GRINDLEFORD PARISH COUNCIL – MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 9 April 2020 at 7.30pm IN THE BISHOP PAVILION.
This meeting was the first to be held remotely as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. At 8 pm Cllrs broke to go outside their doors and clap for the NHS.
Present: Robert Wilson, Chair; Andrew Battarbee, Hilary Hart, John Mottershaw, Peter O’Brien, Rob Tamlyn. Sarah Battarbee, Clerk.
Apologies: John Morton, Ray Whiteley.
1. County Councillor’s report. There was none.
2. District Councillor’s report. Cllr Peter O’Brien reported on some details re bin collection, and on financial assistance for local businesses. Food boxes were not yet available for vulnerable residents. Cllr O’Brien also spoke about a DDDC fund which he has available, up to £900. He is asking via WhatsApp, the village enewsletter and Facebook for bids, aimed particularly at younger residents, to support projects during the virus outbreak. He is envisaging several small grants to individual families and ad-hoc groups. Projects with an element of educational support, including After School Club, would be eligible.
He is trusting that the Parish Council would be able to match fund grants where appropriate.
3. Police report. There was none.
4. Minutesof the last meeting had been circulated to all members before the meeting. They were pro EC sec JM as being a true record approved and signed.
5. Matters arising:
Bin collections. After some difficulties, thesehad in the main started to return to normal but still with some local issues. Green bins will not be collected until further notice and the clerk is checking the parish email for any alerts.
Signatures for cheque signing. The clerk agreed to explore with the bank what the options were for paying bills by BACCs when there was a three signature requirement.
Zoom subscription. This is costing about £15 a month and can be cancelled at any time. It could be made available for other Councillors to use if they were happy to use the clerk’s log in and settings.
Outgoing editor of the News. It was agreed to send a letter of thanks to Tim Shephard.
Contingency planning. It was agreed that Cllr Tamlyn would be the second vice chair for the duration of the outbreak of the virus and Alan Jacques would be asked if he would stand in as clerk if necessary.
(all other matters arising are on hold)
6. Highway matters:
The damage to the footpath by the war memorial has been partly repaired but there is still more work to do. Clerk to return to this issue when lockdown is over.
7. Planning matters.
Sheriff Wood, Leam Lane; temporary hard surfacing to permit some tree felling. A holding reply re enforcement has been received and is attached.
| Cheque | Date | Payee | Amount | Details |
| 962 | 9/4/20 | Sarah Battarbee | £750 | wages |
| 963 | 9/4/20 | Potting Shed Ladies | £80 | Jubilee Gardens maintenance (March) |
| 964 | 9/4/20 | Sarah Battarbee | £116 | Support network mobile phones |
Parish Council website. There had been an offer from a former resident of Grindleford to set up a website for the Parish Council. The Clerk had had similar discussions with the Church, with a view to having three websites linked to the main village website for the three ‘arms’ of the village – shop church and Council. A generous offer was made by JM to explore the possibility of creating a pro bono website using his existing business contacts. Cllrs expressed their thanks for this. There was some discussion about what might go on the website; it was agreed to start with basic Council business such as minutes and agendas. There was also discussion about getting photos of Cllrs, with perhaps 50 word thumbnails including the street/s they represent. The website could be advertised in a number of ways including the next Grindleford News, and Cllrs agreed to look at what other villages are doing.
There being no further business the chair closed the meeting at 8.45 pm.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING– Thursday 14 May 2020 by Zoom.
Sarah Battarbee
Clerk to the Council
Holding reply re Sheriff Wood
—— Forwarded Message ——
From: “Olle Rosie” <rosie.olle@peakdistrict.gov.uk>
To: “‘peterjane@btinternet.com'” <peterjane@btinternet.com>
Sent: 08/04/2020 17:12:41
Subject: ENF 20/0039 Cleared area in Sherriff Wood, Leam, Grindleford
Hi Peter
I hope you are keeping well in these unusual times.
I have been investigating your enforcement enquiry about a cleared area in Sheriff Wood, Leam, near Grindleford. I did manage to go and see it, on one of my last site visits before the lockdown, and I am attaching the photographs that I took when I was out there.
I understand that the land is part of the Leam Estate and I should therefore be writing to the owner, but I understand from the locals that there was some work due to be undertaken in connection with woodland management, and that therefore the hardstanding that has been created may only be a temporary arrangement in connection with the work.
I am carrying on with my investigations and will try and get it sorted out, although we are all limited as to what we can do in the lockdown, but I can at least start the ball rolling!
Regards
Rosie
Rosie Olle
Monitoring and Enforcement Officer
Development Management
Tel: 01629 816215