Minutes Oct 2003

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October 2003

DRAFT MINUTES OF A MEETING OF MAWNAN PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 2003 IN THE MEMORIAL HALL

PRESENT : Cllr D Gartside (Chairman), Cllrs Mrs M Briars, M Dearnley, N Gilmore, C Hibbert, R Sadler

108/03 TO ELECT THE CHAIRMAN OF MAWNAN PARISH COUNCIL
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Briars, seconded by Cllr Hibbert and

RESOLVED that Cllr D Gartside be elected as Chairman of Mawnan Parish Council.

Cllr Gartside signed his acceptance of office as Chairman of the Council. He thanked Cllr Mrs Lawry for all her work on behalf of the Council and the Clerk was asked to write to Mrs Lawry to express the Council’s grateful appreciation of all she had achieved.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA (this item will last for no longer than 10 minutes)
There were no comments from the public on items on the Agenda.

109/03 TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs R South and R Taylor who were away from the parish.

110/03 TO ELECT A VICE CHAIRMAN OF MAWNAN PARISH COUNCIL
It was proposed by Cllr Sadler, seconded by Cllr Mrs Briars and

RESOLVED that Cllr Dearnley be elected as Vice Chairman of Mawnan Parish Council.

111/03 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
a) In Items on the Agenda

Item 10 a) iii – Planning Cllr Mrs Briars Neighbour
Item 10 a) iv – Planning Cllr R Sadler Trustee

b) Of gifts of a value of more than £25
There were no declarations of gifts of a value of more than £25.

112/03 TO CONFIRM MINUTES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS
a) September 18th, 2003 (Appendix 1)

It was proposed by Cllr Dearnley, seconded by Cllr Sadler and

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of September 18th, 2003 be approved as a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.

b) September 25th, 2003 (Appendix 2)

It was proposed by Cllr Dearnley, seconded by Cllr Sadler and

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of September 25th, 2003 be approved as a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.

113/03 TO REPORT MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES NOT ON THE AGENDA (for information only.)

a) Minutes of September 18th, 2003

i) Parish Boundary Stone – Cllr Dearnley reported that he checked the damage to the stone and that the cost for the repair would be £120 + VAT. It was agreed that the item be placed on the Agenda for urgent consideration at item 7 j).
b) Minutes of September 25th, 2003

There were no matters arising.

114/03 AGENDA ITEMS
a) Casual Vacancy on Mawnan Parish Council
The Clerk reported that following the resignation of Cllr Mrs Lawry, a statutory notice had been displayed on the notice board; assuming that an election was not demanded the council would be able to co-opt in due course.

b) Quality Status
i) To receive a verbal report from the Chairman of the Office and Finance Committee
Cllr Gartside reported that the Committee had looked in depth at the requirements, benefits and costs to the Council if it wished to apply for Quality Status. In order to meet the criteria the Council would need to publish and Annual Report to every home in the Parish and the Clerk would need to hold the AQA Certificate in Local Council Administration. The Committee estimated that the cost of would be approximately £250.

After careful consideration the Office and Finance Committee had recognised that whilst the Council should be cautious about taking on any additional functions available through Quality Status, the Council should be working towards the standards laid out as best practice. It also felt that parishes achieving the qualification would be better placed to represent the community when required.

ii) To approve the recommendation of the Office and Finance Committee that the Council achieves Quality Status.
It was proposed by Cllr Gilmore, seconded by Cllr Dearnley and

RESOLVED that Mawnan Parish Council adopt the principals laid out in the Quality Status criteria and make an application to attain Quality Status when these aims have been achieved.

c) Village Policing
The Chairman introduced P C Mike White who will be taking over the community policing of the parish in the near future. P C White reported that crimes in the parish over the past 12 months were down by 11 incidents. He was unsure how many hours he would be able to spend in the parish but intended to carry out policing on foot as required. He hoped that in this way he would build up a rapport with residents of all ages in the village.

Parking at Durgan : P C White had visited Durgan and recognised that the parking was an all year round problem and that moves needed to be taken to increase the policing of the parking restrictions. He agreed to liaise with the Highways Authority to establish the nature of the restrictions currently in place and to try and improve the signage. It was suggested that yellow lines might be painted in the passing places.

Damage to Fingerpost : P C White hoped that this had been a one off event and agreed to take the details in case there were any future developments.

d) Council Portfolio – to receive a recommendation from the Office and Finance Committee that each Councillor should hold a portfolio of responsibility. (Appendix 3).

The Clerk reported that the work of the Council had changed over the past 2 – 3 years and that much of the post now related to consultation documents and recommendations from the Council to other bodies. She asked that the Council consider delegating portfolios to members so that relevant documents could be forwarded to councillors in advance of a meeting, for consideration and report to full council. In this way the Council could also become more involved in the work of outside bodies such as the Police Liaison Committee, Affordable Housing and Health.

It was proposed by Cllr Sadler, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that the Council adopt individual responsibilities and represent the Council in these areas.

The Clerk asked that Councillors identify their area of responsibility and return the form to the Clerk.

e) Village Parking

Cllr Dearnley felt that it was necessary that the Council consider the shortage of parking available in the parish and try and identify any possible improvements. After discussion the Council felt that this topic would be covered in the Parish Plan and it looked forward to the consultation.

f) Memorial Stone at Trebah

The Chairman reported that Cllr Lawry had been dealing with this and since her resignation from the Council he had been unable to discuss with her any progress made. It was therefore agreed that this item be deferred to the next meeting.

g) Affordable Housing

Cllr Sadler asked that the Council work towards the provision of some affordable housing in the village. He noted that very little progress had been made since the Housing Needs Survey. After some debate the Council agreed that there was no land available within the village boundary. It was proposed by Cllr Sadler, seconded by Cllr Dearnley and

RES0LVED that the Council write to Kerrier and ask what sites had been identified as available for Local Housing Need.

h) Vandalism of village sign post

The Clerk reported that the pieces of the sign had been collected by Cornwall C C who had promised to make the necessary repairs.

i) To consider appointment process of Internal Auditor

The Clerk advised that the Council needed to appoint an Internal Auditor for the current year. It was agreed that the vacancy should be advertised on the village notice board.

j) Parish Boundary Stone (urgent item for consideration)

It was proposed by Cllr Dearnley, seconded by Cllr Sadler and

RESOLVED that the Council accept the quote sourced by Cllr Dearnley to repair the parish boundary stone at a cost of £120 + VAT.

115/03 CORRESPONDENCE (Appendix 4)

The correspondence received as per the attached list circulated at the meeting.

116/03 REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS

Kerrier D C : Cllr Sadler reported that the Council was undergoing a comprehensive performance assessment and would be involving parish councils in the review.

117/03 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
a) To Consider Planning Applications Received From the District Authority
i) Mr & Mrs D Masters, Boswyn, Carwinion Lane, Mawnan Smith – Erection of an extension to side of dwelling NO OBSERVATIONS
ii) Mr & Mrs J White, Seawinds, Bar Road, Helford Passage – Erection of a replacement dwelling NO OBSERVATIONS
iii) Mr & Mrs G Williams, Trevarn, Carwinion Road, Mawnan Smith – Erection of an extension to dwelling
Cllr Mrs Briars declared an interest and withdrew NO OBSERVATIONS
iv) Mawnan Anvil Trust, Adjoining Chy an Scol , Carwinion Road, Mawnan Smith – Listed Building Consent for alterations to Blacksmith and erection of two workshops
Cllr Sadler declared an interest and withdrew NO OBSERVATIONS
v) Mr & Mrs Hough, Bar House, Bar Road, Helford Passage – Lopping and topping of trees. The Council requested a site meeting for this application in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
vi) NOTICE OF APPEAL TO THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Mr & Mrs Parsons, Bodergy, Budock Vean Lane, Mawnan Smith – Erection of a timber jetty The Council confirmed that they stood by their original comments and did not feel it necessary to add additional statements. The Clerk was asked to write and request a copy of the decision in due course.

b) To Note Planning Decisions of the Planning Authority

i) PA03/00899/F Mr & Mrs Stokes, La Paz, Maenporth Road, Falmouth – Erection of an extension and loft conversion to dwelling APPROVED

ii) PA03/00960/F Mr J Bailey, Flat L4 & 5, The Ferry Boat Inn, Helford Passage – Conversion of staircase into art of residential accommodation APPROVED

iii) PA03/01096/F Mr C West, The Whitehouse, Grove Hill, Mawnan Smith – Erection of an extension to dwelling APPROVED

iv) PA03/01136/F Mr & Mrs Yates, Crows Nest, Helford Passage – Installation of three roof lights and erection of a porch extension to dwelling. APPROVED

v) PA03/00595/F Mr & Mrs J White, Seawinds, Bar Road, Helford Passage – Erection of a replacement dwelling REFUSED

118/03 FINANCE AND PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS (Appendix 4)
a) To Receive the Audited Accounts for the year 2002/2003 and note Auditors comments.

The Council received the audited accounts for the year 2002/2003 and noted that there were no comments on the Accounts as presented.

b) To Receive Financial Statement for the month to date and approve accounts for payment.

Cllr Briars confirmed that she had signed the invoices for the month of October. It was proposed by Cllr Dearnley, seconded by Cllr Hibbert and

RESOLVED that the Accounts presented in the attached schedule be approved for payment and duly signed.

119/03 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES
a) Footpaths
Cllr Mrs Briars reported that she had been to Countryside Partnership Conference, hosted by Cornwall C C. Awards had been presented to Constantine, Cubert and Feock for the improvements made to their paths and funding had been announced for stiles in AONB sites.

b) Trees
Mrs Loomes reported that, together with Cllr Mrs Briars, she had carried out a tree survey at Castle View Park to establish which trees might benefit from Tree Preservation Orders. The majority of the trees in the field are oak trees and are Hedge Trees. The Tree Council is supporting the aim of maintaining such trees and it was felt appropriate that these trees be protected by TPOs. The Clerk agreed to confirm the process with a Planning Officer and to report back to the next meeting of the Council.

c) MCA

Cllr Dearnley reported that this item was really a matter for the Trustees of the Playing Field. The last meeting had been cancelled.

120/03 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Mawnan Parish Council will be on Thursday, November 20, 2003 starting at 7pm when a speaker will be attending to talk about traffic calming.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
Some concerns were raised that by dealing with correspondence as a matter of written report, some parishioners might miss out on information. The Clerk explained that the volume of correspondence now received could no longer be dealt with as individual items but promised that the report would be available to members of the public at each meeting.