MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY HELD IN T=
HE
COUNCIL CHAMBER AT BARNTON MEMORIAL HALL ON MON=
DAY
18TH MAY 2009
PRESENT: =
MESDAMES:
HUGHES, GOLDING, KIRSOPP, ASHDOWN AND =
; &n=
bsp; =
; &=
nbsp; ROBINSON
&nb=
sp; =
MESSRS:
CASEY, HEARSEY AND DANIELS
<= o:p>
&nb=
sp; =
MR
C. R. GARTON (Clerk to the Parish Council)
&nb=
sp; =
MR
JEFF GRAY (Memorial Hall Management Committee)
APOLOGIES: MRS C. WILSON, MS. V. VICKERS, MR. J
WILLS, MR S. KENNISH
&nb=
sp; =
AND
MR. J. TURNBULL
&nb=
sp; =
MRS.
S. CRANK
&nb=
sp; =
CWAC
COUNCILLOR MALCOLM BYRAM, CWAC CLLR. N. WRIGHT.
VISITORS =
ANDREW
GREEN, RAY WILKINSON, LYNN GIBBON, SHEENA BEECH, =
&=
nbsp; AND
JENNY HEARSEY
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY OF 18TH M=
AY
2008
The Minutes of the 2008 Annual Assembly had been
distributed to all present. It was Proposed by Mrs Golding to accept the
Minutes. Seconded by Mr Gray. All were in favour
THERE WERE NO MATTERS ARISING
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT FOR 2007/08<=
span
style=3D'font-family:Arial'>
Ms Kirsopp read out the Chairmans Report for
2008/2009 (see attached). There were no comments or questions on the Report=
.
FINANCIAL REPORTS
BARNTON PARISH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS Financial Statements of Barnton Parish Council =
were
circulated to all those present at the meeting. The Clerk, Mr Garton, gave a
brief summary of the accounts. Total receipts this year amounted to
£73724.28. The main receipt is the precept of £70,000 which is
raised from council tax.
Expenditure in 2008/09 was £77,249.09. The Clerk concluded by
stating that the total funds remaining were £21,277.58 and £8530.38 of this is held in =
an
earmarked reserve ina high interest business account. The Clerk added that
these accounts are still subject to audit. He asked if there were any quest=
ions
but there were none.
FINANCIAL REPORTS
BARNTON AND ANDERTON WITH MARBURY BURIAL JOINT
COMMITTEE ACCOUNTS. Barnton and
Anderton with Marbury Burial Joint Committee accounts were circulated to all
those present at the meeting. Mrs Crank had given her apologies and the Cle=
rk
to the Parish Council asked if anyone had any questions. There were no
questions or comments relating to the accounts.
BARNTON BRUNNER MEMORIAL HALL ACCOUNTS Mr Gray (Chairman of the Memorial Hall gave a
summary of the hall accounts. He started by stating that the accounts have =
not
yet been presented or accepted by the Trustees of the Memorial Hall nor had
they been formally audited and must remain as draft. He outlined the accoun=
ts
to the Meeting to the Meeting including&nb=
sp;
some of the operating problems the Hall had experienced in its 3rd y=
ear
. There were no questions or comments relating to the accounts.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
PARISH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION GROUP. Mrs. Lynn Gibbon presented the Parish Council=
at
the Meeting with a Document entitled “Requests for Support” and
went on to explain this and the objects of the Parish Plan Implementation G=
roup
to the Meeting and also that
funding from the Parish Council&nbs=
p;
would be required to implement many of these items. The Clerk to the
Parish Council stated that no funds had been allocated within the current
budget to any of these projects. On being asked the Clerk explained briefly=
the
financial procedure of the Parish Council and what it was necessary to do to
obtain a Grant from the Parish Council
BARNTON MAD YOUTH CLUB. Mrs Robinson gave details of the Barnton MAD Yo=
uth
Club Accounts for the 3 previous years and some of the Grants which had been
received . The Youth Club was run by 8 Volunteers and over 70 Members .There
were no questions or comments relating to the accounts. A vote of thanks was given to Mrs
Robinson
There being no other business the meeting close=
d at
8.15pm.
BARNTON PARISH COUNCIL. This has been another extremely busy year for t=
he
Parish Council . A number of new initiatives are currently under discussion.
The major decision pending approval is to alter the Structure of the Parish
Council. At present we hold one Meeting per month on average but this has
become more cumbersome as the amount of work which the Parish Council now
undertakes and this cannot easily be dealt with in the depth that is needed=
at
one Meeting. It has therefore been proposed that during 2009/2010 that we m=
ove
to a Sub Committee Structure having 4 Sub Committees, Finance and General
Purposes Committee, Park and Recreation Grounds Committee, Grants Committee=
and
the Burial Joint Committee with Anderton with Marbury Parish Council (which=
already
exists) reporting to the Full=
Parish Council which will meet less
frequently. There are a number of reasons for this but the main one is to a=
llow
Members to become more involved and discuss in detail the decisions that th=
ey
make and this will hopefully aid the retention of Parish Councillors. On 1st
April 2009 Cheshire County Council and Vale Royal Borough Council disappear=
ed
under Local Government Reorganisation. Barnton is now in the Marbury Ward of
the Chester West and Chester Council.
MEMORIAL HALL. The Parish Council have again during 2008/089 cont=
inued
to support the Memorial Hall under Section 19 of the Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to assist with the running expenses of =
the
Hall. However the new Hall appears to be more ever more popular and the num=
ber
of hours that it is being use=
d is
increasing all the time
M A D YOUTH CLUB. The MAD Youth Club has continued to be a succes=
s and
is run on a Tuesday night at the New Memorial Hall by a small band of dedicated helpers, The Parish Coun=
cil
has continued to support the Youth Club by providing the funds to pay for t=
he
Memorial Hall Room Hire Charges.
NURSERY ROAD RECREATION GROUND. =
M=
inor
vandalism, criminal damage (in particular the breaking of glass bottles and=
the
destruction of Trees), alcohol abuse, drug abuse (cannabis smoking) Graffiti
and general anti social behaviour are still to frequent on the Recreation
Ground. The Parish Council are liaising closely with our Police Community
Support Officer and the Community Safety Wardens to try and stamp it out.
During 2007 we applied to the Borough Council for a Designated Public Place
Order (Alcohol Exclusion Zone) for the Recreation Ground and despite our be=
st
endeavours this issue has still not been addressed. We are actively pursuing
this matter now with the Cheshire West and Chester Council. Dogs despite the notices are still=
being
taken onto the Recreation Ground into the main play areas. The skate board =
park
and associated equipment and the Children's Play Area equipment continues t=
o be
well used.
RUNCORN RECREATION GROUND.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS. B=
arnton
Parish Council is a Statutory Consultee on Planning Applications and a tota=
l of
41 Planning Applications were received&nbs=
p;
for our consultation in 2008, This was 2 more than in 2007, One of t=
hese
was subsequently refused by Vale Royal Borough Council and 5 were withdrawn=
for
various reasons. The remainder were approved. So far this year 11 Planning
Applications have been received.
=
&nb=
sp; =
JUBILEE CORNER. The Corner has been kept tidy again in 2008 by Mrs. Jenny Hearsey
POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER. The Parish Council continue to fund a Police
Community Support Officer for the village Since 1st April 2007 P C S O Diana
Wiggins has been working in t=
he
Village and is now well known . A number of successful Police Community Act=
ion
Team Meetings and Surgeries have been held in the Village at regular interv=
als
during 2008 Issues that have =
been
highlighted by Residents which have attended include Anti Social Behaviour,
Nuisance Youths, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Parking and Speeding. The Cost of
providing the P C S O is £22000 however 50% of this is provided by
Central Government and the remaining 50% (£11,000) by the Parish Coun=
cil.
We have entered into a 3 year Service Level Agreement with the Police. This=
agreement
can be terminated by either party on giving 12 months notice. The Agreement
comes to an end in April 2010 and we have no indication at this stage what =
will
happen, or the cost of the continuing employment of a P C S O.
TRAFFIC PROBLEMS . During 2006 a Transport Study Questionnaire was
circulated in Lydyett Lane and the surrounding area following complaints fr=
om
Residents following completion of the New Medical Centre and Co-op Store on=
the
Old Memorial Hall Site. This survey was completed and the results from the
answers provided from the returned questionnaires have been collated by Cll=
r.
Helen Kirsopp. The results will be used to try and convince Cheshire County Highways =
to
carry out improvements to the Road Infrastructure in the Village. We have b=
een
during 2007 and during 2008
negotiations with Cheshire County Council Highways took place on the measur=
es
to be provided on Lydyett Lane. The Parish Council have been unable to conv=
ince
Cheshire County Council Highways to provide any additional off street parki=
ng
spaces in the Village. This resulted in a number of Parking Restriction bei=
ng
imposed on Lydyett Lane by the provision of Double Yellow Lines. Although t=
he
Parish Council agreed to this they did so reluctantly (we were told that th=
ere
was no alternative proposals and it was either this or nothing) and we have
indicated that if these measures do not work then we will be actively seeki=
ng
further measures to alleviate the traffic problems The 2 interactive speed
signs that were provided on R=
uncorn
Road still continue to indicate that a large number of vehicles are exceedi=
ng
the 30 mph speed limit and this issue has been taken up by our P C S O who =
has
with her colleagues carried out
speed checks on Runcorn Road and also on Townfield Lane and Meadow D=
rive
on several occasions.
PARISH COUNCILLORS. The Parish Council has at present 13 Members a=
nd 2
vacancies which will be available for co-option subject to there being no c=
all
for an election at our June Meeting. A number of Parish Councillors have
resigned during 2008 and it is of some concern to us that we continue to lo=
se
valuable Members at such a frequency. We hope that the new Parish Council
Structure when put in place will alleviate this.
BARNTON WITH ANDERTON AND MARBURY BURIAL JOINT
COMMITTEE. The Burial Join=
t Committee have requested a Precept=
of
£3620 in the next financial year
2009/2010 This is a decrease of £9050 from
previous precept of 2008/2009.
PARISH COUNCIL WEBSITE. The Parish Council Website continues to be upd=
ated and
maintained by Mrs J. Jeffs . =
Log on
at www.barntonvillage.org.uk.
PARISH CLERK, DEPUTY PARISH CLERK, PARK WARDENS=
AND
TUNNEL TOP EDITOR The Pari=
sh
Clerk has, with help from the Park Warden, Assistant Park Warden (appointed
during 2007) and the Tunnel Top and Website Editor, continued to administer=
the
Parish without to many problems during 2008/2009 The Clerk is also the
Responsible Financial Officer and maintains the Accounts of the Parish Coun=
cil
and works closely with the Independent Internal Auditor Mr. Brian Gallimore=
to
ensure that the Parish Council Accounts are presented to our External Audit=
ors
in the approved manner at the end of each financial year. Mr Gallimore will
retire as the Internal Auditor when he has audited the accounts for 2008/09=
and
the Parish Council are actively seeking his replacement. In March Mr C J Wa=
tkin
was appointed the Deputy Clerk. This is in anticipation that the present Cl=
erk
who has already indicted his intention to retire on 31st March 2011 after 12
and half years in post
TUNNEL TOP PARISH MAGAZINE. <=
span
style=3D'font-family:Arial'> <=
/span>The Parish Magazine continues to be produced by=
a
small editorial team led by Cllr. Mr. F. Casey and Mrs. Jenny Jeffs. The Tunnel Top Magazine comes out
roughly once every two months. The magazine is printed for us by a local
printer.
PARISH PLAN WORKING GROUP. D=
uring
2009 the Parish Plan was finished and distributed to all households in the
Village. A successful and well attended launch was held in the Barnton Coun=
ty
Primary School
INSURANCE POLICY. In 2008 we changed our Insurers to Norwich Un=
ion
Insurance and in addition to carrying Public Liability of £5,000,000 =
the
Parish Council insure the Play Equipment on our Recreation Grounds and other
risks. Our premium for 2008/2009 was £3089 which was a saving of almo=
st
£1000 over our previous insurers
LAND REGISTRATION. During 2008 the Parish Council registered with =
Land
Registry all our Land Holdings which included, Nursery Road Recreation Grou=
nd
(the only land we previously had registered) Runcorn Road Recreation Ground,
Barnton Football Ground, Townfield Lane, Barnton Cemetery, Hayes Drive and
Jubilee Corner (Junction of Lydyett Lane and Townfield Lane.
Helen Kirsopp
18th May 2009
C=
hairman
- Barnton Parish Council.