Minutes of the meeting of UPPER POPPLETON PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 14 May 2001 at 7.00pm in All Saints Church Hall, Upper Poppleton, York.

Councillor Mrs R Watters.

Mr Donnelly said that the pressures of waste disposal and the impact on the environment have been recognised and there will have to be less reliance on landfill in the future. Local Authorities will be required to meet mandatory targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill and to increase the amounts of waste being recycled and composted. The City Council is developing a waste strategy in conjunction with North Yorkshire County Council and its constituent waste collection authorities which will eventually lead to changes in current waste management practices to ensure that statutory targets can be met.

Currently there is a trial door to door recycling project for 1,000 households which has been operating since 1997. It involves the weekly collection of glass bottles and jars, food and drink cans and plastic bottles in a blue recycling box and newspapers and magazines in a reusable plastic bag. The materials are taken to a special sorting facility. The project has shown that this form of recycling is effective in increasing recycling rates, is acceptable and easy for householders to use and enables those with transport or mobility issues to participate fully in recycling. It is intended to extend the scheme but no decision has yet been made on which area will be included in the expansion.

Mr Donnelly answered a variety of questions posed by the Councillors after which he was thanked by the Chairman for giving his time and some interesting and thought provoking information.

The meeting resumed at 7.30pm.

1. Chairman Councillor Walker
2. Vice-Chairman Councillor Parker announced her intention to resign at the end of the meeting Councillor Watters was elected to be Vice-Chairman
3. Joint Emergency Committee Councillors Walker and Watters
4. General Purposes Committee Councillors Walker, Watters, Richardson and Thompson
5. Planning Committee Councillors Walker and Richardson
6. Community Centre Councillor Richardson

7. Local Councils Association Councillor Walker

Having been circulated and read the minutes were accepted and signed as a true record.

1. Turn engines off signs (Min. 00.09)

The Councillors examined a mock-up of the sign from Sign*A*Rama which read "Stationery vehicles switch off engine please". The Councillors agreed that the sign should read "Stationery vehicles please switch off engines".

2. Village signs - planning permission (Min. 00.65)

The Councillors agreed to wait until the Ward Committee had made a decision to support or not to support the provision of £1,500 towards the cost of a village sign.

3. Provision of 'pin kerbs' round the pump on the Green (Min. 00.79bi)

It was reported that the pin kerbs have now been constructed round the pump.

4. Relocation of street light (Min. 00121bii)

The street light has not yet been moved.

5. Telephone posts in Black Dike Lane (Min. 00.121c)

No news on this subject.

6. Blocked gulleys in the car parks on the Green (Min. 01.006cii)

The Clerk reported that a letter from York Consultancy contained two maps; one showing the extent of the public highway and one showing the extent of the Greens owned by the Parish Council. The former plan indicated that the car park by the Collingwood is not part of the public highway. Interestingly, the map showed that the footpath from the Lord Collingwood is public highway continuously down as far as Chantry Green.

7. Moving the lamppost in Westfield Lane (Min 01.020b)

The City Council had written to say the cost of erecting a new lamppost would be in the region of £1,000. The Councillors agreed not to pursue this subject at the moment.

8. Mud in Westfield Lane (Min. 01.010ciii)

The Clerk read a letter from Mark Moran of the City Council agreeing to arrange for the necessary assessment to be carried out to see the ponding at the junction of Westfield Lane and Westfield Close during or immediately after heavy rainfall. Arrangements have also been made to clean the road gulley at the side of 12 Willow Croft and repair the pothole at the side of 31 Willow Croft.

9. Willow tree in the Main Street allotment (Min. 01.021aii)

Most of the branches of the willow tree have been cut off. Councillor Scott-Coveney informed the meeting that the tree was due to be felled on Saturday 19 May.

10. White lines on the road by the drop kerbs near the Post Office (Min.01.037.4)

It was reported that the white lines have been painted on the road.

11. Bus shelter light repair (Min. 01.044a)

The Clerk reported that J Lister had not received the replacement light fitting from the wholesaler. As soon as the fitting is received Listers will fit it.

12. Yellow paint in the bus shelter (Min. 01.064i)

Councillor Walker said that he had tried to scrub off the yellow paint without success. The Clerk was directed to write to the City Council for advice.

13. Newlands Lane/A59 hedge (Min. 01.072a i)

No reply as to the responsibility for cutting the hedge had been received.

14. Vegetation in the footpath from the Green to Brackenhills (Min. 01.072b ii)

It was reported that all the vegetation had been cleared from the footpath.

15. Westfield Lane - Land Registry report

The Land Registry had written to confirm that Cecil Parker and Trevor Parker own the land at both sides of Westfield Lane. Discussion then centred on the width of the verges adopted by the highways authority and the Clerk was directed to find out this information.

1. Financial Report

The Clerk presented the Councillors with a detailed report showing the actual income and expenditure for the year for the period to 14 May 2001. The report showed that, after adjusting for receipt of the first half year's precept of £5,250.00 and the 2000/01 VAT claim of £597.68 less the items of expenditure listed below, the bank balances at 14 May were: -

Current Account £100.21

High Interest Account £12,283.21

2. Accounts to pay (net of VAT);

Cornhill Insurance Insurance premium for 2001-2002 £556.57

Baron (Landscape Contractors) - Grasscutting-April £125.00

YNET Subscription for 2001-2002 £25.00

3. Accounts paid (net of VAT)

Sign*A*Rama Deposit for Turn Engines Off signs £91.66

4. Presentation of future accounts

The Clerk informed the Councillors that the Audit Commission has agreed that the threshold level, above which parish councils are required to prepare income and expenditure accounts, be raised from £5,000 to £50,000. Upper Poppleton Parish Council, with an income level of approximately £11,000 falls into this bracket. The Clerk said that he would prefer the existing system of income and expenditure accounting continue as it provided the Councillors with accurate financial reports and that any change would be to the detriment of accuracy. The Councillors agreed to keep the current system.

5. Consideration of donations

The Clerk had circulated a schedule showing donations made by the Parish Council for the last six years. After discussion the Councillors agreed to make the following donations immediately and would reconsider the subject at a future meeting. Theatre Royal £50, All Saint's for grass cutting £100, St Leonard's Hospice £50, Martin House £50 and Poppleton Luncheon Club £50. It was agreed that the Community Centre Trust should receive the third of the four instalments of £750 towards their repayment of the loan from the brewery.

The Clerk presented the list of plans and comments made by the members of the Planning Committee on each planning application received. The list is attached as Appendix 1 at the end of these minutes.

Councillor Parker reported the felling of trees at two properties on the Green and asked if planning applications had been received. The Clerk reported having not received any planning applications for the felling of the tress and was directed to write to the City Council's Planning Department to make further enquiries.

Councillor Parker reported that the following statement would appear in the Newsletter (see Min. 01.084).

"After an open meeting in Rufforth in April it was decided to go ahead with a Village Design Statement for the Poppletons. This will lead to a document giving guidance to the Planning Authority Developers, Householders, Parish Council, or anyone wishing to build in Poppleton. This is being led by a group of residents from both Upper and Nether. This is YOUR chance to make YOUR views known about planning issues in the parishes. LOOK OUT for us at the May Day Celebrations on the Green and after in the Library. Soon there will be a leaflet asking for your views. Please take time to read it and comment.

YOUR views are important and needed to make this document a success".

1. Vandalism;

No report

2. Lampposts;

No report.

3. Signs

It was reported that a 'Poppleton' directional sign had been placed at the top of Black Dike Lane on the A59 and then removed when residents had complained about the increase in traffic. A subsequent letter from the City Council apologised for the mistake.

It was pointed out that there is a local 'green' sign on the A59 that indicates the way to Poppleton down Black Dike Lane. The Clerk was directed to write to the City Council to ask that the sign be moved further up the A59 so that traffic was directed to Poppleton down Hodgson Lane. The meeting was reminded that the Poppleton sign opposite Hodgson Lane on the A59 had not yet been replaced and the Clerk was directed to ask the City Council to replace it immediately.

1. Trees

No report.

2. Maintenance

The Clerk reported that Miss Stanley of Poppleton Luncheon Club had said that the provision of a wheelchair would not be of much help to the Luncheon Club members as it would take too much time for the members to use it. After discussion it was agreed that the four Councillors should meet representatives of the Luncheon Club and the Clerk was asked to make the necessary arrangements.

The Councillors agreed that the Green could be used to hold the Annual Children's Sports Day on 28 May and directed the Clerk to ensure that the grass on the Green was cut. The Councillors also directed the Clerk to see that the daffodils on the Green were cut down and removed.

At this point Councillor Peck retired from the meeting.

1. Councillor Hopton reported that she would be meeting with Councillor Macdonald to discuss this year's bids on 21 May.
2. Councillor Hopton asked the Parish Councillors if they would like her to approach other villages with regards to the possibility of sharing the cost of a policeman. The Councillors agreed.

The Clerk presented a Newsletter that he had written using the guidelines set out by the Parish Councillors. Following a discussion that resulted in a deletion the Councillors agreed that the Newsletter should go to print and the Clerk was directed to arrange this with Lowfield School, which printed the previous Newsletter in 1999.

The Clerk had circulated the latest report from the City Council on the relationship between the City Council, Parish Council and Ward Committees for Councillors to read prior to the meeting. There were no comments on the report.

Councillor Richardson reported that there had been complaints about the number of rats in Hodgson Lane/Westfield Lane. The matter was now under control, the City Council's Highways Department having agreed to fund the cost of removing the rats.

Councillor Scott-Coveney reported the fact that after heavy rain the sewerage in Pear Tree Avenue often backs up through the drains and there is ponding in the gutters. Councillor Hopton said asked had contacted Bill Woolley, the City Councils Assistant Director (Development & Transport), about the problem of ponding and seen Mr Jefferson of Yorkshire Water about the sewerage problem. Mr Jefferson is giving the matter high priority and is to conduct a survey. Residents are asked to keep a record of any occurrence of sewerage backing up the drains.

1. A letter from the District Auditor asking questions about the Parish Council's finances which the Councillors authorised the Clerk to respond to.
2. A letter from Councillor Barrie Davies saying that he wished to resign as Parish Councillor with effect from the end of the July Parish Council meeting.
3. A request from the Women's Royal Voluntary Service for a donation which was turned down by the Councillors.
4. A letter from the City Council requesting information regarding a 'Crime Audit'. A Crime Audit is a statutory requirement to be taken every three years and will identify priorities for the next Crime Reduction Strategy to run from April 2002. The Clerk was directed to reply to the effect that the only notification of crimes to the Parish Council consisted of vandalism.

1. White Rose Update with many interesting documents
2. North Yorkshire Police Authority's P.A. News - Issue 40, April 2001

3. The City Council's "Safer York Magazine - Issue three, Spring 2001"

1. Nether Poppleton Parish Council minutes of meeting on 9 April
2. Nether Poppleton Parish Council - minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting on 9 April - note the reference to a single parish council.
3. Poppleton Ward Residents Association - minutes of meeting on 14 March
4. Nether Poppleton Millennium Green Committee - minutes of meeting on 29 March
5. Ainsty Group of Parishes - minutes of meeting on 16 January
6. YNET - minutes of meeting on 24 April
7. Letter from the City Council regarding the Crime Audit - request for information.
8. Letter from the Yorkshire Rural Community Council asking if we wish to become a full member. This would entitle us to attend the AGM and vote.

Reported that the building known as Blairgowrie which had been built on the site of Field House had been burnt down.

Said that Blairgowrie is to be demolished. The Clerk was directed to write to the City Council to ask when the demolition will take place as the building is now in a dangerous condition.

Reported that trees are over hanging the pavement at both 18 Long Ridge Drive and 1 Cherry Grove. The Clerk was directed to ask the residents to trim back their trees.

1. Reported that the Headmistress of the Infant School is retiring. There is a possibility that the Infants and Junior Schools may be merged after wide ranging investigations and public consultation.
2. Reported that complaints have been received that one of the children's tennis coaches allows her dog to roam free when she is teaching. The Clerk was directed to write to the Tennis Club Chairman to advise him of the situation and ask that he take the appropriate action.

Informed the Councillors that the much requested 30mph limit in Hodgson Lane has now been approved by the City Council.

Reported that the Post Office in Nether Poppleton is due to close soon. The Clerk was directed to write to Royal Mail to ask if there were any plans to close the Post Office in Upper Poppleton.

11 June 2001 at 7.30pm.

There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.53pm.

………………………….CHAIRMAN

………………………….DATE

uppc mins 05/01