Minutes of the meeting of UPPER POPPLETON PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 9 September 2002 at 7.30pm in All Saints Church Hall, Upper Poppleton, York.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs P Gillies, P Tomlinson, R Walker, Mrs R Watters and Councillor Mrs J S Hopton (City of York Council).

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

1. Village signs (Min. 01.161b)

The Clerk reported having spoken to Geoff Newbold of the City Council who had agreed to render the brickwork/brackets. This has not yet been done.

2. Turn Engines Off Signs (Min. 02.048ai)

Councillor Macdonald gave a progress report on this subject.

3. Villa Fence (Min. 02.062.2.iii)

The Clerk reported that the City Council is still waiting for a planning application for this fence.

4. Manse Land (Min. 02.064e)

The Chairman reported that he had looked at various Parish documents relating to this subject and believed that the land had been transferred to North Yorkshire County Council. The Clerk was deputed to make enquiries at the Land Registry and North Yorkshire County Council to ask if there was a particular reason why the land hadn't been transferred to the Parish Council when the Greens were registered. The same question is to be asked about the triangular corner of grass at the junction of Hodgson Lane and Westfield Lane.

5. Anderson seat repairs (Min. 02.079a.i)

The Clerk reported that the seat had been mended, the insurance claim had been submitted and a cheque for £150.50 had been received. The cost of the repairs to the Parish Council was £75 being the excess on the insurance policy.

6. Black Dike Lane verge (Min 02.079b.iii)

Councillors Thompson and Hopton and the Clerk had visited Black Dike Lane to see the verge. The area concerned was hard standing being invaded by grass and not grass which had been worn down by vehicles. The Councillors agreed that the Parish Council should take no further action.

7. Edging The Green (Min. 02.080c)

The Clerk reported having advised Baron Landscape that they should carry out the edging and that the work was in hand.

8. Councillors replacements/appointments (Min. 02.087b.i)

Since the July Parish Council meeting two of the four possible candidates had withdrawn their names. The interviewing committee had agreed that the two remaining candidates should be invited to be co-opted Councillors. Both had agreed to accept the office. Mrs P Gillies had already signed the Declaration of Office and completed the Members Register of Interests. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend the September meeting as she was on holiday. Mrs J Walker had yet to sign the forms.

The Clerk reported having acquired two new Planning Resource packs from Yorkshire Planning Aid so that he could complete an induction package for each of the two new Councillors

9. Pump fence post repair (Min.02.095d)

The Clerk reported having had no reply from Ken Falkingham regarding the date when the new oak post would be installed.

10. Building works, 8 Elm Tree Avenue (Min 02.109.2i)

The Clerk had received a letter from the City Council explaining that this development did not need planning permission.

11. Pruning of copper beech at The Croft (Min 02.109.2ii)

The Parish Council had been advised that the tree had been cut back on instructions from the City Council's Highways Department.

12. "Library, Community Centre" sign (Min 02.110.bi)

The sign has been mended.

13. Beech Grove willow tree pruning (Min 02.110.biv)

The Clerk reported a conversation with Daniel Calvert of the City Council who said that, where parts of a tree overhang a road or path or where a sight-line is blocked, permission from the City Council to remove the obstruction, even if the tree is in a Conservation Area, is not needed. Mr Calvert said that it was acceptable to trim the branches of a tree up to seven feet. With this in mind the branches of the willow tree have now been trimmed back to a height of five feet.

1. Financial Report

Prior to the meeting the Clerk had circulated a detailed report showing the actual income and expenditure for the year for the period to 4 September 2002. The report reflected the receipts and payments below. The bank balances at 9 September were:

Current Account £50.22

High Interest Account £6,926.08

Baron Landscape Grass cutting August 2002 £125.00

City of York Council Construction of Millennium signs £1,750.00

Yorkshire Water Allotment water £5.26

Yorkshire Planning Aid 2 Planning resource packs £5.00

YLCA NALC "Standing Orders" £6.33

Ken Falkingham Anderson seat repair £225.50

Jim Ferguson Mole catching £50.00

Linda Cariss Internal audit £75.00

3. Accounts paid (net of VAT)

Baron Landscape Grass cutting July 2002 £250.00

HSBC Bank Interest £11.77

Cornhill Insurance Insurance claim on Anderson seat £150.50

5. Presentation of accounts and signing of Statement of Assurance on the Annual Return for year ended 31 March 2002.

The Clerk presented the Councillors with the completed Audit Commission Annual Return. The Statement of Accounts had been checked by the internal auditor who had completed the Annual Report in Section 4. The Councillors agreed with the statements shown in Section 2 - Statement of Assurance and authorised the Chairman and Clerk to sign the form.

The accounts for the year ended 31 March 2002, having been circulated in April and again prior to the September meeting, were accepted and signed by the Chairman and the Clerk.

6. Update of bank mandate

It was agreed that a new bank mandate should be completed to include all Councillors. Those present signed the mandate. Other Councillors will be asked to sign when they are available. It was agreed that the mandate should say that the Clerk is authorised to transfer money between the two bank accounts.

Prior to the meeting the Clerk had circulated 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.

There were no comments.

The Clerk read a letter from the VDS Chairman, Mrs Elizabeth Parker, saying that the Group is now at the stage of editing the first draft of the proposed document. The Group has been promised £1,000 from the York Challenge Partnership and another £1,000 from the Ward Committee. The Group was asking the Parish Council for a donation of £50 towards expenses. The Councillors agreed that, as the sum of £100 for the VDS had been put into this year's donation's budget, they would give a donation of £50 immediately.

1. Vandalism

No report

A new sign has been erected at the corner of Beech Grove and Hodgson Lane so that visitors to the village can see a Beech Grove sign whichever way they approach the Grove.

1. Trees -

1. Replacement of the lime tree on the Green

The Clerk reported that Mr Gregory of Ryland Horticulture had written to say that it would be better to replace the lime tree with a specimen about 3 metres tall, which would grow quickly. A larger specimen could be prone to transplanting shock and may take 3-5 years to grow away. He suggested that a Tilia x Euchlora would be a good replacement tree and that it would cost £100 which included a standard metal mesh tree guard, stakes, ties, compost and watering tubes. The Councillors agreed to accept this quotation.

2. Replacement of ash tree

The Chairman said that he would approach both residents concerned about the ash tree on the Green and would report back to a future meeting.

2. Events

No report

3. Car parking

No report

4. Maintenance

1. Extra grass cutting

The summer this year has been exceptionally wet and the grass has continued to grow without a pause. Usually there is little growth during much of July and August. To keep the grass on the Greens a reasonable length Baron Landscape have had to cut the grass more frequently than in previous years. The consequence is that they have now cut the grass ten times, which is all that the budget and their contract will allow. The Councillors agreed that it was not desirable to wait until April 2003 before the grass was cut again and authorised an increase of £250 on the grass cutting budget to allow for two more cuts. If the grass continues to grow at the same rate the Councillors will consider a further increase of the budget at a future meeting.

2. Replacement "No Parking" sign

The "No Parking" sign opposite the garage on the Green is broken. The sign keeps falling out as the frame has rotted. It was agreed that the Clerk should obtain a quotation for replacing the sign.

1. Damage to the Green

It was reported that a heavy vehicle had made deep indentations on the Green opposite Model Farm. The chairman and Clerk agreed that they would repair the damage.

02.128.1 The Clerk either read or referred to the following correspondence

1. A letter from Mr A W Jones to say that, whilst he fully supports traffic calming measures, he would prefer the option of the police using speed guns rather than the building of speed humps.
2. A letter from the City of York Council to say that the Flexibus to take passengers to the city's swimming facilities is being subsidised to the tune of £23 per passenger journey. The City Council would be grateful if the Parish Council could help improve awareness of the service in the Parish. The service is funded and scheduled to run until 28 October 2002.
3. A letter from Councillor Hopton thanking the Parish Council for handling the finances for the Community Patrols for the last nine months. Finances in the future will be handled by the City Council.

02.128.2 It was agreed that the remaining correspondence received since the July meeting, as listed below, be circulated to the Councillors

1. Minutes of the Nether Poppleton Parish Council meeting held on 15 July 2002
2. Minutes of the Poppleton Ward Residents Association meeting held on 26 June 2002
3. Minutes of the Poppleton Ward Residents Association meeting held on 31 July 2002
4. Mayfair Security reports for July & August 2002
5. A copy of Ethnic Monitoring - A Guide for Public Authorities from the Commission for Racial Equality
6. YCVS Annual Report 2001/2002
7. YLCA Annual Report & Accounts 2001 to 2002
8. YLCA White Rose Update - August 2002
9. YNET minutes of the AGM on 30 July 2002 and annual report
10. Issue 8 of Yornews - Summer 2002
11. Martin House Newsletter - Autumn 2002
12. A Guide to the Code of Conduct by Veale Wasbrough Lawyers.
13. A letter from DEFRA assuring Parish Councils that there are no plans to diminish their right to be notified of any relevant planning application.
14. Issue 24 of Rural Matters from the CPRE
15. A DTLR booklet on "Protected Trees" - A Guide to Tree Preservation Procedures

Councillor Richardson had attended the Ainsty Group of Parishes meeting.

Discussion on this subject was again deferred until another meeting when the results of the Consultation would be provided by the YLCA.

There was a discussion about the fact that since Upper Poppleton installed six dog bins many other bins have been installed throughout the City. In many cases the cost of emptying the bins is borne by the City Council. There was a strong feeling that the residents of Upper Poppleton are being double taxed as the Parish Council is currently responsible for paying for the bins to be emptied. The Clerk was deputed to write to the City Council to ask about the current and future positions regarding dog bin emptying as a whole. The subject will be discussed further at the October meeting.

The Councillors considered the CPRE Green Belt Survey regarding the City Council's proposal to allocate three greenfield sites for potential housing and employment up to the year 2021 and completed the questionnaire accordingly.

After a brief discussion it was agreed that further discussion on this subject should be deferred to the October meeting.

There were no comments from Councillors.

Monday 14 October 2002 at 7.30pm.

There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 10.25pm.

………………………….CHAIRMAN

………………………….DATE

uppc mins 09/02