ILAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
09 May 2017 @ 8:15 pm Ilam School
Present - C Sellers, S Hudson, V Nottage, L Oulsnam, C Hibbert-Foy, R Wain
E Wain (SMDC), P Watson (Clerk), Z Stevens (NT), K Whelan (YHA)
Observers: K Warrington, G Nottage
● Minutes
● Minutes of the meeting held on 21 March were read and signed as true and correct.
● Councillors
● Following the resignation of T Prince, the Clerk will write expressing the Council’s gratitude for all his good work over the years
● No requests were made for an election to fill the resulting casual vacancy so a new member will be co-opted. The vacancy will be advertised on the notice board, the website and in the newsletter. Interested parties will be asked to write to the Parish Clerk giving brief details of themselves and why they would like to become a Councillor. The Council will decide which candidate to co-opt at their next meeting in July.
● National Trust
● The fallen dead tree will be moved away.
● The broken footbridge will be removed and plans for a new bridge submitted to Peak Park.
● Representatives of the National Lottery Fund have been to look at the plans for Ilam Park. P Mortimer will be in touch for consultations where the Parish Council will be represented by C Hibbert-Foy and V Nottage.
● The car park improvement plan will go to the NT national board by the end of May.
● Three people will henceforth help with organising parking on busy days.
● Buxton Museum will bring an exhibition of interesting artefacts to Ilam Park on 02 June and the Eroica vintage cycle event will come to the Park on 18 June.
● The Parish Clerk will send NT a copy of the County Council’s proposals re parking when they are received.
● Peak Park
● The Council decided not to send any representatives to Parishes Day or on any planning training courses.
● The planning application NP/SM/0417/0436 for holiday lets and equestrian/agricultural use of outbuildings at Casterne Hall was examined and the Council had no objections to the proposed development.
● Parking
● Jane Tustin is in favour of the footpath being extended on her land opposite Town End Cottage. T Prince has offered to provide the kerbstones and help to do the work. The Clerk and the Councillors agreed to fund any other costs, such as sand and cement. The Clerk will check if the Council’s insurance will cover people doing the work and will clarify with County Councillor, Gill Heath, about the licence to do the work. He will also write to NT requesting their assistance as it was their representative, Paul Mortimer, who suggested the footpath extension.
● Ilam School cannot afford £150 that Peak Park wants in order to give them pre-planning advice for their proposed car park. However, the Parish Council can apply for such advice without charge as it is non-commercial development in connection with their statutory responsibilities for highways and parking. To be effective as a drop-off and pick-up point for children a separate exit onto the road will need to be made, which the Councillors can do. The Clerk will write to NT, advising them of the application and requesting that they do not increase the rent when the car park is operational as there will be no revenue from it to fund any increase.
● The council noted that NT are employing more staff to manage parking, opening up Wheal Orchard as overflow parking will encourage motorists to move on when car parks are full.
● Highways
● The Clerk will write thanking the Highways Department for the road sweeping, which was much better than last year.
● Dye has been provided to K Warrington so that the can find out from where the water is coming that appears in the bus garage inspection pits and runs next to The Cottage next door.
● The Clerk will request that the solid drain cover opposite the school be replaced with a grid.
● The Clerk will check if the wall near Ilam Bridge has been repaired and report the broken parapet on the bridge on the Thorpe road.
● The Clerk will request that the memorial tree to be planted near Ilam Bridge be of a small attractive type, such as a cherry.
● The Council agreed that R Wain may renovate the old Best Kept Village sign at his own expense.
● Website
● The Council decided to take over funding the combined village/Council website in future. They will reimburse S Prince for the £60 cost of incorporating the Council information and seek Transparency Funding to cover that.
● First Responders
● The Clerk will write requesting clarification about who maintains the defibrillator, how the battery failed and why the box has no number and is open to the public before they address the request to pay for the new battery.
● Finance
● There is £673 in the account with a further £404 of precept to come in September. Expenditure in the region of £452 is expected in the financial year to 31 March 2018, which would leave a balance of £625 at the year end.
● The Clerk proposed that the signatories for the bank account should in future be the Chairman and the Responsible Financial Officer with either signature being sufficient authorisation for transactions. This would allow the RFO to apply for internet banking, which will make operations much easier after the Ashbourne NatWest branch closes in September. The Clerk will ask Staffordshire Parish Councils Association if this would be legitimate.
Next Meeting 04 July