Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. A.T. Acomb and Cllr. R.M. Major who were both on holiday.

The minutes of the 15 July 2002 Parish Council meeting were approved and signed.

The Chairman and Cllr. Acomb had both attended the meeting of this organisation on 3 September 2002 and the Chairman reported that its constitution was now completed and had been formally accepted and the Council would be receiving some information on it in the near future.

The Chairman said a Charity Commission notice had been published in the Yorkshire Evening Press of 17 July 2002, informing the public that the Dodsworth Hall Charity had approached the Charity Commission as it proposed to amend the trusts of this Charity and that comments or representations could be made within one month from that date. The Clerk had written, setting out the Council’s case against a possible disposal of a historic village asset and had received an acknowledgement saying a full reply was to follow. The reply had not yet been received and the matter was to be an item for discussion at the next Council meeting.

Mrs. Hopton confirmed that the builders were agreeable to the Section 106 Agreement money being used for alternative use other than the community room and that several suggestions had already been made viz.:

(a) Improve the local landscaping.

(b) Make a Green of the land surrounding the existing play area.

(c) Examine with the builder where space could be provided for car parking to improve access to the estate.

(d) Assist a group of residents at the end of Severn Green to develop a small piece of land into a play area for toddlers.

The next step was to meet some of the residents to sort out the ideas and then leave it to them to progress the proposed scheme.

Mr. Woodall was concerned about children crossing the Great North Way to reach the petrol filling station and asked that consideration be given to some action to reduce the danger.

Mr. Chisholm offered to assist Mrs. Hopton to process the matter.

The Chairman said no further information had been received from the Local Councils Associations on this subject but the recent document from the Commission for Racial Equality on "Ethnic Monitoring", a guide for public authorities, was to be circulated to Members.

A copy of the Guide to the Code of Conduct, produced by Veale Wasbrough, Lawyers and sent by the Monitoring Officer, City of York Council, was also to be circulated.

Mr. Chisholm reported on a meeting held in August at the Poppleton Youth Club at which a liaison group consisting of POPSOC, Mrs. Hopton, The Youth Leader and himself were present, when it was decided not to reopen the Youth Centre for sometime as the building was being redecorated. The present Youth Leader had resigned and it had been decided that the Younger Youth Club should continue on a Wednesday. It was hoped to open again by half term, depending on a new Youth Leader being appointed.

The Chairman was to inform Mayfair Security that the club was closed and Mr. Chisholm was to keep the Council informed of progress.

It was anticipated that this restoration would have been introduced with the revised bus timetable starting in early September but there was no evidence that it had been changed as buses were still standing at Upper Poppleton.

Mrs. Hopton, the Chairman and Mr. Woodall had met on site Mr. K. Spence of the City Council Highways Department and had agreed the lay-by be increased in depth by 1.5 metres and some works to be undertaken at the Montague Walk end of the shops to allow vehicles to use it. Mrs. Hopton said that the scheme had been entered in the financial programme on 5 September, the first phase in getting the work authorised.

Mr. Chisholm said the shop owners were keen to use the garden at the South end of the shops for parking their own vehicles but Members had their reservations.

Mrs spoke of her concerns that at some time in the future a developer might wish to gain access through Miss. M. Jackson’s garden at 36 Church Lane to make a road alongside the Public Right-of-Way No.5. The matter was discussed and it was agreed that as the garden was in the Conservation Area and the trees were protected there was no need to take further action under the Green Belt review.

It was noted that Mr. J. Harrison, the City of York Council Transport Planner (Cycling and Walking), had written on 24 July to say he would arrange for an investigation into this location to assess what, if any, improvements could be made. The initial inspection would take place before the beginning of the next school term but it sounded as though it would also be useful for him to carry out a site visit during the school ‘rush hour’.

The Clerk reported the internal audit completed by Mr. Mackman and his comments were noted. The documents had been posted to the external auditor on 2 September. Mr. Mackman’s fee for undertaking the audit was £75.00.

The Chairman offered to prepare a draft of the orders and Mr. Acomb was to be asked to help. The document would then be circulated to Members for comments and possible amendments.

A reply had been received from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, confirming that the role of Parish and Town Councils would not be affected in the proposals to alter the planning process. The requirement in primary legislation for local planning authorities to notify a Parish Council of any relevant planning application if requested to do so by the Parish Council remained. Local planning authorities may not determine an application within 14 days of notifying them and must take into account any representations received from the Parish Council.

The City of York Council Head of Transport Planning had written on 31 July, agreeing that it would make sense for the road from York Central to serve as many industrial concerns as possible in order to remove heavy traffic from Boroughbridge Road and Millfield Lane. There would be a consultation exercise on the draft York Central masterplan later this autumn; this would be taking place in conjunction with the consultation exercise on the further revisions to the Local Plan when there would be an opportunity to discuss the access proposals further.

It was noted the application to the Ward Committee for a grant of £200.00 to purchase and plant nine trees in the Broad Lane Linear Park had been supported. The Ward Committee was required to monitor the use of the money allocated and copies of the monitoring and evaluation reports the Parish Council intended to produce in connection with this scheme were to be forwarded to City of York Council Support Group.

The Chairman reported the arrival in the village of six litter bins, one being for the Millennium Green area. He and Mrs. Hopton were to co-operate in choosing a suitable site in which to position it.

Members decided the Jubilee celebration surplus funds be a matter for the Jubilee Committee to allocate to a project of its choosing.

Mrs. E. Parker, Chair of this Group, had reported that they were now at the stage of editing the first draft of the proposed document and they were hoping to produce a copy in the near future. The request for a grant of £50.00 towards administration costs was approved.

Information on the 2000 Act had been received from the Information Commissioner, advising Councils to make themselves aware of the duty to draw up a Publication Scheme and make various pieces of information available to the public. The Chairman said the Local Councils Association was dealing with this requirement and would be advising Councils in due course.

The Clerk said that after more than fifty-one year’s service, he had decided the time had arrived to retire and hand the post over to a younger person. He did not intend to make a clean break but carry on alongside the new Clerk until that person was installed. One application had already been received for the post but Members agreed the vacancy should be advertised.

The Upper Poppleton Ward Committee allocated funding to trial a limited demand responsive transport service primarily to improve access to swimming facilities for Ward residents. The service was introduced in April, 2002 with the intention of running the x x until the end of July, when Edmund Wilson Pool was scheduled to close for refurbishment and then resume operation when the Pool re-opened. The refurbishment work at the Pool had been postponed until 2003, so it had been decided to continue the Flexibus for as long as current funding would allow. It would now run until 28 October 2002.

The service had currently settled down to three regular users at £23 subsidy per passenger journey and did not represent good value for money. The City of York Council Public Transport Planner was asking for comments. Members agreed it was too expensive and suggested it be replaced by the ‘Dial-a-Bus’ service.

The next meeting of this Group was to take place on 17 September. Chairman said he was unable to attend and no other Member was available.

During the recent countywide floods the City of York Flood Group met at Fulford Road Police Station to consider the temporary measures that would be required. During one of these meetings it was commented that although it could forward press releases to the Ward Committees through e-mail, it did not have this facility for all the Parish Councils. The Clerk had replied that Mrs. Hopton would be prepared to receive any messages and in turn, advise the Council Chairman. Mrs. Hopton was happy to perform this service.

The City Council Arboricultural Officer had sent leaflets ‘Plant a Tree for 2003’, asking the Clerk to hand them out to anyone in the parish who may be interested in acquiring trees to improve the amenity of the parish. Copies had been handed to Mr. Woodall for Millfield Lane, Mr. Major for the Millennium Green and Mr. Acomb for the Moat Fields area.

The Infant and Junior schools in Poppleton were to be one merged school known as the Poppleton Ousebank Primary School from September 2002. There was to be one appointed additional Co-opted Governor from the local Parish Councils which included the Hessay Parish. Mrs. Jackson, Councillor from Nether Poppleton Council was currently this Governor and was willing to continue in this role. Mrs. Jackson was unanimously nominated as the additional co-opted Governor for the new school.

It was noted the Annual General Meeting was to be held on 2 October 2002 in Priory Street Centre.

It was also noted the Annual General Meeting would take place on 26 September 2002 in the York District Hospital.

Consideration was given to the following new applications:

Location. Mr. G. Bolton, 18 Church Lane.

Development. Single storey pitched roof rear extension.

Location. Mr. R.A. Pulleyn, 34 Church Lane.

Location. Mr. T. Rowley, Plot 11, Great North Way, York Business Park.

Development. Four additional windows at Postoptics.

Observations. Members had no objections. (Ref. 164).

Location. Mr. & Mrs. Wordie, 12 Easthorpe Drive.

Observations. Members had no objections. (Ref. 320).

Location. Brecks Saab, Plot 3B, Great North Way, York Business Park.

Development. Motor dealership with associated access, parking and landscaping.

Location. Mr. P. Knowles, 2 Midway Avenue.

Location. Mr. & Mrs. Woods, Yungarra, Ferryman’s Walk.

Development. Single storey pitched roof rear extension.

Observations. Members had no objections. (Ref. 321).

Location. White Rose Development Enterprises, Ltd., York Business Park.

It was noted the Local Planning Authority had granted permission for the following:

Mr. C. Walsh, 12 Church Lane: crown clean and crown thin by 15% Scots Pine in the Conservation Area. (Ref. 141).

Mr. & Mrs. Hudson, 36 Nether Way: pitched roof two storey extension to North East side and to South West side, single storey extension to rear, canopy to front and relocation of garden shed. (Ref. 179).

Mr. D. Kirkham, 34 Calder Avenue: second satellite dish on side wall. (Ref. 315).

Mr. & Mrs. Cheung, 3 Kyle Way: pitched roof part two storey, part single storey rear extension. (Ref. 316).

Mr. & Mrs. Travers, 18 Littlefield Close: single storey pitched roof side extension. (Ref. 317).

Mrs. P. Fisher, 10 Linton Road: pitched roof single storey side extension. (Ref. 318).

Mr. G. Bolton, 18 Church Lane: erection of single storey roof rear extension. (Ref. 15).

Mr. R.A. Pulleyn, 34 Church Lane: crown thin by 30% two Beech trees protected by Tree Preservation Order, 1/1970. (Ref. 252).

Mr. T. Rowley, Plot 11, Great North Way, York Business Park: installation of four additional windows at Postoptics, Hudson Way. (Ref. 164).

Mr. & Mrs. Wordie, 12, Easthorpe Drive: pitched roof single storey rear extension, first floor side extension with pitched roof dormer to front and pitched roof over existing porch. (Ref. 320).

Mr. P. Knowles, 2 Midway Avenue: single storey pitched roof front and side extension and 1.85m high fence to part of Easthorpe Drive boundary. (Ref. 83).

It was also noted the Local Planning Authority had refused permission for the following:

British Waterways, River Ouse Manorial Land, Main Street: installation of 48 metres of rise and fall moorings in River Ouse with access ramp to bank. (Ref. 287).

Payment of the following accounts was authorised:

The HSBC Bank balances at 2 September 2002, were:

Deposit Account. £3,904.33.

Current Account. £377.97.

The meeting closed at 9.55pm.

__________________Chairman.

_____ 2002.