M I D D L E T O N PA R I S H C O U N C I L

= &nb= sp; MIDDLETON PARISH COUNCIL =

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The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council was held on Wednesday 21^st May 2008 at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall Annexe, Cottingham.

Present: = Cllrs Phillipson (Chair), Ainge, Alvey, Claypole (left the meeting at 8.15pm), Cole, Dickens and Robertson, Mrs Med= well (Parish Clerk) and CBC Rural Pride Officer Mrs Suzanne Preston.

1. Apologies for Absence: None

2. Declaration of Interest: Cllr Philli= pson declared a non-prejudicial interest in the Middleton Village Hall project.<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

3. Election of Officer= s:

The position of Chairman = was open to all Councillors. Cllr Dickens nominated Cllr Phillipson and was seconded= by Cllr Robertson. Cllr Phillipson ag= reed to become Chairman.

The position of Vice-Chai= rman was opened to all Councillors. Cllr Phillipson nominated Cllr Dickens and was seconded by Cllr Claypole. Cllr Dickens agreed to become Vice-Chairman.

4. Declaration of Acceptance:

All Councillors completed and signed the Declaration of Office forms.

5. Election of Sub Committees:

The Parish Council agreed to the following positions:-

(i) Parish Plan – Cllrs Phillipson and Robertson

(ii) Planning –= ; Cllrs Cole, Ainge and Dickens

(iii) Highways / Rights of Way – Cllr Cole and Ainge=

(iv) Village Hall Project– = Cllrs Cole and Robertson

(v) VHMC= Rep – Cllr Claypole

The Chairman explained that the Chair and Vice Chair a= re ex-officio members of all sub-committees.

6. Minutes: The minutes of 16^th Apri= l 2008 were duly approved and signed.

= Proposed Cllr Alvey Seconded Cllr Cole

7. Ma= tters Arising:

Cllr Dickens said that Highways had declined a site vi= sit but had cut back the overhanging trees along the old A427.

8. Meeting Open for Public Participation:

Ms Preston reported that remaining 106 monies were in = the process of being signed off.

Following a request by the parish council to investiga= te the presence of Japanese Knotweed on the new hall site, Corby Legal Services de= pt had raised the issue with Miller Homes to request its removal prior to adop= tion of the land. There was also concern that some diesel spillage had occurred = on the site.

Ms Preston referred to the Covert Fly Tipping Camera, that the evaluation had been completed and a decision is being made as to the best scheme. Also that she had highlighted Parish hotspot areas.

(Meeting closed to the public.) = =

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9. Village Hall Project:

Cllr Phillipson reported that the Village Hall Trust h= ad agreed to appoint GSS Architects. He had attended a site visit with William= Asherton, Architect, Mark = French of JPP Structural Engineers, Ian Tattersall Bor= ough Engineer and Mr Keith Allsop.

It was planned to produce 3D model, to be presented at an Open Day later in the year. Draft plans are expected by mid June.

10. Highways:

Cllr Phillipson informed the Council that Margaret And= rews from May Guerney would be coming out to inspect School Hill.

Jurassic Way Footpath – Substantial works done a= long the path to replace broken pipes. Cllr Phillipson reported that whilst slig= htly improved, flooding was still present on the adjacent property, and that he would write to Highways to establish exactly what works had been carried ou= t in the vicinity to try to ascertain responsibility (action DP).

Main = Street – Letter to Anglian Water to report leaki= ng water on the road (action JM).<= /p>

Camsdale Walk – Lett= er to County to request clearing the footpath (action DP).

11. Planning:

08/00118/DPA<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; 6 Lightfoot Lane = = &= nbsp; &nbs= p; CBC Permission Granted

08/00079/DPA<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; 7 Ashley Road &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; CBC Permission Refused

12. Finance:

a) The following cheques were presented for signature and agreed:

101004 &nbs= p; ACRE Village Hall Forum &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; 40.00

101005 &nbs= p; VHMC Hall Hire &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; 10.00 =

101006 &nbs= p; Clerk Salary and Expenses = &nb= sp; = 576.00

101010 &nbs= p; Viking Direct &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; 49.60

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An allocation of £1,000 was made to the Village = Hall Fund as agreed in the budget.

b) SUMMA= RY OF BALANCES = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; =

National Savings = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 53,672.28

Business Reserve = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = = 163.73

Community Account = ; &n= bsp; = ; = = = 2,759.72

Less Allocation for Village Hall = 54,000.00

Total: &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = &nb= sp; 2,595.73

c) The Clerk presented the Council with the accounts a= nd confirmed they had been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 1996 for the year ending 31^st Mar= ch 2008. The Council approved the Statement of Assurance and the appropriate documents were signed by the Chairman and Clerk.

The necessary documents will now be presented to the internal auditor.

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1= 3. Village Matt= ers:

Dog Fouling Bins – The Clerk reported that CBC h= ad agreed to empty the bins on a twice weekly basis. The Council agreed to purchase 3 bins from JRB Enterprises at a cost of £198 each. Clerk to arrange a site meeting w= ith Angela McNeil (CBC Environment Services) (action JM).

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Village Sign – No quotes received as yet.

Grass Cutting – The Council commented again on t= he poor quality of the cut and requested a letter be sent to the contractors (action JM).

Notice Board – This had been vandalised and the = glass replaced with acrylic at a cost of £150.

14. Parish Plan:

Cllr Phillipson reported on the two successful meeting= s of the Heritage Group.

1= 5. Village Litt= er Pick:

Cllr Robertson reported that she had received informat= ion from ENCAMS and that the next stage would be to plan an area, risk assess a= nd arrange collection of skip or cage. The Council agreed to approach Cottingham PC re a combined pick (action JR).

16. VHMC:

Cllr Claypole passed on a request that all cheques mad= e out to the VHMC were written as Cottingham or Middleton VHMC.

17. Correspondence:

Amongst other correspondence were the following items:=

Minutes –Weldon (e-mailed), Stanion, Cottingham. East Carlton and Gretton PC’s

NCC – Rights of Way Improvement plan

CBC – Rural Area Forum Minutes / Annual Council Minutes

Clerks and Councils Direct

Northants police – Monthly Crime Report / Commun= ity Policing

CPRE – Outlook

Rock= ingham Forest Trust - News= letter

Letters Highways re Surface Dre= ssing Works

= CBC re Village Walkabouts

= Cllr Rutt re Blue Tongue

&nbs= p; Manor Farm re Parking – Council suggested that Ms Tuck write directly to the residents parked in fr= ont of her windows (action JM).

18. A= ny Other Business:

There was no other business.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.05pm

Minutes to be ratified at the next= meeting on the 18^th June 2008.

Signed…………………= ;………….Chairman = Date………………………&= #8230;…

Clerk: Mrs J Medwell 3 Main Street, Middleton, Market Harborough LE16 8YU = Tel: 01536 771234 &= nbsp;