Parish Council - 11 February 2009

MINUTES of the MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held on the
11 February 2009 in the KNEBWORTH VILLAGE HALL at 8.00 p.m.
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Present: Mr John Bantick (Chairman), Dr Graham Fothergill, Mr Richard Haigh, Mr John Hunt, Mrs Carol Smith, Ms Elisabeth Smith, Mr Robin Smith, Mr Anthony Titmarsh and the Clerk

Apologies: Mr Gilmore, Mr Hall and Mrs Presland due to prior engagements

1. Public Participation

There were no presentations from members of the public.

2. Declarations of Interest

Mr Hunt declared that he is president of the Tennis Club

3. Approval of Parish Council Minutes

It was proposed by Mr Titmarsh, seconded by Ms Smith and

RESOLVED “that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council, held on 3 December 2008, be approved and signed.”

Unanimously agreed.

4. The Council Noted the Minutes of the Committee Meetings

Minutes of the Meeting of the Recreation Grounds Committee held on 7 January 2009.
Minutes of the Meeting of the Village Hall Committee held on 28 January 2009
Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 28 January 2009
Minutes of the Meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee held on 12 January 2009

Dr Fothergill signed the Planning Committee Minutes of 12 January which were approved on 9 February 2009.

5. Councillors Allowances and Expenses

A questionnaire had been circulated to councillors to obtain information regarding the amount of time spent on council business. This information will be useful for the Remuneration Panel. HAPTC has been contacted to collect information on other councils’ allowances, and is awaited. Dr Fothergill and Mr Gilmore are to take this forward.




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6. HCC Lease

Proposed by Mr Titmarsh, seconded by Mr Bantick and

RESOLVED “that Hertfordshire County Council’s proposed Heads of Terms for the new lease on the five acres of land which forms part of Knebworth Recreation Grounds be accepted.”

Unanimous.

7. Effectiveness of the System of Internal Audit

The council considered the report and audit plan previously circulated.

Proposed by Dr Fothergill, seconded by Mr Smith and

RESOLVED “that the Council approve the system of internal audit, which it considers to be effective.”

Agreed.

8. Appointment of Internal Auditor

Proposed by Mr Haigh, seconded by Mrs Smith and

RESOLVED “that Star Bookkeeping be appointed as internal auditor for 2008/09.”

Agreed.

9. Parking Initiative

The parking survey undertaken at the end of 2008 was successful with over 600 returns. Dr Fothergill had prepared an overview of the results for which he was thanked. The resounding view was that Knebworth has serious parking problems which residents would like addressed. The council agreed to forward the results and overview to North Hertfordshire District Council to persuade it to take the next step in identifying solutions to the parking problems which exist in the village.

10. Schedule of Meetings

The Council agreed to move the next Village Hall and Finance and General Purpose meetings to 11 March 2009.

The draft schedule of meetings for 2009/10 was approved and will be adopted at the Annual Parish Meeting.




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11. Parish Meeting Leaflet

The Council wished to include the parking overview with the annual parish leaflet. It was therefore recommended that the leaflet would be printed on A3 paper to accommodate the report.

12. Unification of the Primary Care Trust

The Council confirmed its response to the PCT questionnaire on proposals to unify the two PCTs.

13. Policing Policy 2009/12

Mr Hunt is to attend the launch of the Policing Policy for 2009/12 on 27 March 2009.

14. Bowls & Tennis Club Leases

A draft lease has been received for the Bowls Club; the Tennis Club lease will be similarly worded. Copies are to be forwarded to the clubs for comment and will be discussed at the next Recreation Grounds Committee meeting to be held on 4 March.

15. Accounts for Payment

It was proposed by Mr Titmarsh, seconded by Ms Smith and

RESOLVED “that the list of accounts paid during Accounts Period 5 2008/09 be approved.”

Unanimous.

Mr Titmarsh reported that he had agreed the monthly bank reconciliations to 31 January 2009

16. Any Other Urgent Business

16.1 Pop Concert
It has been announced there will be a Rock Concert at Knebworth Park on 1 & 2 August with Metallica and Linkin Park headlining. Overnight camping is to be allowed to try to reduce the impact of traffic.

16.2 Southern Rural Inter Parish Meeting
No date has been set for the next meeting.

16.3 HCC Archive Tours
Tours of the archives are scheduled over the next few months. Booking is essential.


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16.4 Gritting Footpaths
The recent inclement weather has made roads and footpaths precarious to use. Gritting of the main roads has been undertaken but side roads and footpaths have been neglected. Hertfordshire has suffered with severe snow falls with stocks of grit running low. Emphasis has been on maintaining main routes. The complaint was noted.

16.5 Youth Service Reorganisation
Mr Titmarsh complained about the significant reduction of HCC input into youth services.

15.6 Big Tidy Up
The clean up session is to take place on Saturday 7 March at 10.00 am.

16.7 Dog Bin
Mr Mitchell of North Herts. Homes has agreed to pay for a dog bin at Cherry Close and the council has agreed to pay for collection.

16.8 North Herts. homes Walkabout
The chairman and Dr Fothergill inspected the North Herts Homes area with Mr Mitchell and areas requiring improvement were identified.

16.9 Herts Highways
Mr Richard Jones is to replace Mr Greenhill at Herts Highways.

16.10 Next Meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 25 March 2009.


There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.02 p.m.