GRINDLEFORD PARISH COUNCIL – MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 7 OCTOBER 2021 at 7 pm at the Pavilion.
Apologies: Elizabeth Coe, Ray Whiteley, John Mottershaw, Cllr Sutton.
Present: Robert Wilson, Chair, Peter O’Brien, John Morton, Hilary Hart, Rob Tamlyn, Sarah Battarbee Clerk.
- County Councillor’s report
Due to lack of clarity about the date change Cllr Sutton was unable to attend.
- District Councillor’s report
A solar array is being considered in Stoney Middleton, in the field behind Edge View Close. It will be either a Council or a community one. There is a proposal for an independent enquiry into refuse collection. There is worry that residents have lost faith in the Council. HH said that bringing the issue into the public domain in this way is more likely to result in SERCO taking it seriously. As previously discussed, DDDC had voted by a majority not to ban portable BBQs in areas of high fire risk. Other District Councils had supported a ban, appreciating that it is difficult to enforce but not seeing that as a reason not to ban them. There is a possibility that the new Public Spaces Protection Order should include the banning of portable BBQS, and Grindleford District Council were all in favour of supporting that. Finally Cllr O’Brien mentioned the possibility of mandating that dogs should be on leads in the playground.
- Police Report
PC Boswell reported some minor damage to one of the local pubs; and a stop and search of a young person in the early hours of one morning, who was found to have small amounts of cannabis on him. He was given a formal warning. He mentioned Grindleford’s Speedwatch which is covered elsewhere. He said that if the group sent him the figures of passing cars/speeding, he would put them into police social media and promote the activity. Pour encourager les autres.
- Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting had been circulated to all members before the meeting. They were pro RT sec JSM as being a true record and were approved and subsequently signed.
- Matters arising:
- Traffic Group report actions. EC was attending the school governors meeting so the details of parking contraventions to the Highway Code in the village were not available for this meeting, but she was going to raise the issue of the school crossing to see what the school wanted to do. HH said the traffic group had met to agree an article for the Grindleford News.
Speedwatch was up and running. There are four approved places where Speedwatch checks are being carried out – at the bottom of Maynard Road, along the Main Road near RW’s house, by the War Memorial and on the road out the Calver by the Cowshed.
Ragwort – HH had submitted a complaint and papers had been circulated to Cllrs. Natural England had been very helpful and taken it seriously. It was too late for action this year so they would return to it next spring. Natural England were taking the welfare of the animals very seriously. Cllrs thanked HH for her efforts on this important matter.
Leam Lane repairs – a very supportive email had been received from PDNP. Cllrs had no objections to the proposal to put in a field gate. P’OB said that there would be further timber work along there in the future.
- HIGHWAY MATTERS. Scots Close. Part of the wall is down and needs to be repaired. The land adjacent belongs to Gill Bhandra but the wall is County Council responsibility. Residents have also asked for a handrail all the way along the path as it is very steep. Clerk to contact DCC.
Grit Bins – Clerk to ask Ray Whiteley to check grit bins before the winter.
- PLANNING MATTERS:
NP/DDD/0721/0839. https://portal.peakdistrict.gov.uk Sunnyside, Upper Padley, Grindleford. Single storey timber framed dwelling to replace existing dilapidated timber framed dwelling and adjacent outbuildings, with associated works for vehicle and pedestrian access. These were slightly amended plans to those considered at the last meeting. No objections.
NP/DDD/0921/1036 https://portal.peakdistrict.gov.uk Brevna, Main Road, Nether Padley, Grindleford. Demolition of an existing dwelling and adjacent building and replacement with a new dwelling with associated external and landscaping works. No objections to the design, but Cllrs wished to stress that access either way to the plot was likely to cause disturbance to neighbours (Hayward Farm and Pine Grove). Great care should be taken to keep those affected fully informed, and to be sure to take adequate measures to keep disruption to a minimum, including keeping social hours and no working on a Sunday. Andrew Finch who owns the building has agreed to reuse as much stone as possible.
- PLANNING DECISIONS:
NP/DDD/0621/0639 Fold Cottage, Grindleford. Alteration and extension to an existing front entrance porch and conversion of existing garage to form habitable rooms with alterations to fenestration. (Note – porch extension omitted by applicant in amended plans). Granted.
NP/DDD/0721/0732 15 Eyam Woodlands, Grindleford. Proposed extension to dwelling. Granted.
NP/DDD/1220/1199 Brunts Barn. The letter sent to PDNPA about Brunts Barn had been circulated to Cllrs.
- PLANNING APPEAL:
APP/M9496/W/21/32721 17 The Windses Grindleford. Dismissed. Cllrs noted that they did not support this decision.
- ACCOUNTS
| Chq No | Date | Payee | Amount | Description |
| 2007 | 7/10/21 | S Battarbee | 169 | Additional payment for equipment overspend |
| 2008 | 7/10/21 | S Battarbee | 785 | Clerk’s wages |
| 2009 | 7/10/21 | S Battarbee | 315 | New telephone box door |
| 2010 | 7/10/21 | S Battarbee | 93 | Wreaths |
| 2011 | 7/10/21 | Mark Barlow | 820 | Jubilee Gardens |
It was pro HH sec JSM that these accounts be paid.
- Correspondence
Hope Valley Scheme volunteering opportunities. This is following on from the presentation by Volkerrail. Clerk has had a very encouraging conversation about volunteering opportunities in our local schools.
Raising the Precept. The decision on how much to raise the precept by has to be made at the December meeting. This was a preliminary discussion. The key points discussed were:
- The Council has had some extra money over the last couple of years but this is unusual. The budget is normally pretty tight. A raise of 2% over the past few years has been enough to balance the books but only just. The cost of living is likely to go up sharply soon and this should be taken into account when making the decision.
- Grindleford’s precept is low compared to other Councils so there is headroom to raise it without getting out of kilter with other local areas. However that is not a reason to raise it without plans on how to spend it, and in any event the auditor will question large carry overs. Possible projects which could use additional support were identified as:
- Phone box painting – Clerk to write to Cllr Sutton
- Replacing the Jubilee Gardens benches and replacing the war memorial benches thereafter
- Potential to pay for additional weeding if glysophate is banned and DDDC is unable to fund an acceptable alternative
- Flooding survey to establish a professional baseline for any future action
- Grindleford Christmas tree
It was agreed that Clerk would draw up a schedule of how the money could be spent over the next few years assuming a 25% and a 50% raise, and the issue would be discussed again at the next meeting.
Grindleford Goat. There had been mention of additional parking in the village. The organisers had made arrangements such that there was no need for any additional onroad parking but some Goats had parked onroad anyway. The organisers asked Cllrs to note that the day’s inconvenience might be offset against the £5000 raised for the local community shop.
Fiveways – Clerk has written again to the Peak Park asking for action.
Wreaths – have been ordered and RW will be back in time to organise the event.
There being no further business the Chair closed the meeting at 8.20 pm.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING – 11 November 2021
Sarah Battarbee
Clerk to the Council