EARSWICK PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the meeting of Earswick Parish Council, held in Earswick Village Hall on Monday 10th January 2022.
Councillors present: D Jones
G Offler
B O’Connor
BS Wiseman
P Leveson
A Bell E Dowsett
Parish Clerk: J Fisher
Members of public present: Two
1. Apologies for absence
Ward Cllr Tony Fisher, Kate Pace, Irene Jones
2. Declarations of Interest and Any Other Declarations
Cllr B O’Connor declared a personal pecuniary interest and did not take part in any decisions regarding agenda item 20.
Cllr A Bell declared a personal pecuniary interest in item 7, planning application 21/02133/FUL 3 Lock House Lane YO32 9FT and did not take part in any discussion or decisions regarding this item.
Cllr D Jones declared a personal non-pecuniary interest in item 7, planning application 21/02666/FUL 37 Earswick Chase, YO32 9FZ, and did not take part in any discussion or decisions regarding this item.
3. Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes for the Parish Council (PC) meeting, held on the 22nd November 2021, were approved as accurate records by the Councillors and signed.
4. Ward Councillors’ Reports
Prior to the meeting, Ward Cllr Fisher circulated the report at annex A which gives an update on discussions concerning Haxby Railway Station.
Cllr Doughty made the following points:
· The poor state of the road surface along The Village, and in particular a pot hole near to Corner Garth, has been reported to City of York Council (CYC) with a request that the whole road be resurfaced. Earswick PC agreed this was a problem and asked the Clerk to write to CYC as well to request resurfacing too. Action: JF
5. Clerk’s Report
The following pre-authorised payments (incl VAT where appropriate) have been made from the RBS bank a/c since the Parish Council (PC) meeting on 22nd November 2021:-
· J Fisher’s salary for November and December 2021;
· G Durrant (Domestic Chores): £160 (Nov);
· G Offler for Earswick Planter plants - £25;
· British Gas payments for the Village Hall - £79.02, £65.23;
· E-ON Next payments for the Village Hall - £55.61,£61.19;
· P Leveson Village Hall Air Deoderiser - £10.50;
· P Leveson Village Hall sundries - £50.34
· Yorkshire Local Council Assns training - £22.50;
· A Hill Remove and chip branches - £240
· J Fisher postage - £10.20
· LJD Construction Services Ltd replacing the play area surface - £7,192.50;
· Huntcatchkill PCS Ltd Mole removal - £120;
· A Hill Scented Garden Grass cuts - £72;
· A Hill Contract shrub cutting - £120;
· A Jones Hosting Domain for website - £300;
· Advance Fire Services inspection & anti-tamper seals- £51.90;
· P Leveson Village Hall microwave & xmas decorations - £91.35
· Business Stream Village Hall water - £37.55.
The following amounts have been received by the PC into the RBS a/cs since reported at the meeting on 22nd November 2021:
· £0.29 RBS interest to 29.10.21;
· £0.66 interest on RBS tennis account;
· £217.34 Scented Garden insurance refund;
· £1,190 Lloyds Bank interest;
· £0.24 RBS interest to 30.11.21;
· £30 from J Cook for Village Hall hire
The PC has received £612 in the Village Hall Fund NatWest account for November 2021.
The PC approved £19.50 to J Fisher as reimbursement for arch lever files and wallets, and £6.01 for paper.
6. Ratification of Expenditure Items
The following items of expenditure were ratified:
i. £91.35 to P Leveson for purchase of Village Hall microwave (£79.99) and Xmas decorations (£11.36);
ii. £15 to Yorkshire Local Council Assns (YLCA) for placing job advert;
iii. £22.50 to YLCA for Cllr Dowsett training
iv. £10 to Garry Durrant from Domestic Chores for purchase and fitting of a light bulb in the Village Hall in November.
7. Planning Applications
The Clerk used delegated powers to record no objections from the Parish Council on the following planning application:
· 21/02666/FUL 37 Earswick Chase, YO32 9FZ (Erection of wooden garden office/gymnasium – retrospective);
City of York Council (CYC) has approved the following planning applications:
· 21/02133/FUL 3 Lock House Lane YO32 9FT (Single storey rear extension, 2no. dormers and 3no. rooflights to rear, 1no.dormer and 1no. rooflight to front);
· 21/02054/FUL 120 Strensall Rd, YO32 9SJ (Single storey rear extension, 2no. rooflights and flue to side following demolition of conservatory)
· 21/01755/FUL 27 Lock House Lane YO32 9FT Link extension to side, raising of roof height to side and garage to provide upper floor, front and rear extensions to garage. Single storey extensions to front, single storey extension to rear with terrace above, and dormer to rear;
· 21/02163/FUL Telecommunications mast at junction of A1237 and Strensall Rd, York (installation of a 20m monopole supporting 6no. antennas, 1no. replacement equipment cabinet, 1no. new meter cabinet and ancillary development thereto including 3no. Ericsson Radio Systems (ERSs) and 1no. GPS module following the removal of the existing 15m monopole and 1 no. equipment cabinet).
Queries are pending with the Planning Dept on the following properties:
· 20 Lock House Lane
· Buildings in field behind 112 Strensall Rd
· Telecommunications mast and consideration in conjunction with the proposed A1237 development
8. Monthly Equipment Check
A check was carried out by Cllr Offler and papers circulated prior to the meeting. The metal rope on a piece of the children’s play equipment needs replacing. The PC agreed to look into replacing the metal rope.
Action: PL
9. Maintenance of vegetation around the pond
The PC asked Cllr Offler to double check the quote of £250 plus VAT from Friends of St Nicholas Fields to complete the following work:
i. cut back 1/3 of shrubs on island to the north of the pond this winter. Repeat with another 1/3 next winter, and continue on rotation.
ii. cut 1/2 of total vegetation surrounding the pond each winter, clearing any cut vegetation from the pond so it does not rot into water and increase nutrients further.
iii. prune back willow branches to the north west of pond. Then repeat by cutting the regrowth every 4-5 years.
If the quote is correct, the PC authorised £250 plus VAT to Friends of St Nicholas Fields to complete this work. Action: GO
10. Salt/grit for Grit Bins
The PC approved £168 plus VAT to A Hill for purchase of a tonne of salt/grit.
Action: JF
11. Tree Obscuring Street Light
The PC agreed to write to the owner/occupier of a house in The Village to ask them to trim back a tree which is obscuring a street light. Action: JF
12. Village Hall Hire Fees
The PC approved an increase to the Village Hall hire fees from £10 to £12 per hour for regular users, and from £11 to £13 per hour for ‘one-off’ bookings.
Action: DJ
13. On-line Banking
The PC had approved £240 for RBS Bankline at the November 2022 meeting. However, in late December the PC received an email from the bank to say it didn’t qualify for Bankline as it was ‘an unincorporated body’. The PC challenged this and was told to raise the issue with the business team who manage the PC account. The PC agreed if it could not set up Bankline with RBS it would apply for on-line banking with Barclays.
In view of Mrs Fisher’s resignation (please see item 20 below), the PC agreed
Mr O’Connor would be a signatory on either Bankline or Barclays on-line.
Action: PL/BOC/AB
14. Bus Shelter Lease
The seven year Strensall Rd bus shelter lease agreement expires on 31st May 2022. The PC agreed to contact Mr and Mrs Beaumont to inform them that the PC has again approved £100 per annum if a new seven year lease agreement from 1.6.22 is prepared. Action: JF
15. Care and Repair Service for the PC Laptop
The PC did not approve £179 to renew the Care and Repair Service with Currys.
16. A1237 Development
The PC agreed it needed further information from City of York Council (CYC) on modelling of the proposed A1237 development, and explanation as to why a proposed cycle path cannot be positioned on the south side of the ring road. Action: SW
To proceed with the A1237 Development, CYC is expected to submit planning applications from the A19 to the Hopgrove roundabout. When these planning applications are put forward for consultation, the PC will approach Earswick residents for their views.
CYC has offered to fund building surveys for 4 houses on Strensall Rd (113 to 119). The PC agreed to ask CYC to contact the owner/occupiers of these properties directly to make this offer, and copy in the PC to any correspondence relating to this. Action: JF
17. Asset Register policy
The PC agreed that existing Asset Register items costing less than £50 would be removed from Asset Register and only new items costing more than £50 would be added in future. It also agreed anything costing more than £100 would be individually itemised on the Asset Register. Action: BOC
18. Parish Council Chainsaw
The chainsaw is currently held by Mr Offler on behalf of the PC. Being over 7 years old it needs a new belt and operational safety checks. The PC agreed to write it off from the Asset Register and ask Mr Offler to dispose of it.
Action: BOC
19. Ratification of non-financial decisions
The following decision made by the PC was ratified:
To extend the Parish Council’s current 3 year insurance contract with BHIB Ltd (commenced 1.6.21) to 31.5.25, at an additional cost in the region of £721.68 (plus any changes to the Parish Council’s cover and Insurance Premium Tax) over the intervening years, to take advantage of free Parish Online subscription.
20. Resignation and Replacement of the Parish Clerk
The PC noted and accepted the resignation of Mrs Fisher as Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer (RFO), effective from 1st March 2022. The post had been advertised in the Yorkshire Local Council Associations newsletter and on the Parish Council noticeboards. No-one applied for the post. Cllr Barry O’Connor offered to resign as a Parish Councillor as at 31st January 2022 and take up the post as Clerk and RFO. He agreed to work with Mrs Fisher through February to ensure a smooth transition at 1st March, foregoing any remuneration until March.
The PC agreed appointment of Mr O’Connor as Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer from 1st February 2022.
Action: JF/BOC
21. Items for Information
· Kate Pace has resigned as Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. Tony and Linda Murphy will be taking over the responsibility of Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordination. The Parish Council thanked Kate for all her hard work as the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, and for working with Cllr Offler to keep the Earswick Village planters looking so good.
· Coffee mornings will be held in the Village Hall on the first Monday in each month, except the Monday of the Jubilee weekend when a lunch will be held.
· Cllr Wiseman attended the Foss Internal Drainage Board meeting but there were no further developments to report on the upland waterway at Warbutts.
The meeting closed at 8.30pm.
J Fisher
Annex A
Report from Ward Councillor Tony Fisher
Haxby Station
At the Council’s Executive meeting on Dec 9th, the preferred site for the new station was selected.
5 sites were initially assessed, but 3 (Strensall, New Earswick and a site between the outer ring road and Haxby) were found to be non-viable. 2 were taken for a detailed assessment – the original choice at the allotments on Station Rd and a site north of Haxby on Towthorpe Rd.
The site on Towthorpe Rd was selected for the following reasons:
1) The Council has been able to secure ownership of the land at Towthorpe Rd to ensure the scheme can be delivered. The Station Rd site was leased to the Town Council, who were not happy to surrender the lease and removal of the allotments would have required the approval of the Secretary of State and a satisfactory replacement site. This may take so long that the deadline for funding might be missed, meaning no station would be possible.
2) The Towthorpe Rd site is much larger (4.7 acres compared to 2.1 acres) so has much more room for car parking.
3) The Station Rd site could cause problems for Ralph Butterfield School at school run times and potential parking problems in surrounding streets.
4) The Towthorpe Rd site is better placed to serve the northern villages.
5) Although the site is in the Green Belt, officers are confident that they can justify the “very special circumstances” necessary to secure planning permission.
I spoke at the Executive meeting to support the choice, but emphasised the need to connect the site to Strensall and Earswick with a bus route and to provide cycling and walking routes to both villages to promote sustainable travel.
The scheme will now go to the detailed design stage. The Government and Julian Sturdy have already indicated that funding for the scheme will be forthcoming.
10.1.22