Present: Cllrs: E Fairclough (Chair), K Shaw, C Wagstaff, T
Saunders, S Leith, P Lee, C Pearson and J Carlon.
In attendance: Cllrs: M Cummings (Ward Councillor), the Clerk to the Council and 5
members of the public.
160.
To receive apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from Cllrs:
A Manifield (Ward Councillor), Cllr S Birkby and PC Craig Steele.
Before commencing the Chair asked for a few
moments of silence in honour of HRH Prince Philip.
The Chair also announced members of
the public will only be permitted to speak for 3 minutes as per the Standing
Orders under the relevant section and asked not to make any comments throughout
the meeting.
161.
To receive declarations of interest.
Cllr Fairclough declared a non-pecuniary interest relating to a planning
application – one of the applicants is known to her.
162.
To approve the minutes of the Parish Council
meeting held on 2nd March 2021.
Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 2nd
March 2021 without amendment as a correct record.
163.
To be notified of matters accomplished or arisen
since the last meeting not included elsewhere on the agenda.
The Clerk advised all 10 additional hanging
baskets/Christmas trees have been sponsored and the Parish Council awaits
approval of licences from WMDC.
164.
Public forum session – To permit members of the
public to make representations, answer questions, and give evidence in respect
of any item of business included in the agenda.
None.
Cllr Cummings joins the meeting.
165.
To receive a report on the
The Chair noted PC Steele is attending another meeting, but the SAFE
report has been circulated in advance. PC Steele is keen to build up a rapport
with the Parish Council and provide regular updates on patrolling throughout the
village. The Chair confirmed there was no question prior to proceeding.
Resolved to note the reports.
166.
To receive reports from WMDC Ward 5 Councillors.
Councillor M Cummings reported:
·
A bin on
Greenside has been requested and await 4 to 6 weeks for installation.
·
Proposed roadworks
on Chevet Lane circulated to Clerk.
·
Two new
bins have been secured at Walton Nature Reserve.
·
Await ‘Pick
up or Pay up’ sign locations around the village.
The Clerk advised still awaiting WMDC
permission to cite new planter on Oakenshaw Lane to submit Community grant
application.
A Councillor queried work undertaken near Goldwing
Farm with the area tarmacked by Network Rail. Another Councillor advised British
Transport Police appears to have undertaken the work to park vehicles. They have permitted development rights and
the work is within their land. Cllr
Cummings reported they had completed similar compound at Hare Park for access
and storage.
Another Councillor raised the extension
to Colliery Nature car park as cars continue to park on the public footpath on
Shay Lane. Cllr Cummings advised WMDC could
not support the extension of the car park due to cost and requirement for
planning permission, but she had promised the area to be bunded and seeded. There was concern this would force traffic to
park elsewhere and hardcore would be preferable. Another
Councillor commented cars parking at the side could be dangerous and it would be
better to have something like Sharlston.
A member of the
public wished to raise an issue with the Ward Councillor and was advised to
raise this directly outside of the meeting due to time constraints.
Resolved
to note the reports.
167.
Finance & Governance
1. To approve accounts to be paid, already paid under delegated powers and
income received March 2020.
The Clerk submitted details (copy attached
to minutes) of accounts paid totalling £6,186.65 and income received of £2,097.25 in March.
The account balances at the end of March
2021 are:
Current a/c: £2,337.19
Barclays Business Res a/c: £24,632.25
HSBC deposit a/c: £50,916.26
Total £77,885.70
Resolved: to
approve the financial statements and payments.
2. To receive a draft budget monitor for yearend 2020/21
The Clerk noted the Parish Council
has received £25,000 higher income than forecasted due to COVID-19 grants and CIL
monies. Anticipated expenditure of £18,000 was unspent due to delayed
projects.
Cllr Lee felt that it was
unacceptable to budget a deficit of £20,200 and achieve a surplus of £25,000. He
went on to state the first review in his opinion was conducted in December, as
the September monitor, does not occur early enough to take corrective action.
The Clerk advised last year to be
an exceptional year with the surplus funds secured via COVID grants and CIL
monies from the principal authority that could not be forecasted. The full Council also resolved to delayed planned
expenditure listed in the budget due to uncertainty with recovery of loss and
the pandemic. Corrective action has been
put advised to transfer funds into ring -fenced reserves to deliver projects in
the next financial year. Further, the Financial
regulations stipulates the Parish Council review and monitor its budget 3 times
a year in line with the Practitioners Guide. The RFO felt the current practices
were sufficient to comply with legislation and best practice, and the current
year should be regarded as exceptional.
The Clerk has been previously approached
by Cllr Saunders with the exact same viewpoint and the addition to forecast
yearend balance earlier. The RFO advised
this would too early to provide a forecasted yearend balance or provide meaningful
information as finances change on a monthly basis due
to Council decisions. The work to
complete this would outweigh any benefit.
Cllr Saunders felt the new document created by the Clerk to provide
additional information could be tweaked, if additional
conversations were held with RFO and a proposal re-submitted to Council.
Members agreed with the creation of
the following ring-fenced reserves and transfer of funds into the relevant reserves:
Resolved to
·
Cllr
Saunders and Lee to meet with the Clerk to consider and review proposals for
budget monitoring;
·
Transfer:
·
£
5,000 into Roof to total £10,000.
·
£2,673.37
into Playground equipment to total £6,000.
·
Create
·
Grants reserve of £1,000 – committed to Walton Community
Library
·
Village
hall of £7,000
·
Coronation
cottage refurb of £5,000
·
Tennis
Club refurb of £5,000
·
Leaving
a general reserve of £43,885.70
2.
To review the system of Internal
Control and its effectiveness for 2020/21
The Clerk
circulated a statement of internal control with changes from last year
appearing in italics.
Resolved to
approve the system of Internal Control and its effectiveness for 2020/2 as drafted.
3. To consider short-term investments of Council funds.
Resolved to invest
£50,000 with Nationwide for 90 days from funds within the HSBC Deposit account
with the existing bank signatories.
4. To consider the purchase of anti-virus software for PC Computer and
additional devices.
Resolved to
purchase new anti-virus software from Norton for 3 devices.
5. To consider renewal of the subscription of
YLCA
Resolved to
renew subscription of YLCA for 2021/22 at a cost of £771.
6. To consider renewal of the waste
contract with WMDC
Resolved to
renew waste contract and authorise the Clerk to sign the documentation at a
cost of £458.94 plus VAT.
168.
To consider correspondence received.
The
Clerk summarised the correspondence received in March 2021 and announced the
candidates nominated for forthcoming Parish Councillor elections.
Resolved
to note correspondence
received.
169.
Planning Working Party.
1. To
consider planning applications validated and decided March 2021.
There
have been 8 applications for Walton validated and 10 application decided since
the last meeting.
Resolved:
(i)
To formerly object to
application 20/02441/FUL on the following grounds:
·
The PC
objected to the proposals as first submitted because there was no Heritage
Impact Assessment (HIA), and the scheme materials were inappropriate for a
building within the Historic Core – see Policy 4 Walton Neighbourhood Plan.
·
The HIA
describes the rear extension as “unsympathetic to the character and appearance
of the house,” but claims the scheme will have a “neutral impact in terms of
the setting.” The principal reason for the latter assertion seems to be that
the proposed works cannot be easily seen from the public highway. The HIA does
admit that there will be a negative impact on the setting in relation to the demolition
of the barn.
·
The PC’s
view is that the extent of visibility of the scheme from the highway is not a
relevant factor in the context of WNP Policy 4.
·
Policy 4
states regard must be paid to “using high quality materials that reflect the
historic character and palette of materials used within the Historic Core.” The
application scheme does not do this. Indeed, in the Design and Access
Statement, great play is made of the fact that the proposed extension, garage and swimming pool, have been designed to be “in stark
contrast” to the existing Georgian house.
(ii) Planning application 21/00822/FUL- The Parish Council noted there is no Heritage Impact Assessment or
Design and Access Statement filed as required within Policy 4 of the Walton
Neighbourhood Plan. Policy 4 states
regard must be paid to “using high quality materials that reflect the historic
character and palette of materials used within the Historic Core.” The
application does not provide enough information to comply with this policy.
(iii) Planning application 21/00517/FUL – The Parish Council wishes to
comment if the proposed works are allowed at the front of the building line
given Wakefield Residential Design Guide would suggest otherwise?
(iv) To note all other validated and decided applications.
Item 10.2 deferred to the end to allow public to observe remainder of meeting.
170.
Village Hall and Coronation Cottage Working
Party - to receive reports.
1.
To consider quote for
recommended remedial work on Hall’s drains following drainage survey.
It is recognised the
quote is more than thresholds requiring three quotes. Due to the nature of work
being follow-up to existing work/survey, it is considered cost-effective to continue
with the existing contractor.
Resolved to approve the quote for remedial work at a cost of £3,295 plus VAT
subject to it being considered necessary to reinstate paving at the front of
the hall.
2.
To consider quote for repainting
of Committee Room/Entrance of hall
Resolved to approve quote of full redecoration of repainting Committee room and Hall entrance at £675.
3.
To consider quote for maintenance work on the
Village Hall roof.
A Councillor noted the potential damage to the flat lead roof near the
clock tower and to ask the roofing contractor to address this at the same time.
Resolved to approve quote of £580 plus VAT for replacement
of broken tiles, guttering to be cleared and moss above the kitchen removed/treated
to prevent future growth.
171.
Environmental Improvements Working Party - to
receive reports.
4. To
consider cost of refurbishing Millennium entrance benches.
Resolved to approve
cost £200 for refurbishing Millennium benches.
172.
To consider format of
future Parish Council meetings and any necessary delegation to officers.
Following advice from the Clerk and YLCA on the possibility of legislation allowing virtual meetings to expire on 7th May and the uncertainty on holding a public meeting, it was agreed to bring forward the next Parish Council meeting.
Resolved to re-schedule next Parish Council from 11th to 4th May 2021 to be held virtually and to defer delegation of authority to the Clerk until next meeting.
173.
To consider a project to
create a village green/community space at the Shay Lane/The Balk junction.
Cllr Lee presented his project for an area of land identified on a circulated plan to be transferred ownership from WMDC to the Parish Council for the purposes of creating a Village Green. Members discussed the suggested area and provided feedback for the feasibility of adjusting the plan. It was agreed the plan would be revisited and for the Parish Council to support the idea in principle.
Resolved to proceed to support, in principle, to examine the feasibility of creating a village green/community space and for Cllr Lee to determine the position of the eastern boundary.
174.
To consider action plan
to designate Waterton Park as a historic park in accordance with the
Neighbourhood Plan.
Resolved to defer the item until further enquiries on historical intent.
175.
To consider next steps regarding the allotments at the Grove.
Resolved to for the Clerk chase WMDC
planning authority.
176.
To receive matters reported directly to the
Clerk.
The Clerk updated members on
the sewerage leak at the Jubilee Field and will follow up with a neighbouring
resident and the Environment Agency.
Meeting closed at 9.50 p.m.