple of breaches and strong words of
    advice were given in the first instance.

    Anti-Social Behaviour - Anti-social behaviour levels across the village remain very low. There were
    two reports which related to malicious communications on social media. Another two reports relating
    to youths throwing snow balls at a property.

    Contacting the Police - To report an incident or crime please use the following:

          101 for non-emergency calls, to report a crime, report suspicious activity, anti- social
           behaviour and for advice and information.

          999 for all emergencies, crime in progress, if a life is at risk, offenders are nearby or injury
           caused or threatened.

          On-line reporting is via www.northants.police.uk for non-urgent matters or incidents. More
           than 700,000 calls are made to the 999 and 101 numbers each year. With a large number of
           calls, queues can build up and therefore it is worth considering reporting on-line. These
           reports are dealt with quickly and resourced appropriately.

    My mobile & email inbox is only monitored when I am on duty & should not be used to report
    emergencies.
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To contact me directly by dialling 101, use Option 1 of the automated switch board and then dial
    extension 343192 or email carl.barton@northants.pnn.police.uk

    Neighbourhood Alert - Northamptonshire Police are encouraging the public to sign up to
    Neighbourhood alert. Alerts keep people up to date and informed about their area by covering details
    around crime and anti-social behaviour; witness appeals; crime prevention advice; good news;
    surgeries and more. The below advert provides details of the website for joining up.

    A reminder to parents - Under the latest Covid-19 regulations, young people are only allowed to
    meet with one other person outside of their household, regardless of their school bubbles. The
    Police have powers of enforcement through a fixed penalty notice which can be issued to the
    parents or guardians of young people.

C44/21 Woodford Halse Village Signpost – 2021 User Survey
Council adopted the following report from Mr. J. Williams [Website Editor]:

C45/21 St. Mary’s Churchyard – Ground Maintenance
Resolved: Expenditure3 not exceeding £1,500.00 is authorised for clearance of vegetation r/o St.
Mary’s Church. Council thanked Mr. Iain Osborne for obtaining a number of estimates for the work and
Mr. Blackwell will liaise with him in engaging the best value quotation.

C46/21 Budget & Management Accounts
Council adopted Mr. Blackwell report on Council’s management accounts for 01 April 2020 to         31
December 2020 & revised 3-year budget:

C47/21 NCALC – Internal Audit Service
Council reviewed & accepted the Terms of Reference [v2021] of the NCALC IAS.

3
    LGA 1972 Sect. 214
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C48/21 Income & Expenditure
Council noted Income & authorised Expenditure:

C49/21 Members’ Parish Council Email Boxes
Members were asked to carry out some “housekeeping” of their mail boxes because, in some cases,
space on the Heart Internet Ltd. server is full. Mr. Davies is available for advice where necessary.

C50/21 Woodford Meadows – Grants Hill – Public Noticeboard
Members agreed with Mrs. Davison that a noticeboard should be erected in a suitable position in
Woodford Meadows. She will report further to Council in due course.

C51/21 There being no further business the meeting was closed at 20.00 hrs.

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