Minutes – March 2021
Minutes of Rodsley and Yeaveley Parish Council Meeting
Held virtually via Zoom at 7.30
Monday March 8th 2021
Present Councillors,
- J Fitzakerley (Chair)
- D Walsh (Vice Chair
- H Watson
- A Higgins
- L Schroeter
- F Sills
- Clerk, J Bailey
- County Councillor, S Bull
Member of the Public, Mr D Cottingham, Mrs H Titterton, Mr and Mrs Mellings
Apologies: District Cllr T Morley.
Declaration of Members Interests. There were none
Public Participation. The Chair explained that at this meeting, because there is a time constraint, public participation must be kept to a minimum of 5 minutes in total.
Cllr Bull explained that his time to stay at the meeting was limited as he had four other meetings to attend that evening but asked that the Clerk email him with details of any item that he could potentially help with.
16/21 Minutes of the Last Meeting had been circulated prior to the meeting. They were ratified and signed by the Clerk. This was proposed by Cllr Sills and seconded by Cllr Higgins.
17/21 Neighbourhood Watch. A member of the safe neighbourhood team at Matlock came to Yeaveley in response to the drone that was reported on the Derbyshire Alert Site. The Chair asked that Item 11 was brought forward to be discussed at this point.
18/21 Drone Sighting. A large drone was seen hovering over houses in the area of Priory Close on two separate occasions between 21.00 and 23.00 hrs on the evening of the 10th February. The sightings were reported to Derbyshire Alert and the following day a policeman from Matlock came to discuss this. He said that there was no official police activity in the area that night and asked that any further sightings were referred to him directly. To date it does not appear to have returned. Residents are asked to remain vigilant and report any sightings to the Clerk who will then forward to the safer neighbourhood team at Matlock. This item is Closed.
19/21 Planning Application, Honeysuckle Farm, Agricultural Worker’s Cottage (Resubmission). (Also Item 03/21). The application has finally been granted. There are 13 conditions attached to this permission. The decision notice that lists the conditions can be found on the Derbyshire Dales planning portal under Reference 19/00866/FUL. This Item is Closed.
20/21 Appeal against Decision to Refuse Permission for Formation of Access and Off Street Parking at 3 to 5 Rodsley Lane, Yeaveley. (Also Item 06/21). The appeal has been dismissed. This Item is Closed.
21/21 Planning Application, White Oak Barn, for Erection of Tractor Shed and Hay Barn. This application has been granted on condition it has been started within 3 years. This Item is Closed.
22/21 Planning Application, Brooklyn, Hales Green, Single Storey Side, Front Porch Extension and Detached Double Garage and Incorporation of Additional Land into Residential Curtilage. (Also Item 10/21). This amended application had previously been circulated to the councillors who unanimously agreed that there was no objection to this application. The Clerk had informed the Authority. No decision as yet.
23/21 Compliance with Decisions of Formation of New Access and Track to Land Opposite the Entrance to Rodsleywood Farm. The Clerk had asked the planning authority if the conditions applied to the granting of this application had been adhered to - and received the following reply ‘Having checked the approved planning application 17/01069/FUL, there are no conditions that require the works to the driveway to be completed within a set timeframe. I will refer the matter on to the Highways Department regarding the potential danger to motorists. - Martin Dalman Enforcement Officer’.
Piles of chippings have been tipped at the site but these do not make the new entrance level with the road. There is still a drop that could create a problem. The Clerk will ask Cllr Bull if Highways have inspected the site and if so what conclusions were drawn/actioned. The fingerpost indicating the route of footpath 20 has also not been reinstated.
24/21 Footpath Issues. (Also Item 11/21) The Clerk has been informed that the obstruction reported by Mr Cottingham on Footpath 9 in Rodsley has now been cleared.
There is still an issue with regard to the entrance to Footpath 11 in Yeaveley from Rodsley Lane. The Clerk has established that the hedge near the flats is owned by Derbyshire Dales and the flats are now maintained by a management company called Waterloo in Birmingham. However Lynn Taylor still maintains that the actual legal footpath is on the entrance to Sunnyside Farm and through the gate at the top. Examination of a footpath map does, in fact, show that this is the case. Lynn has suggested that to avoid confusion the footpath sign is removed and placed at the ‘proper’ entrance. However, the area in the field beyond the legal entrance is usually a quagmire due to the proximity of the water trough for the livestock. It would make sense to clear the path that the finger-post currently points to and use the stile that is already there to enter the field. The meeting unanimously agreed that this would be a more sensible outcome. The Clerk will suggest this to Lynn.
Posters are in the noticeboards asking dog owners to keep their animals on a short lead during the months of March to end of July to protect ground nesting birds.
A Rodsley resident has pointed out that there is no longer a finger-post indicating the route of footpath 20 Rodsley that follows on from Footpath Rodsley 21 onto the newly opened up track mentioned in Item 10. The Clerk will inform the Right of Way Department.
25/21 Highways and Flooding Issues. (Also Item 12/21). The flooding problem near the cemetery in Yeaveley has finally been resolved. The Clerk asked that residents are reminded not to wait to report pot holes to her but to go online and report them directly. The more people that report them the quicker they will be sorted out. This can be done at Derbyshire County Council’s website -
https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/transport-roads/roads-traffic/road-maintenance/potholes/potholes.aspx
26/21 New Grit Bin Yeaveley. It had previously been decided to buy a grit bin for the top end of Rodsley Lane, Yeaveley above Priory Close. The Clerk found out that the County Council currently run a free grit bin scheme, where, subject to the available budget, they can provide and install a grit bin with the first fill of grit as long as the proposed location meets their criteria for the scheme and the relevant Parish Council take on the future maintenance for the bin including refills and replacement should the bin become damaged or stolen. A plan of the suggested location for this was sent to the authority along with confirmation that we would maintain it. The Chair has been contacted to ask if the proposed bin could be yellow. He is going to ask that a green one is provided similar to the one situated near the church.
Here the Chair lost contact with the meeting. Cllr Walsh the Vice Chair took over.
27/21 Request for Residents to Have Covid Tests. From 26 February Derbyshire Dales residents are being asked to have a coronavirus test as part of the county council’s targeted community testing programme. Our testing centre is in the Members’ Room at County Hall, Smedley Street, Matlock, DE4 3AG. The opening times are 9am to 7pm every day.
The testing is NOT for people with actual coronavirus symptoms - they should book a test here: Get a free NHS test to check if you have coronavirus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). You can find out more about the testing by visiting www.derbyshire.gov.uk/communitytesting. This Item is Closed.
28/21 Census The Census takes place on the 21st March. Notices are in the notice board and Jacky has received a handbook containing the answers to any questions the public might ask about it. This Item is Closed.
29/21 End of Lock Down in June. The meeting was asked if we should host some sort of celebration to mark the end of lockdown using the Grant that Cllr Bull gave to the Parish Council. For example using a field to picnic – have the Yeaveley Arms run a bar – have a band – play games/races. The meeting agreed. The decision was made to first of all make sure there was a venue and ask Rob Parker if he would run a bar – looking at dates towards the end of June/beginning of July.
30/21 Clerk’s Report. (Also Item 14/21) The Clerk had asked Robert Nuttall to check the defibrillator attached to the church. He said that the battery is low and needs to be replaced and that new pads should be purchased. Request for this to be authorised is in Item 20, Financial Matters. When covid is over it was suggested that someone else be ‘put in charge’ of checking the defibrillator. Mr Mellings volunteered to do this and will consult with Robert Nuttall when appropriate.
31/21 Phone Box Library. Cllr Walsh suggested that a close watch should be kept on the rules followed by libraries as restrictions are eased so that our ‘library’ can be safely opened again. The meeting agreed.
32/21Financial Matters. (Also Item 15/21). A laptop was purchased at a cost of £529.00 by the Clerk using her credit card. Reimbursement of this was authorised by Cllrs Fitzakerley and Walsh. Unfortunately could not transfer the old Microsoft Office to the new laptop.
Cllr Higgins suggested trying a free alternative and would give the Clerk the information to download it.
Mr Cottingham also said there were cheap alternatives and would forward the information Bank Statements and Summary of accounts (see following page) to the end of February have been previously circulated. The meeting agreed the Clerk should sign these on behalf of the Chair.
The meeting agreed to the purchase of battery and new pads at an approximate cost of £225 and to reimburse Robert Nuttall for this. The meeting also agreed to reimburse the Clerk £50 for Petty Cash.
33/21 Dates for Village Meetings. Last year, because of covid, we did not have to hold village meetings. Because we are a two village Parish Council then once a year we have to hold separate meetings – one being for Yeaveley and Hales Green and the other for Rodsley. The purpose of these meetings is not to discuss current PC business but to review finance and trusts and parochial matters. Also to ask if residents have any other business they would like brought up at future meetings of the PC. Councillors are only expected to attend their own village meeting but the Clerk and the Chair have to be present at both meetings.
The meeting agreed to hold the Yeaveley and Hales Green meeting by zoom on the evening of the 22nd March at 7.30. The Rodsley Meeting on the 29th March at 7.30 by zoom.
Date of Next Meeting will be May 17th for the AGM immediately followed by ordinary meeting.
Summary of Accounts to end February 2021
Receipts
Precept £2,900.00
Interest £ 0.97
VAT reclaimed £ 11.13
Cash Donated £ 50.00
Grant DDC £ 500.00 £3,462.10
Payments DALC £ 244.06
DALC Training £ 50.00
Clerk salary to end Dec £ 1,622.52
Petty Cash £ 60.75
HMRC to end Dec £ 331.60
Insurance £ 161.84
Kameleon to end Nov £ 110.88
Heart (Annual) Fee £ 129.46
Present £ 80.00
Norton Security £ 29.99
Laptop £ 529.00 £3,350.10
Excess of Receipts over Payments £ 112.00
Funds in Hand 1st April 2020 £5,243.56 £5,355.56
Funds in Account 00117946 £ 1,464.06
Funds in Account 00054278 £ 3,873.01
Petty Cash £ 18.49 £5,355.56