Misterton PC Minutes 15.11.22
Minutes of the Meeting of Misterton Parish Council
Tuesday, 15th November 2022 at 6.30pm in the Village Hall, Misterton
Present:
Cllr Paul Bradly (Chair) Cllr Leo Bacigalupo Cllr Andrew Callow Cllr Viv Rowe
Cllr Graham White Cllr Phil Clifton Cllr Paul Gillard Cllr Peter Marshall
In attendance
Jane Thicknesse (Clerk), County Councillor Mike Best
Public Open Forum.
No items raised
22/248. Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr Abbie Rousell and County Cllr Steve Ashton
22/249. Code of Conduct and Declarations of Interests
None
22/250. Minutes of the meeting of 18th October 2022
The minutes of the meetings held on 20th September were resolved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Proposed: Cllr G White Seconded: Cllr V Rowe RESOLVED
22/251. Matters Arising from Minutes
a. New Councillors – Cllr Phil Clifton and Cllr Peter Marshall were welcomed by the Chairman.
b. Bus Shelter Cleaning – Helliars have been chased and the shelters should be cleaned imminently.
c. Visiting Post Office – not currently possible due to the availability of PO facilities at both Crewkerne and Mosterton (Mondays).
d. Grass Cutting – see Minute 22/256biii
e. Noticeboard for Recreation Ground for displaying Bye Laws – delivered and will be erected soon.
Action: Cllr Callow/Cllr White
f. Recreation Ground Emergency Signs – delivered and will be erected soon.
Action: Cllr Callow/Cllr White
g. Asset Register/Insurance – inspected but may require updating
Action: Chairman/Clerk
h. Seat for the Cemetery – no progress
Action: Clerk
i. Piano and Church Pew, Misterton Village School – homes for items still being sought.
j. MUGA – see Minute 22/254b
22/252. Reports
a. Report from County Councillor
Cllr Best reported that:
- Duncan Sharkey, new CEO Somerset Council is now fulltime. Work to form the top tier of managers is currently underway and will be followed by the appointment of team leaders. It is thought that all council employees who wish to stay on will be offered a job in the new organisation. Vesting Day (when all five Somerset Districts become one County Council) is scheduled for 1 April 2023. Regional offices are likely to be maintained as many are already mixed use and will be of benefit for local activities.
- Consultation on the Local Community Networks (LCN) has now closed and information received is being analysed. A popular suggestion is for planning to be done at LCN level but this in unlikely to be approved, with 4 planning areas more likely.
- Adult Social Care continues to be the biggest spend throughout Somerset. Somerset has a declining birth rate but increasing migration of retirees from other parts of the country means costs will continue to rise.
- Council Tax will be increasing in the next financial year. It is estimated that the average household Council Tax will be £2000 for 2023-24.
- Visits by Councillors to schools in Crewkerne have recently been carried out. The new transport scheme for Misterton children has been slightly adjusted and now appears to be working well.
b. Report from Chairman of the Parish Council & Recreation Field Trust
- Encouragement to all Councillors to take advantage of training provided by SALC.
Action: Clerk
- Recreation Ground Working Group. Final working group to be established.
Action: Chairman/Clerk
- Somerset Emergency Community Contacts (SECC). Cllr Clifton and Cllr Marshall have both agreed to be SECCs for Misterton.
- MERT Box. The new owner of the WI Hall has agreed that the MERT Box and Noticeboard can stay in their current positions. Relationship between the new owner and the Parish Council is currently being established.
- Village Clean Up. A weekend date in early March was suggested.
Action: Clerk
c. Working Group Reports
i. Finance Working Group (FWG)
- Two members of the group (plus the Clerk) had attended a Budget Training Course provided by SALC before meeting to set the first draft of the budget for 2023-24. See Minute 22/256b.
ii. Cemetery Working Group (CWG)
- A new schedule of Cemetery Fees has been drawn up (see Annex 1) by the CWG. It was suggested that they were adopted with immediate effect and displayed on the Parish Council website.
Proposed Cllr G White Seconded: Cllr A Callow RESOLVED
Action: Clerk
- The CWG proposed that as the cemetery gateposts would be extremely difficult to move (due to their composition), they should be taken down and replaced by two very heavy duty steel posts on which the gates could be hung. Tannonised wooden posts and rails (with new hedge planting) would also be erected to mark the edges of the tarmac drive. A spend of up to £2500 for this work was proposed.
Proposed Cllr P Bradly Seconded Cllr Marshall RESOLVED
Action: Cllr Callow/Cllr White/CWG
- A discussion about the evidence required by SSDC (by 31 January 2023) to support the planning application for the cemetery extension took place. The Chairman offered to contact the Bishop of Bath and Wells for advice/support.
Action: Chairman
iii. Road Working Group (RWG)
- Cllr Gillard and the Clerk to follow up SID proposal with SCC and enquire about funding.
Action: RWG/Clerk
- An email had been received from a resident reference traffic signs being erected on pavements making it necessary for some pedestrians (particularly those with wheelchairs or children’s’ buggies) to step into the road to get around.
Action: Clerk
- It was also observed that road signs are frequently left in place after work had been completed. It was requested that this is reported to Highways.
Action: Clerk
22/253. Planning including applications currently in circulation/determinations
a. Applications handled since last meeting
None
b. Determinations notified by SSDC since last meeting
i. 22/02007/S73 – Pattemores – application to vary conditions on approved plans – approved
ii. 22/01402/AG1 – Bramble Farm – intent to erect a pole barn for agricultural storage – approved
c. New applications to be considered
i. 22/02470/LBC – Manor Farmhouse, Middle Street – installation of electrical supply and consumer units – approved
d. Tree Applications
None
e. Other Planning Matters
None
22/254. Amenities
a. WI Hall
The Chairman reported that the WI Hall had sold at auction for £125,000. It had been bought by a local resident who hoped to use it as a music venue but to possibly make it available for some village activities in the future.
b. MUGA
Cllr Callow reported that he had met with a lighting specialist who was preparing a quote for replacing the current lights on the MUGA with LED lighting. He had also been requested to advise on new timers to ensure that the lights were unable to come on between 2130 and 0700 and also cut out if no motion was detected on the MUGA after a set period of time. The Clerk reported that she had requested the same information from another electrician, Paul Rudkin
It was agreed that priority was to be given to resolving the timer issues asap.
Action: Cllr Callow/Clerk
22/255. Highways and Footpaths
A discussion about the necessity of a Footpaths Officer for the Parish. It was suggested that David Durrant could be carrying out these duties. Clerk to follow up.
Action: Clerk
NB A new gate has been installed at the end of the footpath (CH20/4) leading from Packers Way to the A3066.
22/256. Finance
a. To agree invoices
| Voucher | Description | Supplier | Net | VAT | Gross | |
| 76 | Payroll | Cox and Co | 17.50 | 3.50 | 21.00 | |
| 72 | Mobile (Aug) | Tesco Mobile | 17.99 | 17.99 | ||
| 74 | Bank Fees | HSBC | 9.00 | 9.00 | ||
| 73 | Clerk’s Salary | Clerk | 467.33 | 467.33 | ||
| 77 | Grass Cutting (Aug) | KM Dike | 221.00 | 44.20 | 265.20 | |
| 80 | Recreation Ground Grant | MRGT | 25.00 | 25.00 | ||
| 75 | Training | SALC | 60.00 | 60.00 | ||
| 79 | Cemetery Electricity | E.On Next | 35.66 | 1.78 | 37.44 | |
| Total | £3877.96 |
Proposed: Cllr A Rousell Seconded: Cllr V Rowe RESOLVED
b. Draft Budget for 2023-24
i. Parish Ranger
Following discussion it was decided that the Parish Ranger scheme did not appear to provide good value for money and that private contractors should be used for future required works eg cleaning of bus shelters.
Proposed Cllr Clifton Seconded Cllr Gillard RESOLVED
Action: Clerk
ii. Cemetery Gates
See Minute 22/252cii
iii. Grass Cutting
The Clerk provided a quote from KM Dike for grass cutting for three years for the Cemetery and Recreation Ground. It was received favourably but requires comparison with another company.
Action: Clerk
iv. Following discussions it was proposed that the first version of the Budget for 2023-24 was approved. Version 2 would be prepared following receipt of Somerset Council Tax Base and discussed at the December 2022 meeting. The final budget to be set at the January 2023 meeting, prior to the 2023-24 precept request being submitted to SSDC.
Proposed Cllr Bacigalupo Seconded Cllr White RESOLVED
Action: FWG/Clerk
22/257. Items for the next meeting
Any other items to be advised to the Clerk at least seven days ahead of the meeting.
22/258. Date and time of next meeting
Tuesday 13th December at 6.30pm – Location tbc
Attachments
Annex 1 – MISTERTON CEMETERY FEES 2022