January 15th, 2003

The meeting opened at 7:30, with Cllr. Cox in the chair. Apologies were received from Cllr. Hirst, all other representatives were present.

Cllr. Mrs. Gregory queried an apparent omission from the minutes, recording the result of a vote about replying to a letter. This being added, the minutes were approved as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Five PPPB planning approvals were noted, and there was one new application to consider, at Thornbridge Manor, for a conservatory and new, two-storey, garage. This was approved.

Under finance, the balances were noted as Ł1,000 in the current and Ł6,384.34 in the deposit account, however this month saw a bumper crop of payments, totalling Ł6,328.71, hence almost all the reserves would be spent, leaving just Ł1,000 in the current account. Fortunately, the Council is expecting to receive nearly Ł3,000 in the near future, in the form of reclaimed VAT and payments from DDDC. It was suggested by the Clerk that the Council consider applying for an overdraft facility to cover such eventualities, but it was decided that this year had been rather exceptional, financially, and the facility should not be required in the future.

Some time was then spent discussing possible criteria for awarding the annual charity payments. Several were put forward but in essence, the main question came down to means testing, or not. The Council decided that it was not feasible to undertake this, and as it had received no complaints about awards made in the past, it would continue making the awards as it always had.

The commemorative plaque for West Green has been ordered. A reply from the PCC has been received, following the PC’s letter questioning the wisdom of letting parts of the churchyard ‘go wild’, apparently the PCC has not yet made a final decision on this. Cllr. Bowering reported that several small maintenance jobs would be required on the recreation ground, and plans were made to do these. The damaged walls have now been repaired. It was noted that the salt bin on Grisedale Road had not yet been filled. Again, it was questioned why the PC has to pay for the salt. DDDC Cllr. Mrs Crowther said she was sure responsibility for this lies with DCC, so it was resolved to send a letter to DCC and query this. Cllr. Cox reported that the footpath down to Bell’s Stile was virtually all mud, and the footpath needed cleaning up and repairing. A letter would be sent to PDNPA Footpaths Officer to request action on this. Cllr. Finney reported that despite him chasing it up a couple of months ago, the new streetlight on Station Road was still not working. Another letter will be sent to try to get this job finished. Cllr. Askew said that the hole in Station Road had still not been repaired and was getting bigger; another letter will be sent to DCC about this.

There have been 21 items of correspondence received, eight were briefly considered: the PDNPA will shortly be starting work on ‘improving’ The Willows. Residents are welcome to go along and help! DDDC are undertaking a random survey of residential properties in the area; anyone who is chosen will receive an individual letter explaining the details. Mr. Cumming asked the Council to consider making a grant to the Great Longstone Senior Citizens Club. The Council was favourable in principal, but had not budgeted for this in this year’s precept, so would not be able to help in the short term. DCC have requested suggestions for improving local public transport - the Council will reply, suggesting that the small bus (number 4) be routed into Longstone via Longreave and Beggarway Lanes. The PDNPA Land Access Forum is seeking new members; anyone is eligible to join, so if you have an interest in rambling or enabling public access to the countryside, contact the PDNPA for details.

The next monthly meeting is on 19th February, at 7:30.

Chris Raynor