PARISH COUNCIL MEETING – AGENDA
1. To receive apologies for absence.
2. Variation of Order of Business
3. Declaration of Members Interests.
Please Note:-
(a) Members must ensure that they complete the Declarations of Interest sheet prior to the start of the meeting in respect of items other than Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and must indicate the action to be taken (i.e. to stay in the meeting, to leave the meeting or to stay in the meeting to make representations and then leave the meeting prior to any consideration or determination of the item)
(b) Where a Member indicates that they have a prejudicial interest, but wish to make representations regarding the item before leaving the meeting, those representations must be made under item (c) of Public Speaking.
The Declarations of Interests for matters other than Disclosable Pecuniary Interests will be read out from the Declaration Sheet – Members will be asked to confirm that the record is correct.
4. Public Speaking – (15 Minutes)
(a) A period of not more than 15 minutes will be made available for members of the public and Members of the Council to comment on any matter.
(b) If the Police Liaison Officer, a County Council or District Council Member is in attendance they will be given the opportunity to raise any relevant matter.
(c) Members declaring an interest other than a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest who wish to make representations or give evidence under the National Association of Local Councils’ (NALC) Code of Conduct shall do so at this stage.
5. To approve the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Parish Council held on 13th November 2023 (Copy already circulated)
6. To determine which items if any from Part 1 of the Agenda should be taken with the public excluded. If the Council decides to exclude the public it will be necessary to pass a resolution in the following terms: –
“In view of the confidential nature of item …. to consider a resolution to exclude the press and public from the meeting in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, s1, in order to discuss the item.”
7. Chairman’s Announcements.
8. Report of the Clerk, to include an update on items from the last meeting
9. Governance
a) Risk Register update
b) Update on General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
c) Parish Council elections, vacancies and co-options
d) Environment Act 2021 – to create an action plan (circulated to Cllrs 27.11.23)
10. Drainage and flooding issues
11. Correspondence
12. Finance
(a) Accounts for Payment
(b) To consider any requests for funds made under S137
(c) To consider the precept and budget for the year ending 31st March 2025
13. To consider Planning Applications
14. To consider any Consultations received
SDDC – Draft Plan deadline 8th December (Circulated to Cllrs 14/11/23)
SDDC – Budget proposals 2024/25 (Circulated to Cllrs 18/12/23)
15. Items for information only
(a) To receive reports from Meetings attended
SDDC – flood Liaison meeting 22nd November 2023, 10am – 12pm
(b) Notification of Forthcoming meeting
Area Forum – Newton Solney Village Hall 24th January 2024
(c) Training Sessions – See DALC circulars which have been provided to all Cllrs
16. To move the following resolution – “That in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted (in respect of the personal situation of an employee which could result in legal proceedings or commercially sensitive information) it is advisable in the public interest, that the press and public be temporarily excluded and they are instructed to withdraw.”
17. Date of next meetings and items for inclusion
Clerk’s Report – January 2024
Agenda item
8) Clerk’s Report
Actions raised at the last meeting have been attended to.
9) Governance
a) Risk Register
The Clerk has no changes to make to the Risk Register.
b) General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
No changes are recommended and there are no reports of any breaches.
c) Parish Council elections
Elections were held on 4th May 2023. There was no election called and there is 1 (one) vacancy to be filled by co-option. There has been one expression of interest in becoming a Cllr and if the legal requirements are met, a co-option can take place at the meeting.
d) Environment Act 2021 (EA21)
In an email to Cllrs on 27.11.23, the Clerk informed Cllrs that the EA 21 is enhancing the duty a parish council has to consider the environment in its decision making; it is now putting the environment front and centre of the Council’s decisions.
The priority areas are—
(a)air quality;
(b)water;
(c)biodiversity;
(d)resource efficiency and waste reduction.
There will be a need to evidence in a document what has been done to increase bio diversity and a need to produce policies and plans to demonstrate this; it is recommended by DALC that the environment is an agenda item each month. The document produced by the council should be in place by 1st January 2024 stating what the parish council has done to consider and improve biodiversity. As a start and given that we do not have a formal document and following advice by DALC, make a resolution to say that the Council will give a declaration of intent by reviewing its policies in light of the EA21 but there needs to be actions arising from this resolution as soon as possible.
The Clerk has provided Cllrs with a draft statement of intent and a useful parish council pack provided by NE Derbyshire Borough Council
11) Correspondence – January 2024
- DALC – Various circulars and information
- Special Constable Council Tax Discount – Commissioner Angelique Foster (circulated to cllrs 1/12/23)
- DCC – notification of temporary closure of Greary Lane on 23rd January 2024 for safe access to pole testing (circulated to cllrs on 11.12.23)
- DALC – raising awareness of the decision of the District Council’s Finance Committee in relation to future s136 funding (circulated 27.11.23)
- Cllr Haines response to concerns raised by this parish council regarding the possible loss of S136 funding (circulated to cllrs 4.12.23)
All Cllrs have been circulated with the information prior to the meeting.
12a) Accounts for Payment
| BACS | Staffing – Dec | £ |
| BACS | HMRC – Staffing NI & PAYE (Dec) | £ |
| BACS | DCC – Pension contribution (Dec) | £ |
| Mrs J Storer | Expenses | £TBC |
| BACS | Staffing – Jan | £ |
| BACS | HMRC – Staffing NI & PAYE (Jan) | £ |
| BACS | DCC – Pension contribution (Jan) | £ |
Money Received
| Deposit account interest (Nov 23) | £3.35 |
| SDDC s136 refund for the repairs to the war memorial | £790.00 |
Balance at bank @ 06.11.23
| Deposit account | £3,026.98 |
| Current account | £5,107.52* |
*This balance includes earmarked reserves of £1,000 grant from Cllr Muller – this was ringfenced for the purchase of a noticeboard.
b) Requests for funding via S137
No requests for funding have been received.
13) Planning applications
DMPA/2023/1463: The variation of condition no.16 of permission ref. DMPA/2022/0683 (relating to Ecology) for the erection of a detached dwelling at 2 Ashby Road East, Bretby, Burton On Trent, DE15 0PT (19/12/23)
DMPA/2023/1579: Approval of reserved matters following outline planning permission DMPA/2022/1336 Outline application (matters of access and scale to be considered with matters of appearance, landscaping and layout reserved for later consideration) for the erection of one detached infill dwelling with garaging at 70 Ashby Road East, Bretby, Burton On Trent, DE15 0PT (14/01/24)
15c) Training
Training sessions are listed on DALC circulars and in a specific email circulated to Cllrs.