WOLSINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING HELD

TUESDAY 8th MAY 2018

 

PRESENT: Chair   D. Sugden, R. George, K. Tippins, Mrs. Y. Bell, A. Vipond,  Mrs. A. Savory,   Mrs. A. Nelson, J. Wilson

 

PUBLIC:                   Mrs. M. Epsly, S. Harris, M. Ward, D. Stephenson, Mrs. J. Wilson, Mrs. J. Henderson, Mrs. A. Bell plus 2 others. 

APOLOGIES:           J. Norman, S. Palombella

 

Election of Chairman: David Sugden was proposed and seconded and being no further nominations, duly accepted the appointment of Chairperson, and signed the Declaration of  Acceptance of Office.

Election of Vice Chair: Mr. Karl Tippins was proposed and seconded and there being no further nominations duly accepted the appointment of vice chairman.

Minutes of Last Annual Meeting held 9th May 2017 had been circulated and agreed to accept as read, were moved and seconded as a true record.

 

Matters Arising: None

Annual Report:  Mr. David Sugden gave his annual report as under::

1. This was an election year, so the new Wolsingham Parish Council is significantly changed from previous years. In the election process, we received 10 nominations. This meant that we could fill our vacancies without the expense and work of a formal election process. However it does mean that all our councillors are ‘elected officers’ and none were co-opted to the council.
2. The first meeting of the new council was in May 2017. We were however initially unable to recruit a representative from the Thornley ward; repeated re-advertising of that vacancy eventually resulted in the election of Sam Palombella in December 2017, as the only candidate.
3. It does take some time for a new group of councillors to become established. New members have brought a wide range of experience, knowledge and skill, which can only enhance the effectiveness of the council in the long term. All of the members share a commitment to developing the local community provision, and some had prepared personal declarations as part of the election process. All of the new members have shown a willingness to challenge our established practices, and to review our methods and purposes.
4. This has included reviewing our priorities as defined on our website, and reviewing our standing orders for the future. NALC has produced a new template for standing orders (received 16th April 2018) taking account of recent legislative changes. The current standing orders on the website were adopted by the council on 9 June 2015 and will remain in effect until we adopt revised standing orders in the near future.
5. The council has begun to define its policies and procedures, as appropriate to the current climate of openness and transparency which we all support. This included adding Policies on Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding Policy, and Guidance on Abuse and Safeguarding. We have been developing a Complaints procedure which should be adopted in the near future.
6. We have extended the level of engagement with local residents, and have insisted on all our business being as open as possible. For example, the proposed Skate Park has been widely consulted on, and we agreed from the beginning that whatever the wishes of the community, we would subject our proposal to the full Planning Application process, to guarantee that every opinion will be fully heard.
7. We have encouraged public attendance at meetings. One or two individuals persist in the view that something secretive or dishonest must be happening, despite our openness. We regard our duty to be open and transparent as paramount.
8. There are however some limits which we must respect. Some matters of a personal nature which may come before council are confidential and that confidentiality must be upheld. Also the new General Data Protection Regulations which come into effect on 25th May 2018 further restrict the sharing of data of a personal or financial nature. We continue to debate how this will be managed, using training input from DCC. As always with new legislation, until it has been tested in courts the guidance remains somewhat variable. One thing is clear however, that we must not breach GDPR requirements as the penalties as severe.
9. The main financial consideration in the past year has been whether to attempt to provide a Skate Park, as requested, and if so how and where. Some hostile leafleting by anonymous individuals created a backlash on social media, with many people annoyed by the tone and content of the flyers and mostly supportive of the skate park proposal. We continued, as planned, with a full and detailed consultation which was widely publicised and accessible on the internet as well as directly on the day.
10. The outcome of that has been that approximately 80% of the consultees were in support of the project. We had some 300+ responses on an internet survey, and about 100 people responded in person at the exhibition consultation event. This leaves little room for doubt that the project should be pursued, through the funding and planning process towards completion in the next year.
11. We have experienced one individual repeatedly criticising our processes and making allegations both to us directly and in the Weardale Gazette. We have been unable to satisfy this individual so far but we will continue to explore the concerns and seek an appropriate outcome.
12. A question was raised in February about the legal position of Jane Henderson as a councillor. Despite local advice that her contract with the council was not problematic as the interest was declared and appropriately managed, we investigated the legal point and are satisfied that Jane was technically disqualified from being a councillor because she held a service contract with the council. This has created a vacancy on the council, which we shall fill as quickly as possible.
13. The Council has offered support to the parents group of Wolsingham School in their struggle with the suspension of sixth form facilities. Whilst we have no authority in relation to educational provision, we are seriously concerned about the effect on education and lifestyle choices which this will have on residents and businesses in Weardale. We are pleased with the support of our MP on this matter.
14. As normal, this annual report reviews the past year. However, each year we try to identify at least one project for development in the next year. It would therefore be helpful if this Annual Parish Meeting could consider any proposals for development in the next year.
15. The work of Parish Councillors is sometimes demanding, often time consuming, and always involves resolving competing demands and expectations in a democratic process. We will always seek to fulfil the wishes of the majority, whilst respecting the concerns of others. I can only express my appreciation of the amount of work and thought which my colleagues have put into this year. If they were being well paid for their input, it would still be a significant contribution; that they all do this for no financial or personal benefit shows what an outstanding group of individuals they are. Thank you all.

 

            Public Remarks:

Mr. D. Stephenson had raised concerns regarding minutes & procedures several times but as yet was not satisfied with the answers. He was still awaiting satisfactory replies which had not been forthcoming.

The Chair replied that the questions had been responded to, although Mr Stephenson may not like the answers. He would gladly speak to Mr. Stephenson if he so wished, and this was agreed to.

M. Ward asked how it had been allowed to happen that Mrs. J. Henderson had been disqualified as a councillor, as she was deemed to be a paid employee of the council, at the time of the election this automatically disqualified her. It was explained that legal interpretation had been sought, as the situation was not unusual in the region. However it clearly was not lawful, so Mrs. Henderson had stood down. The person who sent the complaint, had not been identified as the name may be fictitious. Mrs. Henderson requested an investigative procedure, so that the sender could be identified, and the Parish Council gave their permission for this course of action.

Cllr. Mrs. A. Savory moved a vote of thanks for the hard work Mrs. Henderson had undertaken both in her role as Parish councillor and as the caretaker, and cleaning role at Angate Street toilets. All present supported this motion.

There was also raised a potential conflict of interest question which had still not been resolved from the last meeting.

 

 

Financial Statement for year Ended 31st March 2018

The clerk gave the figures for 2017/2018 which showed a saving of £2.48 for the year ended being a total income of £95119.41 as opposed to expenditure of £95116.93

Fund balances now stood at £61539 an increase of £2

The income & expenditure account showed a loss at the St. Anne’s Centre of £2060, which primarily down to reduced bookings. A member of the public raised the issue of the centre not being opened at the appropriate time, or not at all on some occasions. This was down to human error and was not an issue which happened often, but in this instance there was extenuating circumstances.

The cost of the bowling green was also questioned as there was no income being received. The clerk pointed out that the maintenance work to the green was done by the bowls club who also opened and closed the St. Anne’s Centre, thus saving the parish council considerable expenditure.

The toilet facility at the St. Anne’s Centre is not a public convenience, but there is a stand alone toilet in the park operated by Durham C.C.

Angate toilets cost £5211, this expense was primarily down to maintenance and cleaning costs. A member thought it was too much and the toilets should be closed, as was the norm in other small villages. The savings could then be better utilised. Councillors believe the toilets are a valuable amenity and a positive benefit to the village, especially for walkers and tourists.

 

Moved and seconded and agreed to accept the Statement of Accounts for 2017/18.

             

Review and adoption of Standing Orders / Financial Regulations

A new version of Standing Orders 2018 was recently to hand and would be reviewed in the near future, and adopted.

Financial Regulations would also be reviewed and revised as necessary.

 

The meeting closed at 7.20 pm.