Minutes Dec 2007

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December 2007

DRAFT MINUTES OF A MEETING OF MAWNAN PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY, 20th DECEMBER 2007 IN THE MEMORIAL HALL

PRESENT : Cllr Gartside (Chairman), Cllrs Barlow, Dearnley, Gilmore, Mrs Harris, Mrs Loomes, Odell and Sadler.

A vote of thanks was given to the Mawnan Christmas Lights Committee, for creating the usual excellent display.

342/05 TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Mrs Lawry and Moyle.

343/05 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
a) In Items on the Agenda
Adoption of Budget and Precept 2008/9 – see Minute 364/05 (a) - All members present declared a personal interest in the item in their role as Trustees of the Junior Playing Field Trust and the Carwinion Playing Field Trust. The Clerk confirmed that all members held dispensations for this item.

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

344/05 TO CONFIRM MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
a) Meeting of Parish Council, 15th November 2007
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Harris, seconded by Cllr Barlow and

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 15th November 2007 be approved as a true record and duly signed.

b) Finance Committee Meeting, 6th December 2007
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Harris, seconded by Cllr Dearnley and

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting held on 6th December 2007 be approved as a true record and duly signed.

345/05 TO REPORT MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES NOT ON THE AGENDA
a) Dog Bins
The Clerk stated the repairs had still not been carried out, and he would contact Kerrier DC’s Head of Service by telephone after New Year.

b) Resurfacing of Penwarne Road
Cllr Dearnley enquired why the white lines had not been extended so they fronted all of the houses. The Clerk agreed to take this up with County Highways.

346/05 AGENDA ITEMS
a) To accept and approve recommendations from the Finance Committee in respect of the 2008/09 Budget & Precept
A summary document had been circulated by the Clerk, in advance of the meeting. As Chairman of the Office & Finance Group, Cllr Dearnley outlined the proposals from the Finance Committee Meeting, at which all aspects of the Budget had been rigorously debated.

He highlighted a number of specific proposals :-

• Extension to the Graveyard – No financial assistance had been offered by the PCC, so an additional £3,000 over the amount originally envisaged for 2008/09 had been included, to cover laying out the new graveyard.
• Carwinion & Junior Playing Field Trusts – Grants for 2008/09 would be in line with the Trust budgets presented at their recent AGM’s.
• Members’ Allowances – These had not been taken in the past, and might not be in the future. However, it was felt that with the impending reorganisation of local government in Cornwall might come increased responsibilities for Parish Councillors, so it would be prudent to budget for this.
• Election expenses – It had been considered prudent to budget 25% of the District Council’s estimated cost of Parish Council elections each year for the next 4 years.

These, plus inflationary increases in some other budget headings resulted in a recommended Budget and Precept of £43,200, which represented an increase of 13.68% in Precept over 2007/08.

Following further discussion, the following proposals were made :-

i) Adoption of Budget for 2008/09
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Harris, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that the Council receive the recommendation of the Finance Committee and adopt a Budget of £43,200 for the financial year 2008/09.

ii) Adoption of Precept for 2008/09
It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Harris, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that the Council receive the recommendation of the Finance Committee and adopt a Parish Precept of £43,200 for the financial year 2008/09.

b) To agree the list of S137 Grants to be offered in 2008/09
Cllr Dearnley explained that, Section 137 of the LGA Act (1972) allowed Town and Parish Councils to offer grant assistance to local organisations, for the benefit of the community, where the council did not have any other specific powers for grant provision.

S137 Grants were limited to a finite amount (currently £5.64) per elector, so Mawnan Parish Council could award such grants of up to approximately £7000 in 2008/09. However, the 2008/09 Budget had been predicated upon provision up to £3,000 of S137 grants. The Clerk had already written to local organisations concerning S137 grants. Following consideration by the Office & Finance Committee, a detailed list of recommendations, which included an element of contingency, had been circulated.

Following discussion, it was proposed by Cllr Gilmore, seconded by Cllr Mrs Harris, and

RESOLVED that the list of S137 Grants for 2008/09 be agreed, and the Clerk be instructed to formally write back to each organisation, to confirm the proposed grants.

c) To respond to the consultation document from Cornwall CC on its proposed new Street Lighting Policy
The Clerk summarised the consultation document from Cornwall CC, which asked for views on three options :-

• Retention of existing method of operation – Street Lighting on from dawn to dusk.
• Dim street lights in the middle of the night, except in particular areas such as town centres.
• Turn street lights off in the middle of the night, except in particular areas such as town centres.

The second and third option would allow for cost savings over the status quo. In debate, it was felt that the second option might be dangerous.

It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Harris, seconded by Cllr Sadler, and

RESOLVED that the Clerk be asked to respond to Cornwall CC, stating that Mawnan Parish Council’s preferred option would be for street lights to be turned off between 1.30am and 5.30am, at times when this occurred before dawn.

d) To respond to the consultation document from Cornwall CC on the Fire Brigade’s proposals for its Integrated Risk Management Plan for 2008/09
The Clerk summarised the consultation document from Cornwall CC. Concerns were expressed about :-

• The potential loss of a full time, night-time Fire Service in Falmouth, with its docks and hotels
• The consideration for one control centre, with the loss of local knowledge
• The possible use of the responses to the consultation document

As the final date for responses was 3rd March 2008, the Clerk was asked to scan in the consultation documents, and distribute these with the agenda for the January meeting, at which a further discussion should take place.

347/05 CORRESPONDENCE
The Clerk reported on correspondence received, a schedule of which is attached to the minutes as a record.

348/05 REPORTS FROM COUNTY AND DISTRICT COUNCILLORS
a) County Council
C Cllr Hatton reported that :-

i) He had received approaches from members of the public, regarding difficulties with the narrowness of Carlidnack Road, which were being investigated by County Highways

ii) The Mawnan speed visor had now been “signed off”.

b) District Council
Cllr Sadler reported that :-

i) Kerrier DC had approved its provisional budget for 2008/09, which would lead to a Council Tax of £179.54 for a Band D taxpayer for Kerrier's services, an increase of 1.5% compared to the current year. This reflected the fact that there was no need for capital planning or the building of future reserves, prior to local government reorganisation.

ii) A Planning Meeting had been held on 4th December 2007, the first which allowed members of the public to participate. If successful, this could reduce the need for site visits.

349/05 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
a) To Note Planning Decisions received from the Planning Authority
The Clerk reported on decisions received, a schedule of which is attached to the minutes as a record.

b) To Note Planning Enforcement Complaints received by the Planning Authority
The Clerk reported that no enforcement complaints had been received by the council since its previous meeting.

c) To Consider Planning Applications Received From the District Authority

i) PA07/01533/F – Mr & Mrs Rose, Treworgan, Maenporth Road, Maenporth, Falmouth – Proposed refurbishment and extension of existing Coach House to form holiday letting accommodation
Cllr Gilmore reported that a site visit had taken place, and that the proposal was considered to be a sensitive conversion, which had little or no impact on neighbouring properties.
OBSERVATION : No objections.

ii) PA07/01886/F – Mr & Mrs J Statham, Highlands, Helford Passage – Erection of extensions and alterations to dwelling
OBSERVATION : No objections.

iii) PA07/01928/LU – Mr & Mrs D McQuillan, Firs Lodge, Maenporth Road, Maenporth, Falmouth – Certificate of Lawfulness for the retention of extensions and alterations to dwelling
OBSERVATION : The council could offer no evidence concerning the extensions and alterations to the property.

iv) PA07/01973/F –Mrs N Rangecroft, Trevean, Carwinion Road, Mawnan Smith – Erection of porch extension to dwelling, detached single garage, and siting of an oil tank
OBSERVATION : No objections.

350/05 FINANCE AND PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS
a) Payment of Accounts
It was proposed by Cllr Dearnley, seconded by Cllr Gilmore and

RESOLVED that accounts totalling £2,106.79 be approved for payment and duly signed. A schedule of these is attached to the minutes as a record.

The Clerk stated that he would attempt to pass the costs for the tidying up of Footpath #16, alongside Field Place, to Coastline Housing.

351/05 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES
a) Police Report
PC Cormack apologised for the fact that there had been no police report the previous month. He reported that, during the past month :-

• There had been no crimes reported (2 in same period in 2006)
• There had been a recent campaign across his entire patch, regarding motorists using mobile phones, which had resulted in 29 warning letters being issued

b) MCA Hall
Cllr Barlow reported that over 30 representatives from local groups had attended a recent meeting, which had been optimistic and forward-looking. Interested parties had been invited to an MCA Committee Meeting on 7th January 2008, or to submit their views in writing.

c) Footpaths
The Clerk reported that he had received a report from Cornwall CC, detailing proposed changes to the Local Maintenance Partnership. Cllr Mrs Loomes was reviewing this, prior to the issuing of a tender for maintenance from April 2008. The content of the tender was to be a January agenda item.

352/05 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Mawnan Parish Council will be held on Thursday, 17th January 2008, commencing at 7.30pm, in the Memorial Hall.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
a) Oil prices
Concern was expressed regarding the increase in oil prices. It was stated that there was a local purchasing consortium, details of which would be supplied to the Clerk, for display on the notice board and the website.

b) Sign for the old Mawnan School
Coastline Housing had, some time ago, agreed to open up the garden by Carlidnack Road, so the old sign could be seen, but this had not occurred. The Clerk was asked to contact Coastline, and suggest that this matter would be sorted out by the Parish Council, in January.

c) Wood available at Norways Farm
Cllr Sadler stated that there were still two large sections of the Macrocarpus tree available to anyone who would like to pick them up, for use as firewood.

d) Fly infestation in the Memorial Hall
The Clerk was asked to contact the hall bookings secretary regarding this.